16

M O V I N G   O N

I could say that I was in the process of getting over him, but I was still counting the days since I had last seen him.

Right now it had been 96 days.

I got in contact with Yoon Sung again. She said that she wasn't allowed to talk to me, and yet she risked it all to come over.

She had said that, "Once you get bit by a snake, you need to the poison out of it." So she took me on a little trip overseas, to New Zealand. She had read that it was a great place, and the perfect spot to clear one's mind. Yes, it was pretty, beautiful even, and it did clear my mind for a while. When I was there, I became one with nature, one with the world, one with the air that we breathe and I was able to appreciate every little thing that happened to me.

Yoon Sung left to go back to work in Korea but I stayed back and continued to live in New Zealand. Luckily I got a few small jobs as hairdressers and bridal stylists so that was helping me live by. There was a small Korean community here and I got along with them really well. One of the guys my age, Joo Hyeon, had asked me on a couple dates as well.

"Soo Young-ah!" someone called as I was in the middle of cutting a client's hair.

"Oh Joo Hyeon-ah!" he came over and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Hello," he bowed to my client. "You are in the hands of the world's best hairdresser."

"Really? Well that's a relief," she smiled at him before closing her eyes again.

"Pff shut up," I laughed and slapped his arm.

"When are you getting off?" he whispered into my ear.

"Soon, I'll be done after her," I said, "wait over there," I pointed my chin at the couch.

"Alright, see you soon," he said and went to the couch.

"Your boyfriend is adorable," my client said.

"Oh, thank you," I laughed. I've given up trying to convince people that we weren't dating, we had kissed before, sure that was just a spur of the moment but it still counted, right?

"Yah, Soo Young-ah, have some," Joo Hyeon said, holding out some of his kimchi on his chopsticks. I opened my mouth and he put it in.

"Mmm!" my eyes grew wide, "It's delicious!"

I smack myself every time I think about how cringe-worthy that kiss was.

I continued eating the ramyeon from the pot in between us and he did the same thing. When I was consuming one noodle, at the same time as Joo Hyeon and as I was eating it, I felt it being pulled at the end. Looking up, I saw that Joo Hyeon was getting closer and closer and before I knew it, his lips were upon mine.

That one noodle, out of the whole pot. Seriously.

I pulled my head away out of instinct but he cupped my cheeks and locked our lips again. It was a nice kiss, I guess. But I will be always comparing every guy to Jimin from now on, I couldn't help it.

I smiled when I was done and saw Joo Hyeon reading a magazine on the couch.

"Let's go!"

"Okay," he said and draped an arm around my shoulders.

"Where are we going though?"

"The park," he said, "there are parks everywhere but we've never been to one."

"Oh, alright," I laughed.

"I hired some bikes, so we can ri-"

"I can't ride a bike Joo Hyeon-ah."

"What?! Really?"

"Mhm," I nodded, "so let's no-"

"I can teach you!" he beamed. That smile was so bright, but not as bright as...

"That's not a good idea."

"Oh c'mon," he whined, "let's have fun tonight."

"Okay, whatever, but if I say stop, then we stop, okay?"

"Yay!" he smiled and that's how I found myself clutching to a bright pink bike in the middle of a crowded park like it was my lifeline.

"NO, NO, NO DON'T LET GO!" I yelled and I heard Joo Hyeon laugh behind me.

"I won't, don't worry!"

"I DON'T TRUST YOU!"

Surprisingly I did start to get the hang of it, riding through the park without falling down was a new thing for me.

"See you're doing it!" Joo Hyeon said when I saw him in front of me.

"YAH WHY DID YOU LET GO!" and then I lost control of the bike handles. Joo Hyeon dived forward to catch me and I landed on the floor next to him.

"Here I was, thinking you had improved," he was laughing hysterically.

"Yah! I told you not to let go!"

"I can't hold on to you forever!" he hissed.

"Well, you could've held on until I felt confident," I hissed back.

"When I said let's have fun, this isn't what I meant," he laughed, turning to look up at the sky.

I don't know what happened to me then, maybe I was too desperate, maybe I was too hung up on Jimin, maybe I might've actually liked him, but I moved closer to him and craned my neck so I was towering over him. With his eyes widening, I leant down and planted my lips on his. He hadn't moved at first, but he brought his hands up to the back of my neck and pulled himself up, so we were sitting up on the grass.

People were walking past us, shooting both hearts and daggers, thinking that we were the cutest couple, or that we were just plain annoying. But we didn't mind.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he said, my cheek.

"Really?" I laughed, "You've want to-"

I couldn't continue because he placed his lips against mine again, cutting me off.

"Yes, I've been kicking myself this whole time for holding back."

"You don't have to hold back anymore."

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