“Thank you so much for your help.” Yoo-jin’s father, Ryan, bowed to Hyun’s parents as soon as they were outside the police station.

Flustered by his deep appreciation, they bowed back, “We didn’t do much! There’s no need to thank us!”

“Still, you took the time to help us reach an agreement when you didn’t have to.” Yoo-jin’s mother smiled, leaning down to pat Hyun on the head, “Thank you for keeping our Jin safe!”

“Hehe. Jin’s my friend! Of course I’ll protect him!”

“I never said that you can call me Jin.”

“Well, too bad! I’m going to call you Jin from now on!” Hyun sweetly smiled at Yoo-jin, who scowled like a grumpy old man.

“Pfft, ahem. If you don’t mind, why don’t you all join us for dinner? We want to welcome you to the neighborhood.” Eun-ha asked, her bright olive green eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Oh, we couldn’t—.”

“Please, we insist! Also, look at how inseparable they are! It’d be a shame to part ways now.”

The four adults glanced at the two boys running toward an off-duty K-9 dog. Like two peas in a pod, they stuck close to each other, laughing and playing as if they had always been best friends. Their parents stood proudly by, mesmerized by their contagious joy and excitement. It was fascinating to see how quickly their sons had bonded with each other.

Hye-su, Yoo-jin’s mother, shyly peeked a glance at the elegant woman beside her. There was a certain charm about Eun-ha and her husband, Sun-woo, that made people subconsciously gravitate towards them. They were brazenly confident in front of those who dared cross them, but humble and empathetic to those needing help. For the 28-year-old, Hye-su couldn’t help but admire these two strangers for their strength and courage.

Even when she had heard that Yoo-jin had gotten hurt, Hye-su had been too afraid to take charge of the situation, fearing that no one would take her seriously due to her “young” age. Yet, with Eun-ha’s sharp words and vehement defense for Yoo-jin, Hye-su’s fears had dissipated in an instant.

Her seafoam eyes shimmering with awe, Hye-su slowly turned to Eun-ha, “Um, I want to offer our thanks again. I don’t know if I would have been able to speak up if you weren’t there.”

“Like I said, there's no need to thank us! Ugh, the police chief should be embarrassed for raising his son to become a complete snob! His wife, too! How could she be so brazen when she raised a bully? The nerve of that woman!” Eun-ha huffed, her fists clenched at the thought of Jae-ho’s mother’s indifference to the troubling situation.

"Er, sorry for interrupting, but Ryan and I are going to give our thanks to Offer Shin for his help."

"Oh, should we come too?" Eun-ha asked, getting ready to call the kids over.

"Nah, it's okay. You two should stay and watch over the kids. We'll be right back." Sun-woo replied, lightly kissing his wife's cheek.

Slinging an arm around Ryan's shoulders, Sun-woo whisked the young man away while flagging down Officer Shin, who had just exited the storage shed at the opposite side of the parking lot. Ryan glanced back at his wife and gave her an encouraging wave. Hye-su tried to put on a brave face for her husband, but she felt her resolve crumble the minute Ryan was out of sight. Sneaking a glance at Eun-ha, Hye-su awkwardly fiddled with her hands. Now what...? I have nothing to talk about with her! Ugh, this is so awkward!

"Um, about the dinner... How about we postpone it for next week?" Hye-su suggested, not knowing how to politely reject Eun-ha's invitation.

"Oh, do you have something planned tonight?"

"No, it's just, I feel like we should be the ones to invite your family over. But we haven't finished unpacking, so the house is a bit chaotic at the moment."

“Oh, don’t worry about that! The dinner won't be anything fancy, so there's no need to feel burdened." Eun-ha warmly smiled, taking Hye-su’s hands in hers, "But, if you insist, you can invite us over once you’re all settled into the neighborhood!”

Hye-su tightly gripped the hem of her shirt as she fought back her tears. She had agonized day and night that their move from Washington had been a huge mistake. No matter how much they tried to run away from the disapproving stares and malicious whispers, everyone always ended up regarding Yoo-jin as abnormal.

Hye-su and Ryan had never expected to become parents at the ripe age of 21. The pair had been in their junior year of university when Hye-su learned that she had become pregnant. Despite the difficulties they’d have to face as young parents, the couple had been ecstatic to welcome their bundle of joy. But when the people around them noticed Yoo-jin's lack of “color,” they began to view the tiny infant as abnormal. Disgusted stares and malicious comments had become a part of their life, and Yoo-jin had to learn how to cope with being "different." But really, what made anyone “normal?”

Everyone had at least one distinguishing feature that made them stand out from everybody else. So, why did her precious baby have to take the brunt of such malicious hatred?

Burying her face in her hands, Hye-su quietly sobbed as the overwhelming guilt and anger that had latched onto her heart slowly began to fade away. Eun-ha’s genuine warmth and kindness gave Hye-su hope that her son would finally find his happiness in this quaint neighborhood.

“Hye-su?! Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine. I'm just so happy to be here,” Hye-su blubbered through her sobs as she hastily wiped away her tears, “We’ll gladly accept your invitation!”

~~***~~

“Yoo-jin, hurry up! I need to introduce you to someone!” Hyun called, pushing the front gate wide open.

Yoo-jin sighed. It had been a long, exciting day, and Jin wanted nothing more than to go home and have a nap before dinner. Grumbling to himself, Jin plodded behind Hyun and had just crossed the threshold when he came to a complete stop. A blur of something white and fluffy emerged from behind the residence, its huge body charging right at him.

“Holy smokes—.”

“CLOUDY~~! How did you get out of the house?!” Hyun nuzzled the fluffball, giggling as the huge dog slobbered all over the boy’s face. “Hehehe. I’m sorry we didn’t take you with us. But it was too hot today!”

“… Its name is Cloudy?” Yoo-jin asked as he stared at the massive dog. The adorable pet seemed strangely familiar. It couldn’t be that dog, right?

“Yup! Come say hi! He’s friendly!”

Before Jin could take another step, Cloudy trotted toward Yoo-jin as if he were meeting an old friend.

“Gu-reum…? Is that you?” Jin whispered, hesitantly getting on his knees and petting the Samoyed that was happily rubbing against the boy’s leg.

“Whoa. It’s the first time I’ve seen Cloudy go up to a stranger so willingly! Oh, now he’s even asking for a belly rub?! He must really like you!” Hyun beamed, feeling like a proud parent.

Jin didn’t say anything and gazed into the pup’s sparkling eyes. I don’t know how you ended up here with Hee-yoon again, but thanks for protecting her. She really missed you when you crossed over the rainbow.

“Woof!”

A warm, fuzzy feeling fluttered throughout Jin’s chest at Cloudy’s undeterred gaze. It was like the dog understood what the little boy was thinking, and was saying that he, too, had missed Hee-yoon. Jin smiled, nuzzling the giant fluffball.

“Hmm? I feel like I’m strangely left out.” Hyun pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest while Cloudy stayed glued next to Yoo-jin.

“Of course, Cloudy and I have a bond that you’ll never have with him,” Jin replied, smirking at Hyun’s flabbergasted expression.

“WHAT?! But he’s my dog—!”

“Hyun! I’m back~!” Joon bounded up the slight hill of the quaint neighborhood, waving at his little brother, who happily ran up to him.

Joon had left early from soccer practice and was just returning home with a special treat in his hands. Yoo-jin felt his mouth hang open as he stared at the cake boxes Joon was carrying. What in the world…? That couldn’t all be cake, right? No 11-year-old had that much money to buy two whole cakes from such a famous bakery!

“Hyun! Look what I brought~!” Holding up the cake boxes, Joon smiled at his little brother, whose eyes twinkled like precious gems.

“Hyung-ah~! I love you!” Hyun giggled, hugging the boxes of cake. His precious treasures!

“Pfft, are you sure it’s me and not the cakes?” his brother asked, dotingly ruffling Hyun’s hair.

“... Both?”

“Good answer!”

“Joon, come here and say hello to our new neighbors! They’ll be joining us for dinner tonight!” His mother called, a disapproving look on her face once she saw the boxes of cake.

“Be right there! Hyun, I’ll carry the cakes. They’re too heavy for you.”

“No, they’re my cakes! I can carry them by myself!”

“How about you carry the smaller one, and I carry the bigger one?”

Hyun stubbornly shook his head, his grip on the boxes tightening as he pulled them closer to him, “I can handle it!”

“But if you drop both of them, you won’t have any pretty cakes left to eat.”

“...” He did have a point there.

Sighing, Hyun nodded his head and took the smaller box when Joon quickly backed away. Joon tightened his grip on the bigger box while avoiding eye contact with the little boy. Shooting a look at his brother, Hyun haughtily turned away and teetered toward Jin. Why did his brother always assume the worst in him?! It wasn’t like he was still a toddler who couldn’t walk properly! Hmph, you wanna keep treating me like a baby? I’ll show you how petty I can be!

Lifting the smaller box over his head, Hyun ran up to his friend, “Yoo-jin~! Do you wanna eat this cake with me?!” 

“Hyun, be careful!” Joon called, but was ignored as Hyun happily walked away with Yoo-jin without even a glance back. 

Horrified, Joon stared after his adorable brother. Huh? When did Hyun get so close with that kid?! They were bickering like crazy when I left for soccer practice. And why am I being completely ignored when I bought TWO whole cakes?! Unable to accept that he had been cast aside by his adorable younger sibling, Joon staggered into the house in a daze while the adults watched in amusement.

“I am so sorry about that. I’ll have him introduce himself later.” Eun-ha forced a smile, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“Haha, it’s okay! I think it’s adorable that your oldest cares so much for his younger sibling.” Hye-su chuckled before glancing up at her husband, “Maybe we should also try for a second child!”

“H-Honey!” Ryan grew red in the face while Hye-su and Eun-ha guffawed at his obvious embarrassment.

Noticing Ryan’s obvious plea for help, Sun-woo quickly gathered the group, “The kids are probably starving, so let’s head inside!”

“Aww! Way to ruin the fun!” Eun-ha pouted before shrugging her shoulders, “But, you’re right. Let’s get this party started!”

The group laughed amongst themselves as they made their way to the backyard garden, completely unaware of the hidden figure peering down at them….

“Well, aren’t they getting along splendidly?”

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**