In Seven Days

Saturday; 10: 16 AM

Had to republish because of continuity issues

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"Do you think he'll roll down if I put him near the edge?" Jin asked, watching Seokmin grab small pieces of watermelon from his own bowl and stuff them into his mouth.

Byulyi lifted the blue baseball cap from her eyes with one hand, the other remained under her head. She stared at him with heat enough to make a bead of sweat roll down Jin's temple.

They were on top of a small hill—only mere 5 steps to get to its peak— lying under the shade of a big mighty tree whose body twisted in brown coils and sturdy barks. The crown of its green leafy head provided a much needed respite from the bright Saturday midday sun. The grass was lush in this part of the park, aiding the picnic blanket they brought in cushioning them from the hardness of the ground.

The picnic had been Jin's idea. Being cooped up the whole week had left him feeling drained. The one time he did go out, he nearly got into a fight.

"If you want to go to a park, leave me and my son out of it," Byulyi had protested during breakfast as she sipped her cup of coffee.

"Our son," he said, "It's gonna be fun! I remember my dad used to bring us to parks to ride bikes."

"Well our son can't really ride bicycles yet, can he?"

"It's the thought that matters."

Byulyi raised a brow over the lip of her steaming mug.

"I'll handle lunch, I promise."

She rolled her eyes with sigh. "Fine. I'll prepare his things."

The first thing Jin looked for when they arrived at the park was a biking rental place. Picking one was easy, even convincing Byulyi to ride the side-cart was easy.

Byulyi started to rise in her seat. "Do you want me to get off or—"

"I can pedal the goddamned bike Byulyi. Sit down"

He just didn't expect that the park's path would be full of slopes.

Byulyi chuckled behind her hand as she sat down slowly. She adjusted Seokmin on her lap. "All that time in the gym and you couldn't even bike us ten meters past the rental place."

Jin stood up, his feet still on each pedal as he put all his weight into moving the godforsaken vehicle. "The road is going up slightly. So it's more difficult," he grunted in small breaths, feeling beads of sweat start to form on his back. "We'll go faster once we get past this—thing."

Just as he stopped speaking, they reached the other part of the slope, pushing them down quickly and effortlessly. Seokmin squealed loudly, kicking his shoe-covered feet excitedly in Byulyi's lap as the wind hit his face.

And now, four hours later, the throbbing in Jin's calves have only started to go down. The food he packed for them was all nearly gone. The clear sky above them slowly turned orange.

"It's a hypothetical Byul. It's not like I'll ever let it happen. Just assessing the surroundings, y'know?"

Byulyi's sharp eyes found his again when she removed her cap. Jin moved Seokmin further away from the edge of the hill. Just in case.

The boy, hungry as always, protested at first to be parted from his juicy watermelon. A second later when Jin brought it closer, he went back to happily crushing the fruit in his hands and placing its smush in his mouth.

Jin chuckled to himself, taking the last slice of watermelon from their container and putting it on the boy's small plastic bowl. He waved it playfully first, earning him a soft giggle, before offering it up to the bottomless pit that was Seokmin's mouth.