JUNSU’S POV

     Actually, I had already eaten dinner, but I wanted to spend more time with her, so I got out of the car.

“As a matter of fact, no I haven’t.”

We went inside together. It was so small inside that the steam from the kitchen was making the shop area hot and the tables were about as small as the stools people were sitting on. The shop was filled with only old people.

Ara looked embarrassed to have bright me in here. “We don’t have to eat in here.” She said.

I shrugged, not wanting her to feel bad. “It’s ok, I don’t mind.”

“But it’s stuffy and crowded in here. Someone will recognize you. We should just get our food and go somewhere else.”

“Okay.”

So we got our food and walked out of the shop. Ara walked ahead of me.

“So, where are we going?” I asked.

She looked back at me and I noticed a slightly playful glint in her eyes. “You’ll see…”

I skipped to catch up with her. “Can I guess?”

“You can try.”

“Will you give me clues?”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

“Will you tell me if I get is right?”

She looked at me. “Maybe…”

“Okay… Is it inside a building?”

“No.”

“Hm… Is there water nearby?”

She shoved me lightly. “Yah, no clue, remember?”

“Right, sorry. Um…is it at a park?”

“Nope.”

“A…parking lot?”

She laughed. “A parking lot?”

I blushed. “It was all I could think of…”

“No, it isn’t in a parking lot.”

So I continued guessing as we walked, wondering when we would stop.

     Finally we stopped at in front of an elementary school. It was dark except for the city lights and stars.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

It seemed like a kind of strange place for her to bring me.

She grabbed my hand. “Come on…”

The touch of her hand holding mine surprised me and made me smile. Her hand was small and soft. I followed her around to the back of the building where there was a playground. I laughed out loud. She had brought me to a playground! How cute! We climbed over the fence (I had to help her) and sat on the swings while we ate.

“So what made you want to come here?” I asked curiously.

She shrugged. “I didn’t want to be around a lot of people and I knew this place would be empty. I used to come here at night when I was troubled. I’d swing on the swings as high as I could. And when I swung forward, I would hold my feet up so that when I looked in between them, I could see the stars behind my shoes. I would pretend I could fly up to the sky and stand on it.” She blushed and laughed at herself. “That probably sounds pretty dumb…”

“No it doesn’t! It sounds nice.” She looked at me, so I continued, “It’s nice to be able to dream like that.”

She nodded and looked back down, seeming thoughtful.

“When I’m upset, I lay down.” If she was comfortable enough with me to say something that personal, I wanted to say something too. “It’s relaxing and I can pretend I’m somewhere else.”

She smiled at me. “That sounds nice too.”

She started swinging herself back and forth gently. I noticed she was only stirring her noodles around, not actually eating them. I set my container down and stood up.

“Put your food down, I’ll push you.” I told her.

She looked up at me, then set her container aside as well, adjusted herself in the swing, and held onto the chains. I walked around behind her and realized I hadn’t done this since I was little. I was afraid I’d push her off.