“I like you.”

You gulp, looking down at your feet. Then, you look at the ground. You don’t know where to look at.

Oh, look, a ladybird.

“I like you.”

Woman, say something, you tell yourself.

“Hey, a ladybug!” he exclaims suddenly, pointing at the ladybug you were looking at.

You eye him weirdly. What happened to his repeating confession? Don’t stop now. Don’t ever stop!

He clears his throat. “Sorry. I-I,” he pauses to catch you looking away again. “I like ladybugs.”

“Great, now I’m at the same level as ladybugs,” you scoff softly.

“Wait! No, no!” he quickly moves to your front. “I,” you look away and he moves, “like,” you look to the other way and he moves to that side as well, “you,” you wanted to move but he quickly cups your face. “I like you!”

You look to the left and right, though, you can’t really move your face. You see people staring at the both of you as you look at the corner of your eyes. You swear you even see some kids covering their eyes.

“Can you please,” you look at his eyes but looks away after a few seconds, “let go of my face?”

He shakes his head. “If I do, you won’t stop turning your face away from me.”

“Or what? Or you will start singing again?” you couldn’t help but laugh and he laughs along as well.

“Fine, I’ll let go of you,” he quickly kissed you on the tip of your nose, “now.” And sits down right beside you again.

He has removed his hands from your face but your face remains at the same position and the same level where he cupped it. You heart skipped a beat, that kiss is much effective than his repeating confessions. At this moment, you swear the sky you’re staring blankly at looks million times more beautiful than ever.

Just then, his face appears at where you’re staring, blocking the beautiful view of the sky. You fall back instantly, startled, and bump your head on the ground. His face was too close, really close. Not as close when he kissed you on your nose but still, it was close.

“Riles!” he quickly pulls you up and rub the back of your head where you’re rubbing also. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“No!” you exclaim with a pout, hitting his hand away and continue rubbing the spot which hit the ground. “Why don’t I throw a brick at your face and ask you whether you’re okay.”

“You’re really cute when you’re angry,” he says, biting onto his lower lips with a smile.

You’re going to die from heart attack soon enough.

You palm his face, causing him to fall back on his . You chuckle, “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

He leans on the ground, laughing. “Okay, you’ve gotten your revenge.” He turns to look at you. “We’re cool now, right?”

You nod. You did get your revenge. “I guess,” you reply as you hug your knees, looking over to the playground to see what Chanyeol is doing. You spot him and he quickly turns back to the swing to continue pushing the little boy who is on it, pretending like he wasn’t spying.

“So I guess we can go back to the good old times?” he asks and you turn back to him immediately.

“I’m sorry, but did you just,” your eyebrows narrow, “ask whether we can go back to how we used to be?” He nods. “No!” you sound almost annoyed. Hell no. “You do not just decide to drop by, finish Chanyeol’s playground theory by saying you’ll catch me when I fall, embarrass me by serenading out loud, confess to me, repeating your confession a few more times and—“ He leans over to kiss you on the tip of your nose again. You feel your cheeks burning up. “—and do that.” You clear you throat and look down, not wanting him to see you blushing. “Again.”

“I’ve never kissed anyone on the tip of their nose before,” he admits.

You roll your eyes. “No . I have never gotten a kiss on the tip of my nose before.”

He smiles and hugs his knees. “So, you were saying?”

You run your right hand through your hair. You sigh, “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” You turn to look at him who is already staring at you. “Everything got complicated. We can’t go back to what we used to be. It’s just not right.”

“What is so complicated?” he questions with a frown.

“Everything.” You look up the sky. “I wanted to confess to you but you left with Angeline before I got to and I don’t know… I just gave up. It was wrong to do that,” you say, looking to him then back to the sky. “Then, the night of the Talent Show, I was shocked that you took part in it. I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t get the chance to tell you. You didn’t give me the chance to tell you.” he sighs. “The only reason I took part in it was because of you. Kai told me that you like me.”

“So you knew,” you turn to him and he nods.

“But why were you hiding from me?” he asks, really curious. Because to him, it doesn’t makes sense.

“I was afraid,” you reply. “You have to understand the insecurity I had. It’s a long story.”

“Is it about Angeline?” he asks and you nod with a sigh. “Kai told me about her.”

You aren’t surprise. By now, you guess Kai would have told him everything about you. “All these years, I only thought of the part where she pushed me into a hellhole. Now that I think about it again, she pushed me in but has forgotten that there is a ladder, waiting for me, allowing me to climb out of it. And, I did. The ladder, in fact, is Kai.” You continue, “And falling for you is just completely out of my control. It is hard, you have no idea. You are