Seungwan was only six. However, she was old enough to understand that this kiss was special. Her parents, her grandmothers, her aunts and even Seunghee had kissed her cheeks countless times, but this was different. Very different.

She did not know exactly what it made her feel, but it was a very, very pleasant feeling.

“Let’s go downstairs.”

Joohyun offered her hand to Seungwan, smiling sweetly at her. The younger girl put her palm over it without hesitation. With their fingers intertwined, they exited the attic.   

Right when they were about to grab the handrail of the staircase, Joohyun stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?” Seungwan asked her, sensing danger.

“N-nothing. It’s just that I don’t like spiral stairs much.” Joohyun swallowed her drying lips. “Going up is alright, but when I go down, I feel vertigo.”

“What is vertigo?”

Seungwan got even more worried because the word sounded like something seriously bad.

“I feel dizzy when I look down, like I’m going to fall and nobody can hold me back.”

When Joohyun explained to Seungwan what she felt, the latter said immediately,

“I will hold you back.”

Joohyun smiled feeling touched by the little girl’s words.

“If you look at me you won’t feel dizzy. Look at me. OK?” Seungwan instructed the older girl as she stepped on one stair first.

Joohyun gripped on the handrail with one hand, while holding Seungwan’s hand with the other, and took a deep breath before following the younger.

Slowly, one-step at a time.

“Don’t look down, just look at me.”

With each step Seungwan took, she kept turning around to make sure Joohyun was indeed looking at her.

A couple of minutes later, they were both safe and sound on solid ground.

“See? No problem!” Seungwan exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

Joohyun nodded. “Thank you, Seungwannie. You’re so kind.”

She was so grateful that she gave her another kiss on the same cheek.

Seungwan widen her eyes. The same feeling of the previous kiss invaded her once more. Her cheeks and earlobes turned warmer than usual, her lower tummy tickled, and then it all settled in that particular sensation of wellness inside her brain. Again, there was nothing she had experienced that could compare, the closest perhaps, that time she got a cold and a sore throat for playing outside with her hair still wet, and her mom had to give her a glass of soothing warm apple juice every night to help her ease the pain and congestion. Even so, it was not as soothing as Joohyun’s lips.

Was this the reason why Jongdae wanted to kiss Joohyun so much? Did he know how good her lips felt like?

“Do you want to see my toys now?” Seungwan suggested her as soon as they were inside her bedroom.

“Yes, of course.” Joohyun agreed. “Seunghee was showing me her collection of Barbie dolls before. She has so many of them.”

 “Do you have Barbie dolls, too?”

“Me?” Joohyun lowered her head, and added, “No, I don’t.”  Her tone of voice was sad.

“Why?”

Seungwan thought it was weird. She did not particularly like dolls. She much preferred action figures to dolls, but her father would often buy a new Barbie doll for both her and Seunghee every time he had to travel abroad for the conferences he attended. Whenever she and Seunghee played together with their Barbie dolls, she often played with the only Ken doll in the collection and liked to say he was a knight, a cop or a superhero who rescued secretary/ top model/princess Barbie from the worst danger.

“Your daddy doesn’t buy you dolls, too?”

Before Joohyun could answer the question, Seunghee entered the room, looking quite upset.

“Son Seungwan, what happened?”

Her older sister only called her by her full name when she was mad at her, and that made the little girl step back, her lips forming a sad pout, a usual indication that she would start tearing up at any moment.

“Jongdae was crying his lungs out to mom and aunt saying that you hit him with a book. Aunt Minji left with him a moment ago; I told you not to enter the room, you disobeyed me!”

Seunghee sighed frustrated, and Seungwan was literally on the verge of tears, not able to utter a word. The last thing she wanted was to upset her big sis.

“I don’t want to believe him; he always exaggerates things, so, can any of you explained to me what happened?”

 Seunghee looked at Seungwan one second and her friend another, waiting for either of them to answer.

“He tried to kiss me on the lips, and your sister hit him because of that. Don’t yell at her, please. She defended me. She’s the cutest, I swear.”

Her eyes filled with gratitude towards the youngest among them. Her kind words made Seungwan smile from ear to ear, her previous apprehension disappearing by the second.

Seunghee felt relief after understanding the situation. Her initially stern face softened.

“Aww, Wannie is like that. Stands up for you when you need help.”

Seunghee approached her sister and patted the crown of her head.

“She stood up for me once, too.” 

She gave her head a brief peck, and Seungwan reacted by hugging her by the waist, happy to see that her sister was mad at her no more.

“Really?” Joohyun gasped, wondering what bad thing had happened to her friend.

“I’ll tell you that story later, Joohyun-ah.”

Seunghee did not want to keep talking about the subject for the day.

“Unnie, can we watch a movie together, please?” The youngest begged her sister.

“Not today, Wannie. We have to eat dinner. Then, Joohyun’s mother will come to pick her up. Plus, it’s almost 6 p.m. Your time to go to bed is coming.”

Seungwan pouted hearing her sister say that, her brows coming together. Despite her warning, Seunghee felt sad because, like her little sister, she also wanted her new friend to stay longer. She had just started to know her better, if she stayed the night, perhaps they could talk more.

 “She has to leave?”

“Yes, but she’ll come back another day. Right, Joohyunnie?”

Her friend nodded slowly, looking at Seungwan.

“You promise?”

Seungwan raised her pinky finger, looking very serious about it. Joohyun raised hers in return.

“Promise.”

They interlocked their fingers as a symbol of their little pact.

Seungwan grinned, absolutely delighted. All she wanted was to have Joohyun coming home as often as possible. They exchanged sweet smiles.

“Come on, let’s go. Mom is waiting downstairs.” Seunghee interrupted them. “She is making your favorite cornstarch porridge, Wannie!”

---

“Bae Joohyun? That is your name, right, dear?” Mrs. Son asked their guest at the table.

She and the girls were alone at home this time. Mr. Son would come back home in an hour or so, he had a school meeting to attend.

“Yes, ma’am,” Joohyun answered, her voice soft and very polite.

“Seunghee tells me you just came to the city this year; how do you like it?”

The girl nodded, “I like it. It’s a very nice city.”

“Do you have any siblings?” The woman asked further.

The girl just shook her head.

“Aww, you must feel very lonely, then.”

“She’s very shy at school, too. I was the one who approached her first. That’s why I invited her to come home, mom.” Seunghee added as she finished her meal.

Seungwan listened to her sister, her eyes fixed on Joohyun, who kept eating in silence.

“I hope you visit us often, Joohyun. You are much welcomed in this house.” Mrs. Son gave the child a very motherly gaze.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

The girl's eyes meeting the youngest’s. Seungwan had been staring at the older girl for a while, and her food got cold because of that. Her heart started hurting, she could picture Joohyun standing alone in a corner, while people passed by her side ignoring her entirely. She did not like the image one bit.

The doorbell rang a few minutes after, and Mrs. Son went out to see who it was.

A tall bearded man with broad shoulders wearing a brown blazer was standing in front of her.

“May I help you?”

“Is this the Son family’s house?” He spoke in a deep raspy voice.

“Yes. Who asks?” 

“My apologies.” The man bowed slightly. “My name is Bae Joohwan, I’m Joohyun’s father. My wife gave me this address and told me to pick her up at this hour.”

“Oh, I see. Nice to meet you, Sir. Would you like to come in?”

Mrs. Son opened the wooden door slightly to let him enter the front yard towards the building.

“No, it’s not necessary; I’m quite in a hurry. I will wait for her here. Thanks.” He forced a curt smile.

“OK. Wait a minute, please.”

She went back inside to get the girl.

 “Your father is here to take you home, my darling.”

Seungwan noticed that Joohyun’s first impulse was to swallow hard.

“Ah. He came.”

The girl left her seat and walked slowly toward where Mrs. Son was standing.

“Wait!” Seungwan shouted and jumped off her chair.

Joohyun turned around instantly.

Seungwan walked fast and the moment she was right in front of Joohyun, she hugged her. She closed her eyes and tightened her embrace.

“Please, come back soon to play with me. You promised, OK?”

“I will.”

Joohyun Seungwan’s head.

“See you tomorrow at school, Joohyun-ah.” Seunghee joined her sister and grabbed her friend’s hand.

“See you, Seunghee. Bye, Seungwanie. The food was very delicious. Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Son.”

Joohyun bowed when Mrs. Son opened the front door. The man waved at the girl to come to his side, and she obeyed, head down.

“Thank you for taking care of her.”

He bowed again and turned around; Joohyun did the same and walked behind him.

Mrs. Son kept looking at them for a while until they approached a small light red car. It was a Volkswagen Polo. The man opened the co-pilot door for the kid and she climbed in. The moment he shut the door closed, he raised his head and caught Mrs. Son looking, so he lifted his hand and waved goodbye, which she did in return.

Soon, he was inside starting the engine and driving the car away. 

It was at that moment, that Mrs. Son realized that Seungwan was standing by her side, also watching them leave.

“Nice girl, isn’t she?”

Seungwan just nodded, her eyes still on the road.

“Time to go to bed, Wannie.”

Her mother took the child back inside the house. It was 7:30 p.m.

---

“Do you want me to read you a story to help you sleep?”

Her mom looked through the books on the shelf atop the big desk table Seungwan shared with her sister, who was busy putting her notebooks, pencil case and other school materials inside her backpack before getting a shower. Their mother had already showered her little sister and put her on the cute squirrel onesie pajamas that grandma had gifted her last Christmas. Mrs. Son had the costume to read bedtime stories to her daughters since they were 2 years old. Now, Seunghee was old enough to read them herself, and even though Seungwan could read the easy ones, she still preferred her mom to narrate the stories to her. Her voice lulled her to sleep.

However, tonight was different.

Her mind was still on Joohyun. Her kind stare, her voice, timid and velvety as a whisper, the way her soft lips felt on her cheek, her sweet smile, the thumping sound of her heart when she hugged her goodbye, the sadness that invaded her when it was time to leave.

“Wannie?”

Her mom took her out of her trance.

“Hmm?” She answered, tucked in bed under the white blankets.

“Something wrong, baby?”

The woman approached her child and put a hand over her forehead.

“Mommy? Can Joohyun come back this week and spend the night with us?”

“Hmm, I would have to tell her parents about that first, Wannie. They need to give their permission.” 

“I also want her to stay the night, mom.” Seunghee seconded her sister. “Stupid Jongdae ruined the day for us.”

“Seunghee… leave your cousin alone, please. I will speak with your aunt tomorrow so she can teach him that it’s not right to do things like that. I’m sure he will understand. He’s just a boy.” She sighed. “Don’t worry about that anymore. Go take your bath, please, it’s getting late.”

Seunghee obeyed.

“No stories tonight?”

Seungwan shook her head in response.

“Well then, goodnight, my baby. Dream of angels.”

Mrs. Son bent to kiss her daughter on a cheek.

“Not there.” The child dodged her. “Joohyun kissed me there.”

“Oh!” Mrs. Son did not expect that to be the reason. “Then, is the other cheek OK?”

Seungwan nodded, which made her mother titter as she kissed it and the forehead as well.

Minutes after her mother left the room, Seungwan sneaked out of bed and rushed to the desk. She tore a purple page off the multicolored sketchbook she used to draw in at the kindergarten and folded it in half transforming it into a folded postcard. Then, grabbed her color pencils and started writing a message on the inner page.

Seunghee was back fresh off the shower before Seungwan could finish. She looked at her sister eagerly drawing and coloring decorations on the card, and she understood for whom the card was.

When Seungwan noticed the presence of her sister, she tried to hide what she was making.

“It’s for Joohyun, right?”

Seunghee's spoke kindly, her tone calming Seungwan, who nodded.

“Give it to her tomorrow at school, please.”

Seunghee knew her sister had a kind heart. Perhaps, the kindest she would ever see. It was at moments like this when she wished she could protect her, as a good older sister should. Not just physically, but emotionally.

She wanted to take care of her new friend, too.

She was also very special.

---

Seunghee arrived early to school. The building was located quite close to her house. It took her around 15 minutes on foot to reach the main entrance. The day had a pleasant weather, sunny with a refreshing breeze. Among the students entering the building, she spotted Joohyun.

“Hey, you also came early.”

She clung onto her friend’s arm.

“Yeah, my father had to leave early because he had to go to the airport, so he drove me to school earlier than usual.”

“Work trip?”

Joohyun shrugged. “I guess.”

“He didn’t tell you? My dad always tells us where he is traveling to.”

Seunghee found it weird. She thought all dads would tell their children things like that.

“He is always busy working in his lab, and comes home late. I don’t see him often. Does your dad spend a lot of time with you?”

“Well, my dad also works a lot, but he spends the weekends with us. He likes to take Wannie and me to the park that is around the corner to ride our bicycles or play hide and seek. Then we go eat ice cream, and-” Seunghee was carried away, but noticed her friend’s smile faded. “Sorry.”

“No, why? Go on. Tell me what Seungwannie’s favorite ice cream flavor is.”

“Her favorite flavor? Hmm, that would be… lemon sorbet.”

Seunghee noticed how her friend’s whole face lit up after she mentioned her little sister's preference. That made her remember Seungwan’s request.

'Don’t read it, please.' Was the sacred condition. It was hard for Seunghee to resist the temptation to read it, but she respected her sister’s wish.

“By the way, she gave me something for you.”

She opened her backpack and searched for the folded postcard.

“Here.”

She handed it to Joohyun, who could not look happier to receive it.

Seunghee stretched her neck trying to peek inside. She failed to, but noticed her friend was smiling. Her smile was such, she assumed she really enjoyed the letter's content, but then, a lone tear fell from the corner of her eye. Seunghee could not bear the curiosity any longer and took the postcard back, and read the following short message,

please  don’t be scared.  

don’t  feel  lonely.

I will   care  for  you.

always.

 

Lots  of hugs,

 

your  guardian Seungwan

A/N: Thank you for supporting this story, hope the chapter was worth the wait. Please let me know your thought on the comments.