-Chapter IV-

Yong Hye finally managed to escape the party by slipping into the large backyard and garden area that the Lees had behind their house.

It wasn’t very well lit, but Yong Hye knew the grounds by heart. Growing up, she and Taemin would explore  his backyard as though they had stumbled across a new land of some kind, They would play hide and seek, tag, and various other children’s games, not really caring that it was only the two of them, which severely limiting the number of games they could play.

Now, as Yong Hye wandered around the grounds, all she could see were memories. Every turn, every bush, and every clump of grass held a memory of her childhood with Taemin.

Soon, she came across an open, flat section of the backyard, occupied only by a swing set that Taemin’s mom had bought when he was small; an attempt to make her masterpiece of a garden at least a little kid-friendly. It had three swings and a small slide, but that had been all that was needed for children like Taemin and his friend Yong Hye to occupy their time. They came up with games and fun despite the swing set’s diminutive size.

Almost purely for memory’s sake, Yong Hye slipped off her heels and stepped over to the swing set, settling herself on the middle swing.

From where she sat, she could see the house, and, through the large windows, the people inside, the living room light contrasting with the darkness of the night sky.

She watched the dark figures on the other side of the windows for a while, wondering how anyone could find these sorts of parties enjoyable.

Glad she was outside and away from the stuffy room full of just as stuffy people, she glanced around herself to make sure she was alone, and then swung her legs forward, beginning to swing.

She had forgotten how much she loved swinging. It was safe, but she still got that sensation of flying through the air, a feeling of freedom, that she couldn’t stop. She closed her eyes, feeling the cool night air whip past her face and run through her hair that had been meticulously placed earlier in the night by stylist that had been hired by Mrs. Lee.

Living in the city, there weren’t a lot of times that she could enjoy the quiet of the world, but here, even though it was only the suburbs, the houses were spread apart enough that there wasn’t a lot of noise created by humans. The day was becoming night, and Yong Hye reveled in the fact that she was surrounded by the natural quiet. It was refreshing.

“Is this how you celebrate?” a voice asked suddenly, breaking through the quiet.

Yong Hye quickly stopped her swing by catching the ground with her foot. She opened her eyes to see who had spoken, even though she had already recognized the voice. He had approached her tonight just as quietly as he had left her almost a week ago.

The guy from the alley.

Taecyeon,Yong Hye said to herself. He said that his name was Taecyeon.

He was smiling as he looked at Yong Hye, who was looking at him with a look of both fear and surprise. She couldn’t help it. Though generally speaking, she thought good of everyone, she was instinctually afraid of anyone who pushed her into the alley.

She didn’t answer, just stared at him.

Taecyeon, still smiling, chuckled and walked towards her and the swing set. Once he was sitting on the swing to her left, he asked again, “Is this how you celebrate? I thought you all looked for reasons to get dressed up.”

Yong Hye looked at him, startled that he could so blatantly say something like that. “I don’t,” she snapped, not thinking.

Taecyeon jerked back a smile still on his face as he looked at her in surprise. “You don’t like this party? And we were working so hard.”

He was joking around with her. “I don’t,” Yong Hye said. There was something about this guy…even though the circumstances of their first meeting should have made her hate him; or at least not want to be alone with him, but there was something about him that made Yong Hye feel okay with him being around.

“You don’t?” Taecyeon asked.

“Obviously,” Yong Hye answered. “Would I be out here if I loved it in there?” Yong Hye pointed towards the house.

Taecyeon looked away, nodding at the ground. “Of course,” he said, looking back up. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Yong Hye said. “I don’t like it.”

“You were with the people throwing the party though,” Taecyeon said. “And you guys seemed to know each other very well.”

“I…” Yong Hye started to say something, but then thought about it, wondering if she wanted to tell Taecyeon anything about her. “I’m engaged to their son,” she said quickly.

“Congratulations!” Taecyeon said loudly. At first, Yong Hye thought that he was kidding, but looking at him, she knew that he wasn’t. He was actually happy for her, even though he only just properly met her.

Yong Hye looked away, embarrassed at his enthusiasm. “Thank you,” she said.

“Is that what this party’s for?” Taecyeon asked. “I’m sorry if it is, we weren’t really told much about it, only to make ourselves as invisible as possible.”

Yong Hye laughed. That would have been Mrs. Lee’s order. “No, no it’s not. This is the sort of thing Taemin and I are trying to avoid,” Yong Hye said, surprising herself at telling him these things.

“Taemin, I assume, is your fiancé?” Taecyeon said, watching her.

Yong Hye nodded.

“Very cool,” Taecyeon said. “It’s always nice to see happiness these days.”

Yong Hye scoffed. “You’re one to talk. When I first met you, I believe you were being chased down a busy city street. Not exactly happy.”

It was Taecyeon’s turn to look away uncomfortably. “Sorry about that,” he said quietly.

Grabbing her chance, Yong Hye asked, “What was that about?”

Taecyeon stood. “It’s probably better that we don’t talk about that. I’m sorry for it. You shouldn’t have been a part of it, but just trust me, if I hadn’t gotten you out of the way, you would have been hurt.” He stood in front of her. “I need to get back to work. I’ll see you later, Princess.”

Taecyeon turned away from her and walked off, leaving Yong Hye watching him, unsure of how to react to him or his words.

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