"New nickname?" Hongjoong beamed, his old nickname suddenly long forgotten. It wasn't a good one, but definitely better than being called wannabe badboy. "What an upgrade! What's next, you're going to call me prince? I wouldn't mind it, being the prince to your princess." Mari practically gaged at his awfully cheesy words. Prince? Mari would never let him get the chance. She'd rather die than call Hongjoong a prince. The blue-haired boy gave her a mischievous smirk as he poked fun at her. "What? You don't like me calling you princess still? What else could I call you then? My treasure? My precious? My b—"
"Hongjoong, no." Mari snapped. If she didn't stop him soon enough she'd be as red as a rose, the endearing nicknames being awfully effective on her. She's never met someone who was that persistent to give her a nickname. Wooyoung and San tried, but they respected her boundaries a lot more then than Hongjoong did. He seemed to continuously try and push her buttons, no matter how hard she tried to ignore them. "I said where are we going. Don't change the subject again." She told him, trying to steer them right back on track.
Hongjoong looked satisfied with the response she gave him. "You didn't say no to princess." Mari opened her mouth to protest, but the boy cut her off anyways. He didn't even give her the chance to fend for herself against his argument. "I'm just playing with you princess, no need to get all defensive. Besides, I like calling you my princess anyways." He told her, blinking his eyes innocently at her. Mari rolled her at him, tempted to tease him once more. But then started speaking again. "Ah! We're here!"
"Where is... here?" She asked him, walking a little faster to catch up with him. The girl stopped right to him as she looked forward, confusion evident on her face. They had stopped at a footbridge, a bridge that allowed pedestrians to cross a busy street without actually walking out into it. Under the bridge was the heavy traffic below them, the car lights taking the form of stars. Hongjoong went first, taking the daring step of walking over it with. It seemed as though he had no thoughts of worries crossing it, trusting its stability despite its height.
"I found this place when I was with Seonghwa," he told her, skipping along the bridge in a wishful manner. A smile appeared on his face as he relived the memory, leaning over the railing to see the cars. "I had crashed my motorcycle on that side of the road, and I was too anxious to go home and get in trouble. So Seonghwa saw this place up here and calmed me down here. Ever since then, this has been a sort of haven to get myself together. It's been... a while since I've been here."
Mari nodded, standing on the very edge of the hill before the bridge began. "That's nice but... why bring me here?" She asked him, crossing her arms as she cautiously leaned over the edge to look down at the cars passing by. She wasn't scared, why would she be scared? She had faced more dangerous things than a footbridge! Mari was just apprehensive, of course, she was apprehensive. She had never done such a thing before. Never in her life had she decided she was going to walk on a tall bridge that was right over busy traffic.
Hongjoong turned around on his short stroll, laughing at her situation. "Come on princess! Nothing to be afraid of!" Mari opened her mouth to snap at him, ready to destroy him with a strong remark. Though the blue-headed boy grabbed her hands and pulled her onto the footbridge, causing her to let out a terrified scream as they walked across the metal bridge. "Aw, princess! You scared of heights?" He teased her, pulling her farther and farther into the bridge.
"I am not scared of heights!" She protested, though immediately regretting her actions. Hongjoong took her words as a challenge, letting go of her hands and leaving her alone where she stood. Mari, too stubborn for her own health, didn't say anything. There were very few things Mari was scared of, thanks to her family background raising her to be as fearless as possible. But this just seemed to be one of those things she never knew she had to overcome.
fifteen ▋seo's lament
Start from the beginning
