Although we had been living in the same apartment building, we first met as a homeroom class partner. We always sat together, ate together, and learned together.
Jieun had autism and didn’t talk much. Her face was always stiff, like the wall of a stony mountain, and she never cracked a smile.
It was the second week of our first semester when all of us were busy signing up for the after-school club activities. Not one club wanted her to join. I saw how everyone tried to avoid her, and it broke my heart.
I began to try to figure out what she was interested in, or even better, what she loved. Since she didn’t talk, I decided to make 500 name cards with names of random things written on them: cars, colors, movie titles...etc
She picked up 4 cards: “Camera,” “Star Wars,” “Samsung” and “Taylor Swift.” A lightbulb turned on in my head. I grabbed her hand, ran to the teacher’s room and asked if she could join the filmmaking club as a film editor.
“No. She has to join other clubs that are not full,” Ms. Kim said.
I asked Jieun to wait outside and told Ms. Kim the whole story. I opened the door, looked at Jieun’s nervous eyes, and said “Hello, my fellow editor.”
That was the first time I saw her smile. Since then we became even closer and our friendship continued after our graduation. And, I believe it will be a long, beautiful friendship.
