They were able to reach Joy’s home in less than ten minutes, but Joy was still hesitant about letting a stranger inside her home. She didn’t want to seem rude, but did not entirely trust Sungjae either. She stood at the door, holding the keys frozen in front of the lock. For a several moments, she looked thoughtful while tapping her chin with her index finger and suddenly walked towards the bench on her patio. She sat down and patted the seat beside her, gesturing Sungjae to sit.

When he first saw her from a short distance, he really thought she looked beautiful. It wasn’t any different now. The cool breeze brushed by and her hair seemed to be falling perfectly in place. Her legs were crossed over one another and she held the box on her lap. Her smile was mesmerizing and he could look away from her glittering eyes. The way she sat made her look so innocent and adorable. Sungjae did not believe in love at first sight; he always went for the attitude and personality. Maybe that’s why he’s never had a girlfriend before. He let his thoughts flow on its course, but seems to have taken too long because she started speaking.

“Hey, are you alright?” she asked worriedly. “...Your smile kind of creeps me out.”

He stared at her in disbelief before bursting out in laughter. This had to be the very first time meeting someone so direct and blunt. “Yeah, sorry. It’s nothing.” he hurried over and sat next to her. He tried not to look creepy while smiling this time.

“Okay, well,” Joy continued. “Would you like to receive the honors of opening this highly mysterious box?” she asked playfully. There comes her smile again. Sungjae tried his best to ignore it and responded.

With a twirl of his hand, he spoke in his most sophisticated voice. “Of course, madam, for I, the great Sungjae, shall protect you from this terrifyingly dangerous box!” he almost broke out of his act for a quick second, knowing how ridiculous he sounded, but regained his composure immediately. Joy giggled and gradually started laughing harder. She punched Sungjae lightly with tears b at the corner of her eyes from laughing too hard. She had never felt so comfortable and safe with someone before. It surprised her that she could get along with a stranger so well. Joy was feeling joyful.

She handed the box to him, making the same hand-twirl movement. Sungjae held the box up and inspected it closely before opening the lid. To their non-surprise, it held almost-to-nothing other than a notepad and a bookmark with a picture of a snowman that looked overly happy.

“Is...is that Olaf from Frozen?” Sungjae cracked up laughing so hard he almost lost his voice. He thought it was hilarious, but Joy looked serious. She had a strong gut feeling telling her something was up. It didn’t feel good. In fact, it felt like her heart was slowly dropping. However, she pushed the feeling away and picked up the notepad.

“Huh. Does this person have an obsession or something?” she started speaking again. “Like with stationery stuff? It’s so weird.”

“Maybe it’s the easiest way to communicate with us. Hey, do you think there’s anyone else who got the planner, too?”

“I guess you’re right. As for anyone else, they should have come to Halley Park if they got it.”

“Or they’re not crazy enough like us to go out and do it.”

Joy shrugged. “I guess you’re right.” She opened the notepad. “What..what the..” she stumbled over her words, not knowing what to say.

“Hm? What is it?” Sungjae asked, slightly terrified of looking at what Joy saw. She turned away and gave the notepad to him.

He screamed. It was a picture of a bare old man. Under it read “HEHE.” and next to it was an arrow pointing down on the lower right corner. Sungjae had never seen such an abomination in his entire life. He stared at Joy with a disgusted look on his face. Joy had the same expression. He flipped the page up. Written over was a list of grocery items.

-Eggs

-Buttermilk

-Butter

-Cocoa

-Flour

-Red food coloring

-Granulated sugar

-Salt

-Baking Powder

LET'S BAKE.

Before they both parted, Joy insisted Sungjae keep the notepad, but was persistent in keeping the Olaf bookmark. They gave each other contact details and he promised that he would research the notepad and the clues, if there were any. In the meanwhile, Joy will be looking through the planner again.