Friday, 15:50

It took us a few minutes to walk to the place. On the way there, I kept asking Youngmin where we were going, but he just kept replying with 'it's a surprise'. Now, I come face to face with the gates of the school.

"...You've been wanting to show me the school?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. "Gee, I don't know what to say.. What an amazing place!" I said sarcastically. Of course, I was only kidding.

Youngmin laughed. "No, no. But it's something in the school."

I noticed that the gates were locked. How were we going to get in then? I heard Youngmin move and I turned to face him. I watched as he climbed the wall. He made it look so easy. As if he did it all the time. "Come on," he said, holding out a hand. "It's better than all of the other places I've ever taken you to."

"Really?" I asked. I was intrigued. Youngmin had taken me to many places over the summer. I highly doubted that something inside the school could beat out all those other places.

"Yes, Ria. Now, come on!" he said. His hand was still held out. He was waiting for me to take it.

"Fine," I replied, though I was reluctant. First, because the wall seemed pretty high. Second, wasn't this breaking and entering? Well, nothing's being broken but.. you get the point. And lastly, because something about taking his hand made me feel strangely giddy. Why would I feel giddy?

As I took his hand, my heart jumped a bit and I felt butterflies in my stomach. His hand felt warm. Safe. And.. what the hell was I thinking about?! I tried to shake the thoughts off and I concentrated on climbing the wall. It wasn't as high as I thought. As soon as I was up, Youngmin jumped down to the other side.

"Your turn," he smiled.

I jumped down to the other side without a problem. "So where exactly are we going?"

"Patience," he said, winking.

Friday, 16:00

"This is my secret place," Youngmin told me as we finally got there. He had taken me to the back of the school. No one usually came here, even on school days. I was looking around, surveying the place, when Youngmin started climbing the one tree in the middle of the place.

"Not there, Ria. Up here!" he called out from the tree.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, walking towards it. The tree was huge. Quite tall, even. This was going to be the second tall thing that I'd be climbing today.

Friday, 16:13

Youngmin had helped me up and now, we were sitting side by side on one of the tallest branches of the tree. It felt nice to be up there. There was a gentle breeze and I could hear the birds chirping as they flew back to their nests. The view was amazing too. Youngmin was right. This place was better than all the other places he has taken me to so far. It was relaxing, and even if we were so high up, I wasn't scared. I was at peace.

"This tree is pretty special to me, you know," Youngmin said. "I discovered this place a week after starting high school. It's kinda like my secret hideout. But now it can be our tree."

Our tree. I smiled. "I like it," I told him. I really did. This tree felt like a safe haven. "I'm glad you decided to show it to me."

"I always come here when I need to think about things," Youngmin said. He had a faraway look in his eyes. "It always helps."

"Did you need to think about something today?" I asked him. He did seem to be lost in thought.

There was a moment of silence before he finally spoke again. "Actually.. yeah." He took in a deep breath. "Ria, what do you think of me?"

I was caught off guard by his question. "What do you mean, Youngmin?" I felt my heartbeat go faster. Why was I nervous? I didn't want to misunderstand anything, in case he meant something else. But as I turned to look at him, I knew. I saw it in his eyes.

"Ria, I like you."

Those eyes. He had the most sincere look on his face as he said it. I didn't know what to do. My heartbeat was going off the charts. I knew I was probably really red-faced by now. I thought back to all the things we did together over the summer. All of those were happy times. And I liked spending time with Youngmin too. I watched as his lips curved upwards into a smile.

"Ria, will you be my girlfriend?"

...

...

I was making an update-at-least-once-a-day rule but I ended up breaking it :(

anyway, I decided to go ahead and update today because I felt guilty.

SO! :) how'd you like this chapter? Tell me in the comments! Youngmin was sweet, wasn't he? Teehee. Bet you're all excited for the next!

Kwangmin fans, I promise you, Kwangmin is going to make an appearance soon! And by soon, I mean the next chapter!

Sooo see ya! :D