ARA’S POV

     It was really nice to surprise Junsu like that. The manager said it was ok because he was sure it would get Junsu’s appetite back up and help him sleep better if he got to spend some time with me. He was so happy to see me that I was sure nothing could go wrong. And even if something did, neither of us would care. We had a picnic, went shopping and bought cool couple shirt and adorable cat-ear headbands, and then ate some dukboki. Then I took him to another place special to my childhood. When I drove to the nearest subway station, he got confused. I pulled him onto the subway without answering any of his questions. On the way there, we play rock-paper-scissors. If I won, I had to give him a hint, if I lost, he had to guess. I won a lot. He wasn’t very good at it. And every time I irritated him, would tug my kitty ears out of place, which made me pout. And then he’d gently poke my nose and tell me I looked cute—which—in turn—made me smile.

     When we were almost there, I made him wear a blindfold. He protested at first, but then I questioned his trust in me and he stopped. I led him carefully off the subway and went through the entrance of our destination before taking off the blind fold. He looked and couldn’t tell where he was initially. But then he turned to me and pointed.

“Mt. Bukak!” He guessed it. “The Fortress Wall of Seoul.”

I nodded. “My parents used to bring me here when I was little and I loved it. I haven’t been here in a long time, so…I wanted to bring you here and make new memories.” I held two disposable cameras for us.

He smiled at me and took one of the cameras and instantly took a picture of me. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Laughed and took a picture of him as well, and then one of both of us together before we started walking.

     Everything was just as beautiful as (but slightly smaller than) I remembered. Junsu and I walked along the wall just quietly holding hands for a long while, looking around and smiling at each other a lot. Then we started climbing up to Bukaksan. We raced each other a few times, but then we got tired and had to stop occasionally to rest. It was during one of these stops that I confess to Junsu.

I watched him draw his wrist across his forehead to wipe away the sweat. “Junsu…”

He looked at me. “Hm?”

“I’m sorry about that night…you know when you took me to the club. I didn’t mean to get so upset and run out like that. I’m sorry if I ruined it for you.” I kept my eyes down, staring at my shoes.

He raised his eyebrows and then tilted his head. “You don’t have to be sorry. I should be sorry for bringing you to a place that made you feel uncomfortable. I’m not upset with you about it, if that’s what you think.”

I nodded, still keep my head down. “I know you’re not and I’m glad. I just…wanted you to understand…why. I was talking to Eun Hye last night and she had some really good advice for me about being honest to you. If I ever leave you wondering about anything…well its like leave a crack in a dam. The whole thing could come down if you don’t fix it properly. So I wanted to talk about it…” I finally ventured to look up. “Is that ok?”

He stared at me for what seemed like a long time before answered. He nodded and came closer to me. “Ya, that’s fine. We can talk about it if you want.”

I took a deep breath, half relieved and half knowing it wasn’t over yet. Would he be able to understand what I was about to say next?