He was 7. 

She was 6.

It was Joohyun’s first day at the big school.

The school bell rang signaling the second most favorite subject of the students, (drum roll!!!) the most awaited lunch break!!! (The end of the school hours takes the top place). Immediately her classmates scampered outside the room like animals freed from the cage and sent to wilderness.

Joohyun was not much of a playful person. She is the type who is quiet and prefers to just sit at one corner observing the chaos surrounding her. She found a vacant bench and took her solitary place there. With her lunch box on her lap, she waited for Kyuhyun to arrive. He promised to join her during lunch time.

Oops! Correction. She reminded herself. It was her Aunt Naeri who promised her that Kyuhyun would be there. Not Kyuhyun himself. Since when did that guy has been kind to her? She could not really quite remember.

She was enjoying her post as a plain observer of all the chaos around her: the rough plays of the boys and the hyperactive chit-chats of the girls, when out of the blue, silence filled the air. Tension was slowly building up as the two giants   two boys emerged from the background. To little Joohyun, they were of magnanimous size they can be classified as mini giants. But it was doubtful if their brain were twice as much as the size of their bodies.

Joohyun recognized them. It was her first time seeing them but she could recognize who they were. They were the infamous bullies of the school Kyuhyun warned about. They were the ones who took advantage of their sunbae status and victimized the lower classmen. According to her “not-so-reliable” source, if you are so unfortunate that day that you happen to see them, it is better to flee than cross their paths lest you want them to include you to the long list of students they have traumatized. It is better to give in and beg for their smallest bit of mercy than fight back. That was the universal rule. She did not know if Kyuhyun was just exaggerating but it scared her a bit.

The bullies scanned the grounds hunting for their prey of the day. Perhaps they saw her gawking at them within that second so they locked their gaze to her. The other whispered something to the second one. He nodded his head toward her direction. They have spotted their target.

Joohyun looked away immediately. She closed her eyes, praying that the approaching footsteps that she heard were just a product of her hungry imagination.

“Hey kid, give me your lunch!!!”

Reality was standing in front of her and what big and scary reality it was.

It is better to flee than cross their paths…

It is better to give in and beg for their smallest bit of mercy than fight back.

Kyuhyun’s advice played back on her mind. However, she could not give up the bake potatoes made by her mother and endowed with love.

“Hey! How dare you attack those who are lower than you! I bet that’s because you cannot beat those that are higher than you! You’re such cowardly beings!” Joohyun screamed at them indignantly.

“You little! You hold her!!!” He motioned to the other. His subordinate went behind her and pinned her hands to the back. The leader raised his hand to hit her. Joohyun shut her eyes, anticipating the impact, the painful sting on her cheek but it never came.

She opened her eyes a millimeter and caught sight of someone’s hand restraining the bully’s arm. Her eyes quickly widened when she saw who it was standing behind the tormenter.

“Kyuhyun-oppa!”

“You do not need to hit her! I apologized for her, don’t worry she will do as you say.” Kyuhyun said.

Seohyun eyed him and furtively shook her head but Kyuhyun took no notice of it. He walked over to the bench and picked up Joohyun’s lunch box. He unhurriedly turned to them and with a quick meaningful look at Joohyun, he paused for a while. A smirk was slowly forming in his lips as he abruptly hurled the lunch box at them, spilling the contents all over their uniform. The bullies looked scandalized for the moment but Kyuhyun and Joohyun could sense that impending rage ready to explode in the upcoming seconds. Who would dare humiliate and dirty their clothes? 

“Run!” Kyuhyun bellowed as he grabbed the young girl’s arm and dragged her away. The other bully realized the great mistake he committed when he felt the young girl’s hands slipped so effortlessly out of her grip. He had become complacent he loosened his hold on her when the guy arrived and tried to make amends for her only ending up getting fooled by him. Now they had no one to hold hostage.

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After running and running into several passages which Kyuhyun obviously had memorized and mastered, most of which were so narrow that the bullies’ humongous sizes could not fit in, they managed to lose them. They had found their refuge in the secluded Science garden of the school.

“So between swollen cheek and stolen sweet potatoes, you will choose swollen cheek?” Kyuhyun asked incredulously.

Joohyun merely nodded. “Sweet potatoes are my everything,” she said with a pout on her face.

Kyuhyun placed his backpack down and took out his own lunch box. He opened it and pushed the box to Joohyun.

“Here, we can share this.”

Joohyun looked at the food in front of her. It was a salty fried chicken. It smelled delicious and looked really tasty. For sure it’s really scrumptious. She had always liked Aunt Naeri’s culinary skills. However, she still could not get over of her baked sweet potatoes that got wasted. Kyuhyun noticed the sad expression in her face.

“You know what? You’re so lucky today. This fried chicken is stuffed with sweet potatoes.”

At the mention of her favorite food, Joohyun instantly brightened up.

“Really?!!!”

Joohyun took several helpings of the food while Kyuhyun helped her. For a time, they were quietly muching over their food. Silence was only broken when Joohyun asked Kyuhyun a question.

“Why are you so good to me?”

“Eh?” Kyuhyun asked with a puzzled look.

“Why did you do that? You can get into trouble for that.” Joohyun said. All this time, all that Kyuhyun did to her was make fun of her or ignore her. This was the first time Kyuhyun actually did a good thing to her, based on her memory, at least.

Kyuhyun played first with the grass on the lawn where they’re sitting before he answered. “Because it’s you,” he said. That reply surprised the little girl.

“I am your oppa, I have to protect you. Besides, those bullies deserve some lessons once in a while,” he continued then he smiled at her.

“I have always thought you hate me,” Joohyun mumbled.

Kyuhyun chuckled and ruffled her hair. Joohyun looked at her with questioning eyes. Seriously, he acted weird and different that day.

“When we were in kindergarten, you always get irritated by me.” Joohyun told him. If he was just joking and making fun of her today, she was really determined to kick him.

“I’m sorry about that.” Kyuhyun replied, his tone now was apologetic. “I just don’t like how they made fun of our names. Sorry if I vent my irritation on you.”

Joohyun looked at his eyes and she could see his sincerity.

“But it’s different here, Joohyun. Here, they call me Kyu. I like you to call me like that too. While me, I’ll call you Seo. Let’s forget about the twin Hyuns chapter.”

“Seo? Why Seo? It’s my last name.”

“Honestly, I don’t like Joo.” Joohyun did not know if she should get offended or not. He just said that he did not like her name when it’s perfectly okay to others.

“Calling you Joo does not sound quite right.” Kyuhyun then recited her name in various inflections. “Seo is really better.”

“But it’s my last name. You’re addressing me with my last name. That is the one that does not sound quite right, oppa,” she debated.

“Okay, I’ll allow you to use Hyun, from now on I’ll call you Seohyun. All right Seohyun?” Kyuhyun answered.

“Seohyun?” Joohyun thought it does not actually sound bad.

“Okay, Kyu-oppa. You can call me Seohyun.”

“Hi Seohyun. I am Kyu,” Kyuhyun gladly said stretching his hand to her. “Shall we start anew? I’ll promise I’ll be a good oppa to you.”

The moment Seohyun held his hand, she did not know why but she seemed to feel her heart jump. Little did she knew that it was just the beginning of her innocent journey to the sweet realms of love.