“wonwoo, i think it’s time to go,” i say as i once again worry that i might choke him to death.

“what do you mean, ‘go’? we just got here!” he bounced to get me up higher on his back, “you’re not scared, are you?” he asks, smiling a little.

“i’m not scared, i just-- my head hurts.”

“well, if you wanna go soon, why don’t you pull out your phone and use it as a flashlight?”

i sigh and reach into my pocket. it’s empty. i hold on with my other arm and reach into my other pocket. that one’s empty, too.

“either i left it in the car or it fell out of my pocket when i fell because it’s not here,” i say and rest my chin on his shoulder.

being tall for more than just a little while is kind of scary and i want my ground back.

“hold on kind of tight for a sec then, i’m gonna get my phone out,” he says and moves his left arm so that my leg is just sort of sitting on it while he reaches into his pocket.

when he gets his phone out, he unlocks the screen and turns the flashlight on before handing it to me. while trying position myself so that i don’t feel like i’m going to fall, i manage to blind him momentarily and the face he makes is priceless. his eyes squint, his mouth is open and curving downward in a disgusted frown, distorting the rest of his face and adding a chin or two, plus all of those wrinkles i had never even thought were possible for an 18 year old to have. i try not to laugh too hard and bring the light away, shining it in front of him like he wanted me to.

“what’s so funny?” he asks as if he doesn’t know that he momentarily looked 80.

i shine the light back at his face really quickly in response and this time he makes the same face plus a very strange sound that, had i not known it came from him, would probably have scared the crap out of me. suddenly i think that that may have actually been his goal, considering the upset look on his face when i start laughing even harder than before.

he sighs and says, “be quiet, i don’t wanna get caught. let me see that gravestone over there.”

i get really quiet and shine the light on the stone.

“margaret mitchell marsh

born atlanta.ga.

nov. 8. 1900

died atlanta.ga.

aug. 16. 1949”

“woah. this is margaret mitchell’s grave. she is right here. this is incredible,” i hear wonwoo say.

“who is margaret mitchell?” i ask, trying not to be scared by the fact that the person who died in 1949 is right here.

“she’s the one who wrote gone with the wind. remember? we read it sophomore year in english and had to write, like, three papers on it.”

“oh, i kinda remember that book.” i reply.

we walk over to another tombstone and i shine the light on it.

“jackson

maynard h. jr.

mar. 23. 1938

june 23. 2003”

well, at least he wasn’t buried in 1938.

“the first african american mayor of atlanta,” wonwoo says, “he was a great man. democrat. served three terms.”

“you’re such a nerd.”

“i know.”

and suddenly there’s a sound of something in the bushes and we both freeze. i hold the light against wonwoo’s shirt so no one sees us, and he crouches close to the ground and tries to hide behind the headstone, both of us holding our breath. peeking over it, we see a squirrel strolling past us as calm as can be. i sigh in relief while he just laughs and stands back up, hopping a little to get me higher on his back.

“next grave~” he coos.

i will never understand how someone can be excited to see a bunch of old graves in the middle of the night. at least he’s not trying to kill me, though. that’s definitely a good thing.

“james calhoun

feb. 12. 1811

oct. 1. 1875”

i sigh, trying to hide the fact that i'm overly creeped out by how old this grave is, “and who is he?”

“atlanta’s mayor from 1862 to i think 1864… no, he was there one more year after he surrendered us to the union in ‘64, so it was until ‘65. if it weren’t for this guy, the civil war could’ve lasted quite a bit longer than it did.”

“welp,” i nod slightly, “thank you, mr. calhoun,” i say to the gravestone.

this is so weird.

wonwoo chuckles a little bit and-- wait, what is he doing? why am i sliding forward? is he bowing? .

i yelp when i hit the ground and again when i roll straight into the headstone, “ing , wonwoo, you just dropped me on a hundred and forty year old grave! . ow. my side. .”

for a second, he just sits there, kneeling on the ground, and stares at me as if he can’t process what he just did, even though i just ing announced it.

he inhales deeply and points a finger at me, “you’re lying on a grave,” he breaths out.

“yeah, i figured that out when my ing side slammed into a cement headstone,” i say, still gripping my sore side.

i may not be dead but, damn, i sure got hurt a lot during this trip.

“maybe we should go,” he says very quietly as he reaches to pick me up.

this is awkward. i wanna leave but, really, does he have to carry me? i don’t protest, though. i just sort of go along with it and latch my arms around his neck, his phone setting on my stomach. he walks kind of slowly, a very serious expression on his face. the awkwardness quickly fades away and i can’t help but stare at him. his eyes are shining despite the only light being from the moon, his sharp jaw set.

“wonwoo.”

“hm,” he hums monotonously, still looking straight ahead.

“why is your face like that?”

“like what?” he asks and glances down at me.

“all serious and stuff. you look kind of angry.”

“i’m not angry.”

“then why’s your face like that?”

he stays quiet for a second but, as we approach the fence, he says, “i just feel bad is all.”

“why?” i ask, only to be ignored.

“do you think you can climb up to the top? i can go first and catch you when you try to get over, or i can help you up there, go over, then catch you.”

“i can climb,” i reply quietly.

i grab his phone and he nods, setting me down feet first, as if i’m some sort of expensive, fragile statue that could fall over and break if he doesn’t put it down properly, takes his phone, then hops the fence quickly.

from the other side, he claps twice, “your turn.”

i grab onto two of the iron poles that make up the fence and pull myself up, shoving my feet against them as well, and begin to climb up. my knee is killing me so i want to do this quickly, but the faster i go the more likely i am to fall again and i am not about to hurt myself even more.

it feels like years before i finally make it to the top, even if it’s only been a few minutes. as i’m about to ask wonwoo to try to help me down, the wind blows furiously at me and i’m more than convinced that it’s that james calhoun whose grave i laid on trying to get revenge on me for disrupting his peace.

i start to panic a little and almost lose my grip, but, as if reading my mind, my buddy on the ground says, “it’s just the wind, jihoon,” he steps forward, looking up at my scared face, and reaches for me, “come on down. i’ve got you.”

“it’s just the wind,” i whisper repeatedly to myself as i turn myself around and start my way down.

halfway there, i feel wonwoo’s warm hands on my sides and look down at him. he flashes me a quick smile and i continue climbing. he doesn’t let go until i’m on the ground, no longer touching the fence.

“you’re okay?” he asks, genuine concern in his eyes.

i nod and even smile a little, “i’m fine.”

he doesn’t reply but instead searches his pockets for his car keys.

“so, uh, why do you feel bad?” i ask again, breaking the silence.

“can you walk to the car?”

“yes, but would you answer my question already?”

“it’s cause you’re hurt,” he answered too quickly, “you’re hurt and i ignored it and i ed around at that grave and got you hurt again. that’s why i feel bad. you didn’t even want to come here from the start and i made you go anyway just for s and giggles and then you got hurt and i still forced you to come with me and ended up hurting you again. that’s why,” he touches the sweater tied around my head and sighs, starting for the car.

i walk(well, limp) along with him in silence for a moment, but then i decide to say something.

“even though i got hurt, we’ll have a hell of a story to tell our friends when we get back,” i smile up at him.

“still,” he says, walking heavily.

“i’d say that this is more of an adventure than anything. i even have battle scars for proof,” i say, pointing up at my sweater-wrapped head.

he looks down at me and actually chuckles, “you won’t even be able to see it because of your hair.”

“then it’ll just be the adventure that only you and i know about.”

“you just said we’d have a story to tell, though.”

“i never said they’d believe it. i mean, really, in what world would i break into a cemetery? actually, in what world would i break into anywhere?” i ask and we both laugh.

he unlocks the car and we both get in. my phone is on my seat.

“next stop; north carolina.”

a/n: finally!! i updated!! sorry for the wait ;-; i'll try to update regularly again!! i promise!!