It was the first day of our stay in camp… and after lunch time I was assigned to wash the dishes. I took an apron near the back entrance of the canteen and then entered. I was expecting to see other miserable seniors who got handpicked by the coach… but when I got there, all I saw were four old women. They were doing different things and when one of them noticed me, she pointed to the sink. I almost hit my head against a wall when I saw the high pile of dirty plates and other utensils.

“Two weeks,” I muttered to myself “it’s just for two weeks Leeteuk. I’ll be DishTeuk for just two weeks and then I’ll enjoy this camp.”

“YOU KIDS BETTER FINISH THAT OR ELSE THIS PLATE WILL BE FLYING STRAIGHT TO YOUR HEADS!” one of the old ladies suddenly shouted.

Instead of turning around to see what the problem was, I continued to stare at the dirty plates and remembered something from the words “FLYING PLATE”. Out of all the memories I kept with me, it was one of my favorites. It happened before high school started. It was my birthday. It was also the last time we spoke to each other.

“TEUKIE WAKE UP!” Kangin’s shouts woke me up that day and when I opened my eyes, he was jumping up and down on my bed. He then held out two tickets for a theme park in front of my face.

I instantly prepared when I saw the tickets and then we went on our way to the theme park. He looked so excited, people would think that he was the one celebrating a birthday and not me. We entered the park and instantly ran to the first ride we saw.

“Bumper cars, Teukie!” he pointed out “come on!”

“I don’t know how to drive yet!” I said as he pulled me to the line.

“You can practice there, see?” he said “it’ll be easy!”

And so we rode the bumper cars and I he was right… it was easy! I really enjoyed it because I got to bump everyone there even if they were all strangers. Well I kept on hitting the walls too but it was fun. I was the best driver that time!

We rode the Blizzard Coaster afterwards. It was just an ordinary roller coaster but they placed it inside a cold room with fake snow. Kangin pulled me to the first cart and insisted that the view from there was the best. I screamed my lungs out. The fun part was that when we screamed during curves and sudden falls, our breaths would create a white mist due to the cold.

Immediately after that ride, we ran to the Viking. It was a huge ship and we were rocked back and forth. I raised up both my arms when we reached the highest peak of the ride and I was surprised when Kangin raised his arms too and then held my hand. He locked his fingers with mine and as we rocked down he screamed out “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEUKIE!!!”

The Flying Plate came after that. It was a huge contraption with at least a dozen of arms connected at the center. At the other end of the arms, there were circular seats designed to look like plates. I thought it was a lame ride where we would just circle around… but when it started, I couldn’t stop screaming. I felt extremely dizzy after that ride.

“Teukie, are you okay?” Kangin said when he noticed that I looked sick.

“I’m dizzy…” I said and almost tripped on my own “I hate that ride…”

“Come on, let’s buy some food and cool down in the Ferris Wheel.”

We bought noodles and drinks then queued up to the Ferris Wheel. The operators asked us not to spill anything inside the capsule and we agreed. I still felt dizzy even if the ride was incredibly slow. That time I felt like I wanted to just close my eyes and rest for a while to get my system back to normal. Just then, Kangin wrapped his arm around my shoulder and then he gently leaned my head on his shoulder. I felt butterflies in my stomach and I couldn’t understand why. I wasn’t sure why I felt that way but I was sure of one thing… it was what I needed. He my hair afterwards and I closed my eyes to his soothing gestures.

Ever since we were little kids, Kangin enjoyed hugging me whenever he felt extremely happy or extremely sad. As time passed, he just developed that habit of hugging me for no reason at all. I got used to it and I really loved it when he hugged me. We memorized each other’s moods easily and even got used to each other’s specific scents. Next to my special ointment, I found Kangin’s scent exceptionally relaxing. That time at the Ferris Wheel, my dizziness faded as I stayed in his arms. My eyes were still closed… and then I felt him move. After a while I had the feeling that his face was directly in front of mine. I slowly opened my eyes, and there he was… just inches away from me. I felt his breath against my face and it sent shivers down my spine. Lots of things ran in my mind. He leaned in closer and smiled. And then he whispered my name, his voice sounded gentle and quite seductive.

“Teukie…” he said and my heart beat went wild.

“TEUKIE YOU’RE FLOODING THE KITCHEN FLOOR!”