day 9
6.58 pm
lee haru

sunsets and raindrops

"sun is setting soon"
jeongguk says after our 5th bowl of
ice cream for the day

diabetes? definitely wasn't on my bucket list
but here i come

considering that the weather was hot,
the ice cream was delicious
and jeongguk had extra money to waste;
there was nothing better than having
something cold and sweet on a hot day

i push another scoop into my mouth
and glance up at the sky of white

suddenly there is a sharp throb in my head
"shoot, brain freeze"

jeongguk laughs
adorable bunny-like teeth visible
adorable
wait adorable ?!

"h-hey, don't laugh
i feel like my brain is turning to ice"

jeongguk reaches out and pats my head
as if that can somehow soothe it

i swat his hand off and pout
shutting my eyes as i wait for the cold to wear off

we're sitting in the middle of a park
and there's few people here today
which is strange, but a relief to us in a way

"can i ask you something?
this might sound a little weird since
well, you're a celebrity
for all you know i could make
money with information i get out of you
which I'm not going to!
so..."

jeongguk quirks an eyebrow and nods
waiting for me to continue
i inhale nervously
"have you ever dated anybody?"

and he chokes on his ice cream
if one can even choke on ice cream

"w-what?" he stutters
coughing vigorously, eyes blown
as if i had asked something so unexpected of him

i laugh at him sheepishly
even as he tries to cover up his reddening face
"easy there big boy, i was just curious"

jeongguk groans when he
finally catches his breath
"can i be sure that you're not going
to spread this on the net?
because if you're going to then"
he pauses for a moment
"i'd be damned—"

"i won't!" i retort instantly
holding out a pinky finger
"i promise"

he stares at my finger
with wide doe-like eyes
and eventually purses his lips
giving me an unamused glance
"fine, since you promised"

i wiggle my finger for him to take
and he does

"i've never dated
but i have a celebrity crush,
does that count?"

"you mean iu?"

and this marks the second time
he chokes on his ice cream today

"why ask when you already know" he asks
coughing in between breaths

i grin, satisfied with his reaction
iu, huh? she's one of those pretty girls
with equally pretty hearts
living a pretty life with pretty friends

pretty

"it's something that i heard
you know, the girls at my school
talk about you everyday
you should see their faces
they're literally swooning over you
i can be passing someone in the hallway
and they'd randomly be saying
"oh god, did you see jeongguk's new hair?
red suits him so much i'm literally
gonna die if i keep staring at him he's a god—"

jeongguk snorts when my voice goes up
a couple pitches higher as i try my best
to mimic their exact voices
not forgetting to throw my hands over
my face and dramatically pretending to cry

"oh god, stop it
that's... they don't do that"
jeongguk says in embarassment,
but he rolls his eyes anyway
"glad to know i'm that famous though"

"you don't know anything about your fans
they're so freaking delusional sometimes"
i finish up the last of the ice cream
and toss the empty container
in a nearby trashcan

"tell me about it"

"i'm going to the concert this saturday
what should i wear for jeongguk
to notice me? a skirt? jeans?"
i form a pout, looking up at the amused
jeongguk with over-exaggerated sad eyes
"no, jeans are too normal" i shake my head
"i have to make him think that i'm the most
beautiful person he's ever seen
so he'll never forget me, ever
you know, like in those fanfics"

jeongguk bursts out into laughter
covering his face with a hand
"seriously?" he croaks out

"what about you?"

"what about me?"

"have you ever dated?"
he asks, wiping a tear away from his eye

i hum in thought
"to be honest, no"

"that's hard to believe"

"why is that?" i question

"you look like someone who'd have
many boys trailing behind you like eager puppies
i bet you were popular in school"

it's not true
was what i was going to say
but i decide not to reply
except for a small smile

after all, i barely had friends
what more a boyfriend?

i lean back against the bench
and stare out at the park view
the weather is nice today
but the sky looks like it's darkening now

"when are you planning on leaving again?"
jeongguk suddenly asks
putting emphasis on the word "again"

"soon, i guess
how about you?"

"soon"
he replies

i nod in acknowledgement
and then i feel something wet on my hand
looking up, i close my eyes as
more drops of water continue to fall
"i think it's going to rain"

"we should get to shelter"

we duck under the roof of a nearby cafe
with our clothes soaked and our shoes drenched

jeongguk suddenly thinks it's a good idea
to kick water out of a puddle in my direction
"your clothes are already wet anyway"

what comes next is a blur memory
but i remember the blissful feeling in my heart
as we thrash about like children
in the middle of the pouring rain
making a mess of ourselves
a beautiful mess
of beautiful mingled laughter
tears of joy against the rain
that shameless carefree spirit burning inside

and i begin to realise
that jeongguk is a person
i've finally come
to care about