First off, I want to dedicate this to 12 subscribers!  Thank you all for supporting me in the crearting of this story, you have no idea how much it means to me.  So thank you ever so much and enjoy!

Friday, Friday, Friday, I sang in my head as I walked to school with Youngmin.  I was so excited for the weekend.

“Someone’s chippy this morning,” Youngmin observed.

“It’s Friday,” I said simply, as if that explained everything.

He laughed.  “Yes, it is Friday.  What does that mean?”

I rolled my eyes.  “It means the weekend is almost here!  Which means that there will be no school”

“But we have school today.”

“Do not spoil my mood.”

“Arrasso, Arrasso,” he sighed.  “What are your plans for the weekend?  Since, you know, we have no school.”

I shrugged.  “Nothing!”

“Nothing?  But that’s boring!”

“Nuh uh,” I wagged my finger at him.  “It’s relaxing.  And it gives me more time to do homework.”

“Nerd,” he flicked my forehead.  I stuck my tongue at him.

“Well, I’m sorry, but your homework will have to wait for another weekend.  ‘Cause I’m taking you out on a date.”

My eyes widened and a blush crept up my cheeks.  “M-mwo?” I stuttered.

“That’s right!  You and me, we’re going on a date and we are going to explore Seoul.  I told you I would take you.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right.  I do remember you saying that.”  My blush subsided but my heart raced on.

“So we’re good then?” he asked.  “Ten o’ clock?”

“It’s perfect,” I responded.

He gave me a suspicious look.  “Shouldn’t you ask your parents for permission?”

I laughed.  “I’m pretty certain that they’ll agree to it.  Well, my appa might not, but umma definitely will, especially when she finds out it’s with you.”  I saw Youngmin blush.  “She really likes you.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed all of a sudden.  “I’m glad.  It’s never good to get on parents’ bad side.”

“Speaking of which,” I started hesitantly.  “How did your parents react to, um, last Saturday?”

Youngmin blushed more.  “Uh, they –they didn’t mind,” he mumbled.

“Mwo?  Really?”  I didn’t quite believe him.

“Eh, y-yeh.  My umma, she, well, she said…”

“What did she say?  Is she upset with me?  I’ll bet she hates me now.  Probably thinks I’m corrupting you or something.”

“Ani, ani, that’s not it at all.  She actually really loves you.”

“How can she love me already?  She only met me once and that was very briefly.”  And on Saturday when that happened.

“Well, I talk about you a lot,” he spoke slowly, looking down at the sidewalk as we walked, hands in his pockets.

“You do?”  My heart rate increased.

“Eh, yeh…”

“Okay, but what did she say?”

“Well, she said…  Ugh!  Please don’t make me say it!”

“Now that you’re making a big deal of it, I have to know.”

“Sh-she said that when she found us she thought we looked cute together, but she didn’t want grandchildren until after we were married.”

“Omo,” I blushed.  “She really said that?”  He nodded and I could see red burning the tips of his ears that poked out of his blonde locks.

It was silent for an immeasurable amount of time, and then I started laughing.  I couldn’t help it.  Something about the awkward atmosphere combined with me trying to imagine his mom trying to say that just got me cracking up.

“Mwo?  Why are you laughing?”

“I tried to picture your umma say that and I couldn’t.  I just couldn’t.”

A smile cracked his lips and he began laughing weakly with me.  “Well, she did say that, whether you can picture it or not.”

“Arrasso, whatever you say,” I giggled.

Youngmin whipped his head towards me.  “You giggled again!” he exclaimed happily.  “I haven’t heard you giggle since Saturday!”

I froze, my face blank.  “I didn’t giggle.”

“Yes you did!  I heard you!”

“You must have imagined it.”

“Yah, don’t be that way,” he whined.  I had to suppress another giggle at his cuteness.

“Yah yourself,” I replied.  “And stop giving me puppy eyes, it won’t work on me.”

He paused and then smiled.  “I wasn’t giving you puppy eyes,” he said slowly.  Oh crap.  “Do you want to see my puppy eyes?”

“No thank you.”  I hid my face in my hands.  Just round that corner and he’ll have to stop.  He can’t do anything at school.  But Youngmin stopped me, taking my hands in his, trying to pry them from my face.

“Come on, Jin.  You know you want to~” I swear I could hear the aegyo. 

Suddenly, he stopped tugging at my hands and I felt something warm and soft on my fingers.  It took me a moment, but I finally realized, Wait, these are his lips…  I tore my hands away from my face and I was staring into the largest, darkest eyes I had ever seen.  Long dark lashes framed them, bringing an intensity to the look.

“Omo,” I whispered. 

He was so close to me.  My heart raced in my chest, pumping a million miles a second.  And then the look was gone and Youngmin was smiling victoriously, his eyes suddenly scrunched up in his smile.  He pressed a small kiss to my nose, pulling back quickly and waiting for my reaction.  Heat burned my cheeks and I couldn’t pull my gaze away from him.

“E-eto…”  Wow Jin.  Great sentence.  Way to not make yourself look like a babo.  Youngmin chuckled and kissed my cheek, making my face hotter.

He smirked.  “You’re blushing.”

That snapped me out of it and I shoved him away.  “Not cool, oppa.”  I started walking again but he held me back, gripping my wrist and swinging me back until I collided with his chest.  He enveloped me with his arms, holding me close.

“Enough skinship,” I told him.

“Says who?” he murmured as he trailed his mouth from my temple to my chin.

I gulped, trying to find my voice.  “Says me.”

His lips continued their journey on the other side of my face back up to my forehead.  Our chests were pressed together and I knew he had to feel the hard pounding of my heart –I knew I could hear it.  My breath came out unevenly as I tried to regain my composure, but the hot hair he blew on my skin made that impossible.

“Well I say that it isn’t enough,” his lips moved against my skin.

I wanted him to continue.  I wanted him to kiss me, but I didn’t want him to until he said he liked me.  I needed to know if what Hyunseong said was true.  I really liked Youngmin, and I wanted to know that it could last.  I didn’t want to get hurt.

“Stop,” I tried, but the protest was weak.

He paused briefly, analyzing my expression.  He must have seen something that put him off because he finally pushed himself away, clearing his throat awkwardly. 

“Well, I guess we better make it to school,” he said, not meeting my eyes.  Numbly, I nodded and followed him the rest of the way to the school.

“Okay, spill,” Ara Cha demanded once we entered the classroom.  “Something happened.”

I organized the books on my desk, sneaking a glance at Youngmin who was pretending he wasn’t listening to our conversation.  “What are you talking about?”

“You are unusually quiet today.  I mean, you don’t say much anyway, but I don’t think you’ve said a word to me this morning except for ‘hi.’”

I shrugged my shoulders, again sneaking a peek at Youngmin.  Ara Cha looked between him and me, him and me, and then made an ‘o’ with , nodding her head in understanding.  Then she gave me a hard look, making it clear that I was to explain myself later.

That night I went home, exhausted from school and from track practice.  During lunch, Ara Cha had beaten the story from this morning out of me, squealing like a fan girl.  Honestly, I thought she was overreacting, but some part of me couldn’t help but feel the same way.

I sat down to dinner with my parents and it started like any other family meal –silent.  We simply picked up our chopsticks and tucked into our food.  But everything changed when my dad spoke.

“You won’t believe what I found out at work today,” he started.  My mom looked up, interested.  I kept my eyes on my food, uninterested.  “That Park guy I work with, his son has been coming with him the past few months to help his father since he’ll be taking over his father’s position in the company.  Then suddenly, he didn’t show up on Wednesday and hasn’t been back.”

“Omo, why not?  Is he sick?” my mother asked.

“Ani, I don’t think so.  I asked him about it and he seemed really shifty about it and avoided the question.”

Umma seemed thoughtful.  “What do you think could be the matter?”

“That’s the thing,” Appa continued, “I heard some rumors saying his son had been arrested for attempted .”

I choked on my chicken, coughing up bits of food I’d inhaled.  Calm down, Jin, it may have nothing to do with you.  After assuring my parents I was fine, Appa continued.

“Apparently at the business party last week, he had forced himself on some poor girl.”

Okay, maybe it has everything to do with me.

“Oh my,” Umma gasped.  “Did she come forward?”

“Ani, the boy who rescued her did, though.  Heard he was quite young, too, maybe sixteen.  Park’s son is twenty.

“So this Park kid, was he arrested?” I spoke up.

“That’s what I’m not sure about.  Some say he was.  Others say there wasn’t enough evidence since the girl never came forward about it.  Either way, he was stripped of his father’s position in the company.”

Mother sniffed.  “Well, it serves him right!  He should at least do some time.  People like that make me sick!”  She threw down her chopsticks in disgust.

“Umma,” I patted her hand.  “It’s alright.  The boy was punished and it sounds like the girl is unharmed for the most part.”

The woman sighed.  “That poor child.  She must have been scared out of her wits.”

Ani, more like majorly pissed off.

We went back to eating and not another word was said on the matter.

I sat on the bench that came out from underneath the large window in the sitting room with my sketch pad, waiting for the clock to chime ten.  It’d been a while since I’d drawn a full picture (because I’d actually been concentrating on my studies this past week) and I decided to get to work.  My hand flitted across the page, making light with the graphite pencil.  Lines were everywhere.  Curved lines, straight lines, lines that almost came full circle to make a complete shape.  Setting aside my HB graphite, I picked up the softer leaded 2B.  A dark streak here and dome shading to add depth.  Darken that part to bring out the detail.  My eyebrows furrowed in concentration, nothing else standing in my consciousness.  A vase of lilies, unfurled and fully blossomed, seemed to rise out of the page and I leaned back in satisfaction, tracing my pencil along to clean up edges and making final detail.

“That’s amazing.”

I jumped at the voice, whipping my head around.  Youngmin stood behind me, leaning against the window pain, looking over my shoulder at the sketch.  Shutting the tablet quickly, I rose from my perch, the pencils on my lap scattering everywhere.  The boy bent down and helped me pick up the mess.

“H-h-how l-long had y-you been standing there?” I asked, trying to control my nervous stutter.

He hummed as he thought about it.  “Well, I got here at ten, and your umma said that you were in here, but when I found you, you didn’t seem to notice, so I just watched.”

I froze, glancing at the large antique grandfather clock.  The time read 10:23.  “So you were watching me for twenty-three minutes?” I questioned, my voice cracking.  My cheeks burned crimson and I rose up, sliding the rest of the pencils into place and holding my tablet close to my chest.  “You saw me drawing?”

“Yeah, you’re really great.  Are you thinking about majoring in art?”

My face grew hotter and I became fascinated with the wearing corner of my sketch book.  “A-ani, I don’t think so.”

“Can I see more of your artwork?” he asked, reaching out.

“Ani!” I shouted, flinching away.  “I mean, I’d rather not.  Um, I don’t show my drawings to anyone.”

“Why not?  You are very talented.  I see you drawing in class all the time.  It seems to come so naturally to you.”

“Please, just stop.  I’m not that good.”  His compliments were embarrassing me.

“Oh, come on,” he pleaded.  “Just one more.  I want to see one more.”

I finally looked up at him, and that was where I met my downfall.  He was giving me those large, brown puppy eyes.  I couldn’t help it; I melted and with trembling fingers, leafed through the pages, searching for one worthy of being seen.  I settled on a picture of a young girl sitting atop a grassy hill, smiling up at the sky where bright flashes of fireworks were casting shadows in the already dark night.  Hesitantly, the book was handed over and Youngmin carefully lifted it out of my hands, as if understanding the sacredness I held for it.  He stared at it for a long time and I shifted uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by.  His face only showed awe and admiration, things I feel whenever I see a completed work of mine.  My embarrassment growing, I looked away again, hugging my elbows.

And then, the sound of paper rustling as a page was turned jerked my head up violently.  There was Youngmin, flipping through the pages slowly, admiring each one.

“No!”  I tried to grab the book back, but he held it up too high for me to reach.  “Jo Youngmin, give it back now!”

“But these are so incredible!  I want to see more.”

“Oppa!” I whined, hopping up and down with outstretched arms, fruitlessly reaching for my soul.

And he stopped turning pages, his eyes wide with obvious recognition.  “Is this…me?”

My face, from my neck to my hairline and the tips of my ears, blushed scarlet.  Shoot me now.  “Youngmin-oppa, you give that back this instant!” I kicked his shin for emphasis.

“Ow!”  He recoiled from the pain and I snatched the book from his hands.

“Serves you right!” I exclaimed.  “You don’t just go around taking other people’s personal belongings!”  I turned away, looking out the window, holding the pad close to me for protection, firmly deciding never to let it get in the wrong hands again.

In the reflection of the glass, I saw Youngmin come up behind me and wrap his arms around my waist.  I jerked a little bit as his fingers grazed my sides.  He pressed up against me, the lower part of his chest leaning into my shoulder blades, his knees hitting the back of my mid-thighs.  He rested his chin on my shoulder, his mouth directly next to my ear.

“Mianhae,” he whispered, his breath sending shivers down my spine in rivulets.  “I just wanted to see your artwork.  You’re talented; you should share it with other people.”

“Y-yah, stop that,” I mumbled.  “It’s embarrassing.”

His chest shook with a silent chuckle.  “Mwo?  You don’t like compliments either?” 

I shook my head.  “I don’t know what to do with them.”

Youngmin turned his head so that his cheek rested where his chin had once been.  “A simple ‘thank you’ is all you need to say.”

“K-kasahamnida.”

I felt his lips press against the sensitive flesh of my neck, quirking up in a smile.  “You’re welcome.”  He lightly kissed the top of my head before returning to a normal voice, physically turning me around to face him.  “Now, are you ready for our date?”  Stiffly, I nodded, hiding my tablet between a large potted plant and the wall.  “Good, let’s go.”  He took my hand and led me out, promising this would be the best date ever.

The sun shone brightly on all of the shoppers bustling about the busy street.  The cacophony of sounds invaded my senses and knocked inside my head.  Bodies jostled into us constantly and I gripped Youngmin’s bicep nervously, not wanting the crowd to pull me away from him and whisk me off to drown me under foot.  Once Youngmin realized how scared I was, he took my hand, giving me a reassuring smile.  I stuck close to him, not wanting to get lost in the tumultuous crowd.  Once I was certain Youngmin wouldn’t let go, I started to enjoy myself.  We stopped here and there, peering into shops and admiring their merchandise.  We never bought anything, just looked.  We ooh’d and ahh’d over the shiny and mesmerizing trinkets that caught our attention.  I laughed when Youngmin tried to imitate a Hello Kitty bobble head toy.  We passed by an art shop and I slowed down as I tried to see what was inside.  Youngmin took notice and smiled, leading me in.  The dimly lit store was full of paintings and sculptures and sketches and framework, paint and brushes and ink and charcoal and pens.  A kit of oil paints caught my attention and I wandered over, studying the different colors.

“Does the young lady like?” asked the store keeper with a greasy smile.

I looked up at him, briefly meeting his eyes, and then back at the paints.  Youngmin chuckled beside me.

“Yeh, she likes them,” he said.  “Do you want to get it?” he asked me.

My eyes lingered on the paints a moment longer, but forced myself to turn to Youngmin.  Shyly, I shook my head.

“Are you sure?” asked the store keeper.  “I can give a nice discount to the pretty lady.”

I blushed slightly and gently squeezed Youngmin’s hand, silently telling him I was finished.

“No, thank you, sir,” Youngmin replied politely.  “Maybe another time.”

We bowed to the man and made our leave quickly.  Once outside in the hustle and bustle, I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“I didn’t like that man,” Youngmin commented.

“I agree.  There was something shifty about him.”  I paused before making my next statement.  “Reminds me of someone else.  Someone named Park.”

Youngmin shuffled his feet, swinging our clasped hands gently.  “I was wondering if you would hear about that.”

“Was he really arrested?” I asked, intrigued.

He nodded.  “But they couldn’t hold him since they didn’t have any evidence besides my word and a couple of scratches he had gained that he easily made up stories for.  But it was enough of a scandal that he lost his position in the company.”

I stared at our hands and nervously intertwined my fingers with his, earning a surprised reaction from him.  I smiled sweetly up at him.  “Kasahamnida,” I said, pouring all of my heart into that one message.  I buried my head in his shoulder, wrapping my free arm around his side while clutching his hand.  He didn’t hesitate or pause like I thought he would.  Youngmin immediately placed his free hand on the back of my head, pressing his lips into my hair.  I enjoyed the warmth from his closeness for a few seconds before pulling back, not able to keep the smile off of my face.  He smiled back and pulled me back down the street.

“Come on, there are more places you need to see,” he said excitedly, and I readily followed him.

He took me to the Han River, a few beautiful parks, and the outskirts of the northern side of Seoul where the rich culture and beauty of the land begins to show itself.  One pattern I noticed with the places we went to was that they were fairly romantic and places where couples went.  We also went to a few small cafés, sampling their delicious treats and even trying out a Karaoke place that was tons of fun.  It was there that I’d sung for the first time seriously and Youngmin assured me that I was very good, but I think he was just being nice.  He, on the other hand, was fantastic!  I’m sure that if he applied, he’d make it into a boy band no problem.

However, there was one place that he didn’t take me that I’d been longing to see.

“Youngmin-oppa, when are we going to Lotte World?” I queried, curious.

He gave me an amused look.  “You want to go to Lotte World?”  I nodded and he chuckled, ruffling my hair.  “Arrasso, we’ll go to Lotte World, but not today.”

I pouted.  “Why not?”

“Because we don’t have enough time.  It’s already dark and there’s one more place I want you to see.”

I pressed him for more information, but he wouldn’t relent.  Eventually, I just gave up and tried to figure it out by myself.  The moon was high in the sky and the air had chilled by more than a few degrees.  I didn’t want to do it, but Youngmin had convinced me to buy a coat, convincing me that I would need it for the winter anyway.  I snuggled into the warm fabric of my white pea coat, sniffing that new clothes smell.  Youngmin wore one as well made of dark blue material.  Our hands were still entwined together, walking close to provide each other with our body heat. 

I observed our surroundings and noticed that we were nearing another park, but this had a playground set at the base of a small hill, trees casting their shadows by the starlight.  The air was still and even the traffic noises were muted in this secluded area.  My breath caught at its mysterious beauty, the dark shadows and silver light combining in such stark contrast that it appealed to my artist eye.  Youngmin led me up the grassy knoll, grinning ear to ear like a little kid.

We reached the center of the top and Youngmin sat down, tugging me down with him.  We sat shoulder to shoulder, our hips almost nearly touching.  At first, neither of us said a word, enjoying the nighttime around us and the quiet splendor.  The stars were especially brilliant, and they held my eyes captive.

“It’s gorgeous,” I murmured.

“Mm, yeh,” he responded.

I turned to him and he wasn’t looking up at the sky.  No, he as looking at me.  I blushed and returned my attention back to the galaxy above us.

“You know what this reminds me of?” I asked.

“What?”

“That picture I showed you, the one of the girl and the fireworks.”

He chuckled quietly.  “That’s why I brought you here.  That picture reminded me of this place so I thought I’d show you.”  He paused briefly and then continued.  “I come here sometimes, when I need a moment of peace or if I need to think.  Usually this isn’t a popular spot at night since it’s fairly far from the city lights and gets really dark, so you can count on privacy.  I haven’t told anyone about this place, but I think I’d be willing to share it with you.”  Out of the corner of my eye I knew he had not averted his gaze from me, so I turned to meet his stare. 

His eyes, usually a dark brown hue, shone black in the night, the moonlight reflecting in them.  Everything screamed perfection about him.  The only thing I had trouble understanding was why he would bleach his hair. 

“Youngmin-oppa,” I said, “why did you bleach your hair?  What was wrong with it before?” 

A corner of his mouth twitched up in a crooked half-smile, a gesture that held no humor.  “I guess I was tired of being like everyone else.  Before, no one could tell Kwangmin and me apart and it became annoying to repeatedly be called his name instead of mine.  I guess I just wanted something to separate me from everyone else, and bleaching my hair seemed the best way to do it.”

“But why would you want to be different?  Weren’t you afraid that the others wouldn’t agree with your decision?

“I knew some of my friends wouldn’t like it, but I didn’t care.  I just wanted to be me and to stand out, to be unique in a way that everyone noticed.”

I shook my head in disbelief.  “I wish I could be like that.  But I’m too scared to stand out in a bad way.  Being different, it’s all I’ve ever known.  I just wish I could fit in somewhere.”

Youngmin frowned.  “Just because you’re different doesn’t mean you don’t fit.  Think about a puzzle.  Every piece is different, unique in its own way, and yet it all fits together perfectly.”

“But what if a piece from a different puzzle gets mixed up in the wrong one?  Then it doesn’t fit with anyone else and is cast out.”

He pondered that for a moment, and then, “I guess that piece just has to keep searching for the place where it belongs.  The other pieces are waiting for it to return.”

I played with a strand of grass, twisting it in my fingers.  “Youngmin-oppa?  I think I’ve found my puzzle.”  Smiling softly, I looked up at him to see him mirroring my smile.

“I think so too,” he murmured, reaching out a hand and tenderly brushing back my bangs, his fingers trailing down to cup my cheek.  He leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on my forehead, leaving me feeling more than a bit disappointed.  But despite that, I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder.  I felt his hand reach around and cradle it against the soft spot between his shoulder and chest.

A couple of minutes passed and a warm feeling pressed itself on my heart.  I had this overwhelming feeling to tell Youngmin everything.  The thought scared me, but somehow I was also comforted at the same time.  I knew I could trust him and that encouraged me.

“Oppa?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I tell you a story?”

“A story?” I heard the smile in his voice.  “Sure.”

“Be warned, it’s not a very happy story, but it does have a happy ending.”

The atmosphere around him changed and he grew somber.  “I think I would very much appreciate to hear this story,” he murmured.

I took a deep breath, “Well, it starts with a little girl…”

Again, thank you to all of my subscribers and commenter!  This chapter is dedicated to all of  you guys!  Now, be forewarned, I did not edit this.  So if there are errors or things don't make sense, attribute it to that. 

@soni-rose: thank you for your advice.  I think for now I'm just gonna keep things neutral between us and stay friends.  If he wants to become more, he's gonna have to instigate it :P

Now, it was really hard trying to figure out a title for this one since there are so many individual scenes, so I tried to pick out the quote that fit the overall concept of the chapter.  And next update, you finally get to hear about Jin's past!  I know, it's slow in coming, but at least it's here!

Annyeong, enjoy!