♦ August 5, 2000 ♦ Seoul, South Korea ♦

"You can hold my hand, if you want," the older boy offered, stretching out a pale arm to the small girl trailing behind him. It was nearing autumn and the sound of leaves crumbling against the pavement filled the air- accompanied by an illuminating scent of fresh charsu pork from the backyard of their parents' new house.

"No," she firmly denied, slowly inching farther away from him, "It's okay."

"Appa said that you're my little sister now, eh?" he added, shaking his head. "We're supposed to do brother-sister things."

"Have you ever had a little sister before?" Lila questioned, raising her head for the first time since they left the schoolyard.

"Have you ever had a big brother before?" he replied rhetorically, causing her to uttur a quick, 'no.'

"Daeman-ahjusshi said that big brothers have to protect their little sisters, especially if they're like you," Sehun explained, grabbing a hold of one of her fragile hands. They had spent an entire summer together, but this was the first moment that they actually saw eye-to-eye. .

"What do you mean by 'like me?'" she frowned, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her. She was tired of crying today.

"You're always alone by the playground and you sit by yourself at lunch," the brown haired boy remarked, rubbing at his eyes with one of his sweater sleeves.

"I like being alone," Lila reminded him, picking up her pace so she could walk side-by-side. "My umma told me that I can by happy by myself."

"Are you happy?"

"No."

"Then," Oh Sehun started, as they walked up to their front porch, "I promise to play with you on the playground, and sit by you at lunch, and protect you to make you happy."

"Because that's what big brothers do?" she gave him a toothy grin.

"According to Daeman-ahjusshi."