Best Friends, Maybe? (A Song Joong-ki Fanfic)

Chapter 13

I remember signing up for this last Monday with Joong-ki because we thought it'd be fun to meet the children here. And I don't regret it.

I change into my PE shirt and shorts, pack my stuff, put in the locker and sprint to the field at the backyard of the orphanage. I see Joong-ki from a distance and run towards him. Someone hands me a number to paste on my shirt – number 5. Joong-ki's number 6. A group of children, probably between six to nine years old are choosing numbers from our teacher's hand.

"If they get your number, you're going to piggyback them across this field towards that pole over there. You see the biscuits hanging there, you have to help the kid you're carrying eat one of the biscuits," Joong-ki explains.

"I can do that." I put my hair up in a ponytail and look up at him. He's smirking. "What? You think I can't? They're just kids," I say, looking at them. Then, all of the kids go towards their partner. Joong-ki's little partner is a cute boy with a similar haircut. He looks older than my partner which is a pretty little girl who's small in stature. She's got her long hair up in two ponytails.

"Hi, what's your name?" I ask, kneeling in front her. She's just so adorable and pretty I instantly become fond of her. She looks at me quizzically. I forget she doesn't know English.

Joong-ki says something in Korean. I look at him sharp. "What?" he asks.

"I can handle it—"

"Hye-sung," the girl answers timidly. I can see she's very shy. She doesn't look me in the eye but she seems okay with Joong-ki. Maybe it's because I'm not the kind of human being she sees all the time.

"Hi, Hye-sung." I turn to Joong-ki. "How do I say 'I'm Cassie' in Korean?" I say, grasping his arm.

"Naneun Cassie haeyo," he replies, laughing.

"Naneun Cassie haeyo," I whisper to myself. "Hye-sung-ah." I pick that up from their slang. They always address people's name like that. "Naneun Cassie haeyo," I continue. She smiles and bows in front of me. Oh my God, she's just adorable.

"Oppa," she says while tugging at Joong-ki's shirt. He kneels so that Hye-sung doesn't have to crane her neck. She whispers something to him and then smiles. Then, she looks at me. I simply smile back.

"Yeppeun."

"I'm sorry?" I look at Joong-ki. Did he just curse me or something?

"Yeppeun. She said you're pretty," he replies, half-smiles and looks away. "The game is about to start. Better get ready, Cass."

I stare at him for a little while as he adjusts his partner's position on his back. I pat my back, signalling Hye-sung. She shifts her weight so I feel more comfortable carrying her. Her little arms hangs down my neck, secure. "This is okay," I tell her and I feel her nodding as her chin taps my right shoulder.

For a brief moment, I wonder if this is how it's like when Joong-ki carried me to his place that day. I look at him before I sprint across the field carrying a child on my back. I catch him staring and flash a smile. He mouths good luck and then off we go! Hye-sung is not so heavy but with a load, my sprinting becomes half-jog-half-run kind of thing.

I can hear the crowd – mainly consisting of the residents of the Home and my schoolmates – cheering and applauding. This event is for Charity Week where we randomly sign up for charity events and help people. Joong-ki and I are the ONLY seniors joining. The rest of the team are juniors. I guess the other kids in my grade don't feel 'cool' to do charity.

The junior girls are shouting and screaming our names. Feels like I have fans.

I run as fast as I can and I can feel how uncomfortable Hye-sung has gotten on my back. "Hold on, Hye-sung!" I say while hyperventilating. "Oh my God...we're almost there!"

I stop dead on my tracks right when I get to the pole. "Hurry, quick, Hye-sung! Eat!" I tell her while push her up to my shoulders.

I hear her asking something. Damn, what's 'eat' in Korean?!

I stare at Joong-ki as he says something to her. Thank you!

I look up to Hye-sung. She's nodding and starts to munch on the biscuit while holding on to me. "Thank you," I mouth to Joong-ki.

He nods and smiles. "No problem," he whispers.

***

I win. Hye-sung and I, we win! Haha!

Oh yea, thank you to the knight in shining armour. Even though it was just a language dilemma.

***

I go through the polaroids we took earlier today. We're in the bus now on the way back to school. I realise I took lots of polaroids with Hye-sung, Jun-ha – Joong-ki's little partner during the game – and Joong-ki. There's a picture of us together, me hugging Hye-sung and Joong-ki with his arm over Jun-ha's shoulders. There's a picture of me and him side by side. There's a picture of Jun-ha on Joong-ki's shoulders. His smiles so brightly and so did Jun-ha. They look like brothers that can never be any happier.

Then, I come across a picture which we asked a junior's help to take it. I sat crossed leg on the ground and so did Joong-ki next to me. Hye-sung and Jun-ha sat in front us and we were hugging them. I stare at the picture.

"Well, that's a happy family." I glance to my side and notice Joong-ki staring at the picture as well. He smiles at me, leans his head against the window and closes his eyes.

I smirk. I'm going to visit those kids some other time. I already miss them, to be honest. I put all the polaroids away in my backpack and I take out my Polaroid camera. I watch Joong-ki sleep. I take a picture of him. I don't even look at the picture, I put it away immediately in my bag. I don't want him to know I took it.

I rest my head, trying to sleep.

I'm just about to doze off that I fell to my side and my head rests on Joong-ki's arm. I can feel him being taken aback a little. I pretend to be asleep. I feel him sitting up straight as he holds my head gently.

I wake up when we minutes away from reaching our school. I wake up with my head resting on his shoulder, his head resting on mine.