ARA’S POV

     Junsu set me down as gently as a fragile doll. “Thank you for buying me food. I had fun at the playground.”

I nodded, happy with the way the night had turned out. “Ya, me too, and you’re welcome. Thank you for the ride…both the car and the…piggy back…” I was aware of how stupid I sounded, but I didn’t care anymore.

I was too happy to care. He smiled at me and nodded.

“No problem, anytime. Hopefully I’ll see you again sometime soon.”

Oh, I dearly hope so! “Ya…hopefully…” I don’t want you to go. I reallydon’t want you to go. “Well, um,” But there’s no reason I can think of to keep you here, so, “Goodnight.”

I waved to him and turned around before I could talk myself out of being the first one to leave.

“Goodnight.” He replied.

I limped inside and the moment I got in the door, I climbed the stairs as fast as I could to get to my dorm, then rushed to the window to watch him walk down the street in the direction of that ramen shop. I sighed dreamily. It felt like a date, but I knew it wasn’t and I knew he didn’t think of it as one. I watched him until he was out of my sight. He looked back a few times and I moved away from the window, even though he wouldn’t be able to see me from that far away. He didn’t even know which floor I lived on. When he was gone from my sight, I hobbled over to my bed and collapsed.

“What happened to you?” Eun Hye questioned, her eyes one her book.

“I…ran into a friend…”

She barely glanced at me. “I see… You should put ice on the ankle, it looks a bit swollen.”

I looked down at my ankle. When Junsu picked me up, every thought about my ankle, and all the pain had flown away. Now it was starting to come back. I groaned and got to get some ice. It was a well worth it wound. I wouldn’t have traded that night for everything, hurting ankle and all.

     I hummed to myself as I worked. Somehow my humming sounded even worse than my voice and it was annoying Kyoong-sook to death. I laughed when she shoved her fingers in her ears and stopped for her sake.

“Eun Hye told me you have a new boy friend.” Kyung-sook chimed.

“No she didn’t. Eun Hye wouldn’t say something like that.”

“Well, she told me you “ran into a friend” last night and when you came back you were all starry-eyed.”

I rolled my eyes. “He is just a friend and I wasn’t “starry-eyed”.” Actually there was a strong possibility that I was. “Trust me, he is not my boyfriend.”

“Mhmm, but you want him to be, don’t you?”

I blushed and looked away. “So what if I do?”

“Ooh!” Kyung-sook squealed gleefully. “So, what’s his name, what’s he like? Is he hot? Is he rich? How old is he?”

I pushed her away, then took an ice cube out of the ice machine and dropped it down the back of her shirt, making her shriek and squirm to get it out.

“What did you do that for?!” She demanded.

“You were asking too many questions.” I told her, trying not to laugh at how silly she looked.

“At least tell me who he is.”

I shook my head. “No, because you wouldn’t believe me.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Try me.”

I looked at her for a minute, then pulled her to the storage room of the café and whispered in her ear. “Xiah Junsu.”

She jumped and screamed. I stifled her with my hand and shushed her.

“Shhh! Would you be quiet. Someone’s gonna think you’re dying in here!”

“No way!” She exclaimed when I took my hand away from .

“See, I told you you wouldn’t believe me.”

“You went on a date with Xiah Junsu?! The Xiah Junsu?!”

“First of all, do you know of any other Xiah Junsu’s? And secondly, it wasn’t a date. He offered to dive me home from school, so I repaid him by buying him food.”

Kyung-sook shook her head. “I can’t believe this, this is awesome! What did he say to you? What was he doing at the school?”

I pushed her out of the closet. “I’m not answering any more of your questions. Now get back to work, people are waiting.”

“Fine, I’ve only got one more. Does he like you back?” She asked.

I shrugged, hiding the hope the rose in my chest and tried show itself on my face. “I don’t know.”

“What if he does?” She questioned further. “What if he asks you out?”

“I don’t know, Kyung-sook, now go help that customer before I stuff your mouth with pastries.”

I smacked her and she skipped to the counter. I turned and wrapped my arms around my stomach. What if did ask me out? Just the mere thought of it made my stomach feel unnaturally empty.