Surprised? Me too!

 

 

"Where are we going?" Hayi followed Hanbin closely at his heels as he quickly wove in and out of the crowd in the busy street. He looked back at her with an impish smile.

"You'll see."

  He turned to a corner, and Hayi stumbled upon if what was possible an even busier side street, where night shoppers and tourists crowded and fawned over street snacks and cheap market items. But Hanbin stopped beside her, and pushing her sideways, he gestured at a small box-like machine standing near the door of a tiny convenience store.   "Best points gets to claim an ice cream from the other," Hanbin grinned widely, patting the old Whack-A-Mole machine. Hayi snorted. "Is this your idea of cheering me up?" she teased. Hanbin returned her smile. "Why, is it working?" He asked, leaning down to level his smile with hers. She laughed, and Hanbin handed her the paddle as he loaded it up with tokens.   Hayi beat the moles enthusiastically, even cheering at times, that Hanbin couldn't help but laugh at how much she enjoyed the game. They played game after game, first Hayi, then Hanbin, then playing together, much to their delight. In the end, they bought each other a popsicle.   "Ready for the next round?" Hanbin teased.   "Again? My hands are sore," Hayi groaned, pertaining to the way they played earlier, even hitting the moles with their palms. "Come to think of it, your must be sore from trying to sit on them." She laughed.   "Well, we played a great game, right?" Hanbin grinned. "But as much as you enjoyed that, let's go somewhere else." Leading her through the crowd, they proceeded to walk along the streets that night.   He led her to an old vinyl shop, where he told her he used to frequent it with his father, Jinhwan and Jiwon. They browsed through the collections and took turns making each other listen to songs they liked, or hated, or songs that could mean something else for kicks. Hanbin watched as Hayi hummed along to one of the songs he played; he was entranced by the way her head bobbed slowly along with the music.   Next, Hayi took him to a nearby snack stall and bought jajangmyeon. Standing side by side, they force-fed each other with the messy noodles and wiped black bean sauce on each other's faces. Hayi marveled when she heard Hanbin laugh, belatedly realizing that he had been doing so all night long.   It was nearing midnight, and Hayi was tired, but her mind felt very much alive. She didn't know where Hanbin was taking her next, and truthfully, she was hoping they wouldn't go home yet, but she suddenly felt shy that he was cheering her up like this.   "Hanbin, aren't we going home yet?" She asked quietly. Hanbin turned to her as he walked. "No, there's someplace else I'd like you to go with me, before we go home." He paused. "Are you tired already?"   "No. I was thinking perhaps you're tired."   "I'm not." Hanbin smiled. "Just this one place. Then I promise I'll take you home."   Hayi smiled a small smile to herself.   "Okay."  

 

Hayi took a deep, amazed breath as she looked over the horizon at all the city lights. Tourists were scarce on Namsan tonight; but there were some occasional couples taking photos on the viewing deck. Hanbin stood quietly beside her, looking out over the view of the city, but mostly at the pale girl beside him whose face shone bright li