You bit your lip and stared at the floor, crying. Tears swam in your eyes and your vision blurred. You glanced around at the empty playground and kicked your feet. You sniffled. This was the first time in seven years that you’ve ever lost your mother. She had told you she was going to be right back and you had sat on the swings.

            But she walked out of the park and she has yet to come back. You kicked at the dirt. This . You twisted the chains of the swing together and watched them unravel, taking you along with it. The motion made you dizzy and you closed your eyes.

            You heard footsteps and your eyes flew open, hoping it would be your mom. Instead you saw a boy a few years older than you. He looked at you curiously. “Hey, are you okay? Why are you here alone?”

            You glared at him. He was really nosey. And one thing your mom had taught you was to not speak to nosey people. You turned your nose up in the air and twisted the other way so your back was to him.

            The boy sat on the swing adjacent to yours and quietly began to push himself off. You couldn’t help but peek at him. Your mouth dropped open. Only seven, you have yet to truly master the art of swinging and watching him go higher and higher were impressive. Your mouth dropped open. He seemed to be soaring. Then his feet touched the ground and he started dragging it along.

            When he came to a full stop, he held out his hand. “Jongup, how are you?” he introduced himself.

            You blurted out your name and asked breathlessly, “Oppa, how did you go so high?”

            “Oh? Well, that’s easy. You just have to move your legs. It’s all in the legs. Look. When you push off, you don’t want to open your legs. Don’t paddle with them; it doesn’t work. Instead, you want to keep your legs closed and push out as you go forward and push the wind back as you move back.”

            You nodded and scrunched your eyebrows as you tried to follow his instructions. But it was so hard without your mom behind you pushing you. You sighed in frustration and skidded to a stop. Jongup stood up and went behind you.

            “Here, I’ll push you a little bit okay? I remember when I was little too. My parents had to help me all the time.”

            You frowned. “I’m not that little. I’m seven!”

            He laughed. “I’m ten. But at seven, I was still having trouble too! Now hold on and don’t panic. Remember what I taught you.”

            You held on tightly. He pulled you backwards and you squeaked a little. He was really strong. Either that or you were super light. He ran backwards a little and with a grunt, let you go. You soared into the air and started to pump your legs.

            “Keep them closed!” he called out. You nodded and concentrated. You kept your legs closed and pushed them out and pulled them in. Jongup got onto the swing next to you and tried to catch up. “You’re doing fantastically!” he encouraged.

            When you started to get tired, you slowed down and he slowed down with you. The moment you came to a stop, you burst into tears. Jongup looked scared and you ran over to peer into your face. “Hey, what happened? Did you get hurt somehow?”

            You shook your head. “My mom,” you wailed.

            “Your mother? Will she be mad that you went so high on the swings?” He sounded genuinely concerned.

            “She told me to wait here and that she’ll be back. But it’s been a long while and she still has yet to be back. All the other kids have gone too. What if she went missing?”

            Jongup patted your head. “No worries. I’ll still be here. If you like, I can stay here and wait with you. I live right down the block and my brother will come get me when it gets too dark.”

            You nodded shyly and he sat back down. “Let me tell you what happens to mothers who are missing for a little while. They wander down a little path and suddenly they hear their children calling for them. And when they hear, they turn right around and come back. Because mothers always come back to their kids.”

            “Will she be back?”

            Jongup smiled confidently and you broke into a tiny grin too. “I’ll trust you.”

            “Good, you better, because I think she’s right there!” And you looked up to see your mom running towards you, with a million bags on her arms.

            “Oh baby, I’m so sorry. I had a phone call and I had to buy all these, I thought, oh are you alright?” she examined you carefully.

            You nodded. “Mommy, this is my new friend, Jongup.”

            Jongup grinned and closed the photo album. He looked at the two wide-eyed, dark haired children wriggling next to him and smiled. “And that, kids, is the story of how I met your mother.”

It's late, but whatever :P Still the 6th here

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JONGPUPPY AND CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GRADUATION ♥