The sun was gleaming so bright it almost blinded Junmyeon. It was a perfect day to go outside to the park to read a good book and have a picnic. The wind was perfect. It provided the perfect atmosphere: not too strong to feel cold nor too light to feel extremely hot. For more than a few heartbeats, Junmyeon wished he hadn't agreed to this, especially when he heard the sounds of screaming sharply piercing the air.

"Enjoy your day!" the friendly girl behind the counter said to the both of them as she handed them a ticket. Junmyeon gulped nervously as he walked further into the theme park and almost shuddered at the sight of a rollercoaster that was twisting and turning. He may or may not have forgotten to mention he was slightly scared of them. OK, maybe very scared. 

"Should we start off with Rush?." Irene asked excitedly as she turned toward Junmyeon and pointed to an adult ride. It was high and looked every much the death trap Junmyeon feared. Junmyeon looked up at the ride and saw it slowly reaching to the peak of the track before dropping down at an alarmingly fast ride. He felt nauseous just looking at it. 

They were both still standing near the entrance gates and Junmyeon had half a mind to distract her long enough to make a run for it. Irene had kept the venue a surprise. As soon as he had seen where she planned the first 'date', Junmyeon had the urge to go home. Being scared of heights always made him avoid theme parks. Even when Sehun and Minseok managed to drag him out (which was once), he would either hold their bags or go on the rides for children just to bide his time.

I can't do this. I should tell her. Who cares about my pride? There's nothing wrong with being afraid of heights. So many peo-

"How about we start with the kid rides?" Junmyeon found himself saying instead, trying to act nonchalant.

Idiot.

"Huh?" 

"It's a custom me and my friends have. We always start off with the small child rides and then make our way up to the big ones." 

He saw a small frown mark Irene's forehead. She looked confused and a little thrown off. She didn't know anyone who did that but then again, it's not like she socialized with many people either. 

In reality, Junmyeon had a plan:

First: he hoped there would be long queues at the front of all the kid rides (since there seemed to be a lot of people with kids in the park) which would hopefully result into a lot of their time being wasted.

Second: After finishing the kid rides, he would pretend to be hungry and take ages to eat before they could make their way onto the adult rides. 

Third: he would pretend to be feeling sick because of the amount of food he had ate and sit out of the rides, leaving Irene to go off by herself while he waited.

His plan was a genius one. 

"Why waste time when all the fun is where the adult rides are at?" Irene looked suspicious. 

"I just like keeping tradition. That's all." He prayed she wouldn't ask too many question and would just agree. 

"OK" she sighed. "Fine. I've never done it like that before. I guess there's a first time for everything." 

Junmyeon breathed a sigh of relief which he didn't know he had been anxiously holding in and followed Irene's lead. 

That was easy. 

*

Junmyeon discovered, to his disappointment, that the lines for the child rides were considerably shorter than the adult rides. There was only a handful of people before them so they only had to wait a minute to get on.

The first ride they went onto was a pirate ship which rocked side-to-side and rose a little higher each time as it went. Irene and Junmyeon stepped onto the pirate ship and put the restraint down. Junmyeon double checked the restraint was fully down by pulling it up and then clutched onto it tightly like his whole life depended on it, because it really did. Junmyeon looked at the people on the ride before it started to take his mind off what was going to happen. He noticed that he and Irene were the only non-parents on the ride while everyone else sat with their child. The ride started off slow and low to the ground. It felt nice and relaxing but he knew it wasn't going to last as the momentum of the ship was getting faster and the ship was going higher each time. 

Junmyeon gripped the restraint so tight he saw his knuckles turn blinding white and he felt his breath being robbed off of him. The ground (although he knew wasn't so far off the ground) seemed so high. This was torture. He turned his attention to the kids who were on the ship in his panicked state of mind and he saw them all looking like they were having the time of their lives. All of them were smiling and giggling. He turned to Irene. She looked....relaxed and amused at the same time with a small smirk on her face. More than anything, she seemed to be basking in the feeling of the wind through her hair. As the ride went higher, Junmyeon closed his eyes and imagined he was anywhere else and not in a death trap. The wind blew a breeze into his hair and he tried concentrating on that feeling. Before he knew it, the ride was over and Junmyeon stepped off with an unsteady smile.

Mission; accomplished. 

Irene was quiet as they stood in line for the next ride which was located beside the pirate ship. She was too busy looking at her surroundings and all the rides to pay attention to Junmyeon, something which he was thankful for because he didn't want her to catch sight of the way he couldn't hide how he wanted to retch everytime he saw a rollercoaster twist and go in loops. 

The next death trap  ride they entered was a swing. Like the pirate ship, there were several swings (single and couple swings) which went higher and higher into the air each time it turned around. Junmyeon's hands started to sweat out of nervousness just thinking about sitting on the swing. It was high. Way too high for it to be a normal child ride. With the nervousness and the high of the ride before rushing through his veins, Junmyeon had failed to realize they had come to a ride that wasn't for kids. It was too late to back out since the rest of the people in line were ready in their seats and Irene was making her way onto a single swing. Junmyeon quickly stopped her by grabbing onto her arm. She turned around to look at him with confusion written all over her face.

"Let's sit on this one. It looks good." He lead her to the nearest couple swing and moved to sit down onto it, clutching the swings handle tightly. He didn't let go of her arm until she sat down for fear she would go back to the solo swing and leave him alone. Again, Irene said nothing and quietly sat down beside him. He realized it was unsual that she wasn't talking much but didn't get to voice it aloud as the ride began moving slowly. With one sweaty hand holding onto the handle and the other holding onto the brace that was between them, he held his breath and closed his eyes, praying Irene wouldn't look at him. Gasps and screams were infiltrating the air the higher and faster the swings went. Junmyeon's sweaty hand was losing grip and he thought he'd have a full blown panic attack. 

"Wow. It's really beautiful." he heard Irene mumble softly and he made the mistake of opening his eyes and looking at her. They were high. Really high. Too high. Very very high. Junmyeon felt like he could touch the sky if the swing moved a little higher. He quickly mumbled a nervous "ha-ha yeah" weakly because he didn't want her to realize he had his eyes shut for majority of the ride, before turning his face away and closing his eyes again chanting prime numbers in his head. He got to 127 before he felt the ride was slow enough and almost near to the ground for him to open his eyes again. With unsteady legs, he got up from the seat and blew out a shaky breath.

Misson 2: accomplished. 

The next few rides they rode on were really childish rides, rides that even Junmyeon felt embarassed to be on but still prefered over the adult rides anyday. Teacup rides, horse carousel rides, small bumper car rides all which were harmless, safe and most importantly rides that were close to the ground. Irene looked like she didn't mind for the most part so he took advantage of it and lead her to them all, choosing only the ones he felt confident he wouldn't be scared of.

------------------------------------

"Shall we go and eat?" Junmyeon asked. Even though it was supposed to be a part of his plan, he was geniunely hungry. He needed a lot of energy for those rides, albeit most of them were slow and relaxing.

Attached to the theme park was a small area where a food trailer was selling everything hot from burgers and chicken pasta to hotdogs. Brown wooden benches and tables were placed around the trailer for customers to sit and eat. Irene went to secure a place while Junmyeon brought them hotdogs and a large box of cheesy fries to share from with two bottles of drinks. 

"When were you going to me that you were afraid of heights?" Irene asked after a few minutes of silent eating. 

Junmyeon almost choked out his mouthful of fries. He thought he had covered the fact up well. 

"What? I'm not scar-" he stopped after looking at Irene's pointed 'stop-with-the-bull-look'. "OK. Fine. I admit it. I'm scared of heights so I can't go on the scary big rides." He felt stupid. He knew he wasn't the only person in the world with a fear of heights but it still made him feel like a coward to admit it. He feared Irene might make jokes out of it. Trying to face anywhere but her, he looked down at his half-eaten hotdog.

"You , you could've just told me sooner and I would've taken us somewhere else. It's OK to admit your fears, you know?". Suprisingly her voice was gentle and soft and held no source of sarcasm or contempt. He looked up at her to find her gently smiling at him. This was different. He hadn't seen her smile like that at anyone much less him before. It was soft and.....it reminded him of Yoona. 

"What gave it away?" 

"Are you kidding me?" she picked up three fries and shoved them in . "Your face went all pale as soon as you entered the theme park. I had a hunch when you said to start off with the small rides but it wasn't until you chose the couple swing for us that I realized you were scared." 

"Maybe I just wanted to be close to you." Junmyeon stared at her intently before they both burst out laughing loudly. 

They ate quietly for a little while longer, listening to the faint sound of the burgers being cooked in the trailer and the sound of those around them talking before Junmyeon started to speak. 

"It happened when I was younger. The fear, I mean." Junmyeon hesitantly started off. The only people who knew this story were the people involved, his parents and Sehun and Minseok. It was personal and he found himself in a predicament because he didn't know how much to tell her. He figured he owed it to her to tell her about the incident atleast briefly after dragging her to all those rides.

"I was six years old and my mother had taken me to a park near our house where there was this big climbing frame. I always used to climb it everytime I went with Sehun and Minseok but I would never manage to reach the top. For some reason, something always stopped me. I was a little scared, I guess. On that day, I was playing around by myself on the frame while my mom was talking on the bench with a neighbour. I got about halfway and then decide to come down but this kid, who was also next to me on the frame, started taunting me for not being able to go higher. He wanted to have a race and see who could go higher and reach the top first but the when I refused, he threatened me with stuff like how he was going to tell everyone in school what a scared little boy I was and how I was afraid of every little thing." Irene saw Junmyeon smile a little but there was no humor in his eyes. It was like his mind was somewhere far away imagining and reliving it all again. 

"Originally, I ignored it. My fear was stronger than his taunts but the more he spoke, the more of an audience had gathered. Other kids started joining in and jeering at me and following his lead. I looked to my mom for help but she was too far away and too busy talking to notice me just frozen on the frame. The more they sneered at me, the more angrier and determined I got. I wanted to prove them wrong. I could do it. So I went and started climbing all the way to the top. The boy started climbing too beside me. I was a little smaller than him so I was able to move faster and he saw that I was ahead of him. All the kids started cheering me on and I guess that must have pissed him off because just before I could reach the top, he pulled onto my sweater and pushed me down. Although the ground wasn't concrete, I still hurt myself by falling from a height so suddenly and he had pushed me in such a way, my body rolled and collided with the metal frame while I was falling. Luckily no bones of mine were broken but a lot of them were cracked and my head was bleeding because of a sharp piece of glass that on the floor. It didn't take long for me to physically heal but mentally, I was traumatized since then and even till now, I still try to avoid anything with heights."

Junmyeon stared off at a distance quietly and Irene remained silent too. She understood why he was afraid now. It was a psychological fear, something which wasn't so easy to overcome. She didn't know what to say to him. 'I'm sorry it happened to you' just didn't cut it and she didn't want to say anything meritless. When Junmyeon looked at her again, she knew he was back in the real world and the past was left behind him. His eyes were clear again. 

"So, what's your verdict about me then?" he asked, changing the subject. 

"Mmmm?" After hearing a glimpse of Junmyeon's past, Irene's mind has drifted off to her own. Something he wished she could forget.

"You said you were going to analyze me the whole day and then give me a rating out of 10 based on how well I did?." Her eyes looked cloudy like her mind was elsewhere. "When I came to collect you from the dorm, remember?." Junmyeon tried again. 

Irene blinked and cleared her mind. She focused her thoughts on the moments they had left for the theme park and how she had told him she was going to assess him first throughout the day and give him a rating each week and how she would then point out his strengths and weaknesses. That way she could see how he improves as the weeks go by with her expert help and advice. 

"I've been analyzing you the whole day and I've concluded you're right. You'd be the worst boyfriend. My rating? 2/10. Your strength? You paid for my food. Your weakness? Everything else. You lack in so many areas." 

"Like what?" he mumbled, almost defensively. He thought he was doing great so far.

"Let's start from the beginning, when you came to my dorm room to collect me for this outing. All you said was 'let's go'. That is the worst way to start off a date." she huffed and crossed her arm. "No 'hello' or 'you look beautiful' was said, it was just 'let's go'. That's something couples who've been married for 40+ years say to each other because they're so done with the romance side of things and can barely stand each other.'

"Well, maybe, if someone," he looked at her exasperatedly, "wasn't taking ages to get ready, I wouldn't have had the need to time-keep. I like sticking to schedules and you took an extra 35 minutes from the scheduled time." Junmyeon complained. "I mean, what is there to do? Did you decide to stitch your clothes from scratch just to wear today or something? I don't understand why it has to take you THAT long when we obviously decided on a certain time. Five extra minutes, OK, fine. I get it but 35 freaking minutes? Lady, you're lucky I need this or else I would have pissed you off too and went back to my room to take a nap and have made YOU wait an hour." 

He had to wait outside her dorm room for what felt like forever as she got ready, earning him stares and whispers from the students who walked by. Kim Junmyeon, the nice and friendly star-student waiting outside the not-so-friendly and cold Irene's room. What was he doing there?

"Oh my god, you're unbelievable. Can you stop exaggerating? I didn't even take that long. I checked the time and I only took 32 minutes extra. Where did the 35 come from?" 

"Wow, forgive me for rounding up, my majesty." Junmyeon rolled his eyes.

Irene scowled at him and shoved fries in . Accusing her of 35 minutes when she only took 32? The nerve of this guy.

"Rule number 1: Compliment your date so she feels good about herself." she spoke with full and Junmyeon made a face of disgust at her. 

"I'll keep that in mind when my date doesn't take 35 minutes." 

"You're shameless. Do you want my help or not?" 

"Yes, Yes, I do. I'm sorry. Please go ahead." 

"As soon as you see her, start with hello and a compliment. It'll raise her confidence and make her feel wanted. 'Wow that's a nice polo you're wearing, Junmyeon.'"

"Really?" Junmyeon was suprised. "Than-"

"No, it's not. I'm just giving you an example. It actually looks like something you stole from your grandfather's closet because you wanted to roleplay." 

Junmyeon glared at her. 

"That's a nice headband you're wearing, Irene." 

Irene smiled. "see? now you're getting the ha-"

"I'm suprised it fit that big head of yours but I guess anything's possible." he finished, shoving a fry in his mouth. He didn't think she had a big head, he just wanted to get her back.

"Some of us were blessed in the 'big' department for things. Guess you wouldn't know since everything about you is small including your di-" 

"I'm suprised your dress can contain all that iness inside. Must be made out of some strong material. Anything else would have ripped off by now." 

"You wish it did." she sneered. 

"I'd rather gourge out my eyes with a fork than you see you ." he jeered back. 

They glared at one another, swearing profanities at each other until Junmyeon slowly quietened up after he realized that this was so unlike him. He rarely ever acted like this.It was as if he was a small teenager again bickering back and forth. Sure, he did it with Sehun and Minseok but that's because he knew them all his life and they were his best friends. Irene, on the other hand, he barely knew. They had only met properly a few weeks ago and already he was squabbling with her like he knew her like he did his best friends. To everyone else he was usually mature and sensible but Irene was slowly starting to bring out a side of him he didn't even realize he had. 

---------------------------------------

"Step 2: communication. Good dates are often built on excellent communication. Try to find stuff you guys have in common." Irene taught as Junmyeon listened intently while they rode the bus back to the college campus together. They had both forgone the rest of the theme park rides since they wasted a lot of time arguing in the park and feeding the ducks. Junmyeon had offered to hold her bags while she went on the rides alone but she refused. What fun was it, going alone? 

"Sometimes, it's easier to find stuff to talk about when you don't have stuff in common too. Finding similaries and differences are both a blessing in a way." she continued. "In your case, Yoona is more like you, yes?." Junmyeon nodded softly and the thought brought a smile to his face. They had a lot in common. Their major was the biggest of them all. Junmyeon would love to spend hours talking to her about the economy and marketing strategies.

"Can you stop smiling like a creep? I can practically see your nerdy fantasies being played out." Irene mumbled as Junmyeon's cheeks tinged with pink. "Judging from the awkward encounter I saw the both of you have previously, I think you both have no problems talking about your major as much as you have difficulty talking about normal stuff, right?" 

Junmyeon was impressed and he couldn't hide it. She was good at paying attention to detail even though she had only seen them interacting once. 

"Yeah, I mean I wouldn't say I find it easy talking about our major or even about education but it's a piece of cake compared to the conversations that people normally have. Like this conversation, I find it easy with you but I'd probably stutter and melt on the spot if it were her." 

Irene hummed and thought deeply.

"Maybe it's because your soul recognizes its mate and is comfortable with it." 

They both giggled at that and the old lady sitting opposite them smiled warmly at them. They looked endearing, huddled up in a couple seat, talking and laughing.

"OK let's practice conversation starters then. Pretend I'm Yoona." 

Junmyeon rolled his eyes. "It won't work." he complained. "I can't just pretend you're Yoona." 

"Just shut up and try. How else will you practice? You're both awkward as hell. If you don't make the right move, I bet you'll both be stuck in this trance forever. Imagine I'm her and start a conversation." 

Junmyeon shut his eyes and tried to imagine Yoona sitting infront of him. He envisioned the usual flutter of butterflies he felt in his stomach whenever he stared at her and the nervousness that he would normally endure. 

"Hi." Junmyeon squeaked.

"Open your eyes, idiot. Who talks with their eyes closed?" 

Junmyeon cracked one eye open. "You know you're making it even harder for me to imagine you're Yoona, the more you open that mouth of yours." 

This time it was Irene's eyes to roll her eyes. 

Junmyeon closed his eyes again and tried hard to imagine Irene was Yoona. Within a few seconds, he conjured up the usual feelings he usually got around Yoona.

"Hi." he mumbled with his eyes open. 

"Hi, Junmyeon." Irene put on an extra girly voice which Junmyeon could only assume was her imititating Yoona. 

"Nice weather we're having, isn't it?" 

"Yeah, it is." Irene  Yoona smiled shyly. 

"So how's your mom?" 

"she's---wait what?" 

"what?" 

"what do you mean what?" 

"I mean what-what? why did you say what?" 

"why did you ask about her mom so randomly? do you know her mom?" 

"No. I just thought.....it was a good starter for a conversation." 

"Good lord." Irene looked horrified as if Junmyeon told her she was the ugliest person he had ever saw. "You need help." 

"That's kind of the reason we're together right now, genuis." 

"Don't be smart with me. Who on earth asks about someone's mom?"

Junmyeon sighed. This wasn't going so well. 

"The line about the weather was good atleast, right?." he asked hopefully.

"It was," Irene looked like she was grasping for the right words but none were coming, "better than asking her about her mother, yes but it was still a line." 

"Atleast that's something. I got it from Spongebob Squarements" Junmyeon admitted shyly. 

"I...........Jesus.........even a sponge has more of a conversation skill than you do." Irene said with disbelief as they both got off the bus. 

They headed towards their campus and stopped in the centre which was the middle ground that split ways to each of their dorms which were in two different buildings. The boys all shared the building on the left of the campus while the girls shared the one on the right.

By the time they got back, the sky was already starting to get dark so hardly anyone was loitering around the campus. Only three or four were walking around. Students were either out enjoying their saturday night or were inside their dorms having a quiet night in. 

"Listen, I'm sorry about today." Junmyeon said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. He could feel his ears turning red.

"For what?" 

"For wasting your time and making you go on the kid rides when I could have just told you the truth." He had been feeling a pang of guilt the whole ride home. 

"Don't be. I don't like to admit it but.....I actually enjoyed myself." 

"Really?" Junmyeon couldn't hide the shock from his face. He was so sure she hated the whole trip. 

"Yeah. You made a fool out of yourself so many times, I lost count." Irene smirked and Jumyeon found himself grinning back.

"I guess I can't deny that." he rubbed his neck. He was glad he didn't ruin her day. Maybe his awkwardness was good for something after all. 

A ringtone sounded off and Irene took a look at her phone before she switched it off and when she looked back at Junmyeon, he couldn't quite place the reaction on her face.

"I better go inside." she said quietly. 

"Yeah, see you next week? Same day?"

"Why, Kim Junmyeon, are you asking me on a date?." she feigned suprise. 

Junmyeon laughed. 

"Yes. Yes, I am. Next week, I get to pick the place though." 

"Fine. See you around." she said as she turned to go to her dorm.

"I'll text you, OK?" he called out as she walked away. 

"What?" she asked with her back still to him.

"I SAID I'LL TEXT YOU, OK?" he shouted. The few people who were walking around the campus all looked towards him. 

"Wow, no need to be so desperate." she turned to face him and laughed before walking off.

She done it on purpose. 

---------------------------------------

Junmyeon walked into an empty dorm room. Before he left, he had made a huge mess of things, chucking clothes everywhere just to find a clothes that was 'light' as Irene had instructed him to but all traces of that was gone as Minseok, the neat freak, had cleaned the room from top to bottom. He found a sticky note beside the small table near his bed.

'Staying over at Jongdae's'

-M x

He smiled as he thought of his friend's love life. He was happy for him. Minseok hadn't had the easiest of relationships especially after he went through a hard breakup with his last boyfriend Luhan who had left him. Junmyeon had never seen Minseok like he had seen him at that time. He was a broken man and so distraught that not even Junmyeon or Sehun could help him heal. It was only through Jongdae, Minseok found true happiness again. Jongdae was always a friend of theirs but not a close one that they would hang around with often. They would see him around in high school and college but it wasn't until Minseok's heartbreak that Jongdae started hanging out with them more. Jongdae naturally gravitated towards people who needed help. It was one of the reasons he had taken Psychology as his major he once said while laughing. He liked helping people and he done a great job with Minseok. Before Junmyeon could realize, the two were joined at the hip. Sometimes the best form of help comes from the people you least expect. 

Junmyeon got out the theme park ticket from his pocket and hovered it over the bin, debating whether to chuck it away or not. He didn't need the ticket anymore so technically he could throw it away but something nagged at him at the back of his mind to keep it so he placed it inside the little shoebox of keepsakes that he kept under his bed. The box held a lot of memories. Photo's of his childhood with his parents. Photo's of him, Sehun and Minseok throughout the years. Tickets to see his first ever football game. Concert tickets. So many memories that Junmyeon didn't want to forget and to his suprise, he found that today's adventure with Irene was one of them. 

Stepping into the shower and under the hot water, Junmyeon felt his muscles relax. He was exhausted after a long day of going on rides and walking around the park. After brushing his teeth and putting the old t-shirt and flannel bottoms he always wore for nightwear, Junmyeon entered his neatly made bed. The days events filled his mind like a small movie, one scene after another. The sights he saw when he was at the top of the swing, the breeze whipping Irene's hair around, Irene insulting Junmyeon and vice versa, the both of them laughing at a comment one of them made and that night, for the second night in a row, Junmyeon found himself smiling before he went to sleep.