Sungyeol was a bit hesitant, but why wouldn’t he be? Today was the day that, not only he, but his whole family was anticipating. Today, he would see for himself if he was able to disprove everybody’s low expectations of him. Unlike his charming smile, he was never the brightest. He was a walking hypocrisy when his glasses were on…

He took a step forward, approaching the bulletin board ever so slightly, “Am I there?”

A person bumped into him, it was an old classmate from a couple of years ago, “I’m sorry…” It took him only a couple of moments to remember him, “So… You think you made it?”
 

Sungyeol was bashful, “I think I did. I mean I spent…God know how many hours I spent studying, but I spent hours on end.”

“Give me some of your confidence, Sungyeol!” his old classmate told him, “If you made it, then I fo’ show got it made too!”

Sungyeol felt his confidence rise, not taking notice of the jab toward his intelligence his old classmate had inflicted. He took a brave step forward. When his eyes latched onto the list of Accepted, the words that came out were natural, “Aww fuuuuuuuudge. I didn’t make it.”

His old classmate, however, was cheering for joy; he did make it. Sungyeol bowed his head in shame and decided to go for a walk, to clear his mind, and avoid his parents’ disappointment even if for a while.

It was quite breezy, still early in the morning at 8 am. Sungyeol caught glimpse of a small park that was empty and headed over to take a seat on the swings. He swung for a while, it was depressing to simply look at him, but there he was, having the time of his life. He swung upwards a great height, astonished at his own capabilities, with his feet lifted up nonetheless.

“Why can’t I get a degree in swinging?”

A short while after, an elderly couple passed by and he quickly grew embarrassed.

“Hooligan! Get a job!” the old man yelled at him.

Sungyeol took a deep sigh, He’s right. He was left to look at the dust between his feet. Then, the elderly lady approached him and handed over a piece of lemon candy.

“Don’t worry about him. I apologize for his stupidity. I know it must be hard looking for work in these times. But, at least you’re handsome sonny, I’m sure that’ll help! It helped my boy who looks exactly like you!”

Sungyeol smiled at her kind words and popped the candy in his mouth. He waved bye at her as she left, but scowled at the old man when their eyes met.

10 minutes or so passed, Sungyeol was tapping his fingers on his leg, thinking of what else he could do. He considered going back home, but after looking at his watch, he decided against it. It was still 8:38 and his father wouldn’t leave for work until 9:30, and then his mom always lingered until around 10ish, after which she would spend the day with her friends volunteering at an abandoned animals place. With no clear destination in mind, Sungyeol played on the slide and then the sandbox for a while until he got bored. His nice slacks got dirty, but he didn’t care much. He wiped the sand off his pants and finally decided to leave the park.

He wasn’t too used to that particular area, as the college he applied to was somewhat far away from his home, so he decided to do some exploring. He passed by office buildings, a couple of boutiques, until an old antique store caught his attention. Sungyeol was random like that…

He took a step inside and was greeted by an old man who looked as though he missed his breakfast. The old man coughed when Sungyeol stretched his hand to take hold of an old vase. He set it down and picked up an old tin robot in its place. The old man coughed louder. He set it down, and now he reached for a beautiful glass bird. The old man coughed even louder. By now, it was obvious to Sungyeol that the old man was a supporter of the unwritten No Touchy policy. But, an old pocket watch caught his attention. It was gold with a beautiful silver design etched onto its cover. He admired it for a while until his hand naturally went for it. The old man coughed like crazy.

“Jeez, old man! I just want to look at it! Give me a break!” Sungyeol shouted at him.

The old man didn’t respond, and in fact, his face looked rather pale. Worried, Sungyeol dropped the watch and rushed over at him. It turns out the old man was choking and had been choking for a while. Sungyeol slapped his back until the old man coughed up some nasty phlegm and cookie crumbs.

“Thank you my boy,” the old man told him with a sincere look, “maybe I should have asked for some help earlier, but I thought it would go away. I think you might have saved my life…”

Sungyeol felt relieved and was glad to be of help, but he quickly remembered the old pocket watch he dropped. He speedily walked over to it, trying to be secretive of the fact that he dropped it, but was met with anguish when he found it busted on the floor. He picked up the two halves that had separated and went over to the old man with a concerned expression.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. It’s not worth that much to be honest,” the old man told him after sipping his tea.
 

“But…”

The old man patted his shoulder, “I told you, it’s fine! You chose an old timer over an old thing no one would’ve ever bought, so it’s okay. Don’t worry about it!”

Sungyeol took another deep sigh of relief, “Thank you.”
 

The old man took the parts, magically put them back together, and placed it inside Sungyeol’s pocket. “It’s yours boy, you can keep it. A token of appreciation for saving my life.”

“For realsies?!” Sungyeol eagerly asked.

“Yes, just for you!”

“Thanks old man!”

The old man gave a warm smile and ruffled Sungyeol’s hair, “I’m sure you must make your parents proud! You remind me of my son…”

Hearing the words make your parents proud instilled a sense of shame in Sungyeol’s heart. He put up a smile for the old man though, albeit a fake one.

Sungyeol walked away from the antique store, continuing to walk down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace so he can look around at all the stores and buildings that made up the streets. He walked for another three blocks when he noticed an ice cream shop across the street. He read the time on his watch, 10:03 am.

“Maybe I should indulge?”

Sungyeol looked both ways and crossed the street when the cars stopped passing by. He took a gander inside, no one was there but the cashier, a girl. Sungyeol smiled happily at the thought of buying a cone, so he went inside.

“Welcome!” the cashier greeted.

Sungyeol took a good look at her. She was beautiful. She took his breath away, and left him with his jaw dropped. Rumor says that in that very moment in time, you could hear the thousands of fireworks bursting in Sungyeol’s heart. The boy fell in love with her at that moment. She was tall, slender, her hair a jet black, and her skin was radiant. She was like an angel…

But, Sungyeol snapped out of it and walked over to her so he could order his cone.

“I’ll take some Berries N’ Cream and a scoop of cookie?” he told her.

She didn’t hear him, “I’m sorry, can you speak up?”

Sungyeol was slightly nervous “Ah, yeah sorry. I’ll take some Berries N’ Cream and a scoop of cookie.”

She took his order and charged him, “₩4,985.00"

Sungyeol took out his wallet and dropped a couple of coins, “I’m sorry, I’m such a dunce.”

She just smiled.

Sungeyol picked up the coins and gave the money owed. “Thanks!” he told her as he reached for his cone.

His hand touched hers when he grasped the cone, and he was only glad.

YES!!! he was going inside, as he took a seat that had a great vantage point with the cash register in sight.

He sat, eating slowly in purpose with the intention of stealing glances at her whenever she wouldn’t notice.

I wonder what her name is…

He took another glance at her, but this time, their eyes met. She gave a slight smile. Sungyeol’s face became a rosy red, and he could tell his cheeks were now hot. He quickly looked away.

 After he noticed he was basically finished with his ice cream, he still questioned what her name was. So, in the most nonchalant of ways, he walked over to the trash can that was near the front, the one closest to the cash register, all the while ignoring the one that was literally a couple of steps away from him.

He took a gander at her name tag as he threw away his trash.

Tzuyu. Her name’s Tzuyu. Must be a foreigner.

The automatic doors then opened and in came a group of guys, customers.

“Thanks again,” he told her as he began to leave.

“You’re welcome! Come again!” she replied, leaving Sungyeol with a dumb smile.