By the time Hana got out of the washroom it was already 11:30 which meant she had less than an hour to get dressed and make it to the park before she crosses the dead line to their meeting. Putting on her shoes, she carefully descended the stairs, cautious to not make noise and attract the attention of the lady outside. She wanted to save her aunt the embarrassment of her niece catching her smoking and slipped out the back door but not before sticking a note which held her scribbles explaining the cause of her absence. Breeze brushed past her bare neck as she walked out the house and turned the corner towards the park. She was almost near her destination and she could see all sorts of rides for kids in the play area. The park was flowing with children running back and forth between rides with their mothers either running at their sides making sure their little angel won’t trip or fall while some sat on the benches, witnessing their bundles of joy enjoy themselves from a safe distance.

Hana had her hands tucked inside the pockets of her dark grey jacket as she walked nearer to the park. Kids ran past her, chasing each other just for the sake of it and Hana could see women, most likely their mothers, scrutinizing every move their child made. The weather despite being a bit chilly was still lovely, the atmosphere was jolly and the bright laughter of children that filled the air was more than enough to put anyone to a good mood. Hana however, didn’t think so. She didn’t relish the feeling of the perfect day that was presented to her. Instead she was pained by the very thought of it. the shining sun was serving as nothing but a nuisance to her as it kept shinning in her eyes, the breeze made her regret not tying her hair as it was now her locks were flying wild and lastly, the giggles of the beings that surrounded her gave her nothing but pain and recollection of memories she tried so hard not to remind herself of. There was a cackle of laughter heard and instinctively turning towards it she saw a boy happily his chocolate cone while bursting into fits of mirth as he devoured the sweet dairy with his mother smiling affectionately towards her son and savoring the moment of her child’s happiness. A high pitched shriek from another direction had Hana divert her attention from the heart-warming scene. She saw a little girl with red puffy eyes and a running nose sobbing hysterically while her mother blew on her daughter’s knee that had been scraped due to an ugly fall, before enveloping her into a hug as she whispered soothing words into her daughter’s ear. Such an affectionate exchange that was witnessed by Hana gave her no feeling of warmth. Memories of her mother tending her wounds flashed before her, of how her father used to give her a ride on his shoulders and take around the park. She found it ridiculous. She was envious of these children who probably hadn’t even crossed the 10 year age mark; pathetic indeed.

She didn’t want to shut off the sweet memories of her childhood, a childhood that was filled with nothing but joy and most of all, her parents. Looking at the little girl she remembered how her mother used to bake her favorite cookies whenever she was sad, or how her father used to take her out for sundae on every Sunday. He found it funny to have sundae on a Sunday and Hana remembered him laughing about it the first time he said the joke out loud while she and mother gave him judging looks.

She saw the affectionate exchange before her with great bitterness and asked God what sins she had committed that He took her parents away at such a tender age, just when she needed the warmth of her mother the most, just when she wanted to feel safe in her father’s embrace. But it was all lost now and she believed it all to be her fault. If it wasn’t for her stubborn attitude her parents would be right next to her.

She recalled the events of that ungrateful day with much vexation and clenched onto the fabric of her coat as she bit back every urge that provoked her to break down. But she could not- would not, allow herself to display her weak side in front of an audience, especially not in a public place such as a park with kids running around everywhere. Therefore she took a deep breath and slowly released it, creating a pattern of smoke as she did so and blinked several times to clear her eyes of any unnecessary liquid that may threaten to befall her cheeks before turning her back towards the playground, blocking it out of sight completely.

Her change in position had her facing the road and was surprised to find a familiar figure running towards her. The boy looked extremely out of breath and by the time he reached her, the poor man was already panting hard and the redness of his face showed that it had indeed been quite a while that he had been on his one man marathon. What caught her off guard was not that the boy had brushed past her but it was that merely four steps after he had crossed her, he fell on his back on the grass. She could see his chest move rapidly in an up down motion and carefully walked towards the lying figure.

Stopping a few steps away from the body she gently nudged his side with her foot but he only moved in response to the movement she had created and then ceased to move at all. After a seconds though, he did open his eyes and what met his sight was not a hand but a bright screen with text, due to being too close to his face, he couldn’t make out. So he pushed the screen back a bit form his face and when he read what the girl in front had typed, his eyes widened in alarm.

‘There are bugs in the grass. If you don’t want ants crawling in your hair I suggest you get up.’

Hana found the speed at which he rose from his position quite amusing and the way he ruffled his hair to get rid of bugs equally entertaining. Her stoic expression did not give her away but if one was to look carefully into her eyes, they’d see the small spark. The spark, as minute as it was, was not missed by Lay and upon realizing his actions, laughed at his own stupidity. He greeted her with a sheepish smile and she returned with a nod of acknowledgement. He explained the cause of his breathlessness and his not so presentable attire. He explained how his soccer practice got pulled a little longer than usual and how horrible it was to make a girl as pretty as herself, wait all alone in the park.

“So right after the coach left I ran out of the shower room after getting dressed and came straight here. I was hoping to be able to change before I came but, oh well.”

Hana though, could not understand why he thought his outfit as not presentable. He wore a white deep neck shirt with black graphics on top of which he had a hoodie zipped halfway. He had dark blue jeans as bottoms and paired with matching black high tops, Hana deemed his outfit to be very casual and easy.

“I’m surprised the others aren’t here yet. Kyungsoo should’ve been here by now.”

A hand suddenly grabbed Lay’s wrist, successfully twisting his arm behind his back and as the victim made repetitive indications of pain and inconvenience, Kyungsoo was to have none of it.

“You little brat! You lied to me!”

“Technically I’m taller than y- OW!”

“You told me Hana agreed!”

“But she did! She’s standing right here!” he nodded towards the, now very confused Hana in front of him. Kyungsoo looked over at the girl, gave her a smile and proper greetings while having his friend in the painful position, before returning his attention back to Lay. Rather than letting go, Kyungsoo gave it one hard pull before he finally released his lock. Lay held his sore arm while shooting his friend a dirty look.

“The heck was that for?” Lay asked annoyed and Kyungsoo only shrugged.

“You deserved it anyways.”

“Why you little-“

They were interrupted when a figure suddenly walked past the two, straight form between them and raised a hand in front of Hana.

“Ms. Hana, am I right?” he asked and the girl eyed him weirdly before slowly nodding once. His smile grew wider as she placed her hand in his for a shake.

“Nice to meet you, Madame.”

“Cut it out Baekhyun, you’re scaring her.” Baekhyun turned towards Kyungsoo and gave him a look.

“Yeah, like your stunt just now wasn’t. In fact it was so delightful that it puts unicorns to shame.”

“What’s with the sudden mention of unicorns?”

Hana stared at the 3 figures that stood at distance from her. She wasn’t sure how the argument began and how it had now turned into a discussion of unicorns but she found it quite amusing. However, they were getting louder, and they were in a public place and having children gawk at a bunch of 18 year olds arguing about a mythical creature was the last thing she wanted. Since clearing wasn’t enough to catch their attention she simply walked closer to the trio and after clapping twice, they finally paid attention to her.

They looked at her with questioning gazes whereas she just coked her eyebrow and stared back with a blank expression. There was a sudden, almost inaudible rumble and Baekhyun flushed while holding onto his stomach. His two friends gave him cheeky grins before Lay’s stomach growled causing him to turn into a shade of red as now it was Baekhyun’s moment of victory. Another stomach made complains and the two boys instinctively looked at the wide eyed lad who immediately raised his hands in defense.

“Hey, it wasn’t me.” Kyungsoo said in a defensive tone and after the same sound was heard once more, they reluctantly turned towards the Hana whose face colored. She took a few steps back and cleared nervously.

“So….. I’m guessing it’s a sign we should eat? Can’t keep a pretty lady hungry now can we?”

~