After Chanyeol dragged me, almost running, to the bus stop, we got on and on our way to Cheonggyechong. 

I must be out of my mind, I thought, to be following this Chanyeol guy... I just met him today!

But following him felt right, somehow. So I didn't put up a fight. 

"So what's your name? Or would you rather I keep calling you ice cream girl?" he smiled yet again. His smile was contagious, so I couldn't help but lightly grin back at him. 
"I'm Junghee. Umm, Song Junghee. You?"
"Park Chanyeol," he offered me his hand, and we shook hands while laughing. 
"So, Chanyeol, why are you taking a complete stranger to Cheonggyechong? Won't your girlfriend get mad at you or something?"
"Hey, we're not complete strangers! Acquaintances, I'd say. Plus, Cheonggyechong is cheery. I figured you needed some cheering up."
He smiled but I looked at him expectantly. He chuckled, getting my point, and flicked my forehead softly. I saw something flicker through his eyes, but it was so quick I couldn't decipher it. 
"Don't worry, no crazy psycho girls will come after you for going with me."

The rest of the ride, Chanyeol kept on casually chatting with me. I discovered he had graduated from high school already and was taking a sabatical year before college, I told him about my seemingly endless connections with trainees. We joked and laughed, and by the time we got to our stop I felt like we were old friends. 

"So, where to now?" I asked as soon as we got off the bus. He smiled, and I swear it was impossible not to smile with him.
"Well, I was thinking about getting some street food then walking around. See where our feet take us. How about that?"

I nodded and we did as he said. We ordered and payed for two plates of ddeokbokki, and took it with us to the stream. We walked for a while until we found a crossing, and we daringly jumped over the rocks (Chanyeol two rocks at a time). 

We finally found a good spot to sit in, one of the pointy edges of the walkside, and we sat on it, back to back. 

"So, Junghee, I'm guessing you're still a high school student?" he asked, and I nodded, then realized he couldn't see that. I blushed, but was glad he couldn't see that. 
"Yeah... But I'm graduating in a couple of months..." 
"Cool. So, what about college? What do you wanna do?" 
"Well, I got in Yonsei for Lit. and Education..," Chanyeol tsked at my answer and splashed some water on me with his feet.
"Hey!" I protested, and he stopped.
"Your fault. That's not a good answer." I rolled my eyes, and sighed. 
"I don't know. I'm good at Literature and Language, and I don't hate kids. It seems like something that I would do... everyone says so," I mumbled the last part.
"See. There's one problem. You don't know if you like your major. Hmmm.." He seemed to be pondering on something, and I kept quiet while finishing my ddeokbokki, "Well, that's pretty important. I mean, that's your future right there. Don't you have something you really want to do? I don't know, dancing? Traveling? Kicking ?"

I got up carefully, in order to not fall into the water. Chanyeol followed soon after. 

"Kicking ? Mind telling me which major allows me to kick ?"
"I dunno. Becoming an police officer?" I rolled my eyes at his childishness.
"Yeah, because the crime rate in Korea is soooo high." he pouted, and I laughed, smacking his arm lightly. Frankly, I was surprised we'd grown so close despite having not known each other not too long ago. 

After walking around the streets of Cheonggyechong, having dinner and talking nonstop, we finally went back to the park. I finally noticed that it was already night, and I was sure my mom would be getting worried by now. I quickly sent her a text as we waited for everyone to get off, telling her I'd be home soon, until Chanyeol tapped my shoulder signalling me that I had to get off. 

"So.." I stared, I could feel some awkwardness come back to us, "I guess I'll see you around?" 
He nodded happily and again, puppies invaded my mind. "Bring ice cream for me next time!" He said, ruffling my hair tenderly, and left. I blushed furiously, this time, I admitted, because of him. What just.. Why did... Whaa...? 

By the time I noticed that I hadn't asked him for his number or a day to meet, I was already more than halfway home. I didn't know whether I should curse or not. Did I want to see him again? I shrugged, tired from everything, and quickly entered the apartment to pacify my mother. Thank the Lord that Dad didn't come home early, or I'd be in for an earful. 

I got surprisingly busy the following days, with enrollment issues, hunting for a studio closer to Yonsei so I'd be living independently, "as a young lady should" (Dad's words, surprisingly). Chanyeol slipped my mind for the most, but when I remembered him, it was late in the evening, or my mom would busy me with something. 

Exactly two weeks and three days after we'd met, on a Tuesday after a particularly hard sports test, my friends ditched me for their respective responsibilities. It was the first time that I'd be spending Pizza Tuesday completely alone, seeing as my mother was busy working on a design project as well. But I wasn't feeling exactly sad about it, as I took it for the perfect opportunity to see the happy puppy known as Chanyeol. I hurried home, changed into the first pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt that I could find, and ran down with my keys, wallet and cellphone. I took my umma's scarf from the couch, guessing it would be chilly out, and headed towards the park. As I saw the ice cream vendor, I quickly took a couple of notes to pay for two small ice cream cups, taking one vanilla and one chocolate, guessing I couldn't go wrong with either one. I shuffled towards the side of the park that was usually deserted, already thinking of how to greet him without being too awkward. 

I almost tripped twice, and thankfully the ice cream didn't melt with my sweaty hands. When the spot came into view, I got ready to shout. 

"CHAN--" 

I quickly closed my mouth, as I stopped walking. I quietly approached the spot, which was unusually... empty. 

Chanyeol wasn't there. 

I mentally facepalmed as I realized that there was no way that he'd be there everyday. I sighed, and decided to sit down and wait for a while, hoping that he'd show up. I ate the chocolate ice cream first, deciding that if he did show up, he'd have to take what there was left. I waited for an hour, having to eat the other cup as well before it melted. At six p.m., when I got a text from my mom, I decided that I had waited enough. 

With a belly full of ice cream, and my shoulders hanging low in disappointment, I walked home.