It was a warm summer day. The amusement park was drenched in golden light, flowers blooming in wide beds that stretched along the cobblestone paths. The scent of caramel popcorn and fried dough filled the air. Laughter rang from every direction, mixing with the rhythmic clatter of roller coasters and the cheerful tunes of carousel music.
"So this is how you want to spend your thirteenth birthday?" Tristan muttered as he shielded his eyes from the sun. "Skip school and loiter in a place like this? Since when did you start liking crowds? Don't you usually hate noisy places?"
Shin was momentarily confused. His eyes weren't on the rides or the blue sky overhead. He was staring at two kids lying on the grass nearby both in rumpled school uniforms.
It was him.
And Tristan Felan.
Back when they were just thirteen.
The dream confused him. It wasn't the strange red forest again, or that creature resembling Yeri. Just… this. A random slice of childhood. Forgotten, meaningless or so he thought.
"Shut up. Did I ask you to come?" young Shin snapped with irritation, the same look he always wore back then.
"Ugh. I think it's starting to bruise…" Tristan groaned, poking his cheek. "Hey, Shin, why didn't you get hit? Why do those delinquents always go after me?"
Tristan's uniform looked like it had been chewed by a washing machine, while Shin's remained suspiciously wrinkle-free. With a sigh, young Shin stood up and headed toward the ice cream shop across the street.
He had just reached the counter when something small and squishy slammed into his legs.
"My ice kem… hic!"
Young Shin scowled. He looked down to see a tiny girl in a pink dress and panda headband staring at the ground in horror. Her ice cream was splattered across the floor. Tears welled up in her big, misty eyes.
"Ice kem… hic, hicc…" she sniffled, trembling on the edge of full-blown sobbing.
Shin muttered under his breath and wiped the smear of ice cream from his trousers with a tissue. "Just my luck…"
"WAAAHHH! Ice keeeem!!" the little girl wailed suddenly, and to his horror, grabbed his pants and clung to him like an octopus.
"You little—! Shut up!" Shin flinched, trying to shake her off. "You're the one who ran into me!"
"Boy! Don't bully your sister!" the woman at the counter snapped.
Shin blinked. "Excuse me?!"
"It's just an ice cream. Can't even buy her another one? Kids these days…"
"Where are their parents?"
"Maybe he can't afford it."
"No, no, I saw him throw hers away!"
"What a terrible brother."
The young Shin stood frozen as a wave of unsolicited judgment rolled in from every adult nearby. Seriously? Are their eyes just for decoration?! When did this random child become his sister?
"Ice kem! Ice kem! Huhuhu! Big bother!" the little girl sobbed, wrapping herself around his leg tighter.
"I'm not her brother! Where are her parents?!" Shin looked around in desperation, but every adult nearby stared at him like he was the devil incarnate.
With a groan of pure frustration, he relented. "Fine! I'll buy her another one, okay?!"
Instantly, the girl brightened. She sniffled, nodded eagerly, and clutched her hands together like a tiny actress in a melodrama.
Is she really this desperate for ice cream…?
He bought two cups and handed one to her. "Here. Happy now? Go away."
He turned to leave, but the stares followed him out like a ghost.
"He's still so cold. Poor little girl."
"He doesn't even pat her head. No affection at all."
Just as young Shin was about to snap again, a lanky man stepped forward from the crowd, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"Ahem… Sorry, everyone. I'm this kid's guardian. She was playing hide-and-seek outside, and I thought she came in here to hide. So sorry for the trouble."
The whispers faded. No one questioned him. The girl continued licking her ice cream without objecting in the slightest.
Shin just stood there, expressionless. If he had the power to punch through dreams, he'd deliver a solid right hook to his past self for just standing there like a bored extra.
Still, even now, he couldn't mistake the little girl's identity.
He recognized her immediately.
Who would've thought their paths crossed so early?
Of course, during those days, he had no time for anyone else. The Keir household was a battleground. Schemes, manipulation, fake smiles, his life was filled with unrestrained mad dogs, and he had to stay sharp to survive.
He had learned early on that getting involved with others usually came at a price.
"Sorry, kid," the skinny man said again, scooping up the girl. "She must've troubled you."
Young Shin only blinked.
"Anyway, we'll be leaving now." The man looked a bit too relieved.
---
Male Restroom – Moments Later
"Pretty baby," the man cooed, alone with the child now. "Don't be afraid. Uncle will buy you lots of ice cream later… Okay? Won't you give Uncle a kiss?"
SPLAT.
His face met the tile floor with a loud smack.
"Did you look in the mirror before trying that?" Young Shin growled, holding the child in one arm like a grumpy babysitter. "Even a brick wall would rather shatter before letting you kiss it."
The man groaned. "Y-You again?! It's a misunderstanding—I told you, she's my niece! I'm just helping her pee!"
"Niece?" Shin raised an eyebrow and glanced down. "Hey, panda. Is he really your uncle?"
The girl tilted her head and continued licking her ice cream.
Is she mentally impaired? Or maybe reincarnated from an ant with a sugar addiction? Shin looked visibly disturbed.
The man blocked the door, scowling. "Where are you taking my niece?!"
"Niece or not, I heard what you said earlier. Let's go have a nice chat with security."
Seeing he was just a boy, the man smirked and lunged.
But Shin sidestepped and landed a perfect kick that sent the man crashing into the wall. Then, after setting the girl down, he gave him a swift and vicious kick to the groin.
Equal rights, equal pain.
The man crumpled, wheezing, turning the color of spoiled milk. Terrified, thinking where he got such strength for a young boy.
"You disgusting creep," Shin muttered.
"I-I'll report you… you delinquent!" the man wheezed, clutching himself.
Young Shin was about to kick his mouth in but glanced at the little girl watching, wide-eyed.
Instead, he sneered. "If you're her uncle, then I'm her grandpa. Hurry and bow, boy."
The skinny man trembled, humiliated and furious.
"Ice kem?" the girl tugged at his pants again, unfazed.
"…Is her brain made of ice cream?" he muttered.
With a sigh, Shin picked her up and covered her eyes. Then he delivered a swift kick to the man's face, knocking out several teeth.
The man screamed.
"Ice kem?" she repeated, content as ever.
"Pandas don't eat ice cream," Shin muttered, walking out. On the way, he flagged a security guard and reported the incident.
---
Back at the Park
Tristan glanced around, still lying on the grass. He looked up just in time to see Shin return, carrying a child.
"I was wondering why you spaced out after you had an ice cream," Tristan said. "Turns out you kidnapped someone's daughter?"
Shin shoved the little girl into his arms. "Take her to the help desk. Make her parents compensate us or we'll sue for negligence."
Tristan blinked. "Hello, little mouse. I'm Big Brother Tristan. What's your name?"
"That's a panda, not a mouse," Shin muttered, lying back down.
"Details." Tristan studied her headband. "So, what's your name?"
"Ice kem!" she beamed at him.
"Oh? Your name is Ice Cream? Your parents must really love dessert."
"Don't buy her any more," Shin warned. "If she gets sick, it's your fault."
"So her name isn't Ice Cream?" Tristan asked.
"Are you done being an idiot? Just take her to the help desk."
"Why should I? You brought her here." Tristan squinted at the little girl's dress. "Wait…I think she's wearing a designer dress. That's a diamond necklace too. You sure you didn't kidnap a rich kid?"
Shin: "…"
"Little panda, did this big brother bully you?" Tristan asked playfully.
"Big bother bought Eri ice kem!" the girl chirped.
"…What did you call him?"
"Big bother!"
"Say it again." Tristan grinned.
"Big bother!"
"Pfft—HAHAHA!" Tristan burst out laughing. "Shin, did you hear that? You're a big bother! I'm calling you that forever!"
Shin smacked him with his school bag.
Unfazed, Tristan turned back to the girl. "Little panda, is this big brother handsome?"
"Hmmm… Yesh!"
"Did you hear that, Shin? She said I'm handsome!"
Shin rolled his eyes. "Wow. Complimented by a speech-impaired toddler, your standards are in the dirt."
"So what? She's adorable and sweet like ice cream," Tristan cooed, patting her head.
Watching their younger selves bicker in front of the child Yeri made the adult Shin want to melt into the ground from secondhand embarrassment.
That's right. This panda brat was Yeri Zhi.
Now all he could think about was, what if she remembered this?
"Big bother, ice kem?" the little girl asked again.
"We should get her one more?" Tristan asked.
"She already had one. If she gets sick, I'm not helping."
Tristan hesitated. "Sorry, big brother has no money for more ice cream."
Her big eyes shimmered. She stood...wobbled, burst into tears and ran off.
"…"
"…"
"Did she run because we're broke? Or because we don't have any ice cream?" Tristan asked.
"Idiot! Don't just sit there, what if she gets lost?!"
"She's got tiny legs. How far can she—"
THUD.
They both stared as she tripped and rolled once, landing flat on her back.
"…"
"…"
A scream followed. High-pitched enough to shatter glass.