Suzy rarely spent time with her mother, but they often had breakfast and dinner together. Her mother ate at the end of the long,rosewood table in the dining room. They had a personal cook that would place food from all corners of the world onto the expensive, purple silken cloth over the table. Her house was large, and it was due to the efforts of her grandfather. Her father passed away from the same disease, it seemed.

    Suzy glanced at the twinkling chandelier over her head. The diamonds twisted into many knots, and when it would get dark, they glowed like crystals of stars. Almost like the real cosmic bodies in the inky blackness of the night-sky.

        “Mother, I would like to see my friends tomorrow. We are hunting for treasure,” she said, her voice slicing through the silence.

Her mother glanced up from her overflowing bowl of soup. She had grown thinner in the past four months. “Friends, my darling?”

    The little girl nodded. “Yes. Hongbin, Myungsoo and Jongin. We're looking for treasure. Hongbin thinks my grandfather could have hid it somewhere in the garden.”

Her mother never looked so amused before. “I will certainly let you go.” She paused, twisting her spoon in the soup. “I suppose it's time that you make friends your own age. I was afraid your only friends were the stars.”

    “But the stars are my friends, mother.” Suzy felt an excitement quiver inside her. It was daring to share her thoughts about her friends. “Mother, Hongbin is the Sun. Myungsoo is the Moon. And Jongin is the Earth.”

By then, her mother had a blank moment, where her face stared at something beyond Suzy’s comprehension.

The four friends gathered around a large oak tree in the orchards that Saturday. The sun beamed in the cloudless sky. An arid wind whispered among the branches. It was a warm day, such that Suzy brought ice lollies for them all. As they drank the juice from their ice lollies, they also examined Hongbin’s withered treasure map. It was not a large map, but there were scribbles and doodles all over it. Hongbin claimed it was a map of the orphanage. He even pointed at all the familiar structures.

    “It doesn't say whether there's hidden treasure,” said Jongin, frowning at the landmarks.

        “Duh. It's a treasure map. The whole point is to have an adventure,” said Hongbin. He was giddy that morning. His teeth were stained purple from the ice lolly juice.

    “Kid has a point,” said Myungsoo. “It's a puzzle that we have to solve, but no offence, Hongbin. I've already explored every inch of this place. There's no hidden treasure.”

Hongbin chuckled. “If you're so smart, have you visited the woods?”

    The colour vanished from Myungsoo’s face until he resembled a vampire. He pursed his lips. Jongin giggled, but his laughter ended when the remains of his lolly fell to the ground.

Suzy rubbed her temples. She often saw her mother perform such an action when she was deep in thought. “Hold on a second,” she said, reverberating her mother's words. “Aren't we forbidden from entering the woods?”

    “I swear it's safe,” said her friend, with his eternal sunny smile, dimpled in the corners, contagious for the atmosphere. “Besides, Mr. Kitty- came from the woods.”

    As if responding to the sound of his name, a meow was heard from above. Indeed, the tawny kitten whom Hongbin had rescued was resting lazily on one of the branches, blinking indolently at the four friends.

        “Mr. Kitty-!?” Jongin choked. Then he burst into laughter. Suzy also found the pet name amusing. Myungsoo observed with his usual calculating expression, but there was no denying that the corner of his lips twitched.

“Yeah! Mr. Kitty- can lead us into the woods. We won't travel too far. It'll be fun, I promise,” vowed Hongbin.

    Myungsoo’s scowl darkened “And why should we follow a cat whose name is equivalent to its rear? Ridiculous.”

Jongin slapped a hand on his knee. “Ridiculous!” he emulated.

    Suzy noticed the disheartening frown on Hongbin’s face. She sympathized with him. The boy was willing to share his treasure map with them. And besides, curiosity took hold of her. What sort of treasure was hidden away from them?

        “Oh come on, you two. Hongbin has more experience in finding treasure than the three of us put together. If we have to follow Mr. Kitty-, then so be it. I want to find treasure.”

She was glad when Hongbin’s smile reappeared. Jongin was ashamed as was evident in the scarlet blush across his bronzed face. Myungsoo glanced at her in disappointment. In the end, they came to an agreement. They would enter the woods with Mr. Kitty- leading them. Myungsoo suggested carving marks on trees so that they would not lose their way. That task was left to Jongin while the rest of them dug for treasure.

    While Jongin searched under rocks, Suzy vigorously dug in the soil with a stout twig. Hongbin and Myungsoo joined her.

“What do you want to be when you grow up, Hongbin?” asked Jongin. His face blanched when he found a centipede under a pile of leaves. He yelped, jumping back and falling into a pratfall,earning a chuckle from his friends.

    “You okay?” Hongbin held his hand, and pulled him back to his feet. “To answer your question, I want to be a pirate.”

Jongin gasped. Suzy clamped a hand over , while Myungsoo resumed his habitual glare.

“A pirate? So you want to break the law?”

    “Hey, I want to be a good pirate. Besides, I'd love to captain my own ship and explore! I want to find a place that no one ever found before.” Hongbin grinned a