When Jonghyun pulled open the door to his private rooms the following morning, he stopped and stared at me with nothing short of shock. “What the hell did you do to your hair?” he demanded. Beside me, Mr. Kang, the butler, silently smirked before bowing himself out of our presence.

My fingers came to tangle in my long ponytail awkwardly. “I don’t know,” I mumbled self-consciously. “Amber took me to get it done. Is it that bad?”

He swallowed hard, his adam’s apple bobbing noticeable. “Nah, it’s fine,” he muttered, standing aside so I could enter his now-familiar sitting room. He took in my sweatpants and baggy t-shirt, my worn out sneakers and my practical ponytail. “So what are we doing today? I didn’t know what to dress for.”

“I thought we’d go to the park,” I answered with a grin. “So put on something comfortable. Something that you won’t mind getting dirty.”

He gave me a flat look. “The park, Kitten? Really?”

“Yes, really. The park,” I answered firmly. “So go put on something or I’ll do it for you.”

He groaned dramatically but disappeared through a doorway into what I assumed was his bedroom. “You’re making it too easy for me to win this bet,” he shouted over his shoulder.

He took his sweet time changing – he was probably only used to working on his own schedule and not worrying about others’ time – and then we walked back downstairs. He made to go to the garage, where I was sure there was a plethora of expensive foreign cars, but I stopped him. “Nope,” I said with a grin. “We’re doing this the poor-kid way. That means we’re taking the bus.”

Jonghyun actually looked horrified. “Like, as in public transportation? That is disgusting! No way!”

“You’ll survive.” I rolled my eyes, tugging him out the door by the arm.

He moaned and groaned and whined the whole day down the drive. He was still going by the time we reached the nearby bus stop.

“You are such a whiny baby,” I complained, tugging up the sticky steps onto the bus. I paid both our fares with the tiny bit of money I’d taken from my meager savings and we took seats near the back. Jonghyun cringed away from everything as if poor was a terminal disease he could catch. “Stop it!” I finally exclaimed.

“I can’t help it,” he whined, scooting closer to me as if to get away from the grimy windows. “Do you know how many poor people have sat in this very seat?”

I rolled my eyes again. “We’re only going a few stops up. You’ll be fine.”

Jonghyun seemed infinitely grateful when we reached our stop. It really was only a few minutes up the line, but it must’ve seemed like hours to him. He was down the steps and off the bus before the driver had even fully stopped. I followed a bit more sedately, thanking the less-than-amused driver politely before following Jonghyun off.

My project partner was busying cleaning his hands with the little bottle of hand sanitizer he must’ve had in his pocket. “Finally,” he grumbled. “Okay, so where is this park?”

“It’s this way,” I hummed pleasantly, reveling in the fresh air as I led the way down the sidewalk. Jonghyun didn’t seem happy, but he fell into step beside me. “I used to go to this park all the time,” I explained as we walked.

“Oh joy,” he muttered sarcastically.

Because it was one of the first really warm Sunday mornings of the season, the park was crowded with people of all ages. Young children scampered over the playground equipment, shouting and screeching happily at play; couples sat close together on wooden benches, enjoying coffee or ice cream; elderly men and woman walked around the asphalt track in their matching jogging suits. It was the most picturesque park I had ever seen, but Jonghyun was not impressed in the least.

“Come on,” I said eagerly, unable to curb my excitement as I led the way over to the basketball court. I found a lone basketball and dribbled it a few times. It was a little scuffed, but otherwise in good working order. “How about a game of one-on-one?” I suggested.

Jonghyun quirked a perfect eyebrow at me. “You want to play me in a game of basketball?”

“I mean, if you’re afraid you’ll lose…” I drawled, smirking. I dribbled the ball a few more times, the sound reverberating across the court.

He actually smiled then, a genuine smile. “Fine, you’re on,” he agreed, rolling up the sleeves of his sweatshirt. “The loser has to buy lunch.”

“Deal,” I agreed without hesitation.

“Do you even have the money to buy us lunch?” he laughed, stretching his calves a little with a competitive gleam in his eye.

I was totally unconcerned. “Nope. But it doesn’t really matter. I’m not the one who’s going to be buying lunch today.”

“You’re awfully confident, Kitten,” he purred, grinning. “You don’t even know if I’m good at sports or not.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I repeated, matching his grin. “I’m still going to kick your .”

The started at an intense pace. Even if it was only a silly game on a cracked asphalt court with a scuffed up ball, where the only thing at stake was lunch, Jonghyun clearly didn’t want to lose. And he was definitely athletic. It was obvious in the way his toned muscles moved, in the way he could feint and make a basket like it was second nature. If I had been someone else, he might’ve even been a challenge.

As it was, I was an extraordinarily fast athlete. I’d grown up playing sports – not just basketball but all types of sports – with the boys in my neighborhood. As the only girl they’d ever let play with them, I had learned early on what sort of strategy to use when playing against opponents that were both bigger and stronger than I was.

Jonghyun seemed both amazed and disgruntled by my too-quick reaction time. I could block a pass, steal the ball, and make a shot in a matter of seconds. Pretty soon we were both sweating, but the intensity of the game only increased.

Of course it was me who made the final basket, sinking the ball straight through the net with ease. “Yes!” I cheered, jumping up and down victoriously even though I was exhausted from the game. “I told you I’d win!”

To my surprise, Jonghyun didn’t seem bitter or upset about losing. On the contrary, his flushed face held a huge smile. “Okay, okay,” he gave in. “You definitely won. You’re pretty good at this. So where do you want to go for lunch?”

Instead of answering verbally, I led the way over to a hot dog stand near the outskirts of the park. As expected, Jonghyun looked skeptical, but he bought us two hot dogs and two sodas and we retreated to a nearby bench to eat.

“Are you having fun yet?” I teased, slurping my soda through my straw.

He smiled wryly at me. “Okay, maybe I am,” he gave in. “Only a little bit, though.” He took a big bite of his hot dog, and his eyes widened. “This is delicious!” he mumbled through a mouthful of beat, bun, and relish.

“Of course it is,” I answered impatiently, taking a much smaller bite of my own hot dog. “These are the best hot dogs in town. You’re welcome for letting you know about it, by the way.”

“Smartass,” he mumbled, but he was smiling as he devoured the remainder of his lunch.

After we’d eaten and thrown away our rubbish, Jonghyun rubbed his hands together. “So, I don’t think I’m having enough fun yet to warrant you the winner of this wager,” he declared. “What do you have planned next?”

“Well,” I drawled, playing with the ends of my ponytail, shining brightly in the sun. “How do you feel about baseball?”

“Is this even legal?” Jonghyun asked skeptically forty-five minutes later. We were outside one of the local baseball stadiums, and I was too busy climbing a utility ladder to answer immediately.

“It’s fine,” I lied easily, settling myself down on the ledge at the top of the ladder. “We’re not doing anything wrong, per se. Nowhere in any rulebook does it say it’s illegal to do this specifically. Besides, it’s a great view and it’s free. So come on.”

He still seemed doubtful, but he followed me up the ladder and onto the ledge. The ledge was wide enough that we could sit side by side with our backs leaned up against the wall, but we had to squish pretty close to do so. He settled down and gazed out across the field.

“This is a really good view,” he admitted begrudgingly. From where we were seated, we could see the entire field. It was almost better than actual seats. He nudged my shoulder playfully. “So this is how poor people have fun, is it?”

“You betcha,” I answered, pulling a bag of peanuts out of my pocket and offering him one, which he accepted while laughing. “Poor people have just as much fun as rich people, you see. We’re just more innovative about it.”

“That you are,” he agreed, cracking a peanut open and popping the yummy bits into his mouth.

I had to admit that I was something of an anomaly when it came to sports. Most girls that I knew couldn’t stand them, but I loved them. Again I blame it on my strange upbringing. When you’re raised by a bunch of teenage boys, you tend to end up more of a tomboy. Luckily for me, Jonghyun seemed to like baseball as much as I did. We were both screaming and cheering as the game progressed, so much so that I was afraid we might get caught.

Night had fallen by the time the game was over, but we had to wait until the stadium had emptied before we risked climbing down – despite my assurances to Jonghyun, I was pretty sure that what we were doing wasn’t allowed.

“How did you even discover this place?” Jonghyun asked quietly while we waited for the streams of people to flow out of the stadium. “Do you just go around climbing random ladders to see where they go?”

I shrugged, shivering. Though it had been pleasant during the day, it was getting chilly now that the sun had set. “My friend showed it to me,” I answered, smiling. Zelo had been very excited indeed when he’d discovered it.

Jonghyun saw me shiver and handed me his sweatshirt. “It’s hard to believe that you have friends, Kitten,” he teased.

“Thanks,” I grumbled, though I wasn’t sure if it was my sarcastic reply to his comment or my awkward response to him giving me his sweatshirt. I quickly pulled it over my head. It smelled like him – a mixture of sweat and something spicy – and it was very warm.

After the last stragglers had exited the stadium, we chanced climbing down the ladder. We were quiet as we walked back to the bus stop, each lost in our own thoughts.

“So, did you have fun today?” I asked as we caught the bus back to the stop near his house, where I would have to catch another bus on a different line to take me back to my part of town.

He pretended to think about it, even though it was obvious that he had. “You know, as much as I hate to admit it, I actually did. Who would’ve thought?”

I grinned tiredly. “So that means I win the bet. You can’t tease me for being poor anymore.”

“Okay, okay,” he sighed dramatically. “You win. I’ll keep my mean thoughts to myself from now on.”

I yawned. “Good.” 

Some major action is starting in the next few chapters. I'm really excited about it ^^