Why doesn't Elmon talk to anyone?
Does he really not have any friends?
Thinking about these questions, I reached home. As soon as I entered, I saw the table full of food, and it instantly made me happy. I hugged my mother tightly and thanked her. After a while, my father returned from the office and joined us for dinner.
After finishing the meal, I went to my room to do my homework. While studying, I suddenly remembered that the day after tomorrow was Minsu's birthday. Without wasting any time, I called Kavin, and we started planning how to celebrate it.
After discussing for a while, we decided to surprise Minsu at the school playground. Since the next day was the weekend, Kavin and I went shopping to buy her a gift. After looking around, we chose a pair of sneakers that we thought she would love.
As we were leaving the mall, Kavin suddenly noticed Elmon outside. He pointed it out to me, and I saw Elmon walking toward us. I happily went up to him and said,
"What a coincidence, Elmon! What are you doing here?"
"I had some work," he replied.
Then I asked, "Are you done now? Do you want to join us at a coffee shop?"
Before he could answer, Kavin put his arm around Elmon's shoulder and said, "Of course he'll come."
Surprisingly, Elmon didn't refuse.
The three of us went to a coffee shop and started talking about the plan for the next day. I was wondering how we could bring Minsu to the playground without making her suspicious. Just then, Elmon spoke up,
"Can I suggest an idea?"
Kavin and I looked at him in surprise.
"Yeah, tell us," Kavin said curiously.
Elmon smiled slightly and replied, "You'll see tomorrow. Just leave it to me."
Trusting him, we didn't ask any more questions and headed back home. While walking, I said to Kavin,
"Yesterday he was so rude to us… what changed today?"
Kavin shrugged and said, "Maybe he feels sorry about his behavior and wants to make up for it by helping us."
I nodded. "Yeah… that could be it."
Soon, we reached home and said goodbye to each other.
The next morning—it was Minsu's birthday—I was extremely excited. Kavin and I went to school early without her. When we arrived, we saw that Elmon was already there.
"Good morning," I said.
"Good morning," he replied softly.
Kavin then asked, "Hey bro, you still haven't told us your plan."
Elmon just smiled and said, "Go to the playground and see."
Curious, Kavin and I rushed to the window—and there we saw Minsu standing in the playground!
"How did she get there?" Kavin asked in shock.
Elmon simply said, "I told you to leave it to me."
I smiled and said, "Alright, it's our turn now."
After thanking Elmon, Kavin and I went to the storeroom to get the cake we had hidden earlier. Then we headed to the playground.
From behind, we shouted together, "Happy Birthday!" and started singing.
Minsu turned around—and to our surprise, tears filled her eyes.
"I thought none of you remembered my birthday," she said, her voice trembling.
Kavin laughed and replied, "How could we forget such a special day? After all, we're friends!"
Without wasting time, we asked her to cut the cake. Seeing the cake, I could hardly control my excitement.
Then Elmon stepped forward, wished Minsu, and handed her a gift box.
"I'm sorry for yesterday… to you, and to Saba and Kavin as well," he said.
After that, Kavin and I gave her our gift. Minsu opened it and became incredibly happy seeing the sneakers.
"I've wanted these for so long! Thank you so much!" she said.
After celebrating, we all headed back to class.
I sat quietly for a while, then looked at Elmon. Slowly, I extended my hand and said,
"Can we be friends from now on?"
Elmon looked at me, smiled gently, and nodded.
Seeing that, I felt truly happy.
Maybe we were wrong about him.
Even if he's a bit introverted… he's actually very kind.
And from that day on… a new chapter began.