CHAPTER 22

Shin Hye POV

May 28th

Ahhh, I couldn’t get any sleep last night. I can’t forget about the kiss, the confession, just everything. I can’t stop smiling. Whenever I am with him, I forget my condition, my fears and worries.

Today will be our first official date. I’m so thrilled and excited. He said he was going to pick me up at one. It's already twelve and I’m not even dressed. Oh my gosh..at least my hair is still fine from yesterday. I don’t know what to wear..Oh that’s right! I bought some dresses two days ago. So I guess the beige one will work.

I quickly put on the dress and my chunky heels.  It is almost one. I feel so nervous. Hopefully I don’t do anything wrong.  I waited outside on the steps and exactly at one he arrived. He parked the car and he came out. He walked around the car and went by the passenger’s side. He opened the door and said, “You may enter.” I quickly stood up and went down the steps.

We both stood there awkwardly. I don’t know what do, my heart is thumping so much.

“Thank you..” I bowed my head. I entered the car and put on my seatbelt on. He entered the driver’s side.

“How are you?”

“Huh? Oh I’m..excited..” I couldn’t help my smiling.

“Really?” He said enthusiastically. “The famous Park Shin Hye is excited to be with the nobody Jung Yong Hwa. I’m so lucky.”

No, I’m lucky. I stared out the window because my awkwardness was overwhelming me.

He started the car and began to drive.

“So..um..where are we going?”

“You’ll see…in the meanwhile you want to put on the radio?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Anything you want.”

“I’ll leave it on this station. Who sings this?”

“It’s Exo.”

“Exo?”

“It’s okay if you don’t know.”

“Wow, their voices are so good.” I don’t know much about current kpop because when I was at the hospital for a year I didn’t listen to music.I was scared, afraid and a bit angry. The first time I heard music was when Yong Hwa played his guitar in the hospital.

“What’s this song called?”

“Sing for you.” Yong Hwa chuckled.

“Ohh.”

“We are here!” Yong Hwa parked his car. That was a fast car ride.

I look around the surroundings. It’s the same place as yesterday. Well, I didn’t expect much and it does have a romantic feel to it.

“Are you surprised?” he asked me with a smile on his face.

“A little, haha.”

“I just thought this place would be perfect for our first date.  Remember, if you want to ever clear your mind come here. It’s very relaxing here.” I nod my head. I’ll keep that in mind.

We are out of the car.

“Let’s go!” He said in an animated tone. I don’t know exactly where we are going but I will just follow.

Unknowingly, our bodies and hands kept colliding. I don’t know what to do, so much physical contact that I am not used to. Yong Hwa stopped walking.

“Something..wrong?” I looked up at him with my eyes wide open. He smirked. My heart can’t take it. He’s so handsome. Yong Hwa pulled his hand out and placed it in front of me. I saw his eyes focusing on my hands. Should I? I slowly placed my hand on top of his. He immediately grabbed my hand and we started to hold hands.

“This is better.” He said soothingly. The breeze relaxed our hearts and minds. We started to walk again.

We arrived at a willow tree. Everything was prepared. A red and white checkered blanket was placed on top of the grass. A big picnic basket and an acoustic guitar was on top of the blanket.  

I was so amazed. I didn’t expect this.

“Are you hungry?”

I nod my head.

We sat down on the blanket.

“This is nice..” I smiled cheerfully.

“Let’s eat!” he started to take out the food out of the basket.

“Yess!” I lightly clapped.

We began to eat. He is very gentle with the way he eats. He doesn’t chew loudly or makes a mess.

“Mm, this is so good! Did you cook it yourself?”

“Of course...not! Haha.”

“Awe, I was really hoping that it was you who cooked this food.” I pouted.

“Stop being so cute. I was just scared that it would taste bad and it would ruin our first date.”

“Mhmm, you’re right. The oatmeal you did once was..alright.” I said in a serious tone.

“How can I make it better, your highness?” He bowed. I chuckled. He was being such a sweetheart. I just shrugged.

“C’mon tell me, I want to make the best oatmeal for the great Shin Hye.”

“It’s a secret.” I placed my index finger on my mouth.

“Secret? Oh c’mon.”

“I’ll tell you in a few months. Just like you did with me, you didn’t tell me that you were my fan until now.” I crossed my arms.

“I was waiting for the right moment…I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“I made you feel uncomfortable…”

“Sometimes, but that uncomfortable feeling made me work harder for you. I just want to see you happy.”

“I appreciate it.” I smiled sweetly towards him. His words and actions go together. Yong Hwa cleared his throat and suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Shin Hye, let’s enjoy these moments together and let us cherish it forever.”

“Forever..” I muttered. He took his guitar, “I hope you like this song I composed for you. Just remember this song if you are ever feeling down or you just want to give up. This is especially for you.”

I nod my head. I want to hear it and keep it close to my heart.

“It’s called Give me a Smile. I’m going to start, haha. I’m so nervous. Ok here I go.  

    Give me a smile, don’t be sad

It’s going to be alright, don’t shed tears . The song that I am singing now. I hope that it can bring you a bit of comfort. Give me a smile, don’t get hurt. It’s going to be alright, although you are going through a hard time now.Time will pass. Everything will look up again. Give me a smile, I am right here by your side

I love you, can you hear my heart? No matter what, I believe you .I am always here for you. Give me a smile, look into my eyes. I love you, I have always been looking at your heart. It has never changed .You can lean on my shoulders, take a rest

Give me a smile. Give me a smile, don’t get hurt. It’s going to be alright, although you are going through a hard time now.Time will pass. Everything will look up again.Give me a smile, I am right here by your side. I love you, can you hear my heart?No matter what, I believe you. I am always here for you.Give me a smile, look into my eyes.I love you, I have always been looking at your heart.It has never changed.You can lean on my shoulders, take a rest.Give me a smile.I am here for you, me who believes in you always and forever.

His unique voice, his sincerity,and passion was overflowing. He looked at me with endearing and caring eyes. I was mesmerized, he is so enchanting and charming. It was just us, here today without interruption. The atmosphere was light and warm.

“Did you like it?” he shyly asked me.

I was speechless. I don’t know how to express myself.

I nodded my head. “Thank you, YongHwa. I’ll remember it.”

“Time for dessert!” Yong hwa exclaimed.

“Yay!” He took out a pint of strawberry coconut ice cream. Oh,that ice cream. I remember that day. He handed me a spoon.

“You don’t mind sharing, right?”

“I don’t mind,hehe.” We started to take spoonfuls of the ice cream. “Mmm, so good!”

“Is this your favorite flavor now?”

“Maybe..I still have to think about it.”

“Aye, Shin Hye. I need to know.  So next time, I ..won’t get this one.”

“Yah.” I playfully hit his arm.  

After eating half of the pint of coconut milk ice cream, we both decided to lay down and let the sun hug us with it’s warmth.

“Ah, this is relaxing.”

“Yeah, I want to take a nap.”

“Am I boring you?”

“Maybe..”

“Yah, Shin Hye.” Yong Hwa chuckled. “I guess, I can’t entertain the famous Shin Hye.”

“I like this.”

“Huh?”

“I like how it is right now. It’s calm and everything is going to be alright. I know it will.”

“It will, Shin Hye. Can I ask you something?”

“Mmm.”

“Do you still have troubling thoughts, you know with food?”

“To be honest with you, I haven’t really thought about restricting food, well now. I’m just eating without a care. The only thing that has triggered me  is the way my body looks and how I feel. When I first committed myself to eat 3,000 calories and more my stomach hurt. I began to feel more tired, but that was because all the food I ate when to repairing my bones, cells, organs, and my digestive system. I’m still in the process. I don’t want to have a relapse. It’s just annoying to have clothes that don’t really fit you because my body right now is so not proportionate. But that’s okay, what’s more important is to be happy with life and all the positive things that I have.” Wow, I didn’t expect to be so talkative right now. This is the most I have said to him since I met him.

“Shin Hye, you’re so strong. Don’t forget that. You know, I don’t even notice the way your body looks. You’re so full of life right now from when I met you. You’ve done well. What people notice is your attitude and the attitude you have right now is perfect. Continuing loving life and yourself. Why don’t we talk about all the positive things? Let’s see. I’ll start. You’re beautiful, you can play the piano,  and you can sing. What else?”

“Aye, you’re exaggerating.  Hmm.. I have lots of people that love me like, Kahi, my dad I guess, your mom and Ailee, I guess.. Oh and my fans.” The sun was brightly shining down on us and the wind that rushed by was refreshing.

“You’re forgetting about someone…” Yong Hwa pouted.

“I don’t think so…” I said innocently.

“Are you sure about that?”

I rolled over to his side and whispered in his ear. “And I have you,fool. I would never forget that.” I surprised him with sweet kiss on the cheek and rolled back to my position.

“You’re becoming really smooth like peanut butter.”

“YongHwa.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re weird.” Yong Hwa laughed at my response.

“Have you chose your song yet?”

“...No…”

“You don’t have much time left to practice.”

“I wasn’t inspired these months. I’ve been listening to some Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mozart. I haven’t found a piece that really gets to me.”

“Do you think you will be first place and beat that guy?”

“Do you want me to beat him?”

“Of course.”

“Haha. Okay then.”

“I’m only kidding.I know that you don’t play in those competitions to beat anybody. You just want to share your interpretation of the music. I appreciate that.”

“Thank you.” There was a comfortable silence until I started to speak again.

“Yong Hwa?”

“Yes?”

“Would you come to my competition?”

“Of course! I thought that was a given.”

“Promise?” I put my pinky in front of his face. He wrapped his pinky around mine.

“I promise.”

The sky began to darken and the clouds started to race and cover the sky. The sound of thunder prevailed through the skies. Huge raindrops splattered on our faces.

“What is this? I didn’t think it would rain today. I’m sorry Shin Hye.” We both stood up and grabbed our things.

“Don’t worry about it. You don’t control the weather.”

“Let’s stay under this willow tree. This is probably just a short rain shower.”

I nodded my head. We sat under the willow tree. He put his arm around me and held me in his embrace. He smelled so good. His perfume is manly but at the same time it was sweet.

“Yong Hwa?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you sing me that Exo song we heard in the car? I kind of forgot how it went..”

“Hahah. Oh okay, it's called Sing For You. It’s a sad song.”

“I’m a er for sad songs.”

“I see, haha. Ok here I go.”

He grabbed the guitar and started to sing. Let’s stay like this YongHwa. I want to be with you forever. I hope one day I can be somebody you can depend on too.

As he finished the song, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine.

“Weird weather, huh?” YongHwa muttered. I stood up and came out of the willow tree.

“Omo, YongHwa! Look there’s a rainbow. Oh my gosh. I need my phone!” I went to grab my phone. YongHwa stood up also and took his phone out.

Side by side, we looked at the marvelous rainbow. Everything will be alright. This rainbow assured me of this. It was my first time seeing a rainbow and I’m so glad that it was with YongHwa.

“When it rains..” YongHwa began to say while trying to focus his camera on the rainbow.

“Look for rainbows”I finished his sentence. “Oh, we should take a selca!”

“Good thinking famous Park Shin Hye.”

“Yah Yong Hwa, you take it my arm is too short.” He took my phone.

“Alrighty, you ready?”

“Yes!”

A/n: Hey guys! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Yongshin filled! Just wanted to remind you to think about all the positive things in your life! It will help! Also, you are worth itand you are a valuable human being. So don't feel insecure about yourself and embrace your imperfections!And don't forget to comment. For future readers, don't be afraid to comment! It is very appreciated! I love hearing your feedback.