Laughter echoing everywhere and everybody seems to be having fun – smiles reaching up to their ears, eyes sparkling hinting a magnanimous amount of joy, warmth engulfing their features. Who wouldn’t want to have fun during a good summer day?

Summer is currently in season, still reaching up to its peak, the reason why people are having such joyous expressions etched on their faces. All around, there seems to be a party and people are flocking malls, resorts and amusement parks. Especially amusement parks. Everyone enjoys the sizzling hot yet fun-filled season.

However, amidst all these celebrations and escapades, one walks among these individuals with a sullen expression – head down, sluggish walking, and a totally off vibe, people turn their heads whenever they come across this mysterious person.

She, the identity of this persona is apparently a girl, continually stares at the concrete below her feet as she drags herself along the busy streets of Seoul, heading towards a destination she has unconsciously thought of. Not once does she look up, but fortunately, she hasn’t been put into drastic situations, only some minor setbacks wherein she bumps into someone but would immediately apologize without looking at the victims’ faces.

She walks and walks and walks, letting her feet take her to the place her heart longs the most. All around her, people’s laughter fills the air, their expressions brighten up the atmosphere with everyone enjoying each other’s company, but she hardly hears, much more notice, them. It’s like she’s underwater and everywhere and everyone else is a blur, including their conversations, their faces, their smiles, their laughter – nothing is crystal clear for her.

“Everyone is happy.” She smiles bitterly. “They are so full of life.”

She finally looks up and absorbs the happiness that the horde of people is oozing from their systems. A tear suddenly escapes her eyes and she quickly wipes it away and then stalks off from the place she just stood from moments ago.

“You’re crying over it again.” She says to herself as she quickens her pace, mist clouding her vision, tears threatening to escape from her eyes once more.

“Stop making a fool of yourself!” she shakes her head and her tears are whisked away by the sudden action. She continued on running away, no longer minding her surroundings.

People look towards the girl running and seemingly escaping something on a fine bright day like this wondering what’s up but they just shrug it off and continue on with their business. The girl continues on putting her feet in front of the other then suddenly stops at a particular place. Too abruptly.

“Here we are.” She thinks to herself as she looks up with slightly puffed up eyes to the location where her feet and her heart has taken her.

“XX Amusement Park”

She contemplates for a moment, staying rooted at the entrance, at least one step away from entering the park’s premises. Looks are thrown at her as she stands like a statue at the threshold of the park. With a heavy and dread-filled heart, she takes one step and enters the place where everything began… and apparently ended.

Her heart taking the lead, her feet following suit by the latter’s orders, she proceeds to a bench and sat herself, a blank expression on her face, trying to contain all her emotions – glee, happiness, dread, anger, sadness. She doesn’t know which of which she truly feels, which among those expressions weigh more that she ends up having a blank one.

Endless thoughts fill her head, from the moment everything started till the day those were put to the test and the end. Her eyes moisten and fill with liquid carrying bittersweet memories. She slumps at the bench, quietly letting go of all that she feels inside, quietly letting those tears escape her eyes.

As she drowns in her reverie, she doesn’t fully recognize the sheer amount of people that have gathered in the park’s premises as the afternoon sun sets and dusk breaks. Night has quickly fallen but still, the girl sits quietly on the bench still contemplating, still looking back, still reminiscing, earning looks from strangers. All she knows is that there has been a drastic increase in the amount of laughter and happiness all around her and she doesn’t give a single care about what they think about her. Would their thoughts take away everything that’s slowly numbing her entire being? She thinks not so she just doesn’t look up and turns her attention to her watch instead.

“It has been that long already?” she sighs as she wipes her eyes. “1 hour more and I’ll be able to visit that place without any distractions or interruptions.”

With this, she wipes the last of her tears and finally looks up around, pretending to enjoy the moments people have created for themselves. She plasters a smile on her face and convinces her eyes to wander around and observe everything.

30 minutes have passed and people started leaving, only a few lingered around to enjoy the rides and the rest the park has to offer.

“A few minutes more and there will be quiet in this place.”  She thinks to herself as she continues on watching the people around her.

It has already been 9:30 in the evening and half an hour more and the park will have its closing for the day. The girl patiently waits, watching people come and go until almost everyone has gone.

“Finally…” she says in her mind.

The girl stands and leaves the bench she’s been sitting at for quite some time now and turns to walk to a certain place where hardly any people are around anymore. As she comes across the park’s staffs, she walks over and greets them, having familiarized their faces already after a million times of coming here every single day or at least 5 days a week.

“Hey, Yoona-ssi!” a staff pleasantly greets her and bows and Yoona, our girl, respectfully bows and returns the greeting, but only with a half-hearted smile. “It’s nice to see you again. What are you doing here at this time?”

Yoona smiles bitterly to which gave the unspoken answer to the staff member.

“Ohh… that again huh?”

Yoona nods and then lowers her head, finding a certain interest at the ground below her. “Yup.”

“I see.” The staff member’s smile lopsided and gave Yoona a heartfelt pat on the shoulder. “Well, I’ll be taking my leave then. That place is all yours.”

Yoona looks up to the staff member and smiles genuinely.

“Thanks, Mrs. Han.” She beams at the staff member and then the two bow to each other, with each of them treading different paths right after.

Yoona continues on walking and walking, her heart getting heavier with each step. Her thoughts have piled up and not a concrete one has formed in her mind as she takes her steps. Her eyes are glistening with tears once more, a bitter smile plastered to her face as her eyes spots that one place that has been her comfort and her destruction.

“I’m being a fool again.” She says to herself as she leans on the railing, supporting her frame.

“Why are you doing this to yourself Im Yoona? Why?!” she screams, letting loose of all those emotions bottled up inside her but no one interrupts or chides her for her actions. She’s already known by the people from the park, a quite high stated person for them who gently cares for them and at the same time, never forgets to thank and acknowledge them.

The staff members watch her from afar and hear her wails and they smile bitterly to the girl’s heart wrenching outburst. They can only shake their head and send her their prayers and hopes, knowing that no amount of comforting would lessen or even take away her burdens. They let her be, knowing in themselves that it is the right thing and the best thing they could ever give her – privacy. Everyone then goes back about their business.

The girl, Im Yoona, continues on rambling to herself, continues to release everything she has held back for the entire day, continues on letting loose all those locked up memories and let them flood her and escape through her tears.

“Why?! Why…” she mumbles as her body slumps and collapses to the ground, her hands now limply holding on to the railings, her head leaning on to the railings’ frame.

Tears continue on flowing down her doe-like eyes, her once glimmering and twinkling eyes now broken and shattered. Her head is held low, her eyes closed and her face turned into a grimace as pain washes over her. Her lips quiver and sobs escape from her lips as she drowns herself in a sea of memories.

“Why…?” she posts a question to no one as she looks up at the merry-go-round looming in front of her, before completely succumbing herself to the pain and the tears.

Unbeknownst to her, someone has been quietly watching her all those times.

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A/N: This is the same as the chapter 1 of my other story, Merry-Go-Round, for a reason. Please stay tuned there to find out. ^^