“I was at a playground. And there was a girl.”

At least, Mingyu thought the person he was looking at was a girl. He’s honestly not sure- the other girls in dresses had long flowing hair with ribbows on them, but this one had short, cropped hair. Was that normal? He stared in wonder at the pink dress. The dress must have meant the other child was a girl, right? That was what girls wore, he remembered, when he asked his mom about the skirt she was wearing. He remembered pulling at the bowtie that was irritating his neck and complained why he had to wear it. 

“That’s for boys,” his mom replied, fixing the bowtie so it didn’t bother him much. “This dress is for girls. You’ll meet other children at the party, both boys and girls, so be nice to them!”

So far, the party was a total bore. Other than the fact that it was held at a playground, things weren’t exciting the young five year old. The other children were scattered around the place- some would talk to each other, but so far, none had talked to Mingyu. They must have all been the same age, but they were so much shorter than he was. Maybe he was scary since he was so tall? To be fair, Mingyu didn’t talk to anybody either. His mom was somewhere talking to her friends, and he was sent away when he asked to stay with her.

Mingyu found himself sitting on a swing instead, observing his surroundings. That meant staring at the girl with the pink dress and short hair.

The same girl who was beginning to walk towards him.

“Hi,” she spoke, with a voice different from the usual high-pitched squeal Mingyu would hear from his little sister. “My name is Wonwoo. Can I swing with you?”

“Okay.”

“What’s your name?” Wonwoo asked, surprising Mingyu for the nth time that day.

Mingyu didn’t answer, choosing instead to start swinging again. 

“You don’t talk much, huh,” she continued regardless of the silence. “That’s nice to know. The other children talk too much. They ask too many questions, too, like why am I in this dress and—“

“Why are you?” Mingyu couldn’t help but blurt out, quickly covering his mouth soon after as if he did something wrong. Thankfully, the other kid- he wasn’t sure if boy or girl anymore, really- didn’t react as negatively as he thought. 

Wonwoo shrugged, “Mom thought I wouldn’t agree to it. She joked that if I did, she’d buy me the console I wanted. Now I’m getting that console.”

“So you’re not a girl?” Mingyu asked, completely confused. 

“Do I look like one?” 

Mingyu tilted his head to contemplate, eventually coming up with the conclusion that Wonwoo was pretty. The dress was nice. It was a weird sight, and the realization made Mingyu feel weird himself. He settled witht he idea of keeping quiet instead, but the other wouldn’t allow it, pressing the question further. At least Wonwoo didn’t look too annoyed, with that teasing smile on his (he figured Wonwoo must have been a boy, by this point) face. Finally, the tall boy shook his head.

“Not really, but you’re pretty.”

There was a small pause before the laugh that followed, which made Mingyu smile himself too. Then came a series of other stories- stuff about themselves, playing around the park, until finally the party came to an end when two of the other kids decided it would be fun to spill ice cream all over themselves. Wonwoo sighed when he heard his mom calling for him, and Mingyu hoped he didn’t look too disappointed that things were ending so soon. 

“Aw, cheer up,” Wonwoo had said. “We’ll see each other again.”

“Except we didn’t,” Mingyu continued, the flashback of what happened so long ago disappearing as he finally brought his attention back to the guy currently staring at him with wide eyes and a slightly opened mouth. “I moved eventually, and well, yeah.”

There was a silence that made Mingyu fidget in his seat, when finally— 

“That was the silliest story I have ever heard,” Jisoo blurted out a few seconds after Mingyu finished his dramatic re-telling of events. “All this time, you’ve been running away from Wonwoo because of a childhood crush? Shouldn’t you be welcoming him with open arms instead?”

Mingyu felt his face flush, “it wasn’t a crush, okay? I was five, I don’t think I knew what a crush was.”

“But you liked Wonwoo,” Jisoo pressed on. It wasn’t even a question anymore. “And you apparently still do, if you’re so worked up over him.”

Mingyu didn’t want to agree with Jisoo, but it was hard because deep inside, he knew the other boy was right anyway. There was a small, tingling sense in him that knew despite how long it has been, he just hasn’t forgotten Wonwoo. Maybe the reason why he was so