Your eyes followed the figure in front of you as she prepared the basket that you will be delivering by yourself today. The smell of freshly baked bread and harvested cheese reached your nose, it’s warmth seeping from the weaves of the basket as she handed it to you along with freshly picked fruits, a perfect combo and undoubtedly your nana’s favorite.

You stood still as the figure draped on you your favorite cloak. It was deep red with white edges and was just a tiny bit huge. But in it, you felt snug and safe and going out alone isn’t as scary as it sounds.

“Now remember,” she adjusted the cloak on your head so as not to cover your eyes, “do not stray off the path. Go straight to nana and don’t talk to strangers. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mommy,” you answered.

“Good girl,” she smiled, giving you a kiss on your head. “Off you go.”

You gave her one last hug before you left the familiar confines of your small home, excited yet nervous to go out to meet your nana.

You walked down the familiar path you’ve taken countless times with your mother. It was a simple, natural path made in the middle of a grassy area. Flowery bushes and flower-bearing trees lined it, shading its future takers from too much sun.

You frowned. It was such a nice day but it was too quiet, not even the usual noisy birds were present.

“Ah,” you exclaimed. You cleared your throat, your steps slowing down, and you hummed. You started softly, only humming to yourself. It was a song your nana always sang to you when you were little. Well, little-r. As you continued down the path, your humming grew louder until you were already singing out loud when something jumped in front of you.

“Raaarrghhh!!”

You stopped on your tracks and stared. It was a boy.

His hands were raised to his ears with his fingers bent in a way that you can see his unkempt fingernails. He bared his teeth enough for you to see two pairs of his sharp teeth, one at the top and the other at the bottom and you saw that though he wore similar clothes with what the other boys in the village wear, the one on his head had a weird shape as if there were two little hills growing on his head. His eyes were piercing right at you but soon relaxed as he tilted his head to the side.

“What are you doing?” you asked.

The little boy raised an eyebrow before growling again and inching closer, you could see his chest rising and falling heavily while attempting to make his eyes grow wider. But for some reason, his expression looked rather unsure.

“Are you okay?” you asked again.

“I’m gonna eat you!”

“You can’t eat me.”

The look on his face vanished fast as he drew his brows together in confusion. “I can’t?”

You shook your head. He lowered his hands a bit as he stepped back but his eyes were still fixed on you.

“But it’s my birthday. You gotta let me eat you,” he said, taking one look at you. “Or maybe just bite your arm?”

“What are you talking about? If it’s your birthday, you should eat cake!“

"I don’t eat cake.”

“You don’t?”

He looked away from you for a second before meeting your eyes again. “I don’t know what a cake is.”

“You don’t know what a cake is?” you echoed and he shook his head. You pressed your lips into a pout and thought. “I know! Come with me!” You grabbed his arm, forgetting about everything else and took him back to the village.

At this time of the day, the village was full of people; merchants with their items, mothers with their kids; the mixed crowd weaved their way through the busy market filled with stores and all sorts of products. There were clothes, accessories, vegetables and live animals for sale and it took you all your strength to keep the boy from leaving your side.

You rounded the corner and found the baker pulling out fresh loaves of bread from the oven.

“There! At the very back,” you pointed at a round stack of bread with fresh cream and sliced fruits on top. “That’s a cake. The bread is very soft and the thing on top are sweet.”

Mingyu stood in silence with his eyes studying the odd food in front of him.

“Hey there kiddo,” the baker greeted placing the bread on the basket. “Ya’ here to buy sum’ bread?”

“No, mister. I’m just showing my friend what a cake is,” you smiled. “It’s his birthday today!”

“Is that so? Well, I can’t give you a whole cake but,” he motioned for you to stay where you are before walking away. When he came back, he had a mini-cake the size of your palm and gave it to the boy. “Happy birthday,” he grinned before going back to work.

You turned to him and waited to see his reaction with a smile on your face. But the way he stared at it, he really seemed to not know what it is. “You can take a eat it, you know. You don’t have to pay for it since that mister gave it to you.”

He brought it close to his nose and smelled it but his reaction didn’t say much. He took a small bite and chewed for a while before swallowing, his expression never changing.

“So?” you asked. “Do you like it?”

He looked at you with the same expression and spoke. “I like it.” The corners of his mouth turned up and soon enough, he was grinning widely like earlier enough for you to see his sharp teeth again. “I like it!” he repeated, his eyes sparkling at his new food discovery.

“That’s good!” you grinned wider, watching as he finished the tiny cake. He was smiling all along until his eyes grew wide.

“Did…did you want…I finished it,” he said, his voice sounding guilty before you laughed and shook your head.

“It’s okay. I can eat food with…oh no! I need to go!” You started to walk before he called out.

“Wait! What’s your name?”

“I’m y/n. What’s your name?”

“I’m Mingyu.”

“It’s nice to meet you Mingyu. I’ll see you again, okay?”

He looked at you with the same blank expression that he had with the mini-cake, his lips forming into a slight pout. “You’re going already?”

“I have to go to my nana. She’s waiting for me. But I’ll play with you again next time, okay?” you waved at him. “Bye!” You turned and ran leaving Mingyu behind.

“Bye,” he said softly, watching your red-hooded figure disappear from his view, unaware that the next time he’ll be seeing you wouldn’t be until after a few years later.