I stirred my morning coffee as I reviewed the papers for work. The sun was high and it was seeping through the half closed blinds on the window, making me squint because of its brightness. I didn’t fail to notice that it was unbelievably hot today. Not being able to handle the unbearable heat anymore, I stood up and walked across the room to the AC, papers still secured in my hand. The AC setting was at 3 so I twisted it clockwise and direct the small arrow to 5. ‘hm, better’ Satisfied with the slightly cooler air caressing my face, I made my way back to my wooden office desk.

 

This couple of days –after the trip- have been pretty hectic for me. There’s college and there’s work -lots of it. It really boggles my mind on how I’m able to do all this things at once, not that I’m bragging though. Being the sole heir of a huge company pays it price, even though the perks are really nice too --not that I’m bragging, again.

 

Moving on, college is the same crap that I have to deal with for now and work is just terrible. The company’s stocks are going downhill and its cause is still unknown. People in the company are on red alert; trying their best to raise the stocks and look for this unknown cause of disturbance. And for some odd reason, father decided that it was best for me to step in and take charge while this whole fiasco is going on. “Son, this is for experience.” He says.

 

 

Experience my .

 

 

And being the good son that I am, I took the offer.

 

 

“Sir, Mr. Choi is looking for you.” My secretary’s voice was heard through the phone after a beep, breaking my momentary trance.

 

“Ok, let him in.” I said as I continued reviewing the almost forgotten papers that I as holding.

 

 

“Yo, Jiyong!” Hyung’s deep voice echoed through the once silent room. I heard his footsteps getting more audible by the second and I concluded the he must be coming nearer. So, I guess I was right. I heard a small thud as he plopped himself on one of the two chairs in front of my desk.

 

“What brings you here hyung?” Finally, I lifted my gaze from the dull papers in my hand as I took a sip from my coffee. I gagged a little when the hot liquid made contact with my mouth. It was too bitter for my taste.

 

“Nothing~,” he sang, coupled by the corniest smile you could ever see on a grown man in his twenties. He looked innocent, too innocent actually. “Just wanted to visit my favorite dongasaeng.” He added. From that moment on, I sensed that something was up.

 

I sighed as I continued on reading the papers in my hand. “Ok, what do you want?” I asked, straight to the point, eyes still fixated on the white sheets on my hand. For a moment there, I could see from my peripheral view that hyung’s eyes grew big in surprise but returned to normal a split-second later.

 

What surprised me was what he did next.

 

He went to my side, bent to his knees with hands clasped together and had eyes that were seemingly pleading for something. If I was dumb –which I’m certainly not- I would’ve thought that he was getting ready to pray. I moved my swivel chair back a little and turned to the side with an amused expression. “Oh, what’s this?” I muttered, amused for I’ve never seen the great Choi Seunghyun act like this before.

 

This must be my luck day, kekeke.

 

“Jiyong, my GOD! Would you please, please, please, please---“

 

“Marry me?!” My tone was high as I feigned a surprised expression. HAHAHAHAHA!! This is the best! And seeing hyung’s surprised and pissed of expression just made this whole thing better! I couldn’t take it anymore; I broke out into peels of uncontrollable laughter. HAHAHA!! I should mark this day on my calendar! ‘The Day Choi Seunghyun became a desperate sissy’ Yeah, that’s right!

 

“Yah, I’m serious! Stop laughing! I’ll kill you right now but, I’m in a desperate condition. You’re my last resource.” He said, in all seriousness as his hands fell to his sides but still, statured in a kneeling position.

 

“Okay, Okay. I’m good now,” I said as I wiped the tears that welled up in my eyes from laughing too hard. “What is it that you want so desperately from me?” I quipped.

 

He looked reluctant. “Uh.. can you- can you lend me 3 Million won?” he asked very cautiously. “It’s- It’s just ‘cause Bom’s birthday is coming up and so is our 5 year anniversary.” He gulped looking tensed. “So, can you?” 

 

Hold on, something’s not right here. He wants me to lend him 3M won for his girl’s birthday and their anniversary. That’s weird.. doesn’t he have his own money? “Don’t you have your own money?” I asked, harsher than what I intended.

 

“I’m broke. Father closed my bank account.” He explained.

 

“Why?” I asked unbelievably. Huh, I never once saw a full grown man pleading for money just because apparently his rich father closed his bank account. “What did you do this time?” I accused.

 

“Nothing!” ..Nothing, really? “Besides it’s a long, long, long story. You wouldn’t want to hear it all; I’ll just be wasting your time.” He said. True. He will be wasting my time and besides, it’s his business anyway. I’ll be fine as long as he pays me back my money.

 

“Okay,” I said as I pushed my chair back to my desk but, hyung’s relieved expression --seemingly saying “I’m glad I don’t need to tell him the whole story”— wasn’t left unnoticed by me as he stood up to his feet.

 

I signed the check, ripped it off and gave it to him. “Say Happy Birthday to noona for me,” I said as I closed my check book and put it back on its place. “oh and Happy Anniversary to you two.”

 

“Thanks!” he said as he fixed himself to seat on the seat he sat earlier. “Speaking about relationships,” He shifted in his seat, now facing me in an angle. “how are you and Taeyeon going?” he snickered as a teasing smirk formed in his lips.

 

I scowled a bit after hearing what he just said. “We’re not together.” I said plainly as I read another set of papers that needed to be reviewed.

 

“I know” he quipped. “You were just acting, right?” For some odd reason, I noticed a tinge of mischievousness –slash- sarcasm in his tone.

 

I remained my composure. “Yes, we were.” I said, keeping my tone monotonous.

 

“So you’re just friends?” he asked again.

 

“Yes,” I said keeping my calm façade. “and that’s all there is to us… friends.”

 

“Ok” It sounded like he wasn’t convinced, at all. “So.. do you like her?”

 

WTF? Where did this assumption even come from?

 

“No.” I replied dryly as I darted my gaze to him; glaring at him with so much intensity so that we could drop this topic. Nonsense is the last thing I want to talk about.

 

Hyung chuckled a bit which only led me to be pissed off more. “You’re lying,” he accused. “because to me, it seemed like you liked her when you brought her to the fountain.”

 

My eyes turned wide and I could feel my face getting red. Was it because I was embarrassed, angry or what –I don’t know. “How’d you know?” I asked as my brows started to connect.

 

“I have sources” He smirked as he stood up from his seat. “I’ll be going now, thanks for the loan!” He started to leave my office. Still dumbstruck, I never realized he was out of my office already until I heard the door make a sound.

 

“I DON’T LIKE HER!” I yelled, making sure he heard and wouldn’t make assumptions. From the glass walls of my office, I saw him turn around and give me two thumbs up coupled by a corny smile. Aishh..

 

 

---

 

 

 

Taeyeon was doing house cleaning the whole day since it was her free day. Well actually, it’s not. She just skipped her classes and decided to clean her dirty apartment instead. Besides, she only had two classes today and it doesn’t help to be rebellious some time in your life, right?

 

The music was blasting through her headphones as she wiped the dust from her shelves. She wrote ‘Taeyeon’ on one part of her dusty shelf and a heart beside it. Mindlessly, her finger leads her to write ‘Ji’ on the other side of the heart, making it look like this: Taeyeon ♥ Ji. Realizing what she had wrote, she hastily wiped it with the wet rag she was holding on her other hand. ‘What are you thinking? Stop this’ she ordered herself.

 

 

She continued what she was doing before –which was cleaning- when a recognizable melody graced her eardrums. “Yes! My favorite song!” She cheered as she sang through the first lines. “Ooh oh oh~”

 

Then, the doorbell rang. “I’m coming!” she yelled, still singing with the song as she glided towards the door with the wet rag still in her grasp.

 

“You look so dumb right now, standing outside my house~” she opened the door with her empty hand and flung the other hand as she snapped her fingers to the beat. She was too immersed in singing that she didn’t even realize that droplets of water from her dirty rag had landed on her visitor’s face; not until she heard the person spitting out the dirty water droplets that landed on his mouth.

 

“OH MY GOD! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Are you okay?” She panicked as she saw Jonghyun –her neighbor and friend- wiping his face with the sleeves of his shirt.

 

“What the heck was that all about?!” He shrieked as soon as he finished cleaning his face.

 

“I’m sorry,” she smiled meekly at him; silently hoping that it was enough for him to forgive her. “I was too immersed in singing that I didn’t even see you there.”

 

“Tsss” He hissed. “It’s okay.”

 

“So what’d you want?”

 

“I wanted to ask for a favor,” he paused momentarily. “Can you take care of Soojin this afternoon? It’s just that I had some things to take care of.”

 

She thought about it for a while; putting everything into consideration. “Okay, but not until over 6pm. I have this special celebration at our university that I have to attend to. Just make sure you fetch her before that, okay?”

 

“Okay, it’s a deal.” He said as he beamed. “Oh, and can you take her out or something. She’s been dying to go out and play.”

 

“Okay, I’ll try..”

TAEYEON’s POV:

 

“Soojin-ah, where do you want to go?” I asked the cute 3 year old.

 

“Playground~! Zoo~! Ice Cream~!!” She chirped happily as she jumped up and down with this cute little smile on her face. Aww, she’s so precious!

 

“Ok!” I said merrily. Somehow, this kid’s energy is contagious. I feel so energetic now! “Let’s go to the playground first!”

 

Her smile grew wider as she jumped in joy. She reached her arms towards me and getting the signal; I carried her and cradled her in my arms.

 

Moments passed as we commuted our way to the playground. Soojin was playing with the kids her age in one corner of the sandbox as I sat on an empty bench. I watched her playing merrily with the other kids; an unconscious smile forming in my lips. A wave of nostalgia suddenly hit me when I saw her argue with this little boy. ‘Hm, I miss those times.. with him.’  I thought, suddenly missing the old times. Times when everything was simple and when life was contenting. It was one of the happiest times in my childhood. Was it because I was with him? Partly.

 

The sudden ringing of my phone broke my train of thoughts.  A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I reached for my phone in my pockets.

 

“Neh?”

 

“Excuse me, is this.. Kim Taeyeon?” A man on the other line said. The way he said my name was like he was reading it out of somewhere.

 

“Yes. May I ask who is this calling me?”

 

“Ah, yes, of course.  This is Song Ijung from SM entertainment.”

 

“SM?!” I exclaimed, surprised out of my wits. “Wait—is this a prank call?! YAH! Stop fooling around! Who is this, really?! Sooyoung is this you?! Urgh, I’m so gonna—“

 

“No, No! This is legitimate. Ms. Kim, remember me? I was the one who gave you your number for the audition. Song I-Jung… ring any bell?” The man on the other line said.

 

“…Really?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience earlier. It’s just that I get pranked a lot. Sorry..”  I apologized as realization hit me. “What is it that you called me about?”

 

“It’s okay, I get those reactions a lot.” He said. Such a sweet, understanding old man. “I would like to inform you that you have passed for the next round of auditions. Chukahae!” I couldn’t help it anymore; I started to jump up and down in my spot as high pitched squeals escaped my mouth.

 

“Thank you! Thank you very much~! I’ll definitely be working hard!” I said, still in my jumping frenzy. I didn’t care if people are looking at me. The only thing that matters is that… I PASSED THE AUDITION.. IN SM ENTERTAINMENT!! Yeah! – oops, I’m sorry. I tend to curse when I’m excited or surprised. But who cares?! I passed!! BOOYAH!

 

“It would be best if you can come to SM building right now. There are still things to be discussed about.” He informed.

 

“Ah, neh! I’ll be there as soon as possible~”

 

“Neh~” The phone call ended.

 

‘Yes! Yes! Yes! I finally passed an audition!’I thought as more happy thoughts filled my mind. I then hastily grabbed my bag and started to leave.. the playground. Oh Crap.

 

What do I do now?! I totally forgot about Soojin and my baby sitting work. For sure I can’t leave her alone right? Leaving a 3 year old alone would be the stupidest thing for me to do and bringing her to SM would be a terrible idea too. I can’t ditch the SM thing can I? It’s the one thing I dreamt of my whole life. Aish.. ottoke?

JIYONG’S POV:

 

“Wait, WHAT?!” I shrieked as she told me what she wanted me to do. This got to be the stupidest thing I heard all day. Oh wait- the second stupidest thing. Hyung’s desperate pleadings are still on top of my list. KEKEKE. It never gets old!

 

She started playing with her fingers and looked down as she bit her lip. “Uh, I know this is kind of stupid but, can you babysit Soojin for awhile?” She said, her voice trailing of.

 

“Why?” I asked her, my voice rising in tone. “Why me? Don’t you have other friends who are more willing to take care of that child? And not busy?” I nagged as I leaned back in my chair.

 

“Ok, let me explain.” I nodded, letting her explain. She started explaining all the things that happened today which led her to ask me for help. A very detailed explanation, I may say. Never in my life have I heard a very intricately said explanation. She even told me that part when she nearly stepped on dog .

 

But what’s surprising to this whole situation is that I was never annoyed. I was more amused, actually.

 

“So, you’re saying is that: one, you’ve passed the audition; two, need to go to SM entertainment ASAP; three, none of your friends are free and four; as a last resort, you need me to do babysitting duties. Am I right?” Last resort, huh.. why am I always people’s last resort? Can’t I be first for once? And what is with people asking me for favors today?

 

“Yes,” she nodded. “Can you?”

 

A deep sigh escaped my lips. I darted my vision and looked at her; studying her carefully. She had this look of hope in her, brightening her light brown eyes. “I can’t” I muttered as a sudden wave of heaviness hit me but I kept my cold façade, making sure that she won’t see right through me like some used plastic. “I’m busy.” I added as I shifted my vision to the same dull papers that lay before me.

 

“Please? I’ll do anything you want..” she bargained.

 

“You’re already doing that.”

 

“Oh…” she muttered. “It’ll just be for a while~ please?” She glanced at the kid outside --who was playing with my secretary— a couple of times through the glass walls.

 

“No!” I exclaimed; voice filled with annoyance. “I told you I’m busy. Don’t you understand?! Please just go,” I was in rage. Was it because of stress, I don’t know. The sudden realization that I was pouring out all my anger and stress on her hit me, hard. “stop disturbing me.” I muttered, calmer.

 

“I understand.” She said; her eyes which were once filled with hope were now masked with the disappointment that I gave her. ‘I can’t feel sorry’ I thought over and over again. “It was completely stupid for me to go here and ask for a favor when I knew that you were busy. I’m sorry for disturbing you and thank you for the time. I’m going now,” she bowed multiple times. “Bye” and with that, she was gone.

TAEYEON’S POV:

 

I can’t believe myself! I can’t believe I made myself look like a fool in front of him! What was I even thinking when I went to his office and asked for a favor? Was I high or something? “Aish, pabo-yah!” I muttered in between clenched teeth as I hit my head multiple times. I don’t exactly know what I’ll get from this, but what I did made me feel so stupid to the extent that I want to hit my head.

 

“Unnie, Soojin thinks that you’re not stupid~” The little girl that I was carrying held on to my arm weakly; seemingly trying her best to stop me from hitting my head. I could only smile at her. ‘At least she doesn’t think I’m stupid’

 

With Soojin tightly secured in my arms, I stood in front of SM building. It was roughly around 3pm and the sun was still high, 3 more ours of babysitting to go. “Here goes nothing~” I slowly made my way through SM building’s doors, bringing Soojin with me. Right away, I spotted the receptionist sitting behind her usual desk. I walked baby steps until I got to the receptionist.

 

I faked a cough trying to get the receptionist’s attention since she was reading a magazine and unmindful of my presence. She looked up from her magazine as she stared at me then Soojin with a blank look in her eyes. “Yes? How can I help you two? And if you didn’t know, this isn’t a day care center.” She said as dry as the skin in her face.

 

This girl is rude but I set her insult aside. “I know. I’m here because someone called me and said that I passed the audition. It’s so exciting~! Right?” I beamed; trying to give off some of my positive energy.

 

“Yeah, it’s sooo exciting. YEY~!” She sarcastically replied. The huge smile on my face suddenly disappeared. ‘Bitter much’ I thought. “Name?” she asked.

 

“Kim Taeyeon.”

 

“Ok, you’re on the list.” Well, duh.. Thanks for the brand new information Sherlock. “Go to the 2^nd floor then, second room to the right. There you’ll find other people who passed the audition.” She informed.

 

 I nodded as she continued reading her magazine. “Uhm, can I leave her here for a while?” I asked referring to Soojin who was now taking a nap in my arms. She looked up at me and scowled but gave in. I temporarily gave Soojin to her and made my way to the 2^nd floor.

 

  - - - -

 

An hour passed and the small “meeting” finally ended. During the small “meeting” we discussed about the next audition date and other benefits if we get in. Yeah, that was about it.

 

I made my way down to the receptionist’s desk to get Soojin back from that rude receptionist. But at least she was nice enough to look after Soojin for a while. So maybe she’s not THAT rude, just a little bit.

 

“Excuse me, where’s Soojin?” I asked the receptionist.

 

“Someone took her---“

 

“WHAT?! You let someone took her?! Are you stupid?!” I shrieked. WTF? How can this sad excuse for a receptionist just let someone take a child?!

 

“STOP FREAKING OUT!” she yelled which made me stop freaking out. “He said that he was a boyfriend and he left you a note.” She explained. Boyfriend? I don’t have a freaking boyfriend.

 

She gave me a small sticky note. It was green and it had words written on it. It said:

 

 

 

Soojin’s with me. Don’t freak out. Just call me after your little meeting.

PS: Congratulations in passing the audition~! ^^

 

 

 

Unconsciously, the sides of my lips tugged upright. This jerk.

 

Without wasting any much time, I ran out of there not really knowing where to go. I stopped running when I realized that I don’t know where they are. I fished out my phone from my hoodie and dialed in his number.

 

“Yobose—“

 

“Where are you?” I cut him off. It seemed like he was in some crowded place since I heard noises coming from the other line.

 

“The Zoo.”

 

“Ok, wait for me.” I said then hang up.

 

 

 

 

Taeyeon panted as she rested from running so much. She was now at the Zoo, sitting on one empty bench. Sweat beads trickled from the side of her face as her chest heaved up and down. She scanned the area looking for both Jiyong and Soojin as she fanned herself using her handkerchief; unmindful of the presence of two souls looking at her from her behind.

 

Jiyong and Soojin just came from buying candies in the candy shop inside the Zoo when they spotted the sweat drenched Taeyeon sitting on one of the benches. Soojin jumped up and down excitedly as she pointed to where Taeyeon was located to Jiyong who was tightly holding her hand.

 

Jiyong leaned down, put his index finger against his lips and made a “shhhh” sound. Soojin understood and nodded her head. Jiyong then carried Soojin as he made way to where Taeyeon was sitting; making sure that she wouldn’t catch them sneaking up on her.

 

Once they were on her back, Jiyong instructed Soojin to cover Taeyeon’s eyes with her hands. Being the clever kid that she was, Soojin complied and as she did, Taeyeon freaked out and swiftly turned around. There she found both Jiyong and Soojin laughing hard at her stupefied expression.

 

“YAH!” She yelled but that didn’t stop the both of them from laughing. After a while, the laughter died down.

 

“Why did you take Soojin?” Taeyeon asked Jiyong who was sitting on the other side of the bench with Soojin in between them, eating her cotton candy.

 

Jiyong just shrugged as his reply then, averted his gaze on the kids playing happily before them. Seeing this, Taeyeon’s lips formed into a smirk. “You felt bad, didn’t you?” She accused, pointing her finger at him in a teasing manner. Seeing no reaction in Jiyong, she prompted. “Didn’t you?” She teased once more.

 

Jiyong finally gave in and scowled at her. “No..” Defensive. Defensive was the right word to describe his tone. “It’s just.. It’s just…” Jiyong stammered, looking for the right excuse while the girl on the other side of the bench stared at him with so much amusement. “I wasn’t busy anymore..” He said confidently which only led to Taeyeon laughing hard at him for his stupid excuse. Right then, he felt so stupid.

 

“You’re bad at lying” Taeyeon remarked the obvious whilst still having a ball, laughing at him. Jiyong sneered and stood up, about to walk away. “Well you’re bad at being a babysitter” He said as he pointed to where Soojin has ran off.

 

Taeyeon was about to retaliate before she could even notice Soojin’s no longer presence beside her. She sat there, still dumbstruck, looking up at him as she tried to analyze the situation. “You’re really not gonna run after her, aren’t you?” Realization struck to her as she bolted up from her seat and started to run… in the wrong way. But before she could even run any further, Jiyong grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the right direction. Soon enough, both were running off looking for the missing little girl.

 

After running for a couple of minutes, they still had no luck in finding the missing girl. They stopped for a while for they needed to fill their burning lungs with the oxygen that it needed. Only then, Taeyeon realized that his hand was still tightly grasping her wrist. She tried to wiggle free which led to Jiyong looking back at her with curiosity. “What are you doing?” He asked.

 

“Can you please stop holding my wrist?” She demanded.

 

“No” He replied, a mischievous smirk forming in his lips. “Why?” He asked.

 

“Because you’re making my heart beat faster than it should, you cunning little man.” That’s what she wanted to say but, she stuck to the basic excuse.

 

“It’s starting to hurt. So please, free my wrist” There was something about her tone that made him want to more.

 

“Oh, okay.” He muttered which earned a tight lipped smile from her. Instead of removing his hand from her wrist, he slid it down and held her hand securely with his. Before he could even gain any reaction from her, he already sped off, dragging her with him.

TAEYEON’S POV:

 

Why does my hand feel so warm all of a sudden? Why are we running again? Oh, Soojin still lost. Wait, Soojin still lost! We need to find her fast! Oh, wait; we’re already doing that right now. Yeah, that’s right. Me and Jiyong are running around the zoo right now, holding hands— . We’re holding hands!!!

 

My knees started to get jello making it hard for me to run properly without trying to fall down. My heart is no use either, it’s beating twice as hard and it only makes the situation worst. Well, not worst actually. It makes the situation kind of bitter sweet. If only I could breathe properly and if only we were walking like this with the sun setting, that would’ve been the most romantic thing ever.

 

But it’s not, and strangely enough, I prefer it to be this way. Walking hand in hand while the sun setting is so cliché, even wishing for it to happen is so cliché. While Running around the zoo, hand in hand, frantically looking for a lost child ain’t so cliché.. ain’t it?

 

You can say that I’m in heaven right now. I closed my eyes as the wind kept blowing past me as we run hands together. This is the best feeling that I’ve ever felt for the longest of time. And it makes me wonder why how such little thing makes me feel so happy and so content at the same time.

 

“Soojin-ah!” Jiyong’s relieved voice broke me from my sweet, sweet reverie. He let go of my hand as he made his way to Soojin who was staring at the penguins in their own habitat. I looked at my empty hand, astonished on why it suddenly felt so cold.. so empty.

 

Gaining back my composure, I also made my way to Soojin. “Soojin, baby, why did you ran away?” I asked the little girl as I crouched down to be in her eye level.

 

“Soojin wants to see penguins~” She slurred as she pointed to where the penguins were at. ‘Oh, I forgot that she liked penguins, no, I mean, loved penguins’ I thought. “Okay, but, never ever ran away from me, okay?” She nodded her cute little head in reply.

 

I stood up and faced Jiyong. “She loves penguins.” I said. He nodded and gazed at the penguins playing around. I did the same as well. Silent. It was silent.

 

“Did you know that penguins have only one mate for their whole life?” He said after a while of silence.

 

I was intrigued with this little fun fact. “Really? Must be hard for them...” I remarked.

 

“Why’d you say so?” He asked seemingly intrigued with my reply. ‘it wasn’t what you expected, was it?’

 

I pursed my lips as I cocked my head sideways, staring at this one penguin that was all alone. “I mean, who wants to have with the same person their whole life?” I quipped, still staring at this one penguin. My remark was apparently funny to him, that’s why he’s laughing now.

 

“They do, apparently.” He said, an amused smile etched in his face. “Unlike you..” He teased as he stifled his laugh. I cheeks started to burn in embarrassment but, I kept my composure.

 

“Well do you?” I asked as I diverted my gaze to him.

 

“Touché”  

 

 

 

 

We are now in the otter exhibit, the last pit stop for the day since my babysitting duties will end in approximately 30 minutes. Soojin and Jiyong were having a ball playing and laughing together while I stood there, alone. ‘No one wants to play with me L’

 

The tour guide was standing a few feet beside me, slurping his cola, probably on a break. I stared at him a while longer, amazed on how good looking he was. He has the perfect features, features that can even land him a modeling job. It’s such a waste of beauty for him to be just a tour guide.

 

I never realized that I was staring at him for too long, not after he looked at me directly. Instinctively I looked away and looked at the otters instead. What made me awestruck was when I saw two otters holding hands as they floated in the water.

 

“Hey there~” I heard a voice beside me. It was deep, for sure it belong to a guy. But it wasn’t Jiyong’s, it was different. I looked over my shoulder and I saw the tour guide I was gawking at earlier.

 

“Oh, h-hey!” I stuttered. I definitely thought that I looked stupid that time but, his smile made me think otherwise.

 

“Looking at the otters?” He asked, stealing a glance.

 

I nodded, still looking at the two otters holding hands. Unconsciously, a smile formed in my lips as I thought on how similar me and Jiyong looked earlier with the otters. We we’re holding hands just like them. We weren’t floating, but we were running but still it’s similar in a sense. Well at least to me, it is.

 

“They hold hands so that they wouldn’t drift apart when they sleep.” He informed, sensing my amusement over them.

 

“Well, isn’t that romantic?” I snorted.

 

“Hey taeng! Let’s--- oh, I never knew you had company” Jiyong suddenly appeared beside me with Soojin in his arms. Something tells me he already knew I had company and so he wanted to cause a disturbance. Sly, heh.

 

I smiled apologetically at the tour guide. He nodded and mouthed that it’s okay. “Jiyong this is the tour guide.” I said in between clenched teeth after I diverted my gaze to him.

 

“Oh, I know.” He said. Rude. I nudged him to his side with my elbow trying to stop his rude behavior.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry for causing a disturbance. I was just telling you girlfriend facts about---“

 

“DONGHAAAAEEEEEEEEE! YOU BASTARD, COME OVER HERE! YOU’RE LATE!” A roaring voice disturbed him from saying his sentence completely. I was also about to retaliate explaining to him that I’m not Jiyong’s girlfriend but, the loud voice disturbed me from doing so.

 

“Uh, that was my boss...” he smiled cheekily. “I’ll get going now! Bye!” He waved as he ran towards where the voice came from.

 

I turned to look at Jiyong only seeing him frowning. “What was that all about?” He asked, voice annoyed and pissed. Even with this increasing tension between us, I could only smile inwardly over the fact that he was starting to act like a jealous boyfriend.

 

 

---

 

 

 

It was roughly around 6pm, the sun has set and the streets were engulfed with the various street lights from stores and cafes contrasting with the night’s darkness. Soojin was already fetched by Jonghyun and now, Jiyong and Taeyeon were left alone. They were at Baskin Robbins; the branch nearest to their university for Taeyeon was planning to go to the school’s festival.

 

“So, are you going to the festival?” Taeyeon asked after engulfing a spoonful of ice cream.

 

“No,” He said as he played with the ice cream in front of him. He was never the sweet tooth type; he never liked eating sweet foods. The only reason he has an ice cream cup with him was because Taeyeon urged him in buying a cup. ‘You’ll miss half of your life if you won’t try it.’ She says. “I have much better thing to do...” He added.

 

“Like what?” She asked as she chewed a small piece of cookie from her cookies ‘n cream dessert.

 

“Sleeping.” He said, still playing with his ice cream.

 

“Ehh~” She snarled, showing him her discontent. “There are things much better than sleeping.”

 

He looked up, eyes meeting hers. “Enlighten me.” He challenged her.

 

She thought about it foe a while. Then, a brilliant idea popped up in her mind. “Ok, let’s play a game.” He nodded. “See that yellow line over there?” She pointed to a line in the middle of the store.  “If someone passes there with his/her left foot, you get to flick me. If right, I get to flick you. The person who gets to flick the other person 3 times gets his/her way.”

 

“Are you serious?” He laughed at her weird ways of making him go to the festival.

 

“Yes.” She replied confidently.

 

“Okay then, whatever floats your boat~”

 

An ahjussi entered the door, making the bells ring. Both Jiyong and Taeyeon looked at his feet eagerly waiting for him to walk pass the yellow line.

 

“Yes! He passed with his left foot!” Jiyong cheered as Taeyeon grumbled in dismay.

 

Flick. “Ow~!” She hissed as she rubbed her forehead while Jiyong on the other hand, was laughing at her annoyed expression.

 

JIYONG: 1 TAEYEON: 0

 

The bells on the door again and in came 3 high school girls. The stakes were high and it was all or nothing this time around. They watched eagerly as each girl made their way pass through the yellow line.

 

The first girl passed with her right foot over the line. The second one left and the third one right.

 

“DOUBLE KILL!!” Taeyeon cheered in her deep voice coupled by strings of giggles.

 

Flick. Flick. “Ow~! For a small girl like you, you have quite the strong finger.” Jiyong said.

 

“FYI, I’m not small! I’m just… short.” She defended her small stature.

 

Jiyong chuckled. “Yeah, like that makes any sense at all.” Without her consent, he flicked her forehead right away. “Ow!” She exclaimed, glaring at him as she rubbed her now sore forehead.

 

JIYONG: 2 TAEYEON: 2

 

From the table near the line, a kid stood up. He was making his way towards the line with the two dimwits eyeing his feet like they wanted to eat it. Disgusting. Just one more step until their fate for the whole night would be revealed.

 

But before they can even see the results, a screeching yell was heard.

 

“TAEYEON UNNIE?!!”

 

“WITH KWON JIYONG?!!”

 

Yep, they were doomed.

 

 

---

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey guys! It's me again~

As you can see, I rewarded you guys --who are very pateienlt waiting for new chapies-- with a long one.

I hope you like it ^^

 

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!!

 

Random fun fact: PWD was supposed to be a jisica fic, LOL.

Dunno, just felt like saying it~

 

Oh, and if you guys didn't notice, I made a new poster for this fic~ It's on the foreword if you want to see it!

Tell me what you think about it on the comments section below.

Lastly, that chapter banner was also done by me. It was not supposed to be for this fic, but I thought 'Oh well, just put it in there since it's tae-d' that explains why it doesn't match with this chapter AT ALL.

 

Check out my other Tae-d fic: His Infamous bride

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