~

As soon as the car pulled up, I muttered a quick thank you, undid my seatbelt and zoomed out of the car towards the main field where the event is taking place. I didn’t bother to check and see if he was behind, because I already knew that he would be following me.

I scanned the field in hopes of seeing the others, but I couldn’t. They must not have arrived yet. The music was blaring, and the laughter of students resounded in my ears as I roamed for a spot that would be comfortable for all of us.

When I sit down, I look up to see if Seung-Ho was still with me and he was. He sat opposite me, but a few feet away. By now I would have normally asked him random questions or talked about my day but in this moment all I could think about was how to not make my feelings for him obvious, so I just stayed silent.

After a while of looking around I collected my phone from my bag and proceeded to play snakes. This game was my go-to for pure entertainment and having the newest Nokia model out never made me so happy until this moment. It gave me an opportunity to avoid his eyes.

Some minutes pass and I can hear him shuffle around and me not being able to resist myself, I lift my head up to see him already standing. With his denim jacket left on the grass, he walks away without a word and I stare at his retreating form half-dazed and half-disappointed.

The sounds of the students voices only grows louder as the time for the event draws near, so I place my tool of avoidance (my phone) in my bag and I put my earphones in, turning on the radio on my CD player. I let out a sigh as the voices grow distant and I lay on my back. The sun was shining so brightly that my eyes couldn’t stay open and so I closed them, allowing the rays to tan my skin.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is currently 36 degrees in Seoul, so I suggest that you all be careful. Min-ah DJ, what would you say is the best advice for tackling this heat?

Oh, well I would suggest that our listeners layer their sunscreen very generously, dress appropriately and drink lots of water. That always gets me through a hot summer day.

Ah, yes of course. Staying hydrated is key for this heat. You’ve heard it folks…

The sun that was hitting my skin soon cooled down and I could sense darkness as if something covered it. I scrunched my eyebrows at the feel of something wet and cold hitting my face, only for it to be followed by a few more cold droplets. I fluttered my eyes to find a beverage being shoved in my face by none other than Seung-Ho. By the looks of it, it was fresh from the fridge.

Is this where he went? I had thought, he’d gotten tired of my boredom and went to find something else to do. But that wasn’t something Seung-Ho would do. This, however was. I quickly lifted my back off the ground and accepted the drink shyly.

“Thanks.”

If I didn’t see the bag full of drinks next to him that he had gotten for the others I would’ve felt more touched but all it did was to remind me of our sole bond.

We were friends.

I just hated the fact that my heart still wanted more than that.

The first to arrive was Myung-Soo and then shortly after, the other three came hands loaded with food. Soon, the mood picked up and we were all conversing about Ji-Soo’s incessant need for wearing odd socks. I loved my friends and I loved moments like these where we could just be together chatting about endless nothings.

For the sake of things staying the same, I really needed to tame my heart.

~

We were now on the brink of autumn; the semester was rolling with deadlines and assignments fast approaching. I had things under control however and because I always hated being disorganised with school work, I made sure to do what I needed to do on time and still manage to help out at the store when needed.

Today was the day that the group had planned to help out at the pet shelter near the University. It was to support Bo-Ra’s charity society that she ran, in the absence of Bo-Ra so I didn’t mind. What I did mind was that none of the others had shown up and I was now the only one helping with fifteen puppies. I didn’t bother calling when it was an hour past our scheduled meet-up time because nobody had cared to message me.

As annoyed as I was, as soon as I saw the puppies my bitter mood soon evaporated, and I jumped to start with helping them. My evening went by like that, cleaning, bathing and feeding puppy after puppy. I was tired, but I still wanted to go to the library to study more.

I checked my phone one last time to see if there were any messages from the others, but there wasn’t, besides from Myung-Soo.

Myung-Soo:

>How was the puppy thing with the others?

I sighed, even if he didn’t turn up at least he messaged me.

Me:

>Nobody turned up.

I quickly turned my phone off and went to wait for the bus that went to the library. My steps slowed when I saw Seung-Ho standing in the middle of two elderly ladies with his hands in those damn pockets of his. If he was here, in the same vicinity, why was I the only one helping out?

Deciding to not think about it I put on my headphones which were connected to my empty CD player, so that it looked like I was busy, and I moved to the edge of the stop.

I must not have looked busy enough because soon I could feel his eyes on me. I shifted under his gaze, quickly turning in the opposite direction. That wasn’t enough either because soon I smelt the same apple scented shampoo that he’d been using for ten years invade my senses. As I turned back around, there he was.

“Oh, Seung-Ho-yah…” I smiled, feigning innocence. If he was going to flake he should at least have the decency to hide. “Funny to bump into you here.”

“Yeah… Did you go to the pet shelter?” He asked probably noticing my outfit… and the fact that I smelled like dogs. I nodded silently. “I messaged Bo-Ra telling her I wouldn’t be able to make it.” He informed, but I nodded mindlessly pretending not to be interested. If he had messaged Bo-Ra separately then maybe everyone else did too.

If only I was good with technology, I’d create something that allowed all of us to message at the same time. At least that way I could keep an eye on them.

“What are you listening to?” He tried this time and my eyes widened because I was listening to nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I coughed, quickly changing the topic. “Where are you going?”

“Library.”

“Me too.” I replied.

Nothing was said after that. We both silently got on the bus, sitting on the same row but on opposite ends. Just before we had all gotten to University I would have gladly sat next to him, invading his personal space even and he wouldn’t show any signs of being affected by it. But why does that make me uncomfortable now?

At the next stop an elderly woman climbed on and Seung-Ho immediately offered his seat up for her which was a good deed in my eyes. That was until that good deed drew him to my side as he sat down next to me, his bare arm rubbing against my bare arm.

I wonder if he could he hear it? Could he see it? Could he hear my heart pounding inside my chest, and could he see the heat rising in my cheeks? I move my gaze to the window and tried to distract my heart by counting how many cyclists were passing by.

We sat like that with no words exchanged. And just like we had gotten on the bus silently, we stepped off silently.

~

After my session in the library I made my way back to my dorm, but not before taking a slight glance at Seung-Ho who was on the opposite end still working hard. Turned out for a theatrics major, you needed to do a lot of reading.

He looked up at me for a second and I paused hoping that maybe he had something to say but I was wrong, he blinked at me which I took as a form of acknowledgement and quickly continued as he sunk his head back into his books.

When I got to my room I lay on the bed and although wanting to sleep I couldn’t. Thoughts about my future and what sector I should work in clouded my mind. In reality I didn’t have to worry, because either of my parent’s corporation was essentially my to own, but if I were to work at any of them I wanted to get the grades and work my way up from the bottom.

Turning on my phone I saw several messages from Myung-Soo, replying to my earlier message.

Myung-Soo:

>No one? Like no one?

>Mian. If I’d known I would have finished up on time and picked you up.

>Are you asleep?

I checked the time and it’s now 11pm. The last message was sent thirty minutes ago so I swiftly replied with a no. Sleep must not have been visiting either of us because he replied in no time.

Myung-Soo:

>Bench?

Me:

>Bench.

Like that the two of us ended up on the bench we had secretly claimed as our own, both