[June 27. 2011: Ryujin]

It was raining that night. Pouring actually, when I heard a couple knocks on the door of our new house. My family and I had just moved in a few hours ago so I was wondering who could be visiting at this hour.

I opened the door even though my parents told me never to let strangers in without telling them. Ten-year-old me was rebellious.

“Hello! You must be our new neighbor! My name is Yuna, you?”

Damn. She was soaked in the rain, yet she grinned like no tomorrow. Powerfully bright, I’d say… Like lightning in a storm.

She reached out her hand, simultaneously dropping the soaked brown paper bag she had been carrying with both of her hands up until now. I couldn’t help but smile. She was quite clumsy as well. I went down on a knee and picked it up.

“Ryujin." I accepted her handshake, "Would you… like to come in?”

“Oh, I’d love to!” She never stopped grinning and it made me smile as well. I asked her to take off her shoes and she gave me those eyes at the doorstep. I noticed she was still soaking wet. She was wearing a bright yellow raincoat (like her personality) but all this time she didn’t wear her hood. 

“Stay right here, I’ll get a towel.”

She nodded, still smiling. I went upstairs and notified my parents of our unexpected neighbor who got us a gift. They quickly got over their worrying about me letting in strangers when I mentioned that she seemed like a young kid who only wanted to welcome us. I went back downstairs and ruffled her hair dry. She giggled, “I feel like a dog.”

“A cute one.” I blurted out. She looked at me from under the towel and I swear for a second, my heart stopped. Her eyes were formed into crescents. 

“Uhh… the cake!” She jolted her head to the brown bag next to her feet. My lips formed an ‘o’ and I immediately took it and set it on the dining table. Yuna hung her raincoat and followed after me into the dining room.

“Welcome!!” She grinned, taking a seat. I softly smiled and ripped the soaked brown paper bag. Fortunately, the cake was in a smaller plastic container. It was a pink heart-shaped cake with the words, “Welcome! From Shin Family”

“Your last name is Shin too?” I laughed.

She also burst out in laughter, “Yeah!! Omo, we’re so similar… unnie?” She gauged to see if that was the right way of calling me.

I tilted my head, “What year were you born?”

“2003!”

“Then I am your unnie. By 2 years actually, hehe.” 

“Oooooh… then you…” She held out her fingers and gasped as she got to folding her pinky, “You have two digits in your age, unnie! That’s so cool…”

I giggled and pinched her cheek (lightly, unlike how the adults do it), “You’ll get it in two years, just wait. You’ll be a cool kid soon.”

[September, 2013: Yuna]

Two years later, I didn’t become a cool kid as Ryujin promised me.