"Why are you crying?" The 10-year-old Luhan asked the skinny boy who was sobbing alone in one of the park swings.

"Ith becauthe they laugh at me... They thsay I talk funny." The boy cried some more. Rubbing his eyes with both hands. "They thsay am a lothser." A fresh bout of tears followed.

"You're not!" Luhan told the kid. His heart went out to the boy who was being made fun of because of his lisp. He doesn't want to see anyone being bullied.

"But ith true. My friendths thay thso." The kid said dejectedly.

"Well, don't believe them. If they say that about you then they're not really your friends. I can be your friend. I do need friends. My name's Luhan." He waited for the kid to look at him. The boy raised his watery eyes to stare at Luhan.

"You look different..." The boy told him.

"Maybe because I'm chinese." Luhan explained. "But I still don't know your name."

"Ith Thehun... So you’re from.. Tschina? But you speak Korean?" The boy asked, confused. Luhan felt relieved to see Sehun stopped crying.

"I learned a little bit before I came here. But I still got to study. I'm new here so I don't know anybody yet. Will you help me?" Luhan said with a smile.

"But I'm juth thseven.. I don't know too much." Sehun said hesitantly.

"But I think you're a bright kid and I'll learn a lot from you. So what do you say?" Luhan held out his hand to Sehun. "Friends?"

The boy reached for his hand and smiled at him for the first time. "Thure!"

The boy jumped and went on talking a hundred miles a minute, some of the words way beyond Luhan's korean vocabulary. But he didn't stop Sehun. He just smiled at his enthusiasm.

"You're going to be my beth bethfriend." Sehun finished. And they were. Bestfriends.

They did everything together. Sehun was always there at Luhan's doorstep every morning, waiting to take him to a new place in the neighborhood. The first few months of living in Seoul was hard for Luhan since it was the first time he left his home in the mainland and everything around him was different from what he's used to. It was also difficult to learn a new language when he hasn't even mastered his Chinese fully. But somehow with Sehun's presence, everything became a little easier. Well, if not easier it was certainly fun, though.

Sehun always did something that will make Luhan laugh. He likes to tell jokes and although Luhan understands only about a half of them, he still thinks his friend is funny. He thinks it's the way Sehun talks with his hilarious expressions and that endearing lisp of his.

Sehun still feels insecure about the way he talks. As his best friend, Luhan believes it's his duty to help Sehun get over it. Positive reinforcement, right? That's the way to go. So he made it a point to always encourage Sehun to talk with people more and participate in class activities. Like that one time during middle school that forever changed the way Luhan will look at milk.

"Are you thure... ehem... sure that this is ok?" Sehun asked Luhan. He was standing in front of his friend holding a piece of paper while Luhan was sitting on a park bench.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now stop stalling and let me hear you're poem."

"I'm not really good with this. Maybe, I'll just pass." Sehun said. “Or I'll just dance in front of class tomorrow."

"Sehunnie, it's your literature class. Why would you dance in front of them?" Luhan asked patiently.

"I'll just say my body is like a poem?"

"Read it, now."

"Milk.." Sehun paused, looked up from the paper and gazed at Luhan.

"Milk?" Luhan asked. "Anyways, go on."

Sehun proceeded to read:

MILK

Milk from School

Top Grade Milk

When You Drink the Milk It has a Rich taste…

"You're laughing!" Sehun accused.

Luhan, who was trying hard not to laugh answered, "No, I'm not! Just go on."

Sehun still looked accusingly at Luhan but he continued:

In the winter, Milk is Aromatic

Milk with Calcium

Double the times better than Normal Milk

Milk with 8g Fat

He looked at Luhan expectantly.

"Uh... that was enlightening." Luhan bit his lip.

"I knew it! I thsuck!" The 12-year-old-Sehun pouted.

"No, you don't. How many times do I have to tell you that? Maybe you just have to write something that you're really interested in. Write about something you love."

"Can I write about you?"

Luhan was a little surprised with Sehun's question. "Well, I'm not that interesting." He said with a little laugh.

"You're someone I love." The boy said with a shrug.

Luhan didn't know what to say, so he did what he always does when Sehun says something impertinent. He flicked the younger boy's nose with his fingers.

"Ow!" Sehun rubbed his nose. "Just wait, I'll be taller than you someday! So tall that you won't reach my nose any longer!"

"You wish." Luhan said with a smirk.

And maybe Sehun did wish a lot since after a few years he grew taller than Luhan, though not much since the older guy can still reach his nose and can still definitely give it a flick whenever he wants to. With Luhan's help, Sehun became more open with people. That's when they became friends with Jongin, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. They saw the three friends hanging out in the park, Kyungsoo singing, Chanyeol playing the guitar and Jongin dancing to the beat. Jongin was already Sehun's classmate but they have never spoken with each other before. But seeing that they both love dancing, they became fast friends. Luhan felt ancient whenever he was with them and he said as much to Sehun but the kid just told him that he looks the youngest anyway.

Some afternoons, they spend their time in the park with Jongin and Sehun hurting their backs dancing (and wrestling), Luhan and Kyungsoo singing duets and Chanyeol... chasing butterflies. But most of the time, Sehun and Luhan spend it together talking about their plans for the future. Luhan already decided that he wants to be a singer so he worked hard to pass the entrance exam for the Seoul University of Performing Arts. And he did pass.

Sehun felt depressed when Luhan graduated high school, saying that they won't get to hang out so much any longer but he soon found a solution to that. Luhan was surprised the first time he saw Sehun at the street corner near the bubble tea place, waiting for him that day. And the day after. And the day after the next. So it became kind of a ritual. Sehun will wait for him; they'll get bubble tea and walk home together.