She was blind, but he didn’t know that the day she entered his life.

He needed the extra cash during those times and so he had to juggle two jobs on if he wished to survive. Mornings and early afternoons were spent in the bakeshop he worked for, where he spent his time assisting customers or watching the in house baker work. It was his lifelong dream to put up a bakery of his own and he figured this would be the best way to learn while earning money both to survive every day and to head to cooking school one day. After his shift there, late afternoons and early evenings were spent manning the carousel in the small temporary carnival on the other side of town.

It was in one of those nights when he was on a high from learning yet another recipe (and therefore he smiled more and was more charming towards those who wished to ride the carousel) that he saw her for the first time.

It was a breezy autumn’s night and his colleague who was set to replace him until closing time had just arrived. He’d been on his way out of the booth, smiling at the happy giggles coming from the kids enjoying their turn in the carousel when he spotted her standing a foot or two from the ride’s railing, facing the carousel with a look of such childlike wonder and glee that it took his breath away. She’d been wearing a cream colored beanie over what seemed like tousled dark chocolate tresses that framed a striking face with deep set eyes, round yet high cheeks and smiling lips. Her dark pants, chestnut colored coat and matching boots kept her warm against the cool air yet she wore no gloves and he could see that her hands were long and slender yet pale and slightly trembling.

“Why don’t you go and invite her to ride instead of just ogling at her like some weirdo that you really are?” His colleague, Kim Heechul had popped his head out of the booth to ask the question out of the blue, causing him to divert his attention from the girl.

He scowled. “Shut up, hyung. I was not ogling. I was merely… observing.”

“What is she? A display in the museum?” Heechul rolled his eyes “Sure, sure.”

He had rolled his eyes back at his co-worker but when he’d turned his attention back to the nameless girl, he found that she was no longer alone. There was a man who now stood by her side, smiling down at her and speaking words that only she could hear. He was dark hair, though the color leaned closer to brown than black, tall and lean with a slightly tanned complexion. He had a hand on the small of her back and whatever it was that he had said to her made her look away from the carousel to smile at him instead. He’d looped one of her hands around the crook of his arm and together, they walked away from the carousel.

Shim Changmin could only sigh as he watched them go.

Maybe it just wasn’t his lucky day.

~*~*~*~*~*~

His luck turned a few days after on his way to the park after taking an extra weekend shift at the bakery. It was his day off at the carousel but still he liked going to the park, even on the weekends. It was a good place to just be, watch his surroundings and relax. Besides, he heard a few indie acts would be playing tonight for free, just to entertain, and if there was one other thing he enjoyed as much as food, it was music.

He’d decided to walk that day and had just rounded the corner to enter one of the little used streets that was actually a shortcut to the park when the sound of voices jeering at someone. His eyebrows furrowed as he slowed down and listened. They sounded like a group of boys, maybe from high school, and they were making fun of someone, asking if it was dark and if that person was looking for something. Changmin frowned. It was broad daylight.

Silently, he followed the direction of the voices, his frown deepening when he realized that he was being led into a narrow alleyway. Pressing himself against the wall, he took a careful peek at what was going on, his eyes widening when he saw four high school aged boys surrounding a girl that looked too damn familiar, who had been on the floor, groping the hard, cold cement as if in search for something.

“Carousel…” He whispered to himself, realizing that it was the same girl he had seen marvelling at the ride a few nights ago. Narrowing his eyes, he turned and revealed himself.

“Hey!” Startled, the boys nearly jumped out of their skins and it was Changmin realized one of them was hiding something behind his back. The woman from the carousel had also stopped searching, lifting her head in his direction. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Get lost!” One of the boys apparently had managed to find some false courage and yelled back, even as one of his companions was frantically telling him to shut up.

Changmin took a menacing step forward. He knew he wasn’t built like a wrestler or a boxer but he had liked to think that his face and height were rather intimidating, especially to a bunch of children. True enough, the boys scampered away the moment he had shot them the deadliest glare he could manage, dropping an object that clattered on the ground in their wake. Changmin rolled his eyes despite it all and rushed to where the woman stayed on the ground, falling on his knees by her side.

“Are you alright?” He had asked on impulse before he inwardly cursed his stupidity. Of course she wasn’t alright.

“I-I’m alright.” The woman with deep set eyes and coffee colored hair managed to reply, allowing him to help her sit up. Changmin swallowed a lump that suddenly appeared in his throat when he realized that he was looking at her up close, turning his head away to hide his surely burning cheeks. “I need… They grabbed it from me.”

“Grabbed it?” Her words had him looking back at her before he instinctively searched for what it was she was referring to, getting a good look at the object that one of the boys had dropped in his haste to escape.

It was a walking stick.

His eyes widened as he looked back at the woman he had just helped. She was looking right at him but her gaze was blank as if she was looking at him, but couldn’t really seem him…

Damn.

She’s blind.

“They took my walking stick. Maybe you’ve seen it?” She asked hesitantly, reaching her hands out in search for the missing object.

“I… Yeah. They left it behind. Wait here.” Getting up on his feet more clumsily then he would’ve liked, he made his way to where the walking stick was, bending down to reach for it before straightening up. It was one that was made out of wood, easy to grip and painted white. Changmin looked at the stick he was holding before looking back at the girl. Who would’ve thought this would happen?

Sighing, he made his way back to her and crouched down. Carefully, he reached for her hand, causing her to flinch a little in surprise, and he noted how soft yet cold they feel, frowning when he realized that she wasn’t wearing gloves again. Gently prying her hand open, he wrapped her slender fingers around the walking stick and watched as the relief flooded on her features and she smiled a smile that was unlike that first time he saw her, but made him catch his breath again nonetheless.

“Oh my god, thank you! Thank you for finding it!” Her grip tightened on the walking stick. “Those kids wouldn’t have stopped if you didn’t scare them away…”

“They wouldn’t.” He agreed quietly. “Should we get out of here?”

“Ah, right.”

Changmin moved away as she pointed the stick to the floor and gingerly got up to her feet. He had made a move to reach out when it seemed like she’d stumble but he held back when she righted herself on her own. For a while they stood there, staring at anything but each other, each not knowing what to do or say. He’d thought of excusing himself and going on his way, but he couldn’t just leave her there, could he?

“I was supposed to be going for coffee.”

He blinked. “What?”

“I said I was supposed to be going for coffee before… this.” Her tone was amused and he wanted to smack himself for zoning out. “Would you like some coffee too? My treat, for helping me.”

He was about to shake his head, until he remembered that she wouldn’t even see it. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“My treat.” She repeated and another smile lit up her face.”

It would be many days later when he’d realize that he’d do just about anything to see her smile.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Changmin watched as the clueless waitress handed his companion a menu, barely managing a smile in gratitude when he was handed his own. She held onto the menu, putting it down when the waitress walked away, her shoes clicking against the wooden floor as she went. Not wanting to stare so blatantly at her, he hurriedly began perusing his own menu as intently as he could, but even then his gaze would drift to her from time to time until he’d catch himself.

The walk to this particular café had been silent and was full of him watching her every move as she navigated the slightly busy streets. He was torn between marvelling at how she seemed to do it with ease and worrying about what to do and how to help her. But they’d managed to get to the cinnamon-scented, cabin-like café with no further incident and, as he liked to believe that he’d been raised well by his parents, he offered to assist her to a nearby table once they were inside, earning him yet another smile in response

The waitress returned and smiled at her. “Ready to order?”

“Earl grey chocolate tea and a slice of chocolate chip cheesecake, please.”

“Alright.” The waitress shifted to him. “And you, sir?”

His eyes scanned the menu and went for the first item that caught his eye. “A slice of banana cream pie.”

“Will that be all?”

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

It seemed like she waited again for the waitress to leave before he shifted to his general direction. “Am I keeping you from anything?”

“Huh? Ah, no. Not at all.” He replied. “I was just on my way to the park, that’s all.”

“The park?” Her face brightened up. “I love going there!”

 He had considered mentioning that he saw her a few nights ago but decided against it. He didn’t want her to think that he was stalking to her. “I actually work there part-time.” 

“Really?” She seemed so genuinely interested about a rather boring topic in a way that he felt like he was telling her about a trip to heaven-knows-where. “Where there?”

“I work at the small carnival.” Changmin explained, ready to say more only for the arrival of their food to interrupt them. Silently, he watched as she slowly reached out and felt around for the fork, finding the metal utensil easily. Her other hand reached out in search for her dessert, finding the edge of the small plate soon after. With an ease that betrayed her lack of sight, she cut herself a small chunk of her cheesecake and popped it into .

She took a few moments to chew and swallow before speaking. “You work at the carnival?”

“Ah, yes.” He snapped out of his trance. “I man the carousel.”

“The carousel?!” Her face lit up more than he ever thought possible. “It must be so beautiful to look at, especially at night.”

He didn’t really know what to say that without having to allude to her handicap. “It is.”

They were silent after that, and he was too preoccupied watching her eat than eating his own slice of pie. If she’d notice, she said nothing of it, but he noticed how the happy look on her face was slowly replaced by one that was melancholic and slightly bittersweet. Changmin sighed and went back to eating.

“I only remember the horses and the lights… lots and lots of them.” She whispered all of a sudden in a way that made him stop and look at her once more. There was a smile again on her face, but it was slight and seemed distant, as if she was recalling some memory. “It’s hard to keep remembering things you see when you’ve been blind for a very long time… but carousels are special so maybe that’s why I managed to grasp it.”

“What happened?” Changmin asked before he could catch himself and when he did, he had smacked his face so loud it seemed for she chuckled in amusement.

“It was an accident… we were ice skating. I was eight and I just learned how to and it was okay at first, but then I started going too fast and I didn’t know how to stop. I fell, hit my head and…” She tried to smile once more. “The rest is history.”

His shoulders slumped and he let out a shaky breath. “I’m really sorry.”

“Nah, it’s alright…” She straightened up all of a sudden. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even get your name.”

He blinked, surprised. “Ah, it’s Changmin. Shim Changmin.”

“Shim Changmin, I’m Choi Sooyoung.” The brunette held out a hand in his general direction. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Changmin stared at her hand for a moment before he slowly held out his and shook hands with her. Her hand didn’t feel cool to his touch now. The tea probably did its wonders. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, hyung…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you believe in fate?”

Heechul stared at him as if he had grown four other heads before he held out a hand and pressed the back of it against Changmin’s forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever.”

“Bastard.” Changmin sent him a withering glare, gently knocking the older man’s hand away. Sighing, he opted to explain himself by way of asking another question. “Do you remember that girl from a few nights ago? The one you said I was…”

“Ogling.” He supplied, raising his hands in defense when he received another withering glare. “What about her?”

Changmin sat on one of the benches in the men’s employee locker room. “I sorta ran into her two days ago.”

“Ran into her?” The older man repeated with chuckle. “No wonder you asked if I believed in fate.”

“Well, no, I didn’t really run into her… it was more of me helping her with a bunch of kids.” He frowned. “They were making fun of her.”

“Now why would they do that?”

“She’s blind.”

Heechul was silent for a moment. “Life surely knows how to surprise, huh?”

Changmin nodded once. “It sure does.”

“Did you get her name at least?” He arched an eyebrow; the other soon following when Changmin suddenly grinned and started fishing for something inside his bag. “Well?”

Changmin straightened up once his mobile phone was in his hand. Heechul could only watch as he pressed the screen a handful of times before the gadget was suddenly shoved into his face. “Choi Sooyoung…”

“Look below it.”

He complied. “How in the world did you manage to get her number?”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Thank you for the treat.” Changmin repeated for the nth time as the waitress handed Sooyoung back her change. “You really didn’t have to.”

“It was my thank you for helping me earlier.” She replied, a patient smile on her face as she placed her change on the table. “So I guess this is it, huh? You’ll still be going to the park?”

“I think so.” He replied. “How about you?”

“I’ll be staying here until my brother calls so he can come and get me.”

“Your brother will call?” Changmin repeated.

“Yeah, I have a phone.” She giggled, bringing out the said gadget as if to show proof. “I know I really can’t use it the way other people can. But I know how to answer calls so at least people can contact me still.”

“That’s great.” A beat passed. “I could wait for you, if you’d like.”

“No, that’s alright. I don’t want to keep you longer than I already have.” Sooyoung smiled gratefully. “Thank you though.”

“Alright.” He fidgeted in his seat. “I guess I’ll go ahead.”

She nodded once, her smile still present on her face. “It was really nice to meet you.”

“Same here.”

“Oh, wait.” He had just started to move with her words made him pause. “Is it alright if I get your number?”

Changmin couldn’t quite believe in his ears. “My number?”

“Yeah.” Sooyoung nodded again and he noticed how her cheeks had turned rosy. “Maybe I can find you the next time I’m at the park.”

“Sure.” He had reached out for his phone when he realized something rather important. “Are you able to make calls?”

“Not really…” She admitted sheepishly. “But I’ll find a way to figure it out.”

Changmin thought about it for a moment, straightening up when an idea formed in his mind. “Maybe I should get your number too so I can be the one to call you instead. I mean, if it’s okay with you or something or–”

Sooyoung grinned. “My number is…”