Kyuhyun had everything a child at his ripe young age could ever want: two doting parents, a nice apartment in the most populated district in Seoul, and a box of video games he could entertain himself with.

 

But his parents would nag him about not going outside to play with the other kids: “Kyuhyun-ah!  If you stare at that screen for too long, your eyes are going to get stuck to it!”

 

“The 20-20-20 rule!”  Kyuhyun would reply absentmindedly, his eyes still fixed on the small, pixelated Nintendo characters on his Game & Watch.  “Every twenty minutes, I look at something twenty feet away for twenty seconds, and then I go back to playing.  I’ve always followed that rule.”

 

“Even so, you’ve been playing that game all day long.  Don’t you want to go to the park with Ahra and ride bikes?  Or maybe go on the seesaw?”  His mom would insist.

 

“No, not now.  Maybe later?”

 

There was never a later, there never had been a later, and from the looks of it, Kyuhyun’s parents didn’t think there would ever be one.  But what could they do?  Like all children, he could be a bit bratty sometimes, but Kyuhyun was a good kid.  He was caring and protective of his parents and older sister.  He sometimes helped out with chores.  He always finished his homework on time and his answers were almost always correct.  His dad was a professor at a local college.  He wanted his children to be well-educated, and well-educated they were.  Kyuhyun was only five years old, but he was taking beginning piano lessons and higher level math classes.  His liking to video games wasn’t causing anyone any harm, so what reason did his parents have to keep him from doing what he liked in his spare time?

 

For the longest time, there wasn’t one.  That is, until the day Kyuhyun’s aunt, uncle, and two cousins came to their home for a visit.

 

Kyuhyun was respectful as always: he greeted them when they entered and when his aunt gave him and Ahra a bag of sweets as a present, he smiled politely and said thank you.  But what caught his aunt’s attention was that while Ahra played house and shared her dolls with the older cousin, Kyuhyun was nowhere to be seen.  The younger cousin, a boy two years younger than Kyuhyun, was left alone to sulk in a corner as the adults talked in the living room.  He remained there until Kyuhyun’s dad noticed him.

 

“Jungwook?  What are you doing there, sitting by yourself?  Why don’t you go play with our Kyuhyun?”

 

Jungwook stared at the ground sullenly and shook his head.  Kyuhyun’s father turned to look at the boy’s mom, unsure of what this reaction meant.

 

“Jungwookie, what’s wrong?”  Kyuhyun’s aunt got up from the couch and walked over to her son.  “Where’s Kyuhyun?”

 

“In his room,” the child said at last in a rather glum tone of voice.

 

“Why don’t you go over and talk to him?  You only see him once every few months.  I’m sure the two of you must have a lot to talk about.”

 

After a bit of coaxing, it was understood that Kyuhyun was playing Donkey Kong 3 very intently.  He hadn’t exactly been mean to Jungwook, but it was clear that he was more focused on spraying pesticides at virtual insects towards Donkey Kong than he was on talking to his cousin.  Jungwook hadn’t liked that.

 

Kyuhyun’s dad tried to tell Jungwook that maybe he could ask Kyuhyun if he could have a turn, that Kyuhyun was a nice, friendly kid who would have no problem sharing.  Maybe the two of them could play with his video games together, he suggested.

 

But the boy shook his head and mumbled that it was okay.  He sat on his mom’s lap for the rest of the visit.  Kyuhyun only came out of his room after Ahra came running to tell him that their relatives were leaving and going back to their home in Busan.  After the entire family saw them out the door, Kyuhyun’s dad turned to his son and looked at him sternly.

 

“Why were you playing video games instead of playing with Jungwook?”  He asked.  “You know that he doesn’t come visit very often.  He must have been disappointed, not being able to talk to you.”

 

“I never said he couldn’t talk to me,” Kyuhyun replied innocently.  “He was sitting next to me for the first half an hour and watching me play.”

 

“Why didn’t you talk to him?”

 

“He didn’t talk to me first.  And I was busy playing.”

 

“You couldn’t have asked him if he wanted a turn?”

 

“He seemed fine with watching so I didn’t ask.”

 

“Kyuhyun, you can’t just lock yourself in your room and ignore our guests,” his mom sighed.  “It was very rude of you to do that and I don’t want to see it happen again, do you understand me?”

 

“Why couldn’t he have just gone over to play house with Ahra and Jungah?”  Kyuhyun looked confused.  “What did I do wrong?”

 

That night, Kyuhyun’s parents stayed up late, talking about what to do with their son.  They agreed that this type of behavior wasn’t healthy.  They realized that the boy needed to develop better social skills.  It wouldn’t do to let him shut himself up in his room with only his video games for company.  A kid needed a friend to be around.

 

Kyuhyun wasn’t entirely obsessed with gaming.  He did have friends, but sometimes, he didn’t seem very interested in talking to them.  His parents had observed on previous occasions that instead of staying behind to talk to his classmates after the school bell rang, Kyuhyun always ran to Ahra’s classroom so the two of them could ride the bus home together.  He would finish his homework very quickly and after doing what his parents and sister wanted him to do, he would spend most of his free time playing his games.

 

It was the middle of summer and Kyuhyun didn’t have very much to do.  His parents considered signing him up for sports-- maybe basketball-- but ultimately decided that they didn’t want to add another extracurricular onto his young shoulders.  Yes, they wanted him to grow up to do big things with his life, but not this early.  Piano and math classes were enough, and another activity might overwhelm him.  After hours of consideration, they decided on something that Kyuhyun didn’t like at all.

 

The next afternoon, he had to go with Ahra to the playground located two blocks away from his apartment building.

 

It wasn't that he disliked being around Ahra or going to the playground.  In fact, he loved doing those things whenever he wasn’t preoccupied with his video games.  What bothered him was that his parents wanted him to introduce himself to someone new and make new friends.  Ahra would be riding her bike or playing with her own friends, but she would also be watching Kyuhyun from a distance to make sure he did as his parents asked.

 

HIs parents weren’t forcing him to do anything-- no, not at all.  But Kyuhyun wasn’t able to see his friends at school during the summer, and the neighborhood playground was always packed with children around his age.  Being around other children, his parents thought, might at least prompt him to take interest in talking to someone new.  They didn’t want their child to grow up alone, not knowing how to act around people outside of his classroom.  For the moment, putting Kyuhyun out like this was the best idea they could think of.

 

And that was how Kyuhyun ended up alone in the playground.  Well, not quite alone.  After all, there were ten or fifteen other kids in the playground as well.  A few of them were kicking a soccer ball around.  A few more were playing tag.  The rest were on the play structure, scrambling down the slides and moving their way across the monkey bars.  Ahra and her friend-- a girl called Yejin who had been in Ahra’s class last year-- had abandoned their bikes and were swinging on the swings, chattering away happily.

 

Kyuhyun had no idea what to do.

 

He knew how to talk to other kids, didn’t he?  He talked to the kids his class on a daily basis, so why should this be any different?  No matter how much Kyuhyun tried to tell himself that talking to someone at school and talking to someone at the playground were the same things, he was scared.  Something felt wrong, and he was afraid of actually going up to someone and initiating a conversation.  He didn’t realize it, but the difference was that he had to approach the others by himself this time.  There was no teacher to assign table groups or make sure no one was alone at the desk with no one to eat lunch with.  He was on his own.

 

Kyuhyun climbed up the play structure and sat down at the top of the tallest slide.  Maybe if he sat there long enough, someone would approach him first.  He sat there for about five minutes, but nothing happened.  Life in the playground continued as normal, and the kids below him continued to play.

 

Kyuhyun realized that this wouldn’t work.  He would have to do what his parents had originally asked and go up to someone by himself.  Just when he was about to stand up and find a kid to start talking to, he heard a voice behind him.

 

“Hey!”  The voice said loudly.

 

Spinning his head around, Kyuhyun stared up at an older boy with black hair that covered his eyebrows.  He brightened.  Here was someone he could talk to!  At last!  He almost sighed in relief as he realized that someone was interested enough to approach him first so that he didn’t have to do it himself.  But before he could open his mouth to say something in greeting, the older boy spoke again.

 

“Kid, you’re blocking the slide.  Mind moving out of the way?”

 

His face fell as he realized that the boy hadn’t wanted to talk to him after all.  He nodded and timidly moved out of the way.  Then, he remembered what his parents had told him about making new friends.  He could still make this work.  He wanted to make this work and he wanted to have someone to talk to.  Sitting on top of the slide and watching the others having fun without him had been a very lonely experience.

 

“Wait, what’s your--”  In a flash, the boy zipped down the slide, leaving Kyuhyun sitting there with his mouth open and his sentence unfinished.  Scrambling over to the entrance of the slide, Kyuhyun watched as the boy brushed the sand off his bottom and ran over to his mom, who was sitting on a bench and reading a book.  Kyuhyun’s hopeful face transformed into a discouraged one.  He had failed.

 

Sadly, Kyuhyun plopped himself down at the entrance again and sighed.  He waited, hoping another opportunity would climb up the play structure and see him.  The next time someone came up and asked him to move away so they could have a turn down the slide, Kyuhyun was going to talk to them.  And this time, he decided, he was going to talk faster.

 

The minutes passed, and Kyuhyun continued to wait.  After a while, there was the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs that led to the slide.  He turned around eagerly, but then tilted his head to the side in confusion.

 

“Ahra?  What are you doing here?”

 

“I was about to ask you the same question,” she said, pausing to catch her breath for a second.  “I thought Umma and Appa said you needed to talk to the other kids.”

 

“I did talk to the other kids,” Kyuhyun protested.  “Well, one kid.  But it was only for a little while,” he said sadly as he remembered what happened.

 

“Why?  What happened?”

 

Kyuhyun shrugged and told Ahra about the encounter.  When he finished, Ahra rolled her eyes and sighed.

 

“Kyuhyunnie, that’s not how you’re supposed to make new friends!  You can’t just expect people to come up to you and start talking.  Sometimes, you need to be the one to start things.”

 

“But--”

 

“No buts!  Come on.”  She took Kyuhyun’s hand in hers and lifted him to his feet.  She led him away from the play structure and started walking towards the kids who had been playing soccer before.  They were now sitting on the grass, talking and laughing with each other and eating snacks.

 

Kyuhyun realized what his sister was going to do.

 

“Noona--” he started.

 

“Kyuhyun, you need to learn how to go up to people on your own.”  She let go of his hand and nodded towards the soccer kids.  “Go on.  Talk to them.  Ask them if you can play.”

 

“But I don’t even know how to play soccer,” he said indignantly.  “And why would they want me to play with them?”

 

“Why not?  And it’s never too late to learn.  Go on.”  She motioned towards the group again.

 

“Noona!”  Kyuhyun whined.  “I don’t want to!  Can’t I just do something else?”

 

“Like what?  Waiting at that slide again until it’s time to go home?  Kyuhyun, you can’t do that.”

 

“But I don’t want to talk--”

 

A few of the soccer kids had overheard the conversation and were looking at the two siblings curiously.  Ahra noticed this and gave Kyuhyun a look.  Kyuhyun met her eyes, then glanced at the soccer kids, then back at Ahra.  He cast his eyes down to the ground as he realized that he was only embarrassing himself.  There was no way out.  Slowly, reluctantly, Kyuhyun carefully stepped forward until he was just a few feet from the group.  Some of them were giving him and Ahra strange looks.

 

He liked talking to people.  He was capable of talking to people.  He just wasn’t good at… this.  But it was too late anyways and he took a deep breath, clutching his right arm tightly with in his left.

 

“H-hi, can I play with you guys?”

 

When he got back to his apartment, Kyuhyun told his parents about what had happened that day.  He told them how they had invited him in gladly, even sharing their snacks with him.  They had played for about an hour before half of them had to leave to back home for dinner.  Even though he was pretty bad at soccer, the other kids didn’t seem to mind very much.  It had been a fun afternoon.

 

The next day, Kyuhyun went to the playground again with high expectations.  But to his dismay, the soccer kids weren’t there.  Ahra wasn’t with him either because she had violin lessons on Saturday afternoons.  Kyuhyun was a little worried.  The only reason why he had been allowed to come to the playground by himself was because he told his parents that he was sure the soccer kids would be there, and he wouldn’t be unsupervised.

 

But unsupervised he was, as well as uncertain of what to do now that the friends he had made the day before weren’t here.

 

He instinctively started over to the slide where he had sat the previous day before stopping in his tracks and remembering what Ahra had said.  Ahra wasn’t here right now and there was nothing she could do to prevent him from doing what he had been doing last time, but Kyuhyun felt obliged to listen to what she had told him.  If she were here, she would have wanted him to do things on his own this time.

 

Kyuhyun looked around the playground in search of a potential playmate.  He didn’t really want to go on the monkey bars or the seesaw.  He didn’t really want to play kickball either.  All of a sudden, his eyes landed on a boy sitting underneath a nearby tree.  Kyuhyun’s eyes lit up as he saw that the boy had a Game Boy in his hands.  Nervousness and anxiety forgotten, he practically ran over to him.

 

“What are you playing?”  He asked in an excited tone of voice.  The boy lifted his head and looked up at Kyuhyun with wide eyes.  He looked a few years older than Kyuhyun was, and had on a dark red baseball cap.

 

“Tetris,” he replied shortly.  He looked back down, immersed in his video game once more.  Kyuhyun sat down next to him and watched in interest.

 

“What are those block things?”

 

“They’re called Tetrominos.”

 

“What do you do with them?”

 

“You’re supposed to move them so they make one big row with no spaces.  Look.”  Kyuhyun observed carefully as the rows disappeared as soon as they were made.  As the game progressed, the Tetrominos fell faster and faster.  Eventually, Red Baseball Cap could not keep up with the rate at which they were falling, and the game ended.

 

“Can I try?”  Kyuhyun wasn’t even shy like he normally was when he was meeting strangers for the first time.  On the contrary, he was almost bouncing up and down at the prospect of having a chance to play.  For the time being, he had forgotten all about making friends and was focused entirely on Tetris.

 

Red Baseball Cap hesitated, but handed the console over a little reluctantly.  Kyuhyun didn’t notice and took it from his hands eagerly.  He began a new game, his small hands pressing the buttons deftly.  To Red Baseball Cap’s surprise, Kyuhyun passed the first few levels easily before the stack of Tetrominos reached the top of the screen.  He was impressed at how quickly Kyuhyun seemed to pick up the game, but also a bit jealous.

 

I wasn’t nearly this good when I first got my Game Boy, he thought enviously.  This kid here looks half my age but he’s twice as good as I was when I first started.  Red Baseball Cap told himself that he wasn’t going to let this kid beat him.

 

“Can I try again?”  Kyuhyun interrupted his thoughts and looked up at him in anticipation.  Red Baseball Cap hesitated again.

 

“How about this: we’re gonna try to beat each other’s scores.  You died at Level 4, so now I need to beat Level 4.  Then after I die, you need to beat the level I reached.”

 

Kyuhyun nodded in agreement and handed the Game Boy to him.  The older boy reached Level 11 easily and handed it back with a smug look on his face.  That look was wiped away as he watched Kyuhyun surpass Level 11.  It wasn’t until Level 20 that the screen flashed the words Game Over.  Red Baseball Cap frowned as he took the Game Boy back from Kyuhyun.

 

Level 21.

 

Level 25.

 

Level 26.

 

Kyuhyun got distracted during his next turn and died at Level 10.  His eyebrows furrowed as he started the game again in an attempt to score higher than Level 26.  It took a few tries before he was able to reach Level 30.

 

After Level 30 was Red Baseball Cap at Level 34.  Then Kyuhyun at Level 35.  The two of them sat there, their eyes focused on the tiny Game Boy screen for who knew how long.

 

Suddenly, Kyuhyun’s mouth fell open as Red Baseball Cap reached Level 79-- the highest level that had been reached between the two kids in the course of the entire afternoon.  Red Baseball Cap smiled proudly.  Not only was this his highest score of all time, he had also beaten the highest score Kyuhyun had gotten so far: a meager Level 47.

 

Something seemed to take hold of Kyuhyun and he all but grabbed the console from him and began pressing the buttons frantically.  In his haste, he only got to Level 16 before he died.  Mentally scolding himself for not focusing enough, Kyuhyun scowled at the screen before beginning the game again.

 

He managed to reach Level 20 this time, it was still nothing compared to Level 79.  Kyuhyun’s forehead creased as he closed his eyes and tried again.  And again.  And again.  What had started out as a friendly competition gradually became something that wasn’t so friendly anymore.

 

Kyuhyun had always been a determined and resolved child, taught by his parents that he could do anything he could as long as he put his mind to it.  That was what was confusing him.  He was putting everything he had into beating Red Baseball Cap’s score, but it wasn’t working.  If anything, he was only getting worse.

 

Red Baseball Cap watched anxiously as Kyuhyun became visibly more frustrated every time he started the game again.  It grew to the point where Kyuhyun gripped the console so hard that his knuckles turned white.  He let out another irritated sigh and gripped the poor console even harder, his hands actually shaking in anger.  Red Baseball Cap swallowed.  Kyuhyun’s initially bright and cheerful expression had turned to one of rage.

 

“Hey, I think I should have a go now.  You’ve had a lot of turns already,” he said.  Of course, he didn’t exactly expect Kyuhyun to hand it over willingly.  But he didn’t expect Kyuhyun to react the way he did.

 

“No!”  The five-year-old yelled loudly.  “I’m going to beat your score and I’m not stopping until I do!”

 

“But--”

 

“You said so!  That’s the rules!”  He yelled again.  Red Baseball Cap recoiled as he saw the fury in the child’s eyes.  He was beginning to regret letting him have a turn in the first place.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said in what he hoped was a calming voice.  “It’s just a game, don’t take it so seriously.  You don’t need to beat my score.”

 

Kyuhyun paid him no mind as he restarted the game for what was probably the hundredth time.  His hands were still shaking.  And as he died at Level 50, a tear fell from his eyes to the Game Boy screen.

 

“Hey, kid, I think you should stop playing now.  You don’t need to get this upset.  Besides, it’s only a game.  Come on, give it back.”

 

“NO!”  Kyuhyun’s scream was a lot louder this time, and more tears trickled down his chubby cheeks.  He clutched the Game Boy to his small body and inched away from him.  When he was about three feet away from Red Baseball Cap, he started the game again.

 

Red Baseball Cap had no idea what to do.  The kid was crying and he didn’t want to deal with that.  He just wanted to get out of here.  Why had he said yes when he asked if he could play?

 

He stood up and snatched the Game Boy out of Kyuhyun’s hands while he was in the middle of playing.  Kyuhyun reacted rather violently, making Red Baseball Cap jump away in fear.

 

“DON’T!”  The screech sounded almost inhuman.  “GIVE IT BACK!”

 

He shook his head and began stepping backwards.

 

“You’re losing it, kid.  Continuing to play is only gonna make you more upset.”

 

“NO IT WON’T!”  He sniffled a little more quietly.  “I can beat you.  I know I can.”  He wiped at the snot dripping down his face, but Red Baseball Cap had had enough.

 

“Nobody likes bad sports,” he said angrily before spinning on his heel and running away with his Game Boy, leaving the crying boy behind.

 

Kyuhyun began to wail even more loudly.  It wasn’t fair.  He had tried as hard as he possibly could, but he hadn’t been able to beat the older boy.  He had never lost so badly before, and Kyuhyun absolutely hated losing.  It didn’t matter to him that it was just a game.  It didn’t seem like just a game to him.  A mixture of anger, disappointment, and sadness boiled inside of him.

 

As he continued to sob underneath the tree, burying his face in his knees, the anger and disappointment ebbed away.  But the sadness remained and he sat there for a while, sniffling and wiping at the tears still leaking from his eyes.  Not only did he lose at the game, things with Red Baseball Cap had gone badly.  Kyuhyun hadn’t meant to react the way he did.  What happened, happened, but Kyuhyun regretted his rash actions.  He felt a lump grow in his throat as he realized he had failed again.

 

“Hi!  Hey, are you okay?”  Kyuhyun looked up at the voice to see a young girl standing in front of him.  She was clad in a bright blue t shirt, bright green shorts, and red flip flops.  She wore a pink koala hair clip in her black hair.  The big smile on her face disappeared once she got a good look at Kyuhyun’s face.

 

“What’s wrong?  Why are you sad?”  She asked.  Her big eyes grew wide in concern.

 

Kyuhyun lowered his head and frantically tried to rub the tears away.  He didn’t want anyone to see him crying, least of all this girl he didn’t even know.  But now that he thought about it, the amount of noise he had been making had probably attracted enough attention already.  He looked up again to check, but there were no other kids around.  Kyuhyun wondered where they had all gone, but the girl interrupted his thoughts.

 

“Why are you crying?”  She said, bending down next to him.  She searched his eyes with her worried ones and frowned.  Kyuhyun shook his head and looked away.

 

“Nothing,” he said in a small voice.

 

“But you were crying really hard before.  What happened?”  The girl pressed on.

 

“I said it’s nothing.”

 

“Don’t give me that.  Why would you cry if nothing happened?  Come on, why can’t you tell me what happened?”

 

“It doesn’t matter to you,” he said, embarrassed.  Why couldn’t this girl just leave him alone?

 

“Are you just not telling me because you’re still sad or something?”  She made a face and scrunched up her nose.

 

“I--”

 

“Come on, let’s go!”  Without warning, the girl stood and reached for Kyuhyun’s hand, pulling him to his feet.  Her small fingers closed around his tightly and she began to drag him away.

 

“What are you doing?”  He yelled indignantly.

 

“Ice cream always makes me happy whenever I’m sad.  So we’re gonna get ice cream, of course!”  She said as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.  Kyuhyun blinked.

 

“No, I can’t do that!”

 

“Why not?”  The girl stopped in her tracks and turned to face him.  She was still holding his hand.  “Don’t you like ice cream?  Chocolate’s my favorite, but Sungmin oppa likes strawberry.  Sungjin is too young to eat ice cream but I’m sure he would like--”

 

Kyuhyun couldn’t believe it and cut her off before she could tell him what flavor Sungjin-- whoever that was-- liked.

 

“No, it’s not that, I don’t even know who you are!  What makes you think I’ll just go with you?”

 

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that!”  The girl gave him a small bow and smiled broadly.  Her eyes became little crescent moons as she did so.  “My name’s Lee Seoyoon and I’m five years old!  What about you?”

 

“Err-- Kyuhyun.  Cho Kyuhyun.  And I’m five too.”

 

“Cool!  Come on, Kyuhyun!  Let’s go get ice cream!”  Seoyoon said happily.  “What’s your favorite flavor?”

 

“But I don’t want to get ice cream,” Kyuhyun replied.  “I don’t need any.”

 

Seoyoon stopped in her tracks, looking a bit confused.

 

“But you’re sad, aren’t you?  What else can I do to make you happy again?  Do you like Choco Pies?  Grapes?  Udon noodles?  Food always makes me happy.”

 

“I’m not sad anymore.”  Kyuhyun regretted making such a big scene earlier on.  He must have been crying pretty hard if a complete stranger felt the need to go up and ask him what was wrong.  Seoyoon baffled him.  How was she able to approach someone like that and strike up a conversation so easily?  The amount of energy in her tiny body was unbelievable.  He had never met someone who seemed to be the literal definition of a bouncing ball of sunshine.  And a very talkative one at that.

 

“Oh, really?  Okay, that’s great!”  Seoyoon gave him an even bigger smile.  “So what do you wanna do now?”

 

Kyuhyun didn’t know what else there was to do.  He hadn’t planned on things turning out like this.  He had expected to continue playing with Red Baseball Cap for the entire time he was at the playground, but that hadn’t exactly gone according to plan.  He glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost five in the afternoon.  His parents were surely wondering where he was.

 

“I actually need to go back home.  It’s getting late.”

 

“It’s not that late.  The sun hasn’t even set yet.”  Seoyoon gave him a strange look but brightened after a second.  “Hey, I can walk you back home if you want!”

 

“Nonono, it’s okay,” he said hurriedly.  “You don’t have to do that.”

 

“I don’t mind,” she chirped.  “I have nothing else to do anyways.  Sungjin’s probably at home taking a nap or something.  No idea what Sungmin and my grandparents are doing, but I’m pretty sure nobody would mind if I left the playground for a bit.”

 

“No, it’s fine.  Really,” Kyuhyun insisted.  What was with her?  Never before had he seen someone take a liking to him so quickly.  He was unsure what to do about the current situation.

 

Seoyoon completely ignored him and started walking away from him.  Kyuhyun just stood there, confused.  Seoyoon had walked about ten feet away before she realized that he wasn’t following her.  She turned back around and cocked her head.

 

“Well?  Come on, where do you live?”  She headed back to his side, a questioning look on her face.

 

“I said, you really don’t have to walk me back home.”  His voice was a little sharper now, with a tiny trace of anger.  It didn’t seem like Seoyoon heard it because she continued to ramble on.

 

“I actually don’t live here.  I live in Ilsan and my grandparents live over there-- see?”  She pointed towards an apartment complex near the playground.  “My brothers and I come visit every summer, but we don’t really go anywhere because my grandparents say we’re too young.  I’ve only been to the playground and the supermarket, and not really anywhere that interesting.  So this is the perfect excuse for me to see where you live so I can see what the rest of Seoul looks like!”

 

But Kyuhyun was growing impatient.  He was getting tired and was still a little upset from before, although he hadn’t admitted it to her.  The last thing he wanted to do right now was talk to someone.  All he really wanted to do was go home.  Without Seoyoon trailing behind him like a homeless puppy.

 

“I told you that I don’t want you to walk me,” he snapped at her, his words coming out a little meaner than he intended.  The little girl flinched.  As she opened again, Kyuhyun shot her down once more.  “You’re really annoying me right now and you talk too much.  I don’t care about where you live and I don’t want you following me around!”

 

Seoyoon flinched again.  The smile slid off her face and she let out a soft ‘oh’.  Her gaze flickered to the grass beneath her feet and her head drooped.  Kyuhyun watched as her hands curled into small fists by her side and she began to pick at the skin around her nails, refusing to look at him.

 

In the silence that followed, Kyuhyun began to regret what he had said.  He had a habit of saying what he wanted to say without fully processing it and while he tried his best to control it, it didn’t always work.  It looked like this was another one of those times.  He watched uncertainly as Seoyoon continued to stand there with her head down, uncharacteristically quiet.

 

“Err… I’m sorry,” he said after a while.  “I didn’t mean to…”  His voice trailed off as he realized that she was trembling.  His eyes widened and he bit down on his lip nervously.

 

“Seoyoon?  Are you okay?  I didn’t mean it.”  When Seoyoon didn’t respond, he tentatively reached out his hand.  Before he could touch her, however, Seoyoon let out a small sniffle.

 

“Seoyoon?”

 

Seoyoon finally looked up at him, her eyes welling up with tears and her lower lip shaking.  Kyuhyun watched in horror as she sniffled again and the tears spilled over.  Kyuhyun gasped out loud as her face began to scrunch up.

 

“Nonono--, I--”  He said, flustered.  “Please don’t cry, I didn’t mean it like that.  I’m sorry.  Please?”

 

She shook her head violently and Kyuhyun felt his heart wrench.  The last thing he had intended was to make her this upset.

 

As he helplessly watched Seoyoon whimper and rub at her eyes, he felt absolutely awful.  All she had wanted to do was talk to him, and he had ruined everything for her.  He found himself longing to see her cheerful, bubbly self again.  Just a few minutes ago, she had been overflowing with joy and prattling on happily like a normal kid their age.  No matter how much he had wanted her to shut up for just one minute, a talkative Seoyoon was much more preferable to a tearful Seoyoon.

 

Slowly, Kyuhyun stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the girl’s small figure, hugging her tightly.  He rested his chin on her shoulder and awkwardly patted her back.

 

“It’s okay, don’t cry,” he said.  She reacted to his touch by crying even more loudly.  Kyuhyun’s heart felt like someone had dug a fork into it.

 

“I’m not-- I’m not annoying--,” she struggled out.  “I don’t w-want you to think I’m annoying.  I didn’t mean to m-make you mad.”

 

“Shh, you’re not annoying,” he said in what he hoped was a comforting voice.  “And I’m not mad anymore.  I’m sorry, okay?  I promise I didn’t mean it.”

 

It was the truth.  It was hard to stay upset at a girl who was crying so pitifully.  Seoyoon hiccupped and pulled back a little to wipe at her tears.  Her face was less than a foot away from Kyuhyun’s, and he could see every tear track that had s its way down.  His guilt overwhelmed him again and he hugged her more even more tightly.  He replayed the conversation in his head, swallowing hard as he realized how mean he had been to her.  She had done nothing wrong and he had practically bitten her head off.

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said awkwardly, for lack of better words.  “I’m not going to yell at you again.  You can keep talking if you want to.”

 

She let out another sniffle and drew back a second time.  Her eyes were still swimming with tears and Kyuhyun felt even more terrible as she sniffled again.

 

“You can also walk me back if that’s what you really want,” he found himself saying.  “Just please stop crying.  I’ll let you walk me back if you stop crying, how does that sound?”

 

Seoyoon hesitated for a moment, and Kyuhyun held his breath.  But then she gave him a small grin that caused a smile to break out on Kyuhyun’s face as well.  Although her smile wasn’t nearly as happy as it had been before, it brought him a rush of relief.

 

“I live in that direction,” he said, pointing towards the street he had come from earlier in the afternoon.  ‘It’s not that far, only two or three blocks away.  So if you wanted to see what the rest of the city looks like, you won’t really get to do that, sorry.”

 

“That’s okay,” she shrugged.  She began walking in the direction Kyuhyun was pointing in, and Kyuhyun fell into step next to her.  He waited, but the girl was quiet.  As they walked, Kyuhyun watching her out of the corner of his eye.  She didn’t look upset, but she didn’t very cheerful either.  She wasn’t smiling anymore and that worried him.

 

“Are… are you mad at me?”  He plucked up the courage to ask.  Seoyoon turned to look at him and cocked her head again.

 

“No,” she said simply.  “Why would I be?”

 

But they walked for a block and the silence still hung in the air like thick and gloppy oatmeal.  Her silence and blank expression worried Kyuhyun, so he tried to make some conversation.  Key word: tried.  He desperately wanted to say something that would get her smiling and talking again, but he didn’t know what would make that happen.

 

“So why were you upset?”  He suddenly heard.  Surprised at the question, he looked at Seoyoon blankly for a few seconds.

 

“Why are you still wondering about that?”  He retorted.

 

“Just curious.”  She shrugged again.

 

Kyuhyun opened his mouth to tell her that it was none of her business, but remembered how she had responded last time and what the situation had escalated to.  He didn’t want to make her sad again, or worse, make her cry.

 

“It wasn’t anything that important,” he mumbled.  “I got upset because I kept losing at this video game.”

 

“You looked pretty upset,” she commented.  “Did anything else happen?  You couldn’t possibly have been so sad just because you lost at a video game.  Video games aren’t even worth getting upset over.  What was the other thing?”

 

“There was no other thing,” he said, embarrassed.

 

“You were crying like that over a video game?  That sounds pretty stupid if you ask me.”

 

Kyuhyun opened his mouth again, ready to argue.

 

“Video games aren’t stupid!  I like playing them.”

 

“I never said video games were stupid.  I said crying over a video game was stupid.  My grandparents always tell me that there’s no point in getting upset at small things in life.  They said that people spend too much time being upset so we should smile whenever we can.  They smile a lot and they’re always happy.  So you should smile more often too so you won’t be sad anymore!  See?  Like this!”

 

Seoyoon’s voice became spirited again and she stopped her in tracks, turning to Kyuhyun and giving him a radiant smile.  Her eyes took the shape of orange slices once more and a tiny dimple-- which he hadn’t noticed before-- appeared on the right side of .

 

Unconsciously, Kyuhyun smiled back at her.  Her smile was back, and it was absolutely heartwarming to look at.

 

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?  You look a lot happier when you smile.  Before, you were all sad and grumpy.”

 

“I was not sad and grumpy!”  He protested.

 

“Yeah you were.”

 

“Well--”

 

“You were!  Just admit it.”

 

As she talked, her hand slipped into his again and squeezed it gently.  Kyuhyun glanced over at her, and Seoyoon flashed him another one of her contagious smiles.

 

“Okay, fine, you don’t have to admit it.  What matters is that you’re happier now, right?  And you also won’t be sad again in the future, right?  The most important thing is that now you know you can’t be sad because my grandparents always say that being sad won’t do anyone any good.  But being happy will.  I like it a lot better when you’re happy and not crying.”

 

“I like it better when you’re happy and not crying too,” Kyuhyun said before he could stop himself.  He was about to say something about her happy and smiley demeanor as well, but held back at the last minute.  It would sound weird coming from him, he thought.

 

His words weren’t really much of a compliment, but it was as if someone had told Seoyoon she had won a free lifetime supply of the chocolate ice cream she so loved.  Her face practically glowed with delight, cheesy as it sounded to Kyuhyun as the thought ran through his head.

 

There was a spring in her step as she started to swing their hands back and forth playfully.  She began to talking, going on about what she usually did at the playground and what she did when she was there yesterday.  Kyuhyun didn’t remember seeing her the day before.  Maybe they had been there at different times, because he surely would have noticed someone like her.

 

Usually, he found it pretty annoying when someone was this happy.  It didn’t seem normal for someone to be this sunny and upbeat all the time.  With Seoyoon however, this type of personality seemed to fit her perfectly.  He hadn’t really liked her when she had ran into her less than an hour ago, but that was changing rapidly.

 

When they arrived at the door to Kyuhyun’s apartment, Kyuhyun was met with a hug and a faceful of Seoyoon’s hair, as she was a few inches shorter than he was.  She smiled nice, like citrus.

 

“Kyuhyun, you’re going to the playground tomorrow again tomorrow, right?”  She asked in anticipation after she pulled away.

 

To be honest, Kyuhyun wasn’t even sure of the answer.  But he nodded yes anyways.

 

“Of course I’ll be there.”  He was rewarded with another tight hug.

 

“See you tomorrow then!”  She said happily before heading back down the stairs and out the building.  Kyuhyun watched her disappear around the corner before turning back to his door.  To his surprise, however, his mom and his sister were standing in the open doorway, looking at where Seoyoon had turned down the hall.

 

“Who’s she?”  Ahra asked, a little bewildered.

 

“Kyuhyun, how did it go at the playground?  Why are you back so late?  We shouldn’t have let you stay by yourself for so long, we were just about to go down and look for you!  And yes, who was that little girl?”  His mom sent a stream of questions his way.

 

In all the excitement that had taken place, from arguing with Red Baseball Cap to comforting Seoyoon when she had began crying, Kyuhyun had forgotten all about what his parents had told him about talking to new people.  But he remembered now, and he looked up at his mom and his sister happily as he realized what he had actually been doing the entire afternoon.

 

“Umma, Ahra, guess what?  I made a new friend!  Her name is Seoyoon.”

True to his word, Kyuhyun came back to the playground the next day, where Seoyoon was waiting for him.  Ahra tagged along as well because their parents had insisted on it, but didn’t interfere with the two of them.  Despite that she never talked to or even introduced herself to Seoyoon, she watched her and play with her younger brother from afar, taking a liking to the girl immediately.

 

The summer days passed quickly.  While Kyuhyun did end up going to her grandparents’ place once or twice to watch a movie because it was raining and they weren’t allowed outside, they spent most of their time at the playground.  Sometimes they would play hide and seek, sometimes Kyuhyun would bring his games and let Seoyoon play a few rounds on his treasured Game & Watch, which he normally never shared with anyone else.  Sometimes they would sit on the swings and just talk about whatever was going on with their lives.

 

The two children became very close.

 

It was the type of bond that was hard to describe using words.  But anyone could walk by at any given time and see the two of them sitting next to each other and laughing together.  And they would just know that they were and seemed like they would always be the best of friends.

 

That was exactly why it nearly broke Kyuhyun’s heart when Seoyoon had to return to her home in Ilsan as the end of August came rolling around.  He had almost forgotten that she was only here for the summer.

 

He wanted to cry when he hugged her goodbye the day she left him, but he knew that Seoyoon would be sad if he showed that he was sad.  As she promised that she would return the next summer to see him again, he smiled at her and hoped she would keep her word.

After all, there was something special about Seoyoon that made him happier than anyone else could.

 

 

 

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Hi my readers/subscribers ^^

I've mentioned this before, but I'm not that great at writing in third person, I'm not that great at writing oneshots, and I'm also not that experienced in writing fluff... but despite all that, I hope you all enjoyed it, and please remember to check out Hidden in the Shadows (The Story Begins is the prequel) if you found this interesting and at least somewhat fun to read XD

Thank you for reading, comment, subscribe, and upvote if you haven't already, and have a lovely day everyone ^^