“One day, I’m gonna marry you!” Tight fisted, Shuhua bellowed her words. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes set. 

Across the yard, Soojin blushed. At her side, her mother chuckled. “Well she’s an energetic one, isn’t she?” There was a teasing nature to the older woman’s tone. 

Soojin hid behind her mother, hands fisted into the fabric of her summer dress. “Mommy, she’s loud,” she whispered into the floral pattern. 

“She is,” Soojin’s mother agreed. Petting the crown of her daughter’s head, the woman assured, “But her heart seems kind.”

Watching Shuhua retreat, her parents leading her away, Soojin frowned. “But she’s so loud.”

Shuhua was loud. 

“Seo Soojin,” She howled from the top of the slide. Her hair was just as wild as her eyes. “I love you!” The words waffled in the wind as she plunged headfirst down the slide and into the enclosed tube. When she shot out the bottom, it was head long into the sand. 

“You’re so loud.” No matter how many times Soojin pointed it out, Shuhua never changed. “And dirty.” The sand clung not only to her clothes, but to her wild hair. 

“And I love you!” Shuhua proclaimed with a mouthful of sand. “Plah, plah-,” she spat, “Sand tastes yucky.” 

Brushing away what she could, Soojin sighed. “Let’s go home.”

Hand in hand, Shuhua skipped alongside Soojin. “Did you see how fast I went? I almost flew .” Not waiting for a reply, she babbled on, “It’s because I love you, you know? That I almost flew.” The way she hel