It’s time for P.E. and students starts moving to change into their tracksuits.

            “Hyunie, let’s go.” Ji Ah says.

            “Go ahead…I would just organize my things first.” Seo Hyun replies while putting her pen back inside the pen pouch.

            “Hurry up…you know Coach Kook doesn’t want starting the class late.” Yumi reminds her about their P.E teacher Kim Jong Kook who’s very enthusiastic about teaching the said subject. He’s getting excited with anything that has something to do with fitness and likes to coach a lot thus earning the nickname ‘Coach Kook’ from the students.

            “Yes, I’d be there in a moment.”

Ji Ah and Yumi rushes to the locker room to change clothes. Seo Hyun clears her desk by putting her notebook back inside her bag. Then she neatly lays the books inside the desk shelf. The room becomes quiet as everybody left.

What Seo Hyun didn’t know is that she’s not the only one left in the room. A few seats behind her is Yonghwa who’s still not moving from his seat. It is the first time that the two of them are left alone inside the classroom so he silently watches her from there. Seo Hyun is still not getting up even after tidying her desk. She left out a deep sigh and he knows why.

            “P.E. must be a torture for you…” Yonghwa says getting her attention.

            “Yong……” Seo Hyun just realized his presence.

Seo Hyun’s predicament regarding that subject isn’t new to Yonghwa. She’s quite clumsy and not comfortable with sports. It’s very obvious that Seo Hyun and P.E. are not a good combination.

Yonghwa got up and Seo Hyun follows him with her stares. He walks towards the desk on her side and leans his back against it. He faces her with both his hands inside his pockets.

            “I guess P.E is quite tougher here…” he says.

            “No.” she replies. “Girls there knew that I won’t be of any help so nobody wanted me in their teams. I often end up watching them from the courtside.” She says. Despite being in an all-girl school back then, Seo Hyun wasn’t able to make any friends due to her poor social skills. Nobody wants to be her partner or get her in their teams so she used to do the activities alone. When her parents found out about this, her mother went to talk with the school administrator and after that, the teacher just let her watch from the side without requiring her to participate which gives her a huge relief that time.

Yonghwa grins. He can imagine the scenario she just said.

            “Today’s high jump.” He says mentioning the physical activity waiting for them in the school gym.

            “And vaulting box…….definitely my favorite.” She adds with sarcasm. She sighs turning Yonghwa’s grin into an amused chuckle.

            “Alright, come with me.” He says and grabs her hand.

They exit the room.

_________________________________________________________________

            “Aren’t we supposed to change into P.E uniforms?” Seo Hyun asks as they reach the school backyard. She wonders why Yonghwa leads her here.

            “That’s not necessary….All you need is this.” Yonghwa takes off his uniform coat and ties it around her waist.

            “What are you doing? We should hurry to the gym now or else, Mr. Kim will nag us.”

            “Don’t mind about JK….We’re not going there.” he utters under his breath.

Seo Hyun’s forehead creases. Yonghwa looks at her.

            “We’ll ditch class.” He tells her.

            “H-huh?!”

            “You don’t wish to do the high jump and vaulting box, are you? Well, here’s the other option.”

            “We are going to ditch class? You mean…for real?” asks Seo Hyun whose still couldn’t believe what she just heard.

            “Yeah. It’s healthy to ditch class every now and then.” He answers in a determine tone.

Seo Hyun thinks for a moment. Ditching is wrong and she had never done that during her early years even though there were times that she hated attending the school. However this time, she’s not really aiming to do well in class. She was given time to experience life differently from what she had and not to graduate high school again so why hesitate? She’s here to choose the options she didn’t choose before….there’s no reason for her to let this option to pass.

            “Okay…Let’s ditch school.” She agrees. “How are we going to do that?”

            “We just have to jump over.” Yonghwa responds and Seo Hyun turns to the thing he’s talking about.

“We are going to jump over that……WALL?” she says with mixed shock and anxiety.

“Yup.” His voice is filled with certainty with no hint of worry.

The wall is not that tall to begin with but the idea of actually jumping over a wall horrifies Seo Hyun.

            “Do you trust me?” Yonghwa asks her.

Seo Hyun blinks a few times.

            “Umm…I uh…I believe so….”

Yonghwa secretly smiles as he noticed her fidgeting. He crouches a bit and places one palm on top of the other.

            “Step here and climb up.” He instructs her.

Seo Hyun awkwardly did what he said.

            “Don’t look!” she warns him despite his coat tied around her which serves as a cover of her skirt.

            “Not seeing a thing.” he responds, making sure that he’s eyeing only the ground. 

Seo Hyun sits on top of the wall.

            “Yong….”

            “Wait…”

Yonghwa takes a few steps behind then surges towards the wall. He managed to climb up quickly. Seo Hyun’s admiration for him increased because he made climbing a wall looks so effortless. She suddenly compares him with that superhero which has been famous a few years ago.

What is that superhero’s name again? It’s like he’s sort of an insect….Ah! Spiderman! Yong is definitely like Spiderman.---she thought.

            “Hyun!”

Her bubble bursts as Yonghwa calls her. He’s already on the ground.

            “Let’s get you down from there.” He adds. Yonghwa puts his hands on both sides of her waist while she has her hands on his shoulders. Seo Hyun goes down carefully and Yonghwa got her. Their eyes meet the moment her feet touches the ground.

            “Have you ditched school before?” she asks him.

            “Nope. It’s my first time too…” he says. “Ready?” he asks after.

She nods.

_________________________________________________________________

The weather is beautiful and it is the perfect time to have frozen sweets. Yonghwa treats her with a big bowl of delicious patbingsu. The dessert store is not crowded so they take their time in eating the ice goodie while chatting and enjoying the view from that porch.

Next they headed to the nearest billiard hall. There Yonghwa shows Seo Hyun how to play pool. Once again, she’s amazed to know how good his skills are when it comes to this game.

They decided to play against each other. Seo Hyun concentrates well and does everything according to what Yonghwa taught her a little while ago. To both their surprise, she manage to put the ball straight to the hole in an instant. Her first score motivates her therefore, her competitive steaks comes out. Yonghwa bite his lower lip as Seo Hyun scores one after another.

            “I think you’re a hustler. You really know how to play pool and you just told me you don’t, right?” he mutters.

            “What?! I never played pool before…….” She insists. Even she is surprised with her performance.  “But I think I’m a prodigy….” She adds with a chuckle.

            “Yeah…after this, you might consider having a career in playing pool. You can be a famous professional pool player.”

            “Really? Alright, I’d be a pool player….how about you?”

            “Me? Of course, I’ll be your manager.” Yonghwa says with a straight face.

They laugh with the silliness of that thought.

Seo Hyun unexpectedly defeats Yonghwa in the game. Another couple approaches them for a friendly couple match.  They win thanks to Yonghwa’s flawless shots. He did a remarkable job making Seo Hyun proud. She realized that she’s not really good and she just won over Yonghwa in earlier match because he gave in to her. He’s such a gentleman she thought.

Their next stop is the shopping district. They walk around and look at different bargain stalls. Not long after, they start selecting couple mugs, socks, and eyeglasses. They also grab a pair of cell phone cases with cute prints of a couple. The guy is playing the guitar while his girlfriend is watching him on the other one. They continue to walk and see a stall of fancy couple rings. Seo Hyun feels sorry because it’s Yonghwa’s money they keep on spending. They left their bags at school and sadly, Seo Hyun’s wallet and phone are in her bag. When Yonghwa tries to browse at the rings, she stops him.

            “Why?” he asks.

            “This is enough…” she says talking about the things they bought.

            “But we don’t have rings yet….I really want to get a ring for you.”

            “You keep spending your money….I couldn’t help you pay since I don’t have my wallet now.” She’s forced to say what’s bugging her.

Yonghwa smiles.

            “Is that what you’re worried about?” he places his hands in her shoulders. “It’s our date….The man should never let the woman pay. I will be the one to feel sorry if you spend even just a single penny. Please, leave it to me…”

Yonghwa’s eyes show that he really meant it so Seo Hyun just nod. They settle for a pair of ring with simple design. Yonghwa puts it on her and so is she.

They continue strolling around when suddenly people starts to assemble.

            “O.M.G! CNBlue is here!” a high school girl yells to her friends.

Seo Hyun and Yonghwa gazes at each other.

There are lightings and cameras around.

            “It seems like they’re shooting an MV.” Yonghwa utters.

They stand along the crowd and watch. The CNBlue members are really there and they’re just walking around while the cameras are following them. They reward the fans with their dashing smiles. Seo Hyun thinks that each of them look so handsome and appealing……Head turners indeed. No wonder they have a strong impact on women especially the teens like Ji Ah and Yumi.

The leader, Jung Yong Hwa passes by in front of them and the girls scream loudly.

            “Ah…..he’s, that’s Jung Yong Hwa…..” Seo Hyun utters.

            “What, you prefer that Yong Hwa now?” Yonghwa asks playfully.

Seo Hyun smiles and raises her hand to show her ring finger.

            “This ring is finer than any real diamonds combined because the man I share it with….there’s only one him in this world.”

Yonghwa couldn’t help but smile with her statement. The fact that Seo Hyun only has eyes for him makes him really happy.

            “I told you I can’t ride bicycles…” Seo Hyun voices out while eyeing the bicycles that Yonghwa rented.

She once mentioned to him that she never learned how to ride a bicycle because she had been prevented by her parents. Watching other people riding bicycles brings her jealousy because they all look happy and free with that two-wheeled vehicle. No matter how much she wanted to ride it, her mother often tells her that a woman should never drive such thing because it’s ‘unladylike’.Good thing they didn’t fully neglect her so they let her ride it as long as she’s not the one driving it.

            “C’mon, I’ll teach you.” Yonghwa hands it over.

Seo Hyun holds the handlebars with confused look in her face but Yonghwa guides her well. He makes sure that he’s there to assist her and hold the bike as she starts pedaling.

            “Yong…” there’s worry in her voice.

            “I got you, I got you…”

            “Don’t let me go…”

            “I won’t.” he tells her with assurance.

With Seo Hyun’s ability to pick up things easily and Yonghwa’s patient hands-on teaching, she learned it after an hour.

            “I think I can do it Yong.”

            “Should I let go now?”

            “Hm.”

Yonghwa let go of the bike carefully and Seo Hyun goes on her own.

            “Are you still there?......Did you let go?” Seo Hyun asks without looking.

            “Uh-huh…”

Seo Hyun looks back and sees Yonghwa standing on a distance.

            “Holy Cow!”

Yonghwa grins wide as he hears that. Seo Hyun just used a common expression which is different from her usual ‘antique vocabulary’.

            “Yong!” Seo Hyun calls his name while driving back. She has this huge smile on her face that makes Yonghwa think that the passed hour was worth it.

            “See, you’re biking…” Yonghwa praises her.

            “Hm.” She nods happily.

            “Give me five!” he says.

Seo Hyun slaps palms with him.

They enjoy biking around the park. There are instances in which they try to outrun each other that end up with laughter. Seo Hyun fills her lungs with the cool night wind. Today is such a wonderful day. Everything is great and perfect…..she’s never been this happy….free. Who would have thought that ditching school can be this fun?

Seo Hyun loosen her grip on the bike’s handlebars…..little by little….she smiles. Yonghwa sees this and he smiles too….but, isn’t it too risky for a beginner like her to do? He glances forward and notices a crack on the pavement.

            “Hyun, hold the bars!” he tells her but Seo Hyun reacted late. Her bicycle’s front wheel sways when it hits the chipped pavement.

            “Oh….” She tries to navigate the bars but fails. She stumbles to the ground.

            “Hyun!” Yonghwa quickly goes to her. He helps her to get up. “Are you alright?” he asks with concern.

            “I’m fine….” She immediately responds. She didn’t fall that badly so she thinks it’s not a big deal at all. Yonghwa’s eyes go down and see her scraped knee.

            “Your knee…it is bleeding.” He utters.

Seo Hyun looks at her knee and indeed it is bleeding.

            “Uh…” the stinging feeling now hits her.

Yonghwa brushes off the dirt from her scratched knee.

            “Let’s sit first.” He says and leads her to the playground swing.

Seo Hyun sees Yonghwa running back to her with a small paper bag in his hand. He hurried to the nearest drugstore to get meds for her knee. He immediately squats down in front of her and uncaps the Betadine solution.

            “This will sting a bit but try to bear it…” he says and starts to apply some to her wound.

Seo Hyun quietly observes him. In her old days, her mother will definitely turn into frenzy once she learns that she hurt herself like this. They couldn’t let their precious daughter to get bruised that’s why she lived like a fragile mannequin then. However, now it’s different….Yonghwa is so concerned and attends to her without getting angry for her recklessness. He’s fully concentrated in aiding her knee in which he carefully blows mildly.

He has the most beautiful soul she had met…..so beautiful that it breaks her heart. How could he exist in a different time than her? Why didn’t she meet him earlier? How wonderful life must have been if he was born in her time….Knowing that everything she’s sharing with him now are only borrowed and can’t be owned brings pain in her chest.Once she left, he too will forget her…everything about her will vanish without a trace. At first she thought that giving in to her greed will be fine since he will forget her….he will be exempted from the pain but now it pinches her heart…..she will be wiped out from the mind and heart of her love. It hurts more than this wound she got from that bicycle fall.

Yonghwa finishes it by sticking a band-aid.

            “There…” he looks up to her and sees her eyes clouded with tears. “Hyun…..” the wound probably hurts badly he thought.

            “Yong…” tears roll down her face. Please don’t forget me…..

Yonghwa carefully wipes her tear away with his thumb. They let their eyes do the talking.

Yonghwa crosses the distance between them. The space between their faces becomes thinner and thinner. Seo Hyun closes her eyes and feels Yonghwa’s warm lips presses against hers.

You’re indeed a selfish person Seo Joo Hyun…she admits to herself as another tear managed to escape her closed eyes and run along her cheek.