THE TRANSFER STUDENT

The Truth, Pt. 1

"No, Jungkook-" Jieun was oddly annoyed. Jungkook was in denial right now, wasn't he? "Listen to me- I was the one- I-"

"No, Jieun, really," Jungkook handed Jieun the piece of paper in his hands, his hands trembling slightly.

Jieun, completely confused about what is going on, was suspicious about what secrets the paper could possibly contain, frowning as she unfolded the tiny piece of paper.

It was a letter. A handwritten one, written in black gel ink. Jieun's eyes widened as she recognised the handwriting at once - it was one that she hadn't seen in a long time - the way the y's and g's and j's curled, the way the words were equally spaced out so neatly across the paper, the way smiley faces punctuated sentence, the way it was written in the signature black pen she knew only one person insisted on using in every single exam-

Jieun looked up at Jungkook in complete realisation. "Somi wrote this."

Jungkook nodded, but didn't say a word. He gestured towards the paper, not rushing her, but prompting her to read on. Jieun took one last glance at Jungkook, then looked down at the paper and started to read silently.

"To: Jungkook oppa :)

Oppa, it's been a while hasn't it? :)

How are you? :) Have you been taking good
care of grandma? I hope you have. I miss you
and grandma dearly, and I'm writing to you
to say thank you... and I'm sorry.

Thank you for the past 16 years of my life. For taking care of me, showering me with an endless supply of love, for making up for our lack of parents. After dad and mom left, being the
stupid immature child I was, I blamed them. I blamed you, I blamed everyone I could - everyone except myself. I was so immature, that I left you alone to take care of grandma while I moved to
the house dad and mom left us, completely
cutting off all contact. And for that, I'm sorry.

It was all thanks to you for reconnecting with me
years later. By then, I had grown a little older, a little wiser, but nonetheless, I was still a child. I was way too scared, way too afraid to take the first step.
I was afraid that if I came knocking at your door, you'd just drive me away. But who was I kidding? You aren't that kind of person, oppa. You never were. So you didn't chase me away - you didn't
even have the chance to, because you were the
one who came looking for me first. I cried that
night after we talked for the first time in years, because of how sorry and grateful I was, oppa.
It has always been you - showing me how to
live the right way - by example.

I still remember the time we went fishing
together with mom and dad when we were
young. How old was I then? I can't remember,
it was way too long ago. But I still remember...
how good you were. You kept catching fish after fish, like some professional. Meanwhile, me being the noob I was, I couldn't catch any fish and started crying. You secretly slipped one of your fishes into my bucket for me. That made me so happy, you know? Only years later did I realise that I wasn't the one who caught the fish - it was you who helped me, and made me smile that day.

And that's how it has always been in the past 16 years of my life, oppa. You have always been a blessing, and I am so, so thankful to have you as my brother. Even now, as you receive this letter, I am no longer by your side, but I am still grateful, and I still love you from the bottom of my very heart.