1 PROLOGUE

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The sky is painted with fresh blue and cotton white hues on that particular morning. The busy playground is full of laughter from young children that swam on the fresh air breeze. Everyone is happy -except for a particular kid who's a sobbing mess, bullied in a corner.

"G-Go away! Don't go n-near me! Please! Why is it a- always me!..." Baekyun plead in desperation as he stepped back because he was cornered with a bunch of bullies.

Chanyeol, one of the active kids among his class, was trudging towards the stairs leading to the slides with a grin plastered on his young face. However, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. His feet led him to a bunch of kids who are laughing and pointing at something that he couldn't seem to see on his initial location. As soon as he decided to peek at the group of his fellow mates, his eyebrows automatically furrowed, and the innocent grin suddenly vanished from his young face as he looked at the smallest kid he had ever seen in the kindergarten.

Chanyeol immediately felt bad as he witnessed the poor kid being helpless.

Feeling his blood boil in anger, his legs led him to the center where the kid was standing. He saw the little kid crying, asking for help. The sobbing mess was clutching down the ends of his shirt, trying to cover his brown- above the knee shorts and being a concerned creature Chanyeol was,- he got closer to examine the kid's apologetically embarrassed and scared expression with his small chest heaving and his shoulders trembling.

"I-I just wanna go h-home! Stay away! I wasn't d-doing anything to you!" The small kid sobbed as he begged, pleading in shame and fear as his wet eyes landed on Chanyeol's tall figure thinking that he's one of the bullies.

Chanyeol realized that the little one who was bullied had peed himself, judging the wet patch on his crumpled pastel shorts. Chanyeol sighed. His heart tugged a little bit because of the smaller ones' hopelessness. He faced the annoying bullies and flashed his sharp glare towards them. His jaw tightened as he felt triggered. He can't bear to see someone incapable of fighting for themselves getting taken advantage of.

Chanyeol is taller than most of the other kids and so he could easily scare the shorter brats. He stood in front of Baekhyun, his back facing the poor kid. The little group of bullies looked at each other and shut their mouths. Young Chanyeol breathed deeply, closed his eyes, and moved a step forward and again, shouted loud enough to startle the brats.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" He burst out, eyes flickering sharply. Even the midget who is sniffling behind him got startled and immediately jolted backward from his original spot.

Some of the kids crammed and stepped away. Obviously scared and threatened. But of course, some are dumb enough to stay put.

Chanyeol looked behind him. He needed to look down to see how unusually short Baekhyun was for a kindergarten schooler. The poor boy was now crouching on the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees. His head bowed down as he hid his wet face.

"Hey, come on." The smaller heard Chanyeol speak gently. The little midget's watery eyes met by Chanyeol's warm ones. He stood up shakily and looked around. His lips are trembling as he tried tugging the ends of his shirts down, curling his knees in the process.

Baekhyun examined the tall figure in front of him, visibly shaking.

"You're not gonna hurt m-me? I wanna go home. I don't want to go to school anymore.." Poor kid sniffled. His dreams of becoming a good kid at school fading.

However, Chanyeol didn't respond. His focus is on how the small boy's eyes shone under the light of day. It kind of made him compare the sparkles of the sea when the light hits the horizon.

" You peed your pants, my friend." Chanyeol gently started smiling. The small boy's lower lip jutted as he batted his wet eyelashes in embarrassment with a drench patch of tears in his pinky cheeks.

As for the little one, it was a bully thing to say so in that second he quivered and continued to cry and whimper. He never felt embarrassed since now as he just wanted to pee but he can't find the comfort room and upon finding one, he got cornered and bullied until he couldn't take it anymore and he accidentally peed with his pants on. Now he thought that school is not as fun like he imagined and that he would never find new friends to stick with.

Chanyeol's smile faltered and was replaced by a worried expression towards the non-stop crying of the midget. He doesn't know how to stop him from crying and he felt alarmed by it.

The midget's crying caught the attention of the busy kids, again.

"He peed his pants! He peed his pants!! And now he is crying again! Why don't you go to your mommy, HAHAHA!!" One kid laughed while pointing at the midget. The ones who didn't back away started pointing and bullying again.

Unattended, Chanyeol doesn't know what he'll gonna do next. He tried to look for their teacher but the teacher seems nowhere to be found at that moment.

He felt bad. He thought it was all his fault. And he couldn't just leave the poor bullied kid to be left there.

Chanyeol was worried. With the idea that popped from his mind, he quickly held the midget tightly in the waist and inwardly covered the latter's ears so that he can't hear the yellings and bullyings of his classmates.

"Get out of the way! Or else I'll punch and kick you! Try me!" Chanyeol threatened loudly scaring them. The smurf was trapped in the latter's protective arms as he got propelled away from there.

He quickly maneuvered the midget to walk away but he ended up lightly carrying him so that they could quickly get away from the crowd.

Chanyeol carried the little boy inside the comfort room, he opened a cubicle and led him there.

"Stay here. I'll come back. I promise." Chanyeol promised while rubbing the smaller's mochi cheeks with his thumb to dry the tears. He found that the smaller is cute and fluffy that he feels like someone like this cute and fragile boy needed to be protected.

He rushed inside their classroom and through his bag, he fished out the extra shorts that his babysitter prepared for him. His babysitter always prepares for an extra shirt for Chanyeol because he is a playful kid and always gets filthy every day from playing.

"Here, use mine. Don't cry anymore I'm here. I'm here." Chanyeol came back as he promised as he cooed and patted the little midget's head like a puppy. Chanyeol just had this feeling that the small kid with innocent puppy eyes doesn't deserve to get bullied. And he felt responsible for protecting him for no particular reason. Maybe because he was the tallest in their room and this kid in front of him was the shortest.

After a moment, the latter already cleaned himself and finished changing his shorts that he borrowed from Chanyeol without uttering a word. Just the sniffles and silent glances.

"You're funny." Chanyeol grinned widely. But then he closed his mouth to prevent from chuckling because the shorts that he gave to the latter looked like short pants. After all, he is short and it made him look weird.

"You're a boy right?" Chanyeol needed to ask in curiosity. Although it's pretty clear to him that the latter is a male by judging the attire he's using, but judging him physically, from the long lashes, feminine face, pale complexion, beautiful almond-shaped eyes, and small, frail appearance, you couldn't expect that he's a boy at first glance.

The boy nodded shyly and wiped his runny nose with the taller's handkerchief.

"You're favorite color isn't yellow right?" Chanyeol asked out of the blues. The small boy with wet eyes looked up and hesitantly shook his head.

"I-It's b-sky blue." The smaller briefly answered. Looking embarrassed about the male whom he thought was so tall and good-looking.

"Good. Because I hate yellow." The taller spoke once again, flashing a warm smile. He hated yellow for a reason because last summer, a friend left him and his friend's favorite color is yellow.

The small boy suddenly hugged the taller kid tightly and murmured his multiple gratitude for saving him out there as he shed some more tears.

Chanyeol was shocked about how polite and grateful the kid was but he remained intact from not pinching his cute cheeks and telling him that's it's nothing. He never thought he would use the word 'cute' for a human though because the only ones he knew would be cute were puppies and his pet ferret.

"It's okay, buddy. Anytime." Chanyeol smiled accomplished as he rubbed the latter's back comfortingly in a circular motion. Even just there, the smaller boy had already thought that the tall boy in front of him is not scary after all.

The midget pulled away and continued to look down the floor again like its the most fascinating thing in the world. Fidgeting his small fingers while curling his toes on the white tiled floor only shows that he couldn't bring up a word to converse with the stranger. He had no friends before to know how to talk like it.

"What is your name? Mine is Chanyeol." Chanyeol smiled again. It's been two weeks since class opening but Chanyeol swears he didn't notice the latter's appearance before, maybe because he's too small and too silent.

"B-Baekhyun," Midget Baekhyun stammered with a bit of reluctance. Looking at Chanyeol's shiny shoes, he suddenly felt embarrassed by his old ragged pair of shoes that his mother bought for him in a secondhand shop as he saw how shiny and brand new Chanyeol is wearing

His eyes are somewhat reddish and his chubby pinky cheeks are stained with dried tears. Chanyeol pursed his lips, it is the first time he heard the latter's voice. Well, without crying...

And it sounds nice on his ears.

"Hi there Baekhyun! I want to be your friend, shhh stop crying now, shh." Chanyeol hugged Baekhyun, rubbing the latter's back again gently. Little Baekhyun was shocked because he doesn't even have friends before no matter how he wished he had.

Baekhyun suddenly whimpered again because of the overflowing emotion. He badly wanted a friend but no one wanted to be friends with him because he is so quiet and we could say, boring. He tried his best to have one before but luck is not on his side.

But now he thinks he'll have one. And he felt so happy that he could cry all over again.

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun's round face. "Why are you crying again?" Chanyeol poked his lower lip. He doesn't want to see crying people. Especially the ones who get his attention.

"Y-You're going to be my first friend ever." Baekhyun shyly admitted while sniffling, covering his eyes so that Chanyeol won't see him tearing up. He just couldn't believe it.

Chanyeol's face lit up. This is more special for him than he expected, having a friend who happened to be his first-ever friend. And being the only son of the wealthy family of the Parks doesn't help to make him feel not happy about the boy.

The taller kid pondered, thinking that he wanted to be friends with the small one so that when the latter needs help, he'll be there.

"Okay, but let's change that. Let's be best friends then!" Chanyeol's enthusiastic voice echoed over the inside of the comfort room.

Baekhyun lifted his small face and cast a confused look. He doesn't know how or what to act but it sounds good to his ears. Having a human best friend is foreign for him, only his stuffed toys, his baby brother, and his mother were only his long-time considered best friends.

"W-Why?" He tilted his head slightly, lips pouting cutely. The taller wiped his tears on his reddish cheeks with his thumbs again. Why is this boy so cute? Chanyeol thought.

"It's nice to have someone cute," Chanyeol spoke.

"I'm not cute.." Baekhyun shyly responded.

"Hey, you are. You're like a puppy." Chanyeol smiled.

Baekhyun smiled, he cannot contain his happiness. Having a best friend is gonna be amazing, he thought.

"Your ears are as big as an elephant too, but I never bullied you." Baekhyun accidentally coughed but quickly covered his mouth.

"Oops, sorry I didn't mean it."He looked wearily at Chanyeol with his shiny brown orbs, worried that maybe the latter would end their friendship that fast.

"It's okay. Bestfriends tease but forgive each other in the end." Chanyeol said with a cheeky smile. Looking at his newly found best friend.

"You're so small, are you a dwarf?" Chanyeol retorted back, earning a pout from Baekhyun. He scrunched his nose cutely.

Little Baekhyun threw a look at Chanyeol that the latter find it cute because it was not scary at all. Chanyeol laughed wholeheartedly making Baekhyun turn around ready to leave while crossing his arms. Maybe he's just messing with me, Baekhyun thought dejectedly.

"Hey! You're supposed to forgive me! We're now best friends remember?" Chanyeol walked past the walking away Baekhyun and looked down at him, emphasizing how small Baekhyun was.

Baekhyun likes the thought that he has a best friend now and he is excited to share the good news with his mom. Baekhyun grinned from ear to ear and hugged his best friend dearly before they exited the area with a smile plastered on their faces and holding each other's hands.

"You really wanted to be friends with me?"

"Yes."

"And starting today, you're mine."

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