Yunho got back from the airport that night, his eyes red and puffy. For some reason, his roommates weren’t there.

He sat by his desk and saw his bicycle helmet on top of it.

He remembered the past week he spent with Seulgi and couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his face.

…

[Flash Back]

[LAST WEEK]

Yunho whistled as he walked around school compound, minding his own business.

“Hey, Jerk!” Seulgi greeted as she passed by. It took Yunho a while to notice that she was riding a bike.

“Yah, pabo!” he called.

Seulgi wheeled her bike around, facing him. “Yeah, jerk?”

Surprisingly, the two had grown accustomed to the nicknames. Seulgi no longer became mad whenever Yunho called her pabo, and same to Yunho, whenever she called him jerk.

“Why are you riding a bike? Don’t you have a car?” he asked, remembering the car she was driving when they met for the very first time.

“It was permanently damaged when you dented it last year, so I got a bike instead,” she replied simply.
“Why don’t you buy a new one?”
“Not everyone can afford a car, Yunho.”

He examined the bike for a while. Then, he heard her ask the question he was hoping she wouldn’t ask.

“Wanna ride it?”

Yunho cleared his throat and struggled to keep his pride. “I don’t ride bikes.”

But Seulgi saw right through him and stifled a giggle. “You don’t know how to ride a bike, do you?” she said.

Yunho turned a deep shade of scarlet. “I played with toys when I was a kid. I didn’t have time to play with bikes,” he defended himself.

He walked towards the contraptions and examined it again. “So, this is what peasants ride, huh? I wonder what poor life is like.”

Seulgi narrowed her eyes at him. “First of all, we’re not called peasants! I believe the correct term is middle class, and second of all, if you wanna know what life in my shoes is like, you have to learn how to do one thing.”

Yunho raised his eyebrow. “And what would this thing be?”

Seulgi slid her hand along the seat of her bike. “You gotta learn how to ride, first,” she said with a mischievous grin.

[THE NEXT DAY…]

“Okay!” Seulgi said, clapping her hands together. “Today, we start the first lesson!”

They were still using Seulgi’s bike, for starters. Yunho got on the bike, trembling. He was already sitting on the seat, but his feet were still glued to the ground.”

“Well? What are you waiting for?” Seulgi said. “Pedal away!”

Yunho did as he was told and tried to pedal.

He ended up on the ground.

After a few more tries, he still had the same result, and Seulgi just had to hold the bike straight up while he paddled.

“Hey! I’m doing it!” Yunho exclaimed, pedaling ever so slowly.

“Yeah, that’s because I’m holding the bike, genius,” said Seulgi.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter! I’m riding a bike, baby!”

Seulgi let go of the bike and he fell on the ground immediately.

“YAH! What was that for?!?!” he yelled from the ground, looking up at her.

Seulgi just giggled and stuck her tongue out.

[THE DAY AFTER THAT…]

“You have to promise me you won’t let go!!!”
“Fine, I promise!”
“Are you sure??? As in, really sure?!?!”
“Yes, I’m sure! Now pedal!”
“How am I supposed to know if you’re really gonna keep you’re promise?!?!”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, just pedal!”

Yunho started paddling, while Seulgi held onto the bike. He was using his own bike now.

“Hey! We’re moving! I’m riding a bike again!”

Then, there was a crash.

“Yah! You said you weren’t gonna let go!!!” Yunho said angrily.
“Well, how are you supposed to learn, if I keep on guiding you?!?!?” Seulgi shot back.

…

They spent the rest of the week going through the same routine, and soon enough, Seulgi grew tired of it.

“Aagh! I’m so bushed!” Seulgi said, as she walked around school compound on Saturday. “It’s a good thing I’m not teaching Yunho how to ride a bike today…” she said to herself.

“Hey, Pabo!” Yunho greeted, as he passed by. He stopped right in front of her and she realized that he was riding his bike. On his own.

Seulgi beamed. “Congratulations, jerk! I’m happy for ya!”

He gave her a warm smile. “And it’s all thanks to you,” he said. Then, he patted his handle bars. “Hop on.”

Seulgi gladly did so and they rode around the school compound, Seulgi riding in front, on the handle bars.

Soon enough, they rode out of the school gates and into the city.

Seulgi hopped off the bike. “Since you know how to ride now, I’m gonna show you how the rest of middle class life is like!”

Yunho raised his eyebrows as Seulgi giggled and pulled his arm.

She kept on dragging him until they reached a stall.

“Ahjussi, can we have two of those, please?” she asked the old man, who was making some kind of food.

He smiled and gave them something on some paper plates. Seulgi gratefully took them, paid, and gave one to Yunho.

He just looked at it.

“You’re supposed to eat it, Einstein,” said Seulgi.
“Eat this?” asked incredulously.

Seulgi laughed at his cluelessness. “No Duh!”

Yunho made a face, but agreed anyway. He looked at the piece of whatever was on the plate uncertainly.

“What? You’ve never seen a dumpling before?” Seulgi asked.
Yunho shook his head innocently. “I’ve never come across these things before. I only ate what my chefs made for me.”

Seulgi made ‘tsk’ noises and said. “Well, there’s a first time for everything, right?? Eat up, mister!”

Yunho obeyed reluctantly and bit into the dumpling. To his surprise, it actually tasted good. Well, actually, it tasted great.

Yunho moaned in satisfaction, savoring the dumpling. Seulgi beamed.

“Good enough?” she asked.
Yunho nodded and took out is wallet.

“More please,” he said to the man, who was selling the dumplings.

Seulgi watched incredulously as Yunho wolfed the dumplings down. Just as he was about to get more, the old man apologized and told them that there were no more and that he had finished everything that he was going to sell for that day.

“Aww, they were so good,” Yunho mumbled as they walked away from the stall.

Seulgi laughed while she slowly shook her head. Then, she heard Yunho’s stomach grumble loudly. She looked at him, amazed.

“You’re still hungry??? After all those dumplings you ate???”
He nodded, and said. “The dumplings made my appetite bigger.” He then flashed her a cheeky smile.

She looked at him for a while, then heard her own stomach complain. She realized that she hadn’t eaten a single dumpling, because Yunho ate them all.

“Okay, let’s go eat,” she said, blushing fiercely.
Yunho did his best to keep the smile from surfacing his face as he let Seulgi drag him to a nearby restaurant.

“Ahjumma!” Seulgi called out to the owner of the small eatery. “Two of the usual, please!!!”

The old lady smiled and went into the kitchen to prepare whatever Seulgi was going to make Yunho eat.

She re-entered the room with two bowls of some kind of edible substance and laid them down before Seulgi and Yunho.

“Dig in!” Seulgi commanded happily, as she wolfed down on her meal.

Yunho looked at her as she ate as if she had never eaten anything in her life.

Seulgi looked at him and saw that he wasn’t eating. “Whaf ar oo we-ing fooorr??” she asked, full of food, causing the words coming out of to sound funny.

Yunho failed to suppress the laugh and it escaped from his lips. He flicked Seulgi on the head lightly.

“Ouch!” she said, rubbing the place where his fingers had touched her forehead. “What was that for?”

He didn’t answer, but just looked at the contents of the bowl again and asked, “What is this?”

Seulgi swallowed another mouthful before answering, “Ramen.”

Yunho nodded his head in understanding and picked up his chopsticks to eat the noodles.

It tasted fantastic. He managed to finish the whole bowl-full in the span of a few seconds. A dumbfounded Seulgi just watched him eat to his heart’s content. She smiled to herself, seeing how childish he was acting.

It wasn’t much of a shock when Yunho waved to the waitress, and ordered another bowl. And another. And another.

After, they left with satisfied stomachs, Yunho in particular.

“So, where are we going to next?” he asked Seulgi, who smiled brightly. He allowed her to pull his arm to their next destination.

…

“Where the heck are we?” Yunho asked, as he and Seulgi stood in a busy place, located away from the hustle and bustle of inner Seoul.

“It’s called a Market Place!” Seulgi exclaimed cheerily. I used to come here all the time when I was a kid, to sell vegetables with my omma.

Yunho stared at the place in fascination. He had never been to a market place before. All around him, there were endless lines of stalls, the people who were managing them, screaming and shouting, or rejecting any kind of bargain.

He was pulled back into his senses when he felt Seulgi tug at his arm gently. “C’mon!”

Seulgi felt really happy, going back to the market. As a child, she was always there, playing, while her mother sold her produce. And being back there, after all those months of fancy food and what-not felt so good.

They stopped in front of a stall, where various fruits were being sold.

“Omo! Bae Seulgi! Is that you?” the woman, 
“Anneyong Haseyo, ahjumma!” Seulgi greeted the familiar face.

The woman took Seulgi’s face in her hands. “Omo, you’ve grown so big! And so beautiful, too!” . She then rubbed her hands, while still holding her face, making it look like a goldfish impression. Yunho laughed out loud.

The woman looked at him, upon hearing his laugh. “Omo! And who is this?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at the Yunho. “A boyfriend, perhaps?” she turned to Seulgi, her eyes twinkling.

She also took his face in her hands, and squeezed his face together. “Omo! Such a handsome fellow!” he exclaimed.

Seulgi had to hide her face because she was giggling like crazy. Yunho, on the other hand, just stood there in discomfort, his face being squashed up by the old woman’s hands.

After what seemed like forever, she let go and asked, “So, what brings you here?”

Seulgi beamed and said, “I want my friend here to taste some of your fruits!”

“Oh well, by all means, please do! No charge at all!”

Seulgi thanked her and Yunho gave her an acknowledging smile, as she turned her back to take care of her other customers.

“Is she always like that?” Yunho asked Seulgi.
She laughed as she replied. “Yeah! The whole market place even nicknamed her Auntie Omo, because she says, ‘omo’ almost every time she speaks!”

Yunho smiled as Seulgi grabbed a handful of strawberries and handed one to Yunho.

“Now, tell me that you’ve eaten a strawberry before,” she joked.
Yunho scowled. “Of course I have.” He took the strawberry and ate it. It wasn’t like any other strawberry he had eaten before. This one had a different taste. It was more… delicious, somehow.

“Auntie Omo sells the best fruits in the whole market place!” Seulgi said cheerfully, munching on her own strawberries. “I always came here as a kid just to eat her strawberries! And her other fruits are great, too!”

“So, you really love strawberries, huh?” Yunho asked.
Seulgi nodded enthusiastically. “They’re my favorite!”

After that, they tried out more fruits, each one more delicious than the next. Then, they continued on their little trip through the market place.

Seulgi saw two familiar figures selling vegetables, far away. She squinted her eyes to see who the person was, and her lips broke into a toothy smile, as she ran towards the person, Yunho in tow,

“Omma! Key!” she yelled in excitement, she saw her mother and cousin.

“Noona!” Key greeted, running to his cousin, spreading out his arms for a hug.

“Omo! Seulgi!” Mrs. Bae said in surprise, and walked forward to hug her daughter.

“I missed you so much!” Seulgi said, as she broke away. Yunho cleared his throat to let them know that he was standing right next to her.

“Oh, by the way…” she said, pulling Yunho forward. “This is my good friend, Jung Yunho.”

“Oh, hey hyung,” Key greeted. “Nice to see you again.”

Yunho smiled and said, “Same here. “ Then he turned to Mrs. Bae and said, “Nice to meet you.”

Mrs. Bae shook his hand and straightforwardly asked, “Are you my daughter’s boyfriend?”

“Omma!” Seulgi exclaimed, shocked that her mother would think such a thought. “Why would you even think that?”

Mrs. Bae shrugged. “Why not? He’s good looking, handsome, and rich, isn’t he?”. She smiled at Yunho, who smiled back, amused.

Seulgi gave her omma a look. “We’re just friends,” she said in a firm voice.

Mrs. Bae ignored her statement and tuned to Yunho. “You better take care of my daughter, mister!”

Yunho couldn’t help but laugh. But he nodded anyway. “God, I feel like I’m meeting my girlfriend’s parents,” he said to himself. He then smiled to himself at the thought.

After a while of chatting, Seulgi and Yunho bid Mrs. Bae and Key goodbye and left the market place.

“Wasn’t that fun?” Yunho asked, thinking back on the things that Seulgi’s mother just told him.
Seulgi grunted. “Omma didn’t have to say those things. “ She pouted cutely and it made Yunho’s smiled even bigger.

Seulgi then turned to him with a huge grin. “Let’s go! I wanna show you something!”

They walked back to the place where they left Yunho’s bike and he began to pedal towards Seulgi’s directions.

They stopped in some kind of square in the middle of the city, where a fountain lay in the middle. It was a beautiful thing, with water, spraying in all directions.

Seulgi pulled Yunho toward the fountain and took out two coins. She handed him one and went nearer to the fountain. She stood on the dry part of the fountain, where a person would normally lean or sit on, and turned her back away from the fountain. Yunho followed her peculiar act.

“Now, close your eyes and make a wish!” Seulgi commanded.

Yunho looked at her, puzzled. “Wae?”

“Just do it!” She commanded. “Then, after that, I’ll count to three, and we’ll both throw our coins in!”

They both closed their eyes, wishing hard.

“I wish you could be mine forever,” Yunho thought hard on his wish.
“I wish you’d be by my side, always,” Seulgi wished.

They both opened their eyes and Seulgi counted.

“One…Two…THREE!!!”

Then, they tossed the coins backwards, into the fountain.

They smiled at each other, and laughed. Seulgi then looked past Yunho, with an alarmed expression.

“Look at that!” she pointed in a random direction.

And naturally, Yunho looked.

SPLASH.

“BAE SEULGI!!!!” Yunho screamed in fury, standing up in the fountain, drenched with water. Seulgi had pushed him in and was laughing like a maniac.

“Oh, so you think that’s funny, huh?” Yunho asked menacingly. Without another word, he grabbed Seulgi’s arm, pulling her into the fountain with him. Now, it was his turn to laugh.

“Yah! Jung Yunho!” Seulgi yelled furiously. She splashed him with water, and he did the same. They were chasing each other around the fountain, and were splashing each other with water, laughing and screaming as they played their little game, not caring about the passers-by who were looking at them as if they were aliens.

…

“Kamsahamnida,” Seulgi bowed to the old man, who was selling tea in a nearby stall.

She walked over to Yunho, who was sitting on a bench and sat next to him. Their clothes were still wet, but they didn’t care.

“Now, drink this,” she commanded, handing him a cup of tea.

Yunho smelled it. “What is it?”

Seulgi smiled. “The cheapest cup of tea you’ll ever drink.”

Yunho took a small sip, and felt the tea warm his insides. The tea tasted fantastic. Like all the other foods he tasted earlier that day, it wasn’t like any other cup of tea that he drank before.

“So, what do you think of middle-class life so far?” Seulgi asked, taking a small sip from her own cup of tea.

Yunho casually leaned back and replied, “It was okay. Not as special as rich life, though…”

Seulgi’s face fell as she was dejected by his answer. Yunho smiled.

“But I would be lying if I said that,” he said, in a gentler tone.

Seulgi slapped him on the arm. “Yah, don’t kid around with me!”

But she was smiling when she said it.

Yunho laughed. “Okay, okay… but seriously, it was great.”

Seulgi smiled genuinely and they sat in comfortable silence for a while, finishing their cheap tea.

Much to Seulgi’s surprise, Yunho stood up, crunching up the paper cup that once held his tea.

“Now, it’s my turn to bring you somewhere,” he announced, and pulling a speechless Seulgi to the bike, they rode back to school.

“What are we doing here?” Seulgi asked, as Yunho pulled her up a staircase that never seemed to end.

“You’ll see,” was all Yunho replied.

They ended up in front of a door. Yunho turned his back on the door and faced Seulgi. ”Are you ready?” he asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” Seulgi replied.

Yunho opened the door and Seulgi gasped.

They were on the roof of the school.

“Look,” Yunho pointed straight and Seulgi was awed by the view.

From there, she could see the beautiful city lights of Seoul and above them, the stars were shining beautifully.

“This is my secret place,” Yunho said. “Whenever I need to think straight, or if I have a problem, I come up her and look at the stars.”

He then walked over a little shed, and took out some blankets. “I always keep some useful stuff here, when I decide to camp out.” He laid down two of the blankets on the floor. They sat down, and used the other blankets to wrap themselves for warmth.

Seulgi looked up at the night sky. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

Yunho looked at her when she said the word ‘beautiful’ and smiled. Se looked back at him and noticed that their faces were about less than an inch away.

And before Yunho could even stop himself, he kissed her.

They broke apart, smiling.

“What was that for?” Seulgi asked.
“Think of it as a thank-you gift for making this day really great,” he replied.

She beamed at him.

“Umm… Seulgi…” Yunho began.
“Mmm?” Seulgi mumbled, giving him her full attention.

“I know this seems really sudden, and out of the blue, but I’ve thinking, and…” he trailed off.
“What is it?” she asked curiously.

He looked into her eyes. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

Seulgi was rendered speechless. She didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll have to think about that,” she said, managing a small smile.

And with that, she leaned her head on his shoulder, watching the stars shine.

[End Of Very Long Flashback]

…

A tear rolled down Yunho’s cheek as he remembered every little thing that they did that day. It was only yesterday, but he felt like it was a really long time ago.

And so many questions were swimming in his head.

“Is it really not meant to be? Should I just let go and move on with my life? Should I just give up on you? Is your leaving really for the best???”

He sighed went looked at the bike helmet.

“Will I even be able to get over you?”

<3--------------------------------

~~~~****SNEAK PEEK****~~~~

COMING UP NEXT!!!

Chapter 17:

“Class, please welcome back, Bae Seulgi!!!”

“Oh, and we also have a new student with us today, all the way from America! His family was the one that took care of Seulgi when she was in America, and has come back with her! So class, I would like you to give a warm welcome to…”