A little boy whose face was warped in annoyance and hostility came into the playroom. Some of the kids perked their heads up on the scene, while some ignored him. He ignored them back, anyway, and continued to trudge his feet to the farthest corner available for him to sulk on.

The boy sighed. He was really worried about his friend — Teukie as he addressed him — who was brought into the clinic earlier. He did not understand why he was denied to go inside with him, thus, the sour expression growing by the minute.

“What’s the matter, dear?” One of the teachers inside the room asked as she approached the upset kid. “Where is Leeteuk?”

Another sigh was Heechul’s reply.

This has always been the case for the duo. Despite their glaring differences, they were practically attached to the hip. Where one goes, the other follows. What one does, the other copies. Sometimes, it leads them to ‘face the wall’ sessions, and it sends Heechul to feel apologetic to Leeteuk every time. Well, he was quite the naughty and temperamental one, while Leeteuk was the obedient and reserved one, to state briefly.

“Heechul?” The teacher nudged him again and she could not hide her surprise as the kid looked up to her, his eyes b with tears.

“Can we... go... Teukie… clinic…please,” Heechul mumbled in between sobs. It was fortunate that his teacher was able to catch what he meant. The child hardly cried, so he must have been very stressed that he can’t be beside his closest pal. Poor boy, she thought.

Without wasting another minute, the teacher took little Heechul in her arms and signaled her co-teacher present around to guard the other children. The boy wiped his tears with the back of his hands as they made their way to the clinic. His teacher knocked on the door, and politely asked the school nurse who answered them if they could visit Leeteuk, subtly gesturing the crying boy she was carrying.

“Oh, please come in, then.”

“Thank you. May I know what happened to Leeteuk?”

Whatever the two adults were discussing, Heechul heed no attention because all he wanted was to see his friend. He picked up ‘sudden dizziness’ and ‘parents will pick him up soon’ as he tried to wriggle his way out of the hold his teacher had on him. She put him down immediately, to Heechul’s relief.

“On the second bed, dear,” the nurse told him and in a second he was off running.

“Teukie,” Heechul softly called out as he went closer to the small bed and finally threw himself on its lone sleeping figure. Leeteuk whimpered, but pried his eyes open only to be greeted by a mop of hair, unmistakably Heechul’s. Countless sleepovers on each other’s houses helped him memorize Heechul’s profile, to be fair.

“Chullie, why… you… crying?,” Leeteuk uttered while patting Heechul’s head.

“Where does it hurt?” Heechul inquired as he sat himself down, staring at him with those big doe-eyes. Leeteuk pointed at his head.

Leeteuk’s drowsiness settled in once more after a moment of silence from the two. His eyes keep dropping on their own, but they fluttered open when Heechul suddenly bent down and kissed him on the forehead.

“Th-there, all better?” Heechul innocently asked. “Mama always kisses my pain away, so I kissed yours,” he explained.

Leeteuk could n’t help the tiny dent near his mouth from peeking out.

“You’re funny, Chullie,” Leeteuk replied, giggling.

“Not better?” Leeteuk was sure he was ready to get a glare, but Heechul surprisingly kissed his forehead again. To this, both kids gave a faint, but apparent sign of blush in their cheeks.

“Th-thanks, it’s all better now,” Leeteuk cutely replied, and that was all it took for the dimples to adorn Heechul’s face.

Unknown to them, the sweetest beams also began to radiate from the two adults secretly watching them. They exchanged glances, and the teacher chuckled in relief at the nurse’s remark.

“Well, that’s one less sulky child for today.”