The ride to wherever Jongin was taking Mira was awfully quiet and she wanted it to stay it that way. She had no interest in talking to Jongin, she didn’t want to. However, ten minutes had already passed since they left the Academy and all Mira wanted to do was get out of the car and go back home. She already regretted her decision. She had made a mistake. She now felt awkward being with him. 

Why was Jongin even doing this?

What relationship did they have for him to act like this?

Well yes, they did know each other and had helped each other out quite a bit, but that didn’t mean that they were close friends. 

Are we even friends? Mira mentally slapped herself. She wasn’t interested in making any friends, she didn’t want to bond any relationship with him. She didn’t know what to say and Jongin not saying anything didn’t help either. Is it only me or is it really hot? She touched her cheeks which felt awfully warm.

Without even asking, she pressed the button for the window to roll down. She needed some fresh air.

“We’re nearly there,” Jongin finally spoke which sent a huge relief to her, but she didn’t comment on anything.

She looked out the window and saw that Jongin was actually driving past the Capital. She couldn’t help but be curious. She had never once been out of the Capital gates before in her life. She wanted to but she never really gotten the chance so she couldn’t help, but feel excited right away. However, she tried not to let the excitement show on her face.

Mira remembered her mum telling her the experiences that she had when she left for the Capital to go to the smaller towns and villages. Her mum was a doctor so she often visited rural places to treat the sick people in need and those who couldn’t afford medical treatment. Her mum was a role model to her and this was the reason why Mira wanted to be a doctor, she wanted to follow in her mum’s footsteps. 

Mrs. Kang would often tell her daughter how wonderful the town was. “There are so many things out there that we can’t even see in the Capital.” She would always tell Mira that. She would talk about how delicious the foods were and how warmly the lower class people welcomed her with opened arms. She would always tell her daughter not to judge anyone by their looks. Mira missed her mum terribly and she hated how a person like her had to be taken away from her. It wasn’t fair.

Why her?

Why her out of all the people?

Her thoughts were disturbed when Jongin cleared his throat.

“We’re here,” he stated as he closed the window that Mira had opened and then turned off his car engine.

Oh my god. When Mira got out of the car, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She had finally stepped foot onto the land of the lower status. She couldn’t help, but show her excitement. She then turned toward Jongin. “Can we look around?” She asked as if she was asking her dad for permission.

Jongin couldn’t help, but smile at her cuteness. He simply nodded and followed Mira who excitedly walked around to see the different shops in front of her. It seemed like they were in a market place.

Mira's eyes wandered around the people who were curiously looking at the two of them, wondering what the two upper class people were doing here. They recognised their school uniforms right away and knew they were from Royal Seoul Academy. She sighed when she saw the state that they all lived in. The houses were beyond small. The place was cramped. She couldn’t see any technology in the area, everything was so old-fashioned, but what surprised her the most was that everyone had smiles on their faces. They all seemed genuinely happy.

All of a sudden, her stomach grumbled when she smelt a sweet aroma. She followed the scent and was led to a food stand. Jongin followed after Mira who had her eyes glued on the foreign food which was in front of her.

An elderly lady smiled as she greeted her customers. “Aigoo, what is a pretty young lady doing here?” She asked and looked at Mira who shyly smiled.

She smiled. Jongin watched Mira politely interact with the old lady.

He wondered why she was so excited to be in this place. There was nothing special about being in the lower status area. It was disgusting. They were poor and Jongin had no reason to interact with them. They meant nothing to him since he saw them as trash. 

“What are these?” Mira innocently pointed at the food.

The old lady smiled. “Tteokbokki, it’s made from soft rice cake, fish cake and sweet red chilli sauce.” She explained the snack to Mira who her lips.

When she heard the name of the food, she knew right away what the old lady was talking about. Her mum had always told Mira to try this snack one day since she had never once had this before in her life. She then looked at Jongin, she wondered if he had tried this before, but he also had his eyes fixed on the snack.

“Can we please have some?” Mira politely asked, making the old lady chuckle.

She nodded and handed them a plastic plate with the snack. She also handed them a toothpick each. Mira confusedly looked at the old lady, wanting to know why she had received a toothpick. She instructed Mira to poke the tteokbokki with the toothpick and then eat it. Mira finally took a bite of the new snack that she had come across and her eyes widened when she tasted the snack.

“Ahjumma, it’s delicious!” Mira exclaimed and continued eating, but stopped when she saw Jongin awkwardly standing next to her. “Do you want some?” She asked.

Jongin quickly shook his head. He wasn’t going to eat something he had never tasted before. Plus, he didn’t like how unhygienic the whole food stand looked. He stared at the plastic plate and shivered in disgust.

“You know you won’t die after you eat it,” Mira seemed to know what he was thinking.

Jongin stared at her, surprised as to why this girl was trying something which didn't fit their standard. They were rich for god sake.

Why did they have to eat something that the lower status people ate?

He had only came here to take Mira to a particular place. He came here often, but that didn’t mean he wasted his time and roamed around the poor town.

Why was Mira so keen on eating something so foreign to their taste buds?

Jongin couldn’t stop his curiosity from growing. He was tempted to try it as well. Without him even realising, he poked the snack with the toothpick and ate it. To his surprise, Mira was right. It was in fact delicious.

“What did I tell you?” Mira smirked, pleased that she had made Jongin try the new snack. Jongin didn’t say anything and continued eating, making Mira smile. Soon afterward, Jongin paid the old lady for the tteokbokki. Mira was the one who thanked her. “I hope you sell more of your snack,” she politely bowed.

The old lady smiled and thanked the two of them. 

Jongin watched Mira in confusion. She seemed so different right now.

Why was she smiling and thanking people of the lower status?

He had never once met a girl who had acted so kind toward them. It was as if Mira was treating them more kindly than her own people. She acted differently with them. 

“Where to now?” She asked, gaining Jongin's attention.

He quickly cleared his throat and took her hand. Mira sighed, but decided not to pull away from his grasp because she knew it would be no use. She had no choice, but to be dragged around by Jongin once again. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was getting used to it now.

---

They walked over a small bridge. 

Mira had wondered why Jongin had parked his car back at the town, but realised that there were no roads for cars to be on in the area. In fact, the area seemed isolated. She suddenly felt a bit frightened. 

What happens if Jongin murdered her and then buried her corpse here in a remote place? 

She shook her head, clearing away her wild imagination.

“You’re going to love this place,” Jongin turned to give Mira a smile. 

She couldn’t help, but mentally smile. She was surprised as to how Jongin would assume something about her so quickly. The fact that he knew for sure that she would love the place he was about to show her made her smile. This meant he knew her pretty well to assume something like this. 

Has he been paying attention to me? Mira thought as she followed after Jongin. 

Her eyes widened when she saw a small pond with different variety coloured water lilies swimming in it. Ferns, iris, flowers abound, lush green foliage surrounded the pond while the devil's ivy trailed into it. A few butterflies danced in the air even though it was the chilliest of the breezes while fishes swam freely in the crystal clear water. The cool breeze of spring caressed rings of ripples on the surface. A few meters away from the pond stood an old building.

Mira looked at Jongin for answers, but he kept on walking toward the pond. She didn’t want to admit it, but this place was beautiful. It was a retreat. She felt free, she could feel the fresh air. Jongin was right, she already loved this place.

“How did you discover a place like this?” Mira found herself asking Jongin who sat down on the cool grass beneath them.

“My sister showed me this place,” he replied. “Don’t you feel relaxed?” He was the one asking questions this time. Mira nodded, already feeling relaxed. “I always come here when I feel like crap,” he confessed.

Mira was a bit surprised as to why Jongin was sharing something so secretive with her. 

Why would he even want to show her something so special to him? 

Plus, he didn’t seem like a person who would worry so much. 

“Why are we here?” Mira couldn’t help, but ask.

Jongin patted the grass off his pants when he stood up, he then walked toward Mira. “I forgot why we came here in the first place, woops,” he lightly chuckled, but Mira blankly looked at him. “Come on, we need to do the project,” he answered as he walked off to the direction of an old building. 

“Is this even safe?” Mira asked worriedly, but she was already following Jongin. 

He explained that the building actually used to be a school and that it was abandoned years ago because the owner couldn’t pay for the educational cost anymore. So he just left the building standing as he also couldn’t afford to pay for it to be taken down.

Jongin seemed to know where he was going. The way he knew every turn and step made Mira believe that he had in fact visited this place often and she trusted him. Before she even realised, they were both standing on the rooftop of the school building. The view was just simply breath-taking. Mira was actually glad that she agreed to go with Jongin in the first place, or else she would have never been able to come across something so wonderful. She was also thankful toward Jongin for showing her something which was absolutely beautiful.

“Thanks,” Mira said in a gentle tone. Jongin blinked, surprised and confused as to why Mira was thanking him out of the blue. “Thanks for showing me this place,” she added.

Jongin actually didn’t know why he had even taken Mira with him. Nobody knew about this, except for his friends. He had never once taken anyone, or told anyone about this place. It was like a secret hideout for him and also for his friends. They often practiced their dance here on the rooftop and when the weather was hot, they would eat watermelon and just joke around. 

“But you seriously took me all the way here to do the project?” Mira asked.

“I concentrate more when I’m here,” Jongin simply answered.

Mira rolled her eyes. “Fine, what topic do you want to address?” She asked as she was already in her work mode. She wanted to get a good mark for this project since it was worth like half the mark on their report. Jongin shrugged as he laid down on the concrete underneath him and gazed up at the sky. “You said you wanted to do the project,” she impatiently stated, trying to get Jongin up from his laziness.

“I didn’t say I wanted to do the project now,” he cockily commented, earning a glare from Mira. “Just take a break for a minute,” he added as he pulled Mira down toward him.

She let out a surprised yelp, but sighed when she had no choice but to lay down next to Jongin. 

“What are you looking at?” She asked, trying to start a conversation. She couldn’t stand the silence for some reason.

Jongin pointed to the sky. “Do you believe there’s heaven?” He suddenly asked out of the blue.

Mira nodded as she gazed at the sky above them. “Yes, I do,” she replied as if the answer was obvious. 

“How do you know that? Have you been there before?” His tone was scornful, but he seemed serious.

“I know a place like heaven exist since both of my parents are there,” Mira answered which took Jongin by surprise.

Mira was surprised at how she had just shared something so personal with Jongin. No one in her school knew that both her parents had passed away. 

Was it a slip of the tongue? 

She didn’t know if Jongin was going to tell the others, or not. She didn’t even know if she could trust him, but the moment felt so right to say so. 

He turned his head to look at Mira. “I’m sorry-“

“What are you sorry for? It’s not like they passed away because of you,” Mira rolled her eyes but chuckled, surprising Jongin. He really couldn’t understand Mira. Maybe, this was the reason why he felt so attracted to her. “Do you believe there’s heaven?” She asked him this time.

Jongin averted his eyes from Mira and looked up at the sky again. “I don’t know, I guess you can say I’m in between,” he honestly answered. “I know I’m weird,” he quickly added, trying to defend himself.

Mira shook her head with furrowed eyebrows. “Why would I judge you based on what you think? Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions. They have the right to think freely of what they want. It’s not my decision, or my right to judge someone so you don’t have to defend yourself for something that doesn’t even need to be defended for,” she genuinely expressed her own thoughts. 

Speechless, Jongin was once again speechless. 

Why was this girl so different? 

Why did she think so differently? 

The fact that she was also a year younger than him didn't seem real to him. He felt as if he was talking to someone more mature than him.

“Oh my god!” She suddenly squealed. 

Jongin worriedly looked at her with concern. “What’s wrong?” He asked, examining her face to see if she was hurt anyway, but Mira was smiling. 

Jongin felt his heart racing, pounding fiercely within his chest when he saw Mira smile. Her eyes were sparkling with a kind of happiness that he had never seen in anyone’s eyes before. A feeling of warm tingles shot through every nerve of his body as he kept his eyes fixed on Mira. 

“Stars,” she stretched one of her arm, almost as if she was trying to reach for one of the stars. 

Jongin had realised that he hadn’t even been keeping track of the time. He quickly glanced at his Rolex watch and saw that time had in fact past by so quickly. They needed to head back, plus Jongin knew that his dad wanted to discuss something 'important' with him tonight, but when he looked at Mira, he knew he had to stay with her a bit longer. “Don’t tell me you haven’t seen a star before,” he playfully joked, making Mira roll her eyes.

“It’s just that you can’t see the stars from the city. I hate that, but here you can see it. It’s been a while since I saw the sky filled with stars, I forgot how beautiful it looked.” She explained.

Jongin didn’t want to disappoint Mira and tell her that they had to head back. He wanted her to enjoy this moment. He had never seen such a happy look on her face ever since he had first met her. She always seemed so down and expressionless at school, but here she was smiling and sharing things with him. She was actually talking to him without being asked to. He wanted that to last.

For now, his dad could wait. 

The only thing that he had on his mind was to make Mira happy.

He wanted her smile to last forever.