TEN : DOWN WE GO

Never had Nana felt such a rush from being on such a ride! Recalling Luhan’s words, she thought about her past. The anger that she kept in her invisible shell, the secrets she had to keep, the fear she held in, it all made her into a different person compared to who she was previously; from the past that scarred and hurt her the most. During the turns that Nana felt she would almost fall off her seat, lose her balance and die, she screamed with all her might. Despite the noises of the whirling wind and the noises of the other riders, Luhan heard the angered plus excited scream that came from the girl beside him.

Luhan wondered to himself over and over again. Nana was as if hiding the real her behind all those kicks and punches when she’s a real delicate flower. Luhan vowed to himself that he was going to know about it someday somehow. He just had to earn her trust beforehand, and then she would be able to open up to him. Putting the thought aside, Luhan enjoyed the rest of the exhilarating ride and finally it came to a stop and they came back to the starting point. “That was so much fun! Can we go on a ride again, Luhan?” The girl beside him said between gasps as Luhan admired her flushing face.

“Of course we could Nana, but there are others waiting in line too. Let’s go, I already have something else planned and I bet you’d love it too!” Luhan said as he casually reached out for Nana’s hand, and that was the first time ever he noticed that she didn’t flinch at his touch, yet held his hand back. Being the inexperienced little deer he was, Luhan looked up to have their gaze locked as the increasing blush spread across the girl’s beautiful face. “Yah! Get out! There are others waiting in the line!” The dude attending the roller coaster shouted over the noise as both of their heads snapped up to look at the long line of people waiting for them to get off.

Looking away from the impatiently waiting crowd and from each other, they hastily got off the roller coaster and sped walk away towards the elevator as Luhan led the way. They were still holding hands as they stepped into the full elevator and more people came in. Luhan saw the discomfort displayed on Nana’s face as the two of them were pushed in deeper into the four walls of the metallic machinery that Luhan decided to stand in front of her and shielded her from everyone. During those few seconds standing so close to each other, both Luhan and Nana couldn’t get past the thought of how both of them were drawn into each other’s brown eyes.

They exited the full elevator and started searching for Luhan’s Turbo as they reached the parking lot. Hands still gripping onto each other, Nana couldn’t fight the urge to slip hers away from his warm touch that gave her such a buzz as she felt her hand accumulating sweat on both of their hands. She was embarrassed of course; I mean like why the hell do you even have an abundant amount of sweat glands on your palm, Shim Nana?! Finally, the shame was over as they found the red sports car and Luhan reluctantly let go off her slim fingers to open the car door for her and Nana stepped into the vehicle.

♦

Tilting her head cutely from side to side, Luhan couldn’t help but to giggle at Nana’s reaction seeing the large open space around them as Luhan decelerated the car and parked safely at one try. He got out of the car and hurried to the other side so that Nana wouldn’t open the door on her own and Luhan was glad that the girl was still unaware that they had arrived until Luhan called out to her. Stepping out, she studied her surroundings and was amazed by the beauty her mother land actually offer since her hometown was the only place she had ever been at.

Peering over the huge calm lake, Nana was suddenly taken by surprise when the calm water rippled as the sound of a motor boat reached her ears and she directed her focus towards the sound. She finally noticed that there was a really huge steel building which rose up high to the sky and she was witnessing a person standing at the very edge of the platform. From her deduction, the monstrous thing probably measured up to 200ft above water and the lone person who was standing there jumped off the edge of the platform. The first thing that came to Nana was: Holy mother of all kimchi! That person is committing suicide!

She brought her hands to her face to avoid seeing the large splash and crushed up bones but nothing really came. Luhan pried her hands off her face and pointed out towards the person Nana saw jumping off the platform, now dangling freely mid-air, body supported by a large belt. “I hope you’re up for the challenge, cause that would be your position in the next few minutes,” he winked mischievously at her while pulling her away from the side and approached the small building just beside the humongous tower. “This is bungee jumping, and welcome to Jechon!” Luhan cheered as they stepped into the place.

Singing her name as an agreement to take the risk with her own consent, Nana felt the jitters as the elevator creaked its way up to the very top of the gigantic tower. Fear. Panic. Insanity. Even death came to her mind as Luhan guided Nana towards the visible end point of the platform. “The easiest way to go back down 203 foot on the ground is to jump, so let’s do this!” Luhan cheered as he clapped his hands. Nana had been speechless all the way and it worried Luhan a little. Maybe he was the only one enjoying this, perhaps he was having a date with himself. “Nana, are you okay?” He asked as real concern portrayed his face.

“I-I have always wanted to know what this thing was called when I saw it on TV. You are one crazy little creep, Luhan, but I can never tell you how happy I am that you brought me here,” Nana said as the first ever smile finally cracked her face and Luhan gripped her hand into his. “Hey, if you guys can’t do it alone, you could go together as a pair. Many couples have done it, even celebrities!” One of the instructor told them as he approached the two. “C-Couples? As a pair? Jump together?” Now it was Luhan’s turn to blush. “Well, yeah, basically all you guys have to do is use a different rope set so that it should support the two of you as you go down in each other’s embraces,” the guy explained.

“I d-don’t think my…” Luhan began as Nana cut him off, “that’d be cool, I guess. What do you say to that, Luhan?” Nana glanced up at him as his jaw dropped; wondering really hard if this was the same girl he met a few months ago. “Where is Shim Nana, seriously? What have you done to her?” He asked as Nana fake punched him with extra force. “Ouch! Oh well, you seem to share the same strength as hers,” he commented as he looked to the guy who had been waiting for his answer. “Alright, we’ll do it,” he answered as the two of them were led towards the very end point of the platform. The two of them were tied close together and both parties blushed at the close proximity they were sharing.

Standing at the edge of the platform after fully prepped by the instructor, Nana peered down below at the free fall before them. Looking down, Nana felt her toes hang at the very edge while every inch of her being was beginning to spark with unimaginable feelings. Seeing Luhan right in front of her made it a little less scary but a lot more awkward. As their hands were forced to embrace one another since one of the older instructor seem to really enjoy watching their awkwardness, the countdown began as they chanted…5…4…3…2…1…JUMP! Without a second thought, two bodies were plunging down; one with all the emotions she balled up finally set themselves free as she felt the first tear flew upwards, going against gravity and the other one with all thought evading him with the decision to take the death leap off the edge with the girl he flashed a sudden thought of a future together with.

The feeling of falling, falling and falling without tension, nothing holding you back and being completely free was so intense that Nana’s tears kissed Luhan’s features as his eyes fought against the strong gust of wind to observe the girl he was tightly gripping onto. When the rope finally pulled them back, reality sunk in and life was restored as they regained their thoughts, feeling the adrenaline rush still coursing through them as every fiber of their muscles, toes, fingers and even strands of hair felt the rush. Mili-minutes of utter terror and in a bat of the eyelid with the strong pull of the large elastic cord, everything became real as blood rushed to their heads and Nana was in a crying fit. “Thank you so much, Luhan,” she said between sobs.

Their fingers were interlaced perfectly when the two of them bowed a thank you to the instructors who greeted them at the bottom of the tower. Nana had ceased her sobs, denying everything but being scared. Luhan knew that there is definitely something behind the girl’s tears. His thumb gently rubbed her wrist as they walked hand-in-hand towards the parking lot. Luhan swore he could see the tip of Nana’s ear turning red as she looked away from him. He chuckled lightly as Nana kept her gaze away from the troll-slash-creepy-deer beside her.

Luhan then drove both of them to a fancy restaurant and Nana’s eyes bulged at the sight of the price visible to each and every one of the menu displayed. “Luhan, I’m not saying that this is not a nice place to enjoy dinner, but,” she tried to arrange her words as she didn’t want to sound rude towards Luhan and his choice. Her eyes practically alternated from the menu to Luhan and it continued for a few seconds until Luhan shot her a glare and called for the waiter. The waiter politely asked if the two of them were ready to order when Luhan snatched the menu away from her and she was relieved when she thought that they were leaving the vicinity, but no, Luhan just smirked and ordered the day’s special for the two of them and stole a wink at Nana. Really, she felt like punching that perfect face.

Dinner went well, with Luhan gentlemanly cutting the portion of the medium raw steak into neat pieces and exchanging them with hers, and finishing their dinner with a dessert, Luhan sighed in content as he sipped on his lemonade. Luhan had made a sour face when Nana threatened to kick him right there and then if he dared to order any alcoholic beverages since he was driving; and now he’s ‘enjoying’ the ‘sinful’ glass of lemonade. They talked a little, getting into deeper with each topic especially when it came to questions of Nana and her painting obsession. She glowed when they started talking about it and how thankful she is that she, quote: met Yixing oppa and joined the Arts Club, unquote.

“Hey, how come you call Xing ‘oppa’ but there’s none for me? Is it because I don’t have much to offer as an ‘oppa’? How could you do this to me, Nana? You’re still stuck to formalities with me but really casual with Yixing, not fair,” Luhan pouted and Nana tried her hardest not to get up and pinch those cheeks. Oh crap, what am I thinking about?! What is wrong with your brain, Nana?! “Nana, I’m talking to you here, hello ~ ” Following her heart instead of her head at that time, Nana decided to give it a try and a little piece of her invisible trust was handed out to Luhan with a statement,” yes, Luhan oppa.” Wow, that is quite a blush, Luhan. Nana thought as she smirked at a very deeply blushing ball of shame. 

Finally updated! Well, I didn't have a lot of free time since college has been killing me, but I'll try to make it on time. Thank you to the readers who stayed and read Petals and Punches. I didn't expect to get more than half a dozen, and an upvote even! Thank you so much for those who supported me and this fic :)

Updated; October 18
Edited; Feb 19