I woke up. I wasn't startled awake, or covered in a sheen layer of sweat. The dream wasn't violent enough, or the mories, too real, to disturb to that point.
I laid there in bed, thinking, processing, analyzing everything. Then I decided that having those mories haunt outside of a dream wouldn't do any good whatsoever. I got up, brushed my teeth, showered, and got dressed. I figured I'd take a stroll outside. Clear my head a bit. Walk around the block, maybe buy a drink, or two, sowhere in the night.
I looked at the clock. 2.30 AM. Well, no harm in it. I knew I wouldn't be sleeping properly again, at the very least, for the remainder of the night.
Perhaps I could even go get so football training done at the nearest pitch.
As I left my room, and began walking down the corridor of the upper floor of the house, I saw that Su Ah's bedroom door was open a tiny crack, letting out a small beam of light into the otherwise pitch blackness that enveloped the hall.
As I passed by, I heard the recognizable and continuous tapping of a keyboard, along with thoughtful hums and noises.
Su Ah seed to be writing. It was nothing too strange.
As for Mia's room, well I didn't hover around her room long enough to find out.
I made a quick stop by the garage, grabbed one of the dozens of balls I had, and made my way out. The evening breeze had a cold, nipping chill, which ant it was at that perfect, breezy temperature, but a touch colder, making the walk feel crisp and clean, which was quite the pleasant surprise considering how the the days had been.
I wished I had a car; I'd have hit the motorway while blasting music, or even just cruising along with the windows down, the stereo turned low.
While humming a tune, I let the ball drop to my feet, and began juggling while walking, balancing the ball between my feet in a one, two pattern and repeating it. As I walked, the streetlight illuminated the path with an ethereal glow.
The whole world seed silent and slow.
I just continued, not looking where my legs carried .
It wasn't long until I turned a corner and—
"Eeek!"
Soone slamd into .
The ball dropped, rolling away. Follow current novels on nοvelfire
My eyes snapped wide, as my hands, without my brain fully registering it yet, had reached to grab hold of their body and prevent them from hitting the pavent. My fingers firmly sunk into soft, pale flesh, before I instinctively pulled them towards , making sure they weren't unbalanced when I eventually let go of them. "Are you... okay?" I trailed off, blinking in surprise. "Dae Hee?"
"Uh, oh, Jae-il Oppa?" Dae Hee blinked in equal fashion. Surprise shone in her brown eyes. "S-Sorry, I wasn't looking. You're out late too, huh?"
My eyes drifted over her, assessing her in an instant.
Dae Hee was dressed casually. A tank top that barely looked strong enough for her endownt to not pop it out, and a pair of tight, dolphin shorts that might as well have not been there.
I tilted my head, feeling like sothing was not quite right, but couldn't tell what exactly it was.
"Yeah." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Sleep clearly isn't on my schedule anymore. What about you?"
She laughed awkwardly, looking away, a soft blush on her cheeks.
Her arms moved to cradle her bosom. "I, uh—"
"Wait, actually, don't answer that. Sorry, I didn't an to ask. It's not my place to do so."
"No, I... It's fine." Dae Hee replied, shaking her head. Her voice had the soft quality of a girl trying not to let her words carry in the silent street. "I kind of had an argunt with Go Bin. I guess... it just wasn't my day. I was taking my usual jog around the block."
Her usual jog? I arched an eyebrow. She wasn't sweaty, unless she had just begun.
"Ah, right." I didn't prod further.
There was an awkward pause between us.
"So, um..."
"Right, well, it was a nice coincidence seeing you again after so ti, Dae Hee. Take care and, uh, don't stay outside for too long at this ti of the night." I gave her a soft smile as I moved to pick my dear ball up. Poor baby was left there on its loneso. I gently rolled her between my legs, then lifted it back to my hand. It fit comfortably within my palms.
"Oppa?"
I raised an eyebrow, giving her a 'hm?', not bothering turning my back to face her, already in the motion of walking away. She just seed so bashful and unsure.
"Um..." She trailed off. There was sothing strange and almost wistful in her expression. Like she had sothing on her mind but was unsure whether she should speak it out loud. "Do you… I don't feel comfortable being on my own, do you mind if... I keep you company? If it isn't too much to ask of course."
"Are you afraid you'll be kidnapped or sothing?" I joked.
"No, nothing like that. I'm more concerned that... the people on this part of the town, so of them have been known to, you know—" Dae Hee bit her lip. She gestured with a vague sort of wave, trying to indicate a situation I knew she wasn't ready to verbalise. "They're the type of people that do 'bad' stuff."
"Bad stuff?" I frowned. "What kind of bad stuff?" Why have I never heard of it?
"Well..." She leaned in, hands balled into fists and an expression of pure determination and focus on her face. It would have been adorable in a normal setting. Her whisper ca in a single breath. "I'm talking about, you know... sex."
"Sex..." I repeated, incredulously. My jaw dropped slightly. "Right..." Then, the absurdity of the situation, or perhaps simply the way that Dae Hee had said that, made a smile tug at the corners of my mouth and my chest shake with silent laughter.
"What? What's so funny?" Dae Hee pouted. She crossed her arms under her chest, making them jiggle.
"Nothing, nothing. Nevermind. I apologize, I think a fly found itself a ho within my nose. You're not going to do... 'sex', are you?"
"Obviously no."
"Well, good to have the facts straight." I chuckled and turned my eyes towards her. She was a good half-a-head shorter than . "Then you're welco to tag along. Though I will probably do so football practice as well, if that's sothing that would bore you."
Dae Hee tilted her head, lips tugging into a shy, small smile. "No, no! I wouldn't be bored with such a thing! That would actually be wonderful!"
"Good, then. Follow along." With a small shrug, we set off together. Dae Hee kept pace beside , her stride shorter to match mine.
I glanced at Dae Hee from the corner of my eye.
For the entirety of our walk, I had the impression that Dae Hee, who was now staring at and smiling in an all-too-familiar way, was still musing about what to say to spark up the conversation. In her own weird way, I could almost feel a twinge of nervous energy coming from the girl. Thankfully, the pitch was within sight, and the tension didn't have to stretch on for any more prolonged period of awkwardness.
"It's closed, Oppa." Dae Hee pointed out. Her eyes had the kind of innocent, yet blunt stare, that told she wanted to point it out, but not at all to stop whatever I intended to do. She was just making sure that we were both on the sa page. The page, being 'the gate was locked shut'.
"Yes." I agreed, nodding solemnly. "It is indeed closed, as you observed."
She nodded, then tilted her head, as I began moving.
She followed suit.
We walked around the back, where one part of the fence, behind a bush, was actually wrenched open, in an almost crude manner. It wasn't so wide, but there was more than enough space for the both of us to fit in at the sa ti. Dae Hee sucked in a breath and her eyes lit up, but didn't voice anything, almost too shocked at the action of trespassing to even utter a word. "I co here every ti. No one really gives a damn, and it's not as if there's any type of security system whatsoever. It's perfect for what it is."
We crossed to the other side.
"Isn't... isn't this illegal?" Dae Hee's voice ca out as an almost whisper, and I couldn't tell if she was amused or scared. Perhaps an adorable combination of both.
"You don't need to worry. Just consider it as a grey area."
I could see her eyes going wide, and I couldn't help the small grin that spread across my lips. "So... you do this often?"
"Not as often as I used to, but on rare occasions, yes."
Dae Hee gave a sidelong look. Her eyes lingered on . "Hmm. You're a bad person, Oppa."
I raised a brow. "You think so?"
"Yeah, a bad, bad, boy. No good, no respect, just pure... hooliganism." She spoke in a tone that was more like soone reading off a recipe card. A bit deadpan, monotone even. There was no fire behind it.
"Ah, right. My darkest sin."
I moved further in the pitch, rolling the ball between my feet. After running around a bit, I stopped to stare at Dae Hee who stood where I left her. She was shifting uncomfortably on her heels, fidgeting and glancing between the ground and my general vicinity, her long hair framing her face. She looked way too awkward standing there, like a pole, and just as useless as one.
I sighed.
"Co here, Dae Hee, let's see if I can't teach you so of these basic football skills."
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