Their pasts.
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“Hello,” Krystal braved herself to greet Minho when he was about to get his bottle. Krystal had been watching him playing since all of his friends went back to the locker room, leaving him alone.

Minho looked at her, not really interested. He knew she was Uncle Jung’s only daughter. He smiled politely, but it faded not even a second after. “Hi.”

Krystal pouted. “You’re so different.”

Minho stopped himself from drinking and looked at this little girl in front of him. “Sorry?”

“I always watches you playing happily from Dad’s office. But you’re so different when you off field,” Krystal told him blatantly. “You should smile often.”

Minho looked at her like some kind of alien. They just met and she already told him to smile often. What a weird kid.

“I like banana, I like Pororo, I like ice skating, I like painting,” Krystal suddenly told him. “Now I like you too. I love to see you laughing while running around and your happy face is very amusing to see.”

“Er..,” Minho didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t a cold person, but he was never good with girls. Having two sisters in the house wasn’t really helping. Being a good player, being an ace, being so tall, smart and physically satisfying was a common praises for him. But what she just said was pretty weird. “Are you okay, Krystal?”

“Jung Soojung,” she corrected him and offered him a handshake. “Can I call you ‘Minho oppa’?”

Minho returned her handshake and only smiled as he ran back to the field with his ball. Krystal took a seat beside his bag, watching him playing again.
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“Oppa! Oppa! Minho oppa!” Krystal cried while hugging her knees. They were playing at the night park just now and she didn’t understand why Minho suddenly disappeared. The park was so crowded and she had no idea since when she separated from Minho.

“Soojung,” Minho finally found her after a lot effort of searching around. He scolded her, “I told you to wait there, why don’t you listen-“

She suddenly hugged him and cried. He could feel her body was shaking as she kept mumbling his name, feeling scared.

Since their weird introduction months ago, Krystal had been following Minho around, watching him practicing whenever she visited the camp and came to every single game he had. She even cried a lot when she found out that they wouldn’t go to the same school. At first, Minho was kind of disturbed by her presence. She was so playful and loud. He always thought of her as his complete opposite. But as times passed by, he was too used with her around and they spent a lot of time together. He was amazed because she didn’t feel bored or tired being around him at all. She was the first. Even his best friend, Myungsoo, sometimes told him jokingly that he was a boring person.

“Don’t cry. I’m here already, okay? I’m sorry I left you behind,” Minho soothing her.

“Don’t leave me alone, oppa. It’s scary,” she sobbed unstoppably.

“I won’t, I won’t,” he promised. “Let’s go home, okay? It’s getting cold.”

Minho gave her his jacket as they walked together, hand in hand.
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“Oppa!” Krystal walked towards Minho with hands folded, she looked pissed and he didn’t know why. He was watching his sisters and Uncle Jung played around happily. It was almost a month after their dad funeral and Uncle Jung kindly took care of them since then.

“What’s wrong, Soojung?” Minho looked at the younger girl as she sat beside him.

“Why did you let Myungsoo oppa take your position?” she asked angrily.

“I don’t know what are you talking about,” he turned back and looked towards his sisters again. The three of them went inside the house, leaving him and Krystal alone.

In fact, he knew the best about what she was talking about. He heard from Uncle Jung that Myungsoo replaced him as the team captain temporarily and he told him that Minho could always join again whenever he felt ready. But he just couldn’t. Seeing a soccer ball reminded him a lot about his dad. He didn’t want to feel that pain again. He wanted to get over it, even if it meant he had to throw soccer away.

“Don’t lie, oppa. You know what I’m talking about,” she chuckled. “I know you missed the field.”

When Minho didn’t say anything and stayed silent, Krystal suddenly ran around at the garden, making Minho shocked. She ran crazily and shouted. “Even a sick person like me can run, oppa. Why can’t you do the same?”

Minho started to get panic and chased her around, telling her to stop. Krystal was suffering from heart failure, he watched her went to the hospital from time to time. Running was never doing good to her body. He couldn’t help but felt worry.

“Soojung!” Minho screamed when Krystal suddenly fell to the grasses, passing out. He held her immediately and tried to wake her up. Her body was limp and surrendered in his embrace.

“I tricked you,” Krystal snuck her tongue and laughed playfully. She woke up and sat in front of him, completely fine.

“It’s not funny!” Minho scolded her a bit too loud. Her health was never a joke for him.

Krystal immediately stopped and looked at him. She didn’t mad that he scolded her. She felt happy instead, Minho had changed and became a caring person. He was so different with the old Minho. “Sorry, oppa. I won’t do it again.”

Minho looked back at her and couldn’t stand his anger as he met her pleading eyes. He talked more softly. “You better keep your promise.”

“Then play again,” she asked.

“Soojung,” he warned her.

“Or I’ll play and run instead,” she threatened him.

“Soojung,” now he pleaded.

“For me, oppa.”

She knew she was going to win this.
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“Congrats!” Uncle and Aunty Jung, Sooyoung, and Jinri threw confetti as they sat together, circling the dining table. Tonight was a celebration for Minho as he chosen to enter the national camp.

His life was almost go back to normal. He found his joy again being back to the field and soon after appointed back as the captain. He just achieved what every young player dreamt to enter: national camp. He felt so blessed, surrounded by his family and his loved ones.