With our rabbit ears in gear, the two of us went about the retail shops. I was marveling over how cute everything was and couldn’t stop squealing. I forgot how awkward it was with Hyukjae oppa and decided to make the best out of this trip to Disneyland. When I stepped out of the shop, I looked around, wondering where to go next.

“Should we go to Fantasyland? I was online last night and there’s a shop named The Glass Slipper,”I said.

But there was no response. I turned to find Hyukjae oppa missing.

“Hyukjae oppa?”I began looking around for him till I saw his back view.

He was still in the shop that I came out from. I went back in and just as I was about to reach him, he turned around with a big plastic bag, while keeping his credit card. He was so preoccupied with it that he almost bumped into me.

“Oh!”he got a shock and looked up with eyes wide as a goldfish.

“What are you doing?”I asked.

“Just shopping?”he replied simply.

“Oh, I wanted to ask if we can go to the Fantasyland. But I thought I lost you,”I answered.

“You walked out so fast that I couldn’t even get anything. Aren’t you buying something? You were squealing over everything earlier on,”he said as we made our way out.

“Nah, it’s a little overpriced and I would probably be charged extra for carrying more than 25kg if I bought everything,”I shook my head.

“You could borrow my luggage space. I didn’t buy anything,”he offered.

“You have one big bag of things as it is now,”I pointed at the bag.

Hyukjae oppa chuckled and lifted the bag towards me.

“What?”I asked.

“For you,”he grabbed my hand so that I could hold onto it.

“Huh?”I looked at him, confused.

“Open it, stupid,”he laughed a little.

I opened it to find all the things that I was squealing over in the retail shop. From the scheduler to the sweets to the many keychains as well as soft toys.

“How…what…,”I struggled to ask.

“You were too busy squealing to realize that I had a basket with me,”he answered the question that I hadn’t been able to ask.

“But…,”I was about to protest.

“Save it. I bought it and I can’t possibly use any of these girly things,”he shut me up.

“Thanks, Hyukjae!”I grinned.

He was about to open his mouth when I cut in.

“I mean, Hyukjae oppa! Thanks, Hyukjae oppa!”I nodded my head.

“Anything for you, Haemin,”he smiled his gummy smile which melted my heart.

We went about the day just like that, going around taking pictures with me shrieking whenever there was a mascot nearby. Hyukjae oppa had to rescue me every single time and I couldn’t be more thankful for his help. Lunch went by pretty alright with us grabbing a burger at a joint. But when dinner came, we decided to have a proper meal with some hot soup since it was turning cold. Settling down, we were given the menu. I was looking through it when a set meal caught my eye. I was about to open my mouth when Hyukjae oppa beat me to it.

“Looks like you’ll order the chicken katsu with udon,”he commented.

I looked up and sensing my action, he did the same. I felt a sense of familiarity as he knew what my favourite food was and how he would always think of me first. Even with the menu, he looked through it first, zeroing in on the food that he knew I liked before looking for his favourite.

“Seriously, you need to stop putting me before yourself,”I muttered, looking away.

“How could I do that, stupid?”he chuckled.

When the food came, the both of us dug in with the warm soup warming up our tummy.

“Feels so good with the hot soup in our tummy!”I squealed as we came out after eating.

“You bet,”he replied with some mist coming out from his mouth as he spoke.

 “OH!”my eyes lit up.

“What?”he asked as he looked at the same direction.

“Shall we take the Ferris wheel?”I asked.

“Why not?”he smiled.

We joined the long queue of people and began chatting. Soon, it got colder and I hurriedly rubbed my hands together. But it wasn’t of my help since they were cold to begin with. Just then, Hyukjae oppa reached out to hold onto my hands, keeping it warm with his.

“Thanks,”I said sheepishly.

“I should have brought a pair of your gloves. How could I forget? Stupid me,”he said in a frustrated tone.

“You seriously don’t have to be so concerned over me. I mean, we’re pretty much just friends,”I felt a stab in my heart as I said that but I knew that I said that to spite him.

“Well, I could show my concern as an old friend. We’ve known each other for so long,”he forced a smile.

We stayed silent and my eyes drifted and I noticed something. Everyone here came in pairs.

“What are you thinking of?”Hyukjae oppa asked.

“Just…about how everyone is a couple,”I admitted.

“Well, of course. In a cabin alone with a loved one, seeing the whole of Disneyland. It’ll be so romantic, isn’t it?”he replied.

“True…,”I nodded my head.

“Why? You wished you were here with Donghae? Or Jiyong?”he asked.

“Why would I want to be in a romantic situation with Donghae?! Jiyong and I are just friends! I told you so many times! You always get jealous over him,”I rambled on.

On his face was a cheeky grin and I knew I fell into the trap he had set up for me.

“I really hate you, Lee Hyukjae,”I rolled my eyes and moved forward with the queue.

“The opposite of love is not hate, my dear. It’s indifference. So, I’m glad that you still care for me,”he winked.

Before I could tell him off, the park attendant motioned for us to step forward into a cabin. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and let go of my right hand. With him still holding onto my left hand, he stuffed both our hands into his jeans pocket in an attempt to keep it warm. Trapped in a small space with Hyukjae oppa and how he was quick to remove it from his pocket because we were about to sit down, I had no choice but to tolerate his nonsense.  

“Oh wow, it’s so beautiful at night,”Hyukjae oppa commented as he looked out the window.

I wasn’t able to reply for I was too mesmerized by the night view of Disneyland. Everything just seemed so magical, too perfect to be real. It was as if the fairytales I read when I was young had come alive during my day here. Sure, one day wasn’t enough to explore the whole of Disneyland but it was enough to soak up the magic as well as relieve my childhood.

“Remember how we always watched Disney movies at my house?”Hyukjae oppa spoke up.

“How could I forget how fierce your mum looked when she found me tearing and thought you bullied me,”I laughed.

Hearing that, he laughed along. We were fond of watching movies at his house and one day, we decided to go on a Disney marathon starting with The Lion King. When the scene where Simba’s father passed away came on, I couldn’t help but start sobbing. Hearing the sniffing coming from the living room, Hyukjae oppa’s mother had come in to find me crying. Thinking that I was being bullied by Hyukjae oppa, she gave him a dressing down in the midst of the movie.

Calming himself down, he looked at me forlornly before letting his head drop.

“I’m sorry, Haemin,”he sighed.

“Hey, we’re in Disneyland now so let’s not talk about anything sad, alright. Enjoy it while you can,”I nudged him, trying to brighten him up.

He gave me a faint smile as he looked out the window.

“Are you alright?”I asked as I reached out to pat his shoulder.

“I’m sorry for dampening the mood but when I look at you, I see all the mistakes I made. I try hard to show you the usual cheeky side of me but really, I’m dying inside. I feel guilty…,”he explained.

“Hyukjae, it’s all in the past. You can’t change it anymore so learn to move on,”I tried to talk him round.

“Does that mean you’ve already moved on?”he turned his head to look at me.

I was taken aback by his question and was thinking of how to reply him when a bright light appeared. The both of us turned to see fireworks coming from the night parade right in front of us.

“Oh wow!”my mouth hung open.

“It’s beautiful…,”he had the same sentiments.

“Let’s take a picture with this at the background! HURRY!”I grabbed my phone out.

The two of us moved so that our backs were facing the fireworks and began taking lots of pictures. Although the background was a little blurry, it didn’t matter as long as we knew what was it that was going on behind us.

“Thank you, Hyukjae oppa. Tokyo has been wonderful so far,”I smiled at him as we got off the Ferris wheel.

End of Chapter

DarkAngel