Chapter Text
ᯓ★
It's a cold September night, the sky is clear.
Somewhere in Gimpo, a little boy is looking out his window.
It’s late, but he’s wide awake.
The shooting star he’s been waiting for finally crosses the sky.
“Pretty star, please give me a friend.”
Minho wishes with all his heart, his eyes closed so hard he frowns, his little hands turning white around the knuckles with how strongly they are pressed together.
“I don’t want to be alone anymore,” he whispers.
When Minho finally tucks himself into bed, clutching his worn-out cat plushie, heart full of worries he shouldn’t bear, he hopes the universe will grant him his only wish.
ᯓ★
When Minho wakes up, there’s no friend waiting for him at the foot of his bed like he had hoped.
No new face in the school bus either, or during recess.
He sits alone at lunch, as always.
When his mom picks him up from school, Minho’s excited enthusiasm has turned into quiet hope.
By the time he’s getting ready for bed, he has stopped believing.
As he drags his feet towards his bedroom, Minho fights tears of exhaustion and disappointment.
“Stupid star,” he mumbles as he opens his door.
But when he’s met with a bright giggle, Minho snaps his head up.
“Hi Minho!”
A little boy is sitting on his bed.
Minho gasps and shuts the door.
The other boy beams, his round cheeks bunched up all the way to his eyes.
“Who are you? How do you know my name?” Minho frowns.
“I'm Jisung. The pretty star has sent me here to be your friend!”
Minho’s little heart starts beating loudly.
“Jisung?” He asks, unsure. Did the wish really work after all?
The other boy nods. “I think it used to be my name before I joined the pretty star!”
Minho thinks for a minute. He’s not sure he understands what that means.
“I like that name,” he says, moving towards the bed. “It sounds like Jiji.”
“Who’s Jiji?” Jisung asks as he shuffles to give Minho some space on the bed next to him.
“My cat,” Minho says, climbing and grabbing the plushie, hugging it close to his chest. “I wanted a real kitty, but my mom is allergic.”
“I think Jiji is cute,” Jisung smiles.
Minho observes him for a long time. Jisung’s eyes are big and sparkly, and his cheeks are round and squishy. He looks like a squirrel, or a bug. Minho decides he likes him.
“So you’re like an imaginary friend?” He finally asks.
“Something like that,” Jisung nods.
“And how old are you?”
“Hmm, I'm not sure, I think you get to decide!”
Minho gets visibly excited. “Then you’ll be four,” he beams. “I’ll be six soon, so you have to call me hyung!” He gets up on the mattress. “And you have to do what I say, too!”
“Oh, okay,” Jisung blinks. “Then what do we do now, hyung?”
“Let’s play with my dinosaurs!” Minho jumps off the bed and starts pulling a plastic box from under his desk.
“Cool, I think I like dinosaurs,” Jisung answers simply as he climbs off the bed to come sit next to Minho on the rug.
ᯓ★
The scorching summer has given way to a comfortable fall. Soon, the cold winter will take over.
Somewhere in Gimpo, two little boys have become inseparable.
Minho doesn’t care that the others can’t see Jisung, or that they say he isn’t real. Minho knows he is.
When they play outside, or when they draw. When they stay up late, building Legos. When Jisung falls asleep on Minho’s shoulder while they flip through his book about dinosaurs.
Through it all, Jisung is real. He listens, and he talks. About the pretty star, about tyrannosaurs, about missing Minho when he’s at school.
And Minho talks, too. Tells Jisung all his secrets. How kids at school are mean to him, because he's different, they say. How he used to feel so lonely before. How Jisung is his first friend, and also his favorite person. Tells him he’s glad he made that wish.
When Minho’s birthday comes, Jisung gives him a drawing.
“It’s you, me, and Jiji,” he smiles the biggest Minho has ever seen. On the sheet, two stick figures are holding hands, standing in front of a big house. The black cat looks almost as big as them.
Minho loves it.
“We look like a family,” he says, tracing over the house. “Is this our home?”
“Yes!” Jisung answers excitedly. “It’s for when we’re grown-ups, it’s super big so you can have many kitties, like maybe even three,” he explains, eyes sparkling.
Minho giggles. He wonders what he’ll look like when he’s a grown-up. He hopes Jisung will still be his best friend then.
“Do you like my gift, hyung?” Jisung questions, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.
“It’s my favorite,” Minho says, carefully folding the drawing. He puts it inside his favorite book, the one about dinosaurs. “I’ll keep it forever.”
ᯓ★
It’s a warm spring day.
Somewhere in Gimpo, Jisung and Minho are playing outside, making soup in an old bucket.
There’s been something on Minho’s mind for a while, and the curiosity finally wins.
“You said Jisung used to be your name before you joined the pretty star, right?”
“I think so, yeah,” Jisung answers without lifting his gaze from the mixture.
“Do you remember anything else from before?” Minho continues.
Jisung thinks hard, pausing and tilting his head to the side.
“Hmm, not really,” he admits. “I remember meeting the pretty star for the first time, and she just said my name was Jisung. And I remember when she told me I was gonna go on a super special mission to become someone’s friend.”
“Me?” Minho points at himself.
Jisung nods.
“And when is your mission gonna be over?”
“I'm not sure, she said I would know it when it’s time to leave.” Jisung shrugs, going back to stirring his grass soup using a branch.
Minho gaps, panic settling in his little heart. “Wait!” He gets up, knocking over the bucket.
“Hyunggg,” Jisung whines. “Be careful!”
Minho isn’t listening. His lips are wobbly. “But I don't want you to leave! You have to stay here and be with me forever!”
“Okay, then I'll stay,” Jisung nods simply, picking up a daisy.
Minho sniffles. “You promise?” He asks as he extends his hand.
Jisung looks up at him. “I promise,” he says, smiling brightly as he hooks his pinky finger with Minho’s. “Now, go get more water for the soup, you spilled everything,” he scolds as he turns back to their empty bucket.
“Yah! I’m the hyung, you can’t talk to me like that!”
Jisung rolls his eyes. “Minho-hyung, can you get water for the soup, please, please, pleaaaaaase?”
Minho humphs, snatching the bucket. He makes sure to stomp his feet on the way to the tap.
Jisung simply giggles, rolling the daisy in between his tiny fingers.
ᯓ★
It’s a late summer evening when Minho comes back from a family dinner, slamming the door and climbing onto his bed, sniffling.
“What’s wrong?” Jisung asks immediately, putting down the puzzle piece he’s been staring at for a few minutes.
“Mom said we're moving to Seoul for Dad's work in a few months,” Minho explains, frowning.
“Whoa,” Jisung gasps. “I’ve never been to Seoul!” He pauses. “I think.”
“You think?” Minho’s laugh is watery, carrying the weight of his unshed tears.
“Not sure,” Jisung shrugs. He gets up and walks over to Minho’s bed. “Is it bad to go to Seoul?” He asks genuinely as he climbs up.
“It’s just… We’re moving to an apartment, and I have to change schools. Everything is going to be different, and I don’t like that,” Minho admits.
Jisung grabs the cat plushie next to him, and starts hugging it. “Maybe the new school will be better?”
“I’m scared,” Minho whispers.
“Why?”
“What if they keep being mean to me at the new school?” Minho’s tears start rising again.
Jisung hands him the plushie, smiling.
“Then Jiji and I will protect you,” he says proudly.
Minho looks at him for a long time, blinking repeatedly. After a moment, he throws himself at Jisung, hugging him the hardest he can, crushing the cat between them.
“I wish the others could see you too,” he says, sniffling on Jisung’s shoulder.
Jisung hums, thinking. “Maybe I can ask the pretty star to make me human,” he says, but it sounds more like a question.
“Really?” Minho lets go, hope bubbling in his chest. “How do you do that?” He asks.
“I don’t know,” Jisung admits sheepishly. “Maybe I need to finish my mission first?”
“We'll figure it out,” Minho declares with newfound confidence.
Jisung nods. Then, he gets down the bed again. “Wanna help me finish my puzzle?”
ᯓ★
“So, when are we going?” Jisung beams, his little legs dangling from Minho’s bed.
Minho doesn’t answer, just keeps putting his books in a cardboard box.
“I wonder how big your new room will be,” Jisung continues. “Maybe it's big enough for us to build a super giant Lego t-rex,” he dreams out loud.
When Minho keeps ignoring him, Jisung starts fidgeting.
“Are you mad?” He pouts.
Minho stops packing his books, but still doesn't look at Jisung.
“Did I do something wrong?” Jisung sounds worried.
Minho clutches the book in his hands.
“You can't come with me,” he finally says.
“What? Why?” Panic appears in Jisung's big eyes.
Minho takes a deep breath. “Mom said I’m not a baby anymore, I’m seven now. She said seven-year-olds don’t have imaginary friends.”
Jisung doesn't understand. “But I’m still here?” He quirks his head.
Minho is frustrated, his head is a mess. “I know, but you can’t come with me to the new house.” He sounds angry.
Jisung's lips start wobbling. “But you said I have to stay with you forever. We promised.”
“I changed my mind,” Minho lies. “Go back to the pretty star,” he says dryly.
“I don’t know how,” Jisung whispers.
“Then find a way.”
ᯓ★
The morning is cold when Minho closes his old bedroom door for the last time, leaving behind a worn-out plushy and an imaginary friend.
ᯓ★