You're not pretty
It was a day like any other.
The two Kim families, neighbors for years and very close, were once again gathering for a weekend picnic. The adults were chatting and laughing around a table set up in the garden while the children were over by the swing.
Each family had one child the same age: Taehyung and Jennie. They were the same age, but they weren't really friends — though that surprised no one. They were barely eight years old, and getting close to someone of the opposite sex at that age was often quite awkward.
But today, for Jennie, was a special day.
Her mother had just given her a new hairstyle: two adorable little pigtails, pulled tight on either side of her head. She was enormously proud of them. Since morning she had been looking for an opportunity to show them off.
So, naturally, when she arrived at the Kims' she made her way toward the only person her age.
Taehyung.
The boy was sitting alone on a swing in the garden, rocking slowly back and forth, staring straight ahead. Jennie walked over and took her place on the swing right beside him. She played with one of her pigtails for a moment, then turned her head toward him and asked:
— Do I look pretty?
Taehyung stopped his swing.
He slowly turned his head toward her, examined her with the utmost seriousness, and replied:
— No.
Then he turned back and started swinging again, as if nothing had happened.
Jennie's eyes immediately filled with tears.
— You're mean too!!
She jumped off the swing and ran to take refuge in her mother's arms:
— Mama!!! Taehyung said I wasn't pretty!
The four parents burst out laughing when they heard the little girl's complaint.
But for Jennie, it was not funny at all.
Strangely, that day marked the beginning of the relationship between Taehyung and Jennie.
Taehyung and Jennie grew closer… but not in the way their parents had hoped.
Instead of becoming friends, they spent their time bickering.
Sometimes it was Jennie who had poured sand into Taehyung's shoes; sometimes it was Taehyung who had hidden Jennie's doll just to watch her get annoyed.
They grew up, and their personal war grew with them.
At ten, they argued over who would get the "good side" of the swing.
At twelve, the weekend picnics had become battlegrounds for the two of them and comedic entertainment for their parents.
At fourteen, the parents had finally given up on ever seeing them become friends.
— I genuinely don't understand why you two dislike each other so much, Taehyung's mother sighed one day while they were in the kitchen.
— I don't dislike her, she's just… annoying, Taehyung replied with a shrug.
Jennie, who happened to be passing through the hallway, stopped dead in her tracks.
— Excuse me? You're the annoying one!!
Taehyung rolled his eyes.
— See, Mom? Living proof.
Jennie crossed her arms:
— At least I don't look like a scarecrow.
— And I don't spend three hours fixing my hair just to end up looking like that, he shot back, gesturing vaguely at her head.
Jennie clenched her teeth:
— You are unbearable!!
— And you are…
Taehyung's mother didn't hear the rest, because she had already slipped out to rejoin the other parents.
— Where's Jennie? Jennie's mother asked. I sent her to help you.
Taehyung's mother let out a theatrical sigh.
— They've started their little war again. These children will never change.
The parents shook their heads, resigned.
When Taehyung's mother finally went to fetch them, they were both sitting on opposite sides of the large kitchen table, staring in different directions.
— Ready?
The two of them stood up without even looking at each other and headed out toward the garden.
