BOYNEXTDOOR

Moving In

Hyerin's POV:

"Did we arrive?" I ask Dad as he pulls the car into the driveway of a two-story house. He quietly nods as he finally turns the engine off. A yawn escapes me as I exit the car and stretch my numb legs. It was a long drive from New York to LA, but we somehow made it through with the help of gas stations and drive-thru diners.

The sun is rapidly setting as Dad takes our luggage out of the trunk. The rest of our furniture should be coming in the next few days in big U-Haul trucks. Dad immediately heads inside with our belongings, but I stay outside for a little longer.

I take in this moment. The fresh summer breeze gently rustling my hair, the sun shining its last rays on my face, and the new house inviting me to enter.

We really moved. My heart races in anticipation of my new life. I can feel it. Big things are gonna happen here. I don't know what will happen yet, but things have to get better for me and Dad. Otherwise, I don't think I would be able to handle it.

❀ ❀ ❀

I hear the birds chirping loudly even before I open my eyes. The sun directly attacks me in the morning. Ugh, I forgot we don't have curtains yet. I don't care, I hide under my blankets, and manage to doze off for a couple more minutes. Unfortunately, Dad is naturally an early riser.

"Hyerin, time to get up! I made breakfast!" He yells as I pull a pillow over my head. Maybe if I ignore him, he will stop yelling and forget about me. Out of sight, out of mind right?

"I made your favorite, french toast!" His voice rings louder throughout the house as he hurries up the stairs. No luck. I groan, and try to sit up quickly but I'm too late. Dad tackles me and initiates a tickle war. Can you believe it?! AT 6 IN THE MORNING.

"Ok, ok, I'm up." I eventually hold my hands up in surrender. "Remind me to never get on your bad side," I say as I get up from my bed. The sweet smell of french toast causes me to put my house slippers on quickly and head downstairs.

"I got a couple of errands to do today, so I won't be in house until late afternoon, but this is a good opportunity for you to explore the neighborhood and introduce yourself to our neighbors," Dad says, and takes a bite of my  french toast. I immediately pull my plate away from him.

I nod in response to what he said about exploring the neighborhood, but I'm honestly nervous about it. I have no idea if my neighbors are friendly. For all I know, they could be psychopaths. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Dad leaves after a couple of minutes, and then I'm home alone. I'm usually okay with being home alone but since our furniture and electronics haven't arrived yet, there's nothing fun to do except go on my phone, and the Wi-Fi's really slow.

After a few minutes of total boredom, I head outside. Maybe I'll find something to do. As I'm walking out the door, I see a boy around my age exit the house next to mine.

Oh, it's my neighbor! I should introduce myself.

"Hi, I'm Kim Hyerin. I just moved into the neighborhood. It's nice to meet you," I say as I wave to him. He doesn't respond at first, and I realize it's because he's wearing AirPods. I walk closer to him and repeat myself. He finally notices me, and takes an AirPod out.

"Oh! You must be my new neighbor! My name is Woonhak. Sorry I didn't see you before," Woonhak apologizes but I brush it off.

"No worries, it was quite funny." I laugh as I remember being scared of meeting my potentially psychopathic neighbors. Woonhak looks like he wouldn't hurt a fly, and I feel at ease knowing that there's someone close to my age next door.

Woonhak stops for a moment and stares at me. I wonder if there's something on my face, but don't feel close enough to ask. It must really be bothering him because his ears turn pink.

"It's nice getting to know you. I'll see you around then, Woonhak," I say to break the silence, and walk down the street.

The day is already off to a good start!