“You’re kidnapping me, aren’t you?”

“Is that a problem?”

Minjoo laughs lightly.

“Guess not.”

They had been walking for quite a bit, but Chaewon wouldn’t give any clue as to where they were going. She insisted that it was a secret secret and that she’d have to wait until they got there.

Throughout the entire walk, their hands hand stayed firmly intertwined with each other.

“Here we are!”

Minjoo blinked quizzically at their surroundings. It didn’t seem particularly special; it was just another alley.

“So, uh, what exactly is here?”

Today must be a really good day for seeing new sides of Chaewon, because the childish, excited smile and gleam in her eyes are definitely things she hadn’t seen before.

“Check this out!”

Chaeown tugs her forward and leads her around this zigzagging of pathways and passages behind the buildings. She suddenly lets go of Minjoo’s hand and instead goes towards a relatively small and empty dumpster.

Minjoo holds back the small whine at Chaewon’s hand leaving her own and instead opts to stare in confusion as Chaewon pushes aggressively against the dumpster, rolling it to one side just a bit.

“Ta-da!” Chaewon exclaims proudly with outstretched arms.

Minjoo stares again at the little hole that had been uncovered in the wall and then back to Chaewon’s excited grin.

“Okay, so you want me to… go in?” Minjoo asks with a point of her finger.

“Yup.”

“Suspicious, but okay.”

Minjoo shrugs and enters the hole with Chaewon close behind. She’s not too sure what to expect; she hadn’t ever been in a dumpster hole before. This was a little---

Oh wow.

“Cool, right?”

The two of them stood in a very wide, very tall tunnel. There wasn’t much light going on besides what was coming through the entryway, but Chaewon walked a bit inside and a few lamps.

She couldn’t tell how far the tunnel went, but wow, it was big. It looked like Chaewon had made her own little hideout near the entrance of the place. There were notebooks and pens and pencils and stuffed animals and tons of other things.

“What is this?” She asked in awe, still swiveling her head around in wonder.

Chaewon shrugged and picked a few things off of the desk against the wall, fiddling with this and that.

“Not sure. I found it one night when I was a kid, running away from something ty I did. It’s not easy to find, I’ll tell you that, but it makes for a very good hideout.”

Minjoo watches as she flips through a notebook.

“I haven’t been here for a while.”

There’s a smile on her face, a little sad but also pretty happy. Minjoo can’t help but get closer to her and place her head on her shoulder.

Surprisingly, Chaewon doesn’t flinch at all. She doesn’t stiffen, either. Not even when Minjoo wraps her arms around her waist.

“What’s that?” She asks quietly, referring to the notebook in Chaewon’s hand. As she flipped through, Minjoo caught glimpses of pages of writing and a few doodles here and there.

“Some journal, a long time ago. Guess it’s really been a long time.”

She can tell Chaewon’s in some nostalgic daze, and she’s secretly really happy to be able to see Chaewon so soft and vulnerable like this.

When she finally snaps out of it, she turns back toward Minjoo with a shy smile.

“I just thought you might find it cool?”

She can’t help but chuckle softly at how adorable the other girl was.

“It’s very cool,” she laughs quietly while taking hold of Chaewon’s hand.

“Where does this lead to?”

Chaewon shrugs her shoulders again and looks off into the darkness wistfully.

“I know there are a few big openings here and there, all of them hidden, but I’ve never actually seen the whole thing. I’m betting on the fact that there’s some hidden treasure or some awesome fort back there.”

Minjoo laughs and looks down at their intertwined hands (wow they were really close) and runs her thumb over the back of her hand.

“How about I show you someplace cool too?”

Chaewon grins at her.

“I’d like that.”

~~~

“It isn’t a slightly creepy but very cool hidden tunnel, but I hope you like it?”

After leaving Chaewon’s little hideaway, Minjoo dragged her a few blocks down into one of the nearby parks. They walked past so many beautiful spots, lush greenery and blooming flowers everywhere, but Minjoo insisted that they weren’t there yet. That is, until they zig-zagged all the way to this secluded spot on the edge of the lake.

“Wow.”

She had seen the lake before, but never like this. Somehow, this spot made everything fall together perfectly; everything just seemed that much more beautiful. The city was clear in the distance, the bright lights stretching far above the treeline along the edges of the lake. She could make out some fish dashing through the water; a bit away from them was a family of ducks as well. From this spot, it really felt as though the lake, first bounded by the trees of the forest, was then hugged securely by the surrounding city. The boundary between urban and not seemed to fade away here, and the fact that she wasn’t alone made it that much more special.

“You like it?” Minjoo asked as she sat down and lightly tugged Chaewon along with her.

Chaewon hummed quietly, leaning back against a tree. She must be a real softie today, because she can’t hide her content sigh when Minjoo leans against her.

“You know, sometimes, I kind of laugh when I see you.”

“Because?”

“Your first impression was really jarring, you know. It’s just really amusing seeing you like, well, this, I guess. You haven’t exactly been the scary person I envisioned you to be,” Minjoo laughed.

“I guess I didn’t leave a very good first impression,” Chaewon chuckles back.

Minjoo can hear Chaewon’s heartbeat, feel her chest vibrate with each laugh.

“I told myself to be careful around you, but I guess that didn’t work out, huh?”

Chaewon squeezes her hand gently.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly come to make friends either.”

Friends, huh?

Minjoo suddenly changes their position with her practically stradling Chaewon against the tree and their faces only a few inches apart.

The surprise in her eyes is quite amusing, but she was paying more attention to the way her cheeks turned red and her breathing hitched.

She smirked.

“I guess we get along well.”

It took everything in her to hold back her snicker at how Chaewon just squeaked in response.

We’ve really come a long way, huh?

It takes a few beats before Chaewon finally clears and actually responds coherently.

“You’re okay, I suppose,” she tries to say smoothly.

Minjoo decided to stop messing with her (as fun as it was) and instead flipped herself around so that she sat securely in between Chaewon’s legs with her head against her chest. She smiled at how quickly Chaewon’s heart was beating. It was pretty funny how shy and anxious she was earlier, what with her panicking over seeing Chaewon today and all that, but things were a lot easier when Chaewon acted like… this.

“Let’s stay here for a little bit longer?” She asked despite already making herself comfortable against Chaewon’s body.

She felt arms snake around her waist (she swore she could also feel Chaewon’s smile).

“Okay.”