“Taeyeon-ah, why don’t you go and play with your friends?” Miss Choi asked quietly as she watched the young girl play in front of her alone. Taeyeon looked up from the toys in her hands and shook her head once before continuing to play with the electronic story telling book. The young teacher watched on quietly as the girl listened to the story of the three bears and couldn’t help but notice how quiet she was. With most of the other children, they would usually be trying to read along with the electronic device. Taeyeon had been attending the childcare for three days and yet there was still no sound heard from the girl by anyone within the childcare. What made things even harder, was that Taeyeon refused to be comforted by anyone other than Miss Choi herself. Mrs Lee rationalised that because Taeyeon’s parents had personally handed her over to Miss Choi on her first day, Taeyeon automatically grew to trust Miss Choi because of her parents’ permission. Of course, no one knew for sure because the girl never said a word.

“Taeyeon, you know I don’t work here every day right?” Miss Choi questioned as she the girl’s hair. Taeyeon looked up from the electronic book and tilted her head in confusion towards her caretaker. She then pointed at Miss Choi and herself before crossing her arms in an X shape.

“I’m not quite sure what that means, but if you asked whether you and I will be here the answer is yes and no,” Miss Choi chuckled. It was unfamiliar for her to converse to any child through the use of gestures but over the past few days, she was starting to just barely recognise the basics of Taeyeon’s thoughts. Taeyeon was confused with the double answer and continued to wait for her only trusted ally to continue.

“Tomorrow, I have to go to my own school so I won’t be here. You will still be here though and Mrs Lee and the rest of the caretakers will look after you in my place,” she explained. Immediately, she noticed the distaste in the young girl’s expression at the mention of having others look after her. Still not quite understanding, Taeyeon pointed at Miss Choi again before crossing her arms. She then proceeded to point to herself and the other caretakers before pointing towards the floor. Slowly, Miss Choi gave one hesitant nod.

“Hey Sooyoung. Why don’t you give that cutie to us for a bit so she can get used to the other staff members,” one of the other caretakers suggested as she walked past the two. Immediately after Taeyeon had acknowledged the third party, she dropped the electronic book and clambered up into Miss Choi’s lap, hugging onto her neck desperately. The second caretaker watched the young girl with confusion and turned to Miss Choi for some answers.

“She doesn’t like the idea of me leaving her here with anyone else and she refuses to play with the other students,” Miss Choi answered with a sigh as she felt the tears of the young girl fall onto her neck. “I’ll see if one of my friends can give me a copy of their notes tomorrow. I don’t think it would be a calm day tomorrow if I wasn’t here,” she continued as she stood up and swayed the young girl in her arms. The second caretaker couldn’t help but laugh at her workmate.

“Oh dear, Choi Sooyoung. It would seem that you’ve become attached to that little one. We know how serious you are with your studies but to think that you would willingly give up one of your lectures to comfort a young girl is just mind blowing,” she continued. Sooyoung couldn’t believe it herself. She had always been strict with her study schedules and would have never even dreamed of missing a lecture to be with a child, but she couldn’t help but feel as though Taeyeon was slightly different. The girl was quiet but obedient. She was also very imaginative and perceptive from the small ‘conversations’ that she had with the girl. Of course, Sooyoung was the only one talking whilst the girl would point, draw or demonstrate what she means.

“I can’t miss out every lecture though. We’ll have to start making her feel comfortable around everyone,” Sooyoung added as she patted Taeyeon’s back. Taeyeon pulled away from Sooyoung’s neck and stared up at her caretaker with tear-filled eyes. Sooyoung smiled reassuringly back towards the girl and used her thumb to wipe away the trails of tears.

“Miss Choi will be here with you tomorrow, but only on one condition,” Sooyoung started as Taeyeon watched attentively. Whilst waiting for her caretaker to continue, Taeyeon used the sleeves of her jacket to wipe her running nose, causing the young teacher to laugh in both disgust and admiration at the cute act.

“Okay, make that two. First, you have to learn to stop using your sleeve as a tissue,” she said with a chuckle as she walked over to the tissue box nearby. Taeyeon nodded eagerly and reached for the tissue enthusiastically, using it to wipe her nose instead of her sleeve.

“Second, you have to promise me that you will make new friends here.” Taeyeon stopped wiping her nose immediately and stared at Sooyoung with a blank expression. She was half hoping that her caretaker was not being serious but when she saw the stern expression on her usually smiling caretaker, she knew that there was no lie that was being uttered by her caretaker. Sooyoung watched as Taeyeon’s eyebrows furrowed and her cheeks puffed out.

“I’ll be there with you whilst you make new friends. If you ever feel scared I’ll be there, but you have to make an effort to befriend others Taeyeon-ah. I’m making sacrifices for you, I only hope that you will do the same,” she whispered seriously. Sooyoung watched as Taeyeon’s expression changed and noted that she seemed rather confused. Realising that her previous speech was probably not of toddler standard, she placed the toddler down at the drawing station and took up a spare piece of paper.

“Let’s see. How can I explain this?” Sooyoung started off slowly. Taeyeon started off first by grabbing the crayon and drawing two figures with one of them being much bigger than the other. Taeyeon turned around and pointed at Sooyoung and herself before gesturing towards the two figures she drew. Beside the figures, Taeyeon drew a happy face and an arrow pointing towards the smaller figure.

“So, you’re happy if you’re with me?” Sooyoung questioned. Taeyeon nodded eagerly and clapped her hands before pointing at the two figures again. The caretaker then took up her own drawing utensil and directed an arrow from the bigger figure. Beside the arrow, Sooyoung drew a line of stick figures, all the same size.

“But I have others who are my friends too Taeyeon,” she explained as she drew a happy face next to her drawing. Taeyeon frowned at the line of figures and took up the black crayon to cross Sooyoung’s drawing out before circling the two original figures thrice.

“I know, I know. But that’s what I’m saying. I’m giving up my friends to be with you,” Sooyoung reassured as she drew a tick next to Taeyeon’s drawing. The young girl smiled at the news and clapped her hands excitedly. Sooyoung couldn’t help but find the girl so adorable to be so attached to her after a few short days. Still, she could not afford to lose all her studies just to keep one lone girl company.

“But Taeyeon, would you give up anything to make me happy?” she questioned. To her surprise, Taeyeon nodded with no hint of hesitation. Feeling touched, Sooyoung paused for a moment to admire the young girl. She wasn’t quite sure whether Taeyeon fully understood her, but for the girl to even agree to give anything up for her made her find Taeyeon that much more adorable. Whilst Sooyoung was staring at the young girl, Taeyeon rushed out of Sooyoung’s lap and ran towards her little backpack lined up against the wall. After ping and zipping all the slots, Taeyeon came back with a chocolate bar in her hand and handed it to Sooyoung with a beaming smile. Sooyoung could only watch as Taeyeon offered her the chocolate bar willingly. When she didn’t take the bar, Taeyeon forcibly took Sooyoung’s hand and placed the bar in the caretaker’s hand before closing her fingers up for her again.

“Taeyeon-ah!” Sooyoung exclaimed in utter admiration as she took the girl into a bone-breaking hug. The other caretakers glanced over at their workmate to see what the sudden yell was and watched in confusion as Sooyoung hugged the girl tightly.

“Miss Choi, I think Taeyeon’s turning blue… wait, no… I think she’s purple,” one of the six year old boys interrupted when he walked past the two. Realising how fragile a young girl was, Sooyoung quickly let go of Taeyeon, only to be met with short coughs.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry,” Sooyoung quickly apologized as she patted Taeyeon’s back. When Taeyeon was slowly calming down from her brief moment of suffocation, she looked up at her caretaker and beamed a weak smile. She then turned to their drawing and drew another happy face next to her original taller figure. Sooyoung smiled at the gesture and nodded, patting Taeyeon’s head in thanks. Taeyeon clapped her hands eagerly and sat in Sooyoung’s lap again. She reached for the chocolate bar and opened it before placing it back into her caretaker’s hand. With all the strength she could muster, Taeyeon lifted up the hand and aimed it towards Sooyoung’s mouth. Before the chocolate bar could reach , Sooyoung stopped the young girl and repositioned her to face the piece of paper again.

“Thank you, Taeyeon. But that’s not what I mean,” Sooyoung started off slowly. She then used her other hand to break the chocolate bar in two and handed Taeyeon one of the halves before taking up another crayon. Next to the smaller figure, Sooyoung drew small little stick figures in a line. Taeyeon munched on her half of the chocolate bar and watched her caretaker draw, admiring how pretty it was compared to her own drawing.

“I want you, to be able to make new friends Taeyeon,” Sooyoung explained as she circled the middle figure of her new drawing. Taeyeon pointed at the circled figure and then towards herself with a questionable glance. Sooyoung nodded and drew a happy face next to the line of smaller stick figures. After a moment of hesitation, Taeyeon shook her head sternly and reached for the black crayon again. Before she could cross the new drawing out, Sooyoung stopped her and took the crayon away. With the black crayon in her hand, she crossed the new drawing out and placed a sad face next to the new X on the page.

“Miss Choi will be very sad if you don’t do this Taeyeon,” Sooyoung sighed. She really didn’t want to use the guilt card but she knew that Taeyeon would not listen any other way. Upon seeing the sad face, Taeyeon turned around and pointed to the other half of the chocolate bar and then towards Sooyoung. She then used her fingers to force Sooyoung’s lips into a smile and gave two thumbs up with a hopeful smile.

“Taeyeon, even if you do give me more chocolate bars, I’ll still be sad,” Sooyoung added quietly. Taeyeon’s expression dropped drastically at the mention of her caretaker becoming sad. She continued to sit still in Sooyoung’s lap as she thought through the possibilities.

“Sooyoung, lunch will be ready soon,” Mrs Lee informed as she popped her head into the class. Sooyoung nodded and prepared herself to stand up but Taeyeon quickly tugged on her shirt and stopped her. Questionably, Sooyoung waited. She watched patiently as Taeyeon picked up a crayon and started drawing again. One by one Taeyeon drew smaller stick figures. She then circled the one in the middle and turned around to point to herself eagerly.

“So you’ll make some friends?” Sooyoung questioned, still not quite sure what the girl was trying to say. Taeyeon nodded furiously and pointed towards her drawing again. Sooyoung was stunned that the girl was actually going to try and befriend others for her. Noticing that the childcare teacher was not smiling, Taeyeon gave a worried frown. She clambered onto Sooyoung again and put her thumb on either side of Sooyoung’s lips to force another smile. Sooyoung looked down at Taeyeon to see the girl staring at her worriedly and expectantly.

“Thank you,” Sooyoung sighed in relief as she took the small girl into her arms again. A faint smile grew on her expression and relieved the younger girl of her worries as she hugged her childcare teacher again.

“Isn’t that adorable?” Mrs Lee chuckled when she saw the two beside the drawing table.

“Let’s just hope Sooyoung shares little Taeyeon with the rest of us. Taeyeon even gave Sooyoung a chocolate bar. The other half is still in Sooyoung’s hand,” the co-worker chuckled when she saw the chocolaty mess in Sooyoung’s hands. Mrs Lee continued to laugh quietly at the two before walking off to prepare the children’s lunches.

Next Day…

“Oh my, Sooyoung I thought you had a lecture today,” Mrs Lee exclaimed when she saw the young worker enter the reception desk. Sooyoung gave a low chuckle and shrugged her shoulder as she signed in for the day’s roster.

“I made a promise to Taeyeon that I would be here for her until she made new friends,” she explained whilst pinning her badge onto her shirt. Mrs Lee laughed at the young female and patted her back reassuringly.

“I’m glad this isn’t just a job for you. I’m sure Taeyeon will be very grateful towards you for many years to come. After all, you’re probably the first friend she’s ever made,” Mrs Lee said slowly. Sooyoung beamed a wide smile and tied her hair up to keep it away from her face as she made her way down the hallway. From the schedule that Taeyeon’s parents had filed, the girl was there nice and early due to both the parents working early. Not wanting to make the girl feel alone any longer, Sooyoung made her way to the Panda class to welcome her special friend.

“Taeyeon-ah,” Sooyoung called out as she opened the door. Just moments after the door was open, she felt a weight on her leg. She looked down and sure enough Taeyeon was attached to her leg securely. The only difference was that she was much more distressed compared to the past few days. Worried for the young girl, Sooyoung bent down to pick the girl up but a different caretaker beat her to it. The male teacher scooped Taeyeon up into his arms and placed her on his shoulders with a wide smile on his face.

“Hey! Kangin! What are you doing?!” Sooyoung yelled when she saw Taeyeon sport an expression of the utmost fear. Before she could bring Taeyeon down, Kangin started laughing and making aeroplane noises as he started running around the childcare.

“She likes it,” Kangin beamed as he continued to