Chapter 24

The weekends came and you could finally wake up later than usual, that is until you heard a knock on the door. You ignored it and pulled the covers over you. You heard the door clicked open and footsteps walking towards your bed.

“It’s time to wake up Young Master.”

You heard Mr Lee’s soft voice but couldn’t find the strength to open your eyes or even make any sound. You were just that tired. You then felt a soft nudge at your sides and you started to get irritated. Mr Lee would usually let you sleep in during the weekends; you didn’t know why he was being extra annoying. Frustrated, you quickly got up to shoot a glare at him but your body froze when you saw that he was not the only one standing there.

Towering behind him was Chanyeol. He was holding in laughter by placing his fist over his mouth and avoided looking at you. Mr Lee was looking at you, obviously annoyed by Chanyeol’s presence as well. Suddenly realizing that Chanyeol saw your messy bed hair, you quickly combed it down with your fingers and checked to see if you still had sleep in your eyes.

Crap, I totally forgot we made a deal to go out today! Ugh, but why did he have to come into my room?! Mr Lee!!

You uncovered your face and looked at Mr Lee, demanding for an explanation but his expression was obvious. Just from the look on his face, you figured out that Chanyeol let himself in and Mr Lee couldn’t do anything about it. You sighed, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to get any rest that day, or swim for that matter.

“So what they say is true; girls look totally unrecognizable when they just woke up from sleep.” Chanyeol teased but got hit on the head my Mr Lee instead. He yelped and rubbed his head.

“Don’t you dare say that about the Young Master, Mr Park.” He said firmly.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry…You didn’t have to hit me…grumpy old dude.”

Mr Lee glared at him and Chanyeol’s hands automatically covered his head, in fear that he would get hit again. Mr Lee clicked his tongue and turned to face you again.

“I will bring Mr Park down to wait for you in the living room while you get ready Young Master.” He bowed politely at you before pulling Chanyeol away by the arm.

“H-Hey, hey let go old man! I know where the living room is you know!”

The both of them noisily went out from the room and when the door was closed, you could finally remove the covers off of you and let out a big sigh. Dragging your feet, you walked towards the window and opened the blinds. The sunlight felt like it was slapping you in the face asking you to wake up.

Well, maybe by hanging out together, I might get to know more about him. I mean, it means I’ll have more chances to ask him right? That’s right Hae Ra, think positive! You can do this!

You managed to gather enough positivity to make you feel hyped up about the day and went to get ready. You decided to wear something nice that day, something that’ll help you weaken Chanyeol’s defense so that he’d do whatever you’d tell him too. So you put on a nice t-shirt, one that you have not worn for quite some time and a skater skirt. You even shampooed your hair. That would do the trick.

After checking your reflection in the mirror, you grabbed your bag and phone and headed out the door. Downstairs, Chanyeol was fidgeting on the posh sofa and kept looking around the room. His eyes kept wandering here and there until they land on you walking down the stairs. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes started to appear as his grinned from ear to ear.

“Wow, what happened to the girl who looked like a drunkard in bed a few minutes ago?” He teased and you just rolled your eyes.

Chanyeol chuckled and walked closer to you. By the way his eyes sparkled; you knew your plan was working well. By the end of the day, you’re sure to be able to know more about him. You smirked and started walking towards the door, surprisingly excited to get out of the house for the first time.

“Let’s go have breakfast first. And then we’ll talk about where to go.”

You told him as the both of you started walking out in the streets. Chanyeol walked beside you and hummed a happy tune but because his voice was so deep it sounded funny instead and you had to keep yourself from laughing.

“Oh don’t worry about where we’ll go. I have it all planned out for you. Today is your day to relax Hae Ra, so just follow me!” He looked at you and smiled triumphantly.

“Fine, as long as it’s nowhere crowded.”

“I thought I made myself clear that I hate crowded places!” You screamed as Chanyeol dragged you into an amusement park.

“Come on! I’ve bought our entrance tickets already! Don’t you know how expensive it was? Don’t want it to go to waste not would you?”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes while at the same time, trying to jerk your arm loose from his tight grip.

Expensive?! His father is the CEO of a huge company and he’s complaining about some amusement park ride tickets being  expensive?! Oh please- Wait a minute, this is my chance! If I just endure it for today, I’ll be able to ask him another question!

You stopped retaliating and pretended to sulk. Chanyeol thought that you had finally given in to him and he smirked.

“There, there. Think of it as a date okay?” He smiled cheekily at you.

You rolled your eyes and decided to play along. “Just shut up and let’s go do whatever you wanted to do yeah? And the tickets only costs less than ten dollars who are you trying to fool.”

He chuckled and you noticed how a small dimple appeared on his face. Hm, you never noticed that before. It kind of made him look like a small kid.

“Aw, I’ve been found out! Oh well, at least you’re with me here right? Now let’s decide on which rides which should get on first!”

You suddenly felt faint and your hands started to feel sweaty. You were afraid of heights. That was why you didn’t like going to amusement parks. Suddenly you felt that it was a bad idea to go along with the plan. Again, you felt as though you were caught in your own trap.

“Uh..why don’t you go take the rides? I’ll just wait for you here, on the ground, where it’s safer.” You tried your best to find excuses but Chanyeol was stubborn.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights?!” He started to burst out laughing as he clapped his hands like a seal.

“H-hey, what’s wrong with being afraid of heights?” You felt yourself getting embarrassed and looked away.

Chanyeol leaned closer to you and smiled. “Let’s just take the rides okay? I’ll be right by your side don’t worry.”

You didn’t know why but he sounded so reassuring. It didn’t sound like he was mocking you or anything. It really felt like he meant it. And the way he looked at you made you trust him a little bit more. He smiled and ruffled your hair before leading the way to the nearest ride. You watched his back and wondered why he was being so nice to you after how you always treated him. A part of you felt guilty afterwards.

The two of you took most of the rides in the amusement parks. Chanyeol was kind enough not to force you on to the rides that were too extreme however there were some rides which almost made you pee in your pants. For someone who’s taken a lot of plane rides before, you still hated heights. That was why you’d prefer to swim; even if you’re swimming in deep waters, you’d feel as though the waters are keeping you afloat; keeping you safe. The thought of swimming suddenly made you feel a little depressed. How you missed the feeling.

After spending the whole day taking the rides, the sun had finally set, and the sky turned a deep shade of orange and red. You were getting tired from all the adrenaline rush from the rides and you just wanted to go home and sleep, but Chanyeol still had one last ride he said he wanted to try. The both of you walked towards on end of the amusement park, and there you saw a beautifully lit ferris wheel. It was really big and tall, and your knees shook at the sight of it. Compared to all the other rides you had taken, this one was the highest.

“Y-you can take this one alone, I’ll just wait for you down here.” You stopped walking and tried to find a bench to rest. But Chanyeol wouldn’t just let you go. Before you could walk away, he grabbed your arm and looked at you earnestly.

“Please? Just one last ride.” He pleaded and again, you couldn’t bring yourself to break free from his grip and nodded in agreement.

He smiled and his hand fell from your arm to your hand, slipping his fingers in between yours as though he was afraid you’d run away. You wanted to shake your hand free from his grasped but part of you liked the feeling so you didn’t do anything but could feel your cheeks burn from embarrassment.

The two of you got into the last cabin while the ticket person checked all the safety equipment before closing the door shut, leaving only silence surrounding the both of you. Chanyeol was seated right next to you since he knew how scared you were of heights and he wanted to provide you some comfort. You were grateful for that.

After a few minutes, the ferris wheel started with a jerk and you automatically clutched onto the sleeve of Chanyeol’s jacket. He looked at you as though to reassure you that the ferris wheel was only starting to turn and chuckled while patting your hand on his arm. When you were halfway to the top of the ferris wheel, you looked out to the sky and noticed how the sun drowned in the horizon, it’s rays of light glimmering in the darkness of the clouds faded and the pale moon peeked at you from the stars.

“Wow, it’s beautiful.” The words escaped from your mouth without you noticing.

You started to relax a bit and let your grip loose from Chanyeol’s arm. Feeling the absence of your hand, Chanyeol looked back at you and smiled, seeing how captivated you were with the sky. He knew that you’d love the view of the sky at sunset, which was why he brought you here in the first place. Always being cooped up at home, you never had a chance to witness something as beautiful as that.

“You’re beautiful.” He whispered, which made you snap out of your trance with the sky and looked at him.

D-did he just call me….beautiful?

“W-what…Did you s-say something?” You scooted a few inches away from him and tucked the loose strand of your hair behind your ears. You suddenly felt a little claustrophobic, realizing that the two of you were enclosed in such a tiny space together and it would take another ten to twenty minutes for the ride to end.

Chanyeol slowly turned his whole body towards you and looked at you with soft eyes. He didn’t know why he was feeling what he was feeling. Ever since he took care of you when you were sick, thoughts of you wouldn’t leave his mind. Images of you kept swimming in his head and the harder he tried to get rid of it, more images started to appear and he finally gave in to the feeling; the feeling of being drowned by the thoughts of you. Seeing how flushed you were, he took the opportunity.

One of his hands slowly reached out to caress your face, while the other one slowly intertwined with yours. Staring deeply into your eyes, he took a deep breath and let out everything that he wanted to say to you at that moment.

“Listen, all I keep thinking about is you, your face, your voice, and your eyes. God your eyes are beautiful. Everything about you is beautiful.” He said as he admired your face that was already glowing red from the things he was saying to you.

“That day, when I waited by your locker, my plan was to be friends with you. But right now, part of me feels that being ‘just friends’ isn’t satisfying. I feel like I want more. I want to be selfish and keep all of you to myself. That must be why I always hated it when I see you come out of the car with that tiny brat.” He chuckled to himself but you just kept quiet, slowly processing what was happening.

“But then you’d walk towards me, sometimes with a smile on your face, sometimes not. But I still felt happy. Because the fact that you approached me already meant that you accepted me to be part of your life.” His hand gently your cheeks.

“You must be thinking why I’m saying all of this so suddenly, but Hae Ra…I think I..like you-“

The ferris wheel made a jerk and a few seconds later someone’s voice was heard through the speaker in the small cabin the both of you were in.

“Attention, the ferris wheel has stopped for a while due to some technical difficulties. It will be running as per normal after our technicians have fixed the problem. We ask that you remain seated and enjoy the view while we get the ferris wheel to function properly. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Chanyeol sighed with relief and turned to face you again. You were stiff as a rock.

Th-the ferris wheel stopped and we’re high up in the air?! We’re going to die; we’re so going to die. This is it. This is the end.

“Hey, are you okay? You’re as pale as a ghost!” Chanyeol looked at you worriedly. “It’s okay, it’s only momentary. They’ll finish fixing it in a jiffy, just..don’t look down okay? Hey, hey!” He started to panic as you started to hyperventilate in the cabin.

You couldn’t help it, you were too scared. You started to have a panic attack and tears were collecting in your eyes. A few minutes later, Chanyeol’s voice was getting softer and softer and you out, falling into his arms.