Chapter 13

Mr Lee was glaring at the both of you from the rearview mirror. Actually, he was only glaring at Kyungsoo. Apparently on your way down from the tree, your foot slipped and you fell. Lucky enough Kyungsoo was there to break your fall but you scraped your knee and elbow and Kyungsoo had a bruised chin. You rubbed the bruise on your knee.

Kyungsoo sat nervously beside you. He already keyed in the destination in the GPS but he didn’t tell you where it was. You noticed the bruise on his chin.

“Does it hurt?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “A little. But I bet you’re hurting more right? There’s still a little blood coming out from your knee. I’m sorry I made you do it. I should’ve found another way to get out from the house.”

Mr Lee heard what he said and clicked his tongue. Kyungsoo lowered his gaze and looked at his hands. You eyed Mr Lee and he avoided making eye contact with you.

“It’s okay, it’s just a small scratch.” You tried to make the situation less tense but actually your knee felt really bad. The sting just kept coming back. You grabbed a cold water bottle from the cooler at the side of the car and gently pressed it against your elbow and knee.

It stings but I just can’t stand the pain anymore.

A few minutes later, you have arrived at your destination. The three of you got out from the car and Mr Lee stood beside you immediately, examining your wounds. You tried to wave him off.

“I’m fine Mr Lee. It doesn’t sting anymore.” You assured him.

He gave you a look and leaned in for a whisper while Kyungsoo was standing at the front.

“Young Master, I’m not sure about this. You could get into trouble with your mother.”

“It’s okay Mr Lee. Besides, you’re doing me a really big favor right now. Do you know how suffocating that house was? I promise we’ll get back before my mother even knew we left.” You smiled at him before walking towards Kyungsoo who was patiently waiting.

“I understand. I’ll be right outside once you’re done. But if you’re not out in one hour, I’m coming in to get you Young Master.” He said before getting in to the car.

You nodded.

Mr Lee, always worrying about me. But I’m glad he’s here. What if we really do get into trouble?

“Are the two of you done? Cause I don’t want to waste any more time.” Kyungsoo spoke in a soft voice.

You nodded. “Yeah, but where are we anyway?”

He smirked and nudged you. “You’ll see. Come one, this way.”

The two of you sneaked into a dark alley filled with a lot of boxes and other rubbish. Just then there was a ladder that was drilled against a wall and Kyungsoo started to climb up. He stopped halfway to look down at you, who was still hesitating.

“Come on, what are you waiting for? We got no time to waste! You don’t want to get caught do you?”

Your eyes widened. “Get caught? What do you mean ‘get caught’? Are we robbing a bank or something?!” You hissed back.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “Stop being such a drama queen and climb up will you? Besides, why would two rich kids like us rob a bank anyway?” He chuckled and continued to climb before disappearing through a door at the end.

You heard some voices in the distance and quickly made your way up the ladder. Even though it was stinging, your knee still felt sore climbing up the ladder.

Stupid Kyungsoo. I wanted to get out of the house for some fresh air. Not do some military work out by climbing down trees and up a ladder.

Once you managed to climb up, you went through the door Kyungsoo disappeared in. But you couldn’t see him. He was nowhere in sight. It was pitch black too. You took a few steps forward, your arms stretched out in front of you so that you wouldn’t bump into anything.

“Kyungsoo? Where the heck are you?” You called out.

Just then a hand grabbed you from behind and if it wasn’t for the fact that your mouth was covered by that person’s hand, you would’ve screamed. You turned around, relieved that it was only Kyungsoo but slightly slapped his arm for scaring the wits out of you.

“Can you please don’t just disappear into the darkness like that?! You jerk, I could’ve woken up the whole of Seoul if I screamed.” You glared at him but he placed a finger to your lips. He signaled you to stop talking and looked towards a small window located a few feet away from the both of you.

There were moving lights emitting from It which you assumed was the light of the torchlight of the security guard of the place. You kept quiet but at the same time you had to fight the urge from slapping Kyungsoo’s finger from your lips. You absolutely hate it when people touch you, especially when it’s your face.

When the coast was clear, Kyungsoo let out a sigh of relief. “He’s gone now, thank God.”

“Good now get your dirty finger off my lips.” You slapped his hand and rubbed the dirt of your mouth.

Kyungsoo scoffed and slowly crawled towards the small window. He signaled you to follow and you did. Slowly, he opened the window. Apparently it was wide enough for people to pass through but that didn’t matter to you. What mattered was the smell of chlorine that instantly filled your nose when he opened the window.

We’re…near a swimming pool? Wait, this is a swimming complex?

Kyungsoo signaled you to wait for him while he slowly crawled into the window. A few minutes later, you saw his head poking into the window and he gestured you to crawl in to the window too. You tried your best to crawl through and after a little help from Kyungsoo, you managed to crawl through and you could finally stand up.

The smell of chlorine was getting stronger and you could feel yourself getting excited. Again, Kyungsoo told you to wait and he ran towards a door at the other end of the place you were in. He placed his ears against the door and a few seconds later, he ran towards the other and you could hear the sounds of switches being flipped and in a matter of seconds, lights filled the room.

What you saw before you made a huge smile form across your face. You were right, the both of you had sneaked into a swimming complex. An indoor swimming complex actually. At the other end, you could see Kyungsoo smiling proudly by himself, his arms folded across his chest.

“I know, I know. I’m the best. But we should be quick. It’s time for a quick swim!” At that moment, Kyungsoo stripped off his clothes and you were about to cover your eyes when you noticed he had his swimming trunks on. He jumped into the pool, creating a big splash.

“Hey be quiet! What if they hear us?” You said and kept your eyes at the door to the entrance of the pool.

Kyungsoo swam towards the edge and brushed his wet hair that was covering his face to the back. “Relax, they’re gone. I’ve been here tons of times. The guards would usually leave at this time. We basically have this place all to ourselves now!” He shouted and started splashing the water towards you. “Come on, you’re wasting time! I know you can’t resist this Hae Ra!”

You chuckled and quickly slipped off your dress. You were finally freed of it and now you were in your swimming suit. You have never felt so comfortable in a long time. Kyungsoo looked up at you and smiled. You smirked at him and took a dive in the water.

The feeling of water surrounding you, hugging you, oh how you’ve missed it so much. You swam up to the surface to catch your breath. You swept away the hair that was stuck to your face and smiled.

“There’s that smile.” You heard Kyungsoo say. He was right beside you. You felt a blush creeping on your cheeks and splashed water to his face.

You started to backstroke away from him, trying to get back to the feel of the water hugging your body, moving with every movement that you made with your hands and legs. From a distance you could hear Kyungsoo.

“I guess I’d have to bring you out for a swim if I want to see that smile!” He chuckled and his voice bounced on the walls of the place, echoing all around.

You rolled your eyes and continued to swim.

Stupid. Just because you brought me to this place, it doesn’t mean I’m opening up to you. We’ll see.

After about an hour of swimming, Kyungsoo brought you some clean towels he found in the store room of the complex and you wiped yourself dry before putting on your uncomfortable dress once again. Your hair was still damp and it was ruining your dress but you didn’t mind it anyway.

Outside, Mr Lee was patiently waiting for you in the car, checking his wrist watch every once in a while and keeping a lookout for any bystanders. The two of you quickly got into the car and because you guys were still shivering from the cold, Mr Lee the heater.

You rolled down the window to let your hair dry on the way back to the Do family’s house. If your mother had seen you with damp hair, she might get suspicious. You looked to the side and found Kyungsoo sleeping soundly, he head leaning against the window of the car.

He must’ve been tired.

Apparently the two of you decided to have a swimming race a few minutes before leaving the place and you kept winning. But he didn’t want to admit defeat and kept asking for a rematch. It’s no wonder he passed out the moment he got into the car. You chuckled and shook your head before facing out of the window again.

Childish brat.

After a tiring climb up the tree and into the room again, you plopped onto Kyungsoo’s bed, out of breath.

“Can we just sneak out through the front door the next time we’re doing this?” You whined as you gasped for air to get some oxygen back into your lungs.

“The next time we’re doing this? Wait, you mean you’d sneak out of the house again with me in the future?” Kyungsoo smirked at you as he went to open his drawers to search for clean and dry clothes.

You realized what you just said and quickly sat up, straightening yourself.

“I-I mean-ugh shut up!” You said and shot death glares at his direction. But you stopped and your eyes widened. You also felt your face flush red.

Kyungsoo was at the corner of the room with his shirt lifted halfway and he stopped to look at you. You quickly turned to the other direction and stared awkwardly at the floor.

“W-What are you doing?!” You yelled.

“I’m changing my shirt, what else does it look like I’m doing?” He answered casually and continued to take off his shirt.

‘Well for your information, there’s a lady in the room!”

“You didn’t have any problem seeing me with only my swimming trunks on just now.” He continued to tease you.

“That’s different! I mean-it’s for swimming so-ugh shut up!” You screamed in annoyance.

Kyungsoo just laughed at you and tossed his used shirt over your head. “I’m done changing, you can stop blushing now. Your face looks like a cherry tomato, seeing how red it has gotten.”

You pulled the shirt from your head and tossed it to the side of the room. “I wasn’t blushing.” You sulked.

“Right…” Kyungsoo said and went back to his desk. He put on his reading glasses and continued to read his book again.

Just then there was a knock at the door, and you remembered Kyungsoo had locked it earlier, so you rushed to open it. You didn’t want to make it look suspicious. When you opened the door, one of the maids was standing there and she bowed to you.

“The Madam said it is time to go. She is waiting for you downstairs.” The maid said. She then turned to Kyungsoo. “Master wants you to be there as well.” She added.

Kyungsoo sighed and closed his book before standing up and making his way towards the door. You followed him from behind, walking downstairs where you see your mother had already put on her coat and was merrily chatting with Mr Do. You noticed how her cheeks were in a slight shade of red and guessed that she must’ve had a few drinks with Mr Do.

“Ah, there you are. I hope the two of you had some bonding time with each other and had gotten close?” Mr Do asked.

Kyungsoo placed an arm over your shoulders and smiled, making his lips form the heart shape again. “Why yes of course father. We’ve had plenty of time to talk. Didn’t we Hae Ra?” He looked at you.

You flinched and slowly brushed off his arm off of you and rolled your eyes. “Yeah, we did.”

Kyungsoo chuckled and shook his head. Your mother and Mr Do seemed pleased with both of your replies.

“Well, I believe it’s time that we should leave. I’m sorry for taking so much of your time Hyun Yoo ssi.”

Mr Do laughed and shook his head. “I enjoyed your company today Eun Ha ssi, as well as your daughter. She’s a really pretty girl and mature young lady.” He said but he knew he only said it to flatter your mother, which worked apparently, seeing how her laugh seemed to have gotten a pitch higher.

Your mother and you left, with Mr Lee driving the car. You rolled down the window and let the wind run through your hair.

“My, my Hae Ra. What happened to your hair? It’s a mess!” Your mother exclaimed.

“Oh uh, me and Kyungsoo were uh, playing some video games just now and I was feeling uncomfortable with my hair and decided to let it loose.” You tried your best to lie.

Your mother clicked her tongue as she scrutinized your hair more. You ignored her and stared out of the window. Honestly, you were feeling great. You finally get to swim. Even though it wasn’t in your own pool, it was enough to make you feel contented. And you had to admit, you kind of felt bad for not saying anything nice to Kyungsoo after what he’s done. You didn’t like the idea of owing someone a favor so you took out your phone to send his a text.

Hey,
Thank you for today, I really appreciate it. It’s been days since I’ve taken a swim.
And for you to actually bring me to that place made me feel like I owe you.
Do you want to go to that same café after school on Monday? My treat.
But, it’ll be the first and last because I don’t do this often.

Hae Ra.

You pressed send and shoved your phone to the side of the car seat before closing your eyes. The race you had with Kyungsoo was taking a toll on your body. Your eyelids felt so heavy. Just when you were about to drift off to sleep, you felt your phone vibrate.

Wow, you actually sent a text to me.
Anyway, it was my pleasure to bring a fellow swimmer to the complex.
Let’s have another race soon okay? I’m sure I’ll beat you the next time!
And of course I’d like to go if you’re treating me. This chance might never come twice!
It’s getting late; you’re disturbing my beauty sleep. I’ll see you on Monday.

Kyungsoo.

You scoffed after reading the text. While you were reading, you could actually hear his voice, sounding all cocky and proud, echoing in your head. You placed your phone on the car seat again and closed your eyes. There were still a few minutes before you reached your house. You plan to use that time to take a nap. But you were too happy to fall asleep, even though your eyelids felt like someone was pulling them down.

Do Kyungsoo. You’re not so bad after all aren’t you? Brat.