When Soobin was reciting the lines slowly, the children started walking towards him carefully. It seemed like only Seokjin was standing in one place.

“Red Light, Green Light, One, Two, Three!”

Soobin turned around and everyone was stone still in their places. No one moved a single part of their bodies, but they could be seen covering their giggles effortlessly.

He didn’t find anyone moving at the first attempt. So he returned back to reciting.

This time, Seokjin thought to walk towards the boy too. After all, he couldn’t lose. Following the others, he walked forward until Soobin suddenly turned behind.

A lot of kids lost their balance by his sudden turn so Soobin smiled evilly and pointed his finger at them, “Yeosang, Minjae, Hee Jin, Woo Young, Do Hyun, Hye Sun; all of you get out!”

The mentioned children all pouted and whined, they even looked at Yoon Min and begged her with puppy eyes to let them continue the game. Unfortunately, she only chuckled and apologized to them adorably. So they had no choice but to leave the game and stand in one line.

The game continued again. Soobin was actually very tricky. He knew how to play out his role perfectly. In the next six minutes, many kids lost their chances in front of him, some moved unintentionally, some coughed or sneezed, some burst into laughter while some couldn’t just stay still.

At the end, it was just Seokjin and a few more kids. Apparently, Seokjin was ahead of everyone. Maybe because he had long legs.

Soobin glared at the man and spoke madly, “Hyung! Don't you touch me!”

“It's the rule, pabo (idiot)!” Eunbi shouted from behind. Well she was one of the finalist as well.

The traffic cop sighed and turned around. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stop the elder as he was too close to reach him. He's gonna lose anyway.

“Red Light, Green Lig--” he didn’t have to finish the whole sentence as Jin already reached him and touched his back softly.

The other children all cheered suddenly, crying in joy and victorious feeling. In a minute, Seokjin found himself being hugged by many children, none of them were tall enough to reach his height so they were embracing his legs and waist.

Seokjin was so surprised and taken aback by the endless love from younger ones that he had to break out in a wide smile. Unable to take in all children's hugs and cheers, he sat on his knees and decided to hug every one of them individually. The kids didn’t deny too. They wanted to know how it felt to be hugged by an elder brother. They wrapped their arms around his neck tightly one by one.

Soobin was the one holding a grudge and standing alone from their group hug.

Seokjin noticed his anger and decided to call him,

“Soobin-ah, are you mad at me?”

The boy huffed and looked away.

He walked closer to the little one and said in a childish voice, “You really did well, you know that?”

Soobin wasn’t upset. He was sad actually. Without looking at him, he murmured under his breath, “I never lost in this game.”

“Then this was your first lesson.” Seokjin saw Yoon Min coming up from behind and sitting on her knees to look at the boy. “You do know now you have to improve your skills to beat your Hyung, right?

The boy nodded, but he still looked down.

Yoon Min licked her lips and cupped his chubby cheeks inside her palms, “Hey, is my bunny gonna cry? Bunny promised he won't cry~”

The nickname was enough to fluster the little boy as he smiled shyly and hugged her. The sight made Seokjin smile to himself, as his eyes softened to see how the little children loved Yoon Min like their mother.

Breaking the hug, Soobin met his eyes and told him playfully, “Hyung, you won't leave until I beat you in this game, okay?”

“Deal.” he replied with a sweet smile.

------------

Seokjin wondered why Yoon Min didn’t play the whole time. She was standing in a corner and watching them, sometimes cheering for them. Was it due to her weak heart?

His thoughts were interrupted by her voice, “Alright everyone, gather around. We're gonna play Hide and Seek next.”

While the kids gathered around, she asked to all, “Who's gonna be the Seeker?”

“Me!” a little girl named Soo Young volunteered.

“Don't be ridiculous. You can't even count properly.” one kid protested.

Yoon Min instantly replied, “Hey, the reason we play this game is to improve your counting skills and ability to hide during danger. If she wants--”

“Noona, Soo Young is too young. Watch me.” a tall boy named Moonbin turned towards the girl. “What comes before Seven?”

“Five!” Soo Young answered happily.

Everyone laughed silently and mocked her while Seokjin felt pity for the little girl. Yoon Min sighed before patting the girl's head,

“It's Six, Soo Young-ah.”

The girl looked so down and was about to tear up. She really wanted to play but she herself knew she wasn’t qualified enough. Yoon Min kneeled down to her eye-level and held her shoulders, “Soo-ah, how about you be the Seeker next time? Unnie will teach you all numbers by then.”

Soo Young nodded sadly. There wasn’t anything to do after all.

Yoon Min stood up and glanced at another, “Eunbi, what about you?”

Seokjin's eyes moved towards the girl who widened her eyes dramatically and exclaimed, “Just because I'm the second eldest, doesn’t mean I've to make sacrifices!”

“It's not a sacrifice. It's a part of the game.”

Eunbi rolled her eyes sideways and crossed her arms, “Unnie, I really--”

“Do it, Eunbi.”

She stared at the unexpected person who requested her to be the Seeker. And she was totally shocked.

“Oppa knows you'll do well.” Seokjin even tried acting sweet.

She widened her eyes, cheeks getting redder by every second, “Hey, you're not my Oppa! Seriously, why do you think you're young when you're 25?”

Yoon Min bit back a smile as much as possible by their interaction.

“Fine, I'll be the Seeker.” thanks to Seokjin, she agreed finally. It was the first time she was convinced to do something so easily and quickly.

Yoon Min clapped her hands once, “Great! We have our Seeker.”

She added next, “Remember, you're not allowed to go outside the gates, the second floor, the kitchen and the storeroom. Otherwise Eunbi will have a hard time and you all might get hurt.”

“Who says I'll have a--”

“Let's go, everyone!” Yoon Min intentionally ignored the girl's words and shot her a playful smile.

However, Eunbi was more clever than she seemed.

“Yoon Unnie, you should play as well.”

She stopped in place and looked at her with a piercing gaze.

“Yeah, play too, Unnie!” another girl grabbed her hand.

“You gotta play this time, Noona.”

“We never saw you play with us.”

“Play!”

When every child was literally shouting at her to join them in the game, Yoon Min was left speechless. She didn’t know if she should take a risk like this. She was never taken to a doctor or was known what cautions she should take to protect her heart. So she just prevented herself from physical activities as much as she could to take care of herself.

If she told the kids she never played outdoor games with them because of her weak heart, they might get upset, and they might never play again for the sake of her. She couldn’t do that. Never.

“What's the matter?”

She met Seokjin's concerning eyes after turning left. Gulping down her throat, she didn’t hesitate to tell him, “I don't know if it's safe for me.”

Seokjin glanced at the kids for a split second then back to her, “Do you want to play?”

She bit her lower lip and nodded softly.

“I think it's okay to try once. Just don't take stress or run fast.”

When he told her to play, a big part of her heart trusted him. No one ever told her to play all her life so hearing this at the age of almost 18 felt different. She shouldn’t play around at this age of course.

Yoon Min glanced at the children and took a deep breath.

It's okay to try once.

“O-okay, I'll p-play.”

The children bursted into joy as all of them cheered together in union. Seokjin was impressed by how they were connected with each other by feelings. Their happiness was hers and her happiness was theirs. How beautiful...

Eunbi smiled widely and clapped once, “Alright, I'm gonna count to 20. Let me remind you, I will catch every one of you. So better hide well!”

She turned with her back and started counting loudly all on a sudden. The others had no chance as they ran to wherever they felt like quick.

Within a few seconds, Seokjin found himself alone in the field.

Hide, you idiot! He reminded himself and started to look for a place.

He went inside the orphanage and found some kids choosing places to hide where even cockroaches could see them. Well he was a CEO, so he should be advanced than others. He should hide somewhere where no one could find him.

But where should he hide?

He wasn’t familiar with this area. No matter where he went, he either knew he'll be caught or disliked the organization of the spot. What he needed was a perfect hiding spot where he could rest and smirk, thinking about the moment he'll come out and everyone will gape at him for finding an unique place like that.

Seemed like a place like he imagined only existed in his imagination.

Suddenly, Seokjin's arm was grabbed by someone. Without his knowledge, he was being dragged to somewhere he didn’t know.

“Hey, hey, where are we going?!”

“I should've known you'll stand like a complete fool in an open area without looking for a place to find!” Yoon Min yelled quietly who was striding forward with fierce steps.

“I was--”

“You don't this place, do you? How will you know where to hide or not?”

She sounded logical to him. He himself wasn’t sure if he would've found his uniqe place. So he let her take him to wherever she wanted. She was the type of person who was clever, smart, wise when it came to competent games. He trusted her decision.

No, he shouldn’t have trusted her decision.

“A closet? Seriously?”

Seokjin was standing in front of an empty, large, mint closet which was placed somewhere in the hallway. Yoon Min was already inside as she glanced at him,

“Where else do you wanna go?”

“Hate to break your choice but in movies, the main lead always hides inside the closet and gets caught. It's like the most common place to hide.” his arms were on his waist.

She sighed in frustration and pulled him inside the closet without his permission. Keeping the doors open slightly in order to let some light in, she sat inside comfortably, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them.

The uncomfortable one was Seokjin.

“I can't believe I'm hiding here.”

“It's suffocating!”

“Too dark...”

“I think there is a spider behind me.”

“Out of all places, why--”

Yoon Min had to put her index finger on his lips to shush him. He was talking too much.

“Can you stop talking?! Eunbi's gonna hear us.”

Seokjin glared at her in the dark which made him look cute. She removed her finger and returned to her sitting position. He struggled to fit inside but somehow managed to sit comfortably beside her in the same position.

But he wasn’t done bickering with her.

“Do you really think this is a nice place to hide two grown-ups!?”

Yoon Min was annoyed by his meaningless questions and snapped at him, “I don't know! This is my first time playing Hide and Seek. How am I supposed to know?”

Seokjin turned silent by her confession and pressed his lips together. She was right, she never played it before.

“And if you're so expert, then how come you weren’t hiding already?”

The thought of showing his vulnerable side was urging the pain to paint his sorrowful heart. With a soft murmur, he confessed, “It's my first time playing as well.”

Yoon Min's eyes twitched in silence. Somehow she didn’t expect him to say that. Who on Earth never played Hide and Seek?

Seokjin leaned against the back of the closet and started to whisper, “When I was young, my mother had to work like a dog to raise me. She was out most of the times. So it was my responsibility to guard our little house.”

“I watched children of my age playing together with their friends. But I never got the nerve to even ask them if I could participate as well. I had to stay home so I couldn’t find the time to play.”

Yoon Min didn’t utter a word after everything he said. Truly, her heart broke for him more than anyone. There was a resemblance of her depressed childhood with his.

He was lonely like her.

Out of curiosity, she asked him softly, “Where was your father?”

He didn’t reply instantly. It took him a while to open up.

“He abandoned us. Married his female boss.”

At the pained crack of his voice, she couldn’t suppress the urge to embrace him into a hug. His soft voice was so painfully distressed that it was her who had tears welling up in her eyes.

In the dark, she didn’t notice his beautiful eyes being filled with hidden tears. Seokjin was glad she couldn’t see him clearly or else, it would had been very hard to maintain his facial expression. He had to act strong and tough in front of everyone. He couldn’t show anyone that he could be weakened too.

Yoon Min's eyes were filled with only sadness for him. She felt useless that she couldn’t do anything for him. They're strangers to begin with. Maybe a bit more closer than strangers so possibly she wasn’t supposed to feel her heart breaking for him so much. But why? Why was it so easy for him to tell her something like this? And why was she feeling like his pain was hers?

Desperately, she tried searching in her thoughts for a way to distract him. It would seem rude and heartless to ignore a sensitive topic like this, so she instead told him something he might want to relate with.

“When I was a child, I used to sit alone in a corner.”

Her voice attracted him so she soon found him leaning towards her direction, listening attentively.

She continued while he listened, “The other kids made friends easily. They stayed together like a family. Also they avoided my existence as if I was invisible.”

“I couldn’t be friends with them. To be specific, they didn’t want to. Who would want a sick friend like me who fainted once in a while, often ran out of breath, couldn't take care of her health?” she seemed disappointed with herself.

Seokjin guessed correct about her reason of not playing earlier.

The small pout on her lips wrecked every part of his heart that he wanted to console her anyhow. For some strange, unknown reasons, he felt quite bad whenever he saw her not smiling.

Yoon Min added, “So I grew up watching everyone rejecting me, playing without me. As I started to get a hold of the reality around me, I became more responsible for the ones younger than me. I didn’t want them to end up with no friends in this unpleasant place. Already they lost their family so they had to stick together in order to see the world as a good place.”

Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone who you don't know at all. They don't judge you or do they point out your fault. They just listen quietly but you feel like a burden's been taken away from you.

Surprisingly, both had the same thought inside their mind.

It was strange to feel this comfortable around each other. Yoon Min never told anyone about this. Mostly because she didn’t want to bore the kids by bragging her pain to them. And Seok Jin had never got the chance to tell anyone about his childhood either. He opened up to Jisoo before, she had patted his back and showed him a warm smile in return. It would be too weird to say he felt more safe with Yoon Min because she told a part of her life instead of showing concern.

One thing they realized, they had been alone for a while despite having people around them.

They lived on the same path.

“I guess we both had a hard time during our childhood.” Yoon Min spoke first to destroy the silence inside the closet.

Seokjin glanced at her and without helping, he smiled a little and nodded.

Indeed they had.

“Found You!”

Eunbi opened the doors out of nowhere.

“Wonderful...to see you both hiding in an enclosed place...together.” she had a rich smirk on her lips.

Seokjin blinked and accused the girl beside him, “She suggested to hide here! I knew we would get caught!”

Yoon Min widened her eyes and to her defence, she shot back, “At least, I wasn’t standing in an open place like you.”

He was about to give another savage answer but Eunbi interrupted them,

“Alright, alright, I get it. Now get out and stand in the field, please. I still have to search for two people.”

With a disappointing face, they were walking to the playground side by side without exchanging any words. Losing together in their first ever game was embarrassing enough.

Upon arriving outside, Seokjin glanced up at the sky and to his surprise, it was already evening. Time passed really quick around here. He didn’t even realize he spent 4 hours here with children and an almost grown-up girl.

He blurted out quick, “I think I've to go now.”

Yoon Min flinched at his words and she exclaimed a little too much, “Already?! But you just got here.”

4 hours ago.

Seokjin wanted to smile but he straightened himself, “Will it be okay for me to leave before the game ends? I don't want to upset Eunbi.”

She shook her head, “No, it's totally fine. She'll understand.”

“I'll walk you to your car.” she added with a bright smile. Maybe she wanted him not to go.

He nodded and allowed her to walk with him.

Yoon Min thought walking him to the car will give them more time to be together. But she forgot it would take only a few seconds to reach the car outside the gates.

So she stood with a big pout while Seokjin was only getting inside his car.

Suddenly a question popped inside her head and she immediately yelled slightly to stop him from going,

“Why did you come here today anyway?”

True, it was an important question. Which Seokjin thought she wouldn’t ask him and he'll get away from the embarrassment. But he misunderstood her brain sadly.

He turned around and faced her silently. Finding her serene gaze on his, he found himself losing the ability to stay strong in front of her. Mere simple acts of her crushed his heart unlike none.

“I came to see you.” he answered honestly.

Yoon Min's heart almost burst outside her chest by his confession. It was beating so loudly, to the point she feared if he could hear hers. Her limbs felt like jelly and her stomach being filled with warmth and all.

An invisible arrow struck her heart upon that moment.

“Well then...” Seokjin didn’t waste time as he hopped inside his car seat and closed the door. He was glad she didn’t notice how nervous and messed up he looked right now.

He almost turned the car key when he heard her voice again.

“W-will you visit a-again?”

When he glanced at her face, all he saw was miserable desperation. Her eyes already told him she wanted him as a friend to depend on.

Somehow he knew she wanted him to stay with her as much as he wanted to. There was that desperation in her that was begging him not to leave her after making her feel so special for the first time.

That was enough to spark his heart and enlighten his soul.

Seokjin smiled lightly before saying, “I will.”

Yoon Min returned a grateful smile, she looked so happy. As if he just became the reason of her happiness. When a person smiles at you, you eventually feel happy as well.

Knowing they had enough of a day, he turned his car key to start the engine. The car vibrated and prepared itself to drive. With one last look at her, he gently bade her,

“Goodbye, Yoon Min.”

She nodded, “Goodbye, Seok Jin-ssi.”

And as the car started to drive away, the distance also snatched that heart touching scent of hers away from his soul. He started to feel restless and his mind occupied with the thoughts of when he could see her next. His heart beat unusually fast and it was poking him to go back to her. He gripped the car wheel tightly and took a deep breath. He told himself mentally in case that helped,

“Calm down, Seok Jin. Your heart should beat for someone else.”