Aerin’s POV

“KAI BAI BO!”  We both chanted.

Yoseob and I were rock paper scissoring to decide who will go out to buy lunch; of course the loser had to go.

“Ah!  Dang it!”  I complained when I lost to Yoseob’s rock.  “Fine, what do you want for lunch?”

“Kimchi fried rice please!”  He flashed me with his puppy dog eyes and handed me the money.

I stuck my tongue out at him, and took out a grape lollipop from my pocket.  At least I’ll have a snack while I’m out.  On my way to the plaza, I heard a strange noise.

Meow~

What was that?

Meow~

It sounded again.  I looked up, only to see a cute little orange cat stuck on the edge of a tree branch.  There was no one around to help the cat, so I decided to climb up the tree and rescue it.  The tree wasn’t that tall, and wasn’t that hard to climb.  I’ve climbed trees before when I was little, but I’ve only fell off once.  What are the odds?  Carefully step by step, I reached the top of the tree.

“Come here little kitty.”  I said with the softest voice I could to try to persuade the cat to come over.  “Don’t worry, I’ll come rescue you.”  When my mouth opened, my lollipop slipped out of my mouth and dropped onto the grass.

It didn’t move, because it was afraid to walk over.  To help the cat, I shifted a bit more to it, and now I was on the same branch as the cat.  I persuaded again.  Luckily, the cat wasn’t as scared anymore and walked into my open arms.

“Aerin?  What are you doing?”  A voice called out to me which surprised me.  I lost my balance, and slipped off the branch.

I screamed with my eyes closed, still holding the cat tightly in my arms.

I didn’t hear a thud, and it didn’t hurt.  My eyes slowly opened to the light, and Kikwang’s face was only a short distance from mine.  I looked at the ground, noticing that I wasn’t on it.  Not long after, I realized Kikwang had caught me and the cat in his arms.

“Aerin-ah!  Gwaenchana??”  His tone sounded anxious, and his eyes seemed worried.

I couldn’t help but took a glance at his eyes, only to have lost myself in his sparkling brown eyes.

Meow~

Remembering that the cat was still in my arms, and that I was still in Kikwang’s arms, I snapped back into my senses.  “Yeah.  I-I’m fine.”  Why was I stuttering?!  “You can… um… let me down now.”

What happened to me just then?  I had never noticed Kikwang’s eyes before, but they were beautiful.  The way his eyes sparkled was as if they were like little shining stars.

After Kikwang set my feet down, I let go of the cat.  It walked a few metres, then came back and my hand before leaving again.  Seeing that the cat was alright, a feeling of relief replaced my shock from falling off the tree.

“You’re just that brave aren’t you?”  Kikwang gave me a cute smile.

“Nah, just trying to help a kitty in need.”  I flashed him a shy smile, as I went to pick up my fallen lollipop in the grass.

Sighing at my wasted lollipop, I dropped it into the garbage can.

“Your knee,” Kikwang gasped, “it’s bleeding.”

I glanced at my knee and there was a cut, surrounded by other scratches on my leg.  Must’ve been from climbing the tree.

“It’s okay.  The blood will dry.”  I was about to walk away when Kikwang stopped me with his arm.

“Come here.”  He walked me to a nearby bench, and took out a bottle of drinking water to wash my wound.  Carefully, he put a bandage to cover up my cut.  “Now that’s better.”

Seeing how gently he was while caring for my wound, I got lost in the moment.

“Aerin?”  He called out to me.  I must’ve been daydreaming again.

“Yes?”  I quickly responded.  “Um... thanks.”

“Do you want me to walk you back to school?”   Kikwang stood up from his kneeling position.

“I still have to go buy lunches for Yoseob and me though.”  I all of a sudden remembered.  Oh gosh, how long have I been out?  Yoseob must be starving by now!

“How are you going to carry all that food with a wounded knee?  Let me help.”  The boy offered to buy the lunches with me, and carry them with me back to the school.

As we were walking back, he asked me several times if my knee was okay, and I nodded to ensure him that I was fine.  It was probably the first time someone seemed to care about me so much, besides my family and friends of course.  Yah Aerin!  What are you thinking??   Kikwang’s only caring for you, because you’re his friend!  Nothing else!

Yoseob’s POV

Goodness!  Aerin’s been gone for nearly half an hour.  The food court is only across the street.  What was taking her so long?  My heart began to pound anxiously, hoping that Aerin was alright.  At last, I saw Aerin’s figure step in the door of the empty classroom, followed by Kikwang.

“What took you so long??  I was about to call the police if you didn’t come back soon!”  I couldn’t help but raise my voice at the girl, even when there was no need for it.

As Aerin began walking towards me, I noticed something on her knee.  It was a bandage.

“Sorry, I-”

I cut her off before she could explain herself.  “What happened to your knee?”  Promptly, I made my way over to her and kneeled down to examine the bandaged area.

“It’s fine.  I fell off a tree.”  Aerin explained.

“YOU WHAT?”  My loud voice echoed in the empty classroom.

How could Aerin explain so calmly that she fell off a tree!  If she fell off a tree, it was a miracle for her to still be walking around fine, and with only a scratch on her knee.

“B-But it’s okay!  Kikwang caught me before I hit the ground.”  Aerin quickly added after seeing my expression.

My eyes shifted to Kikwang, who was standing behind Aerin and holding white takeout bags.  I nodded him a smile as thanks of gratitude, before I turned back to Aerin.

“HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU FALL OFF A TREE?!”  My tone sounded harsh again, so I tried to smooth it out.  “What were you thinking?”

“There was a kitty stuck in the tree, and no one was around to help it, so I rescued it.  I’m a heroine, be nice!”  Aerin pouted.

“Yeah, a clumsy heroine that got rescued by someone else.”

“Yah yah you guys.  Stop arguing already.  It wasn’t Aerin’s fault.”  Kikwang interrupted our bickering and calmed us down.  “Can we eat?  Aren’t you hungry, Yoseob?”  He set down the takeout bags and started to untie them, taking out 3 boxes of lunches.

“Hmph.  Kikwang’s nicer.”  Aerin smiled at Kikwang when he handed her her lunch.  She then sat at her desk and began munching away happily.  I sighed with relief, knowing that she’s alright now.