‘Happy birthday, honey!’ Mrs Kim congratulated her daughter. ‘Thank you, umma!’ So Eun squealed out in happiness. They were currently at a party, celebrating So Eun’s fifth birthday. Fancy streamers, sculptures, balloons, banners, flowers new furniture, and of course, presents decorated the huge mansion. Aristocratic families and close families of the Kim’s attended the big birthday party. Which meant the Shim’s were there too. ‘Why that spoilt little…’ mumbled Hyun Joong. ‘Hyung,’ said Changmin seriously, cutting off Hyun Joong’s negative mumbling. ‘You and I had birthday parties just as great as this one.’ ‘Sozz,’ replied Hyun Joong, still frowning slightly and pouting. ‘I’m gonna get some juice,’ Hyun Joong said while walking towards the humungous table full of scones, éclairs, punch, juice, cake and much more.

I wonder where Changmin is thought So Eun as she searched around the mansion for her friend. She suddenly spotted the face of the eight year old heir looking slightly bored. ‘Oppa!’ she called while sprinting towards him.

Wha? Changmin wondered what that voice was and where it came from by looking around. But before he could even find the source of that voice, a person bounded into him, surprising the little boy. ‘Changmin!’ So Eun yelled happily with her arms still wrapped around Changmin’s frozen figure. Changmin relaxed when he realised who the little girl was. So Eun. Changmin responded to her hug by wrapping his arms around her smaller waist. They stayed that way for a while until So Eun pulled away from the embrace. ‘Can you believe it oppa?! I’m finally five!’ So Eun said excitedly, but Changmin smiled gently at her. ‘After a while, I’m gonna be as old as you!’ Changmin loved her adorable, naïve personality. ‘Yes, yes you will,’ Changmin replied. ‘Oh! I forgot to ask, do you like the party?’ asked So Eun, trying to keep the conversaion going. ‘It’s great,’ replied Changmin while grinning. ‘Good, because I wouldn’t want you to get bored,’ said So Eun. Changmin didn’t respond to that, as he was bored most of the time. So Eun seemed to noticed this as her joyful expression dropped. ‘You were, weren’t you?’ she asked, frowning slightly not in anger, but in a form of concern. ‘No, I wouldn’t say…’ But before Changmin could reason his way out, So Eun brought her all-familiar smile back to her face and spoke, ‘I know, you can come with me outside and we can play hide-and-seek!’ ‘Uh…’ but before Changmin could reply, So Eun grabbed his hand and practically dragged him outside, where there were still some guests and fancy decorations, but not as many as there were inside the huge mansion. So Eun giggled while releasing her hold on his hand. ‘You seek, while I hide,’ So Eun said enthusiastically. Changmin just nodded in confusion while watching So Eun disappear amongst the crowd. He sighed and began to count to forty with his eyes closed. ‘Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty,’ Changmin finished counting and opened his eyes and started to search all over the Kim’s elaborate garden for So Eun. While he was looking amongst some bushes, a little girl around his age appeared behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Excuse me,’ the soft voice of the little girl said. ‘Hmm?’ Changmin asked while turning around to look at her. He noticed that she had a very pale appearance which complimented her silky black hair. ‘Did you lose something?’ she asked curiously. ‘No, why would you think that?’ replied Changmin while asking another question. ‘Well, you seem very serious about looking through a bunch of bushes,’ answered the girl as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ‘Well, I’m playing hide-and-seek,’ Changmin reasoned. ‘Oh,’ the girl said with the curiosity on her face disappearing. ‘Sorry about that. My name is Go Ara.’ ‘Shim Changmin,’ said Changmin. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I need to resume finding my friend,’ Changmin stated while turning away and continued to search through the well-cut bushes. ‘Okay,’ Go Ara said quietly with slight disappointment printed on her face. Unfortunately, Changmin didn’t notice this.

After a few minutes, Changmin started to give up. But he was surprised when he saw So Eun tiptoeing through the adults as if she were on a secret spy mission. ‘Haha, gotcha,’ Changmin whispered mischievously, grinning all the while. He quietly followed So Eun as she hid behind a tall tree. Changmin drew closer to her until… ‘Ha ha!’ he yelled triumphantly while he wrapped his arms around So Eun’s waist and lifted her off the ground. ‘Aaahh!’ she screamed. He gently set her down and she turned around to face him. Once So Eun saw that Changmin was responsible for this little ambush, she pounded her small fists into his chest. Changmin was laughing hysterically and her little attacks weren’t hurting him at all.  ‘You’re gonna pay for this!’ So Eun threatened, not once stopping her attacks. Changmin decided to some more by turning around and running away, still laughing. So Eun chased after him, still shouting out threats. But after a while, she stopped her anger parade and started to laugh along with her close friend.

Within the crowd stood Mr Kim and Mr Shim. They were watching their two children with smiles on their faces. ‘There’ll be no problem with their marriage,’ said Mr Kim. Mr Shim nodded in agreement, with a happy smile still on his face. But another person was watching the two little children, and she was not happy with it…

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Two years later…

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The sun shone brightly in the cloudless blue, blessing the life in Seoul with another wonderful day.

The Shim’s courtyard was in full bloom, the flowers had just awakened from their long slumber and stretched their beautiful faces toward the large globe in the sky, their delicate scents wafting pleasantly through the air. Water trickled from the spout in the magnificent sculpture in the centre of the courtyard, falling slowly and flowing in a large circle around lush grass.

Sitting upon white marble stairs, a young girl, no older than six or seven, sat with her friend, a young boy who was around four years older than her.

Her silky black hair was shoulder length, curling slightly at the ends. Her young face held a look of strong stubbornness and determination, emphasized by soft brown eyes that seemed endlessly wise. Her young, but beautiful form was covered in a white dress, that at first glance appeared to be normal, but upon closer inspection, you could see it was of fine material.

Her companion had black hair that hung before mischievous, yet kind eyes of piercing brown. His face was still young, and the corners of his lips seemed to have a smile playing forever at the edges. His sleeveless blue shirt, crème pants, and expensive brown boots, though not as fine as the girl's, were still incredibly handsome.

"There's nothing to do around here, So Eun," the boy muttered, crossing his arms and tapping his foot in an impatient fashion. "We've been chained to the courtyard today. Heck, your Dad even put extra security outside to make sure we didn't leave!"

The girl, So Eun, simply smiled sweetly at her friend and laughed. "I don't blame Daddy for it. Remember last week when we ran out of the castle after setting fire to the hedge?"

The boy chortled as his mind wandered back to the accomplishment. "That was beautiful. Remember when they ran out screaming like wimps? Oh, classic."

"But was it really worth it? Because of it, Daddy got so mad at me and took away my story books for the rest of the month," So Eun recalled, frowning. It still chilled her to think back to the tirade that her father had gone on, his yelling so loud that half the mansion had stopped in fear of their master’s loud, and thundering voice.

"So Eun, you're such an egghead," the boy said, grinning at the girl, "If you want punishment, then you should really see what my father did to me. He tied my hands behind my back, locked me in my room and only served me pumpkin soup for the rest of the day."

"I am NOT an egghead, Changmin!" So Eun shrilled, glaring at the boy.

"Yes you are!" Changmin argued, grinning, "You think that reading books with all those complicated words is fun! You're seven and you sure don't act like it!"

"It never hurts to read a bit!" So Eun muttered, crossing her arms. "Besides, all you know how to do is get the highest score in zombies vs. plants! Is that really an accomplishment?"

Changmin put his hands on his hips, staring directly into So Eun's stubborn eyes. "At least I know how to use the power of plants to defeat hungry zombies!"

"All brawn, no brains," So Eun sighed, averting her gaze to the flowers before her.

"…What does brawn mean, So Eun?" Changmin asked, staring confusedly into space.

So Eun sighed in disappointment, getting to her feet and dusting off her hands. For a moment she did not speak, just simple stared at the seemingly endless sea of flowers. She broke the silence after a while of contemplating her words.

"Changmin… we'll always be friends, right?" So Eun asked, looking at her friend.

Changmin stood, reeling in shock that she would even think of them not being friends. He made his way over to her, boots clacking against marble as he placed a hand on So Eun's shoulder, smiling.

"Of course we'll always be friends, So Eun," said Changmin, "And I promise no matter what that I will work as hard as I can to become a great knight so that I can protect you fromzombies and bad guys!" No matter how childish it seemed, So Eun felt like Changmin actually meant every word he said.

"Thank you, Changmin," So Eun said, faintly smiling. The look of pondering was replaced by a wide grin. "Hey, want to play a Hero game?"

Changmin blinked a moment before groaning in disappointment. He was hoping that he could teach So Eun more tricks in videogames, but instead he was being forced to play another of these monotonous rescue games that So Eun was so fond of.

"Do we HAVE to?" Changmin muttered, his brow furrowing in frustration.

So Eun, upon hearing Changmin's whining voice, clasped her hands together and stared at him in a pouting fashion. "Please, Changmin…?"

It was such a pitiful sight that Changmin immediately dropped his sour mood and sighed in resignation. "Oh, alright…"

So Eun began spinning a tale about how a beautiful princess was captured by a dragon and held in his lair until a brave Hero who loved the princess came to defeat the dragon with his mighty blade in his hands.

Upon finishing briefing Changmin, So Eun ran across the courtyard and sat near a bush, her expression changing from a fierce grin to one of intense horror. "Oh Hero! Come and save me from this hideous place!"

Changmin, muttering curses under his breath, stomped toward So Eun and took her hand in his. "There, Princess, I've… saved you."

So Eun frowned and wrenched her hand away from Changmin, shaking her head. "No, no, Changmin, you have to fight off the evil dragon first before you save me!"

Changmin, growing fouler in mood, pretended he had a sword in his hand, and gave imaginary slashes in the beast. He jumped backward, groaned as though he were in pain, and reeled backwards, all to humour the girl who watched his every move.

After jumping high into the air and pretending to finish the creature off, Changmin turned to So Eun and grumpily took her hand in his again. "I've saved you, dear Princess."

Again, So Eun frowned. "Oh come on, Changmin. You're supposed to admit your undying love for me and ask me to marry you! Put some feeling into it!"

Changmin rolled his brown orbs as he bent down on one knee and stared into So Eun's eyes. "Princess, I have… ergh, do I have to say it?"

So Eun nodded, tapping her foot impatiently for Changmin to continue his speech.

"Princess, I have fallen in love with you. Would you honor me by… marrying me?" Changmin muttered, spitting out the words like venom.

"Yes, yes dear Hero," So Eun said, smiling.

"Alright, the end, right?" Changmin asked, getting to his feet and staring at So Eun.

"No, no, now we have to say some vows confirming our everlasting love and seal it with a kiss," So Eun said, smiling smugly.

Changmin groaned again, but much louder than before. "Well, what do you want me to say, it's not like I memorize vows confirming everlasting love to say to girls all the time…"

So Eun pondered for a moment before snapping her fingers and smiling. "I remember an oath from a book that I read, it's in another language, so repeat after me."

The two of them joined hands together, staring deep into each other’s eyes while speaking the strange language. The words rolled off their tongues easily, but the two children didn't know the weight of the vows of which they were speaking.

The lengthy speech came to an end, and Changmin found his palms sweaty as he knew what was coming… a kiss.

It seemed like time had slowed as So Eun gently placed her lips upon his.

The feeling was sweet, sweeter than anything he had experienced in his entire eleven years of living. It also felt strangely unusual at the same time… He'd thought that kissing was gross, but now that he was actually receiving a kiss, he actually thought he kind of enjoyed it.

After what seemed as though an eternity, they parted, only to find each other blushing horribly. They seemed unable to look each other in the eyes, and they stared down at their hands, clasped within each other's holds.

The two children felt torrents of strange, alien emotions course through their veins. They would have never guessed how much those emotions would affect their lives.

Changmin, horribly crimson, mumbled a quick excuse before rushing from the garden, leaving So Eun to herself.

The two, the next day, had gotten over the awkward moment and played with each other as usual. As time passed, the memory faded into the shadows, forgotten.

AN: I am SO sorry if this took so long. I had a complete writers block so I decided to write this chapter just to make sure I don’t leave you guys hanging. I hope you enjoyed it and please comment ^^ and thank you all for reading and thank you all for commenting!!!

Just to clear things up, Changmin had a personality change because he’s sort of growing up and blah blah blah, so he acts more… rude.

And the next chappie would be out much more sooner because I have an idea of what it’s gonna include, so stay tuned!

Kim So Eun:

Shim Changmin: