Goodbye part 1
Lee Taemin's Ji-Ara
“So, what do you want to do?” Jonghyun oppa asked Anna and the rest of us as soon as we arrived at the waterpark.
I glanced at Taemin and sighed. He was still with key oppa. I had wanted to talk to him that day, but he was sitting with key in the coach, and he was still standing with him now.
“The biggest slide!” Anna chanted excitedly, pointing to the big blue slide, the longest one of them all.
I gulped. I could swim but the long slide looked scary.
“The biggest one it is” Jonghyun oppa agreed and we all followed. I actually wanted to walk there with Taemin, but he was with key oppa. I sighed and saw Onew oppa walking besides me, a big goofy smile on his face.
“You seem scared” he teased. “Am not” I said, though I was sure he did not believe me. “Don’t worry, I’ll go in before you so I can catch you when you get near the end.” He said so sweetly. I smiled and thanked him.
Before me, Jonghyun and Anna were walking together, laughing and looking at the scenery. What was wrong with them?
I am sure both of them knew we would be leaving tonight. How could they be so happy and act like a couple. And why was I not able to talk to Taemin like I wanted to? I glanced back again and he was laughing with Key oppa. I sighed.
“You miss him, don’t you?” Onew oppa asked and I looked at him, and then nodded.
“I just…hate this awkwardness” I said, wanting to confide in him. He had this magnetic pull that made you automatically tell him your worries.
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine. You both just need time.” He said as we reached the top of the slide. I nodded. “I hope so”
Taemin went in first, always loving the thrill. Jonghyun and Anna followed suit. Onew oppa went before me and when it was my turn, I took a deep breath and went down the slide.
That was the longest two minutes of my life! It was so fast and definitely hard to breath. As I approached the end, I closed my eyes, knowing I would drown for sure.
However, I was immediately grabbed and resurfaced. I knew Onew Oppa was holding me but still, I had to make sure I breath properly again.
He held me in his arms and I encircled my hands around his neck.
As soon as I stopped feeling the water around me, I opened my eyes and glanced down.
I breathed in a sigh of relief. “Thanks Oppa.” I said and when I looked back, I almost lost my balance.
Taemin’s POV
I felt her hand loosen and I held on to her tighter. However, she visibly seemed uncomfortable. So I gently put her down.
For a moment there, I was scared to death. I thought she loved the thrill but as soon as I saw her coming down, her face was the palest than it ever was and she had closed her eyes. That was bound to make her drown.
Even worst, Onew hyung who was standing beside me whispered. “You know, she said she was afraid of the slide. I said I would hold her, but I seem to have twisted my leg”
I eyed him then sprinted into the water to hold her.
“Thanks” she said shyly. Now why was she shy?
I nodded and smiled at her. She smiled and hurriedly went to walk with Eun Soo.
“Scared you there, didn’t she?” Onew hyung walked beside me. I sighed.
“Don’t try anything else hyung. I don’t want you guys to force her into admitting anything.” I said, knowing he could feel the pain in my voice.
“It will be alright Taeminnie” he said and I nodded. Hopefully it will.
Ji Ara’s POV
I still felt weird. It was already around 3 pm and yet, I could not stop feeling strange. I still remembered how Taemin had held me in the water.
I sighed. I had not been able to talk to him alone all day. And right now, Anna and I were relaxing int he Sauna room.
“So you really don’t like him?” Anna asked, with a bit of disappointment in her voice. I sighed.
“I don’t know” I said, really confused.
Suddenly re-energized, Anna jumped and stood infront of me. “So you DO like him."
“I don’t know. Things are complicated.”
“What’s complicated? You can be too much sometimes”
“It’s just that, I had always thought of him like a friend. Never as a guy….am not even making sense, am i?” I asked. Unable to explain how I was feeling.
“I understand but”
“You know,” I said, cutting her off, “when we were kids, I used to bully him”
“What?” she asked shocked and I laughed. I had never told her that.
“I was a fat kid back then, with western looks. And he was my neighbor. We were friends since we were kids and he would be the only one I would confide in.”
“How did you two meet anyway?”
I smiled at that. The first time I ever saw Lee Taemin.
***Flashback***
“Mommy, I want ice cream” I cried, looking at some kid eating ice cream.
“You just had sweet pudding. Too much sugar will rot your teeth baby” my mother soothed.
That silenced me, but I desperately wanted the ice cream that kid was eating.
My mother started talking to some woman, totally ignoring me. “I want to go play” I said, with a devilish idea in my mind.
She put me down in the children’s park and sat at the nearby bench.
I turned, and smirked. “Okay, ice cream time Ji Ara.” I whispered to myself and wlaked towards the kid.
“Give me your ice cream” I said as I went up to him.
“No” he said and turned.
“Give me your ice cream or I will beat you up” I said and he looked scared.
“It’s not nice to bully people” a small voice behind me said. As I turned, I saw a little boy, looking shy. Another easy prey! I thought.
“I want to eat ice cream!” I said.
He looked up at me through his bangs. “Come play here at 2 pm tomorrow. And I’ll buy you one”
“How will you buy me? Kids do not have any money” I said, in a loud voice.
He simply smiled. “If you want ice cream, come here at 2 pm tomorrow.
***End of Flashback****
“So that kid was Taemin?” Anna asked. “The one who said he’ll give you an ice cream?”
I nodded, smiling at the memory of him.
“And did he give you?”
I nodded again. “He bought me a vanilla ice cream, and the big one.”
“How?” Anna asked. “He was a kid back then right?”
I chuckled. “He wanted to save the world back then. He said, we should start with eliminating violence and hatred. So he gave me his ice cream. And told me, “We need to make others happy without getting violent.”
“Aish! He was so considerate at that young age?”
“That was the start of our friendship. He actually did not really like me, he thought I was a bully.” I said.
“Then how did you two become friends?”
“A few days later, he was admitted to school. During lunch time, he saw how others would bully me because I did not look like the rest of them. So he understood why I acted like a bully for the kid’s ice cream”
“And you guys were together ever since then?”
I nodded. It was a plus that we were also neighbors.
“You should have talked to him before leaving” Anna said after a while.
“I tried. But he was always with someone.” I said, sad that I will be leaving in a few hours. Would it all end just like that? I wanted to clear this awkwardness between us.
“You know what? Take a rest. I am going for a little walk” I said and got ready.
Comments