The deal was to meet after my entrance exams. I was to stay focused and serious – then play afterwards, in the words of my aunt. 

Turning in my answer sheet, I wasn’t sure if I was confident with my efforts or if the fact that I had studied for so long and at this point, just desired to finish. However, either way, I had done what Aunt Dara wished for. 

Leaving the testing site, I went on my way to our agreed meeting place.

Once arriving, I tightened my jacket and tightened my scarf around my neck to ward off the cold. From the weather, it was easy to deduce that snow would fall sometime very soon. Yet, it wasn’t enough to keep people in their homes. Families and couples were out wandering the busy sidewalks that held interesting boutiques and restaurants. 

I breathed out to watch my breath rise into the cold air and feeling the weight of someone joining me on the bench, I looked to my left and found Jiwon. 

“Were you waiting long?”

Unlike his usual wardrobe of dark sweatshirts and caps, I noticed the effort he put in today. Pairing with a nice blue jacket with jeans, he also styled his dark short hair to match.

“Not long.” I answered with a smile.

“Hungry?” 

“Very.” I chuckled as we both got up to find a nice café in the area. 

Finding that neither Jiwon nor I were ones to be picky, we found one rather quickly and took our seats at an empty table. It was once we sat across from one another did the current situation finally occur to me. Unable to look at Jiwon, I kept my eyes looking down at the table. 

“How did your exam go?” 

With Jiwon breaking me from my empty mindedness, I grabbed the menu to appear casual. “It went well.” I flipped through the pages, barely reading the actual words of dishes listed there. 

“Seon.”

“Huh?” I finally looked up to meet his eyes.

Without saying anything, a small smile appeared on his lips. “Us meeting now isn’t that much different from when we usually see each other.” He softly reminded me.

“You’re right.” I responded, feeling my shoulders grow more relaxed. 

“Now, what would you like to eat?” 

While waiting for our lunch, I had grown comfortable unknowingly. Maybe it was due to Jiwon being kind and relatable that not once did I find myself awkward. He listened to me carefully, always responding with few words and smiles. Awfully willing to hear me go on and on about things that were insignificant but he took it all, making it seem important. 

“There’s this dessert shop that Aunt Dara and I used to go to all the time when I was younger and when my mom would be busy.” I could still remember the sweet smell of the shop as I think of it. 

“Used to?”

“We don’t have time anymore and it is a far trek to make just for some cupcakes.” I chuckled. “But, most of my memories were made there.” We didn’t just go to eat the sweets there but at the time, Aunt Dara would be working on her schoolwork and I was still bringing along some sort of storybook to keep busy. 

“What was it called?”

“I don’t think you ever heard of it. But, it was called Sweet Enchantments.” 

Seeing Jiwon’s expression told me enough that it had been his first time hearing the name. 

“It really has been long since we’ve been there.” I commented thoughtfully. Even saying the name felt unfamiliar. 

Turning my head, the setting sun took me by surprise. We had been here so long.

“Should we head home now?” Jiwon reached for the bags of our leftovers and got to his feet.

“Yeah, Aunt Dara would be worried.” I stated with a smile before walking after Jiwon towards the doors of the café. Making our way down the sidewalk, we settled nicely into the silence. It was expected but also comfortable. 

“Did you like today?” Jiwon turned his head slightly to ask me.

“I enjoyed it.” And it might have been understated. 

Reaching my house, I looked towards the boy beside me. “Thank you for today.” He offered me a curt nod as I turned to head inside. But, the hand that found its way around my wrist prevented me from leaving. While looking back, Jiwon tugged me closer to him, our bodies nearly touching.

“You can pull away.” He stated gently but I was in such of a confused state that I stilled.

He leaned down. 

“You still got a good second left.” He said with his nose brushing my own.

Yet, I remained. 

“One.” He counted down and simultaneously, left me a curt sweet kiss upon my lips before pulling away. “Good night.”

That night, I lied in bed, replaying the scene over and over again in my mind while experiencing the same quick beating of my heart