Park Memories
Park Memories
"Thehun, you better come out now before I k-"
"IT'S OH SEHUN, OKAY. SERIOUSLY," the boy reprimands, his tense tone unable to match his otherwise stoic as hell face. I giggle and wave him off dismissively.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Prince Snotty. So what do you want? You know we hardly talk to each other on a daily basis," I remind him, eyeing my surroundings and making sure no one is already starting to make up lies and tall tales.
It's not because I hate Sehun or because we have a certain reputation to keep (we do, actually). Sehun and I are childhood friends, in reality. We used to hang out together all the time and were best friends. We drifted apart after middle school when he suddenly got popular and had a clique of his own. Since then, I mind my own business an he minds his own. We don't smile or say hi when we see each other - a small nod of acknowledgment would be exchanged once in a while but that is it. Our parents don't know about it and would ask us to run errands or do something for them. It would be awkward to tell them we're like practically strangers now so we just go along with it. That's the way things are as we speak.
"I know that." Sehun snorts. I roll my eyes - a stupid habit I picked up from him. Luckily, I didn't stick around him long enough to behave like a brat and call almost everyone peasants. "Just come, ok? No more jokes."
"This doesn't have anything to do with peasants, does it?" I might not have been close to Sehun in the past 5 years or so but I know that whenever he has something that's bothering him, he will ask someone to do something about it for him. Oh Sehun doesn't do troublesome.
Sehun glares at me but doesn't say anything. He grabs my hand and starts dragging me off to who-knows-where. My eyes instantly spring into life, darting left and right as frequently as I can, making sure no one spots us. As I've said, Sehun is popular. If he so much as looks at a girl for more than 1 second, a cat fight will start undoubtedly - fanclubs fighting and all that wonderful blood spilling . Count me out. I prefer having a front row seat in those kind of occasions.
"Yah, Sehun! You could at least tell me where we're going. It would be helpful to know if it's your house or something, you know." He still doesn't answer me and I groan internally. I bet he's mad about me making fun of his lisp. I've always about it ever since I could remember. He normally holds a grudge but would come whining to me in less than an hour. He is a really needy brat.
We exit the school premises after a while of pulling, dragging and grunting - Sehun doing most of them. We're safe; for now. He doesn't stop when we cross a couple of roads and tightens his grip when we pass by the road that leads to mine and Sehun's house. We still live close to each other even though we aren't close.
"Thehun," I try again, sick of the growing silence. I don't know what provokes him to answer me but he does, making me feel taken aback. Guess there's a first time for everything. "Where-" I cut myself off as we turn into an all too familiar path.
The park.
Numerous questions form in my head in a state of frenzy. The park. Why? We haven't been here in ages. If I remember correctly, this is where everything started; our friendship, the teasing, the secrets and of course, the end of everything as well. Somehow, all that has been precious between Sehun and I happened in this ordinary park.
Sehun slows down into a jog as we enter the park's ground. The grass still feels as soft as I remember it to be and I soon find myself immersed in looking for lost memories and little bits and pieces scattered around.
We pass by an oak tree and a memory flashes before my eyes like a movie. I was playing in the park alone, just walking around as my mother caught up with her friends. I spotted a giant tree and started walking towards it, only to find a group of boys huddled over someone or something. The small figure was shivering, whimpering in fear as the other boys snickered and continued hitting and punching him. They spoke rudely and said strange words - cusses no doubt - and I was honestly scared. But looking at the poor boy there, I felt the need to just step in and do whatever I can to help in whichever way I can.
I looked around and spotted a stray dog. I knew it was dangerous but the dog looked hungry. Maybe I could use it for something.
I reached into my pocket and found a few pieces of candy. Not much but I guess it would have to do. I lured the dog to come nearer at first before throwing the rest of the candies at the bullies' direction. As expected, the dog ran after them and the unsuspecting boys ran in fear, not knowing about the actual reason the dog was charging at them. When the dog moved away, I came out from behind the tree and stepped closer to the boy.
"Uhm, are you alright?" I wasn't the friendliest person out there so talking to someone I barely knew was already a big accomplishment for me.
The boy trembled but nodded slightly. At the sight of this, I came closer and sat next to him. We stay in silence, me enjoying the view, waiting for him to calm down and him just trying to overcome his fear. After a while, he regained his composure, but not by much. He turned to me and eyed me warily.
"W-what do you want? D-do you w-want to bully me t-too? Please d-don't. I'm th-thcared," the boy stuttered with a slight lisp. I thought he talked funny and was doing it on purpose so I laughed. (I was 5, don't judge me).
"You're funny," I commented. I left the part about him talking funny because I thought that remark wouldn't be nice. "Why would I bully you? Those guys are just big fat meanies with problems."
The boy beside me smiled slightly and I returned it. I stuck out my hand shyly. With him around, I actually didn't feel half as bad as I really am at making friends.
"Let's be friends! Then we can fight the meanies off together." The boy smiled and shook my hand.
"Okay. My name is Oh Thehun. I think you thould know that they bullied me becauthe I talk funny. I have thith thing called a lithp. They thay I'm thupid becauthe I can't talk right." Sehun looked down and sighed, the frown back on his face. I turned his face and pulled his cheeks till his lips curved upwards in a rather weird angle.
"Don't frown. Just smile," I demonstrated. "And don't worry about them. We can make lots and lot of friends and then we'll all fight those meanies away. Right?" Sehun hesitated but nodded. And that's how everything started.
I snap back into reality as Sehun pushes me down onto a seat - a swing to be precise. I have to say, it feels kinda small now that I'm 18. I don't think I've been here since middle school.
I lift my head up to stare at Sehun who is standing in front of me and ask, "Thehun, what business do we have to do here?" We usually go to the market to buy groceries or something for our parents but apparently not this time.
Sehun growls slightly at the nickname I gave him. "Nothing," he mutters before going behind me. I get up slightly but Sehun pushes me back down fast. "I'll push you."
I hold onto the railings obediently and let him do so. He goes slowly at first then picks up the pace. It's been ages since we've done this but the last time we did, the roles were reversed - I did say Sehun is a snotty brat.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, inhaling the somewhat fresh air of the evening. I've always loved the swings; the feeling of air going past is just amazing. It's getting late and the sun is already beginning to set. I tilt my head backwards slightly to see Sehun out of the corner of my eye. He is expressionless, as always, but he keeps pushing me. Weirdo.
"Hey, Sehun," I say, serious for a change. Sehun notices this and looks at me with his eyes slightly wide. Nonetheless, he recovers and nods, lips still tightly shut. This brat...
"Mind telling me what we're here for?" I start to make the swing slow down and Sehun stops pushing me as well. When I finally come to a stop, I look up and see Sehun in front of me, fidgeting. I have the uncontrollable urge to poke his cheeks and endlessly but I don't. I bite my bottom lip and stare at him as he looks at anywhere and everywhere but me.
Suddenly, his gaze flickers to mine. He grabs a hold of my shoulders and sighs deeply looking at the ground between his feet. "Pleathe thop doing that," he breathes out shakily. "I...I can't..."
"Can't what?" I try to peer at his face curiously. It's easy to tell when Sehun is nervous. Not only does he stutter, his lisp also becomes more obvious the more he prolongs what he wants to say. When I bend down enough to look up at Sehun's face, my eyes widen and I just stare at him. Even in the light orangey glow of the sunset, it's obvious that Sehun is blushing.
I neither gape nor look away. All I can think about is how cute he looks when he's meek like this. I mentally slap myself at that thought. This is Prince Snotty Brat, the school's precious idol; in other words, normal people should just back off. I'm not close to him anyway.
Sehun takes in a sharp intake of breath and lifts his head up, me doing the same as well. We lock gazes again and Sehun opens his mouth to say something. Nothing comes out and Sehun looks even more embarrassed of himself than before. To ease the tension, I snicker and jab a finger at his forehead.
"What's this? The prince can't speak his true desires? I wonder what secret his bratty majesty is hiding." I hum and put a finger on my chin, pretending to think thoughtfully. Sehun frowns at me disapprovingly and restrains himself from making a full eye roll (he stops himself when he's realises what he's doing).
"Yah, can you thop making thith difficult? I'm trying to confeth here." We both stop breathing for a moment as Sehun finishes the sentence. Both our eyes are wide and nothing else in our world is moving.
"W-what?" I ask, wanting to pinch myself. I must've heard it wrongly. It's probably the lisp's doing. No way in hell will this troublesome kid confess to the likes of me.
"I-I like you, ok?" Sehun blurts out and turns away, covering his face with his hands. I'm still dumbfounded as he peers out from between his fingers glances at me hopefully.
I'll admit that I've thought that way about Sehun before but that was way back. It hasn't even occurred to me once ever since we parted ways. Do I still—?
There's only one obvious answer.
I stand up slowly and remove Sehun's hands away from his face. His lips are pressed together in a straight line as he searches my eyes, looking for any signs that will give me away.
I smile gently and give him a quick peck before reverting back to the old me - the snarky girl who never ceases to sass and tease Sehun. I smirk as Sehun blinks in confusion.
"Peasants can only obey the prince's every command, right?" I shrug. "Even if the prince is a total pain in the neck."
Sehun doesn't say anything for a few minutes and I start fidgeting. Did I say something wrongly?
My thoughts are cut short as he envelops me in a warm hug, my hair gingerly.
"Why did you leave me?" I ask unconsciously, remembering the day the bridges between us fell apart.
"I didn't leave; I just didn't want that position," Sehun whispers into my hair. My brows furrow.
"Position? What are you talking about?" Sehun groans and squeezes me slightly.
"Stupid. I don't want to be just best friends for the rest of our lives. I want....more..." Sehun trails off and I feel his face heat up. I could feel a smile tugging at my lips but I have to ask one more thing.
"Okay," I say, reassuring him slightly. "Then what about me staring at you and biting my bottom lip before? What's that about?" Sehun tenses up and doesn't reply so I try to push him off. He pulls me back into the hug and mutters a few complaints.
"Because," he finally starts. "I don't think I'd be able to hold myself back. Your lips look really kissable, you know that?"
I blush at Sehun's frankness as does he. The both of us stay that way under the swings where our previous friendship ended, leading us to the beautiful start of a new beginning, as the setting sun marks the first page.
Another chapter to add to 'park memories'.
~Extra~
"So... What now?" I ask as we both pull away, Sehun's hands sliding down to my hands. Our fingers entwine automatically and Sehun looks at me for a moment before replying.
"Bubble tea," is all he says before he drags me off to what I guess can be considered as our first date.
"Yehet~" Sehun says quietly with a silly grin plastered on his face. I giggle beside him. Yup, this is going to be an amazing first date.
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