fragments of forever | han yujin zb1

chapter 1 : childhood bonds

as they drove to school, areum & byungho exchanged excited glances. "our little aejung is starting school today," areum said, her voice filled with pride.

byungho nodded, a smile spreading across his face. "she's growing up so fast," he replied, his tone tinged with emotion.

when they arrived at the school, they all got out of the car and waited in the courtyard with aejung. "you're going to do great, aejung," areum said, her voice filled with encouragement.

"yeah, you'll make lots of new friends and learn so many new things," byungho added, his eyes shining with pride.

aejung smiled up at her parents, feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness. "thanks, mom and dad," she said softly.

they waited patiently until aejung's teacher arrived, ready to embark on this new adventure together.

as they waited in the courtyard with aejung, a little boy approached her excitedly. "hi! my name is han yujin! wanna be friends?" he said happily.

aejung felt a surge of shyness, unsure of how to respond. but areum and byungho encouraged her to accept. "go on, aejung. it's okay to make new friends," areum said gently.

byungho nodded in agreement. "you'll have lots of fun with yujin," he added with a warm smile.

suddenly, people who looked like yujin's parents rushed over, apologizing profusely. "we're sorry for the suddenness," they said.

but areum and byungho reassured them that it was fine. "no need to apologize. yujin was just asking to be friends with aejung," byungho said kindly.

while the parents engaged in conversation, aejung and yujin struck up a conversation of their own. "so, what do you like to do for fun?" yujin asked eagerly.

"i watch tv, how about you?" she asks softly but seemingly more open to be his friend.

"i play with terry!" he says excitedly.

"terry?" she asks a bit confused.

"my puppy!" he says excitedly.

"you have a puppy?" aejung says more surprised, and yujin nods excitedly in response.

suddenly, while they're talking, yujin notices that their teacher is here.

"the teacher is here!" yujin says excitedly, and the kids run off to their respective parents.

"see you, mummy and daddy," aejung smiles.

"see you, baby," areum says.

"good luck, aejung. make sure to stay with your teacher and even yujin as well, okay?" byungho says. aejung nods in response before the two kids begin to follow their teacher to class.

they arrive at their new class and the two sit at a table with four chairs as they sit next to each other.

"are you excited?" yujin asks as aejung nods in response.a boy and a girl that look the same age as them sit in front of them happily.

"hi! my name is boreum and this is my twin brother beomseok!" the girl introduces herself excitedly while beomseok does a simple wave.

happy to see another girl her age, aejung smiles at boreum.

"my name is aejung," she introduces herself back calmly with a bright smile to boreum.

"my name is yujin!" he also introduces himself happily.

the four kids sat together in class and got closer to one another.

after some time, the bell rings and their teacher suddenly begins speaking. "hey kids! so for recess, we'll have some older kids showing you around for the first half of recess, then for the second half you guys will all come back together."

after the teacher finishes speaking, a bunch of kids come in that look around their age but just a bit taller. "byun aejung?" a boy in that crowd suddenly speaks as he looks down at his paper.

aejung quickly looks at her friends a bit worriedly. "why is he saying your name?" yujin asks softly with obvious concern for aejung. she shrugs in response before boreum speaks up.

"i think you follow him around," boreum says, so then aejung gets out of her seat and approaches the older boy in the crowd.

"why did you say my name?" aejung asked curiously.

"my name is gunwook, and i'm showing you the school," gunwook says happily before motioning for aejung to follow him as they walk together out the classroom door.

aejung felt a bit shy following someone around that she didn't know, so she spoke up. "why are you showing me around?"

gunwook then looked at her and gave her a warm smile. "it happens every year," gunwook said simply, his eyes twinkling with kindness. as they walked through the corridors, aejung marveled at the colorful displays adorning the walls, showcasing artwork and projects from the students. the faint scent of chalk lingered in the air, mingling with the sound of children's laughter echoing in the hallways.

still feeling a bit uncertain, aejung spoke again. "are you nice?" she asked, her voice tinged with a hint of apprehension. but gunwook quickly nodded in response, his expression earnest. "i promise," he giggled happily, his eyes crinkling with sincerity as he brought his pinky out.

aejung hesitated for a moment before mirroring his gesture, intertwining her pinky with his in a silent promise of friendship. reassured by his genuine demeanor, she relaxed as gunwook continued to show her around the school, pointing out the different classrooms, the library filled with rows of colorful books, and the playground where children played joyfully.

after some time exploring, gunwook led aejung back to her class, where she saw her friends eating together.

aejung dashed over to join her friends, a bright smile spreading across her face as she settled into her seat. "there you are!" yujin exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with delight as he greeted aejung. she returned the smile, feeling a warm sense of belonging among her friends.

"do you like the school?" boreum inquired, her voice filled with curiosity as she glanced around the bustling cafeteria. aejung's eyes sparkled with excitement as she nodded eagerly in response, eager to share her enthusiasm.

"was your person nice?" beomseok chimed in, his expression curious as he awaited aejung's response. aejung nodded once more, her face lighting up with a grin as she recalled her encounter with gunwook. "his name is gunwook, and he pinky promised me he was nice," she giggled happily, her voice bubbling with joy.

the four friends continued to eat happily, their laughter and chatter filling the air as they savored the moments of their first day in primary school, their friendship growing stronger with each passing moment.