VI

Her parents are out again. This time, they sit down on the curb and talk for almost an hour.

“How’s school like?”

“Fine,” she says. She doesn’t elaborate, and Myungsoo has the sense not to ask. He manouveurs into another topic of conversation, but not before he notices the slight darkening of her bright, starlight eyes.

VII

They are almost caught by her parents, who turn into the street just as she passes her money to him. Maybe it is intuition, or her alertness, but she senses that they are coming, and she dashes back to the house after a hurried ‘thank you’.

He leaves feeling particularly empty.

VIII

Eight months since their first meeting, and he was feeling a peculiar itch. A strange desire to get to know her better. He had been feeling it ever since his fingers had accidentally brushed against hers, but this feeling had grown to painful intensity in the past month.

She had a peaceful smile, a quiet, sad sort of laughter, and a silent strength that told him that she had been through tough times. Something about her made him feel at peace with himself, like her soft voice would wash away all trace of his bad past.

And so when she steps out of her house, looking quite pretty in an oversized shirt and a pair of white shorts, he walks over to her with a small smile on his lips, dragging his cart with one hand as the other reaches out to pass her the bar of ice cream.

“Here,” he says, his lips nervously. She smiles her thanks and the usual transaction takes place. She looks to her right to make sure that her parents are not turning into the street, before ripping the package open and on the Magnum. Myungsoo swallows nervously, and tries to remain nonchalant, leaning on his cart with one leg as he stares at the ground. But he is actually stealing glances at her, at her pale skin and her smooth neck. Myungsoo shakes his head before he can think more weird thoughts.

There is a peaceful silence, and he decides that he will wait until she has finished her ice cream.

Once she is done, she says, “I should go.”

He finds himself suddenly dumb, unable to speak, his words caught in his throat, and he watches, mouth open, the unspoken question lingering on his lips, as she crosses the threshold into her house. Her fingers reach out to close the gate behind her, and he can almost see the faint glimpse of a smile under the moonlight.

“Seohyun.”

The word is soft, yet resonant. He is surprised that it even escaped his lips. She looks back questioningly.

“Yeah?”

He clears his throat. Well, there’s no turning back now.

“I was wondering if-“ he clears his throat again- “if I could have your number?”

He doesn’t miss it—how her jaw drops just slightly, how her eyes widen in almost astonishing disbelief, like she cannot imagine why he would ever want her number, why he would even bother to ask. Before the silence can become awkward, he pushes on.

“I thought we could talk on the phone.” He said softly. “Only if you want to, of course. You don’t have to agree if you don’t want to.” Please don’t think I’m weird please don’t think I’m weird-

The monologue in his head is cut short as her face lights up, the corners of her lips tugging up into a wide smile.

“Sure.”

And then she’s walking, striding, almost eagerly, towards him, and he reaches into his pocket for his phone, and hands it to her, and she is keying in her number, and Myungsoo cannot help the rush of joy he feels. The blood sings and pounds in his ears, and he doesn’t bother keeping the grin off his face. Her head is bent over, her hair, once tucked behind her ear, now spilling out of its confines and covering her face. He catches a whiff of her shampoo, and he wants so badly to reach out to play with her soft locks.

She hands his phone back to him, a shy smile on her pale face. He reaches for it, and this time brushes his fingers against hers. Her breath hitches and she can feel herself blush.

“I’ll call you,” he murmurs softly. She can only nod.

And an hour or two later, when Myungsoo has finished his rounds and has returned to the Home, her phone rings, and she picks up with her heart beating erratically in her chest. Full of hope, and anticipation.

--

That night, Seohyun doesn’t sleep. It doesn’t matter that she has a test tomorrow, and an essay to hand up by the end of the week. All that matters is the phone in her hand, pressed tightly against her ear, and the voice of Myungsoo that reverberates throughout her body. They talk about themselves, about the weather, about school, about things on the TV. And when they run out of things to say, they settle into a comfortable silence, and Seohyun smiles as he hears him breathing from across the line.

It is soft and it is constant and Seohyun wouldn’t mind listening to it for the rest of her life.

--

IX

“Hey,” she gives him a bright smile.

“Hey.” He arranges the ice cream in his cart, handing one to her. She takes it from him and smiles to herself, remembering the first phone conversation, and the ones that followed after that.

“Long night?” She asks, sitting next to him on the curb.

He nods. “Long day, actually. It’s been a bad week.”

“Hmm.” She nods. “Wanna talk about it?”

He pauses for a while, unsure. He never had anyone to talk to about his bad days. This is a first.

“Well,” he starts, nervous for some reason. “I didn’t do as well in a test as I thought I would. Then some kids in the Home were caught smoking when they swore that they had quit. Dasom caught the flu bug- but she’s okay now,” he says quickly after seeing her panicked face. “And the ice cream sales aren’t too good.”

She nods. “You don’t really sell much, do you?”

He shakes his head, and the two lapse into silence.

“Why not, thought?” She muses.

He shrugs. “People get intimidated when a guy like me walks up to them and tries to sell them ice cream. Like, ‘Hi, I used to be a delinquent but now I’m a good boy, come, would you like some ice cream?’” She laughs slightly at his feeble attempt to lighten the situation.

He sighs. “I guess they don’t know me.”

She nods, understanding.

“Well,” she said abruptly, standing up and dusting off her skirt. “I’ll help you sell ice cream.”

--

It’s probably due to the fact that Seohyun is with him, but ice cream sales increase exponentially. People are more accepting when they see Seohyun; someone they recognise, someone they know. She is  the quiet girl who lives at the end of the street, distant but friendly.

They take to selling the ice cream in the late afternoon, after the both of them end school, so that there isn’t the risk of her parents finding out. They make their rounds in her neighbourhood, sometimes venturing out into other areas when they had time and felt like it.

He looks at her now, her face flushed from the afternoon sun, hair tied up in a loose bun. She walks beside him, as the two of them stroll along the pavement to the next set of houses, a small smile on her face. Sales are good today; they are almost through with the cart—something that has never happened before.

She feels him staring, and turns around slightly, a question in her eyes. He shakes his head, his smile mirroring hers, and she turns her head to look ahead, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously. His heart skips at the innocent gesture.

Being with her feels liberating, like he doesn’t have to be anyone other than himself. She doesn’t impose anything on him, and he loves the way she is shy of the world. It sounds funny, but he loves the way she is so unsure of herself, like a little duckling that doesn’t know her destiny as a beautiful swan.

An hour later, and they are done with the cart. The both of them look at the empty box with a mixture of surprise and jubilation, as if they cannot believe their eyes. A giggle escapes from her lips, and she covers unexpectedly, looking up shyly at him, to find him staring at her like she is the most precious thing in the world.

“Let’s go take a break,” he says. “We deserve it.”

She nods happily, and the two start walking towards the park. But before she can step forward, his hand comes up to hold hers, out of instinct, and his fingers intertwine with hers. Myungsoo tries to hide his blush, and tugs her along resolutely, noticing with a small bit of triumph the sparkle in her eyes.

________________________

Hello dear friends! I'm sorry for the lack of updates, this year is busy and is going to get busier. I won't abandon this story, or my other fics, but updates will be infrequent ><

Thank you for patiently waiting and for sticking with this story <3