Sunshine Shower

“Hi.”The child, who had shyly peeked his face in earlier, now waved his small hand. Woo Yeonjae glanced at his pale face and reluctantly responded.“Hi.”He didn’t feel like talking, but he knew he had to greet people as his parents had taught him to avoid making them worry. The hesitant child, taken aback by the rather cold response, cautiously sat down next to him, keeping a distance of about three hand spans.“I’m Moon Seoyoon.”“I’m Woo Yeonjae.”“I heard from the aunt earlier. You’re pretty, and your name is pretty too.”He was so used to hearing that he was pretty that it no longer felt new.Annoyed by the constant chatter, Woo Yeonjae glanced at Moon Seoyoon. Though his short hair, shorts, and knee-high socks indicated he was a boy, he wasn’t loud or boisterous like the other boys Yeonjae knew, and his skin was pale.“Thanks.”He wanted to correct him by saying that boys are usually called handsome, not pretty, but he decided not to, thinking he wouldn’t understand.“And you’re pretty too.”He didn’t mean to tease. Moon Seoyoon was indeed pretty, even though he was a boy. His round eyes and light brown pupils gave him a gentle look, much different from Yeonjae’s own. He had a face that seemed like girls would want to play princess with him.Seoyoon smiled shyly at the compliment.“I’m six. How old are you, Yeonjae?”Yeonjae was surprised that Seoyoon had just called him by name without knowing his age.“Six.”Yeonjae answered, lowering his gaze to his book.“Really? We’re the same age, but you’re so tall. What season were you born in?”“Winter.”“I was born in summer. Why am I so short?”Moon Seoyoon wasn’t actually short for his age; Woo Yeonjae was just taller than average.Even though he was born at the end of the year, Woo Yeonjae was taller than his peers born in spring. While he had been smaller than other children his age when he was younger, he had quickly caught up and was now one of the tallest in his class.“You’ll grow.”Not wanting to ignore Seoyoon’s words, Woo Yeonjae replied half-heartedly.“I hope I grow as tall as you, Yeonjae. What book are you reading? A fairy tale?”Seoyoon, sitting about three hand spans away, squirmed and cautiously leaned towards the book. Woo Yeonjae quickly turned the pages, perhaps a bit too fast. Suddenly, a sharp pain ran through his finger.“Ah.”Blood oozed from a long paper cut. He was about to get up to clean it with a tissue when Seoyoon grabbed his wrist. Without hesitation, Seoyoon put the bleeding finger in his mouth, sucking on it like an ice cream. Woo Yeonjae winced and furrowed his brow at the wet sensation of Seoyoon’s tongue.“What are you doing?”Seoyoon released his wrist and smiled, licking the finger that had been in his mouth.“My mom said to do this when there’s blood.”“Who said that?”“My mom.”It wasn’t hygienic, but since Seoyoon’s mom had said so, Yeonjae didn’t correct him.“See, it stopped bleeding now.”“Paper cuts stop bleeding quickly anyway.”Woo Yeonjae stared blankly at his finger, where the bleeding had stopped.Having ruined a few things he cherished too much, he had learned to clean up small cuts by himself. He remembered how his mother would cry at the sight of blood, worried it might be something serious.“But it still hurts.”It was the first time someone had acted this way towards him, and he felt strange.“…Do you want to read the book together?”“Yeah, can I?”“Sit here.”Perhaps because Seoyoon had so casually put his saliva on his finger, Woo Yeonjae didn’t find it as dirty as he usually would. He patted the spot beside him.As Seoyoon moved closer, his brown hair swayed, carrying a pleasant scent.* * *Friend: A person who is close and has been known for a long time.Even though they hadn’t known each other for long, Woo Yeonjae accepted that Moon Seoyoon was his friend.He still found it annoying when kids who weren’t his friends called themselves his friends. However, he figured it was better to consider Seoyoon’s friends as his own, so he added a few more to his list of friends.His parents were happy.Moon Seoyoon was happy too.* * *Sometimes, Woo Yeonjae felt a tightness in his chest. It was even more suffocating when the line between what he could and couldn’t do was clear.Even a five-year-old knew it was wrong to hit a friend. However, it was hard for him to understand why he had to hold back when the other person had started it.“Yeonjae, you shouldn’t fight with your friends.”Woo Yeonjae puffed his cheeks in displeasure as he sat in his mother’s arms, his neat eyebrows furrowed in a way that seemed beyond his years.“He hit me first.”“Even so, you shouldn’t hit your friends.”“Why are there so many things I’m not allowed to do?”His mother opened her eyes a little wider and then smiled faintly, showing that she found it a difficult question.“We’re just trying to guide you on the right path.”The concept of boundaries between what he could and couldn’t do was familiar to Woo Yeonjae, but moments like this frustrated him.“And if you hit other friends, Seoyoon might not want to be friends with you anymore. He’ll think you’re a bad kid.”Moon Seoyoon wouldn’t want to be friends with him? Why?“Moon Seoyoon is my friend, so he’s mine.”Woo Yeonjae replied earnestly.“Yours? Oh my, how cute.”His mother laughed softly, as if watching a playful puppy.“But if you hit other friends, Seoyoon will be upset. You don’t want to make Seoyoon sad, do you?”After pondering, Woo Yeonjae nodded reluctantly.“Okay, I won’t hit them.”He didn’t want to do things that Moon Seoyoon disliked.* * *“Hey! Woo Yeonjae!”At seven years old, it should have been time to stop playing house. Woo Yeonjae was reluctantly participating in a game of house because of Moon Seoyoon.“Woo Yeonjae! Why are you ignoring me?”Only then did Woo Yeonjae look at the girl standing before him. It was Kim Dajeong from the Haetnim class, standing with her hands on her hips and a haughty expression.“Why are you playing house with Seoyoon?”“Because Moon Seoyoon wanted to.”“No! Seoyoon is my girlfriend, so only I can play with him. You should go play with the other kids over there.”“You’re Moon Seoyoon’s girlfriend?”“Yes! We decided to be girlfriend and boyfriend this morning!”Woo Yeonjae turned to Moon Seoyoon, staring intently as if asking if it was true. Moon Seoyoon nodded, now blushing.“So move aside. The wife role is for the girlfriend.”Woo Yeonjae was helplessly pushed away by Kim Dajeong’s gesture. Moon Seoyoon didn’t seem to care.* * *Kim Dajeong pushed Woo Yeonjae again. He fell backward.He cried on purpose.Startled, Moon Seoyoon ran over.Moon Seoyoon broke up with Kim Dajeong.* * *Woo Yeonjae looked down at his fingernails, stained orange. It was the balsam dye they had applied together the night before. While it was fascinating that nails could be tinted with sunset colors, Woo Yeonjae wasn’t particularly excited, but Moon Seoyoon was bouncing on the bed with joy.Moon Seoyoon’s mother smiled as she fiddled with the small nails.“If the first snow falls before this washes off, your first love will come true.”Sitting quietly beside them, Woo Yeonjae asked casually,“What’s first love?”“Hmm, it’s the first person our Seoyoon and Yeonjae like the most?”The first person you like the most? The meaning of “like” was ambiguous. If it meant the first person, it would be parents or family, but it seemed to refer to a different kind of emotion. Was it about a girlfriend? While he was seriously pondering, Moon Seoyoon murmured to himself.“Wow, I hope the first snow comes soon.”Woo Yeonjae realized the meaning of first love at that moment.He knew who his playmate’s first love was. Even though they had broken up recently, it must have been Kim Dajeong, who was his girlfriend until not long ago.Since it was still July, they would have to wait a long time for snow, as Moon Seoyoon wished. Unconsciously, Woo Yeonjae stared at the slightly smaller fingernails than his own.“I hope the snow comes late.”“Why? Doesn’t snow mean your birthday is coming up, Yeonjae?”“I don’t like snow.”Woo Yeonjae frowned. He had never thought about disliking snow, but after thinking it over, he decided he didn’t like it. He hoped this year, the snow would come late, very late…So that Moon Seoyoon’s first love wouldn’t come true.* * *“Seoyoon, do you know how to play the piano?”“Yeah. Why?”“That’s so cool! Can you play for us?”“I need to ask the teacher if it’s okay…”“I’ll ask!”Woo Yeonjae watched as his friend disappeared, holding another child’s hand, and then threw the block he was holding. It hadn’t even been half a year since he transferred to this kindergarten, but Moon Seoyoon already had many close friends.‘For me, Moon Seoyoon is my only friend.’But it wasn’t the same for Moon Seoyoon.“Why does he keep playing with other kids?”His frustration had been growing lately.