My Little Prince

Chapter 3

There was this ddeokbokki shop outside the market that me and my buddies used to hang out at all the time. The owner was this old woman who we never bothered. She was sort of a recluse and wasn't aware of our reputation in the town so she considered us nice boys and gave us free boiled eggs with our ddeokbokki sometimes. We had made this nonverbal agreement to not act like animals within the boundaries of this shop.

Within our group Yoongi was the sort-of leader. He was a bit more blunt with his words and cursed like a sailor. I think people feared him because he carried himself like he had nothing to lose. I knew him since kindergarten and knew he was a giant softie on the inside but he had trouble expressing those emotions at that ripe young age. But so did I. The most popular kid in our group was Jae. Unlike Yoongi, he was a lot more sociable and outwardly humorous. He was the school athlete and was probably considered the least delinquent-like amongst our group by the local townspeople. There were times where I envied his charm and ability to get out of situations using his social status. Girls, of course, loved him. The three of us grew up together, we knew everything about each other, and we enabled each other's reckless behavior.

September of 1994. First day of senior year had ended and we were gobbling down ddeokbokki as if we had been starving for weeks. It had been a stressful day of doing absolutely nothing. I had found a nice spot in math class right near the back and near a window and I spent it flicking eraser bits into a birds nest located on a tree branch just a few feet away. That's how I'd spend my last year in high school, I thought.

We were on our last piece of ddeokbokki when Juna and Haein walked in. They were two of the most popular girls in school. I had briefly dated Juna in middle school but we had decided eventually to stay friends. I suspected feelings still lingered on her part but that relationship had been lifeless and felt like a performance to boost our social ranking. 

Juna and Haein were unofficially part of our inner circle. They were the type of girls that didn't have to steal like we did. Juna came from a rich family while Haein had a sly charm that gave her the ability to scam anything from anyone. While we were out embezzling cola slushie, she would wait outside local businesses during lunch hour and receive the delivery for black bean noodle, acting as if she was receiving it for her "aunt who runs the business". When asked for payment she would tell the guy on the motorcycle she would go get her aunt. Then, she'd take the food to the owner and pretend she was delivering it, then take the money and sneak out the back door to spend it on cheese sticks and Lotteria burgers. She was us on a different level. It helped that she had a sweet face that could fool any adult.

"Hey Tae," Juna said, ignoring Yoongi and Jae like she sometimes did. She wanted me to feel special and she wanted me to realize I felt special because of her.

"You guys already ate? Assholes," huffed Haein. She turned to the owner and ordered two bowls of curry ramen and reverted her gaze back to us, "So what's the plan for tonight?"

All summer we had spent our nights at the cemetery or at the school's soccer field. Haein and Jae would smoke the occasional cigarette. If we could obtain a beer or two that would also be ingested during our nightly crusades.

"It's a school night. I got shit to study for," said Jae. Among the three of us, Jae actually had a future to look forward to. He maintained decent grades but would go to college on a sports scholarship anyway.

Haein rolled her eyes. "I can steal some beers from that chicken place by my house. Just come. I have something fun planned."

"Define fun," Jae said, intrigued.

Juna and Haein smirked at each other. They had something up their sleeve. Sometimes the two of them were rowdier than me, Yoongi, and Jae combined.

"I learned how to pick locks," Haein said. 

The three of us perked up. This seemed reckless. And fun. 

"What were you thinking?" I asked. I knew from experience that Haein always came up with the most exciting ideas. 

"How'd you like to steal Bbangshin's slushie machine?"

It was dumb. But to us it was a masterplan. All those years of stealing slushie and now we were advanced enough to steal the entire goddamn machine. My heart raced at the thought of Bbangshin's round face squinting in anger when he opened his stall to see his beloved machine had been taken.

And yes, we really were serious about stealing from the reverend. We lived without fear of God in our hearts. 

"Where the fuck are you even gonna hide it," said Yoongi, ever the voice of reason.

"It's not that big or heavy. I can use my brother's wagon and we can just hide it at Tae's farm," Juna said, glancing over at me with doe eyes, "You are coming right?"

My family owned a giant farm and we had the type of roof that was flat. My mom would go up there to hang the clothes to dry but for me I'd go up there to look at the landscape, the acres of farmland that stood in front of me. It was the life I was destined for, I'd think to myself.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, I'll come. Not like I got anything to study for."