Camp Echo, Mt. Desert Island, Maine

Taemin aged 6; Minho aged 8

—

"This is Camp Echo," Minho began as he tugged Taemin along. "That's the name of the lake over there. Our cabin is the Moose Cabin. It's just us two. There's a buncha other cabins, like the Eagle, Otter, Fox, and a lot more, but you have to share with five other boys. They're newer though. The windows get kinda leaky in the old ones, and the shower water is cold, and it always kinda smells damp in there, but I think it's better. The view from there—I can't wait to show you. Moose Cabin is the best, trust me. Do you even know what a moose is? It's like a giant deer. I only saw one once when we were out kayaking. Do you like kayaking?"

Taemin just shrugged. He didn't know what a moose or a kayak were, along with a lot of things Minho said. He wondered how old he was, to already be so much smarter than Taemin. He was nearly a head taller than him, and Taemin's hand almost disappeared in his fingers. 

Minho kept rambling, "Do they have kayaks in Korea? I haven't been there since I was a baby. You have cheeks like a baby. It's cute."

"I'm not a baby! I'm six," Taemin shouted suddenly, feeling very self conscious. He dragged Minho to a halt and stomped his foot on the ground. "Don't call me a baby!"

"I'm sorry, Taeminnie. You're just so adorable. Is it okay if I call you Taeminnie? I heard your mom call you that. It's cute, just like you. I'm happy you're here. I don't want to treat you like a baby. I want you to be my friend. It's cool that there's another Korean here. We only speak Korean at home. My grandma lives with us. She doesn't speak English, so we all talk in Korean so she doesn't feel left out. I don't want you to feel left out like my grandma, Taeminnie, so I want to look after you. I'm not trying to treat you like a baby, even though you have cute cheeks like one. I just want to be a good hyung."

Taemin was unsure what to say, his six-year old brain working overtime to process all the words spilling out of Minho's hyperactive mouth. He talked a lot. They'd only met ten minutes ago, when Taemin crashed into him trying to escape from this camp full of people talking away in a language he couldn't understand. Minho came to offer his services as a translator, helping his mom explain that they'd only moved to the States a month ago from Seoul, and Taemin couldn't speak a word of English. As the only other kid that could understand him, Minho volunteered to be his camp buddy. He had the kindest eyes Taemin had ever seen. That's the only reason he stopped crying and clinging to his mom. Ever since Taemin agreed to stay, Minho hadn't shut up for a single second. Taemin hadn't even heard a single bird or anything because Minho wouldn't stop chattering away, but Taemin really didn't mind. The rattle and rhythm as he droned in and on so made a comforting sound, like the light pitter patter of rain against a window, or his dad clacking away at the typewriter in his office. 

"Hey, Minho!" a random camper said, appearing out of nowhere, getting set to aggressively wrestle Minho to the ground. At the sight of Taemin cowering in fear at the surprise, the boy stopped in his tracks.

"Hey, Andrew." Minho switched over to English. They had a brief chat Taemin didn't understand. He heard his name mentioned, and the other boy waved to him. Timidly, Taemin waved back after an encouraging squeeze of his hand by Minho. With a final exchange of one-sided laughter, Andrew passed on, and Taemin was alone with Minho once more.

"That's Andrew," Minho said. "He asked if you were my little brother, can you believe that? We don't even look similar. Just 'cause we're both Korean doesn't mean—Well, I've always wanted a little brother, though. Maybe we could pretend and trick the others. Maybe not, though. I don't really like tricking people. Andrew does. I don't like him very much, if I'm being honest. He plays a lot of pranks that aren't funny. We actually shared a cabin the first year, but my parents won't allow it after he emptied an entire jar of jelly inside my bag as a joke. A lot of my clothes had to be thrown away. He's 8, just like me, but he always rubs it in my face that his birthday is in September when mine's not 'til December. Be careful around him, okay Taeminnie? Well, actually, you don't have to worry about anything, 'cause your hyung will be there to look out for you. Am I talking too much? My dad always tells me not to speak unless I can improve the silence, but I'm just chatty, I guess. The other boys make fun of me for it sometimes. I hope you don't mind," Minho said, and then suddenly started tugging at his hand in excitement. "See that cabin up there, at the end of the path? That's Moose Cabin, our cabin. Let's go!"

As they hurried up the path, Minho's excitement began to wear off on Taemin. He glanced up at his new friend and his face