Jinri rang the doorbell. It was ten minutes past nine and she was scared that her mom might have gotten angry because it’s late.

   Shufflings were heard behind the door and when it opened, a very pretty brunette wearing a bathrobe and fluffy slippers came into view.

   Jinri’s mother.

   “Umma,” Jinri grinned, waving her hand. She was able to restore some of her energy because of the power nap at the bus.

   “Sorry, if we’re uh a bit late, Mrs. Choi,” Jongin bowed a bit.

   “My,” Mrs. Choi placed a palm on her cheek and tilted her head to the side, smiling at the boy before her. “You’re really here.”

   “Umma, this is Jongin. Jongin-ssi, this is Umma.” Jinri bit back a grin as she introduced the two.

   Jongin shook Jinri’s mother’s hand and bowed again. “Kim Jongin,”

   “Choi Jina,” her mom introduced. “Just call me Eomonim.” She smiled, her eyes turning into crescents as well. That must have been where Jinri got hers.

   “U-Umma,” Jinri blushed. Mrs. Choi just giggled.

   Jongin lightly flushed and nodded. “Eo-Eomonim..”

   Jinri looked at the both of them and cleared , “So.. Umma, aren’t you going to let us in?”

   “Oh, right! Right, welcome to our home, Jongin-ah.” Mrs. Choi smiled as she stepped aside to give him and Jinri enough space to walk in.

   “It’s alright, uh, Eomonim.” Jongin said, shaking his head. “I have to get going.”

   “No, honey, I insist. Come in,” Mrs. Choi said her smile never faltering.

   Jongin looked at Jinri and the girl just shrugged, cocking her head towards the door.

   “Kaja,” she said and stepped inside.

   Jongin bowed at Mrs. Choi again and went inside, removing his shoes in the process.

   Jinri gave him a pair of guest slippers and he slipped his feet in before following her.

   The house isn’t that grand but is spacious in some ways. Their walls were painted floral white and their floor is carpeted. The house gave off a peaceful, comfortable, homey feel that made Jongin have a welcoming sense right after stepping his foot inside. Everything was light in color, from their furniture to the curtains as if it’s still day time when you’re inside the Choi’s house.

   “Would you like some hot chocolate, Jongin-ah?” Mrs. Choi offered.

   “Yeah. Sure, Eomonim.” Jongin tugged a corner of his mouth up, nodding. “Thanks.”

   Mrs. Choi smiled and nodded then she went inside the kitchen.

   Jinri approached Jongin and followed him as he checked the living room out. “Sorry about my mom, Jongin-ssi; making you call her Eomonim and all.”

   Jongin just shrugged, “It’s fine.”

   “How do you like it here?” Jinri smiled widely.

   Comfortable. Homey. Peaceful. Quiet. Jongin thought but just said, “It’s fine.” He looked at the pictures displayed; some were on the frames and some were hanging on the wall.

   Jinri watched him as the boy scanned the pictures.

   Jongin saw two of Jinri’s photos when she was a kid. “You still look the same from then and now,” he commented as he took the two picture frames with his hands then he placed them back on their original place.

   Jinri blushed from embarrassment and scratched hear head. “Well, um—”

   “Honey,” Mrs. Choi called from the kitchen. “Come, help mom here, please? Just for awhile, love.”      

   “Coming!” Jinri hollered and turned to Jongin, “Make yourself at home, okay? I’ll be right back,” then she went for the kitchen.

   Jongin nodded his head and went back to looking at the photos. There were pictures of her and her friends together and he lightly chuckled as he took a picture frame where Jinri and her friends were behind some bars, looking desperately at the camera. There was also another picture wherein Jinri was grinning widely at the camera, taking a selca and her background was her messy bed. He placed the frame down and looked at the picture beside it. Jinri was still with her friends but he thought that Soojung looked pretty there in her bun. There were more pictures of f(x) but this time, Jinri’s hair was still long.

   Jongin’s hand froze at the sight of them. He then took two picture frames on each of his hand; it was just Jinri on the pictures. The first picture frame he took was of Jinri with her hair braided in two while the other one, she was wearing a ribbon as a headband. Her hair was so black, so long.. so wavy.

   “Jinri..” He mumbled to himself. “Who are you?” Jongin returned the frames down and checked the others. There was a picture of her where she was smiling widely at the camera while holding her hair in both her hands. The other one showed her with short hair; she looked paler in the yellow dress she was wearing topped with a white sweater but she was still smiling.

   He studied the pictures where Soojung was also there. Since Jinri’s hair was long in those photos, they sort of looked alike. Jongin took a picture frame with just Soojung and Jinri in it. Jinri was grinning at the camera while Soojung was looking up somewhere with a chocolate at hand.

   Jongin suddenly remembered a girl with long hair who used to be with Soojung. He never really noticed her and Soojung before but he did know that they studied in the same school as him. There was one time when Jongin was alone in the dance studio, practicing. It was after dismissal on a Friday and he was just taking a break. Suddenly, he heard someone singing just outside the studio so he got curious and walked to take a peek. There was a girl with long, wavy hair outside and she was the one singing. He couldn’t see her properly because the girl wasn’t facing his way; Jongin could only see three-fourths of her face.

   After that day, he never saw her again. But when he noticed how Soojung resembled the girl back at the studio, he fell in love with her. That’s when his ideal girl came to life: long wavy hair, slim, pretty, and knows how to sing. And since Soojung looked a little fierce and is somewhat mature, he added them on the list as well. At the same time though, he never saw the other long-haired girl who was always with Soojung again but a few months after, another girl came but this time, her hair was already short and he figured that that must have been Jinri who used to have long hair.

   Jongin suddenly felt the need to see more pictures of the two girls together. Not only is he confused with Jinri’s riddles, he’s also now confused with the puzzles forming inside his mind.

   Has he been loving the wrong person all this time too?

   Jinri and Mrs. Choi came back to the living room; Jinri was holding two mugs of hot chocolates while Mrs. Choi held a plate with chocolate chip cookies.

   “Did you wait long, sweetheart?” Mrs. Choi asked as she placed the plate down on the coffee table.

   “Ani, Eomonim.” Jongin shook his head.

   “Here you go!” Jinri handed him his cup.

   “Thanks,” said Jongin as he sat down on the sofa.

   “Jongin-ah, it’s getting late. Why don’t you stay here for the night?” Mrs. Choi smiled.

   Jinri widened her eyes in horror. “Umma!”

   “It’s fine,” Mrs. Choi waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll be responsible and call up Jongin’s parents to explain.”

   “You don’t have to go that far,” Jinri mumbled, feeling so embarrassed right now.

   “I don’t wanna be a bother, Eomonim.” said Jongin, “I can stay late anyway. My parents told me earlier that they won’t be home until tomorrow night.”

   “Well, more reasons for you to stay over!” Mrs. Choi giggled to herself. “We can’t just let you leave at this kind of hour. Even if you’re a boy, something bad might happen to you on your way home.”

   “Ummaaaaa,” Jinri shrunk on her seat.

   “Jinri.” Mrs. Choi squinted her eyes on her daughter.

   Jongin lightly chuckled. “If you insist, I can just sleep at the sofa, Eomonim.” He took one cookie and took a bite. “Mm, this is good.” He nodded.

   “Thank you,” Mrs. Choi then smiled widely, “I baked it. Were you able to taste Jinri’s cake, by the way?”

   “Deh,” Jongin nodded and looked at Jinri, “I haven’t told you but it was great.”

   Jinri blushed.

   “Aigoo~” Mrs. Choi clapped her hands. “You two look really cute. Oh, I remember! Jinri, honey, I made myself busy earlier at the garage and saw your tent back when you were in middle school. How about a little camp out at the backyard instead, hm?”

   Jinri facepalmed, “Umma, we’re not going to fit in there.”

   “Who said I’m joining?” Mrs. Choi raised her eyebrows. “And I’m sure you two will fit in there perfectly, alright? Enjoy your cups and cookies, I’ll go prepare everything.” And without another word, she left.

   “Aish!” Jinri messed with her hair. “Jongin-ssi, I’m so sorry. My mom is so embarrassing at times,”

   “I honestly think she’s a fun mom.” Jongin took another cookie and ate it.

   “Well, I hope you don’t mind..” Jinri sighed and sipped on her hot chocolate.

   “Jinri,”

   “Hm?”

   “I know I don’t talk much,”

   Jinri looked up at him.

   “But you can tell me anything,” Jongin continued. “I may not look like it but I do listen.”

   Jinri was taken aback by Jongin’s words. She never expected him to say something like that out of the blue. “I..” She bit her lower lip for awhile and spoke again, “I know, Jongin-ssi. Thank you,” she smiled.

   Jongin looked back at her. He reached for her hair and fixed the mess she made earlier, “You’re welcome.”

▢ ▢ ▢

After finishing their hot chocolates and cookies, Jinri went to her room to change while Jongin occupied the bathroom downstairs. It was a good thing he was able to pack up few extra clothes for the day. He wore a grey t-shirt and basketball shorts.

   Jongin helped Mrs. Choi carry the pillows and blankets out in the backyard. The tent was already set and there was a small lantern near the entrance to provide light for them. Jongin couldn’t exactly see what the backyard looked like but he’s sure it was beautiful.

   The wind softly blew on the few trees surrounding them and it was getting quite chilly. Jongin suddenly remembered that he had something to give for Jinri’s mom.

   “Eomonim,” he said as he opened his bag.

   “Yes, honey?” Mrs. Choi looked at Jongin and blinked after placing the pillows and blankets inside the tent.

   “We were at the Central Seoul earlier and I thought I’d give you this,” Jongin pulled out a folded paper bag and handed it to Mrs. Choi.

   Mrs. Choi opened it and a smile lightened her face up as she took the item out: a knitted white scarf.

   Jongin saw the white scarf earlier when he and Soojung were walking back to Namsan Tower and so, he thought of buying it for Jinri’s mom.

   “This is lovely, Jongin-ah.”

   “I’m glad you like it.”

   When Mrs. Choi saw Jinri coming, she held up the scarf and said, “Look what Jongin-ah got for me,” she said excitedly.

   “Wah, that’s pretty!” Jinri smiled widely.

   Jongin looked at Jinri as she and her mom spazzed over the scarf. She was wearing an oversized black t-shirt, paw-printed pajama pants and bunny slippers. She was also wearing her jacket’s sleeves but the rest was hanging behind her lower back. On her hand, there was a big bag of marshmallows.

   “So anyway,” Mrs. Choi started. “I’ll see you two tomorrow for breakfast.”

   Jongin and Jinri nodded.

   “Good night,” the mom smiled and gave them each a kiss on the forehead then she left.

   The two stood there for awhile before Jongin broke the silence.

   “I still can’t believe your mom let me stay here for the night and sleep in the tent.. alone.. with you.” He looked at Jinri and smirked.

   “What—” Jinri looked back at him and when she saw that smirk, she flushed and threw the bag of marshmallows at him. “Yah, you ert!” She quickly crouched down and crawled inside the tent.

   Jongin shook his head as he caught the bag and lightly chuckled then followed Jinri in.

   The tent wasn’t big but it wasn’t small either. You have to crouch in order to get inside but it’s spacious enough for two people to sit though if you’re going to lie down, you can’t lie down straight. It was quite dark inside but the yellow tent looked like it was glowing because of the lantern left outside.

   Jinri and Jongin sat cross-legged on the mattress, facing each other and the bag of marshmallows was in between them, already opened.

   “This is so cool.” Jinri grinned after swallowing a piece. “A mini camp,”

   Jongin just kept quiet and took another piece of marshmallow to eat.

   “It would be really awesome if we have a bonfire. We can roast these marshmallows and that would have been so delicious!” The girl giggled. “Hey, do you know the chubby bunny game?”

   Jongin gazed up at her, “Don’t even think about it.” He knew it alright. That game requires you to keep stuffing marshmallows inside your mouth without chewing until you can’t say “chubby bunny” anymore.

   “Oh, come on.” Jinri puffed her cheeks, taking a marshmallow and throwing it at Jongin.

   The boy dodged it. He took another marshmallow and threw it at Jinri, successfully hitting her on the face. “No,”

   “Yah!” Jinri scrunched up her nose. She threw another marshmallow at him.

   Jongin dodged it again. “You’re wasting marshmallows!”

   “You’re dodging them!”

   “You expect me to catch them with my mouth?”

   “That’s it!” Jinri reached for Jongin’s waist and started an attempt to tickle him but Jongin was fast enough to realize what she was planning so he quickly took both her wrists with a hand and tickled her with his free one. “Jongin-ssi!” She squealed and started laughing. She tried to break free from Jongin’s grip but he was so strong and her laughing is only making her weaker.

   The girl kept squirming around to the point that she was already lying on her back, kicking on air while laughing. This gave Jongin an easier way to tickle her more; he hovered on top of Jinri and kept tickling her. “You can’t win against me, Jinri.” He smirked.

   Jinri was starting to get out of breath so she decided to give up and said in between laughs, “Alright, alright!” She breathed. “Mercy! Y-You win, you win! I can’t—!”

   Jongin immediately stopped and balanced himself on top of Jinri. He chuckled, “Weakling.”

   Jinri evened out her breathing, her hands finding their way on top of her stomach. “You’re just too strong,” she stuck her tongue out up at him.

   Jongin just smiled and lightly ruffled Jinri’s hair.

   The girl froze at the sight, causing for her breath to get caught up in . It was the first time ever that she had actually seen him smile. It brightened his face and he looked more gorgeous. And even though it was quite dark inside, she was able to see it clearly.

   Jongin noticed her staring at him. “What?”

   “You..” Jinri breathed, unconsciously her lips. “You smiled.”

   Jongin’s eyes traveled down on her lips before looking at Jinri back in the eyes. “So?” He asked, leaning closer to her.

   “I, um..” Jinri blinked rapidly and turned her face away, feeling her blood rush up on it. She worried Jongin would be able to see her blushing cheeks. She gulped, “I-It’s the first time I saw you smile..”

   “Ever?”

   “Ever..”

   Jongin lightly chuckled, rolled on his back and looked up at the tent’s ceiling.

   Jinri turned to her side to look at him. “You should smile more often, Jongin-ssi.” She smiled.

   “Hn,”

   The two just stayed that way for awhile: Jinri watching Jongin’s side features while Jongin stare up at the ceiling. The soft swaying of the trees’ branches was heard outside and it was quite calming. It was starting to get colder though so Jongin spread the blankets over them and Jinri snuggled on it, finally feeling a bit warm.

   Jongin turned to his side, now facing the girl. “Jinri,”

   “Hm?”

   “Taemin.. Did you like him?”

   Jinri blinked at his sudden question and thought about it. “Mm.. No, I don’t think so.”

   “You sound so unsure.”

   Jinri lightly chuckled, “No, I didn’t like him. Wae?”

   Jongin shook his head, “Just making sure.”

   “Wae?”

   “Nothing.”

   Jinri just giggled then they were silent for awhile.

   “You mentioned about your bucket list before,” Jongin spoke again. “What’s in there?”

   “Wae?”

   “Curious,”

   Jinri grinned. “I can’t tell you everything.”

   “Why not?”

   “Because I just want it to naturally happen,” Jinri smiled.

   Jongin stared at her. “At least tell me some.” It sounded more of a demand than a statement.

   Jinri puffed her cheeks, her lower lip jutting out in the process. “Okay, um.” She raked her brain for her bucket list for awhile and thought of a few things. “A piggyback ride,”

   “Pfft, seriously?” Jongin raised an eyebrow.

   “Please,” Jinri rolled her eyes. “It’s cute! If you’re going to make fun of my bucket list, I’m shutting up.” She hid under the covers.

   Jongin pulled it down so that he could see Jinri again. “Go on, tell me more.”

   Jinri sighed and kept her eyes casted low to avoid Jongin’s gaze. “Promise rings,” she smiled to herself. “I’ve always wanted to have one.”

   Jongin kept quiet.

   “Camp,” she continued. “Although it’s crossed out now since we’re doing it already. Eat a gallon of ice cream,”

   Jongin chuckled. “You pig.”

   “Yah!” Jinri facepalmed him.

   “Sorry,” Jongin bit his lower lip to stop himself from laughing.

   Jinri smiled anyway, “See you smile. It’s crossed off the list but I’d want to see more of it though. Mm, dance under the rain.” She grinned.

   “Such a kid,”

   Jinri stuck her tongue out. “Stop judging.”

   “They’re opinions,”

   Jinri pouted.

   “Continue,”

   She nodded, “Well, this one.. I don’t think it has something to do with you.”

   “What is it?”

   “Steal someone’s heart,”

   Jongin stared at her.

   “I’ve always wanted to steal someone’s heart, which is impossible, of course.” Jinri grinned. “I even doubt someone’s going to give their heart to me, what more if I am to steal it, right?” She shifted on her back and looked at the ceiling. “I want to live forever..”

   Are you talking riddles again, Jinri? Jongin asked inside his mind. He waited for Jinri to continue but she didn’t. She just stared at the ceiling and so they both stayed quiet like that again. Jongin liked this kind of quiet though; it was like what he felt inside Jinri’s house: peaceful and comfortable. She makes him comfortable.

   “Jongin-ssi?” Jinri whispered, turning to her side again to face him.

   “Yeah?” Jongin whispered back.

   “Can I hold your hand?”

   Jongin was sort of taken aback at her request but found himself nodding and saying, “Sure.” He lifted up his left hand from under the covers and rested it between their heads and Jinri’s face brightened up with a smile and happily held it with both her hands. It felt so warm against her cold ones.

   “Thank you,” Jinri said in a soft voice, closing her eyes.

   “Is this part of your bucket list?”

   “Mm-hmm,” she hummed. “Good night, Jongin-ssi.”

   Jongin watched Jinri as she fell asleep. He smiled and shifted closer to her and with his free hand, pulled the covers up until Jinri’s shoulders, wrapped his arm on her waist and pulled her to him. He kissed her forehead and lightly squeezed her hand, “Good night, idiot.”

   And Jinri immediately felt the comforting warmth hugging her.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Exams are over! o/ ♡ So I just have to wait for the deliberation to see if I will graduate or not. /sighs. It’s so intense. :( Anyway, I’ve got . . . nothing else to say, tbh. Or, okay, wait. I have. HAHAHA. Just some trivias since the last chapter was full of Taestal fluff. Taemin was originally Myungsoo in this story. XD But I switched him to Taemin instead because it seems more legit, seeing as Taemin, Krystal, and Sulli interact a lot. No, I’m not a Myungstal shipper.. and no, I’m not a Taestal shipper either. HAHA. Err, yeah. And one of the reasons why it takes time for me to update—aside from the exams, which of course are over now, yay!—is because I am a very OC person. I have, in a way, an obsessive-compulsive disorder. I tend to read a chapter over and over and over again to see if there are any mistakes or misplaced punctuation marks, wrong spellings, and all that shizz so yeah. If you ask me how many times I’ve read this chapter, don’t. Because I don’t remember. So yeah, this chapter is pretty long, aigoo. Anyway, if you have any comments or saw any glitches or whatever, hit the comment box below. ^ ^ If none then okay.

REPLIES:
   foreverjonginjinri ; Chillax! Don’t worry about the future too much. :P
   altheajungmontez ; Aish, thank you! ♡ Thank you so much! I can’t help but feel shy eh, aha~
   xyzjunn ; Everyone will know soon. Or like . . . in a few days if I keep updating every day. And that is if and only if. Thank you!
   puspitaken ; IKR. The part when Kai asked Krystal which dessert Sulli would prefer, I was actually smiling like an idiot while typing it. e u e ; XD
   Chiboe ; Thank you, bb! I love you too, yay! ♡
   iamalea ; RIGHT?! Super effort just to make Krystal happy. ; ; Thank you!
   viaxoxo ; Why were you flipping her? HAHAHA! ((= I love your thoughts about the flashing memories! Reminded me of Heaven’s Postman (in which I haven’t really watched. e u e ; ) so at least some part of the flashing memories were revealed here! I WILL GRADUATE, TIWALA LANG. SOBS HARD.
   olympicmayhem ; HAHAHA! ((= Meh, kahit pa isumbong ka nun, di ka pababayaan ni Mama Kyungsoo. ♡ Weeee! XD Oi, ha. Pweds din. ;) Lagay ko kaya yun, plot twist. HAHAHAAHAHAH! XD /slapped. IKAW RIN DIYAN EH. Hiya hiya pa, sus. Mag-o-olympicmayhem stories marathon ako soon. /evil laughs; chokes.
   lalalululovesyou ; LMFAO. Your comment was just in time. ((= Anyway, thank you, bb. ;A; ♡ Sobrang kinakabahan lang talaga ako. :’( Ay nako! Wala ba silang “suggestion box”?! Tatadtarin ko yun ng “Kailli interaction pls”, I swear. ((=