Chapter 25

You felt the cool wind brush against your cheeks and your body was swaying from side to side as though someone was lulling you to sleep. You felt that you were leaning against something warm but you couldn’t feel the ground beneath your legs. Were you floating in midair? Did the ferris wheel collapse and you were dead?

Your eyes slowly fluttered open and you noticed that you weren’t at the amusement park anymore. Someone was carrying you on their back. That someone suddenly did a little jerk to keep you from falling.

“Man, she’s heavy…” You heard him say.

Your heart started beating rapidly. You realized that Chanyeol was carrying you on his back. You then became more aware of the fact that your chest was leaning against his back and that his hands were wrapped around the back of your knee to keep you balanced on his back.

I have to get off him now. I must’ve weighed like a fat elephant to him.

You tried to move your body, to signal to him that you were awake, sure enough he did notice but he didn’t put you down. Instead, he hoisted you up again and continued walking. You furrowed your eyebrows and stared at the back of his head. A few seconds later, he spoke.

“Just let me carry you. We’re almost at your house anyway.” He said softly.

You started to worry.

Did I make him angry? Was it because he wanted to take the ferris wheel but I ended up being a burden to him?

“I know what you’re thinking; no I’m not angry at you Hae Ra. So chill.”

You were taken aback by what he said. It was as though he could read your mind.

“Aren’t I heavy? You can just let me walk the rest of the journey you know.”

He shook his head. “No way. It was my fault for forcing you to take the ferris wheel with me. I shouldn’t have taken you to the amusement park and on all those rides even when you told me you were afraid of heights.”

You could hear how sorry he was from his voice. It made you feel even guiltier. Actually, you really enjoyed yourself that day. Yeah, the rides were scary as hell, but the fact that he was there right beside you, keeping you close to him whenever the scary part comes during a rollercoaster ride, made it better. The things he said when the both of you were in that cabin at the top of the ferris wheel; thinking about it now, you didn’t know what to say. But you knew you didn’t mind it.

A few minutes later, the both of you reached the front gates of your house and he gently placed you down on the ground. He looked at you worriedly, checking if you were still feeling faint. You gave him a small smile to show that you were feeling fine.

“So uh…thanks for today. It was fun, I…enjoyed it. Really.” You said while avoiding eye contact with him. You just couldn’t stand saying embarrassing stuff like that. It didn’t sound like you.

He shrugged and placed his hands in his pockets, his feet kicking the dirt on the ground. You could tell that he was still feeling guilty but you didn’t know how to make him feel better so you just decided to leave at that moment but before you could take a step, you felt your arm being pulled back.

You turned and saw him, looking down, but his grip was strong on your arm.

“Y-You can ask me another question if you want.” He mumbled, loud enough for you to hear.

Your mouth opened slightly, realized that you almost forgot why you had agreed to go out with him that day in the first place. But looking at him like that, you felt that it was wrong to ask him that day so you brushed his hand off your arm and shook your head.

“It’s okay, I haven’t thought of what to ask you—“

“No, I want you to ask me something right now. Anything.” He pleaded, cutting you off.

You puffed your cheeks, surprised that he was being a little different so suddenly and quickly thought of what to ask him. Actually, you did think of many things, but which one was the one you’re most curious of was hard to pick. After a few minutes of debating with yourself, you finally decided to ask him.

“Are you and your brother close? You told me he was adopted right? So are you two close?” You had other things to ask like; why he was alone in Korea when his family was all the way in China, whether he was living with a relative here in Korea or was alone. But you decided to ask about his brother because you were more curious about that.

He thought hard on how to answer your question. He really did want to give you as much detail as possible, not leaving anything out, but the fact that you asked about his adopted brother was unexpected for him. Nobody asks about his brother before. He was usually asked about his parents, their company, how much money they make and all that. That was why when you mentioned his brother, he was not prepared.

You looked at him, standing there in silence and thought that maybe you shouldn’t have asked him that question and was about to change your question when he suddenly nodded, signaling that he finally found the answer.

“Right, I think we should sit down for this one because this is going to be a long story. Are you okay with that? Or we could just talk about it on Monday since it’s late and—“

“It’s alright; I want to listen to your story now. There’s a playground somewhere down the street. We can talk there.” You said and led the way towards the playground.

It was time Chanyeol told you a story about his life and you were honestly a little excited. You may not show it on your face but deep inside, your stomach was doing backflips. You felt that the story he was about to tell you was not really shared to other people so you felt honored for being given that privilege. The both of you walked silently towards the playground. Since it was already late, the place was empty and the both of you sat on the swings. Chanyeol had long legs so he had his knees against his chest.

“Okay, you want to know if my brother and I are close right?”

You nodded.

“Well, it’s kind of complicated. We’re close, but…we’re not close.”

You just looked at him.

Complicated? What he said didn’t even make any sense at all!

Chanyeol saw your expression and chuckled, as though he already expected you to react that way. He then continued.

“My brother…his name is Zi Tao. My parents adopted him a few years ago when they had their second honeymoon in China. It was random of them to do so actually. They didn’t even do any planning. They came back from China one day and suddenly, ‘Son, meet your new brother.’”

Chanyeol chuckled at the memory.

“Of course, I was elated. I mean, I finally had someone I could play with in our house. Tao and I got real close, we were inseparable from each other. But then last year, it was my final year in high school and my father talked to me about becoming the heir to the company.”

You listened intently to his story. The way he was talking then, was so much different than how he would always talk. It seemed like a different Chanyeol was seated right beside you.

“I started training under my dad in the company a few months before I was supposed to graduate. I became too busy to play with Tao and I guess he got angry. My father sort of paid more attention to me than to Tao and I guess he got jealous.”

“Jealous? What about your mother? Your mother could pay more attention to him instead.”

Chanyeol shook his head. “My mother was really sick. She stayed in bed all day. And because of that, I guess to get the same attention, Tao decided to compete to be the heir to the company as well. Which also resulted in him…hating me.”

He said quietly. All the while, he kept staring at the ground. His legs shifted and he started swinging slowly back and forth. You didn’t know what to say. The look that he had on his face didn’t portray anger towards his brother at all. You knew that he must’ve still loved his brother. You could instead see a hint of pain in his expression. You’ve always seen him to be the cheerful, happy-go-lucky type. Never before had you seen him look so…sad.

Just then he stood up and started to stretch his legs.

“Boy, I must be getting too tall to be on swings made for children. My knees are starting to hurt. This is all your fault for bringing me here Hae Ra. Next time, I pick the place okay?” He teased you.

You looked at him in confusion.

Wasn’t he all…depressed and sad earlier? How could he change so fast?! IS HE ANOTHER BIPOLAR DUDE LIKE KYUNGSOO?!

“Alright, it’s time to send you home before the old man bites my head off.” He offered his hand to you.

At first, you didn’t want to, but the fact that he had actually shared with you something so personal, you felt that he deserved it, so you took his hand and stood up. The both of you walked back to the front gates of your house in silence, but your hands are still intertwined with each other’s. Once in front, you quickly took your hand away from his and folded your arms. Chanyeol didn’t notice anything and just placed his hands in the front pocket of his jeans.

“Thanks for bringing me out today, I had fun.” You said to him.

Chanyeol scoffed and chuckled. “I had fun too. See you in school, Hae Ra.” He waved good bye to you and started walking down the street without looking back. You stood there and watched him until his figure disappeared in the dark. You sighed and went in your house.

Your whole body felt so lethargic so you went to take a warm shower. You changed into your pajamas and skipped dinner since you weren’t feeling so hungry. You were actually thinking about Chanyeol’s brother. Why he’d hate on Chanyeol when Chanyeol himself loved his brother so dearly. Maybe it was because he was an adopted son so he felt jealous. You were too busy in your thoughts when suddenly the light on the screen of your phone lit. It was a text message from Chanyeol.

Hey,

Sorry about dragging you to the rides when you said you were scared.
I just wanted you to have fun. Anyway, I’m glad you did, I did too.
Oh, and thanks for listening to my boring story. Good night, Hae Ra J

Chanyeol.

You smiled at the message and got into bed. Just as you were about to fall asleep, another text came.

P.S.

I hope you still remember what I told you in the ferris wheel.

You could feel yourself blushing as you remembered the whole incident.

Great, now I can’t sleep.