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She was beaming.
Yoo Boyoung couldn't hold her excitement when she linked her arms with the ones of her grandmother as she walked through the gates of Seoul Zoo at eleven PM. It had been some time since she had been able to visit the zoo. Especially with her grandmother.
Because the eighteen-year-old had been busy.
Not with university or after-class-activities. But with shooting a movie. Because Yoo Boyoung was an actress. She had finished shooting her cinema debut a week ago. And as a reward, her company fulfilled a wish of the young woman.
With a big smile, Boyoung held on to her Nana. Her manager was a few steps behind the women, looking at his phone and watching out for Mrs. Yoo and Boyoung. "Isn't it cold, Halmoni?" Boyoung smiled and looked at the older woman who was smiling softly.
"I'm dressed warmly, Boyoung-ah. The cold isn't bothering me because this is a special time that I can spend with you." Boyoung grinned at her Nana's words. Sadly, she was right. Ever since Boyoung became a Trainee she hadn't seen her grandmother a lot. So this reward, SM Entertainment had given her, was worth more than anything else.
"Let's take a look at all the animals, okay?" Boyoung asked and slowly dragged her grandmother to the first area of the zoo, where Asian animals were living.
Boyoung smiled, talking about the Tigers that were tiredly walking up and down their enclosure, growling quietly as this was usually a time where the zoo was closed and they were sleeping and not awake. "Isn't he cute?" Boyoun asked, letting go of her Grandma and getting closer to the railing that was keeping the Tigers away from her.
"It is. But be careful, Boyoung. Don't fall inside."
"I'm not five anymore." Boyoung joked but took a step back nevertheless as she did fall into an enclosure once. Not the Tiger one, but the elephants.
When Boyoung was only six, her grandmother had taken her to the zoo and little Boyoung was too excited she fell over the railing and into the pool of the Elephant enclosure.
People were shouting, yelling, calling for help. But thankfully Boyoung had been able to swim and rescued herself onto the surface where three grown Asian Elephants had been staring at her with their big black eyes. She had ended up crying until a zookeeper had helped her back to her Nana.
From this day on, even though Boyoung had been scared to death, Elephants had ended up being her favorite animal.
After looking at the Tigers for a while the two females walked over to the Elephant House and entered it.
It was warm and quiet and Boyoung held tight onto her grandmother. Her heart was beating fast. She hadn't seen an elephant in so long! "Aren't they beautiful?" Boyoung asked and her grandmother nodded. Some of the elephants were breathing quietly. But a young one was tilting its head, looking straight at the actress and her grandmother.
"That's Gung Pyo." The female zookeeper, who worked at the elephant enclosure and had followed them inside, spoke. "Gung Pyo?" Mrs. Yoo asked and the zookeeper nodded. "We wanted to name him Go Jun Pyo, like the Character in Boys Over Flowers, but the director said it's not a nice name so we made up Gung Pyo." The woman laughed and walked over to where Gung Pyo was standing, his head still tilted.
"You can pet him." The zookeeper said, looking at Boyoung who was glowing with joy. She carefully let go of her Nana's hand and walked up to the zookeeper, that was petting Gung Pyo's trunk.
Very carefully, not to hurt him with her manicured fingernails, Boyoung started to pet the trunk. The elephant softly closed its eyes, making a humming noise. The zookeeper chuckled. "He likes you." She smiled and Boyoung widened her eyes. "His skin is so warm even though it is cold outside."
Mrs. Yoo watched her granddaughter with love in her eyes, happy she could act like her age once again. The old woman took her phone out of her purse and took a picture of Boyoung petting Gung Pyo. She knew Boyoung would want to share a memory like that with her fans.
A sigh left Mrs. Yoo's lips and Boyoung's manager walked up to her. "Are you alright?" He asked and Mrs. Yoo nodded. She knew that once Boyoung would wake up tomorrow morning, she'd be the famous rookie actress Yoo Boyoung again, standing in front of the camera and being all professional.
Boyoung was still smiling when she walked back to her grandmother, to continue her stroll through the zoo.
— 💌 —
"What animals do you like the most, Halmoni?" Boyoung asked once the two females had left the Reptile House. The snakes and spiders weren't Boyoung's type but it was interesting watching a Tarantula eat her dinner. Even if she still shivered thinking about its long legs.
"Hm, that's a very good question but I think I like Zebras a lot." Mrs. Yoo spoke and Boyoung nodded, happily dragging her Nana to the Africa-area of the zoo, when her manager walked up to here. "Boyoung-sshi, it's midnight." He said pointing at his wristwatch. "Oh. It's already time?" She asked and the man nodded.
A sigh left the lips of the young actress and she pouted. "Could you at least take a picture of Halmoni and I before we go?" Boyoung held her cell phone to the man who nodded. Boyoung quickly hugged her grandmother and rested her head on the woman's head, closing her eyes, posing.
The manager chuckled at Boyoung's typical pose and took a few pictures before handing the phone back to its owner.
Boyoung and Mrs. Yoo followed the manager out of the zoo and to the van. They quickly climbed into the backseat, Boyoung asking her grandmother to put on the seatbelt before they drove off to Mrs. Yoo's house. On their drive back Mrs. Yoo showed Boyoung the picture of her and Gung Pyo and Boyoung happily smiled at the picture. "The elephant was so cute, wasn't he?" Boyoung asked and looked at the picture over and over again.
Mrs. Yoo sighed. "I hope we can do something like this again, Boyoung-ah." She smiled. "But please be careful at your promotions. Don't get hurt and always listen to Manager-nim, okay?" Boyoung nodded at her Nana's words and pecked her before the Manager opened the door of the Van and helped the old woman to climb out of the car.
"Bye, bye Halmoni! I'll see you soon. I promise! Eat well!" Boyoung called after her before her Manager closed the door once more and drove her home. She had to get up early the next morning for a photoshoot after all. She couldn't be normal Yoo Boyoung all day.
