He always wondered why the boy seemed familiar, why he'd always be smiling around him. Taemin knew he'd seen him before. Despite the now perfectly shaped cheek bones, slender body, sharp feline eyes and perfect succulent lips - there was no mistaking it. The same act, the same personality, the same heart-warming smile of his Umma. Key. Kibum. He was his first love and it took him this long to realize?

 

 

Flashback

 

 

The day was bright, and unusually warm for the late fall season. Most of the children at the day care were out playing in the falling leaves that were raked up into piles. But there were some that were inside, favoring playing indoors instead.

 

Little Kibum was one of them.

 

He sat at one side of the common room with his best friend, Jonghyun, who was a year older than Kibum. But Kibum couldn't focus on the cars that were in front of them. Every time he tried, his feline eyes kept looking up to the other side of the room –where the only other child there was sitting.

 

He was the new kid, and odd looking at that. He was as pale as a sheet of paper, and with a long fluffy jumper on that was a creamy white, some denim shorts and too-big socks of the same shade. He had thick, straight hair, too, which his little fingers would occasionally come up to play with. Kibum thought his name was like... Taeyeon, or something. It started with Tae, he knew.

 

But it wasn't any of that which held little Kibum's attention. It was his look.

 

The kid had deep eyes. Eyes that had slight marks at the corners as if he'd been smiling all his life, but that couldn't be it. He was so quiet and kept to himself. His eyes always seemed to stare at absolutely nothing. He'd only been here for a few days now, but Kibum couldn't remember him talking. Not one single word being uttered. The kid looked like he might be three. He was extremely small. Those hazel eyes never seemed to run dry of tears.

 

So long as Kibum had seen him, he was always crying. And always clutching on to this little teddy bear of his.

 

In all of Kibum's six years of life, he'd never seen a kid be quite so sad. Well... except maybe himself, when his pet kitten had died and left him alone without any friends for a while. But besides that, never.

 

He turned back to Jonghyun, who was driving a red muscle toy car across the wood floor with one hand and had a plastic T-rex in the other. Jonghyun was a nice kid, who didn't talk to many other people but Kibum. He always wore the same baggy cardigans, and had a necklace loosely hanging around his neck. He always wore that, too. But it was too big for him, so he ended up losing it and panicking a lot. He was a little bit weird... but little Kibum didn't mind. He reminded him of a puppy.

 

"Jongie.. you see that kid over there?" He asked in a hushed voice, as if afraid that if he spoke too loudly, the new kid would hear him.

 

Jonghyun looked up, first at Kibum with his wide eyes, then over at the other boy in the room. "Yeah, I see 'em, why?" He asked.

 

"I wunner why he's always so sad..." Kibum said, flicking his own toy car across the floor. "Doesn' he like bein' here?"

 

Jonghyun shrugged, his loose cardigan slipping off one of his shoulders. "I unno." He looked down again, as his own way of saying to end the conversation.

 

But it wasn't so easy for Kibum to do. Try as he might, he couldn't stop his eyes from moving to the sad little boy on the other side of the room that he knew absolutely nothing about. He wanted to know more, and what's more, he wanted to try and make him not sad anymore.

 

Finally, he couldn't take it any longer and he stood up, turning and starting over to the other side of the room. He heard Jonghyun's faint calling of 'Bummie!' after him, but he didn't listen.

 

Once he reached the other side, he sat down next to the thin boy, who's glassy eyes never moved from the floor. Kibum was surprised there wasn't a puddle on the ground from how much the boy had been crying.

 

"Hi..." Kibum said quietly.

 

The crying child looked over at him quietly, taking in the way Kibum looked, and then looked down at the ground again. Kibum huffed, "What's yuu name?" He asked, trying hard to get him to talk.

 

It was a long minute before the kid finally answered, in a small, broken voice. "Taemin..." He said.

 

Kibum's brow scrunched together, "Taemin?"

 

The boy, Taemin, nodded his head. "I'm Taemin..." He said again, starting to cry. He acted as if it was something he was holding onto for dear life. 

 

Kibum daringly reached over and placed a hand on Taemin's shoulder "Taemin," Kibum repeated. "I'm Kibum, Jongie calls me 'Bummie'. We can be friends, okay? Is dat why yuu so sad...? 'Cause yuu don' have any friends yet? How old are you?" He suddenly wanted to know.

 

Taemin looked at him with those big, glassy eyes and didn't speak for a long minute. "I'm four." He answered, but then looked away again. "My Umma din' wan' me...She lef' me today." He sniffled again, rubbing away a tear as it rolled down his cheek with the back of his sleeve. "I don have ne-one now..."

 

Kibum's look fell when he heard that. He didn't know what to say about that. He could understand, though, that Taemin was lonely.

 

Suddenly, he got an idea.

 

"Hey!" He said as his grand grin suddenly plastered itself on his beaming face. "An idea! Les' get married!"

 

Taemin looked over at him, surprise written on his features. "Wha?" He asked quietly.

 

Little Kibum's smile only increased, "Les' get married! Dat's what big people do when dey don' wanna be lonely, deh? My Umma an Appa were married befow!" It sounded like the perfect idea.

 

Taemin blinked, obviously surprised, "I don' know how to be mawwied." The young boy said quietly.

 

But this was already good, since Kibum hadn't seen any more tears falling down his already flushed face. If he could do this, then maybe he could make little Tae happy.

 

"I do!" Kibum said with joy, standing up –Taemin's dark eyes following him. "All we need is a priesh to marry us." He explained.

 

Taemin looked confused, "A priesh?"

 

"Yeah!" He looked around the room, his eyes instantly falling on Jonghyun, who he'd abandoned and yet was playing with his toy cars like he had been before. Normally, this might annoy Kibum, but right now he was too happy about getting to be married.

 

"Jongie can!" He said, going over to his best friend after saying it. "Jongie, Jongie, Jongie, JJongie, Dinooo! I'm gonna get married."

 

The other looked up, "Married? To the new kid? Why?" He asked, his eyes flicking from Kibum to Taemin jealously –who was still watching Kibum in confusion.

 

"Because he's lonely, an' we can't jus' let him be lonely! So we gonna get married. You haveta be the priesh." He said, grabbing Jonghyun before he could agree or disagree and hauling him up, and over to where they'd been.

 

"This is Jongie. Jonghyuu...Jonghyun..." Kibum introduced. "He's my best friend, but for righ now he can be our priesh." Kibum then took Taemin's arms and stood him up as well, which made the boy tense up –his small fingers beginning to tug on his fluffy jumper again.

 

"But I don' know how to be a priesh!" Jonghyun objected, his eyes wide.

 

Kibum moved to stand next to Taemin, a huge smile on his face. "You just have...to marry us!" He said, glaring a bit at Jonghyun for not knowing these things.

 

Jonghyun looked at each of them for a couple moments before he finally asked, "Um...Bummie, do you wanna be married to...Taemin?"

 

Little Kibum nodded, "I do!"

 

The dino looked then to Taemin, "Taemin, do you wanna be married to Bummie?"

 

Taemin was the one who paused and had to look over at Kibum quickly. "I...I do." He said with a nod of his own, then looking back at Jonghyun.

 

Jonghyun nodded with a slightly forced smile, "Then...I guess you're married no-."

 

"Wait!" Kibum suddenly cut in. "We can't be married yet."

 

Taemin's smiling eyes looked questioningly at him, "Why naw?"

 

"We need rings." He told him, "When people get married, dey give each other rings, like as gifsh. I guess to promise naw to be lonely nu mow." He looked around. "But… I dunno where to get you a ring."

 

Jonghyun suddenly began digging in his pocket, "Here. I got this taday from dah store." He pulled out a small plastic container that had two silver, plastic rings in it. "You can use 'em." He said, handing them over after taking them out of the container.

 

Kibum nodded, "Thanks, Jongie!" He handed one to Taemin, "Put it on your left hand. Das' your married hand!" He told him. Taemin nodded, his hair bobbing slightly, and did as told - slipping it on one of the small fingers on his left hand.

 

"There." Jonghyun said with a smile, more genuine this time. "Now you're married!"

 

Kibum smiled as well and turned to Taemin, "Now I gotta kiss you!"

 

Taemin blinked, "Why...?" He asked; his eyes large and full of curiousity.

 

"'Cause, it's jus' another promise to naw be lonely." He said. "But no kisses on the lips. Those're only for Umma's to do." He gave a small, sick look –the way little boys did at the mention of girls, and kisses and what not.

 

Taemin nodded. "Okay..." He waited, and didn't move.

 

Kibum was quick about it, kissing Taemin lightly on his warm cheek before pulling back –a prominent blush on his own cheeks now. "Dere! Now we're offishully married!" His eyes were only on Taemin. "Now you don't haveta be lonely ne-more, cause you have me, the Key to yow lock!"

 

"Key..." Taemin nodded, and this time, when he did, he gave a smile –the first one Kibum had seen since he'd seen Taemin. With that, he knew, he'd made Taemin happy. Not only that, but he knew that neither of them would have to be lonely anymore.

 

Even if they didn't have their parents on these days; they would still have each other.