AUTHOR'S NOTE: This fic is also posted on winglin. I'm posting it here just in case winglin experiences technical problems again. I will be posting updates here as well.

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Hana emerged from the depths of the forest, panting. The long blades of grass tickled her knees as she wandered into the clearing. A gush of wind blew flower petals up into the air which gorgeously dance around the girl. She extended her hands, her fingers catching the soft petals before letting it fall back onto the ground. Hana continued to trudge forward. The usual trees surrounded the clearing in the shape of a perfect circle. Hana paused, pondering. Should she just sprint straight ahead and find AJ? Or should she head back and see if Jonghyun is hiding somewhere in the underbrush? She frowned. Why was she always "it"?
 
The boys were mean, never letting her get a say in their games. The nine year old girl bent forward to pull the laces on her high tops. She eased out of them and sighed in content at the bare touch of the rough soil. Much better. She wiggled her toes and threw her shoes over her shoulders, her decision made.
 
"Jonghyun! Here I come!" She called, pivoting on her bare heels and sprinting back through the trees.
 
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From across the clearing, AJ was settled on a branch that overlooked the field. He tried to hold in his laugh as Hana came into view. He too felt the strong wind and it rustled his hair into a mess. His fingers dug into the bark excitedly.
 
Come on, Hana.
 
You're almost there.
 
I'm right here.
 
He grinned. For once, he was going to let her find him. Then, he would take her to the ice cream shop just around the corner from his house as a congratulation.
 
Hana untied her new high tops and threw them over her shoulder.
 
"Huh?"
 
AJ was confused. Hana her heels.
 
"Jonghyun! Here I come!" She called.
 
Jonghyun?
 
AJ stood up on the branch, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Jonghyun? The ten year old boy himself from the tree and he landed swiftly on the underbrush just as Hana's silhouette disappeared.
 
"Hana." AJ whispered, "I'm right here."
 
-
 
In elementary, Hana, Jonghyun, and AJ were the three musketeers. Everything they did, they did together. But Hana was always singled out. She was always the monkey in the middle. She was always "it". But inside, she didn't mind. Not when she was able to spend her days with her two best friends. Jonghyun and AJ felt the same as well and the two oppas cared deeply for her.
 
But after that game of Hide and Seek, AJ realized that Jonghyun was Hana's favorite. His jealousy turned into a stale form of resentment. He no longer wanted to hang out with the two and he left them. Since then, Hana dubbed him as a jerk. Jonghyun never bothered to bring him up.
 
Hana and Jonghyun soon joined a swim team shortly after turning twelve and thirteen. They were extremely fast and competitive, ranking the top in the state. Somewhere, AJ too was a part of a swim team and ranked at the top. The trio grew into their teens and at the start of their freshman year, each one went to a different school.
 
But things always change and Jonghyun was no longer the friendly boy Hana depended on. Just like AJ, he left her for the queenkas of his high school.
 
She was alone for about a year until she entered her sophomore year. Fifteen, young, and pretty, Hana was the pride of her school's swim team. Her practices took place in the city's Natatorium along with all the other schools. But what she didn't know was that Jonghyun and AJ practice at the same time as her.

Hana has held a grudge against the two for leaving her alone.
 
What does she do when she needs them more than she realizes?