Summer Never Ends

SIX

"𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒉, 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆," 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚, 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆. He returns the smile, a look of relief washing over him. Had he been worried I'd say no? I dropped the thought, thinking it wasn't possible, then I walked slowly towards him. When I reached his side, we walked out of the building together, and out into the fresh, open night.  We started down the street, going silent for some time.

"You're a really good singer you know," Jae-hyun says, breaking the silence, turning his head to look at me, smiling slightly.

"Thank you, you are too," I say, returning the smile and kind compliment. Jae-hyun laughs quietly to himself.

"So you are here for the whole summer? That's a long time," Jae-hyun says, trying to strike up a conversation topic.

"Yeah, I think my parents have wanted to come here for a while. I guess they want to see every part of the country," I say. Jae-hyun nods his head.

"Did you want to come here too? You only said your parents," Jae-hyun asks.

"Not at first. I was planning to spend the summer with my friends, but that didn't work out, as you can see," I say, smirking at the thought.

"What about now?" Jae-hyun asks.

"I'm liking it a lot more, let's just say that," I say.

"I'm glad," Jae-hyun says.

Some more silence.

"So how are you all so good at English? I feel bad not knowing any Korean," I ask.

"Mostly school, but also experiences with tourists," Jae-hyun says.

"Ah, got it," I say, nodding my head.

Short silence.

"Tell me more about yourself," Jae-hyun suddenly says.

"Well, what do you want to know?" I ask.

"Anything," Jae-hyun says.

"Um... I'm from San Diego, California, I have no siblings, I love country music, and I hate the taste of coconut," I say. Jae-hyun's head lifts at the last comment.

"Really? Me too," Jae-hyun says. I smile at him.

"Okay, now your turn, don't forget the small things," I say, remembering what he had said earlier. Jae-hyun laughs quietly at that.

"Alright. I live in Hongdae, Seoul because of school, I want to grow up to be a pilot or something in aviation, my favorite color is grey, and my favorite thing in the world is banana milk," Jae-hyun says. I laugh at the last one.

"What?" He asks, smiling as he watches me laugh.

"Banana milk? Never heard of it," I say, my laughing coming to an end, but being replaced with a smile.

"Never?" Jae-hyun says, his eyes widening.

I shake my head no.

"Come with me right now," Jae-hyun says, pulling me by the hand down the street, and to the front of a convenience store.

"Stay right here," He says, holding me by my two arms at my side. He walks in, and a couple of minutes later, he comes back out with two little bottles in his hand. He takes my hand and puts one of the bottles in it.

"It's so good, trust me," He says, handing me a straw. I pop the straw in and take a small sip.

'Oh. My. God. This had to be the most delicious thing I have put in my mouth' I thought. And clearly, it was visible on my face, as Jae-hyun broke into laughter, before sipping from his own.