Seokmin first met her when they were so little they couldn’t even spell their own names or remember how their faces look like. All they know is just the word eomma or appa. But that day his mother taught him to try to say a new word. It was the name of his neighbour’s newborn daughter.

She was born in the same year with Seokmin. The young mothers sometimes liked to gather in each other's house to talk about how to raise a good child. One day they thought it would be cute to introduce their babies to each other. His mother said it for him. He saw (but not understood) his mother mouth shaped into a narrow ‘o’ and an ‘a’, he heard the sound of that name too.

His mother’s voice filled his little ears, the other mother softly giggled and said something like Seokmin’s mother took her joke seriously, why would she let her son learn other baby’s name before his own harabeoji or halmeoni? "Seokmin-ah, don’t listen to it. I’m just kidding," she giggled again while caressing her daughter in her embrace. The baby girl who was looking at Seokmin with innocence.

“U…. a. Un…wa.”

“Aniyo. Yuna. Yuuu. Naaa.”

“Wh… na. Wu… na.”

“Yuna. Yuna-ya. She is your first friend, Seokmin-ah. Try to call her, my son. Yuna. Your friend.”

“Una… Una! Una!” Seokmin laughed and the mothers too, they were surprised when Yuna’s name almost rolled off his tongue perfectly.

“He called my daughter’s name. Omo, when they grew up… Wah, I can’t imagine how they will be if they know about this. How smart! How cute!”

“Of course, he’s my son! Ya, Seokmin-ah, you’re so good with girl, eh, just like your appa. You should be a good son, ne? Be a good boy, love us, and treat your friend well.” Seokmin’s mother kissed his cheek lovingly many times.

Unfortunately Yuna’s didn’t get her turn to learn Seokmin’s name. It’s a hard name to be said by a baby nonetheless. She suddenly crying so loud, wanted some milk. When Seokmin heard her cry, Seokmin started crying too.

They were crying together back then but now the situation was different.

Five years old Yuna was crying alone on the lonely swing at the park. No plastic tea set, kitchen utensils toys, or dolls she used to carry whenever she was in the children’s park. She felt abandoned like a poor loser because there were no girl friends swarming around her.

It is an unwritten rule among the female kids who played in the park: if you don’t bring cute toys, we aren’t friends; if you bring a lot of cute toys, you’re the queen. Nobody played with her because she didn’t bring anything. That was the reason why she was crying alone on the unpopular swing at the corner of the park.

Then, a boy with dirty t-shirt came. It was Seokmin.

“Ya, Yuna, it’s 4.00 PM.”

Yuna hiccupped when she replied, “So what?”

“I want to go home. You have to go home or your mother will ask my mother about you. When your mother’s not around, my mother will pull my ear if I don’t walk you home. But right now I don’t want to walk you home.”

Yuna felt like crying again. Everyone was so mean to her today. Seokmin is the worst because he, she didn’t know why, she just wanted to think that Seokmin is the worst. “Why?” she hiccupped again and blew in her nose.

“Because I’m tired to death! Ah, soccer makes me really tired,” he fanned himself while talking and making exaggerated exhausted face. “Just go home now.”

“Shirreo! I don’t want to,” Yuna insisted. Yuna was being melancholic. She just wanted to cry like a scene in a morning drama her mother always watched.

“Why? Ya, ya, ya... Why are your tears flowing?! Why are you crying?! Don’t be like this when you go home. Your mother will tell my mother and my mother will think it’s because of me!” Seokmin was in a horror state, he felt at fault but he didn’t know what to do. He wanted to wipe her face with his t-shirt but there were a lot of soil dirt on it he didn’t even want to touch.

Yuna realized that Seokmin was panic. She was tempted to laugh because of Seokmin’s face. Her cry was not continued at last but her face has become red and puffy.

Seokmin sighed in relief. He pitied Yuna a little bit. She seldom cries. She was the happiest human on Earth once the tip of her foot kiss the soil of the park. It was her paradise and Seokmin who was always playing with the boys on the other side could see from afar that Yuna was almost like the landlord of the girls. Seokmin squatted down to see Yuna’s dejected face clearer.

“Why are you crying anyway?”

“Nobody… wanted to play with me. Hic. I- AHHHH. I’m a fool!” Yuna stomped her feet on the sands ground.

“Yeah, you are.”

“Shut up. How could I, how could I be so excited upon going to the park I forgot to bring my toys bag? How could I, Seokmin? Everyone left me. They even acted like I’m barely visible.”

“Whoa, girls are scary. You could have just played with us boys. We don’t need your toys. When we want to play, we would just play anything, anywhere, as long as everyone is happy,” Seokmin thought his brilliant advice could make her feel better.

“Stupid. I don’t like running and you boys are so dirty.” Her eyes became watery again.

“Yah, yah, uljima. At least we never do what you girls do. You’re the stupid one. They never want to play with you. They just want to play with your toys. Tsk tsk.”

“You make me feel worse! Didn’t you say you’re tired?! Just go home, go or I’ll kick you.” It’s just a threat, though, Seokmin knew. Yuna never uses violence. She doesn’t even kick a small stone or step on an ant.

“No, I don’t want to go home because I want to play with you right now.” He slowly stood up and walked to Yuna’s back.

“What?” Yuna seemed puzzled.

“I don’t play stupid fake teatime without tea or speaking to dolls like stupid person but I do play swings. I will push you,” Seokmin said from behind her with a smile. He hoped it would make her feel better.

Yuna could sense his hands on her left and right, holding the chain to push her. “Stupid, he must be tired after playing soccer like there’s no tomorrow,” she whispered. She saw him making a lot of goals when she was bored crying, fell asleep, crying again.

They were like that for some time. Yuna could feel the light but enjoyable push by Seokmin. The breeze touched her face and dried her tears away. It turned out that Seokmin was actually her favourite playing companion when he’s not in annoying mode. He’s familiar and honest unlike her friends. They are kind but the problem is those kids will never be permanently friends to her.

“Seokmin, how long are we going to do this? The sun is setting.”

“Until you’re satisfied,” he replied nonchalantly.

“I’m satisfied. Let’s go home now.”

“Okay.” Seokmin caught her swing chain to make her stop easily.

They are going home together like nothing special happened. Seokmin walked in front of her. Though he said he didn’t want to walk her, he walked her. Yuna smiled to Seokmin’s back and walked on his shadow. Their houses are not really close, it’s one block away. Their mothers’ friendship was what made them play with each other though they are opposite genders.

They finally reached Yuna house. Seokmin was going to say bye but Yuna pulled his t-shirt sleeve and whispered shyly to his ear. It tickled him so much but he struggled to resist it because he wanted to hear what she said.

“Gomawo.”

Yuna who was embarassed quickly ran inside and slammed the door. Seokmin stood still before he also dashed to his house. He will never, ever, tell his mother or anyone what happened today.

The next day everything was back to normal. Since that day they never played with just the two of them anymore. They played with their gender circles or surrounded by other kids. Yuna never cried alone again and held the queen position consistently because she has learned her lesson which was never forgot to always bring her toys bag.

Deep inside sometimes Yuna wish to play swings again with Seokmin.

Seokmin and Yuna grew up well but they have never been so close. They went to same elementary school (they were not always in the same class, only twice when they were in third and fifth grade) but enrolled to different middle and high schools. They haven’t talked to each other. Each one of them is busy with their life.

There are new friends, environments, responsibilities await them. Three years have passed since their elementary graduation and they don’t even know how each other looks like now though their houses only one block away from each other.

Their mothers meet everyday at the market, talk about basically everything. They will exchange information about their children. Seokmin’s mother would say to him that Yuna who joined the mothers’ shopping time today looked really pretty and graceful. Yuna’s mother would tell her that Seokmin is really tall and kind, he’s strong because he helped Yuna’s mother picking up the heavy groceries.

Seokmin half listening, nodding, while munching his dinner and just goes back to his room after that to read some manhwas or sleep because he’s dead tired of today’s soccer practice for the upcoming soccer competition. Meanwhile, in a house a block away Yuna only cares a bit to her mother’s story. She has a load of assignments she needs to do she doesn’t have time to think about a childhood friend. He’s also a teenager like me now, as if he would think about me. Boys are boys, she thinks.

-

“Bye, Yuna! See you at school!”

“Bye!” Yuna waved to her two friends whose houses are in different directions. A genuine smile plastered on her face. She likes her new high school friends. They’re sweet and easygoing, match well with her cheerful personality. The new school’s buildings are photogenic. The uniform is also cute. It has ribbon necktie and the skirt pattern is like what you’ve seen in high school themed MV or drama.

The moon creeps behind the orange and reddish clouds of the evening. The Creator is so generous He doesn't let the hustle and bustle of Seoul metropolitan city to tarnish the beauty of the blue. Under the pretty sky view Yuna stands before a zebra cross. She checks the crossing lamp signs above her. When she was going to look at the flashing cars before her while waiting for the sign to turn, she caught a glimpse of a tall guy standing five metres across her. He’s like watching her.

Yuna frowns and speaks to herself, “Is he just looking at me? Eh, he plays with his phone now. Is it just my feeling? Maybe it’s because this uniform makes me look prettier, huh. Creepy guy… can’t resist my beauty. Glad there is a lot of people here.”

The sign turns. She crosses safely to the other end. That guy is still there. He lifts up his head when Yuna comes nearer. He stares at Yuna. From afar Yuna might think that this guy is creepy but just when their eyes met each other’s, she felt that his eyes are looking at her so softly without any ill intention.

Yuna doesn’t even want to break the eye contact. It feels familiar and this guy seems like an attractive athletic high school guy. But it is broken in the end, though, because Yuna blinked once, twice. It was thrice when she digested the reality that the guy has just called her name easily.

“Yuna,” he says it again casually with his one hand in one pocket. “It’s me.”

His bag hanged on his left shoulder. He looks so boyish in Yuna’s eyes. Who’s this guy? Why does he know my name? No, why do I feel so familiar to him? Could he be… Could he be him?

“Excuse me. Are you perhaps... Lee Seokmin?”

“Yes, I am. You have a bad memory. How could you get into high school like this, huh?” the guy chuckles and his eyes turn into a crescent shape for awhile. Seokmin thinks about why is it always him who calls her name first? He was kind of disappointed when Yuna seemed to have forgotten him but the feeling vanished instantly when she guessed him right.

“Yah, you look different now! How could I tell it was you?” Yuna inadvertently replies with a high tone.

She doesn’t know how to act around him yet. The guy in front of her is Lee Seokmin, her childhood friend, her neighbour. But they haven’t talked to each other for a long time. But it is really him, Seokmin, because she realised this is the first place of the route to their houses. His appearance truly has changed and his voice too.

Should she acts friendly, normally, or what?

They are walking their usual path everyday. Usually they will having it alone but today they have a company. Somehow Yuna awares that Seokmin puts some distance between them. Maybe it’s because he feels awkward around me? Yuna steals a glance. He doesn’t look awkward, though. Ah, maybe he is the one who wants me to not feel awkward. So she tries to starts a proper conversation with this old friend.

“You got long legs now.”

“You got long hair.”

“Can’t believe we met each other like that.”

“Yeah, it seems that our school is close by. Even though we’re neighbours but we seldom see each other like for… how many years?

“Three already,” Yuna counts in her head.

“Hm.” There’s a short silence after that. “But,” Seokmin continues, “Isn’t that an all-girl school uniform? I mean, you… You go to an all-girl school? I never thought that you will.”

Yuna laughs, “Yeah, a lot of things happened in middle school.” She suddenly feels like telling her stories to Seokmin. “You know, you taught me some about playing soccer when we’re seven and I was good at it. My father taught me too in his free days. He doesn’t have any boy, right.”

She checks if Seokmin is listening. “I’m listening,” he says even before she looks at him which makes her smiles because he’s quite sensible for teenage boy standard. In his head Seokmin recalls about Yuna’s skill. Well, it’s true she was always a great substitute player back then and brought my team victories even though she’s a girl who talked to a doll.

“I was the best player in the girl soccer team but I didn’t play soccer seriously like, maybe, you. I played it just because I can and I didn’t participate in competitions. I didn’t become a tomboy or what. I… do ballet, yeah.” Seokmin hums in reaction. She feels a bit shy revealing herself like this to someone she hasn’t talked to for a long time.

“Suddenly I became… popular,” she made sure she doesn’t sound like boasting but only retelling story, “They want me to be the boy soccer team’s manager. I became one but still perform my ballet at school events and since then many people highly paid attention to me. The next semester everything became a mess. My best friend’s boyfriend said he liked me. My friend’s crush sent me a love letter. Some fangirls tried to bully me verbally. The popularity brought me tragedies. I fought with my girl friends because of those boys. They don’t even really like me sincerely but my friendships were ruined. Until I couldn’t hold it all at the graduation party I shouted at my classmates while crying that they were all stupid and made me sad, I said all what my heart wanted to say for the last time.”

She remembers how she said to her girl friends to be more brave, honest to their feelings, and don’t blame anyone if their love life is not going smoothly. She told the boys to not be stupid by liking girls based on looks, or liking girls half-assedly because it will only hurt the other party and lower their own self-esteem.

She was crazy back then but she didn’t care. She breathed in satisfaction and announced that she would be transferred to a new private school. Everyone suddenly regretted what has happened and pleaded her not to go. But she is where she is now and she is happy.

A soft sigh left her lips. She couldn’t resist the chance of pouring her heart. She feels relieved because she can tell someone about this finally. She won’t tell her new friends, right, they don’t need to know something like this.

She hopes Seokmin doesn’t think she’s weird. They have been talking but Seokmin’s voice sounds unenergized since the beginning. She was afraid he will be uninterested but instead she is glad that Seokmin is actually calm and concerned.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Girls are scary, huh? Since you were a kid I always thought that. It must be hard for you... But I think you have done well. You’ve done the right thing.”

“Yah, we’re not scary… Just sometimes. Thanks, anyway. How about you? Are you still playing soccer? That uniform, it must be Seungwon High. You entered because it has good sports achievement, right? The entrance exam is no joke, though. How cool you passed that…”

“Huh, no.”

Oops, I guessed wrongly.

“I chose that school because it’s not far from my house so I can wake up later than when I was in my previous school. But, yeah, I still play soccer… Ah, it’s the route to your house. I have to go to the next block. Bye. Please send my greetings to your mother.”

“Oh, yeah. Bye. Send my greetings too.”

Seokmin waved a hand before turning his back to Yuna. Yuna feels like being left when she sees him going away. The conversation flowed like a river unwittingly. They already reached this far. Some part of her thought that he would walk her home.

“Well, we’re just childhood friends. He’s not obliged to walk me home… I wonder if we would meet again tomorrow,” Yuna thinks while looking at his disappearing shadow.

Both of them are going separate ways but wondering the same thing that evening.

A/N: Will be updated on January 21st! I'm so happy DK and Yuju attended ISAC with both groups. Yuju must have seen and amazed by DK's aerobic performance with SEVENTEEN's performance team. They were shiny, hahaha, and their performance was like making everyone goes literally WHOA. Since DK usually focuses on Yuju when she is performing, I think Yuju would do the same. They are friends after all.