Youngsaeng walked down the stairs of the front side of Seungyeon’s house toward the front gate. The front side of that home was designed in such that way, sloping and had to go up climbing a few steps or the stairway to get to the terrace while the garage was located at the bottom side of the house, so there was a separate gate where the car could get in and out, different from the main gate.

There was a small park on the left and right side of the stairway that Youngsaeng believed if it was spring or summer, it would be filled by the variety of plants and bright colored flowers, but at that time there were inly some freezing plants that could survive through the winter of Korea that was sometimes could be really cold and awful, especially for those who previously didn’t live in Korea.

Youngsaeng reached the front gate and walked out toward his car that he parked at roadside. He found Seungyeon was standing there, leaning onto his car while her foot was playing with the small rocks at the freezing ground, looked bored. It made him wondering on why she didn’t just wait inside the car instead in that kind of cold weather. He had given her the key when Gyuri asked him to stay for a while Seungyeon was forced to wait outside.

“Why don’t you just wait inside the car?” voicing his thought out, Youngsaeng walked toward Seungyeon and held his hand out as soon as he stood up in front of that girl, asking for the key. That girl gave it in silent, not giving any answer to the guy’s question and walked herself around the front side toward the right side of the car then opened the door and went inside.

Fortunately Gyuri had already gave him a little “guidance” about Seungyeon; well though it was actually more like a threat rather than guidance; so he wasn’t that surprise by the action that had just done by that girl. Youngsaeng just shrugged his shoulder a bit and then went along opened the door of his car and sat behind the steering wheel. Pausing for a while before starting the machine, Youngsaeng turned toward Seungyeon; who was sitting while staring straightly ahead; and pulled something out from his jacket pocket and put it on that girl’s lap.

“Here, your sister told me to give it to you.” With that said, Youngsaeng started to run his car engine. The girl beside him was still sitting in silent with a flat expression all over her face, but her hands that were squeezing the gloves in her lap indicated something else. For some reasons that she could not understand, she felt scared.

*

The trip took about thirty-five minutes time for them to reach Sincheon-dong, where the Lotte World was located. But it was only just a few minutes since the car that brought them moved away from her home, Seungyeon already felt more nervous and uncomfortable, as if they were already sitting inside the car for more that twenty-four hours.

Actually, it would be a lot more comfortable for her if they just went using the bus or the train, because it would be faster; she thought; and at least they didn’t need to sit with that close distance together and having a “mutual” awkward silence. They could freely choose where to sit on the bus or train, as far as possible if they could. Or better yet if they went there on their own and met at the gate of the Lotte World, but again, it was all because of Jiyoung that Youngsaeng forcefully insisted on picking her up.

But it was different for Youngsaeng. After he met Gyuri, he was somehow relief that he decided to use his own car and picked up that girl, rather than asked them to meet at the gate of Lotte World. If he did that, letting her went alone and something happened to her on the way, seemed that his life couldn’t be saved at all.

Another five minutes passed in silence. Youngsaeng was busy driving with one hand on the steering wheel while his other hand was put on the elbow at the corner of the window, propped his head that was purposely tilted; a thinking hard pose; while Seungyeon just sat there, staring outside the window toward the quiet street that they went pass through that morning.

Both of them felt awkward with silence that appeared between them. But also felt awry if one of their own selves should be the one who initiated the conversation first. So yeah, the later five minutes were still passed through the awkward silence that they made while they already spent almost half of the trip time.

But in the end, Seungyeon’s curiosity ended the silence between them. Cleaning , Seungyeon voiced out the question that had been spinning in her head since she first saw Youngsaeng stood outside the door of her house.

“You said…that we’re going with your cousin right? Where is she?” turned her head toward Youngsaeng and tried to stare at him for the sake of politeness; well yeah, still he was older than her anyway; but ended up hanging her head down instead and stared at Youngsaeng’s feet that were busy stepping on this and that, whatever its name. She couldn’t differentiate it because she was never allowed to drive a car or even just learning to drive a car.

Youngsaeng stopped his car because that traffic light at the side of the road had changed its color to red.

“Ah yeah, I forgot to tell. Jiyoung will go there with her friend. She’ll bring a friend along with her later. Are you okay with that?

“Why?” instead of answering, Seungyeon just asked again.

“You…do not look like someone who can easily adapt to the presence of a people that you don’t know well, so I thought it might be awkward for you. How is it? If you do feel uncomfortable, I can call Jiyoung and cancel this plan.”

Youngsaeng explained his thought; half wishing actually that Seungyeon would say yes, so they didn’t need to go.

Silent.

“Oh. Who?”

Again. Seungyeon didn’t even bother trying to answer the question that Youngsaeng asked. But yeah, whatever, Youngsaeng concluded it as a “no”.

“I dunno, she just said that it’s someone that she likes or something like that.”

“Someone that she likes?”

Youngsaeng who had been staring straight ahead then at the end out of curiousity; on why did Seungyeon keep asking questions about Jiyoung; turned his head toward Seungyeon, and this time he couldn’t help but being a little bit surprise when he saw the expression that attached on that girl’s face. Flat and…cold? But well, actually, what expression that he expected?

He doubted that girl was the same girl that he met with Kyujong at that time, the girl who smiled brightly and continued to grin like a fool and the girl that he met at the mall, the one who cried and hugged him from behind and turned pale and scared when Jiyoung suddenly appeared between them. Even though Gyuri already “warned” him, but still…it was confusing.

This girl is weird and…scary.

For all this time, there were many people that called him as someone cold, but later seemed that he would take whoever person who called him cold to meet that girl.

“Yeah, that’s what she told me. Seems like that she will confess to him later, ask him to go ride the ferris wheel and confessing when it reaches the highest point. Chet! That girl, she reads comics too much.

“Your cousin, she’s so adorable.”

Deg!

Unconciously, without her realize, there was a slight smile formed on her lips for a moment after hearing what Youngsaeng said about his cousin, Jiyoung. For some reason, a pink shade spread out all over her face, maybe it was the effect of the smile that appeared sincerely from her heart. Whatever. But it almost made Youngsaeng’s heart stopped beating. It didn’t mean anything, just that he was amused and felt that he couldn’t understand that girl that was sitting in the passenger seat next to him even more.

A quiet girl with a flat expression on her face and the smiled without her realize and went back to be like herself in the beginning, cold, there was absolutely no trace that she’d just smile a second ago.

“Adorable? Chet! You go try to live with her for a year and we’ll see if you still call her adorable.” Waith that said Youngsaeng started his engine again after seeing the traffic light turned green.

This girl is really scary.

*

The rest time of the trip to Sincheon-dong they spent in silence, but this time it was a little bit more comfortable rather than before. After about fifteen minutes, they finally got there. Youngsaeng brought his car drove it through the south entrance of Lotte World and parked it in the Adventure parking area.

Once they got out of the car Youngsaeng immediately took his cell phone and called Jiyoung while Seungyeon was busy trying to wear the gloves that Gyuri gave to Youngsaeng earlier and then checked the high-heeled boots that she used, wishing that she wouldn’t slip or fall or did another foolish act that could trouble her later.

When she stood back after checking her boots earlier, she found Youngsaeng was standing in front of her, had finished talking to Jiyoung on the phone. She gave him a questioning look that could directly be understood by Youngsaeng.

“She said that she’s till on the way here using the train.” Shrugged his shoulder slightly, Youngsaeng then walked quickly toward the main gate while Seungyeon jogged carefully following him behind, chasing that guy’s quick step.

Why does this guy always walk with that fast step?

“Y…Youngsaeng-ssi.” One small tug by Seungyeon on the jacket that he wore made him immediately stopped and turned around to face Seungyeon that was looking at him with a troubled and…scared look? Ah whatever. But aside of it, he was amazed again at hearing that girl calling his name for the first time since their messy meeting.

“Can you walk a little slower? I…” She paused, unable to find a suitable phrase to describe her condition.

She is really reckless, even if she just stands still in her place without doing anything, she still could fall and injure just on the next second.

Remembering on what Gyuri had said to him, he immediately understood what Seungyeon was trying to tell to him. But after seeing the troubled look on her face, he let her stood still like that for a moment, weird indeed, but somehow he enjoyed seeing that expression on her face, she looked more “humane” for him.

“All right. I understand it. Let’s go.”

The words that Youngsaeng gave out made the tension on Seungyeon’s face instantly gone and turned into a relief one. They walked in with more normal steps that before. Walking awkwardly side by side with their clothes that somehow looked matching, they looked like people doing a blind date, or if it wasn’t at least people would think that they were a couple who had just settled after a quarrel that made them a little bit awkward.

“Why doesn’t Jiyoung just go with us? It takes a longer time for her to get here now.”

They had reached inside of the Lotte World. They walked passing by several shops where the sold various kind of toys, souvenirs and the place where they could rent a camera. Youngsaeng lead the direction of their steps, looking quite familiar with that place or at least he had ever stepped his feet there, while Seungyeon followed him while sightseeing around.

“I don’t know. I’ve offered, but she prefers to go with whoever it is that she’ll bring along later.”

“Oh…she must be really like that person.”

Again, Youngsaeng just shrugged his shoulder for the nth times that day and walked towards the right side where they sold the tickets while Seungyeon followed him again. He bought tickets for two or it was called passport there for 38000 won per person. Seungyeon was just about to take her small wallet that she put on her jacket pocket; she didn’t bother to bring a bag; when Youngsaeng stopped her and insisted to pay for her ticket.

“All right then. But then let me pay for my own food.” Seungyeon said.

Youngsaeng chuckled when he heard Seungyeon’s words. That girl was weird, he thought. Who said that he wanted to pay for her food later? But well..yeah, actually he had intended to do so. However, he was a man after all.

“Oh well…why?”

“What?”

“Why can’t I pay for your food?”

They walked away from the place where they bought the tickets, it was unclear where they were heading to but they seemed quite comfortable with that condition.

“My friend told me that I can’t owe food to someone that I just knew or met. Because of everything that I eat will turn into the source of my life. Blood, bones, energy, everything. So if I owe food to someone new, it’s equal as I owe my life to that person.”

“Your friend’s…a little bit weird. And whoaaaa~ that’s the longest sentence that you’ve said since we met this morning.” Youngsaeng chuckled again and gave Seungyeon an amazed look.

“Well, she is. She’s a food maniac.” Seungyeon pouted her lips, ignoring the last sentence that Youngsaeng said.

They stopped walking, confused at where they should go while waiting for Jiyoung to come. But then Youngsaeng eyes fixed on some food stall around them and remembered that he hadn’t ate anything since morning except a glass of orange juice.

“I’m hungry. Have you get breakfast?” he asked to Seungyeon.

“Err…haven’t yet.”

“Let’s go!”

They went into a place called A Twosome Place, ordered coffee, bread and cake and then went to find a place to sit. There was a small argument about where to sit. Seungyeon who was used to sit near the window whenever she went to a café with Nicole, Gyuri or even Kyujong, while Youngsaeng preferred to “hide” in the corner, but in the end Seungyeon was the one who followed Youngsaeng’s will.

They sat there enjoying their breakfast while Seungyeon were glancing once in a while hoping for Jiyoung to come faster so she didn’t need to wait any longer with Youngsaeng there just the two of them. But suddenly, a thought came to Seungyeon’s mind.

“Uhmm…Youngsaeng-ssi, have you got the answer to my question at that time?” Seungyeon asked hesitantly. She put her hand that was holding the bread on her lap.

“Which question?”

“Uhmm…about Kyujong oppa.”

Seungyeon’s voice got smaller and smaller as she spoke the letter by letter out of . Youngsaeng raised his head, looked toward the girl in front of him who was sitting with her face hung down and filled with concern.

Back then when he first drove Seungyeon home after that small “incident” in the mall, that girl begged him to do something, of course after she explained why she did such “that” thing and certainly not around Jiyoung. They spoke outside the car, in front of the gate of Seungyeon’s house while his little cousin stayed in the car, thinking that the “couple” were whispering sweet words to each other.

Should I tell her the truth?

“I haven’t got time to ask it to him.”

In the end Youngsaeng chose to lie, not sure what the reason was.

“Oh…”

Youngsaeng stared at Seungyeon again. That girl was holding the bread with her both hands, took a big bite of it and pulled it back as if the bread that she ate was a hard one. Her cheeks puffed as she mashed that piece of bread in her small mouth.

“Hamster.”

“Eh?”

“Yoo look like a hamster.”

“Me??? Excuse me…”

“Oppa! Unnie!”

Seungyeon’s words and Youngsaeng’s chuckle was stopped by a small shout from the entrance.

Finally she’s here.

Youngsaeng looked up, raised his head and Seungyeon spun her body to look at the back but only later to become pale. A shock expression clearly printed on Youngsaeng’s face, while Seungyeon, it wasn’t clear what expression it was, too complex. No…not because of Jiyoung, but the people behind her that she pulled on the hand.

Kyujong!

Kyujong oppa…

Seungyeon?

*************************************************

Author's note:

This is the Chapter 18! wow! I must be crazy, this chapter has almost 3000 words on it >,<

but, a plain chapter anyway, somehow I feel unsatisfied with this chapter but my imagination wasn't working well, so I decided to just write it *sigh*

so...then yes, Jiyoung's date is Kyujong! I think some of you (or maybe all) guessed it correctly. chukha chukha! and we talked about Nicole a little bit, hmm...anyone miss here? :P

so then next week, what will happen? hmm...please wait patiently while I write the real Lotte World part, but will they still play on the Lotte World? I'm still thinking about it lol

okay, enough with my random talk. enjoy it, hit the subscribe button and mostly the things that I love the most, the comments ^^

Love Ya ^^