“That was some scary !” announced Tae Il.

“You got that right!” added Kyung.

“Thanks for carrying me Yu Kwon. But I think I could’ve made it out alive by myself.”

“You looked so scared, noona! And you were screaming ‘Please don’t let it get me.’ And then you started crying,” Yu Kwon pointed out.

“What? I did?”

“Yeah, and that’s why I carried you the rest of the way.”

“Ah, gomawoyo,” I beamed at him.

“I could’ve done that too,” muttered Min Hyuk.

“You guys were busy screaming your hearts out as well,” declared Yu Kwon, smirking.

“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s just continue going through the rest of the rooms,” I said.

We finished checking out the rest of the wax figures within half an hour. By the time we got out, it was two in the afternoon.

We went to see the charging bull on Wall Street and took plenty of funny yet memorable pictures.

After that, we rushed to take a ferry to get closer to the Statue of Liberty. She was beautiful. The sunset made the trip there more special. The sun rays shone one her, making her stand out even more.

At night, we ate at Pizza Hut for dinner which was at seven.

Then we went to Broadway theatre and managed to catch Wicked. It was awesome. The costumes and the sets were excellent and the voices of the cast were beautiful. It was a very heartfelt story. You felt as if you were there experiencing the story with the actors.

Our last stop was the Empire State Building. It stood proudly at 1,250 feet. When we were riding the elevator up, we could actually feel ourselves being deprived of oxygen. Of course, we could still breathe but still felt the difference. When the elevator doors opened, a cold gust of air rushed in, making all of us shiver. We got out into the night and were just speechless. The moon was full and the skies were clear. We could see so much from up there. It was very high up and I felt a little dizzy.

“Whoa, yeppoyo,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears.

Jade squealed and jumped up and down clapping. When she stopped, Ji Hoon put his arm around her and looked into her eyes. She stared back as intensely and smiled. Then, they enjoyed the scenery quietly. They looked so in love. I breathed out and smiled to myself. They’re so lucky to have found each other. They’ve only known each other for less than a week but they shared a connection, like they’re meant for each other. Like soul mates.

I closed my eyes and soaked in the moment. I felt so calm and free of my worries up there. It sounds suicidal, I know. But there was just something about that place that made it so comfortable to be in. I opened my eyes slowly, to see Jaehyo smiling at me.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing. I just like it here.”

He understood and didn’t say anything else, not wanting to ruin the moment, I guessed.

***

We almost missed the last bus back but luckily we didn’t because we ran. The bus was empty so we had it to ourselves. All of us sat separately so we could lie down and sleep.

The bus ride seemed shorter back to Massachusetts than to New York. We were all disorientated but managed to get a maxi cab back, fitting all of us perfectly. Ji Ho paid the cab driver and tipped him as we got out.

We were all burned out by the time we reached home that night or the next morning you could say. It was two in the morning. It was kind of a good thing because we were so sleepy that jet-lag couldn’t get in the way. When it started raining, we all said our goodnights and got inside to sleep.

I took a quick warm bath and went to bed feeling clean. That was the most awesome day and night I’ve ever had. When my eyes were about to drift close, I heard a knocking sound. Oh my god. All I want to do is sleep. Give me a break! I searched for where it was coming from but couldn’t find it. Just when I was about to give up, I heard my name being called. It sounded like it came from the window. I pulled the curtains open to find Min Hyuk shivering outside my window, in the rain. I immediately pushed it open and let him in.

“Oppa, you’re supposed to be sleeping. What are you doing here? How did you even get here?” I whispered angrily to him, praying that Jade wouldn’t hear us.

“Did you know my room is connected to your room by that?” he said, as he pointed outside my window, with his teeth chattering.

I glanced outside and saw a long metal thing that looked stable enough to cross over. Wow, I never noticed that before.

“Wow, I never noticed that before,” I spoke my mind, “But it’s dangerous and wet. You could’ve fallen.”

He was still shivering and wet so I brought him an extra towel and wrapped it around him.

“What are you doing here?” I finally said again after he didn’t reply and got comfortable on my bed.

“I had to see you,” he said regretfully.

I didn't know what to say. Then he sneezed.

“Ah, shucks. Now I have to take care of you the whole night.”

“No, all I need is you… I mean… your warmth,” then he patted the spot beside him on the bed.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed then approached him. I tucked him in under the blankets.

“Wait here. I’ll go get you something warm to drink.”

After running down the stairs, I raided the kitchen of its Raspberry tea sack and put it into a cup filled with boiling water. I ran up the stairs again and got to Min Hyuk. Because he was tucked in and was still shivering, I fed him the tea. After he was done, I moved under the blankets and leaned against him. He’s freezing! Then he hugged me so tight that my lips were almost kissing his chest but I let him. His temperature started returning to normal. The coziness overtook me and eventually, I was sent into a deep slumber.

***

I was woken up by the sound of Min Hyuk’s voice.

“Sonia, wake up. Sonia, you’re…..”

“Huh? What?” I blinked a few times, getting my eyes to focus.

“I said, you’re drooling on me,” he gave a y chuckle.

“Omo, I didn’t mean to. Chincha! Mian.”

“It’s fine. Chincha. I’d rather you drool than the boys do,” he smiled at me.

I guess I still looked unconvinced because he repeated what he said.

“Neh, I guess you should go now. The others might be looking for you,” I whispered, feeling the wrongness of this situation.

“No, I’m not gonna let you do that anymore. You can’t push me away.”

“I’m not trying to push you away. Besides, don’t you have to prepare stuff for your classes which start tomorrow?” I told him.

“You mean our classes. I don't really have anything to prepare for.”

“Chincha? You don't need to go shopping or anything?” I gazed at him suspiciously.

“Well, I guess we could go together later. Meet you for lunch?”

“Neh, now go! We have about an hour to lunch!”

With that, he got out by my window and balanced himself across the metal beam to his room.