( twelve )

“Ara, Ara, I forgot – oh.”

The moment Miyoung’s eyes spotted the tall figure by Ara’s side, several suspicions entered her mind. A smirk made its way to form on her pink glossy lips as she stared at the girl she had called a little while ago.

Knowing her friend, Ara already received the telepathic message of Miyoung. Her eyes glared at the older girl, hinting her to not dare speak about teasing her or else she will pay later.

Catching the blackmail, Miyoung made a gesture with her fingers zipping her lips as she nodded twice. Still, she did not give any signs of fear from the nonverbal threat message she received.

She turned to Chanyeol, flashing her signature eye smile. “Chanyeol, right?”

The boy nodded his head. He somehow noticed the transfer of messages between the two but decided to shrug it all off.

“May I borrow Ara for a minute? Don’t worry. It’ll be quick.”

He casually inserted his hands inside his pocket and furrowed his eyebrows.  “I don’t know why you are asking permission from me but sure.” He scratched his head, revealing a grin.

“Thanks!”

Miyoung dragged Ara to the other side of the locker area; a couple of feet away from Chanyeol.

“What are you up to?” Ara hissed.

“You’ll see.” Miyoung smirked and turned her attention to the male waiting naively by Ara’s locker, kicking imaginary objects with his foot.

“Chanyeol!”

His eyebrows motioned upwards. “Yes?”

Miyoung grabbed Ara’s arm and pulled her close as she approached Chanyeol. “Ara here wants to go out on a date with you.”

Both Ara and Chanyeol’s looks seemed surprised.  Momentarily, their expressions changed. Ara was feeling flustered while Chanyeol seemed cool about it – looking composed as he revealed a soft smile.

“What? I did not remember mentioning anything about this.” Ara denied. It was true. Miyoung was lying. She was not sure if this date offer would put her to questioning her feelings more. There was one thing she was afraid of – that is falling in love with him more and deeply. It will be a lot harder for her to let go soon.

“Nonsense.” She turned her face to Chanyeol and grinned. “She’s actually shy to ask you herself.” Miyoung pushed Ara to Chanyeol, letting the younger lady hit the boy’s chest. The boy instinctively grabbed onto her arms, supporting her so she wouldn’t fall off.

“Bye! See you two!” She waved before walking away.

As soon as she was out of their vicinity, Ara pulled away from Chanyeol feeling the awkward air. “I’m sorry.” She scratched the back of her head. “My friend’s just kidding.”

“I know.”, he replied. “She’s really cute.” He complimented Miyoung as he turned to look at her skipping away as she made a turn to a corner.

“Yeah, she is.” She smiled, also looking at Miyoung’s way.

He looked back at her and smiled widely. “…let’s go?”  He held out his arm for her.

She tilted her head utterly confused. “To where?”

“On our date.” He winked.

Her eyes widened. “D-date?”

He chuckled. “Just kidding. You’re cute.” He pinched her cheek. “But mind if I take you to one of my treasure places?”

Without wasting any time, she nodded with a soft grin.

---

“We’re here!” Chanyeol spread out his arms. With eyes closed and his head facing the sky, and spinning around, he relished the breeze the air blew through him. The puff of the wind was welcoming them to the wonderful playground. Smiles were painted on children’s faces as they glide down the slides, move up and down the seesaw and sway with the swings. There was no doubt, the place was a blissful paradise for the young ones.

Ara, upon seeing the place, felt a ton of bricks laid on her back. There was a heavy feeling on her chest. Her feet were preventing her from stepping onto the sandy ground which will completely tell that she was indeed in the playground they (little Chan-chan and her) used to play around.

She stopped on her tracks, unwilling to get more memories return to her.

Chanyeol noticed her stiffened expression. “What’s the matter?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.” She forced a smile. “Let’s sit over there.” She pointed at the empty bench near the slide. Apparently, it was the only one which could accommodate them. Other benches were either occupied by two or three persons – to which, maximum number of persons to be seated are only three.

As they took a seat, Chanyeol went back to his reverie – going back to the blissful moment he had in his younger years he spent in this playground. He heaved a sigh. “You know, this place is memorable to me.”

She looked at him intently, waiting for him to continue, although she had an idea on what he would be saying.

“When I was a child, I was independent. Imagine at the age of six and commuting all the way back home.” He chuckled.

“Why were you commuting? What about your parents?”

“Well, my dad.” He laughed bitterly. “He doesn’t really care much about me. But I’m glad I had my auntie who was willing to provide me my needs as a child.” He closed his eyes for a moment inhaling the fresh air before opening them again. His eyes focused on the children playing along the swings.

“Do you know how hard it is to be alone?” He turned to her, asking her a question in a rather aggressive tone.

Ara just stared, and he shook his head. “No matter. It was lonely during my childhood days…but not until I met her.” He sighed looking up the skies with sparkling eyes. “I once met a girl in my kindergarten years.” He smiled, feeling fluttery of the topic. “We used to play in this playground and run around teasing each other.”

Ara pursed her lips, looking at Chanyeol still, while the lad lets his stares stay directed towards the kids. He then continued, “I don’t know but I felt really happy whenever I’m around her.  Back then, I don’t know what that feeling was called, but now, I think I do – and it is love.”

She felt waters forming onto her eyes. No, she cannot cry. Not at this time. He would wonder why would she cry.

“Unfortunately, she left. I don’t even have any connections with her now. And the most depressing thing is, I can’t even remember her face. I know…so stupid, right?”

It’s not stupid, she mentally answered him back.

“But I do remember one thing about her.”

“What’s that?”

“The name I used to call her – Bambi”, he softly said while staring onto the sky, smiling brightly, with evident longing expressed on his face.

That was the she realized, he remembered her still.