Saturday morning, Yewon was working from her home office. Getting up from behind her desk, she padded barefoot to the kitchen to make herself another cup of coffee. Walking back into her office, she sat back behind her desk and picked up her phone.

There was a missed call from Eunbi. Yewon straightens up, pressing dial on her number and bringing the phone up to her ear.

“Hey!” Eunbi’s warm voice came through the phone.

“Sorry, I was making coffee, I didn’t hear my phone,” Yewon apologized, propping her chin upon her hand.

“No problem, I just wanted to see what you were up to,” Eunbi replied, and Yewon could picture her clearly, smiling widely for no reason at all.

“Nothing important,” Yewon said, all thoughts about her work momentarily forgotten.

“Well if you’re not busy tonight, I was thinking we could go to the carnival, they have the best toffee apples there and I’ve been really craving them lately, but if you already have plans, that’s okay too.”

“That sounds great,” Yewon told her, “Shall we meet there, or would you like a ride?”

“Oh no, it’s fine, I wouldn’t want you to go out of your way, we can meet there,” Eunbi replied.

Yewon frowned slightly, “It’s no trouble, promise. Do you have a car?”

“Well no, but I can get a cab,” Eunbi replied, her voice bright as she started getting excited about tonight.

“I’ll pick you up, I insist,” Yewon told her, “Shall we say six?”

“Six is perfect,” Eunbi practically sang into the phone, “Do you remember where I live?”

“Of course,” Yewon smiled slightly.

“I’ll see you later then!” Eunbi said, her voice full of excitement.

As the call ended Yewon picked up her coffee, taking a sip as she leaned back in her chair with a thoughtful expression on her face. ‘What did one wear to a carnival?’

~

~

At five to six in the night, Yewon’s driver pulled up outside Eunbi’s apartment building. Eunbi was already waiting outside, a coat draped over one arm. She was dressed casually, a plaid shirt tucked into her pants, her hair up in a bun. Yewon looked down at clothes self-consciously, she had settled for the most casual thing she could think of, a shirt and a pair of pants with a coat buttoned over the top to keep the chill away. Her smile was radiant as she walked over to Yewon’s car, sliding into the back.

“Hi!” she beamed, as she buckled her seatbelt in.

“Hello,” Yewon smiled slightly, her face full of shadows in the dim light of the car, “How are you?”

“I’m great! What about you?” Eunbi asked, smiling widely at Yewon.

“Good, thanks for asking,” she replied, watching Eunbi’s nose crinkle as she smiled.

They sat mostly in silence as Yewon’s driver drove them to the carnival near the pier. Occasionally Eunbi would burst out with a random thought or comment, seeing something new outside the car window. Yewon would murmur a reply. She had never been on for small talk and was content to watch Eunbi watch people, enjoying the childlike wonder she hadn’t left behind.

As they pulled up outside the pier, Yewon opened the door, telling her driver she would call him later to pick them up as she slid out. They walked through the entrance to the carnival and Yewon took in the madness around them. Her face was a mask of indifference, but inside she was in awe of the games, the smell of greasy food, the sounds of people screaming in delight. She paid for a roll of tickets for them both at the booth.

“Where did you want to go first?” Eunbi asked, pulling Yewon’s attention away from the carnival. She was practically buzzing with excitement as she smiled at Yewon.

“What’s your favorite ride?” Yewon asked, letting Eunbi choose, after all, she was the reason why Yewon had come. Usually, she wouldn’t have ever thought of coming to a place like this, she had always been too mature for her age to partake in normal fun things.

“The bumper cars!” Eunbi beamed, grabbing Yewon’s hand and dragging her through the crowd, weaving and out the bumper cars.

Yewon looked at them doubtfully, she wasn’t much of a driver, she’d always had someone to drive her everywhere. Her eyes widened slightly as she watched a man ram his car into another one as he laughed.

“Is this safe?” she asked Eunbi, a look of uncertainty on her face.

“Yeah, it’s fun, trust me,” Eunbi assured her, taking her hand again and dragging her over to the entry.

They climbed into their own cars, Yewon somewhat wary as she sat down on the vinyl-covered seat and looked at the gas and brake pedals by her feet. Eunbi had jumped into hers excitedly and shot off into the middle of the arena. 

Yewon followed at a much slower pace, and moved away from the center with all the cars, bumping into each other.

Eunbi smiles as she watches a teenaged boy ramming his car into Yewon’s, earning a scowl and a mumbled curse from Yewon as he sped off. She soon got into the hang of things, cautiously bumping into other people’s cars, and learning not to get too angry as others rammed into her.

After they got off, Eunbi bounced over to Yewon, laughing as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

“How fun was that!” she asked, grinning widely.

One side of Yewon’s mouth pulled up in a lopsided smile, “It was actually quite fun.”

“What do you want to go on next?” Eunbi asked, fidgeting excitedly as she looked at Yewon with shining eyes. “There’s a Ferris Wheel if you aren’t afraid of height, or the spinning teacups!”

She let out a gasp be