"M-Mom! W-What are you doing here?" I stuttered. 

"Oh well, I decided to take a half-day today to spend time with my daughter. I just happened to walk past this shop and so, here I am," she explained.

"Ohhh," I replied. Well, I didn't know how to explain this situation to my mother. And it is getting more awkward as she continued standing there waiting for an answer from me. Come on, Ara! Think of something! I didn't know I was stunned. It's not like I was doing anything wrong, was I?

"Oh, Mrs. Kim. I am Kris Wu. I am Ara's friend. This is Mark, my younger brother. We live in the same neighbourhood as Ara," Kris informed my mother. Thanks, Kris for saving me. 

"Oh I see. Thank you, dear for being friends with Ara. She was never good in making friends. I am glad my daughter have a lot of good people around her. Okays, I'm going to head off first. Wouldn't want to disturb your date, right?" my mom said as she winked at me. 

"Mom! We are not dating," I tried to defend myself and looked at Kris for help. Being a helpful guy he is, he just shrugged and continued to eat his ice cream. My mom then left the shop and head back home. As I was about to pick up the dessert spoon to eat my ice cream, my notification ringtone went off. 

Mom: Have fun with your boyfriend! ;)

I mentally face palmed myself and kept my phone in my pocket. We continued eating in silence with occasional giggles for little Mark. I was only halfway done with my icre cream but that little boy is only a few spoonful left with his ice cream. Kris was done with his for quite some time. They are sure fast eaters, or am I the slow one? I've been told often by my brother how slow I am when it comes to eating food. In my defence, you have to savour the taste which makes the eating experience more fulfilling. But my brother found my reason ridiculous. How I miss my brother.

"Yo, you've been staring at the ice cream for quite some time. The ice cream is melting you know," Kris said which woke me up from my thoughts.

"Oh, sorry," I said while trying my best to eat the ice cream as soon as possible.

"Wow, slow down there. You're gonna get a brain freeze at the rate you're eating." 

And yeah, soon enough, I had a brain freeze and I winced a bit. I should have eaten it a bit more slowly. I laughed in embarrassment since I was acting like a total idiot in front of Kris. Mark looked at me worriedly and I smiled at him to assure him that I was feeling fine. After I was done with my ice cream, the three of us left the shop and head to the bus stop nearby. 

"Hey, thanks for today, Ara," Kris said to me as we waited for the bus. I was carrying a sleeping Mark. I felt my shoulder being quite damp and I assumed Mark must have drooled a whole lot.

"No problems. I did this because I really missed Mark," I told him and he gave me a small smile, one which I rarely get to see. And I have to admit, I thought I heard my heart pounding like crazy. I must be really crazy! Ara get yourself together!

"Ara, I think this is the last favour that I will ask from you. I won't ask for anymore favours from you in the future," Kris told me, which gave me a total shock. I was totally not expecting Kris to say that. Did I do something wrong? Oh wait, since when do I like taking favours from Kris?

"Oh..." was the only thing that came out of my mouth. Then, there was an awkward silence. I guess I felt, disappointed? I may have not like taking favours from him but I have to admit that I do enjoy my time with him. 

The bus finally arrived and we boarded the bus. We reached our destination and I carefully passed Mark to Kris as I do not want to wake him up. I guess this will be the last time I can hang out with Mark. Though we live in the same neighbourhood, I don't think Kris and I will be hanging out anymore. The only reason I hang out with him was because of the favours. Now, there was no reason for him to hang out with me. And I felt down because of that.

"Once again, thank you Ara for picking up Mark with me. He was really happy today," Kris said. He bowed slightly and then turned and walked away.