Chapter 1: Childhood Memories
16 Years Ago
"Jihyun, why do you have so many spoons?" Jumin asked his friend. The boy laughed and set his camera down on the table. "Jumin Han, I've told you the reason why before. I just really like spoons!" Jihyun giggled. They looked at each other and smiled, the thought of someone liking spoons made them both start laughing. Jumin was the first one to stop, his grey eyes were light up in joy. He messed with his neck tie and looked back at the silver utensils. "I counted how many spoons you have. There's exactly twenty spoons." The boy said. Jihyun started to laugh again, his laughter filled the empty house. "I don't know why I have twenty spoons! Though Jumin, you know what else I like?" Jumin looked at his best friend and tilted his head to the side.
The other boy's hand ruffled Jumin's hair as a pure smile lit up his face. "I like bread!" Jumin's heart jumped then fell, he had almost expected his friend to say that he liked him. 'Ridiculous. You are best friends, of course he likes you.' The boy thought before laughing at Jihyun. "You like the weirdest things! Next thing I know, you are going to tell me that you want bread for your birthday!" Jumin said while laughing. Jihyun picked up his camera and snapped a picture of his best friend laughing. He was so serious because of his father being the chairman of his business, Jumin only laughed when he was with Jihyun. A loud voice called from outside Jihyun's door, it was Jumin's father. "Is it time to go already?" Jihyun had whined. Jumin nodded and hugged his best friend. "I'll be back next week! Just in time for your birthday!" He said before running out of the door.
Jumin didn't come back the next week, or the week after that. He came back right around Christmas, Jihyun had never felt more alone. He had celebrated his birthday alone, simply buying himself a small desert and sticking a match in it. His parents were gone often so the house was almost always empty. Jumin's birthday had passed, so Jihyun went over to his house to celebrate. Jumin's mother had told him that Jumin still wasn't back from wherever he went with his father. November came and passed, Jihyun's parents came back for Thanksgiving then left again. Finally, December came; snow fell softly outside of the window. Jihyun grinned and ran outside after putting his winter clothes on. The small boy giggled and scooped up some of the snow before getting the idea to try and photograph it. He ran inside and grabbed his camera, being careful to not drop it as he walked over the slick ground.
Jihyun took pictures of the other children playing in their yards, of how the snow blanketed roofs and yards. He photographed the snow falling, then he caught glimpse of a tall man with a small child walking stiffly next to him. The boy's black hair was messy, but in a professional way. His large coat hid his mouth and chin from the cold, the man beside him had his hand behind his back, guiding him around. Jihyun waved at the boy before taking a better look. Those grey eyes weren't lit up in joy, so they looked almost unrecognizable. "Jumin?!" He cried out while waving frantically. Jumin glanced at him then at his father before slipping out from his side. Jumin clumsily ran over to his best friend, tears dotted his eyes. "Jihyun! I'm back!" He called out while almost falling on the slick road. Jihyun carefully set his camera down and ran to Jumin. They crashed into each other and started laughing. "Where have you been?!" Jihyun asked while pulling the other boy into a tight hug. "I had gone on some sort of trip with my father. I can't even remember where we went. I have something for you though!" Jumin said while hugging him back. They let go of each other and ran to the car Jumin came out of. "Jumin, your items are in the back seat for you. They have been wrapped how you asked." The driver had said. Jumin nodded and dove into the car to get whatever he had brought. "Thank you, Mr. Kim!" Jumin called out as he exited the car while holding two medium sized boxes. "Call me Driver Kim, Mr. Han." The man chuckled before the boys ran off.
They ran to Jihyun's yard and sat in the snow. Jumin handed the boxes to his best friend and told him to open them. Jihyun carefully opened the first box and pulled out the object. It was a potted plant of some sort. Jihyun was about to touch what looked like fuzz before Jumin yelled at him not to. "Jihyun! That's a cactus! Don't touch it, you could hurt yourself." Jumin playfully made an angry face at his friend which caused them both to laugh. "It's oddly beautiful. For a spikey plant." Jihyun said in-between laughing. He set the plant down and took a quick picture of it. "Open the next box!" Jumin giggled while bouncing up and down. Jihyun handed his camera to Jumin and opened the next box. Inside was a camera tripod and an entirely new camera. Jihyun gasped and pulled out the device, marveling at the quality. "Jumin! This is amazing!" He cried while setting it back down in the box and hugging his friend. They laughed and smiled at each other. "Do you like your gifts? I'm sorry for missing your birthday." Jumin asked. Jihyun nodded and put everything back in their boxes. "I have something for you! Come inside with me." The boy said while tugging his friend's arm.
They got up and went inside, their coats tossed onto the floor as they ran through the warm house. Jihyun set his gifts on his bed and grabbed a small box of photographs for his friend. "Jumin, I want to give these to you." He said while handing Jumin the box. Jihyun went to the kitchen and made hot chocolate for them. He heard Jumin gasp at the pictures, a small grin found its way onto his face. "Jihyun! What is the fuzzy white creature?" Jumin asked as a mug was set down in front of him. Jihyun laughed and took a sip of his drink. "That's a kitten. I saw it in the pet store window when I went into town one day." Jumin's eyes lit up with want as his fingers brushed over the picture. "She looks like a princess. If I get a cat, I want her to look just like this but with striking blue eyes and a perfectly pink nose!" Jumin said after taking a sip out of his mug. They laughed and went over the pictures.
The day had passed too quickly, Jumin went home after gushing for hours over the cat picture. Jihyun waved from his door and went back to his bedroom. He gently took the cactus from its box and placed it on his windowsill. The small, green plant brought life to the lonely house. Jihyun grabbed a pen and opened a small notebook that was filled with things he liked. He scribbled down cacti next to Jumin's name, then closed the book. The boy took out the new camera and tripod and carefully set them up on his desk. Jihyun smiled and laid down on his bed, going over the day's events. His best friend had come back after months of being away, he had gotten a new camera, and experienced a snow day with Jumin. The boy fell asleep while thinking of the day.
In the house across from his, Jumin stared out the window with the picture of the kitten in his hands. "Father, may I get a kitten?" Jumin asked while turning to look at the man. His father gave a small smile and shook his head. "No Jumin, you will soon have no room for silly little pets. You are to take over the company soon, you will have no time for kittens or puppies." He said before ruffling Jumin's hair. The child's face fell and he turned back to the window, watching the snow fall silently. "Jumin. It's time for bed." His mother said softly before going to her bedroom. The boy nodded and got ready to sleep. Jumin crawled into bed and clutched the picture to his chest, it crinkled softly. He turned on his side and looked out his window as the snow kept falling. "If I get a cat, I want her to have snow white fur. Paired with bright blue eyes and a little pink nose." The boy muttered to himself as he drifted to sleep.