“Why do you cry early in the morning?” he asked as he taps my back gently.

“I’m not crying.” I lied. I don’t want him to see me like this. I think I was too obvious but I can’t help it.

“Liar. Come stop now, I have something to tell you later.” He whispered and wiped my tears from my cheeks with the edge of his warmer. He grabbed the nearest blanket to me and covered me with it as he dragged me outside my dwelling place. He ended up holding my hand and pushing it inside his pocket together with his.

“I’ll keep it here until it is warm enough for me to let go.” He teased me but I am okay with it.

I tried to look away from him. I directed my focus to the rest of the people around us. It seems like almost 80% of the participants got it right and only few people will go home with a new start.

“Breakfast will be served on each tent briefly. Congratulations to those who got reunited and to those who will have a brand new beginning! We hope you take this time to continue to get to know each other like how we discussed it on our last night’s separate sessions.” The facilitator ended her remarks and went down the stage.

The staff moved quickly to distribute our breakfast and it gave me the chance to withdraw my hand from his grasp. I held my hand together with its pair and it indeed became warmly sheltered inside his. He looked at me with a fascinated face and slipped inside the tent and popped out on its edge to sit down.

“Your description for me stands out 919.” He said while laughing and waving the edge of the flag next to him which has the word “BANANAS” on it.

It suddenly hit me. I looked around to see what others put on for their partners and all of which were vague adjectives and I noticed that all of the ones written are pet names for their partners; the kind of endearment that you come up with once you are close enough to feel special towards each other.

I can’t hide how speechless I was to see those words like: destinybae, mine, only one, perfect man, my boo, pocket full of sunshine and so on. I shrugged with those cringe worthy terms. He saw me wince and I heard his roaring laughter as he stood beside me to get the food from the staff. It is with a mat which we can spread on the ground to enjoy our mini feast of bento.

“Do you like bananas that much that you actually thought that it was meant for you?” I asked him randomly to cover up my shame.

“No, I don’t like them. I love them. I even made a song for them. Oh! And I love Hello Kitty too.” The way Mr. 216 said it with his own words sounded legit to me. He was blunt about that fact and it is amusing how he can be so simple minded about the things that he loves. He doesn’t waver – he sticks to it no matter what.

“Why – did you pick the song earlier?” It makes me feel weird but I need to know.

“Well, I’ve been hearing that song wherever I go. Did it surprise you? I love the lyrics too; I love how it spoke my feelings clearly towards you. You were also humming the song while searching for it. It got stuck on my head until today.” He shyly smiled at me and blew a soundless whistle to ease his giddiness.

“Can I ask you a question?” – I am dying to ask him this ever since day one. I just can’t muster my courage and was always consistently distracted with unwanted situations.

“What is it?” He asked and sat down opposite my direction and arranged my utensils in front of me together with our meal just like how my father would.

“Why did you sat beside me?” I hushed as I catch my breath. There can be no concrete reason for it but it was a choice by the end of the day even if I was just a clear option compared to other girls who participated this event.

“Hmm. I was meant to tell you that. I’ve been observing you since the moment I arrived at the bus station. I actually hoped so hard for me to sit next to you or if not I will find a way to be with you just in case.” He admitted while I sat there frozen asking myself another why.

“I saw your bag’s key chain. May I know where you got it?” He asked while pointing at my bag inside the tent.

“Why – ” I answered him with a broken voice. Why does he want to know? It made me want to unfriend him all of a sudden.

“That – well, my son used to have the same thing. I have been looking for him since he accidentally left my car one day. It almost drove me crazy until my friends stopped me and asked me to take a rest. I am just wondering if, you found him by chance. The charm that you have belonged to him, I know it since it’s one of a kind. I made it for him.” His tone suddenly became serious and put down his chopsticks beside his half-finished meal.

It is my turn to be selfish or  to be honest, to sacrifice for someone else’s happiness for my own sadness and to make a choice what will be in store for both of us in this very odd turn of circumstances.

“Mr. 216 – your son, I found him and I kept him. I took care of him and loved him. He is safe and alive. He’s been with me all along. I’m sorry that I am not able to find you right away. You must have been very worried.” In the end, I gave in. I chose the best decision that ran across my mind the moment I saw his tearless grief. Now, everything made sense to me – why one of his friend’s names sounded so familiar to me last night.

“It is okay. I am okay now to hear those words from you. Searching for the things that you lost will not mean that they will show up if you are persistent, sometimes – taking a rest and trusting that they will return will help you find the things that you need and not those that you want. In this case, I am glad for myself that because of destiny I found both.” He smiled happily as he dug another scoop of rice from his food.

I wasn’t able to completely understand what he intended to say but it brought me relief as well. We both finished our breakfast without mentioning a single word about it anymore. He didn’t bring up the topic after it instead he asked several more questions about me personally and I did the same. It’s like he doesn’t want to be bothered by the serious atmosphere that is why he altered our momentum with his weird humour on things. He told me a lot about his friends, his pranks and all of his dreams and hopes to be spent with them in the future. He even asked me if he can bring me the new recipes that he learned from Youtube if there will be a chance.

We all didn’t know that the camp will end there; finding your partner and eating breakfast with them. The proctors asked us to pack up and ride the bus waiting outside the camping area. We walked side by side as we entered the vehicle and took the same seats – just the way it all started.

“Is it okay if I give you a ride from the bus station to your house? I’d also like to get back my son.” He said politely as he placed his bag in between his legs.

“Of course it’s okay.” I told him with no regrets. Maybe, his son wasn’t really meant for me to keep.

“Where do you live by the way?” – He followed up as soon as I agreed.

 “My house is quite far. I live in Orange Village, near its park.” This is the main reason why I am so lazy to go out of my house. It will take me decades to reach the city. I am a hermit. I seldom go outside and a certified food delivery patron.

“I can’t believe that you can be so near to me. I live one block away from the park. I have been looking for Gomdori all along at the wrong places. WHOAAA. This – this is indeed fate for both of us. I got worried when you said that you leave far but I guess I was wrong.” He exclaimed.

“If you have put your name on his dog tag and not just a faulty mobile number that never connected no matter how many times I’ve tried, I could have reached you right away.” It was the truth. I tried to contact the number so many times, over and over until I got tired and just gave up.

Not too long ago, I found a lost chocolate brown puppy following me on my way home one a night when I went outside to buy ramen on the nearest convenient store. The little guy trailed along with me until I got home and had the urge to keep him since I am living alone, he was the best companion.

“Ahh, is that so. Hmm, nice to meet you, I am Eric Mun.” He gave me a sweet smile and poked me on the lower side of my cheek again. He looked at me like he was waiting for me to say something in return.

“I think, I just found my son a mother just now. Miss 919, may I know your name so that we can start this thing right?” He asked me a question with a very hilarious remark. I don’t know what to say but it sounded nice to me to be able to find a new family just around the neighbourhood.

“When we get home, I will. I promise.” I told him light-heartedly and he reached out his pinky finger towards me and I twisted mine around his – to lock a promise. We will be back to zero for sure but it will be a promising start for us of course.

FIN ^_^