"I know," she said, smiling a little smile. "You've always protected me from the villains."

"I mean it," I said.

"I know," Jessica said again. "And thank you. It was such a relief to be able to tell you. I feel lighter."

I cupped her cheek with my right hand, my thumb gently rubbing the smooth skin as I looked at her. She smiled again, before putting her hand on top of mine, pressing it gently against her cheek. We stayed like that for awhile, gazes never disconnecting from each other. I couldn't tell for sure, but it felt as if we were gathering strength from each other at that very moment. Like we were silently comforting each other. And it felt nice. I felt lighter.

"I think we should return the boat," Jessica said, taking her eyes off of me as she shifted her gaze at something behind me.

I turned to look and, sure enough, an elderly man was standing by the bay with his hands on his waist. "Ops," I said. "Guess we're going to hear some nagging."

Jessica giggled as we prepared to paddle back to the elderly man.

"Don't worry about him, I'll deal with him," I told her.

We were back after a few minutes and I thought it was faster than when we were trying to reach the center of the lake. "I'm so sorry," I told the elderly man as we got off the boat. Jessica stood silently beside him. "My friend here have never ridden a boat, and it was her birthday, so I wanted her to try it but couldn't see anyone to ask permission from." I lied, and I can see Jessica holding her giggles from the corner of my eyes.

The elderly man looked at me weirdly before shaking his head. I took that as a sign to leave when he didn't speak but proceeded to tie his boat. We sprinted back to my car.

"What kind of lame excuse," she told me as we sat inside my car.

"I know." I grinned at her. "I couldn't think of anything when you're in front of me looking so beautiful under the sun light."

Jessica was surprised, I could tell by the way her body froze for the shortest quarter of a second. I was surprised at myself, too. Where did I get the courage to say something like that? But I wasn't lying. She was really beautiful earlier. Her loose ponytail complemented her face that was lightened up by the early sun. She was so beautiful I couldn't stop staring.

Jessica cleared , breaking the awkward silence that had settled inside the car. "So..." I could see the lightest shade of pink appearing in Jessica's cheeks and I wanted to ask her why she was blushing, but couldn't. "What should we do now?"

I shrugged my shoulder, turning towards the steering wheel with my lips stretched into a stupid smile. I was suddenly feeling giddy at the sight of Jessica blushing for me. I never thought I would see the day. "Rollerblading?"

Jessica laughed. "You don't even know how to," she said incredulously.

"I've been practicing," I told her as I began driving. "The only problem now is if there are even skating centers here."

"Or," Jessica shook her head with a smile. "If they are open already. It's probably still 7 in the morning."

"Right," I said with a sigh as my eyes took in the village. I didn't notice it when we arrived, but it looked like one of those old villages. "Maybe we should just do that in the afternoon."

Jessica hummed her yes. I drove slowly, glancing at Jessica every once in a while. She had her head on the headrest, gaze fixed in front of her. I wonder what was on her mind. I wish I knew what was on her mind. Then I heard her sigh. Short and low, like she was trying to hide it from me. "Did you know," Jessica spoke, her voice sounding hesitant. "That I was so sad when you didn't sit with me on the first day of middle school?"

I was surprised. I didn't know that. I just came back from Japan that time, where our family spent our summer vacation. I haven't had communication with Jessica throughout summer, and I felt like we were two strangers trying to avoid each other whenever our eyes met.

"I was so upset," she added. "You told me you would tell me about Japan, but you never contacted me and we practically stopped talking when you came back."

I tried to find the right words to say, but only found the truth. "I tried avoiding you," I said honestly, my eyes focused on the road now. "To see if my feelings would change."

"What?"

I heaved a sigh, turning to look Jessica in the eyes for a quarter of a second. "I don't know if you ever noticed," I said, pausing as I try to compose my words. Am I really going to confess to Jessica? In this car? At this time of the day? It was not romantic. Probably not the kind of set up Jessica would like. Probably not the type of confession she would want to hear. But, if I don't tell her now, will I ever have the chance again? Will I ever be this close to her again?

"I really," I said and paused again. My heart was beating faster as the seconds ticked. It's now or never. "Really liked you. S-still like you." I stuttered as I finished and I was embarrassed again. Really not the most romantic confession.

"Taeyeon..." I heard Jessica say with an uncertain voice.

"Look, you don't have to say anything about it. I just.. just wanted to tell you. If that even justified what happened."

Jessica was quiet for a bit and I was so ready to change the topic as we rounded a corner, where a skating center presented itself. I drove faster, eager to see if the establishment was open. And it was, surprisingly, like the gods were on my favor. "It looks like we're going skating then," I said as I slowed down in front of the skating center. "Let me just find a parking space."

I noticed that Jessica was kinda out of it, and I felt guilty knowing that it was because of what I said earlier.

"Hey," I told her as I unbuckled my seatbelt. "If you're thinking about what I said earlier, we can just.. pre-pretend it didn't happen. I'm sorry, I didn't want to burden you about it."

"I'm not," Jessica said, quickly shaking her head. "It doesn't burden me. It's not what you think."

I scratched the back of my head. "Oh," I said, totally out of words. I didn't know how I would take that.

"Let's go, then," I said after a few moments of silence, pushing my door open before getting out of the car. I heard Jessica following me as I walked to the entrance.

A smiling teenage boy was standing behind the counter as we got inside. I gave him a polite smile and he answered me with a bow. "Good morning," he said. "Ah, what a lucky day."

I arched a brow at him, and he chuckled. "You are our first customer for today," he said bashfully. "It's been slow these days. Nobody comes out to play anymore."

I laughed a little, leaned my elbow on the counter as my eyes caught the clock behind him. It was eight in the morning. I quickly looked away, I felt like I was cheating on Jessica since we talked about forgetting time exists earlier.

"Two rollerblades, please."

He looked at me for a moment. "Two?"

I laughed again. "I know it doesn't look like it, but I actually know how to skate."

The boy scratched his head before shrugging his shoulders. He finally obliged and got us two pairs of skates and two helmets.

"Be careful," he said as I turned to walk towards the entrance of the rink, with Jessica following me.

"Do you really know how to skate?" I heard her ask as I sat on the bench to change my shoes.

I tapped the space beside me and Jessica obliged by sitting down on it. I untied her shoe laces to take her shoes off. She smiled at me when our eyes met. I then put on the rollerblades for her. "I've been to a few skating centers with you before, if you remember."

Jessica giggled. "Of course, silly," she said, smacking my shoulder lightly. "But it's been a long time, I don't even know if I could still do this." She shook her head at me with a smile as I sat beside her to put on my rollerblades. "You didn't even like this when we were kids."

I grinned as Jessica recalled all these while putting on my rollerblades. "I've been better at this," I said. "You used to like going to the skate center so much, so I thought that'd be the best thing to spend our time with."

I saw Jessica blush as I turned to look at her. "It was because you looked so cute when you tried to learn it and failed."

I looked at her in mock incredulity. "So, you like seeing me get hurt, is that what you are saying?"

Jessica rolled her eyes then flicked a finger at my forehead. "Yeah, I do."

"Okay, enough talk, let's go play."

Jessica's smile dropped and her eyes looked uneasy. Like she was nervous. "We can get our ankles broken at this, right?"

"Yeah," I said coolly, with the intention of teasing her.

She looked genuinely horrified then, like she was about to take the thing off of her feet. I stopped her and laughed. "But I'm not letting that happen to you," I said with utmost sincerity. "Come on, I'll hold you."

That seemed to reassure Jessica as she stretched out her hands towards me. "I'm not getting off this bench unless I'm sure you're not gonna break your promise again."

It was obviously a joke, but somehow it tugged at my heart. I did promise Jessica we'd stay in touch while I'm in Japan. I did promise I'd tell her everything I saw and ate when I get home. But none of those happened.

"I promise," I said as I took her hands. "Even if you fall, I'd catch you."

Jessica gripped on my hand tight as she stood up unsteadily. I put her hands on my shoulders while I held her by the waist. "Is this okay?" I said as I slowly rolled us backwards towards the rink.

"Better," she said with that smile on her eyes I always loved. "But isn't what you're doing dangerous? You can't see what's ahead of you.. I mean, behind you."

"Well," I told her with a little laugh. "You can be my eyes."

Jessica seemed to have liked the idea because she was nodding at me. "Okay, turn right just slightly."

And it went on like that for a couple of minutes as we tried circling the rink, with Jessica getting the directions wrong sometimes since left for her was actually right for me.

We stopped at the center of the rink, still holding each other, our faces merely inches away. Jessica was practically leaning on me, and I felt those stupid butterflies in my stomach again, going crazy like they would when we were kids.

"Stand still," I said as I slowly stepped aside to hold Jessica from the back, my hands never leaving her body.

"Taengoo," Jessica said, her voice unsteady. "I don't think this is a good idea."

I didn't answer. Instead, I pushed her gently forward. She squealed when she realized I was pushing her, and I laughed because she was so cute.

"I won't let you go," I told her.

"Do you promise?"

"Of course," I said. "I promise."

And I didn't. I held onto Jessica as we tried rounding the rink again. Her waist felt so small in my hands, and that says a lot because I have relatively small hands. I heard her giggle as I felt my fingers digging into her skin.

"Taeyeon, it tickles," she said, still giggling, as she tried to pry my fingers. "Stop it."

But I couldn’t, because her skin felt so nice in my hands and her echoing laughter sent butterflies to the pit of my stomach. “I’m not doing anything,” I lied. Again. But light-heartedly this time. Jessica’s laughter continued echoing in the empty building until I accidentally lose my balance and pulled us down on the ground.

I was under Jessica, whose eyes frantically seeked mine. “I’m fine,” I said assuringly. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Jessica shook her head before her lips stretched into a small smile. “You kept your promise,” she said.

I felt my cheeks warming up. “Well, not really. I told you I won’t let you fall.”

“You also told me you’ll catch me if I fall,” Jessica said as she rolled out to lie beside me.

We lay there, side by side, without saying another word. I was trying to slow my beating heart down, feeling like it would explode. I heard Jessica let out a sigh, as I heard her shift beside me. I didn’t dare look.

“I missed this.” Her voice was so close to my ear it sent tingles down my toes. She always make me feel weird.

“Me too,” I said absentmindedly, not really knowing what she meant.

“I miss being this happy,” she paused for a moment to sit up. “Thank you, Taeyeon.”

I sat up beside her, heartbeat returning to normal now. “You always thank me,” I said. “But I’m the one who should be thanking you, really.”

She let out a giggle before she stood up with care, pulling me with her. “Well, I could go on and on for days how much I’m thankful for this,” she said with a sweet smile that hid her eyes. “And how much I’m thankful for my Taengoo.”

I know it didn’t mean what it sound like, but I can’t help the uproaring of butterflies in my stomach. My lips involuntarily stretched out into a huge, probably stupid, grin. My Taengoo.

“One more round?” she said, snapping me out of my daze.

“Sure.” Then I assumed our position earlier with me holding her back for balance. It felt nice. She felt nice in my hands. And, as cliché as it sounds, the world felt nice in my hand.

We completed the last round and before we knew it we were already taking off our rollerblades.

“What to do next?” I heard Jessica say in a cheerful voice.

I looked at her questioningly, and without uttering the words, she answered my question with a shake of her head.

“I’m not hungry,” she said assuringly. “Not yet.”

It was as if she could read my mind.

“I didn’t even ask,” I said teasingly.

Jessica shrugged, walking beside me back to the boy in the counter. “You always worry about me,” she starts in a tone I couldn’t recognize. “So I assumed you were going to ask me if I were hungry again.”

I hummed at that. I was actually going to ask her if she wanted to grab food. “Not that much, though.”

Jessica arched a brow at me.

I laughed a little. “I don’t worry about you that much,” I explained as I put our roller blades on top of the counter with a tip. The boy smiled at me before I turned to look at Jessica again. “Coz I know you can take care of yourself well.”

Jessica scrunched up her face in a playful manner. “You sound just like my grandma.”

I laughed at that. She was right, I also sound like my mother when she was sending me to Uni. “I agree,” I said as I pulled her out of the establishment. “I have an idea what to do next.”