*knock knock knock*

       “Oh—annyeonghaseyo!” Dongwoo greeted with a smile as you showed up at their dorm. “Sungyeol-ah, your friend’s here,” he called, predicting the reason you were there. “Come in, come in,” he invited.
       You took off your shoes and stood by the door. Dongwoo called over his shoulder, “Sungyeol-ah! Don’t make people wait, it’s impolite of—”
       “I’m right here,” Sungyeol interuppted as he appeared rather suddenly, startling Dongwoo. Dongwoo excused himself seconds after.
       “Annyeong,” Sungyeol greeted you, smiling cutely.
       “Annyeong,” you smiled in return.
       “Put your shoes back on, we’re going out. There’s nothing to do here today,” he said as he reached for his own shoes out of the nearby pile.

                                                  ~*~

      “Ahh~ It’s so nice out!” Sungyeol said as he stretched out his arms. “So, what did you want to do today?”
       “Eh? But you—I don’t know, you were the one who said we were going out, so I thought you had a plan,” you answered.
       “Really? I guess that’s true,” he laughed. “Well, I’m okay with hanging out if you are.”
       “That’s fine with me.” You didn’t really care what you did, as long as you could be next to Sungyeol.
       “Look, there’s a park!” Sungyeol pointed at the nearby playground where children shouted cheerfully at each other. He looked at you with a wide grin on his face, and you shook your head. “What? Come on, it’ll be fun!” He nagged.
       “Sungyeol, we’re not five years old,” you laughed, but while you were shaking your head, you found yourself following him toward the playground.
       “Hyuuuung!” shouted one of the boys as he ran up to Sungyeol and grabbed his hand. “Everyone, it’s Hyung!” Many of the other kids hopped off the swings and quit playing tag to run up and greet Sungyeol. Sungyeol laughed as some of them tried to tackle him, and soon the two of you were surrounded by crazy, jumping kids.
       “You know them?!” you asked.
       “Yeah, sometimes I—it’s a little embarrassing, but sometimes I come here on my day off,” he smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck. His ears became red and he chuckled as some of the kids led him over to the slide. You giggled to yourself and watched as he lifted them up to the top, one by one. Feeling a little out of place, you went to over to the swings and sat down, watching as children ran by.

       “So who’s with you, your girlfriend?” the first boy who greeted Sungyeol asked.
       “Eh? N-no! She’s just a friend.”
       “Yeah right, you like her~” the boy teased as he made a kissy face. “Ooo, kissy-kissy, *mwah*, *mwah*! ‘Oh Noona, marry me’!”
       “Hey, stop that, you!” Sungyeol teasingly threatened as he ruffled the boy’s hair. The boy laughed and asked Sungyeol to stop, but Sungyeol was too distracted by the fact that you weren’t standing next to him anymore. His eyes scanned the playground until he noticed you sitting alone on a swing. “Besides, I don’t even call her by… that…” He stopped ruffling the boy’s hair and went to see you.

      You felt a pair of hands on your back as you were suddenly being pushed, which startled you because you didn’t even notice Sungyeol had come over!
       “Sungyeol, what are you doing?” you laughed.
       “I’m pushing you, what does it look like I’m doing? You looked like you needed help,” he teased.
       “Oooh, look at the two lovebirds!” The boy from earlier came over, followed by a group of children, and teased the two of you.
       “Ahjussi, can you help me get up on the slide again?” asked a little girl. You held back a laugh at her name for Sungyeol, wondering if he really looked that old to her.
       “Hyung, play cops and robbers with us!” shouted one of the boys.
       “Everyone, leave them alone, they’re too busy being married!” teased the first boy, yet again.
       “Look you—” Sungyeol stopped pushing you and stormed over to the boy, making him scream and run away. Unfortunately, he was too slow, and Sungyeol quickly picked him up and started tickling him all over. “I. Told. You. It’s not like that!”
       “Sungyeol-ssi, you like her?” asked one of the girls who was watching as her friend got tickled to death.
       “N-no, I—” he looked over at you and you looked away shyly. “I mean, y-yes, but she’s my fr—”
       “He likes you, he likes you!” One of the kids ran up to you and patted your knee, pointing to Sungyeol as if you didn’t know who ‘he’ meant.
       “Yah! Don’t go shouting things! Agh…” Sungyeol set the boy down and pressed a hand to his forehead.
       “Noona, do you like Hyung?” asked a little boy as kids began to crowd around you instead.
       “Eh? Um…”
       “Eonnie, can you push me on the swings?”
       “S-sure,” you stood up to let the girl sit down and started pushing her.
       “Hyung, she said ‘sure’! She likes you!” Informed the kid who had patted your knee earlier.
       “Wait, what?!” You and Sungyeol both said together, causing some of the children to laugh. You looked at each other, unable to deny that you really did like each other, but too shy to admit it, too.

      One of the kids started shoving Sungyeol over, and the girl you were pushing on the swing got up, pulling your hand to make you sit down on it again. Sungyeol was led to sit in the swing next to you, and the two of you laughed as you felt tiny hands trying their best to push the two of you from behind.
       After many grunts and panting, a few of the kids gave up and went to go play with each other around the play structure. Others lagged behind to watch the two of you interact, curious to see what would happen. The first boy from earlier decided to initiate conversation.
       “If you like each other, you should hold hands.”
       Sungyeol couldn’t do anything but giggle at you shyly, his ears redder than ever.
       “We might as well do it for the kids, you whispered.” You took his hand and laughed as they cooed and awed at your gesture. Sungyeol’s hand felt very warm, but shaky.
       “Now you have to kiss.”
       “Eh!?”
       “YAH! Do you want me to tickle all of you!?” shouted Sungyeol as he stood up quickly and menacing, still holding on to your hand, you noticed. The kids took the hint and ran away, screaming gleefully as they went to join their friends, and for the first time since the two of you entered the playground, you and Sungyeol were alone.

       “Sorry about that, these kids are wild,” chuckled Sungyeol. He noticed he was still holding on to your hand and let go promptly, apologizing again, quietly. You smiled.
       “They have so much energy,” you bemused.
       “Yeah, to them, it’s like watching a drama unfold!” Sungyeol laughed.
       The two of you smiled and sat quietly for a moment. You looked down and kicked at a bit of mulch.
       “So, do you actually like me?” You asked, wanting to know the truth. You always had sort of a hunch that he did, and the way his hand shook when you held it further confirmed your theory.
       “Yeah, I do,” he answered quietly as his whole face turned red. He looked down at the ground and smiled out of embarrassment.
       Without a word, and feeling rather confident, you quickly leaned over and gave Sungyeol a peck on the check. He looked at you in surprise and immediately touched his cheek.
       “Oooh, kissy-kissy, *mwah*, *mwah*!” The boy from earlier had appeared from behind one of the play structures. He laughed maniacally and went to join his friends as you and Sungyeol stared at each other, speechless. The two of you broke into a fit of laughter.