9th➳

I fell down in shock.

Luckily, there was a bed next to me so I landed on a softer ground. But this was nonsense. Why did they suddenly leave me? Without even saying goodbye in person? Why didn't they state where they were going?

I looked out my bedroom door which I left open and ran outside. Mom wasn't home so there was no point in asking her if she's seen them. I couldn't even ask the neighbors next door because they think lowly of me. I sat down on the floor, defeated, and stared at the front door, hoping that this was just a prank and that they'll walk through that front door.

So I sat there for an hour waiting, but they never came back. I was in denial and I couldn't face reality. But my eyes had other thoughts so they began shedding tears.

"Nappeun jasikdeul (jerks)," I muttered, feeling the tears roll down easily and they made my head hurt. "Why did you leave... Wae... wae... wae..."

Whilst I was crying, my phone suddenly rang up. I took it out of my pocket and read the caller's ID: Hong Jisoo-nim.

Not thinking properly, I swiped the answer button and said, "Oh, wae?"

"Nari? What's with your voice? Wait, are you crying right now?" Joshua asked on the other line. It sounded like if I said yes, he would run over to where I was right now.

"A... aniyo," I replied, wiping away my tears with my arm. I didn't care if it was wet now; I hated the fact I cry when I'm weak. It was as if someone knew where to stab me and took advantage of it. "I'm just... cutting onions now. They sting my eyes."

Joshua's lively laugh was heard on the other line. "Yah, Kwon Nari, why on earth are you cutting onions? Are you going to make jjajangmyeon or something? If you are, invite me over! I want to eat some!"

Despite the devastating situation I was in, Joshua managed to make me smile. "Too bad. I'm not making jjajangmyeon now. Better luck next time."

Since I was talking to Joshua, I tried to forget the fact that Hoya and Jaemin just... left without a trace. It was as if they took off with Wendy and Peter Pan and headed off to Neverland.

"Oh, yeah. I also called in to tell you the time and place for our, erm, date tomorrow," he said.

"Date? You said it was a hangout."

"Did I say date? Oopsie me. I meant hangout. Yeah," Joshua said, sounding suspicious on the other end. "Anyway, let's shop around town tomorrow. We can visits cafes, go window shopping and maybe watch a movie."

"Okay, weirdo. I... gotta got now. See you tomorrow. Bye," I said, ending the call before I could even hear him say bye on the other end.

The phone fell onto the laminated floorboard, creating a quick thud in the quiet apartment room where I sat on the floor alone. At least with the two boys, I would be able to smile when I came back home. I didn't even have the chance to help pay off Jaemin's debt. How will he be able to live now? And what's the point working at the convenient store now? I should just quit on Monday.

♥

I couldn't sleep last night at all. Mom was back homeㅡafter who knows how many daysㅡand kept drinking without stopping. It was as if she entered a drinking marathon.

She was wailing so loudly I couldn't even sleep a wink. When I did, I woke up again because of her. Can't she learn she doesn't live alone?! Someone's trying to sleep, yet, she acts like she's an old bachelor.

I woke up feeling heavy headed. I even looked horrible when I saw myself in the mirror inside my bathroom. Well, at least worse than what I look everyday.

After showering and brushing my teeth, I headed out of my room and found Mom passed out on the dinning table, her hands sprawled all over the table. I sighed at the sight and pretended that I saw nothing but air and grabbed some food to eat for breakfast.

Supposedly, today's my "date", as Joshua accidentally put it. As far as I have seen, when a girl and guy goes out alone together, it's addressed as a date. But I had no clue about it because I had the mental mind of a younger person. So anything concerning love was out of my hands.

Adults said that we're too young to know about love. They're right. But if we were too young to know about love, what about the adults? Love seem to be a repeating cycle over and over no matter what age it is. Adults make the same mistakes in the end too.

But if we were too young to know about love, are the racing heartbeats an illusion? Are the heartbreaks an illusion too? I didn't exactly have a clue about what love is and what it does to you.

Before you could love someone, you need to love those near to you. I glanced back at Mom who flinched a little but went back to sleep. Love isn't an easy thing. It's even easier to get someone to hate something rather to love.

♥

"Hey, Nari!" Joshua greeted, patting me on my head like I was a child. I gave him a derpy look in return.

"Hi," I replied, looking the other direction. I was currently distracted by how beautiful the scenery was. It was a perfect day.

"You look cute today," he complimented, smiling a sweet smile. He opened an umbrella and pulled me closer in. "It's pretty hot today. Stay under the shade."

Gentleman, as always. "Thanks."

"Where do you want to go today?" asked Joshua as we began walking with the crowd.

"I don't know. It's the first time I'm hanging out with a guy my age," I admittedly confessed, looking at the stores we passed by. "What exactly do people our age do when they're out together hanging out?"

"Lots of stuff," Joshua told me, pulling me closer in when a street vendor rushed down the streets with his huge cart. I was literally just breathing into his chest by now.

"What kind of stuff?" I asked, pulling myself away from him. "I don't really... get what fun is for people my age. All I know is that I enjoy going to Lotte World."

And I'm planning to go to Lotte World on Valentine's Day, since there were going to be special events. Also a free performance by the famous K-pop bandㅡBTS. Whoever they were.

"Really?" Joshua asked, amused. "Well, today we're going around town. I'm not sure if you'll find it fun, but I hope you'll enjoy it. It's what kids our age do for fun."

Not really knowing what to say, I shrugged and followed him. Joshua took us to a nearby cafe, which he made me try an ice Americano. It was the first time I was going to try it and the moment it touched my tongue, I spat in disgust.

"What is this horrid taste?" I asked, trying to remove the taste out of my mouth. There was even an aftertaste! Gross.

Joshua paused from sipping his drink and replied, "It's coffee."

"Coffee?" I echoed back, feeling my head spin. "I hate the taste of coffee."

Joshua's lips curled into a smile. From his face expression, I could only tell he found this adorable. "You sure are a kid. You can't even drink coffee?"

I shook my head and pushed the drink away. "It doesn't taste good. It makes my head feel dizzy and heavy."

"Aigoo, uri Nari is still pure and innocent. You can't even drink coffee," Joshua teased. "Do you want to drink something else then?"

My head turned to the direction of the huge menu displayed above the counter. I said, "I want grape juice."

Joshua watched me with an amused grin. "Grape juice? Aigoo, kid Nari is so cute. I'm not hanging out with a girl my age today. I'm babysitting a kid."

"Pedophile," I muttered.

"Mworago? Did you just called me a pedophile?" Joshua asked, lightly slamming his cup onto the table.

"What? You said it yourself. Indirectly, I mean," I teased him with a grin.

"I'll pretend I heard nothing. I'm going to buy you your grape juice now," Joshua said, standing up from his seat.

"Arasso." I watched as he queued in line and I sat there, my mind taking me elsewhere. Hoya, Jaemin... where are you kids?

Joshua returned shortly, handing me my grape juice. "Here, kid. Drink up."

"Mwo? Are you treating me like a kid now?" I asked him, grabbing the cup of the grape juice. I drank up and immediately, the aftertaste of the coffee disappeared. "Mmm... Now this is the taste."

Joshua looked at me with amazement. "You're really something, Nari. Some twelve year old kids are already addicted to coffee and then there's you with your grape juice. It's rare to find those innocent girls like you our age."

I gave him a peace sign and continued drinking my juice.

♥

"Let's go watch a movie," Joshua suggested, dragging me into a movie theater. There were different movies showing currently.

I pointed at the horror movie poster that was displayed on the wall. "Let's watch that one."

"Are you sure?" Joshua asked for confirmation.

I nodded and smirked at him. "Wae? Too scared to watch it, Hong Jisoo?"

"No," Joshua replied. "I'm just wondering if you are the scared one."

To be honest, of course I was scared. My imagination was too big so whenever I watch a horror movie, the horrifying images remain vivid in my mind and I end up letting my imagination run wild. "No. What on earth are you talking about?"

"Okay then. It's a challenge. Let's see who gets scared first. Loser has to grant the winner a wish. Call?" Joshua asked me as we queued in line.

It was obvious I was going to lose anyway. How bad could the wish even be? "Call."

After Joshua paid for the tickets, we bought popcorn from the snack bar. To save money, we bought the couple set and waited until the movie was showing. We had five more minutes before the cinema was open.

"Let's play truth or dare," Joshua then suggested as we took a seat on the benches near the cinema we were waiting.

"Call," I agreed, snatching a piece of popcorn from the bucket. It tasted just the way I liked them. "You first. Truth or dare?"

"Mmm, truth," he replied. "I want to play it safe. Who knows what you'll do to me if I picked dare."

He had a point. I could go a little extreme when I give dares. "Truth... truth... Has girls in our class or school confessed to you already?"

Joshua scratched his ear and replied, "Yeah, about three."

"You just rejected them like that?" I asked, staring at him.

"I may be a gentleman but even gentlemen have to say no. I don't like them. I mean, like like them," he explained, scratching the back of his head. "Your turn. Truth or dare?"

"Dare!" I replied with no hesitation. Truth is just boring truth talk. Dare, on the other hand, was something more fun and, well, daring. "So, gentleman. What's my dare?"

Joshua was still thinking about one.

Don't tell me the gentleman is too soft that he can't give extreme dares. I bet he was going to give me a weak one like go walk around and come back or maybe go say hi to that security guard.

I saw Joshua open his mouth and finally, my dare was given, "I dare you to give me a hug."

"Wait, what?"

Joshua smiled. "It's just a hug. Come on."

"This is a weird dare," I mumbled, falling into Joshua's embrace. Honestlyㅡkill meㅡbut I enjoyed the hug. It reminded me of when I was young. It was when my family wasn't broken and divided into two different sides. Mom and Dad would embrace me warmly like that. I miss those times.

"Oh, look. The cinema's open. Let's go," said Joshua, standing up and dragging me by the forearm into the cinema. After we took our seats, fear instantly took over in my mind. "Let's see who's going to be the loser, eh?"

I stammered, "Y... yeah."

The advertisements stopped showing and the movie slowly began. So far so good. But when the ghost jumped out of the closet, I screamed so loudly and hugged Joshua so tightly that I knew I was the loser in the bet.

~Author's Notes~

Oh my gosh! Thanks for much for 100 votes! I love you Kimichies so much and thanks for supporting and reading this story! :) I hope there will be more comments, though xD But nevertheless, I still lav you gais <3333 

Enjoy your day/night/whatever time of day it is over there! :)))) 

xoxo

Byun Sang Kyung