Outside? Wait, outside his house? Daesung froze. No way! How did he know where he lived? Oh no, then he could see their house. Daesung died from embarrassment and he hated it. There was nothing to be embarrassed about. They were poor, so what? That was not their fault, they were doing the best they could in their situation. Oh, why did he have to find out where he lived. Daesung wanted to cry in frustration. This ruined everything. Now things would become awkward between them. Okay, they had always been a bit awkward, but this was different. He didn't want to be the poor kid that everyone felt sorry for, be the rich kid's charity. Hang on, had Seunghyun maybe always known? Was that why he had sought him out, he was his charity? Daesung's good mood vanished behind his frown.

'Hurry up you slowpoke!'. Daesung was already dressed and ready to go, but he just couldn't bring himself to go outside. He stood in his shoes in the hallway, peering out of the broken window on his front door, hiding behind the curtain his mom had made. It was a nice curtain, his mom was really good at making beautiful things out of nothing. Daesung was thankful for that. He couldn't see Seunghyun anywhere, was he pulling his leg? Daesung was relieved. That trickster! He chuckled to himself as his good mood returned. 'Oh I'm already outside, no wait, you can't trick me that easily! ㅋㅋ ^^' he laughed out loud as he sent it. Well, he did almost trick him, but he was glad he realized it before he fell for his trap.

He started to take his shoes off when there was a knock on the door. Daesung stopped breathing. No, it couldn't be. He stood up and saw a silhouette outside the door. It could be just a coincidence. His heart was having a hard time believing that, beating faster by the minute. He started sweating profusely. Trembling he reached for the knob, turning it very slowly. “Who is it?” his mom came out of the kitchen with her apron still on, covered in flour. Oh no. “Kitty-boo, I know it's hard to remember sometimes, but it's not enough to just turn the knob, you also have to actually open the door.” his mom laughed. He loved his mother's laughter, it had this warm tickling ring to it. “Oh, ha-ha.” he stuck his tongue out at his mom, only making her laugh harder. Well, there was no way out now. He opened the door, a knot the size of a skyscraper building up in his stomach.

There he stood, like a prince from a fairytale. Only Daesung was no Cinderella, he had no glass shoes, only dirty sneakers. The wind brought a whiff of his cologne to Daesung's nose, it smelled like a warm summer afternoon. He was better groomed than last time, his hair carefully molded and his clothes less casual, but still leisurely. “Hello ma'am. I'm Choi Seunghyun, a friend of Daesung's. Nice to meet you.” Seunghyun smiled politely, offering his hand. “Oh!” his mom rushed to the door and pulled Seunghyun inside, shaking his hand. “I'm so glad to meet you, I was worried my Daesungie was having a hard time making friends at his new school.” she said, glowing. “Moooom.” Daesung's face was red as an apple. “Well, I was!” his mom ruffled his hair lovingly. “I'm sorry I'm such a mess.” she giggled “I'm making some cookies, my little baby-boo's favorite, would you like to come in and have some? They'll be ready in about 10 minutes.”. “That's most kind of you ma'am, but we actually have somewhere to go right now, maybe another time?” Seunghyun said respectfully. “Oh, you can stop with that ma'am nonsense.” she said, winking at Seunghyun. “Well, another time then, I'm happy I got to meet you. Don't be a stranger, you are always welcome.”. “Thank you ma'...ehm...Thank you.” Seunghyun stuttered, losing his composure for only a second. “And you! Go and enjoy yourself for once, you've certainly earned it.” she said, pinching Daesung's cheeks.

Daesung was mortified as they walked out the door. Was this a nightmare? No, his mind could never think up such an awful scenario. Seunghyun pointed in the direction of his car and they walked towards it in silence. His car was so fancy that Daesung felt seriously underdressed as he got in. Seunghyun started the car, but instead of pulling off, he leaned back in his seat and turned towards Daesung. “Cat got your tongue?” he asked playfully. “Huh? What?” Daesung had been so lost in his dark thoughts that he had hardly noticed anything. “Look, we don't have to do this if you don't want to.” Seunghyun said kindly. Daesung was speechless. When he didn't say anything, Seunghyun continued, “I really like your mom, you're very lucky!”. Daesung's heart melted. So he didn't care that they were poor? Or that his mom had been so forward and pushy, like she always was. She was never ashamed to be herself, no matter the situation. Daesung felt guilty about having been embarrassed. Seunghyun chuckled, “You know, you're very cute when you're worried.”. Daesung felt his face getting red as Seunghyun started the car.

“Where are we going?” Daesung asked, they had been driving for about a half an hour. It seemed as though they were heading out of town. Their conversation hadn't exactly been flowing, but they were both trying, making meaningless small talk about school and the weather. Daesung was curious about how he knew where he lived, but didn't dare ask. There were so many things he wanted to know but didn't dare ask. Seunghyun had a mischievous look on his face, smirking he glanced at him “That's for me to know and you to find out.”. When Seunghyun winked at him, he got butterflies in his stomach. It tickled so he giggled before he could stop himself. An inadvertent smile appeared on Seunghyun's lips.

“What are your plans for the future?” Seunghyun suddenly asked out of the blue, pensive. They had been listening to some music while enjoying the scenery. It was not often Daesung had the chance to go outside the city, he welcomed the change. “Wow, that's a big question!” Daesung laughed politely. “Hmm, I'm not sure yet.. an office worker maybe? Engineers get paid a lot, but I'm no good with math so that's out.” Daesung really didn't have a clear idea of the future, he and his mom had always been living more on a day to day basis. “Have you ever thought about becoming a singer, or an actor?” Seunghyun asked softly, monitoring his reactions. Daesung was taken aback. “Oh, I'm not on that level!” Daesung laughed awkwardly. “You have to go to an arts high school for that anyway, so it's a bit late to be thinking about that now. And even then it's impossible to get into an arts college, you have to be really talented I think.”. He could feel Seunghyun sizing him up, even though his eyes were on the road. He didn't say anything though and just kept driving.

They to a small trail in the middle of nowhere, it stopped in the center of a field. Seunghyun unfastened his seatbelt and got out, opening the trunk and taking out a big woven basket and a blanket. Daesung blushed, they were having a picnic? He felt like a five year old girl that had just gotten her first tea set and couldn't wait to hold her first tea party. Why was he so excited? When he was around Seunghyun, his feelings made no sense. He was almost getting used to it, or at least obsessing less about it. He didn't know what to say though, but felt he had to say something. “That basket looks sturdy, it can probably hold up to 40 kg!” Daesung blurted out. What? Where did that come from? Daesung was mad at his brain for not coming up with anything better to say. Seunghyun snorted and started walking towards a tree that stood alone in the middle of the field.

Seunghyun spread out the blanket and indicated to Daesung he should sit down. Seunghyun put the basket on top of one corner of the blanket and sat down beside it. Daesung's heart let him know of its existence. They were sitting so close, all alone with no one for miles and miles. Daesung swallowed. He was getting nervous all of a sudden, although he wasn't exactly sure why.

Seunghyun took out two glass soda bottles, a variety of mini-sandwiches, some biscuits and a box of strawberries from the picnic basket. Wow, it all looked so yummy! Daesung's mouth began to water. A frown visited Seunghyun's face as he started to sift through everything that was left in the basket. Finally he stopped, with his shoulders slumped, disappointment dawning on his face. Daesung got a pang in his stomach seeing him like this. “I forgot the bottle opener.” Seunghyun said, watching the soda bottles with regret.

Daesung dug his hand into his back pocket excitedly and emptied its contents, holding it in front of Seunghyun's nose, smiling proudly. “How knew it would end up saving the day.” Daesung said giggling uncontrollably. In his hand was the ugly crab bottle opener that Seunghyun had won for him at the carnival. Seunghyun's jaw dropped. “But... but you didn't know we were having a picnic?” Seunghyun commented incredulously. “Oh.. he he.. I always carry it with me.” Daesung replied, his eyes disappearing into an eyesmile.

Seunghyun had been silent for a while. His expression was a bit weird, Daesung hadn't gotten the hang of reading his face yet. It kind of looked like he was having indigestion, but they hadn't eaten anything yet. Daesung was still holding up the ugly crab, not knowing how to react. “I mean, it's just handy to have a bottle opener... you never know when you are going to need it.” Daesung added awkwardly. It wasn't the real reason he carried it around with him, but Seunghyun didn't need to know that. Seunghyun snapped out of it and reached for the box of strawberries, opening it. He selected the biggest strawberry out of the bunch, examined it carefully and blew on it, before handing it to Daesung. His eyes were sparkling.