He remembered clearly how he first met her, when he was eight.  His parents had brought him to their company function.  He had kicked up a fuss as he was unable to stay at home and watch Spongebob and instead had to attend some boring event.

"Appa," he whined.  "There are no children here to play with."

His father smiled at him and patted his head.  "There are.  The rest have all grown up to become teenagers already.  Look closer and you'll find her," he teased his younger son.

"Appa!" he complained before turning to his mother.  "Omma, Appa's lying again."

His mother laughed and was about to reply when a little girl, aged around three or four, appeared shyly behind her parents, her small hand clutching her mother's.

"Ahh, Mr Seo, Mrs Seo, so glad you could make it," his mother welcomed, hugging her while her husband shook the other man's hands.

Donghae quickly scattered behind his mother and peeked out, a shy grin on his face.

"This is my son, Donghae," introduced his father as he bowed from behind his mother.

Mr Seo smiled.  "This is my daughter, Joohyun, but she likes to be called Seohyun."

Mrs Lee laughed and she ruffled her son's hair, pushing him forward.  "Weren't you saying there was no children to play with?  Now there is.  Say hello."

He winced at his mother's words before going up to Seohyun, who was looking at him with her wide eyes.

"Hello, I'm Donghae.  I'm older than you so you have to call me oppa," he proclaimed.

Their parents stifled a laugh as Seohyun blinked in response, then looked up at her mother.

"Honey, he said he's your oppa," she tugged her hand gently.  "Do say hello."

"Hello Donghae oppa, Seo Joohyun innida," Seohyun murmured, bowing like just how her parents taught her to.

Their parents laughed and smiles went all around them.

That meeting marked the start of a beautiful friendship between them.  Every time they went to company functions, he would always look for her and take care of her until their parents were free, which was late midnight.  Everytime, his parents or her parents would find them sitting outside in the balcony or on two dinner chairs, her sleeping on his shoulder, and him trying to stay awake, blinking his eyes.

It got to the extent that he told his parents that "when I grow up, I want to marry her" and his parents laughed.  Their parents signed them up for the same elementary school until high school.  Everything they did, they did together.  You would always find them together.  Boys envy from afar, girls seethed from a distance.

He remembered that high school night, when he was at home in front of the computer doing his project work.  He had skipped to go for the company event as firstly, he was old enough to take care of himself and secondly, he had a project to be submitted in two days.  He was was about to go down to the kitchen to make a hot drink for himself when he heard hammering on the door, admist the heavy rain.

He quickly ran downstairs, flinging the door open to see Seohyun standing there, soaked in the rain, with tears streaming down her face.

"Seo, what's wrong?" he asked, pulling her into his house quickly and shutting the door, running to get a towel for her and patting her dry as she started to break down into sobs.

"Appa and Omma, they're gone," she managed to sob out in his arms.

Donghae paused in his tracks.  After two weeks, two weeks after the incident caused by a rival company, both Mr Seo and Mrs Seo didn't make it.  He blinked away the tears and tried to soothe her in his arms.  Her face, buried in his chest as he tried to calm her down.

"They didn't make it.  Seo is at our house now," he typed out the message before sending it to his parents.

"Thirty minutes," his father had replied.  "Stay with her."

"I know."

Less than thirty minutes had passed before the front door opened and his parents came in, seeing her in his arms and his head resting on hers.

"Donghae," his mother called.

He quickly raised his head up.  "Omma, Appa, you're back."

"We'll be going to the hospital.  Her grandparents... they disowned her parents after they found out it was shotgun wedding.  We're the next closest thing to being her relatives.  Can you stay with her?"

He nodded, and he brushed away the hair that had plastered to her face.

The shouting, the crying and the screaming that had taken place at the funeral was shrill and loud.  Only her mother's side had came, her father's side had completely ignored her and sent a messgae that read "We're not going."

Her tears, soaked in his shirt, as she scrolled through her messages to see if her grandparents and relatives would be coming, him staying besides her, his hands her hair to soothe her.

He remembered the final words her grandparents her told her. "Don't look for us.  You're no granddaughter nor family of ours."  And then they left her like that.

She had put up a strong front, insisting to continue living in her house despite the rest of the company's advices and wanting to take her in.  Donghae understood and hadn't said much to ask her to come and stay with them.  She was a stubborn girl.

That was when he swore never to let her become hurt again.  He would protect her, stay by her side and take care of her, never letting her become sad or hurt by anyone again.

That was until his cousin, Cho Kyuhyun, came into her life.

Their lives, to be exact.

Kekeke thanks so much for all the subscribers and comments!  ^^  I really appreciate it a lot a lot :D

Hope this chapter was up to standard and Kyuhyun will be coming in soon!  :D