Chapter 16
Chaeyoung's POV
After the horror maze, we decided to take a break and eat first, since we had actually ridden a lot of rides already.
And we actually lost a lot of energy from running, giggling and screaming loudly. Especially Hyeri, who screamed from the start up until we exited the maze, and Leon, who's walking with an aching knee.
We're walking tiredly looking for a vacant table where we can eat and take a rest. Most of the tables are occupied by a group of teens, family members and a middle-aged group.
A group of teens finally left one of the tables, giving us a chance to sit and to eat. Hyeri slumped her body on the chair and Leon looked so tired and helpless as he took a seat.
I looked at Jisoo. It seemed like we were the only ones who didn't look tired yet. Jisoo looked at us, then spoke.
"What do you guys want to eat?" He asked, glancing at us as he tapped his fingers on the table.
"Do you guys want to eat rice?" I added.
Hyeri nodded her head and slumped her face back on the table.
Leon didn't say anything and just gave us a thumbs up.
"I'll order now." Jisoo stood up and went to the restaurant. I followed him so that I could help him carry the food.
Jisoo noticed me and waited for me."What do you want to eat?" He asked, staring at me.
"I'm not that hungry yet, I can eat anything." I replied as we walked inside.
Jisoo started ordering the food that we were going to eat. " 4 bibimbap, 1 gamjatang, 1 order of gimbap and 1 order of mandu.
"Do you want to add more?" He asked."No, I'm good. I'll buy some corn dogs later." I replied. Our order was already here. Jisoo and I took our orders and headed outside.
Hyeri and Leon rose as we placed the tray in front of them and started eating their food.
Leon opened his mouth with excitement when he saw the gamjatang. "Chaeyoung, how do you know my favorite food??" He said excitedly as he stared and took a spoonful of the soup.
I looked at him surprised. I didn't know that it was his favorite food. I saw Jisoo glancing at him while mixing his food.
" I uhm I -
"Focus on your food. Don't talk too much." Jisoo said, annoyed as he started eating his food.
Leon looked at him pissed and continued eating his food.
Good thing Jisoo said something. I didn't know what to say to him. I didn't know that he liked gamjatang that much.
I looked at Jisoo and glanced at Leon while eating my food.
Ever since the incident at the canteen, Jisoo and I haven't talked anything about Leon. I still don't know about their relationships before. Are they close? Are they friends? classmates ? I don't have any idea. Jisoo doesn't talk a lot in terms of this topic. He doesn't talk about his past. Well, I haven't asked him about it yet. Maybe I should ask him about it too..
"Eat this." Leon placed the mandu on my plate while smiling.
Hyeri coughs as she looks at us. Jisoo is busy eating his food and doesn't seem to care about it.
"Thank you." I said awkwardly. I looked at Jisoo again and he was still busy eating. I didn't know why, but I felt nervous. Jisoo always bickers at Leon whenever Leon tries to give me something or come close to me, but right now it seems like he doesn't, he doesn't care at all.. Maybe, maybe he's just tired??
I was thinking hard and didn't notice that the glass full of water I was holding was dripping on my hand.
"Chaeng, are you okay?" Hyeri asked worriedly.
Leon hurriedly wiped the water from my hand with the table napkin he was holding.
"Are you okay?" Leon asked, staring at me.
"Yeah, I'm good I didn't notice it. I guess I'm a bit tired." I said awkwardly and laughed at my mistake.
Jisoo finally looked at me without any expression in his face.
"Are you okay?" He said, staring directly at me.
I nodded my head and continued eating my food.
After we finished eating, I decided to buy some corn dogs I've been craving since yesterday. I stand up and walk to the store near the restaurant where we buy the food we ate.
I noticed someone was walking behind me. I looked back and saw Jisoo who was walking slowly and looking at the kids playing around the nearby table as he followed me.
I stopped walking and waited for him. He seemed like thinking something deep as he walked and he didn't notice that I was already in front of him. I closed my eyes as he bumped into me.
"Oh no! Are you okay?" He said, holding my shoulders tightly. This time I could sense the concern in his voice.
I opened my eyes slowly as I spoke.
" I'm okay, why are you not loo -
I stopped when I noticed that our faces were so close to each other. I can feel my face burning and my heart is beating faster than normal. I shyly look away and step backwards.
"Why are you no- not focusing on whe- where you're going!" I stuttered as I said it loudly.
"I'm sorry I was thinking about something." He replied, then looked at the kids again.
"Are you following me?" I curiously asked him.
"I want to eat some corn dogs too."He replied, then gave me a small forced smile.
I tried to laugh at his answer, then held his hand as we walked to the corn dogs kiosk.
We bought 4 corn dogs. I started eating my share as we walked back. I looked at Jisoo again. He's eating the corn dog peacefully.
"Are you craving these too?" I asked him. Jisoo looked at me smiling and nodded his head. He didn't say anything but I could feel that there was something wrong.
I pointed to the bench near the big TV where they put ads and announcements.
"Lets stay there for the meantime." I said and dragged him to the bench to take a seat.
I had almost finished eating my corndog when I saw him staring at the TV. "Are you done already?" I asked. Jisoo showed me the stick of his corndog with a smile on his face.
"I guess you're the one who's really craving corn dogs." I laughed as I said it.
"I guess, it's been a long time since I ate this and I didn't know that a little bit of sugar blends well with corn dogs." He replied, smiling.
Jisoo seemed okay now. I faced him and held his hand. "Are you okay?" I asked him with concern in my voice. He looked at me confused about what I said.
"Are you mad at me because of something?" I asked him again shyly.
Jisoo looked at me then spoke. "Why? Did I do something?" I held his hand tightly as I spoke. "No you didn't, did I?"
Jisoo chuckled and squeezed my hand. "No what are you saying?" He said, still smiling. I started laughing because of his cute smile.
I can tell he is back in his senses now.. I tried to compose myself and look at him.
"Jisoo."
He looked at me, still wearing his smile.
"What's your relationship with Leon before?" I said cautiously, looking straight at him.
Jisoo's smile slightly faded and he's face became emotionless again.
"He was one of my best friends before." He replied, looking away from me. His gaze was fixed on the TV.
"Oh I see." I gulped hard and added. "What happened?"
He slowly removed his hand from mine and looked at me like he didn't want to say anything.
"Did I ask something stupid?"
"Its okay if you're not ready to talk about it." I said nervously, then looked away.
"Its okay it's just we ha -
Jisoo was cut off because Hyeri and Leon were running towards us.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Leon shouted as they ran to us.
"We're eating corn dogs, here it's for you and Hyeri." I said as I showed him and gave him the corn dog.
Hyeri took one and sat between me and Jisoo. "We should check the other places as long as we can before the fireworks show starts." She said, taking her first bite.
Leon was staring at me as he ate his food. "Hey, did something happen? Did he do something to you?" He said, munching his food.
Hyeri and I looked at him confused. "What do you mean?" I said, still confused.
Hyeri looked at me, then to Jisoo with a clueless face. "What happened?" She said while eating.
"Why do you look anxious?" Leon said, still staring at me. "I'm not what are you saying?" I replied right away and laughed awkwardly.
"Are you sure?" He replied, still staring at me. I nodded my head and smiled brightly at him.
"Okay if you say so." He said calmly, then narrowed his eyes to Jisoo.
Jisoo furrowed his brows at him in return. They're back to normal now, I guess.
Hyeri stood up as she finished her food and started dragging Leon away from us. "Hey don't drag me, I don't want to be paired with you again!" He said as he walked with Hyeri.
"Lets go too?" Jisoo asked. I looked at him and nodded my head.
Just a few minutes from walking, something caught Hyeri's attention. "Oh my God it's Jennie again!" Hyeri shouted in front of Leon, making him look at her annoyed. "Jennie, what do you mean Jennie? Leon asked as he looked around the place.
"Are they here too?" He added, trying to look for the three girls. (Jennie , Sana , and Somi )
"There!" She said pointing the girl in the big TV screen. "Wow Jennie is looking fire here!" Leon said with a big O on his mouth as he look at the TV screen.
I looked at the screen and saw a fierce looking Jennie. It's different from the one Hyeri and I saw inside the mall. She looks so mature here and independent. I looked at Hyeri again. She's busy staring at the ad with Leon, who looks so entertained with what he's seeing too. I guess Hyeri is a fan girl of Jennie now.
Hyeri starts dragging Leon again while watching the commercial.
"Jis -
I looked back and saw Jisoo, who's also in his own world, while staring at the TV watching Jennie's commercial. I can't help but feel something squishing inside me. I can see admiration in his eyes as he watched the commercial with a smile on his face like he's so proud of her.
"Jisoo"
I called him but he didn't say anything, he was still focusing on the commercial.
"Jisoo!"
I shouted louder again than the first one because he didn't hear me at first. He looked at me, still wearing a smile on his face.
"Yes?" He replied, smiling at me, then glanced at the TV screen again. "Lets go they already left us here." I said and started running to Hyeri and Leon. I wanted to run as fast as I could to hide my dismay at what I had just seen.
"Chaeng wait for me!" I could hear Jisoo's voice but I didn't look back until I reached Hyeri and clung my arms to her. Jisoo finally caught up with us and we headed to check the other places that we hadn't seen yet.
We decided to check the vr technology since we were still full from eating. We enjoyed watching the robots through the vr. We also checked the other places that were full of flowers. It's really beautiful in here. After checking the other attractions inside the theme, we decided to go to the arcade and carnival games.
We tried playing carnival games like "Dime Pitch" where the objective is to toss a coin onto a horizontal board that has random marks on it. There is also a "Pingpong Ball and Fish Bowl" where players throw pingpong balls at a table filled with rows of empty small . If the player gets a ball in the bowl, you can win a goldfish. There are also "Cross Bow Shoot", the "Milk Bottle" game, or the "Balloon and Dart" game, where you can shoot and hit the target.
Hyeri and I wanted to try some shooting games. We wanted to get some souvenirs like teddy bears and other stuff toys. Jisoo and Leon tried it first. I cant believe that they're not good at this game, as I know Jisoo loves to play a lot of virtual games and he is really good at shooting games, but here he didn't even hit a single balloon with all his tries.
" I'll try it first," Jisoo said, smiling and walking in front of the table. The first try didn't hit the target. The staff smiled and gave the second dart to Jisoo.
He tried darting the balloon again. "Almost!" The staff said again, smiling at us.
Pfft "Hahahaha" Leon burst out laughing because Jisoo didn't hit the balloon on his second try. Jisoo glared at him. Hyeri and I smiled at Jisoo, trying to cheer him up.
The staff gave Jisoo the third dart. Jisoo tried it again with all his might but still didn't hit anything. He softly coughed and looked down, then slowly moved back. "I guess its not my lucky day today." He murmured.
Leon smirked as he walked in front of us proudly and tried darting the balloon.
"Let me do it." Leon started holding the dart and pointed it to the balloon. "That's too far from the target!" The staff said to Leon. He shrugged and took the second dart, pointing it at the balloon again.
"Second shot almost hit the balloon." The staff said again, smiling at us. Leon mimicked the staff as he got the third dart. Hyeri started laughing because of Leon's face. The staff gets annoyed and glare at us.
Leon tried to stretch his arms before darting the balloon, then looked at us like he was the only hope that we needed to get the stuff toy. Hyeri and I looked at him and cheered while Jisoo looked so tiredly at him and kept on yawning while watching him.
We were watching it intensely as Leon threw the dart. The third try didn't even reach halfway in the direction where the balloons were hanging. The staff can't stop from laughing while mimicking Leon's stretching technique.
Hyeri burst into laughter because of it. Leon looked so annoyed at the staff and Hyeri.
"That's a stupid move," Jisoo mumbled. Leon looked at Jisoo then glared at him. "Let's try a different game, this game is suspicious. The balloons and darts are fake, just like his face!!" He said, pointing his index finger to the staff.
The staff smiled brightly like he wanted to tease Leon.
"We want to try it too!" Hyeri shouted. I nodded my head as a sign of agreement. Hyeri tried it first but she didn't pop any balloons.
"Its my turn now!" I said, focusing on my target. My first try didn't go through.
"There is a problem with the dart!" Leon kept on arguing with the staff. The reply of the staff is always a bright smile to us.
I inhaled deeply and tried to position myself again, trying to hit my target.
"Woah!!" Leon shouted as I hit one of the golden balloons. I squealed because of the excitement. Hyeri screamed too and Jisoo was smiling brightly at me. The staff officer clapped his hand and handed me the third dart.
I tried to focus again and throw the third dart. "Yasss!!" Hyeri shouted and hugged me as I hit another golden balloon. The staff smiled and laughed at us, showing us the toys that we could get.
Hyeri chose the beaver stuff toy and I chose the cute looking unicorn stuff toy.
We decided to look around for more games. Hyeri and I are happily hugging our stuff toys while walking. We saw a basketball arcade machine. Leon and I started running to it. Hyeri and Jisoo followed us. Leon starts to put tokens in the machine.
The game started and we started shooting the balls. I was amazed by Leon. I didn't know that he was good at this game. Hyeri is cheering us from behind. Leon was glancing at me and smiling while he took his shot. I smiled brightly at him as he shot the ball. The group of kids started to gather behind us and watch Leon shoot the ball.
"You're getting an audience now." I said, smiling at him. Leon looked at me and winked, then started focusing on the game again.
The kids are cheering for him. I can't help myself but to cheer too, even Hyeri. I glanced at Jisoo and I saw his emotionless face again while staring at us blankly.
My attention shifted when I heard a loud cheer from the kids. I looked at them hugging Leon's knee. "You almost hit the high score!" Hyeri shouted. "Yeah, I got tired let me try it again." He said and started to put tokens, again, making the kids get excited again.
I looked again where Jisoo was standing but he was not there anymore.
I tried to look for him but I was stopped by Leon. "Chaeyoung look at me beating this high score here!" He said excitedly and started shooting the ball again.
After a few minutes, the timer ended and the crowd of kids cheered as Leon scored the high score.
"I didn't know that you were good at something too," Hyeri teased as she jumped beside him.
"Hah! Of course, I'm good at everything. What are you saying?" Leon retorted, standing proudly beside Hyeri.
"Don't lie to yourself. We both know you're scared of the dark and ghosts or should I say you're a coward," Hyeri said, chuckling at his reaction.
Leon's brow furrowed. " What are you saying? Lower your voice." He nudged Hyeri's shoulder, annoyed, and went to the kids cheering at him. Hyeri, on the other hand, still giggling as she watches Leon giving high fives to the kids.
After playing the arcade / carnival games, we roamed inside and decided to ride one more ride before the fireworks started.
"Let's ride the Ferris wheel?" Hyeri said, pointing to the big wheel while it slowly moving.
Leon, I , and Jisoo looked up and watched the beautiful Ferris wheel revolving slowly with beautiful lights on it.
"It will be 8:30 pm soon. Let's go there now so that we can watch the fireworks after," Leon said, convincing us to ride it.
Hyeri nodded her head to us excitedly. "Four people can fit 1 capsule, right?" She asked, smiling at us.
"I think so, we can all go to 1 capsule." I replied, then look at them. I noticed Jisoo was not saying anything and just staring at the Ferris wheel anxiously.
"Shoot, I suddenly remembered that Jisoo is afraid of heights."
"Maybe we can do something else while we wait for the fireworks." I suggested, making Leon and Hyeri frown.
"This is the perfect time to ride the Ferris wheel , you will see the beautiful lights from there." Hyeri retorted. "That's true. Besides, one of the main attractions here is the Ferris wheel. We should really try it." Leon added.
I looked at Jisoo who was watching us silently. "Well Jisoo, is that okay with you if we ride it?" I asked him cautiously. He looked at me and smiled. "I'm okay. You guys should try it. I'll wait here and save us a seat for the fireworks later."
"Why?" Hyeri asked us, confused. "I have a fear of heights," Jisoo replied softly. Hyeri opened her mouth slightly, looking at Jisoo with awe. Leon's expression changed like he suddenly remembered something. Everyone became silent after hearing Jisoo.
Jisoo chuckled and spoke. " Go ahead and fall in line, I'll wait for you guys here." He said, waving his hand at us and started pushing me and Hyeri towards the Ferris Wheel line. I glanced back at him as we walked. He was still smiling at us.
"So we should go by three, right?" Hyeri said while we waited for our turn to ride the Ferris wheel. I nodded my head and looked at the big wheel. "It will be fun if Jisoo is here too." Hyeri whispered. Leon was looking down while listening to our conversation.
The staff from the Ferris wheel started doing head counts. We slowly walked until it was time to ride. "You can go with four people and in pairs," the staff shouted.
When it was finally our turn, I was shocked when Leon suddenly held my hand and dragged me inside the capsule, leaving Hyeri behind.
"Hey Chaeng!!" Hyeri shouted, trying to catch up with us, but it was already too late since the capsule we'd been on was already moving.
Hyeri sadly pouted, looking at us from the ground. She proceeded to the next capsule together with a random guy.
I glared at Leon, who was acting so innocent like he didn't do anything stupid. "Why did you do that?" I said and rolled my eyes at him.
"We- well because Hyeri is kinda fat, what if this capsule falls?" He replied, stammering and looking away, guilty at what he did.
"What?! Leon, that doesn't make sense", I replied furiously and looked at the window to get rid of my annoyance with him.
Leon didn't say anything and kept quiet, sitting across from me looking at the view as well.
I was moved by the beautiful stars above us and amazed by the different lights from the building. It looks so peaceful and perfect.
"Beautiful." I whispered, but enough for both of us to hear it. "Yes it is," Leon replied. I accidentally glanced at him and saw him staring at me.
"Beautiful." He murmurs, still staring at me. I softly coughed and looked away from him, gazing at the beautiful view again.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I just want to see the view here with you." He added.
I looked at him again and saw him looking directly at my eyes. I turned my head away when our eyes met. I don't know, but I suddenly became nervous and awkward. "What?! Hyeri wants to see the view with me too, it will be fun if she's here too." I cooed.
"I will apologize to Hyeri later. You know she always annoys me. I want to see the view peacefully." He replied with a low voice.
"Is that so? Why are you guys always pissing each other anyway," I asked. "Well, maybe because she has a crush on me. " Leon replied with a smirk.
"What?!" I laughed at what he said and he started chuckling as well. The awkward tension earlier faded smoothly with Leon's terrible jokes.
After 20 minutes, we finally reached the ground again. I saw Hyeri, who looked so happy waiting for us. "Hyeri, I'm sorry." Leon started.
Hyeri raised her brow at Leon, then happily clung to my arms. "Why are you so happy?" I asked her, confused. "The guy from the capsule I ride with is so handsome and cute." She said cheerfully.
I chuckled because of her. "I knew it , you should say thanks to me." Leon said, poking Hyeri's hand. Hyeri rolled her eyes to Leon. "I won't forgive you yet, you need to buy me something first." She said, still ignoring Leon.
"Okay, anything you want." Leon replied, acting cute in front of Hyeri.
We were almost near where the bench was located and we saw Jisoo sitting alone peacefully. He smiled at us when he saw us walking towards him.
"How was the ride?" He asked, looking at us with a big smile. Hyeri sat beside Jisoo and started telling him what had happened earlier. Jisoo is smiling and patiently listening to Hyeri's story.
I sat beside Jisoo and listened to Hyeri's story as well, and Leon sat beside Hyeri. Five more minutes and the fireworks show will start soon.
We heard the announcement from the speaker for the countdown. Hyeri stops talking and look around the place checking the other people who's waiting for the fireworks show as well.
The fireworks show started. The different colors of the fireworks emerging in the dark sky is so dreamy to watch. All the exhaustion from walking and running around paid off because of this beautiful view. I looked around and saw the other people who were enjoying the show.
Jisoo looked at me and showed me a plastic bag with water and a cute little creature inside it.
"This is yours." He said, giving it to me. "Woah!! Where did you get this?" I asked him and looked again at the little creature inside.
"Fishing bowl, I went there while waiting for the three of you." He said, smiling, looking at the gold fish, then at me. "Take care of it." He added.
I nodded my head and looked at the goldfish again. "I will call you orange."I smiled and whispered, and the goldfish started moving inside like he understood me.
I looked again at the fireworks and admired the beautiful sky. This is one of the best days of my high school life so far. I glance at Hyeri, she and Leon are still making fun of each other while watching the show and Jisoo is peacefully watching the show too. Spending this day with them is worth it, even though most of the day they keep on bickering with each other. I guess it ended well somehow. I like how I see the different sides of them and our similarities. Friends can be the mirror of our souls, right?
"To the start of more memories!!"