Twist Of Fate

Chapter 55

Winning The Toad

The car was parked at the crammed parking lot. It seemed to be more crammed around this time as it was evening. But you figured why.

A lot of the parents had come to either pick up their child, or to explore the festivities with their kids.

The pair of you were here for the latter part. You wanted to see the park with Ki Joon and you couldn’t wait to see him. You had missed him so much.

Your eyes drifted out to Yongguk, who was walking with long and fast strides, marching towards Ki Joon’s nursery’s tent, making you wonder why he was fast.

He seemed to be in a sudden hurry. Maybe he too had been a bit nervous for the boy. He just doesn’t show it, unlike you, who couldn’t hide it. You couldn’t appear calm, when it comes to Ki Joon.

You hurried in your steps and made it to his side. Your eyes drifted up to him, but his eyes were directed at front.

Yongguk stopped abruptly, making your steps come to a sudden halt. His eyes were focused on someone.

“They are here too.” He said.

Your eyes drifted to where he was looking at and you stiffened, when you saw the Choi family in front of you.

The little boy Beom Soo was trying to snatch a candy floss from a young girl, whom you figured was his older sister. The sister had a frown, she shoved the boy back and seemed to yell at him.

You clenched your fists, feeling your anger surfacing. You didn’t feel like seeing that family. Your hand moved up somehow and you grasped Yongguk’s hand. You felt him tense next to you and then his eyes wandered down to yours.

“Maybe we should take another direction, go past the other tents, over there.” You pointed with your eyes, but Yongguk stared into your eyes with a blank look. “Uh-what is it?” You asked, when you noticed his stiff posture and he was quiet.

Somehow, he had a hard look on his face. he was hard as granite and your brows furrowed in confusion.

Then your eyes drifted down, and you realized how you were tugging his hand firmly. You quickly retrieved your hand as though he was fire and you got burned by him.

You rubbed your palm over your thigh, feeling your skin tingling and burning- a different sensation. Your face slowly heated up, becoming flushed and warm. You didn’t know why you did that.

“Just ignore them.” He finally said.

“I don’t want to look at them.” You said and gritted your teeth.

He clenched his jaw, but you noticed the corner of his lip twitch. Did he try to laugh? Did he think this was amusing?

Your eyes widened a bit and your lips parted. He stifled his expression in a second, looking hard as stone again.

Then he did something unexpected that made your jaw drop to the ground. He grabbed your hand in his.

He didn’t just hold your hand, he laced your fingers. His long and slender fingers slid past yours, and they fitted there perfectly somehow although your hand was a lot smaller than his.

A nice tingling feeling started to creep up inside you, it formed around your heart, it was a warm tingle, sensation, rush, heath, you didn’t know what to call it, it made you feel giddy.

Your body tensed instinctively. Your eyes shifted to your hands and you wondered if this was how he felt, when you took a hold of his hand just a moment ago? He too froze then.

“There’s nothing to do. This way is quicker to the tent. Come along.” He said and then he headed out.

You looked straight out, hoping that the Choi family wouldn’t notice the pair of you. You just didn’t want this evening to be ruined or your mood, because of that family or more precisely because of Minjung.

Just when you thought of her, she appeared in front of your eyes.

“Oh my, Sera and Yongguk, have you come to pick up Ki Joon?” Mrs. Choi broke out in a rather amusing, vibrant, and coy voice.

You stared at her with a deadpanned look. Why in the world was she smiling? She had a beaming smile on her face that was clearly fake and forced. She had stopped in front of you, blocking your way.

“Yes, we are, now excuse us.” Yongguk broke out in a cool-nonchalant tone, and tried to walk past Minjung, but she stepped in front of him, blocking your way, again.

You turned to look at her with the kind of icy-cold glare that Yongguk has, the glare that can make people freeze up, hoping your cold gaze would have that effect on her.

However, Choi Minjung seemed flabbergasted by your harsh gaze and she looked at you with a baffled look.

You didn’t waver, your eyes narrowed infinitesimally, you stared into her eyes, wanting her to disappear.

Her eyes widened and she blinked her eyes. She opened but closed it quickly. She seemed defeated for a second. Maybe the Yongguk effect worked. You didn’t tear off your gaze from her.

You narrowed your eyes, your gaze turned colder than ice. But then she smiled at you, making you feel puzzled.

“Honey.” She piped out, tipped her head to the side, looking for her husband. “Bring Minjung, tell her that Bang Yongguk is here.” She smiled widely now.

“What?” You stared at her.

Suddenly, you heard a girl screaming at the top of her lunges. You could have sworn that you felt the ground shake beneath your feet, and you tightened your grip on Yongguk’s hand.

“Bang Yongguk is here? Where is he?” a screeching voice broke out.

Your head shot out to where the loud and shrieking voice came from and within a second, the young teenager was in front of Yongguk.

You eyed the girl with furrowed brows. She dropped her pink candy floss to the ground along with her jaw and diamond eyes, when she saw Yongguk.

“Ba-Ba-Bbbb-ng Yo-Yo-nng-Guk?” She stuttered.

Oh, my Lord, she is some crazy fan girl.

Good Lord, you felt bad for her. She looked at Yongguk with wide eyes that beamed like diamonds. She stared at him with such admiration in her eyes as though he was some leader of a very popular boyband.

“You are one of the best pr-pro-producers in our country.” She said, staring at Yongguk.

“Uh- Thanks, I feel very flattered.” Yongguk rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a little smile that seemed slightly awkward.

Suddenly she screamed in his face, when he smiled at her. Yongguk jumped startled, but he quickly gathered himself.

“Oh my gosh, you are so handsome!” She burst out.

I know, I feel you.

Yongguk took a step back, his dark brows furrowed as he looked at the little teen in front of him with rainbow colored hair, a fluffy pink skirt, ankle socks that matched her vibrant hair color, and a lime colored crop top.

He seemed startled by her, poor him. She screamed right in his face so loud you wondered about how your hearing was still intact.

You gritted your teeth, trying to look normal for the sake of this poor fan girl. Your eyes drifted to Yongguk. He had that unknown, unreadable look on his face, but somehow, you knew that he wanted to run away.

But you could sense Yongguk becoming harder than granite. Then he gave your hand a sudden firm tug. That was his cue call.  

“Minjung honey, take it easy, act calm.” Beom Seok said as he grabbed onto his daughter’s arm and tried to somehow pull her back.

She tried to wriggle free from her father’s grip, and the father let out a laugh, but he seemed freaked out as he looked at the pair of you.

Your eyes drifted back to Yongguk. You noticed that he had taken another step back, if not three more steps away from that girl and you followed him as you were still holding hands.

“Haejung, thank you for your enthusiasm, I appreciate it. But I have to go find my son now.” Yongguk said and then he turned around and looked at you.

One look and you knew what he was thinking. He didn’t need to say anything.

“Kwon.” One word and one gaze, you grabbed his arm, followed him, getting away from that family.

“What was that about?” You asked as he rushed away.

“I don’t know, but I am not about to scout anyone to my company, and not that kid, my only focus is making the guys dream come true. Now, let’s find Ki Joon.” He said.

You knew he was talking about his friends and that put a smile to your lips. He always spoke so highly of them and thought so much about them.

In a matter of seconds, you showed up at Ki Joon’s tent. But the place was almost vacant. You searched for Ki Joon.

“Do you think he’s out with his teacher?” You asked.

“Yeah, probably. Let’s wait. They said they will all return to the tent at three pm. There’s five minutes left.” Yongguk said as he looked at the watch on his wrist, and you nodded. 

You spotted a bench nearby the tent and headed towards it. You let out a sigh as soon as you took a seat, but you looked to your side, when you saw that Yongguk moved next to you.

For five minutes, there was a serene silence as you felt the smooth and calm wind dance up and down your back.

Then the silence was over by the sounds of children laughing, the sounds got closer and you looked up, when you saw Ki Joon rushing towards you.

His arms were opened, and he leaned into the pair of you, each of his arms wrapped around you. You felt your heart bursting slowly and you let out a small giggle.

“Hello Sera and Yongguk.” Teacher Choi smiled.

“Hello, how was his day?” You asked.

She told you about Ki Joon’s day, that he had a good time which was quite clear as his eyes were beaming, and he was most definitely not tired out yet.

“Let’s go out and play.” He beamed as he grabbed your arms and tried to pull the two of you up from the bench.

Your heart finally burst, when you heard that low, deep, and heartfelt laugh from Yongguk, and he stood up from the bench.

He reached his arms out for the boy, lifted him up in a swift move and suddenly, Ki Joon was on top of Yongguk’s shoulder. The boy gasped.

“I can see so much from here.” He broke out, and you shook your head, smiling at the two.

“See you tomorrow miss Choi.” You nodded and the three of you took off.

“There is something we have to do.” Ki Joon said.

“What is that?” You asked as you looked up at the boy with a bright smile and the boy pointed out front.

“There’s a game only for parents. You have to try it.” He said.

“Alright, kiddo.” Yongguk chuckled as he glanced up at the boy on his shoulders who giggled happily. “Show me the way.” Yongguk broke out in a cheerful and loud voice.

Yongguk sounded so enthusiastic, making you wonder how someone who often seemed so hard, cold, and aloof could also look this soft, and warm.

He looked down, his eyes met yours for a brief second, you felt your face heat up and you instantly looked out. He caught you staring at him. You bit onto your bottom lip.

“Ki Joon hold onto me tightly.” He ordered.

“Yes.” The boy chimed.

Then Yongguk did something surprising again, you wouldn’t get used to this. His fingers intertwined yours and he closed your hands together.

Without looking at you, he continued to walk, and whenever someone walked close to you, he would gently tug your hand and draw you to his side, keeping you close, making your heart pound harder.

Ki Joon showed you the direction and you finally made it to the place. This wasn’t exactly what you had expected.

You stood in front of a dart game. There was a big wooden board with multiple balloons in different colors and sizes, there were small and big balloons that you could pop to win a prize.

Some parents stood in the queue, waiting for their turn. Your eyes drifted to the table to where all the winning prizes were.

There was one particular cute stuffed animal that caught your attention. It was a huge green toad with droopy eyes, it looked grumpy like a certain someone, and you wanted it.

You let out a chuckle, when you thought of how much that toad looked like Yongguk but gathered yourself quickly and closed your mouth.

“Ki Joon, I’m going to put you down now.” Yongguk said, and the boy cooed.

Yongguk reached his hands out and helped the boy down. Ki Joon climbed down Yongguk’s back whilst laughing.

Your eyes were glued to the cute toad on the table. As you waited in the queue, you hoped that none of the parents would win this toad.

You looked up at the other, living and breathing toad next to you and stiffened, when you caught him gazing at you.

“It’s our turn in a bit, do you want to go first?” He asked, and you gave him a single nod as a reply. “Alright.” He said and looked out.

“Next family.” The guy who worked at the game booth said and you stepped forward.

His eyes shifted from you, to Yongguk, to Ki Joon, and back to you. A crooked smile formed on his face. He swiftly pushed his hair back.

“Hi.” He said with a lopsided smile.

“Hey.” You replied with a smile. “I’d like to play a round.” You said, and he nodded. “Sure.” He piped out with a smirk.

He handed you a small bucket with ten darts.

“You get ten darts, if you can blow the smaller balloons, you get one of the bigger prizes.” The worker said as he pointed at the prizes and your eyes fell to the cute huge toad that you wanted to win, and you nodded.

You grabbed a dart from the bucket, inhaled and exhaled sharply. You reached your arm high, narrowed your eyes infinitesimally, and made an aim. You threw the dart, but screamed, when it hit the wooden board and fell.

“No, no, no.” You gasped.

You bit your bottom lip, biting back a curse. You grabbed another dart, tried for a second time, but you hit a bigger balloon instead of the small one that you aimed for.

The worker looked at the balloon and a small paper fell out of the balloon and it had a number.

“You got twenty points. You will need eighty more points to pick a big prize. Don’t worry.” He told with a warm smile, and you nodded.

“I’ll try again.” You said with a worried frown.

You felt Yongguk approaching, getting closer to you from behind you, and then his hand laid on your shoulder.

“Sugar, let me help you.” He said in his deep and husky tone.

You felt a warm heat rush through you, a soothing rush, when his palm slid down your arm and your shoulders tensed up at the light caress.

Sugar? Who? Me?

He grabbed your arm, guiding your arm, he extended your arm. Somehow, you tensed up and forgot to focus for a moment.

Your eyes wavered to his, but he stared out with a determined look. His sea dark eyes were narrowed infinitesimally. He looked so charismatic.

“Look straight out.” He ordered.

Kwon, pull yourself together, you must win your toad and give it to Yongguk. You must win it.

You took in a short but deep breath, shifted your eyes back to the balloon and looked at your aim.

“Throw it.” He said, and you tossed the dart with all your strength.

It hit the little balloon and it popped, out came a small piece of paper with a random number. You closed your palms together, shut your eyes tightly and made a little prayer.

“Please God help me.” You whispered and slowly lifted your