Dongho pulled out the chair, gesturing for you to sit down. You bowed in thanks and smiled at him. After the both of you were seated, you cringed. Dongho blinked at you in confusion. 

 

"I just realized how freaking weird that was for you to actually be polite," you sarcastically gasped. 

 

Dongho pouted. "Shut up!" 

 

You giggled, sticking your tongue out at him. 

 

His expression softened. "You should smile more. It makes you look pretty." he stated. 

 

You grinned at him. "Then do I not look pretty when I don't smile?" you asked, wiping the smile off your face and replacing it with a poker face. 

 

Dongho's eyes widened as he violently shook his head. "That's not what I meant!" 

 

"Whatever," you grumbled and looked behind you. 

 

Chelsea wasn't kidding when she said that she would send bodyguards to protect the both of you from fans. The inside and outside of the cafe had bodyguards stationed close enough to protect you and Dongho but far enough to respect your privacy. Most of the customers had been scared away by the guards so there was only you, Dongho, and a few couples who could care less about their surroundings. 

 

It was actually peaceful for a change.

 

A waiter came over to the table to take your order. You could feel him eyeing you in a way that was out of your comfort zone. Dongho noticed also but before he could do anything, you hastily called out a random type of coffee. 

 

The waiter bit his lip and reluctantly turned to look at Dongho. He seemed to recognize Dongho but decided not to say anything. "May I take your order, sir?" 

 

"Whatever my girlfriend just ordered," Dongho replied, obviously stressing on the 'girlfriend'. 

 

The waiter pressed his lips tightly together before walking away in an upright manner. 

 

After the waiter disappeared out of sight, you hit Dongho's arm. 

 

His jaw dropped in disbelief. "What was that for? I was saving you from being hit on!" 

 

You let out a sigh. "Don't cause a scene, Dongho. You're an idol after all." you reminded him. 

 

Dongho frowned and looked away. 

 

You couldn't do anything except keep silent until his mood swings passed by. 

 

Some time passed by and the orders came out. The waiter left in a hurry. 

 

Dongho smirked in satisfaction. 

 

With a small smile, you sipped at your coffee. 

 

***

 

The bodyguards stepped out of the arcade a short while after and nodded in your direction. Dongho's expression lit up as he grabbed onto your wrist, running through the entrance like a bullet. 

 

Once the two of you stepped inside, Dongho dashed towards the first game that he saw. He placed out his palm to the side and one of your bodyguards walked up to him, placing the required amount of coins on his palm. 

 

You giggled. Even though the bodyguard had a straight face, you could tell he was regretting becoming a bodyguard. 

 

You went up to the bodyguard and nudged him with your elbow. 

 

He jerked slightly in surprise. When he noticed that it was you, he turned around and bowed. 

 

"Give me all the coins," you said and smiled at him. 

 

The bodyguard nodded as he handed you the bag of coins. 

 

You looked at the bag with wide eyes. "How much is this?" you gasped in awe. 

 

It was heavier than you thought it would be. 

 

Dongho had just finished his game and turned around with a sad expression. He must have lost. 

 

When his eyes landed on the bag of coins, his frown turned upside-down. 

 

His eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning. 

 

"D-daebak!" he breathed out. 

 

Dongho grabbed onto your wrist and dragged you towards the prize section. The both of you scanned the prize wall longingly. Dongho turned to you. 

 

"Which one do you want?" 

 

You were once again shocked by how considerate Dongho was being. This was a totally new side to him. It was---nice. 

 

You placed a finger on your chin and scanned the wall again. With a snap of your fingers, you pointed at two life-sized Doraemon plushes. "Those! The Doraemon ones!" 

 

"13,000?" Dongho groaned. 

 

"Eh? 13,000? Dongho-ah, get glasses. It's 130,000." you corrected. 

 

Dongho looked like he was about to go into cardiac arrest any minute now. He pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. "Meenah, hand me the coins!" 

 

Chuckling, you took a handful of coins before handing over the sack bag of coins to Dongho. 

 

In a split second, Dongho had already dashed off to play the games. 

 

You could tell this was going to take a while. You looked at the bodyguards. They all looked like they really wanted to play. You laughed and called them over. 

 

"Yes, Miss Jung?" they all answered simultaneously. 

 

You held out the hand with the coins in them. "Go play. If you need more coins, just take them from the idiot." 

 

A dozen or so hands shot out and before you could even blink, your hand was empty. 

 

Boys will always be boys. 

 

You walked around, listening to the sounds coming from each game and the different types of shouts echoing through the arcade. You were surprised that no one payed attention to the idol running around, the men in suits acting like kids, and last but not least; you. Your face had been plastered everywhere lately but apparently not many people recognized you. 

 

There were some people that sent you occasional glances but that was about it. No one bothered you. 

 

This was like a dream come true. 

 

You skipped over to Dongho, expecting him to at least look at you but he was too concentrated on the game. You blinked. 

 

Poke.

 

Dongho didn't react. 

 

Poke Poke.

 

Still no reaction.

 

Poke Poke Poke.

 

Dongho threw his hands up into the air, screaming out in rage. "I WAS SO CLOSE TO BREAKING THE HIGH SCORE!" he yelled. 

 

You let out a rare, genuine laugh. Dongho spun around and looked at you with eyes the size of saucers. 

 

"Did you just laugh? You laughed! You laughed!" Dongho exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement. 

 

You lightly hit his arm. "I always laugh!" you stated. 

 

Dongho nodded as if he didn't believe you. 

 

Sticking out your tongue at him, you grabbed a few coins and ran off to enjoy yourself; something that you hadn't done in a long time. 

 

 

 

It wasn't long before you gave up playing. You had lost your touch. 

 

"Why aren't there any surgical games here?" you asked aloud. It was a sarcastic question but some boys turned around and looked at you weirdly. 

 

With a shrug, you sauntered towards the prize section again. 

 

Dongho would probably get nowhere near getting 130,000 tickets. 

 

You looked down at the plastic bag full of tickets in which you miraculously managed to win. You really didn't know what you did. What happened was that you were playing this game that you had no idea how to work and you pressed a random button. Maybe it was a luck game or something like that. Anyways, the computer-generated voice stated that you had hit the jackpot or whatever and a few thousand tickets came out. 

 

It took so long for all the tickets to slide out of the slot. Maybe about half an hour? People that passed by were shocked by the huge pile of tickets and you who was sitting beside it with a bored expression. 

 

You couldn't brag to Dongho because he was nowhere to be found. 

 

Well, now you were looking through the prizes, trying to find something decent. You handed over the bag of tickets and waited for the worker to hand you the receipt that stated your amount of tickets. 

 

50,000 tickets. 

 

Close enough. 

 

You took the receipt and walked around, trying to find Dongho. You soon found him sitting on the ground beside an empty bag that used to be filled with coins. 

 

You blinked at him. 

 

"What happened?" you asked. 

 

"There was this little boy and his mom wouldn't let him buy anymore coins. He was pitiful and he didn't have that many coins to start with so I gave whatever was left..." Dongho replied in a small voice. 

 

"So how much was left exactly?" 

 

Dongho innocently grinned at you. "Less than a hundred!" 

 

You rolled your eyes at him. "How many tickets did you get?" 

 

"Probably less than you!" 

 

Dongho pushed himself off of the ground, throwing an arm around your shoulder. "How about I buy something for you instead of exchanging the tickets for a prize? You know that painting that we saw a long time ago? I could buy that for you instead!" he suggested. 

 

You smiled. "You don't have to get me anything." 

 

Dongho blinked at you. 

 

"Really. You don't. Spending time with you is more precious than a one-of-a-kind painting to me. I knew we wouldn't be able to get anything from the beginning, anyways." 

 

Puffing up his cheeks, Dongho looked down at the ground. "It's not that I at these games, it's just this arcade ." he mumbled. 

 

Nodding sarcastically, you walked over to the price section again. 

 

"Excuse me," you called out. A worker walked over to you. "Could you please give these to the men in suits that look like they're armed with weapons?" 

 

The worker nodded slowly, taking the receipt and bag of tickets from you. 

 

With a large smile, you bowed and pulled Dongho outside of the arcade. 

 

The sudden brightness from the sun blinded both you and Dongho. 

 

"Now I know what vampires feel like!" Dongho exclaimed. 

 

"Shut up, kid!" an old lady yelled from across the street. 

 

The both of you finally noticed how quiet it was outside. 

 

You snickered, nudging Dongho's side with your elbow. "Nice going," 

 

"Bleh!" he snapped. 

 

You got a hold of Dongho's hand and laced your fingers with his. 

 

"I'm hungry." you announced. 

 

"What do you want to eat?" Dongho asked as the two of you walked hand-in-hand, down the street. 

 

"Crabs." 

 

"Yah!" 

 

Giggling, you turned your head to look at Dongho's side profile. "You said you wanted to go to Europe with me when we were kids, right?" 

 

Dongho blinked at you. "You still remember?" 

 

"Obviously." 

 

"Why'd you bring it up?" he asked. 

 

You shrugged. "When I get my PhD, should we go together?" 

 

Dongho's lips tugged up into a small smile. "Should we?" 

 

 

 

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

 

I'm tired right now. Comments are always appreciated. 

 

Bye bye.