Hayley:

“Sit down and stop moving” Mark playfully hit my foot so I would stop moving around, he was squatting down on the floor and I was sitting on one of the larger stones as he was tying my shoe laces. I admired his features as he was looping the laces together, “One bunny ear,” he held made the first loop “The dog chased the bunny around,” he wrapped the lace around the so-called bunny ear “Two bunny ears, the bunny is now safe”  he tucked the second loop through and looked up at me. I laughed at the rhyme which brought back thousands of memories, we knew each other since we were kids our mothers were best friends and they met each other 3-4 times a week and brought us along.

-Flashback-

“Hayley dear this is Mark, Auntie Jenny’s son say hello” I peeked from behind my mum’s back to see a boy who has auburn-brown hair with bright brown eyes that was looking at me and I looked up at my mum. “Come on I’m sure he wants to say hello too” she held my hand and stood behind me, seeing I was shy she squatted down and waved my hand for me “hello my name is Hayley” she imitated my voice and Mark started to laugh showing his tiny pearly white teeth “Hi Hayley I’m Mark lets go to the playground together” he grabbed my hand and ran to the slide. I could hear our mothers laughing and giggling taking a seat on the benches, I looked at Mark who already climbed the stairs to the slide and he reached out his hand to help me up as the steps were a big high. Ever since then that spot inbetween the steps and the slide was our special spot where our mothers could not see us, that was also where Mark’s shoe laces came loose and I thought him that rhyme so he would remember how to tie his laces, “You’re good at this” he pointed as I was demonstrating on my own shoes “Of course! I might just grow up to be a shoe-lacer!” I said proudly “What’s that?” he looked at me puzzled with one eyebrow cocked making him look goofy “Hahahaha its someone who helps others tie shoe-laces” I said while helping him tie his shoelaces giving up on teaching him “I think I’m going to grow up and become your boyfriend Hayley!” he stood up and went down the slide a bit embarrassed with what he said.

-Flashback ended-

“Hayley yahh Hayley-ah” he said waving his hand in front of me, I pushed his hand away and smiled at me full of nostalgia “You still remember that rhyme?” I gently swung my feet to kick him “why not you’re the one who taught me that if not I would probably never know how to tie my laces and I’d have to hire you as my personal shoe-lacer” he chuckled and squeezed next to me on the rock “Yahhh Mark shut up!” I pretended to push him off the rock “Okay, okay okay I’ll shut up now” he put his arm around me so he won’t fall off the rock “I was young okay I didn’t know anything you were older you could have told me that such a thing didn’t exist right” “I could have but I didn’t want to because you were so cute at that point, you shared with me your dream and I didn’t want to burst your bubble” he smiled charmingly “Oh yeah talking about dreams Mark, you never told me about yours ever,” I stopped to think and continued “now to think of it… you’ve never mentioned yours at all and I’ve known you since I was 5!” I turned to look at his face but I could tell he was hiding something from me.

“Hey I just remembered something I need to buy something for my sister! Come with me please you know what she likes” he shot up and brisk walked away. I chuckled at his failed attempt to change the subject but I won’t rest until has told me his.  “This looks cute doesn’t it?” Mark pulled me to look at a hairpin that had a pink fluffy poodle and I stared at him “Well… is it cute?” “Yeah, pretty cute for a three year old. Mark, your sister is like 15 I’m sure she doesn’t want a poodle on her head” “Okay fine” he pouted and put the clip back but shot back again this time with a bracelet “This Hayley this one is perfect!” he shoved it at my face “Oh its really pretty” I admired it, it was a charm bracelet that has multiple charms already on it some of the charms was a sunflower, a guitar and one with an initial ‘M’ on it which was perfect for her since her name also starts with an M. “She will love this” I handed it back to him “Okay wait for me I will pay for this and we can go” I nodded and went out of the tight space opposite a patbingsoo store and went in attracted by the adorable vintage theme.

“Hayley I told you to wait outside not wander off” I didn’t reply him as I continued to stare at the menu that was bombarded by the different patbingsoo flavours“Want one?” I nodded and looked at him pouting so he would buy me one it was so tempting and there were so many to choose from there was a berry one, a mocha chip one and even a create your own patbingsoo! “don’t do that you know I can’t say no like this, okay quickly choose one before I change my mind he covered his eyes so he couldn’t see my pouting face “Hmmm I don’t know Mark there is a chocolate lovers one that has choco-balls, chocolate chips and drizzled with hot fudge,” I could feel my mouth salivate “then there is berry berry sweet that has strawberries, raspberries and blackberries ahhhhhh why are they doing this to me!” I could see Mark laugh “Okay I know how bout’ we create one on our own so you can have both chocolate and strawberry!” My eyes lit up at the sound of that combination. “Hah what am I going to do with you Hayley he took out his wallet and ordered it, the lady directed us to the counter that provided all the different ingredients.

“Wow there is so much to choose from” I wanted to throw everything onto our bowl of shaved ice “calm down one at a time, ok first the condensed milk” he poured it on the ice and before he was about to put it back I shouted unconsciously “more!” he chuckled and pinched my cheeks “fine more but if I die of diabetes you need to take care of me forever” he poured more than I wanted but it didn’t matter because the main thing was the strawberries “this one and this one and this one and this one and this one….oh and this one not forgetting this one” I said putting every ingredient that I wanted including some other fruits, sweet rice cakes and more rice cakes of course, berries, chocolate and some red beans because patbingsoo would not be patbingsoo with some red beans. Mark stood behind me trying to get out of my way of choosing the ingredients and he was laughing the entire time “Mark if you’re going to keep laughing I will eat it all on my own” I held my precious shaved ice and walked to the window seat “I bought it you know” he started laughing again “fineee but it’s because I’m nice to share it with you will not be able to taste this beauty” I scooped a mouthful and put it in front of his mouth “hmmmm oh my god this is surprisingly very good!” he ate it and savoured it “of course I made it…and wait what surprisingly you’re so mean, no more for you” “I was just joking, I knew you were capable of such a creation!” I unwillingly accept his ‘apology-compliment’ and fed him another mouthful this time with mainly ice so he would freeze to death hahahahah. “Hayley you did it on purpose ahhhh it’s so coldddd!” he put his hand on his cheeks as if it could warm his now frozen mouth. Finally it was my turn to laugh at him.

After eating we were walking and reached the playground that we used to play on, “Hayley let’s play!” he made a baby voice and climbed up the stairs to our special spot and I followed him still full from the mountain of ingredients I put on my patbingsoo. “Oh I remember this spot this is where I taught you how to die your stupid laces” I eyed him and laughed “and this is also where I told you my dream Hayley” Mark took my hand and started to become all serious “Why are you being so serious Mark?” “I told you right here my dream, my dream is to become your boyfriend Hayley the one that can constantly be with you, to protect you and make you smile. So Hayley…” he trailed off taking a bracelet that looked similar to the one in the store “Will you be my girlfriend?” I nodded and he wrapped his arms around me with my head resting on his chest as he kissed the top of my head, I snuggled on his chest and looked at the bracelet. It was just like the one he chose for his sister just that it had different charms, he let go off me and pointed to the daisy charm “I know how much you like daisies so I chose this one, then…” he laughed and I smacked his arm “okay, this is a shoe well there wasn’t a shoe lace so this is the closest it gets, this reminds me of how your taught me to tie my shoe, this…”  he pointed to two charms that has different initials that were  separated by a heart shaped charm “is us, M and H, Mark loves Hayley so you will always remember that I love you” he smiled and I kissed his cheek “Thanks Mark, I love it, I love it a lot!” I snuggled back onto his chest seeing that he was still shock from the peck “I love you too Mark… always” I could feel a smile forming on his face as he put his arms around me once more “I love you too, my shoe-lacer.”