FIVE.

Ham Jungmin’s boisterous laughter boomed outside of the Park’s family home as he wrestled his mini-me towards the house. Little Eunjung giggles and squirms, kicking her little arms and feet as her dad takes her to the neighbor’s for a daily dose of fun. But little Eunjung wanted to start the fun earlier, so she tries to climb her father’s back, managing to climb to his shoulders when he takes her and tickles her in his arms. Eunjung squeals in alarm, squirming even more in her father’s arms. Though, he was too unaware and busy trying to tickle his mini-me all the while ensuring her safety for her not to fall, that he never saw it coming. He never saw how he angered a little girl, of his daughter’s age, ready to fight just because she had heard her friend’s squeal of distress.

It was that when a little ball of fire comes rushing out, her sharp eyes darting towards the father and daughter, her arms crossed ready to breathe fire on to whomever was making her best friend scream. Eunjung screams again as Jungmin tickles her, and this had to be the final straw! No one dares to torture her Jungie that way! No way is she letting this pass without putting a fight.

Jungmin could only look up to realize the little girl hurrying up to them. Mistaking her advances to that of enthusiasm and excitement, Mr. Ham smiles and holds his squirming daughter firmly in his arms to greet the advancing child.

“Hey there Jiyeo—Ouch!” Jungmin groans out, carefully putting his daughter down who merely laughs at his suffering shin as she stood beside a fuming little girl in pony tails huffing heavy breaths and eyeing him up. Eunjung laughs more as Jiyeon shields her away from her own father.

“Why are you choking Jungie?!” Jungmin gapes in surprise as the little girl screams at him, taken aback at the accusations after entertaining his very much active daughter. “You can’t hurt Jungie you meanie uncle!” little Jiyeon kicks her tiny little foot again.

The poor father groans in distress, dodging away as his daughter laughs at him even more from behind her raging friend.

“Jiyeonnie! What are you doing?” Park Sooyeon, Jiyeon’s mother, exclaims in horror as Jiyeon flails her arms, her hands closed into fists, ready to attack the surprised father away from his own daughter.

“Hello Mrs. Park,” Eunjung politely greets, as recently taught by her mother, remembering how they had tried to correct her over this matter over and over again. And the little girl had to remember to ask her father for a treat for being good at the back of her mind for such a job well done. She’s surely going to brag about it later on!

“Hello Eunjung,” Mrs. Park greets the little girl in fondness, caressing the girl’s long hair, before turning to her daughter who hadn’t stopped her advances. “Jiyeon, don’t’ hurt Mr. Ham.”

Jiyeon stops her attacks but turns to her mother with a frown, her finger pointing at poor ole Mr. Ham, saying, “He was hurting my Jungie!”

Her said Jungie had already gotten bored though. The little girl was eyeing the door to the Park’s residence as she screams, “Last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg,” and runs away. Jiyeon, despite being caught in surprise immediately chases after the girl screaming behind her of cheating.

Jiyeon hadn’t managed to chase her best friend who willingly stopped in front of another girl drawing on the floor. Eunjung smiles seeing her friend who looked very pretty in a pink dress and a flower patterned headband on her head, and joins in coloring too, making little Jiyeon stomp her way to the two and take away the little girl in pink’s crayon.

“Why did you do that for?” Their friend screams in her shrilly voice.

“I just wanted to!”

“You can’t do that!”

“I can!”

“Can’t!”

“CAN!”

“I’ll tell Mr. Park!”

“Daddy loves me more!” Jiyeon screams in argument.

“Why are you two fighting?” Eunjung asks clueless, now holding several crayons in her hand. “Jiyeonnie, wanna color with me?”

Jiyeon ignores the other girl once again and draws with Eunjung.

“I was drawing my wedding!” The girl screams at the two on the floor, picking up her thrown crayon once again, clearly annoyed by her friend’s behavior earlier.

Jiyeon smiles and then chuckles, already forgetting whatever she did to her friend when she sees her friend’s forgotten drawing, and asks “Minnie, why are you drawing two girls? Where is the groom?”

“I don’t like boys! Girls are prettier; so two girls should marry,” Hyomin proudly exclaims, hopping back to her drawing. Her other two friends crawl their way to her with much curiosity, Eunjung’s drawing of a supposedly superhero now forgotten and Jiyeon’s careless doodles was immediately pushed away.

“I’m going to marry Ms. Hwang,” Eunjung suddenly exclaims, revealing her crush. She giggles to herself as the thoughts of their kindergarten teacher who always loved wearing dresses and looked like a princess floated in her innocent mind. Their school teacher had a nice voice when they sang their ABCs, she has nice pretty red hair and she was always nice to her.

“Why her,” Jiyeon asks, appalled. “She’s not pretty.”

“She’s pretty!” Eunjung argues back.

“She isn’t! I’m prettier!” Jiyeon huffs in annoyance, her argument seemingly futile to Eunjung’s determination though.

“Teacher Hwang is mine! I’m going to marry her! And she’s beautiful!” Hyomin whines and takes her paper and waves it around. “I drew her first! See! That’s me in a white pretty dress. That’s teacher in a white pretty dress and I drew her beautifully too! Look at her hair!”

Eunjung couldn’t help but pout as the stick figure’s hair Hyomin drew resembled teacher Hwang’s pretty hair. It was obviously Miss Hwang. And Hyomin got to draw her first. Little Eunjung couldn’t help but sulk and think to herself how else she could beat Minnie. And her little mind worked hard as a light bulb practically appeared on her head.

“Then let’s make a promise!”

“What promise?”

“Promise that I will marry first before you,” Eunjung proudly announces, forcefully taking Hyomin’s pinkie. “That’s a promise.”

“You forced it on me!”

“No, I did not!”

“Did to!”

“Did not!”

“Did to!”

“Then look, Jiyeon also promises,” Jungie cutely says, turning towards little Jiyeon beside her. “Promise?”

“Okay,” Jiyeon agrees anyway, linking their pinkies. “But you need to promise you won’t leave me!”

“I promise. Where Jiyeonnie is, is where Jungie is,” Eunjung says with finality before hurrying back to her forgotten drawing.

TWELVE.

“I have a girlfriend,” Hy