chapter one; 

                  a memory

» The park is deserted, the only two present being me and Doyoon. We're sitting on the swings peacefully, swinging our legs forwards and back, the cool breeze carrying us. It was early spring as flowerwere beginning to sprout over the grassy plains. Suddenly, Doyoon stops swinging and stops his swing. I stare at him for a moment before dragging my feet across the sand to stop my swing too.

"What's wrong?" I asked, growing concerned.

"Lisa, what do you want to do in the future?"

I looked at him, surprised. Doyoon hardly ever talked of the future. He lived for the moment, the present. Remembering that he had asked a question,  I shrugged, looking down at the sand. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it." 

"I want to be an actor."

Once again, Jang Doyoon had surprised me, a second time in a row. "An actor?"

He looked up and over at me, grinning. "An actor, or a singer. I like to entertain people. It makes me happy."

"Seeing you makes me happy." I leaned over and tapped on his nose, laughing. "Do you think there's a job for that?"

"Yes, it's called being my best friend." He grins.

I roll my eyes. "Is it a paying job?"

"Yes, paid with love."

» "I need a new top to go with the jeans I brought last weekend," Bella says, as we stroll into the mall the next day, the cool AC welcoming us into the building. I listen attentively at her shopping needs as someone lets out a groan from behind. I turn around and laugh at Jordan, another friend of mine, who had (unfortunately for him) decided to tag along on our mall trip.

"If we weren't going to the summer festival after, I wouldn't have came," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets glumly.

"Well, no one was begging you to come," Bella retorted, sticking her tongue out at Jordan who returned the gesture. I shake my head, nudging the two forwards. The sooner we were out of here, the sooner these two got away from each other.

"Where to first?" I asked no one in particular.

"EB Games."

"Sirens." I give them both a look and they shrug. "We're closer to Sirens then we are to EB Games. Can't we go there after?" Bella whines. Jordan has his own theory of how if we took the shortcut, we'd reach EB Games faster. I sigh, playing with my lucky bracelet as the two of them continued to bicker.

"Okay, you know what?" I cut in between the two. "Why don't we go to H&M? That way, no one gets what they want."

The two both make a face like little kids but finally begin to walk towards our next destination. I took a deep breath, wondering how I would manage with the two over the summer. The last day of school was only yesterday and already the two were fighting like a old married couple. I paused, pondering over the thought of the two liking each other before muffling my laugh and continued walking. Nah. Didn't seem possible. The two could barely get along.

Tomorrow, we'd be going to see Seventeen at their fan meet. That was the main reason we were  here, to buy gifts (but for the other two, it was to buy clothes to impress the boys and buy games to play at home). I grew excited again, exhilarated over the fact that tomorrow I’d get to see seventeen cute boys all at once. Seventeen! I the $100 in my pocket, worried that I wouldn't be able to get the gifts I wanted for them.

"Oh my god, wait!" I left the two to their bickering and wandered over to a store that had shelves towered with stuffed animals. I even spotted a stuffed pea stuffie, one similar to the one at home. I giggled to myself, wondering what it would be like if a member from Seventeen had the same stuffie as I did. I reached forward to it but another pair of hands did the same thing. We both clutched at it before pulling back, startled.

"Oh! Sorry. I - " I looked up at a pair of deep, brown eyes, filled with warmth and kindness, though I have never seen them before. My mouth parts to continue my sentence but I fumble with my words, forgetting my thought. "I - uh, sorry," I finally, mutter, stepping back, and clearing my throat.

"Were you going to buy this?" He asks, his eyes bright with curiosity.

"Oh, um, well, yes but you can buy it if you want," I awkwardly say, running a hand through my hair, growing nervous. God, I was never good with speaking with people.

He examines the stuffed peas and shakes his head. "Nah, I already have enough at home. My friends would kill me if I brought another one home." He laughs. "Besides, I'm not a fan of vegetables."

"Oh."

Wow, Lisa. That was brilliant. What other smart and great responses do you have up your sleeves?

"Well, are you going to buy it?" He speaks up and I remembered that I was, indeed, about to buy it.

"Right!" He watches me as I pay for my purchase, hugging the stuffed animal (vegetable?!) once more before putting it in the bag. I nod at him before exiting, telling him an awkward goodbye and got the same response. I quickly walked towards my two friends who stood waiting for me at H&M.

"Do you know him?" Bella asked, glancing over my shoulder to find the figure who I had (briefly) interacted with before. "He looked cute."

I shake my head before following her into H&M. "Never saw him my entire life."

»  Exiting H&M, I point to Starbucks across the mall and suggest that we grab a drink before going to the festival. The two reluctantly nod, following me as I skipped to the line. Suddenly, someone calls out a loud "HEY WAIT," and I look back at Jordan and Bella who look just as surprised.

"Wasn't me," Bella says, holding up her hands. I glance over to Jordan who has the same response. Bella looks behind me and frowns before letting out a laugh of disbelief. "Dude, isn't that the guy from the store you were at before?"

I turn around to find out that Bella was right. The same brown eyed was running towards us. I glance forward at the line, luckily where there were still lots of people before us. "I want to say no, but yes," I slowly say as he approaches our table. "Um, you again!"

He pauses, holding up a hand to catch his breath. "Sorry, I - " Takes a breath. "You left your…" Pause. "You…bracelet." Another breath. You can imagine what a scene it must have looked like - a teenage boy gasping for air in front of three people who looked strangely confused. I just hoped no one had called mall security yet.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You…" He desperately holds out, surprisingly, my bracelet. I feel around my and empty wrist and gasp.

"Man, my bracelet! Thanks! Where'd you find it?"

"You left it at the store." His breathing is somewhat normal now. He lets out one last breath of air and sighs. "I really need to work out more."

I laugh, feeling like there must be a better way of thanking him than just two simple words. "Hey, are you here alone?"

He looks confused but nods. "My friends are at home, playing video games but I got bored so decided to go for a walk."

"Lucky them," Jordan mutters. Bella slaps him on his arm and he grimaces, making a face.

I turn back to the friendly face and my head to the side. "Well, we're going to a summer festival after. It should be fun. Why don't you join us?"

He pauses. "Sure, that sounds fun. Besides, I'm not really doing anything anyways."

"Great." I give him a warm smile as we finally inch forward in the line. "Oh, by the way, my name's Lisa. This is Bella and Jordan."

"Doyoon," he says, grinning back.

I swear, the world must have stopped right then.