It was a bright and sunny day to those who came to the playground. Especially the kids and some of those who were accomponied by their parents. It was a perfect day and weather for the little ones to play and let of some steam. Laughters and giggles of small boys and girls could be heard echoing in the playground and it really was a pleasant thing to hear.

Including one little girl who definitely was no exception. She was running around the park in mirth as peals of laughter could be heard escaping from . She was running towards no specific direction, in fact as she kept going anywhere her tiny feet were taking her. She was full of the joys of spring as it can be clearly seen on her face.

Even other parents who came to the playground with their own children couldn’t help but to smile at the girl who was having the time of her life. She would go to the see-saw, the slides and the swings and practically had a whale of a time on her own.

Even so, the girl was not exactly alone. Behind her could be heard the sound of an older boy calling for her to slow her pace down as he was trying to keep up with her. Being the happy and hyper girl she was, the little one ignored the latter’s calling and kept going wherever she wanted to go. She knew that sooner or later the boy will still manage to get to her in the end. She couldn’t even run faster than him.

“JiHyun ! Slow down or you’ll fall !” The boy called out again and tried to catch his breath as he got closer to the little girl named JiHyun. He was already worned out from chasing after her and he couldn’t believe that she could run that fast without him knowing. He just diverted his eyes away from her for not more than ten seconds but the next thing he knew, the girl already ran towards the playground, leaving him dumbfounded.

The girl named JiHyun then finally slowed her pace as she felt pity towards the boy who kept chasing after her. As she was about to turn to look at the older boy, she tripped on a stone that she didn’t notice and fell on the grass.

“JiHyun !” The older boy called out and quickly made his way towards her. JiHyun, in the mean time was on the verge of crying as her knee stung a little when she fell. She was holding on to her knee when a hand reached out to her. JiHyun looked up and saw a beautiful girl was smiling down at her, while reaching her hand out.

JiHyun didn’t blink and agaped a little once she took in the sight of the girl in front of her. She’s so pretty, JiHyun thought. The girl then gently grabbed JiHyun’s hand as she helped her up, since JiHyun kept staring at her without moving. Both of them were about the same age, except that JiHyun was shorter and a bit thinner than the girl.

Smile still hadn’t left the girl’s face even though JiHyun kept staring at her. There was something about the girl that had JiHyun mesmerized. Other than the obvious such as the outfit that the girl wore and the way her smooth hair seemed to be swaying together with the wind; JiHyun looked at her and thought of her like an angel who came down to help her.

“I told you not to run ! See what happens when you refuse to listen to me ! You can’t keep running off from me like that !” The boy from earlier nagged once he was standing right in front of JiHyun and took a look at JiHyun’s knee. It wasn’t injured that badly. Just a minor scratch was all.

JiHyun then snapped out of her thoughts once she heard the boy’s voice. Her eyes turned watery immediately and said to the boy apologetically, “DaeHyun oppa, I’m sorry.” She hung her head low as JiHyun hated it when the boy in front of her got angry at her.

The boy, named DaeHyun softened when he saw how guilty JiHyun looked and his frustration towards her earlier was gone. He knew that JiHyun will always get super excited each time they went to the playground. The girl just couldn’t help it.

He let out a small sigh and said comfortingly, “It’s alright, JiHyun ah. Next time, listen to me. Okay ? I don’t want you to get hurt if you keep running off like that.” JiHyun nodded and her face brightened a little when she was certain that DaeHyun was not angry. It wasn’t like he will get mad at her in the first place. DaeHyun had never gotten angry at her for her whole life.

DaeHyun then turned to the girl who had helped JiHyun earlier. The girl was just watching them from the side with her hands kept behind her back. She was amused by the way DaeHyun was talking to JiHyun and she was touched by how DaeHyun comforted his sister instead of scolding her like some other people would.

“Thank you. For helping my sister. She’s a naughty girl, that is. Always likes to run off like that.” DaeHyun said as he thanked the girl. The girl only nodded her head and threw them both a smile. JiHyun pouted at DaeHyun’s words and the boy laughed seeing his sister getting angry at him.

“I was just kidding, JiHyun ah. You’re a good girl, really. Just don’t do it again if you don’t want me to call you naughty again.” DaeHyun said as he looked down at his sister. JiHyun just grinned and nodded her head in understanding while promising that she won’t do it again.

“Can I .. join you play ?” The girl suddenly asked while looking at DaeHyun and JiHyun. It was the first time they heard her talking and both of them were shocked to hear how soft her voice was.

JiHyun nodded happily then at the girl’s question and said excitedly, “Yes ! Of course you can ! She can join us, right oppa ?” JiHyun turned to her brother, as if asking for his confirmation. She was already holding the girl’s hand as the girl too was delighted that she got to play with them.

DaeHyun knew that it won’t do any harm to let the girl play with them so he just nodded without any hesitation. He could also see that JiHyun liked her so much as she kept staring at the girl while they were playing in the sand box, building sand castles. To be true, DaeHyun knew why JiHyun was captivated by the girl.

JiHyun never had any friends, as no kids would want to play with her. The same thing actually went for DaeHyun. Most kids would stay away from them whenever they saw the two siblings because of their old and ragged clothes, which told them so much that they were from a poor family. Even so, it didn’t mean that DaeHyun and JiHyun were dirty. They were absolutely clean, just that their old fashioned clothes let them down.

But that day, the girl who came out of nowhere asked whether she could play together with JiHyun and DaeHyun, despite how poor they looked and the girl herself looked very presentable. Of course, with no second to waste, JiHyun would definitely agree to the idea as she had finally made a friend.

DaeHyun joined them to play occasionally as he kept watching over his sister the whole time, not wanting her to get any more injuries while playing. He could be a bit over-protective at a seven year old age but he couldn’t help but to make sure his younger sister was always alright.

The girls were laughing as they were playing together and that made DaeHyun himself smile too. He was glad that the girl managed to make JiHyun smile even though to be honest JiHyun did smile a lot.

The three of them played together in the sand box until the girl’s mother came to take her home. The girl stood up and waved DaeHyun and JiHyun goodbye as she walked towards her mother who was waiting by the car. JiHyun sadly waved back while watching her figure walked away. DaeHyun who was sitting beside her, shook his head at JiHyun’s sudden change of behaviour and patted her head.

“We should also go home now, JiHyun ah.” DaeHyun said as he pulled his sister up. Both of them then walked towards a pipe and washed their hands before leaving the playground and made their way home.

None of them said a word during the journey when suddenly JiHyun tugged DaeHyun’s sleeve. DaeHyun looked down at his sister and asked, “What is it, JiHyun ?” JiHyun rubbed her eyes sleepily and yawned. “Oppa, I’m tired. Can you give me a ride on your back ?” JiHyun asked as she tried to keep her eyes opened.

DaeHyun nodded and knelt down on the ground as JiHyun climbed on his back. His sister was just a year younger than him but she weighed so much like a three year old