Work Text:
In the first year of middle school, Lee Seokmin had a crush on a boy.
The boy was a foreign exchange student from China. And he was assigned as the main caretaker for the class pet, a cute little frog the class had named Kermit.
The boy, Seokmin found out, was a latchkey kid. His classmates would murmur and whisper of the rumor: “Seo Myungho walks home all alone.”
—
In the freezing mid-February winter, the class announced their goodbyes and farewells as the school year ended.
But Seokmin wanted to talk to him. just a bit.
So he followed the boy as he walked home alone.
They walked pass what Seokmin thought was the boy's house.
They crossed a river Seokmin didn't know was even there.
They went through a grove of trees, Seokmin thought they were pines, but he wasn't sure.
The boy stopped to buy bungeoppang, so Seokmin waited and bought one for himself when the boy was far enough.
–but just where is Seo Myungho going?
—
Seokmin's legs were aching when they arrived at a vacant lot on the top of a hill, overlooking the city.
Seokmin, who had followed the boy all the way there, witnessed his secret.
A bungeoppang was thrown in the air, and devoured by a giant maw.
The boy Seokmin had a crush on… was raising a monster!
—
Their first year of middle school had just ended, and the winter would gradually turn into spring.
The boy held Seokmin's hand, and with a calm smile, he said: “Keep this a super, duper, forever secret, okay?”
So Seokmin agreed and pinky-promised him.
—
They ran over fields and swam in the river. It was just Seokmin, the boy, and the monster.
They talked endlessly under the unforgettable sunset sky.
They ate brain-freezing ice cream in the cold weather while laughing over it with a snort.
The numbing winter crush made his heart freeze and flutter.
They held each others hands, and got closer, but then–
The boy Seokmin had a crush on… was eaten by his monster!
—
Oh.
Yeah.
He just remembered.
Tomorrow is the first day of their second year in middle school.
—
Seokmin can hear the boy's voice.
The monster laughed.
It was laughing with the boy's voice, Seokmin realized, and the monster took its hand out to him.
“Hey, Minghao, is it really you?”
“That's right, Seokmin, it's me.”
They joined their hands again, ready for the second year of middle school.
—
The school was noisy and full of all kinds of shouts and cries.
The school was just for them now, and Seokmin's heart… began to pound.
They arrived on the school grounds and the sports meet began.
With the sound of a pistol, on your mark, get set, and run! In the obstacle course, they aim for the first place.
As they ate snacks, they wonder where they should go next.
A bungeoppang was thrown in the air, and devoured by a giant maw.
The boy Seokmin had a crush on… was a monster boy!