lunchbox

"You're late." ChangMin complained as JaeJoong sat down across from him.

"Stop complaining old man." JaeJoong retorted.

"Wait, were you late cause you were doing something to those two?" ChangMin asked curiously.

JaeJoong just shrug his shoulders and opened up his backpack.

"Yah! Tell me, did you do something to those two?" ChangMin asked again.

"Yah! I'm older than you, don't use that tone of voice with me." JaeJoong explained.

"If only you'd tell me, I wouldn't have to," ChangMin was interrupted by a loud shriek.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" JunSu let out a high pitch cry from a few tables away from JaeJoong and ChangMin. All the kids gathered around JunSu's table.

"What is it?" YooChun asked his friend.

"It's a..... a....." JunSu couldn't believe what he was looking at.

"It's a goldfish!" YooChun yelled as he pulled his friend's lunch box over. "How'd it get in your food?"

"I don't know!" JunSu started to tear up. In a matter of seconds he was crying like a little baby.

"Move out of the way kids." The teacher made her way up to JunSu. "Why'd you scream JunSu?" she asked as she kneeled down to JunSu's height.

"There's a goldfish in his rice." One of the kids answered."There's a gold......fish?" The teacher quickly stood up and pulled the lunch box over. "Oh my! How'd this get in here?"

"I don't know!" JunSu kept on crying.

ChangMin was behind the other kids trying to get a look at the goldfish when he realized that JaeJoong wasn't anywhere near him, but he was still seated at their table eating his rice and kimchi. Normally JaeJoong would be the first person trying to get a look at the goldfish. Something was wrong with this picture. ChangMin made his way back to their table and sat down across from JaeJoong.

"You! You did it, didn't you?" ChangMin asked.

"Did what?" JaeJoong replied as he stuffed more kimchi into his mouth.

"I told you not to do anything to them." ChangMin pulled JaeJoong's kimchi container away.

"Yah!" JaeJoong was quick and pulled it back. "I didn't do anything to them. I only did it to one of them." JaeJoong covered his mouth and laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Who did this?" Asked the teacher. Everyone was called back into class 15 minutes early because of the goldfish incident. JunSu stood next to the teacher still wiping his eyes.

JaeJoong sat quietly as the teacher continued to talk about responsibility and so forth.

"If no one takes responsibility for their actions then the whole class will have to be punished." The teacher warned. "I'll give you until the end of the school day to come forward, until then, everyone turn to chapter 5 and read the whole chapter. And complete all the questions at the end of the chapter and turn them in."

The whole class seemed to be angry that they were being punished. JaeJoong could see it. If no one was to come forward JunSu would be picked on for the entire month by everyone. He laughed to himself.

"There is 15 minutes left of today's school day. And no one has come forward yet, therefore I have no choice but to keep everyone here for an extra hour. Also I'll double your homework for tonight." The teacher threatened.

"I'm going to miss power rangers." A student blurted out. Everyone was mad and frustrated.

"Who did it?" Another student asked the friends behind his desk.

JaeJoong hearing all his classmates complaining started to feel bad. He told himself that he couldn't confess, if he did JunSu and YooChun would be happy to see him being punished. No matter what he wasn't going to confess! He decided to read his comic book that he had in his backpack. He pulled his comic book out and turned to the page he had left off last night. To his surprise there was a little piece of paper in the book.

"JaeJoong-ah, don't stay up so late to read comic book everynight. Don't you remember you can't be late to pick up ChangMin for school? Don't make mommie worry for you." -Mommie

"Mom" JaeJoong mouthed. He looked up at his teacher who was sitting at her desk now. And he looked at his mom's little note. "Mom would not be proud of me if she was ever to find out that I didn't take responsibility for my own actions" he thought. Without thinking he stood up. Placed his mother's note in his pocket and his comic book back in his backpack. He walked up to the teacher's desk and stopped right in front of her.

"Teacher, I did it" he said.

"Huh?" the teacher looked up.

"I was the one that placed the fish in JunSu's rice." JaeJoong's little hand and fingers held onto his mother's note in his pocket.

"You really did it?" the teacher asked.

JaeJoong nodded.

Everyone looked up at him and gasped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JaeJoong now sat at his desk as he waited for his teacher to return from the principal's office.

"JaeJoong!" it was his mother who was standing at the door.

"Mom!" he was shocked to see her.

"Come here," she ordered.

JaeJoong got up and grabbed his backpack. He walked over to the door where his mother stood with her arms crossed. "Mother, I'm really sorry," he said.

"JaeJoong, I didn't raise you up like this. What is wrong with you?" his mother's eyes were swollen and red.

"I'm sorry," JaeJoong apologized realizing what he had done. He looked up at his mom's eyes and gulped. He figured he had hurted his mom by his actions or else his mom wouldn't have cried.

"We have a lot to talk about when we get home," she told her young son.

"Yes mam," JaeJoong answered obediently.

"How could you do that to your friend?" his mom continued as they got passed the school gate.

"He's not my friend. He always picks on me and ChangMin," JaeJoong explained.

"But he is your classmate. That makes him your friend. You shouldn't do that to anyone," she explained.

"He's really mean mom," JaeJoong explained.

"Don't argue with me JaeJoong," his mom warned.

JaeJoong lowered his head and just walked quietly. All of a sudden he stopped.

"What's wrong?" his mom asked.

"ChangMin! I was supposed to meet him when school got out!" he shouted forgetting about what he had done when he remembered about ChangMin.

"Don't worry, Mrs Shim picked him up early from school today. I think she had to take him to go make passports or something," his mom explained.

"Passports?" JaeJoong asked.

"Yes, passports. Mr Shim was just given orders to go to England so Mrs Shim and ChangMin will be going along too," she explained further.

"Going to England?" JaeJoong asked. "For how long?"

"I'm not sure but Mrs Shim said it would only be a few days before they had to leave," she explained.

"Mom, I'll meet you back at home," JaeJoong broke his mother's grip from his arm and ran off.

"JaeJoong! JaeJoong-ah! You come back here right now! Your father is waiting at home to talk to you!" she yelled after him but as usual JaeJoong had already disappeared around the corner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"ChangMin!" JaeJoong called as he threw a stick at his buddy's window.

After a few seconds ChangMin stuck his head out of the window. "Ah, JaeJoong!" ChangMin called back.

JaeJoong threw his backpack to ChangMin, who caught it. He then grabbed the bucket that was next to the bush and flipped it upside down and got ontop of it. He grabbed hold of the window sill and pulled himself up. He didn't have any difficulties because he had done this many times.

"I can't believe you confessed," ChangMin laughed at his friend.

"Don't even get me started," JaeJoong hit his buddy on the arm. "I heard from my mom that you're going to Englad?" he asked.

"Yeah, my mom came to get me at school before the bell rang. I was surprised. She took me to make my passport and when we got home she told me to start packing. She said we're leaving in 3 days," ChangMin explained.

"3 days?" JaeJoong asked. He looked around and saw the suitcases on the floor with clothes everywhere. "How many suitcases are you taking man, it's like you're not coming back home," he joked.

"My mom said to be prepared cause she's not sure how long we have to stay there. It might be days, weeks, or months. I'm sure it'll just be days like last time we went to Busan," ChangMin told his friend. He knew in his mind that this was a totally different trip. Busan was only hours away by train, but England was a trip by an airplane.

"Yeah, last time you left I was just getting a chance to breathe without you scolding me like my old man, hopefully you're gone for about a few weeks," JaeJoong joked.

In fact he had actually come to wait for ChangMin at the playground everyday ChangMin was gone. This time JaeJoong felt uneasy seeing so many suitcases. He hoped that his friend was right and that it'd only be days. JaeJoong helped ChangMin pack until Mrs Shim came to knock on the door for dinner. Only then did JaeJoong realize what time it was.

"Shoot! I have to get home!" JaeJoong realized.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. And don't be late!" ChangMin warned.

"I won't be late, because I got suspended for 2 days!" JaeJoong told his friend.

"What? You got suspended?" ChangMin was shocked. "How am I suppose to go to school?"

"I'll have to see what kind of punishment I get from my parents tonight. If they'll let me I'll try to pick you up for school tomorrow," JaeJoong explained.

"Alright, don't talk back to your dad," ChangMin ordered.

"I'll try not to," JaeJoong answered before jumping out of the window.

ChangMin ran to the window and looked after as his friend ran off into the woods. A shortcut they had always used to get from each other's house. Little did these two know that this was the last time they'd get to see each other's young faces.