His first memory of her was one involving lots of bawling children, hesitations, and first day blues.

First day of school. He was the new kid in town.

His parents had dropped him off in his new school and the moment he stepped out of the car, he was welcomed by the sight of other kids like him sobbing their lungs out, holding on to their parents for dear life. Other kids hurriedly reunited with friends they hadn’t seen during the break while others, wanting to start the year right, rushed off to their classrooms. Shim Changmin had always prided himself for being mature for his age so he didn’t cry or hold on or cowered off to the side when he reached the school. Besides, he was already in fifth grade now. No longer a baby. Instead he stood tall, watching everything take place with a look of mild interest and curiosity on his face and looking far from being a new student.

He’d debated inwardly with himself. Should he go to the principal’s office now? But he’d been dropped off early so it might not even be open yet. Should he try and make friends already? Too early for that, too. Should he roam around the school and give himself a tour? Being late on the first day wasn’t appealing. So he settled with taking a seat on one of the benches to continue to watch the amusing scene his new schoolmates made.

He chose the vacant bench off to the side of the spacious front courtyard of the school, passing by a sniffling little girl, probably a first grader, holding the hand of who seemed to be her older brother tightly. Changmin was an only child and so scenes between siblings often intrigued him. He often wondered what kind of brother he’d be if he had a sibling. He’d like to think that he’d make a sweet but protective one to a younger sister and a cool, source of pranks to a younger brother. He didn’t like the idea of having an older sister or brother. He didn’t like to be bossed around.

The bench was good for three people, he mused, so he sat down on one edge and placed his school bag on the middle. There was still nearly half an hour left before the school bell would ring. Still more than enough time. He should probably go and ask about the whereabouts of the principal’s office soon, and then head there fifteen minutes before the time. Yep, that should do it. Maybe he should drop by–

“I… Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

Changmin blinked… and then blinked again before he realized he was being spoken to. He turned his head and found a girl, younger but nearly his size, standing off by the side of the bench that was unoccupied. He looked different, given her lanky frame and tanned complexion – he didn’t mean that as an insult – and dark hair held up in a ponytail. She had a tiny smile on her face but everything about her looked shy and introverted to an extent. She had the uniform on, which obviously meant she was a student, be he noticed the faint yellowish quality of the blouse and the loose threads hanging from the hem of her skirt. She was probably in third or fourth grade but he could tell just by the seven words she spoke to him that she wasn’t like one of the younger kids who reverted back to baby talk the older they became.

“No, it isn’t.”

“Do you…” She hesitated. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

He shook his head. “Go ahead.”

The small smile turned grateful as she slowly sat down and placed her worn out pink backpack by her feet. He tried not to watch discreetly and hoped he didn’t fail in his attempt as the young girl bent down and ped her bag, taking what looked like a black pouch from it. Placing it on the bench just by his bag, she reached back inside and, to his surprise, took out strips of pre-cut colored paper whose length and width matched that of a ruler when split in half vertically.

To his amazement, the little girl took one of those strips – a red one – and formed a knot with one end, pressing it down so it was a flat, five-sided shape with a long tail. She went on to wrap the rest of the strip around the pentagon until the tip was too short to be folded but enough to be tucked in one of the seams. He watched as her long but thin fingers griped two opposite corners and pinched, doing the same for the rest of the corners until she formed what he realized was a star.

“What are you doing?”

He blurted the question out before he really got the chance to think it through and he felt the heat rush up to his cheeks when she looked up at him in surprise. But instead of telling him and to mind his own business, she smiled – quite proudly, if may add. “I made a star.”

I can see that. But he bit back the snarky reply in lieu of another question. “Is that origami?”

“Uh huh.” She placed the red star on her palm and held her hand out to him. “My grandma taught me how to make them.”

His eyes narrowed as he took a closer look. “And what are they for?”

“Grandma says they’re for good luck.” Her voice turned a tad bit whimsy. “And she said that if you write your wishes and dreams in them, they’ll come true.”

Changmin looked down at the strips of paper on the bench. “But they’re all blank.”

“I don’t know what to write yet.”

He opened his mouth to say something to that but his mind chose to remind him of the schedule he had made a few minutes ago. “I, uh, I have to go.” He had just grabbed his bag and gotten to his feet when he felt something warm and soft reach for his hand. Her hand. “What?”

“Here.” She placed the red star in his palm before wrapping his fingers around it.

“I, ah, thanks.” With a genuine smile aimed at her, he dashed off towards the main building.

It was only when he was halfway in the principal’s office that he realized he hadn’t even gotten her name.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was a week and a few days after when he came across to her again.

Lucky for him, it wasn’t hard for him to make friends. He easily befriended the piano-loving, equally snarky Cho Kyuhyun from his grade level and oddly enough, he also befriended four boys from the an older year, Jung Yunho, Kim Jaejoong, Park Yoochun, and Kim Junsu. He had a free period that time and was on his way to the library in another building to borrow a few books. He’d discovered from Kyuhyun that the fastest way there was to go through the back parking of their building and so that was he did, even if he resented the fact that the sun was way up high, shining too bright for his liking.

He had barely taken a few steps into the back parking when he heard them. Voices of girls. To be specific, voices of the girls mocking and insulting someone. He’d intended to leave them alone, as awful as it sounded, especially if they were girls much older than he was. But the moment he got a glimpse of who they were and, more importantly, who they were bullying once he walked past a rather isolated corner, he changed his mind.

It was the girl he met on the first day of school. The one who made origami stars.

Those same origami stars were now on the hard, dirty ground, being pounded even more by the heels of the bullies’ shoes.

He’d managed to catch the words poor, ugly, weirdo and the tears that were steadily streaming down the girl’s face when he reached them, easily inserting himself between the silently sobbing girl and her tormenters. He didn’t really need to say or do anything aside from staring at them with narrowed eyes, silently challenging them to say one more word. Seniority carried a great weight around the school and the fact that he was older and was male was enough to scatter those brainless girls away. Rolling his eyes at how pathetic they were, he turned around and saw that the nameless girl had curled herself up into a ball and continued crying.

He didn’t know what to do with crying girls.

So he went with instinct. He crouched down and picked the soiled, flattened stars with his bare hands. Relying solely on memory, he tried to mimic what she’d done to puff them up and turn them back into stars, frowning heavily when he realized that pieces of paper were too soft thanks to the unnecessary stomping they received. She must’ve realized that she wasn’t alone and that the bullies were gone for she lifted her head, revealing red, puffy, tear-filled eyes, and watched.

He was failing miserably, but it put a smile on her face when he showed her his best effort.

“Do you have a class?” Changmin asked.

She shook her head. “Free period.”

“Oh. Me too.” His attention shifted back to the mangled origami stars in his hands. “I’m sorry they ruined it.”

“I could always make new ones.” He could tell that the ruined stars weren’t the ones that hurt her. Their words did, more so than their actions. “I managed to save one.”

She reached into her pocket and brought it out. Another red star.

“You should have it.” Her voice became softer, as if she suddenly became shy all of a sudden. “Thank you for helping me.”

“No problem.” He accepted the star and carefully held