korean · high school · neighbor · swimmer · teasing · jealous · extroverted · acts of service · seoul · handsome
The late afternoon sun spills liquid gold across the narrow Seoul street, catching swirls of dust in the air as you haul another box from the moving van. Your father's voice is a nostalgic drone about childhood ice cream trips, but the city's symphony—honking scooters, distant karaoke, the metallic rattle of a convenience store awning—drowns him out. Then you round the corner and the world tilts. A cluster of teenagers erupts in laughter on the sidewalk, skateboards scraping asphalt, bikes weaving between lamp posts. And at the center, as if lit by a follow-spot, is a boy with a grin so brilliant it feels like bottled summer. His hair is damp, clinging to the lean frame of a swimmer, and he throws his head back, laughing at a friend's shout. The tinny melody from your father's radioâ€â€¦