The scene shown on the huge TV screen in the living room mesmerized Seungwan so much her widened eyes stopped blinking and her jaw dropped open for a few seconds. Mrs. Son had to raise her voice to take her out of her trance to get her attention,

“Seungwannie, come to help me set the table.”

The little girl jumped to her feet and skipped her way to the kitchen.

“I’m coming, mommy!”

“What were you watching, Wannie? You were so into it, you didn’t listen to my voice.”

“Mommy, mommy, there was this boy and he, he has many, many, maaany little naifess in his thumb.”

Seungwan narrated the scene while pinching her thumb and then showing it to her mother,

“And he puts his hands on the wall and then he doesn’t fall because the naifess are stuck and then, he goes up up up the roof! The roof, mommy!”

The speed with which the child narrated the scene was such it resembled a tongue twisting rap verse. Her high-pitched voice cracked at times for leaving her lungs with such impetus. Her mother always wondered why her daughter always sounded like she had a megaphone incorporated in her vocal cords. She barely managed to contain her laughter when listening to her child struggling to pronounce the word ‘knife’ properly. The reason was as simple as it was memorable. Seungwan had just lost her first tooth. The lower central incisor, to be precise. It happened the same evening the family celebrated their youngest sixth birthday.

She was so happy they got her favorite lemon cake that she bit into the slice they served her a tad too enthusiastically. The mere sight of a few drops of blood tainting the fluffy light-yellow surface made her drop the paper plate on the ground, and run towards her mother, who consoled her by telling her that the tooth would grow back again later.

Her older sister by three years, Seunghee, found the lone tooth semi-buried in the Chantilly cream covering the cake. Seungwan refused to grab it at first, but once she calmed down, she stared at it for a while, fascinated.

She stored it inside a small round jewelry box next to her hair accessories on the desk in the room she shared with Seunghee. She promised herself she‘d store the follow-up fallen teeth inside, as well.

She has been talking funny ever since. Even her kindergarten teacher chuckled when she heard the child recite the poem that she had memorized for Teacher’s Day in front of the class.

“What did you say the boy had sticking out of his thumb?”

Mrs. Son needed to hear her cute and funny way of pronouncing the word one more time.

“Naifess!”

Mrs. Son burst into laughter. Seungwan got surprised at this.

“Don’t laugh, mommy. It’s true!” She frowned, her lips forming a pout.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I believe you, I do.”

Her mother placed a hand over the side of the girl’s head and brought it close to her for a kiss. Certainly, Mrs. Son did not laugh because she doubted the veracity of her child’s story.

Seungwan soon forgot about it and finished collecting all four spoons and four forks she needed from the drawer; one for her mommy, one for her daddy, one for her big sister and one for her.

“Lunch is served!”

Mrs. Son called for her family to join them at the table. Mr. Son was the first to come straight from the attic, his usual place to spend his free time after a tiring day of teaching at school. He was a chemistry teacher working at one of the best high schools in the city.

Seunghee followed him, her attention on the fairytale book she was reading avidly. Her dad bought her a deluxe collection of classics - The Brothers Grimm stories included - after she finished her second year in primary school with the best grades of the class.

Seungwan looked up to her older sister and always wondered if she would ever be as smart and brilliant as Seunghee was. Fortunately, her parents were not the type to compare their kids, which can eventually cause friction between them. Even so, Seungwan, at her tender age, still felt the pressure. She wanted them to be as proud of her as they were of her sister.

Tonight’s menu was Italian: spaghetti and meatballs, recently baked white bread, fresh lettuce and cherry tomatoes salad, red wine for the parents and grape juice for the girls, of course.

“Hmm, very delicious. Your food is always delicious, darling.”

Mr. Son praised his wife, both exchanging brief loving gazes. Seungwan was getting a bit frustrated with the fork because she could not twirl it properly, so Seunghee helped her with it.

“Thank you, unnie.”

She gave her sister a grateful grin, flashing her incomplete set of teeth.

“Try not to spill the sauce on your t-shirt.”

The older girl pointed at the younger’s clothes. Seungwan immediately lowered her head to see if that had happened. Luckily, it had not.

Yet.

“Your cousin Jongdae is coming in the afternoon. Aunt Minji and I are going shopping downtown, so please be nice to him, OK?”

Mrs. Son gave Seunghee a look, clearly the question was directed at her. The girl made a face.

“Why today? I don’t like Jongdae, mom.”

“Why not? He’s a very polite boy. Besides, he has taken care of your sister at times you and I could not. Don’t forget that.”

Jongdae was two years older than Seungwan and attended primary school, like Seunghee. Seungwan would enter the following year. She liked to play with him. He had the coolest toys ever. Many superhero action figures – her favorites - with many accessories, and police officers riding remote-controlled motorcycles.

“He’s always annoying this new friend I made at school. Every day he sneaks in our classroom and leaves a letter with tons of red hearts drawn all over it inside one of her notebooks on her desk. He always writes weird things like, 'You are so pretty. You are the prettiest girl in the world.' or 'I like you. Be my girlfriend.' Always with many grammar mistakes and terrible calligraphy. He’s so embarrassing. She’s so tired, but doesn’t know how to tell him to stop. I once told him to, but he doesn’t listen.”

“Aww poor boy, he must like her a lot. Don’t be so mean, Seunghee. He’s still too young. Give him a break.”

Seunghee let out a resigned sigh at her mom's remarks.

“I invited her to come home today, too. But, now that I know he’s going to be here…”

“Well, he will be playing with your sister in the backyard while you take your friend to your room. Problem solved. No more conflicts, OK?”

Mrs. Son’s serious tone sounded final, and that made Seungwan sense the tension between them and it worried her.

“Mommy, don’t be mad at Seunghee. She’s good. She’s not fighting Jongdae. She’s not fighting Jongdae. She’s good.”

Mrs. Son rushed to calm the little girl by patting her head.

“It’s OK, Seungwannie. I’m not mad at your sister. I’m not. We were just talking. Right, Seunghee?”

The older girl nodded understanding and gave her baby sister a soft smile.

“Not mad, Wannie. Mommy is not mad.”

Seungwan calmed down at her words. And Mrs. Son decided to change the topic.

“I am looking forward to meet your new friend, Seunghee. You haven’t told me her name yet, what is it?”

“Joohyun.”

“Oh, that’s a lovely name, isn’t it, darling?”

The lady tried to get her husband's attention. He was too engrossed checking the message inbox on his cellphone that he had lost track of the topic of the conversation long ago.

“Uh, yes, yes, very.” He answered absentmindedly.

His wife just shook her head. ‘Phones always get in the way of couples’ communication, deteriorating their relationship.’ she heard a friend say one time. She could not agree more at that moment.

“What do you think, Seungwannie? Do you like her name, too?”

The little girl nodded, looking pleased.

“Yes. I like it.”

Act followed, she was wiping any remaining tomato sauce stain off .

“Can I leave the table, mommy?”

“Yes, you can.”

Seungwan hopped down from the big chair she was sitting at, and sprinted towards the stairs.

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth!”

Mrs. Son could only hope her youngest daughter had paid attention this time.

--

“Which one you want to play with? I brought Captain America… Luke Skywalker… Batman…The Terminator… Pegasus Seiya… Son Goku… Alucard, aaaaand Hercules.”

Jongdae listed his action figures at the same time he placed them on the carpet in the living room, displaying them in front of his cousin for her to select the one she fancied the most. Seungwan stared at the toys for a few seconds, her eyes scanning the features of every single one of them.

“Hmmm… Who’s the most powerful?” She finally asked.

“Most powerful? It depends. They are from different universes, Wan-ah.” He said reluctantly.

“I want to play with the most powerful.”

“You choose. You decide.” He shrugged. “If you choose Luke Skywalker you can use the Force and move stuff. If you choose Batman you are very rich and have very cool weapons. Hercules is half-human, half-god. Alucard is a vampire and doesn’t get old, also gets cured very fast from bad wounds. Then-”

“I want that one!”

Seungwan made up her mind before her cousin could finish explaining each of the characters’ powers.

“If you shoot me, I won’t die easy.”

“Oh. Good point. Good choice.” Jongdae nodded in agreement. “Then, I will choose…“

Before the boy could decide, the bell rang and Seunghee came down the stairs to open the front door. Both kids stood up to see who it was.

“Sorry I was late. My mom got stuck in the traffic.”

Jongdae recognized the voice instantly. He looked at Seungwan, his eyes widened and mouth opened in excitement; she copied his reaction not understanding why.

Soft and demure. It was her voice. He had no doubt.

“Let’s go upstairs. Jongdae is here with my sister.” Seunghee told the visitor before letting her in.

“OK.” The girl replied.

Much to Seunghee’s discontent, it turned out impossible to just walk past the younger children and ignore them. She had wished the kids were playing in the backyard as her mother told her they would.

“Hi, Joohyun!” Jongdae exclaimed enthusiastically, unable to contain himself any longer.

Seeing her cousin so nervous made Seungwan even more curious.

“Hi.”

The newcomer greeted back before shifting her view towards the smaller child standing right next to the boisterous boy.

Seungwan remained unresponsive. Her little mouth partially open when she locked eyes with the 9-year old girl.

“Seungwan? Said ‘hi’ to Joohyun, please.”

Seunghee sounded a tad impatient. The less they interacted with Jongdae, who looked like he wanted to say more to Joohyun, the better.

“Hi.” She replied in the tiniest voice, and hid behind Jongdae right away.

It made Joohyun chuckle.

“Awww, hi, Seungwan.”

She waved at her one last time, a sweet smile on her face that Seungwan barely caught a glimpse of, still hiding behind her cousin. That glimpse as brief as it was made the little girl’s chubby cheeks feel hotter than usual.

“Let’s go upstairs. I want to show you something. Come with me.”

Seunghee clung onto Joohyun's arm and both left toward her bedroom.

“She’s so beautiful.” Jongdae sighed loudly as he fell on his behind abruptly. “I’m so gonna kiss her and she gonna be my wife.”

“Kiss her?” A still blushing Seungwan asked, confused about what exactly he meant by that.

“Yeah. Kiss.” He jutted out his lips and put his fingers over them. He noticed the girl looked confused, so he stood up and grabbed a couch pillow,

“Like in romantic movies, remember? The man puts his hands on the woman’s face, tells her he loves her with all his heart, and pulls her close and-“

He pressed his lips against the pillow with frenzy as a demonstration. Seungwan remembered the girl’s face, specifically her lips when she smiled at her, and looking at how Jongdae kept making weird noises while rubbing his face against that poor pillow, her cheeks heated up again, and she did not know why.

“Do you want her to play with us, Wan-ah?” He asked her.

The little girl nodded in the act.

“Let’s go ask her!”

Jongdae yanked Seungwan’s arm, not letting the girl have a second to decide whether she wanted to do that or not.

The kids climbed up the stairs to the second floor. On their left was a tall window through which one could see the house’s main entrance and roofless garage. On their right, the long wooden corridor with three doors on its left and two on its right. At the end of it, in front of them, was the spiral staircase leading to the attic. Seunghee and Seungwan’s shared bedroom was located right after the first door, which belonged to the second bathroom out of three in the house. In front of their room was the spacious studio their mom used as a home office for her nighty writing. As a full-time housewife, she found joy in writing poems and novels, some of which she had already published traditionally with moderate success. She hoped her firstborn would follow her steps, given how good Seunghee was already at writing short essays for school at such a young age. Her husband rather supported the idea, though he believed their eldest daughter had brain for something more complex, in his opinion, something like… science. Seungwan, on the other hand, was still a big question mark for both of them. There was still time. She was much too young to know for sure.

“They must be in your room!”

Jongdae hesitated to grab the door’s handle.

“Knock first.”

Seungwan stopped him.

“Seunghee unnie always gets mad at mommy when she doesn’t knock first.”

She put her hand close to and started biting her nails.

“But, this is your room, too.” Jongdae reasoned, to which Seungwan just shrugged.

The boy let out a frustrated sigh and knocked on the door as his cousin asked him to.

Soon after, Seunghee opened the door, but exited the room without letting them see where Joohyun was.

“What do you want?”

She looked at him unable to hide her annoyance. Jongdae was about to say something, but her eyes and tone intimidated him, so he elbowed Seungwan to speak instead.

“Can we play with you, please?” She spoke timidly, her insecure puppy eyes moving her sister.

Seungwan was too cute and innocent for Seunghee to send her away harshly. Had Jongdae been all by himself, another would have been the story. Clever bastard, that boy, she thought.

“OK, but-“

Before she could tell them her terms and conditions, she heard the main door downstairs being unlocked.

“Seunghee! Seunghee! Come help me, please!” Mrs. Son called her daughter loudly, after realizing she was not in the living room.

The girl huffed.

“OK, wait here, you two. Don’t enter until I come back, do you understand?”

Seungwan nodded effusively. Never in her short life had she disobeyed her big sister.

Before going downstairs, Seunghee went back inside the bedroom alone.

“My mom needs my help; I will be back in a minute. Please, wait here.”

She left the room after Joohyun nodded. She closed the door behind her, not letting the little children in, and sprinted downstairs.

“Let’s get in.”

Jongdae was not willing to follow the order given and reached for the handle again.

“No, Seunghee will get mad. No.”

Seungwan tried to stop him, feeling scared.

Suddenly, the door opened.

“Come inside, please.”

Joohyun made way for the kids to enter. Jongdae stepped in right away, but Seungwan dubitated, walking gingerly at first.

“Seunghee left you out because of me. It was my fault, Seungwan, I’m sorry. It’s not right. This is your room, too.”

Her voice was very soft and girly. More girly than Seunghee’s. It sounded so pleasant to Seungwan’s ears.

“Seunghee is evil. She cannot tell Joohyun 'do not enter' because it’s her room, too. She…she always does mean things. She’s a witch. It’s not your fault, Joohyun. You’re much better than her. Much better, much better.”

Jongdae fueled the fire hoping to earn Joohyun’s favor.

Seungwan noticed the girl was pursing her lips and looked like she was about to cry. That made her rush to her side and put a hand on her left cheek.

“It’s OK, don’t get sad. Don’t.”

Her little chubby hand was very warm and soft. Its touch made Joohyun feel better in a heartbeat. She raised her eyes and met Seungwan’s.

“Smile, please.” Seungwan begged her, her vivid brown eyes showing genuine concern.

Joohyun did not need to force a smile for the little girl. It just happened spontaneously. Seungwan’s sweet gaze followed by an unexpected funny dorky face made her laugh.

“Do you wanna play with us?"

Joohyun nodded, still smiling at her.

Jongdae could not contain his happiness at her agreeing to Seungwan's request.

“Let’s go to the attic before Seunghee comes!” He prompted.

The girls accepted the suggestion.

--

“Oh no! The toys! We left them in the living room.” Seungwan lamented, putting her hands over her head.

“Forget them. Let’s play something else. Hmm, have you ever played ‘The Ceremony’?”

Seungwan shook her head. Joohyun, too.

“It’s very cool.”

Jongdae grabbed Seungwan’s arm brusquely, and made her climb up the sole bench that Mr. Son had put near all the big vaults storing the family’s stuff that didn’t fit anywhere else anymore, but that he refused to throw away.

“Here, stand here.”

He went around and picked up one of the dusted books that were laying over the big table in the corner.

“You will be the wizard priest who says the sacred words from this magic book.”

He approached the girls, opened the old book, which had a strong moldy smell, and put it on Seungwan’s arms.

“Now, Joohyun is in a trance, because she was cursed by an evil witch. She cannot move. OK?”

He tried to grab Joohyun’s arms to move her right in front of Seungwan, but hesitated. She was slightly taller than he was.

“Do I stand here?”

Joohyun understood what he wanted and before he could touch her, she stood where he wanted her.

“Yes, thank you.”

The nervous boy was already sweating.

Seungwan realized that something was off and her face turned stern.

“I will be the young wizard who knows how to remove the curse. When you read the magic words I will…“

He stopped talking and just stared at a very puzzled Joohyun. His eyes quickly deviated towards her lips, and then, he grabbed her by the forearms and pulled her closer to him in a frantic attempt to kiss her.

“No.”

Joohyun yelped and winced, closing her eyes as a reflex, but before she could push herself back, the big old book fell hard over the boy’s head.

“Ouch!” He hissed, “Seungwan! What is wrong with you?!”

Tears pooled in his eyes. It hurt him a lot.

“Don’t. Kiss. Her.”

There was not a single trace of the initial cheerfulness left in Seungwan’s voice. Her little hands had curled into fists and were shaking in anger.

“She doesn’t like you. Leave her alone. Go away. Or I’ll punch you in the face.” She threatened him stoically.

“You’re just like your sister!” He started weeping. “I will tell your mom what you did!”

He stormed out of the room.

Joohyun could not believe what had just happened. She looked at the younger girl, still standing atop the bench and looking at the door, her breathing agitated, her lips trembling.

Seungwan’s stern expression changed for one of surprise after feeling Joohyun’s hand wrapping around hers. She turned around and met the girl’s eyes again.

“Come down.” She said, and Seungwan followed suit.

“Thank you for protecting me.”

Joohyun smiled at Seungwan, who was not able to say a word from the second the older girl touched her hand the way she did. Joohyun snickered when she noticed her state, and bent slightly to reach the girl’s face.

In that moment, she placed a soft kiss on Seungwan's right cheek, and then moved back to face her.

“You’re my guardian angel, Seungwannie.”

A/N: Thank you so much for over 100 subscriptions with just the foreword. I hope you like the first chapter!!! Please leave your comments down below.