I looked at Dae Hyun while he tied my skating shoes on our way to the skating arena. I had a lot of things in my head. I wanted to ask ‘Why are you being this nice to me?’ ‘Why are you treating me this way?’ ‘Why are you suddenly acting like this?’ ‘Why would you want to skip school only for me?’ but it would ruin all the happiness I felt today, so I shut my mouth.

“Done!” He looked up to me and gave me that sweet smile again. My heart fluttered. “Come on,” he reached out his hand and I reached back.

As I stepped into the arena he skated forward a few slides while spreading his arms. Then he made a sharp turn and went back to me. “Let’s do a round,” before I was able to say anything he pulled me with him to skate all around the arena.

Cold air touched my face as Dae Hyun led me skating around and I spread my arm like he did while he was holding my other hand. It felt good. Like I was flying.

Dae Hyun looked back to me and his smile got wider. He reached for me then lifted me up from the ice.

I yelped in surprise. “Dae Hyun, what are you doing?”

“Don’t you feel like Kim Yuna?” He asked as he held to my waist.

I laughed and looked around as the skating arena moved fast around me. “I feel great.”

“Good. Because my arms hurt,” he chuckled and put me back on the ice. But I didn’t know what happened. Whether it was me or him that slipped but we ended up falling and crashed on the ice. My hurt. I looked at him and he looked back at me and the next thing happened was we laughed like a couple of crazy people.

***

I walked back home hand in hand with Dae Hyun later that evening. Neither of us seemed wanted to let go. Was it too much or can I put a hope that Dae Hyun might like me back? But if he still put me in the position of his best friend, how would that feel again? Would we better just be friends?

We stopped in front of our house. Dae Hyun gripped my hand tighter.

“So… uh… I’ll see you tomorrow?” he said but didn’t look to my eyes.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I answered.

“Are we going to skip school again?” was it just me or he sounded kind of hopeful.

I laughed. “Maybe next time, Dae Hyun. Once a semester is enough,” I grinned.

He grinned back. “I guess so,” he looked at our tangled fingers. “So I’ll see you tomorrow, Jeong Ae-yah….”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Dae Hyun-ah…,” I squeezed his hand before letting go. I went to my house gate but turned to wave to him before I went in. He waved back then I closed the door behind me.

My Mom was on the family room, watching drama. I went to her and sat next to her.

“Oh, Jeong Ae… my pretty daughter, when did you come back?” My Mom hugged me and I leaned to her shoulder as she continued watching her drama.

“How was school?” She asked while her eyes still on the TV.

“It was fun,” I lied. “Dae Hyun talked to me again, and we had fun for the whole day.”

“Hmm? Really?”

“Hmm…,” I snuggled closer to her. “Omma, I think I like Dae Hyun.”

My Mom turned her head to me and grinned. “I know it. It’s the time for you to like someone. I just didn’t think it would be Dae Hyun,” she laughed. “Don’t tell your Appa, he would hate Dae Hyun then.”

I huffed. “That was not what I worried about,” my Mom lifted her brows. “I was worried about our friendship. It might get awkward,” and my state of cancer, of course I worried about that too. But I didn’t say that out loud.

“Jeong Ae-yah, your friendship with Dae Hyun had been awkward since you went home crying that day Dae Hyun’s girlfriend fought with you because she thought you were trying to steal her boyfriend,” my Mom rolled her eyes.

That was two years ago and that girlfriend of his was stupid. “Heol.”

“Exactly. Heol,” my Mom replied and then we laughed.

“So, you think I should go for it? It’s Dae Hyun we’re talking about here. The one that sneaked into your garden and cut your roses on our fourth grade,” I asked her again.

“Hmm… I still remember that. But since he cut the roses for your birthday present, I think I can forgive that one. So go for it,” she squeezed my arm.

“Thanks, Omma,” I hugged her again. Then I was absorbed in the drama that my Mom watched. It was about a woman who was too old to date and then she felt pain all of a sudden. Huh? That seemed familiar. She went to her doctor, and guess what? She had a cancer.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I gritted my teeth as the woman in the drama went into shock.

“What’s wrong?” My Mom asked as I went stiff and let go of her.

“Nothing. It’s just funny. She got cancer out of all other disease. Why can’t she get heart disease? Hepatitis? Or merely cramps. Oh, it has to be cancer. So funny,” yes, so funny. I would rather be bulimic than having such a mainstream disease. That was meant to be sarcastic.

“I think that’s a serious disease. I pity her, she haven’t even has a husband yet,” my Mom pouted but her eyes still on the screen where the drama credits rolled as it was to be continued tomorrow.

“Omma…., what if I have cancer?” I asked her carefully.

She laughed and ruffled my hair. “Of course you won’t darling, you’re still so young. That was a silly question,” she said as she stood up and went to the kitchen. “What do you want for dinner?”

I reached for my bag and stood up to go to my room. My eyes were hot and my chest tightened. “I’m not eating. I ate with Dae Hyun earlier. I’m going upstairs.” I said as I left the family room.

“Okay,” my Mom answered behind me.

I went to my room and let out a small sob. Thank God, Jong Up hasn’t arrived home yet. He would have been suspicious to my question earlier. I went to my window and opened it up wide, and I could see Dae Hyun’s window already opened up wide, but he was not there.

I went to take a shower and went back to the window after. He was there, feet dangling outside his window while he stared at the sky. I looked at the direction his eyes on. There were no stars, just a bunch of black clouds forming a big threatening group of clouds.

“I think it’s going to rain,” I told him.

He looked back from the sky to me. He smiled. “I think so,” he nodded.

“What are you going to do when it’s rain?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. You?”

“Hmm…,” I looked at the sky. “I think if it’s just drizzling, I will be here, playing with it. If it’s hard, I’m staying inside, probably helping Jong Up with his homework.”

Dae Hyun looked down and smiled to himself. “Then I wish the rain would not be big.”

I could feel my heart fluttered again.