“Ryeowook, I’m back,” Kyuhyun called as he stepped through the doors of the Super Junior dorm. The place was now empty except for him and Ryeowook as all the other members had already moved out. Well, at least the two of them finally had some time to themselves (*cough cough*). Just as Kyuhyun was hanging up his coat, the pitter patter of light footsteps came from behind him, followed by arms wrapping around his waist. The man chuckled and turned his head, only to meet Ryeowook’s gleaming eyes.

“Finally you’re back!” Ryeowook exclaimed, resting his chin on Kyuhyun’s shoulder, “It’s already so late.”

“Sorry, my new musical just started and it’s been a busy day,” Kyuhyun explained, turning to pull Ryeowook into a bear hug. Then, pulling away, he reached over for the paper bag he had carried home.

“Here’s something to make up for my being late,” Kyuhyun handed it to Ryeowook, “I hope you like it.” Eyes full of excitement, Ryeowook’s fingers wrapped around the bag’s handle as he reached in. His hand brushed against something soft. With that, he pulled out an adorable giraffe plush toy. The giraffe was purple in colour with pale yellow spots running across its neck and body. Two tiny, mushroom-like horns stuck out from its head, accompanied by two oval shaped ears. The plushie had a rather round head, a big smile spreading across its snout. With its four stubby legs, the giraffe stood at a height of three apples stacked on top of one another. Ryeowook squealed with delight, hugging his new friend close to his heart.

“I love it!” he breathed, gazing back at Kyuhyun, “Thank you!” Kyuhyun smiled warmly as Ryeowook planted a kiss on his cheek.

Ryeowook was awoken by the sound of soft weeping. Puzzled, he sat upright on his bed, rubbing his sleep-filled eyes. His head turned to where Kyuhyun lay next to him. However, the man was fast asleep, eyes shut. The sobbing came again. Ryeowook pricked his ears, listening closely to the sound. His eyes followed it to the shelf on the right corner of the room. His eyes widened. There on the shelf, where he had left it just before he had gone to bed was his new soft toy giraffe, crying amidst the silence of the night, its tears turning the side of its violet face velvet purple. Eyes narrowed, Ryeowook slipped out of bed and crept over, cautious as not to startle it. However, the giraffe’s ears suddenly shot up at the sound of his footsteps. The soft toy’s head whipped around, eyes landing on Ryeowook. With a terrified scream, it ran to the other side of the shelf on its tiny legs, quickly hiding behind a book. Ryeowook could see its little tail trembling as it stuck out from its hiding place.

“Shhh, shhh it’s okay,” his voice was gentle, “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” Watching the tail’s trembling slowly subside, he reached over and gingerly moved the book aside, revealing the little giraffe. Tears continued to well up in its eyes as it gazed up at Ryeowook. Hands wrapping around its purple body, Ryeowook lifted it up, gently its head.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he soothed, “Why are you crying?” The giraffe sniffled, raising its head.

“My mummy,” it choked, voice high and squeaky like a baby girl, “I need to save my mummy!”

“What happened to your mummy?”

“She-she was taken by King Gruffy of the teddy bears, while she was trying to pick berries for me,” Ryeowook sat back down on the bed, the giraffe on his lap as he listened to its story, “ My mummy and I had been starving for days. Then we came past the teddy bear kingdom. The kingdom forbid any outsider such as us from entering, but there were bushes and bushes of fresh berries all over their land. So my mummy sneaked in trying to get berries for us to eat, but she was caught by the teddy bear soldiers. I managed to escape, but I need to get her back!” Tears started to stream down from its eyes again as its story ended. Ryeowook pursed his lips, trying to digest all that he had heard. After all, it was terribly difficult understanding a story told by a talking soft toy giraffe about its mother and teddy bears at two in the morning.

“I have to save my mummy!” the giraffe whimpered, “But I’m too tiny to do it on my own.” Heart melting at the sight of the little plushie lowering its spotted neck in sadness, Ryeowook made up his mind.

“Let me help you.”

“What?”

“Let me help you rescue your mummy,” the giraffe’s eyes instantly lit up with hope, a bright smile returning to its face.

“Really? You’d help me?” Ryeowook could not help but laugh at the little giraffe’s instant burst of energy. He nodded. The giraffe let out a whoop of joy, bouncing around his lap on its stubby legs, making Ryeowook laugh even more at how much it tickled.

“Thank you! Thank you, mister!”

“Call me Ryeowook,” he shot the plushie a warm smile. The giraffe giggled.

“My name’s Kiki!”

“That’s a very cute name!” Ryeowook said, smiling at the thought of how this little plushie had the exact same name as the other soft toy giraffe sitting in his radio station, “So, Kiki, how do we get to your mummy?” Giving her body a little shake, Kiki leapt off his lap and onto the floor, bouncing over to stand in front a wall. With a twitch of her purple ear, she lowered her head, horns pointed to the wall. All of a sudden, a blast of bright violet light shot out from the little giraffe’s horns, forming a round, swirling portal on the wall, just big enough for Ryeowook to crawl through. He gawked at the little giraffe as she turned back to him.

“Come on! This way!” she called as she bounded into the portal, tail disappearing among the swirls of violet. Ryeowook hesitated for a moment before finally getting down on all fours. He crawled in after the little giraffe, the portal closing behind him.

The fresh, green grass felt soft under his palms as Ryeowook emerged out of the portal behind Kiki. Dusting his hands, he got to his feet. His eyes scanned his surroundings. A vast field stretched as far as the eye could see, hills dotting the horizon. A single dirt path ran across the field in front of them. Ryeowook bent down to pick Kiki up in his arms. His gaze followed the path, only to land on a stone castle a few miles away. A red flag danced in the wind aloft the tallest tower, the picture of a teddy bear painted on it.

“That's King Gruffy’s castle,” Kiki explained, “My mummy’s in there somewhere-”

“Hey! You two!” the little giraffe’s words were cut short by shouts from behind them. Puzzled, Ryeowook turned, only to find two teddy bears sauntering over towards them. The two bears looked like the typical fluffy teddy bears one would find at a toy shop. In other words, they were “”, apart from the brown fur covering their body. In their paws, however, were little spears, about the length of half a broomstick, which were just a little taller than the bears themselves. Ryeowook covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter at how adorable the teddy bears looked. One of them shot him a glare.

“Hey! What’s so funny?!