9 year old Park Hyori was playing baseball with her guy friends during recess. She was the last batter. Gripping the bat tightly, she gave the meanest look she could muster at the pitcher, her classmate called Zico. As he prepared to throw the ball, he smirked at her.

"Just because you're a girl, it doesn't mean I'll go easy on you," he warned.

"Bring it on, er," she growled through gritted teeth. Still smirking, Zico posed, and struck. Hyori had always been athletic, therefore it came to no surprise when she hit the ball with a loud, solid thud. Zico gaped at her with wide eyes. Apparently he was the only one oblivious to the fact that Hyori was tough. Without pausing to admire how high and far the ball soared through the air, she ran as fast as she could, to the 2nd base, the 3rd base .. and finally ..

"HOME RUUUUUUUN!" She yelled and pumped her fist in the air as she made it back, earning cheers from her team, who rushed out to high-five her. She looked back and saw a disgruntled looking Zico trudging back with slumped shoulders, his pride crushed. 

"You go girl!"

"Hyori jjang!"

"I want you on my team tomorrow!"

Hyori grinned as the guys swarmed around her, impressed by her performance on the field. She wiped her sweat with her face towel. Luckily for her, her hair was short. Pixie cut. She really couldn't understand why the girls in her class insist to keep their hair long. Don't they feel annoyed and warm, especially on a humid day? In Hyori's opinion, her current hair was the best. It keeps her head cool, she didn't need to bother tying up her hair (It's a nuisance, really,) and it DEFINITELY won't get in her way when she's playing sports. 

Checking her watch, Hyori realised that she only had 15 minutes to grab a quick bite before her next class. Then, she heard someone calling out her name. Yelling, in fact.

"YAH HYORI! PALI! RECESS IS GOING TO BE OVER IN 15 MINUTES! I WANT MY STEAMED BUNS!" Xiumin, one of her close guy friends in class hollered, waving his arms frantically. Laughing, Hyori ran over to him and pinched his chubby cheeks.

"You look like a steamed bun yourself," she and he pouted. He practically dragged her by her arm to the stall at the furthest end.

"AHJUMMA! 4 STEAMED BUNS PLEASE!" Xiumin ordered, bouncing on his toes. 

"Out of the 4, are 2 for me?" Hyori asked innocently, knowing what his answer will be. As she predicted, he stared at her as if she had murdered his grandmother.

"Of course not!" He said selfishly. Grinning evilly, Hyori punched his shoulder and he yelled out in pain. "What was that for?!"

"Greedy pig," she stuck out her tongue before walking away to buy some fruits instead. Because she was still deep in her thoughts, she didn't notice where she was going and ended up colliding into someone, causing her to stagger back a little. Unfortunately, the person that she collided into fell onto the ground.

"Watch where you're going-" she started to hiss but faltered. On the floor, she saw, was a boy younger and smaller than her, and he definitely looked frightened. He was shivering from head to toe. Maybe that was the reason why Hyori faltered. At that point, Hyori, who hardly showed her feelings to anyone, softened. Without hesitating, she held out her hand. It was her fault anyway. Partially. The boy stared at her hand, then her face, and back to her hand again. Hyori grew impatient.

"Yah, I don't have all day, you know," she rolled her eyes. Tentatively, the boy took her hand and she hauled him up. He was as light as a feather, or maybe Hyori was stronger than him. The boy mumbled his apologies as he dusted off the dirt on his pants. Hyori would've walked away that instant, but something made her stay and ask ..

"What's your name?"

The boy got startled and looked at her fearfully. What if he told her his name, and then she'll get her gang of friends to beat him up just because he accidentally knocked into her?

Hyori sensed the atmosphere too, and she attempted to make her voice a little less .. fierce.

"I won't beat you up," she tried to make her voice as light as possible but she could not resist adding a little sarcasm in her tone.

"C-chen," he stammered. His voice was a little squeaky, but it was angelic.

"Chen huh. That's a nice name," she genuinely complimented him. Chen relaxed. "Really?" This time, his voice wasn't so squeaky and his angelic voice became more evident.

Hyori nodded. "I'm Hyori. Are you a Grade 1 student?" When Chen nodded, she smirked.

"Explains your size. I'm in Grade 4."

Chen's mouth formed an 'o', but he didn't know how to reply to that. His brain was still shocked from the fact that just moments ago, he knocked into who he would label as a potential school bully. Now, that potential school bully, a Grade 4 student, was talking to him as if they were classmates. Equals. A tomboyish but pretty Grade 4 student in fact ..

"Well," Hyori's voice made him jump again because he had been dazing, "I gotta go now. Seeya, kiddo," she grinned before jogging away to Xiumin, who looked positively satisfed after eating. It was only after she got to him then she realised that she hadn't bought her fruits. Thus, she dragged Xiumin along with her to the fruit stall.

Somehow, throughout the whole day, her mind kept flashing back to Chen. She actually found him cute. Being the innocent 9 year old that she was, she didn't think that it was weird finding a boy younger than her cute. However, little did she know how big of an impact he would be in her life.

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