"Eomma!" five year old Han Chaeyeon ran to her waiting mother excitedly, "I made a new friend in school today!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Mm! His name is Jaehwannie and he has a reaaaaaally big nose!"

Chaeyeon's mother chuckled at her daughter's words, "that's a very special description of your new friend. Did he move from somewhere else?"

Chaeyeon nodded, "he said...Cheon......."

"Chuncheon? Bucheon? Incheon?" her mother offered.

"I can't remember..." Chaeyeon pouted.

"It's alright, you can ask him again tomorrow."

"Okay!"

----

"Lee Jaehwan!" ten year old Chaeyeon turned to glare at her seatmate and best friend.

Said boy was laughing at his own April Fool's prank on his friend, involving a intricately wrapped cookie box filled with beetles. He only dared to pull such a joke on Chaeyeon because he knew she wasn't afraid of bugs.

Chaeyeon pushed past him with the box in hand and headed for the school's garden, Jaehwan following behind her. She set the box down and gently removed the pair of beetles, releasing them back to nature.

"Live a long life, you guys! Don't get caught by this moron again!"

"Hey!" Jaehwan protested.

"You," Chaeyeon turned to him, "stop catching all these innocent creatures."

"Fine, I won't do it again. Promise," Jaehwan held out his pinky.

She pushed his hand away, "I believe you. C'mon, let's go back to class."

Chaeyeon walked back to their classroom, assuming that Jaehwan was behind her. And then she heard him yelling her name in a panicked tone. Before she could react, Chaeyeon was pulled away and that person shielded her with their body. A loud crash was heard in the next second; neither of them moved. When Chaeyeon registered what had just happened, she slowly turned and realized it was Jaehwan who was shielding her, and she caught sight of what had fallen – a medium-sized bonsai pot.

"Are you okay?" Jaehwan asked in a soft voice.

She nodded slowly, heart racing at the fact that she was almost hit by the heavy fallen object.

"Wh-what about you...?" her eyes scanned her best friend's face.

Jaehwan tried to smile, but then he suddenly collapsed.

"Jaehwan-ah!"

It was then Chaeyeon realized that he was bleeding; the pot had hit him on his back.

"What happened here?!" a teacher came running towards them.

"Seonsaengnim!" Chaeyeon cried, "my friend..."

The teacher noticed the bleeding boy and hurriedly dialled for an ambulance.

"Jaehwan-ah...please wake up..." Chaeyeon was unable to stop the tears flowing.

She held onto his hand tightly all the way to the hospital, silently praying to the heavens that her best friend would be alright.

Jaehwan was rushed to the ER upon arriving at the hospital. Chaeyeon felt so helpless and restless as she waited outside.

"Chaeyeon-ah!" she heard her mother's voice moments later.

"Eomma!" Chaeyeon ran to her mother, throwing her arms around the older woman as she sobbed, “Jaehwan…he…Jaehwannie…”

"Shh, it's okay. Jaehwan's gonna be okay," her mother soothed.

It was another forty-five minutes before the doctor finally emerged from the room.

"Doctor!" Chaeyeon stood, "how is my friend doing?"

"Don't worry, it's just external injuries. He's lucky he wasn't hit on the head," the doctor assured, "is there a guardian I could speak to?"

"I am their teacher," the teacher who accompanied them spoke.

"Please come with me," the doctor led him away.

The door opened again to reveal a couple nurses wheeling Jaehwan out of the room on a bed.

"Jaehwan-ah!"

"He will be moved to the ward now, and he needs to be kept under observation for the next two days. Is there a family member or guardian taking care of the administration?"

"Yes, his teacher has gone with the doctor," Chaeyeon's mother replied.

**

Jaehwan didn’t wake up until about three hours later.

“Jaehwan?” Chaeyeon softly called when she felt his fingers move in her hand.

The boy slowly opened his eyes and his eyes wandered around before landing on Chaeyeon. He also caught sight of her mother on the chair beside her, sleeping.

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

Chaeyeon shook her head as she started crying again.

“That’s a relief,” Jaehwan smiled, “as long as you’re not hurt.”

Chaeyeon’s mother stirred awake; her eyes widened upon seeing that Jaehwan had regained consciousness.

“Jaehwan-ah, are you feeling alright?” the elder woman asked, concerned etched all over her face.

The boy nodded, “I’m fine, ahjumma. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you,” Chaeyeon’s mother patted his hand, “for saving Chaeyeon.”

“As long as Chaeyeonnie is safe, everything else doesn’t matter.”

----

"Rise and shine~sleepyhead!" Jaehwan's voice floated into her ears.

Eighteen year old Han Chaeyeon slowly forced her eyes open and was greeted by her best friend's goofy smile. She wasn't going to let him know how it made her heart skip a beat.

"Gosh," she pushed him away, "what a face to wake up to."

"Hey!" Jaehwan pouted, "you have no idea how the girls are all gushing over my cuteness!"

"Yeah, yeah" she replied, feigning uninterest, "they all need an eye checkup, apparently."

"Tsk. Get up now, unless you wanna be late for class. I'm gonna go help ahjumma in the kitchen!"

Chaeyeon nodded and shooed her best friend out of the room, before getting up to prepare for school.

She didn't know when it happened, but Chaeyeon suddenly realized one day that she had developed feelings for her goofy best friend. She was determined to hide it from him, because she was afraid of how he would react if he found out. For Chaeyeon, she was contented with having him by her side as her best friend.

Chaeyeon went out of her room and into the kitchen to find Jaehwan joking around with her mother. She smiled at the sight and wondered how it would be if he was a permanent part of her life. The thought of it alone made her face warm.

“Chaeyeonnie!” Jaehwan’s voice brought her back to reality.

“Better get going now, kids. You’re running a little behind time!”

“See you later, ahjumma!” Jaehwan waved and pulled Chaeyeon along.

“You don’t have to wait for me today,” Chaeyeon said, “I have rehearsals till 6.”

Her best friend nodded, “how long is it till the play?”

“About a month,” she sighed, “everyone’s getting nervous.”

“My Chaeyeonnie will do an awesome job for sure!” Jaehwan ruffled her hair and grinned.

She bit back the smile that was threatening to blossom on her face and ducked her head; Jaehwan would never know how much she loved it when he called her his Chaeyeonnie.

**

“Bye! See you guys tomorrow!” Chaeyeon waved goodbye to her drama club members as they separated at the crossroad.

She plugged in her earphones – a gift from Jaehwan for her thirteenth birthday – and started on her way home. Rehearsals had run over time and it was already almost 9 by the time they ended. The neighbourhood was already quiet; the local stores in the area usually close early. Chaeyeon hummed to every song that came on her music player as she walked. It was a playlist