The breeze blew across his face and Jongup lifted his head so that the remnants of the sun could shine on him. He held onto the railing of the bridge and breathed in deeply. It was nice to be so peaceful. He tapped a melody with his fingers and wondered what he was going to do today. Maybe he can go check out that new coffee shop that had opened.

            He heard a light rustling and turned his head to the buildings off the bridge. He heard the cars zoom by, feeling the rumble underneath his feet and wondered maybe he had imagined the rustling. After all, it could have been a paper bag or just the wind blowing by the leaves.

            Jongup looked over the railings and saw the tent from the new café and decided he was going to head there. That was when he heard another distinct rustling. He looked up and saw that there was a girl in the tree next to the bridge. She was in her school uniform and her headband was askew. He stared at her and saw that she was struggling to reach the window ledge. He wanted to call out but didn’t know if she was going to be distracted or not.

            She twisted her body and suddenly, their eyes met. He continued to gape at her and she startled. He saw her right foot slip and reached out for her. He could clearly hear her sharp cry. Her hand reached for the branch above her and she caught on. Jongup moved forward, trying to see if he could help her.

            He saw her wince and knew that she must have hurt herself. “Stay there, and hold on!” he shouted to her and she grimaced again as she tried to touch the branch with her foot. He saw her hands trembling and knew she probably could not hold on any longer.

            Jongup ran towards the other end of the bridge. His feet pounded on the planks as he ran, trying to see if she was still holding on. As he was nearing the end, he heard her let out a tiny scream and he jumped down the steps, two at a time, rushing to get to her.

            He reached the tree just as she came crashing down. Branches and leaves rained down on him as she landed in his arms. He staggered slightly under her weight and she gripped her arms around his neck. Jongup gasped and carried her to the steps of a nearby building.

            He awkwardly squatted to let her down and she nodded at him. “Thank you so much.”

            He scratched his head and attempted to ask her what he knew would be a weird question. “Uh, why were you climbing that tree?”

            She blushed. “I left my keys and nobody’s home. I always keep my windows unlocked, so I figured if I could just climb in then it would be okay.”

            He laughed a little and stared at her foot. “Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

            She shook her head, their hands touching as they both reached towards her ankle. “Ah, it’s alright. It’s just a tiny sprain.”

            Jongup stared at her. “Well, what are you going to do?”

            “Wait for my mom to come back, I suppose.”

            He looked behind him and pointed at the café. “I don’t suppose you might want to come have some coffee with me while we wait? I’ve been wanting to try, and I guess you do owe me some company.”

            The girl looked up at him shyly. “What do you like?”

            “I like caramel mocha latte.”

            A smile unfurled over her lips as she stood up, clutching his arm in support. “That’s my favorite too.”

            After he got their order, Jongup brought the two cups outside to where she was sitting. She was staring off into space and he tapped her gently. “Hey, welcome back to earth,” he joked.

            She turned red again and shook her head. “Sorry. I was just thinking how lucky I was that you were there. What were you doing on the bridge? Why aren’t you wearing your uniform? Are you not in school? What’s your name?” the questions came out in a rush and he held up his hands.

            “Whoa, let’s take some time to digest that, shall we?” He smiled winsomely at her. “I’m Jongup. I didn’t have school because it’s testing week and we didn’t have to go in. I grew up on the bridge, basically. My mom was walking there when she suddenly gave birth and I guess a lot of memories occurred there.”

            She looked at him curiously. “So why were you there today?”

            It was his turn to be flustered. “Ah, I guess I just go there to clear my mind sometimes as well. I think it just happens to be your lucky day that your knight in shining armor was there.” He winked at her in an attempt to get his mind back on track. She rolled her eyes and took a sip of the drink he had placed before her.

            “Mm, this is really good. I think I can most definitely make this a new hang out spot.” She eyed him as she spoke and Jongup grinned, taking a sip of his own.

            “Oh, this is made just right. You can barely taste the sugar. I like it. I think this would be a great place to take special people, isn’t it?”

            She kicked her foot shyly and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I suppose so.” Jongup placed his chin on his hands and stared into her eyes. She pretended to grimace and shook her head. “Ya, what are you looking at?”

            He shook his head and smiled. “Nothing. Just thinking about how pretty you are.” He looked over her shoulder and pointed. “Oh, look. I think your mom’s home. I’ll walk you back.”

            She reached out and touched his hand. “Don’t be a stranger, Jongup. Especially now that you know where I live and we have a great place to meet up too.” Still smiling, she reached out a hand for him to take. 

this is for MusicChibi ♥