In My Arms (Hometown Cha Cha Cha fanfiction)

Chapter 19: Just the Two of Us

Hye Jin's POV

"Wah, they really patched up the road nicely." I comment as Du Sik drives along the seamless road.

"I did hint to Young Guk that we were beyond disappointed that we had to delay our honeymoon because of the road." Du Sik winks at me. "I think he got the town council to execute the repair works as soon as possible."

"Oooh, when did Young Guk get so responsible?" I laugh.

"Well, you know. That's inevitable when you live with Hwa Jeong." Du Sik laughs.

"So, where shall we go first?" Du Sik asks me. He holds my hand in one hand and uses the other hand to drive the car.

"Wow, there are just so many things." I say. "Eating street food...cycling in one of the parks and seeing the autumn leaves... shopping.... going to the arcade... seeing the night lights..." I pause and look at Du Sik. "Wow, that's really a lot."

"We'll do all of them." Du Sik looks over at me and smiles.

~

"Try it, it's really not spicy." I beckon Du Sik as I hold up a piece of tteokbokki to him.

"Are you sure it's not too spicy?" Du Sik says nervously as he looks at the flaming sauce that coats the rice cake.

"Try it, it's okay." I laugh as Du Sik takes one bite.

He scrunches his face together for a second, as if expecting his head to start fuming from the heat like a volcano that's about to erupt. But then he pauses and chews it thoughtfully.

"Oh my." Du Sik says in amazement. "That is good." He says.

"Can I have another one?" He smiles at me.

"Come, ahhh." I joke. He opens his mouth wide for me to feed him tteokbokki. I laugh too hard that I almost drop the tteokbokki.

~

The autumn wind blows with great force as we cycle through the park. Du Sik looks younger as the wind blows his fringe away from his face. A huge smile is plastered across his face and he laughs. I almost fall off my bike in sheer laughter when a leaf almost flies straight into his mouth.
"Hey!" He exclaims.

I stretch my hand out and he holds it.

"This is extremely dangerous." I laugh, trying to steer my bike with one hand.

"Should I let go then?" Du Sik asks.
"No. I'm never letting go of your hand!" I say loudly, proclaiming it to the world.

Du Sik and I sail through the paths in the park. The sunlight colours his hair brown and his eyes hazel. He looks beautiful. He glows like a glorious being.

After we've dismounted from our bikes, Du Sik and I take a stroll through the park, enjoying the weather and scenery. Butterflies flutter around in the crisp air. Every few seconds, he peers over at me and just smiles. And every moment, I lean closer to him.

~

Du Sik's POV

"Oh? Don't tell me... Are you going to make me try on more suits?" I ask in dismay as Hye Jin brings me into the department store. "I already have the suit you bought for me the last time." I add.

Hye Jin laughs at me and shakes her head.

"No, today we won't be buying suits. We'll be buying something else!" She says excitedly.

I get a bit nervous when she gets this excited about shopping. What's on her list? Shirts? Pants? Underwear?!

"Here!" Hye Jin says happily and brings me to the area that sells sleeping wear.

"Jiang!" She says excitedly as she holds up a pyjamas set. I laugh heartily at the adorable dinosaur design. Green dinosaurs with animated expressions dot the soft yellow fabric of the pyjamas material.

"What?" I laugh, holding it against my body. "Am I five years old?" I pose for her with the pyjamas.

"Sometimes you behave like one. Hye Jin laughs. I glare at her.

"I wanted to get a matching set with you." She says excitedly.

"Jiang!" She pulls out a nightgown with the same pattern.

"What do you think?" She holds the pyjamas set and nightgown up side by side. "Isn't it cute?"

I look at her the whole time as I say "Yes, it's very cute." I brush my fingers across her cheek.

~

"Ahhh! I feel so young again!" Hye Jin skips through the entrance of the arcade. We're surrounded by neon lights, the bubbly music from the various games and the sound of children cheering.

"You know," Hye Jin says thoughtfully. "I used to have this silly wish as a kid to go to the arcade."

"Oh? Why?" I ask her.

"When I was young, all the kids would go to the arcade after school to play. But I never had the money to, because my dad was out of a job at that time." Hye Jin says. Her eyes twinkle as she looks around, as though her childhood dream had finally come to pass.

"I don't know... I just think it's so nice especially when I see parents bringing their children to the arcade." She nods towards a family of three standing around a claw machine.

Hye Jin doesn't have even a hint of sadness or regret in her voice as she recounts these memories. But I feel for her as I imagine the loneliness. It pinches at my heart.

"Come on, let's go!" I say and take her hand. I am going to help her fulfill this wish.

"To the left! To the left! Left! Left! LEFT!" Hye Jin screams excitedly as we have a go at the claw machine.

"Ah! Ah! Don't hit my arm!" I laugh, trying to manoeuvre the claw. My eyes are wide and intent on a pink teddy bear.

"Oh, sorry!" Hye Jin says shyly.

"Ah! Jeez!" I sigh as the teddy bear falls back to the pile of toys.

"My turn, my turn!" Hye Jin says excitedly and pushes me away. I laugh in amusement as I watch her tie her hair up. Her eyes have laser pointer focus. She presses her lips together and kisses her hand for good luck.

"Okay? Ready!" She says..

Biting on her lip, Hye Jin moves the claw. The claw swings haphazardly and grasps air.

"Ah! Jeez." Hye Jin says, annoyed. "I'm supposed to be very dexterous." She glares at her dentist hands.

"One more time!" She says.

"Oh! Oh! To the right! To the right! Hye Jin! Right! Go right!" I wave my hands frantically to the right.

Hye Jin proves to have ninja-like reflexes. She almost smashes the controller handle as she jerks to the right. My body reacts immediately and I smash the red button which grabs the toy.

"WE GOT IT! WE GOT IT!" Hye Jin cheers and she bends down to retrieve the penguin plushie that we managed to win.

"Wah... it looks just like you." She says as she holds the penguin up next to my face.

"What?" I throw my head back in laughter.

"Look at how big the penguin's eyes are. It looks exactly like you." I hold the penguin next to her. "Aigoo, Hye Jin ah... when did you turn into a penguin?"I say jokingly.

"You mean like this?" Hye Jin pretends to rub her belly and waddle like a penguin.

I bend down, steadying my hands on my knees and almost collapse with laughter.

"You're too cute. The penguin doesn't stand a chance against you." I smile as I pass the penguin to her.

She hugs it tightly.

"I'm going to name you Sik Sik." Hye Jin says to the penguin.