Last Try

**71**

"I said choco milk! No strawberry milk!" One boy seemed to be scolding his friend as he threw a small package of milk at him. Okay maybe they are not friends.

"Sorry Soobin! Ryujin got the last choco milk!" The other boy apologised. Then they went inside a little playhouse.

Jisu's eyes followed their movements until her shoulder was tapped.

A little girl who was slightly taller than her stood in front of her. Her dark hair was divided into pig tails, a sunflower was depicted on her tee which she paired with short olive green pants. As if she was supposed to display a flower growing on a wide grassy area.

"Do you want taste my cake?" She held out a bucket full of sand and stones as she gave Jisu a questioning look with her monolid eyes.

Jisu stared at the so called cake. "That's sand." She said bluntly.

The girl sat down beside her and put her bucket down. "It's a sand cake."

Jisu looked skeptically. Maybe another kid would have said yes but Jisu was smart enough to know you are not supposed to put everything in your mouth.

"Not good?" The other girl sighed and turned the bucket upside down before she lifted it up, creating a small mound of sand. She took a branch, teared a piece off and carved patterns into the sand. "Now good?"

Jisu looked at her drawing. She was drawing a smiley face on the top of it. It elicited a smile out of her. "Yummy cakes have layers." She decided to offer advice, having witnessed Jennie bake splendid cakes before.

"Layer?" She asked, her voice lacing interest. So Jisu found herself demonstrating the doe eyed girl how to create a proper cake.

"I'm Yeji."

"Jisu."

Jisu being the ever well raised little girl wiped the sand off her hands on her skirt and extended her small arm, offering Yeji a handshake. However, the other girl misinterpreted and slapped her hand, as if giving her a high five.

"You can be my s-so-sauce-chef." Yeji tried her hardest but mispronounced the word.

"Sous chef?" Jisu could tell what she was trying to say either way. "Mommy wouldn't let me."

"Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous. Gas, fire, hot oil, knives, pots with hot water that fall on your head..." She listed on her fingers and mimicked Jennie's voice tone. "Stink men who smoke and scream..."

Yeji's eyes widened with every word the other said. She glanced at her cake, then tossed her shovel on it. "So no chefs." She forgot about the idea, horrified. "Can we play?"

Jisu nodded her head because she was given permission to play and tire herself out.

Yeji took her by her hand and showed her the whole playground, from the swings, to monkey bars to club houses. She pointed to the club house that looks like a rabbit hole and told her to stay far away from it because a mean boy reserved it for himself.

In the following days Jisu continued coming to this place, she was happy that she could come here regularly. Jennie dropped her and picked her up whenever she could but mostly it was her chauffeur who brought her here.

"I have thought." Yeji spoke as she was clinging upside down on the monkey bar with her feet.

"Thought about?" Jisu spoke from the ground, not daring to follow her steps as she was certain that she would fall head first and make her helmet dirty.

"I'm going to run away." She jumped down. "And you have to come with me."

"Huh?"

"Because we are best friends." Yeji argued. "We ate sand cake, dealed the seal."