chapter three
text message!
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SEPTEMBER FOURTH, of the year 2003 when Lisa first called his name out in the football field, where kids were running wildly at the call of lunch break. Parents flock into their children to greet and hug them with glee after a school event, faces plastered with beam. Lisa was holding onto her mother's hand, waiting for her parents to cease interacting with another parent.
"Mom, I found a new friend just last week." she tugged on her mother's sleeve desperately, hoping it would catch her mother's heed. "He's sometimes rude but we're good friends."
"Sweetheart, stay still." her mother chided, like it was a mistake to cut a glance at her suppliant daughter for even just a short second.
Lisa turned to clutch at her father's hand but he's already halfway to get their car in the open space. She frowned, looking down at her shoes with disrelish as she noticed her untangled shoelaces, seemingly unkempt to set eyes on.
Sunlit skin roofed with fresh sweat, damp hair bouncing as he ran past through the pouting Lisa—the six-year-old Yugyeom cheekily smiled—prominently showing off his cute chubby cheeks, chasing his friends into the toasty afternoon drift. All the boys from her class were playing tag.
"Yugyeom!!!" Lisa bellowed, and it was a good 10-meter distance between him and her. "My shoelaces aren't tied up!"
"Lisa! Quit shouting, will you?" her mother squeezed her hands in nuisance.
Discarding it, Lisa waved her other hand towards her running friend in enthusiasm. She observed how her mother's slight anger faded into interest as a little boy came into their view, fresh from the playground, breathless from a sprint.
"I got it!" Yugyeom grinned, kneeling down to grant Lisa's request like a prince putting on the princess' glass shoe in a fairytale. He fixed her shoelaces.
Her mother couldn't hide her shock at the act.
༺❀༻
PRESENT DAY
SUNRISE CAME—tears are wiped and elapsed—Lisa is currently engrossed in her Instagram screenshotting memes that makes sense to her, occasionally laughing at random cat videos while hitting Yugyeom's arm—who was trying to catch some sleep in the driver's seat of his Ford pick-up. They were seated nicely inside, parked under the shade of a palm tree near the beach.
"Gyeom, look at this cute cinnamon roll. It looks like Leo." her head laid on his shoulders, purposely pulling him out of his brief slumber.
"Fuck, it feels like I've only slept for 10 minutes—Jesus fucking Christ." he mumbled, shoving Lisa back to her space at the shotgun.
"You've slept for three hours, that sounds enough."
Yugyeom groaned, sat up to stretch, his hand combing his bangs out from his eyes while fishing something out in the glove compartment. "You've mentioned cats."
"Yeah?" Lisa inquired.
"Who's taking care of your precious little baby while you're gone?" he turned to scan the content of the backseats to find it empty, his hands dug into the back pocket of his jeans.
