Jihoon ran ecstatically to Seungcheol. He almost stumbled and fell, if it wasn’t for Seungche-
ol who stopped his cooking and caught him before hitting the floor.
“Be careful, Jihoonie—whoa, look at you, a little hero!”
Jihoon grinned so widely under his shining red-and-gold helmet. He raised both his hands up,
puffing his chest out, showing off the costume that fit him perfectly. “The Tooth Fairy gave
me this!”
“That’s great! It must be because Jihoonie have been a really good boy!”
If anything, Seungcheol looked even happier than Jihoon. They finished breakfast joyfully,
with Jihoon’s favorite toast. He added lots of syrup and cinnamon on top of his, a lot more
than Seungcheol usually allowed. But that one time, Seungcheol just laughed, and let Jihoon
did it, saying that a superhero had to eat a lot to stay strong.
That evening, they walked around the neighborhood. Jihoon with his costume and a basket in
one hand, another hand held Seungcheol’s tightly. There were still some whispers, some
fingers pointing, also some envy stares from the kids, but Jihoon could barely realize any of
those. He had his costume. He had his basket full of candies and chocolates. And the best of
all, he had his Seungcheol-hyung by his side.
It was a perfect day. And Jihoon had the sweetest dream that night.
He lost his second tooth a few weeks after that. Just when he had another thing he really
wished to have. Some of his classmates had started talking to him after Halloween, and
Jihoon thought maybe more of them would be friends with him if he had more things. He
enthusiastically told Seungcheol about it as they walked home, his brother smiled and chuck-
led, wishing him good luck. Jihoon went to bed early again, putting the little tooth on his
bedside table.
“Dear Tooth Fairy, I want a new Avengers backpack. I promise I’ll be a reeeally good boy!”
The next morning, another box replaced his tooth, with the backpack he wanted inside it.
Jihoon put it on his back immediately and ran to his brother to show him the new backpack.
Just like how he had always been every time Jihoon was happy, Seungcheol looked happier.
Jihoon nearly skipped his breakfast, couldn’t wait to go meet his classmates. When the
kindergarten’s bell rang later that afternoon, telling them it’s time to go home, Seungcheol
found Jihoon with the biggest smile on his face.
“Hyung, Seungcheol-hyung! I have friends now!”
His brother welcomed him with the warmest hug, telling him how proud he was of him. They
both waved at Jihoon’s classmates. His friends. Jihoon said ‘see you’ to them one by one, and
they answered, waving back, smiling at him. Jihoon couldn’t stop talking about them as they