Mikyung looked at the scarf that was hanging in the closet in her dorm. Stupid scarf, and stupid hat. She had yet to give either back to Haknyeon. It had been over a week, and she kept forgetting. So much time passed that now she felt kind of embarrassed to give it to him, but she had to.
She sighed, putting on her jacket. They were going out today to take pictures, though she wasn't sure where yet. Haknyeon had suggested going somewhere over the weekend since the project was also supposed to document their budding friendship.
She wondered if they really were friends. It kind of felt like it. Out of all the people at school, she definitely felt the most comfortable around him, with Seolhee coming at a close second.
But friends, real friends, were comfortable enough to open up to each other, at least to some extent. She was having trouble doing that.
With a start, she realized something.
She did want to be friends with him.
A small smile came to her face as she wrapped his scarf around her and put on his hat. She looked at herself in the mirror, giving herself the once over before leaving.
Since she knew they'd be taking pictures, and since she had no idea where they were going, she had decided to wear something a little nicer than usual. She was wearing a skirt with leggings, lined leggings, so she wouldn't be absolutely freezing. She was still wearing her winter boots and her puffy jacket but was wearing a nicer sweater than usual, one that her father had gotten her for Christmas.
Her father. She hadn't seen him since Christmas. He'd been working so hard, and suddenly she felt really guilty. Here she was, going out to have a good time, while he had to be working.
She tried to push the feeling away. This was part of schoolwork. And plus, her parents always said she should go hang out with friends and have more fun. And she was making money. She was helping. She consoled herself with those thoughts.
All of those intrusive thoughts flew out of her head when she saw Haknyeon, waiting for her outside of the school grounds.
"I keep forgetting to give this to you," she announced, starting to take off the scarf.
He laughed, gently taking her hands and pulling them away from the scarf, stopping her. "Keep it. Keep the hat too."
"I have some though-"
"So do I," he said, shrugging. "Way too many. Just keep it. It looks cute on you anyway."
She felt her face heat up and hoped that he'd assume any redness was just because of the cold. "I brought my own mittens this time!" she told him proudly, pulling them out of her pockets and showing them to him.
Haknyeon laughed, reaching forward and ruffling her hair. "I'm proud," he teased, grinning at her.
"You should be," she joked, playfully bumping her shoulder against his. "So, where are we going?" she asked.
"Do you have anywhere in mind?" he asked, and she shook her head. "Okay," he continued. "Because I was thinking... I was looking at places online and saw this garden and it looks really pretty. I thought we could go there?"
Mikyung almost agreed but then a thought struck her. Would there be admissions fees? What if the places he wanted to go ended up being really expensive?
She inhaled, considering. She'd told herself just a few minutes ago that she wanted to be friends, right? So maybe this was a moment to open up to him a bit.
"That sounds great," she said slowly, not daring to look up at him. "But are there admissions fees?" she looked up at him nervously. "Haknyeon, I'm not rich, and I may not be able to afford to do some of the things you want to do."
He smiled at her. "It's free, don't worry," he said softly. "I'm sorry for assuming things about you but... after we went to the playground I kinda assumed that our financial standing was a bit different and that our situations, in general, might be pretty different. That's... a correct assumption?"
She nodded.
"Don't worry," he assured her. "We can do a ton of fun things without spending any money. In fact... you wanna go for a picnic tomorrow? And take more pictures, of course."
A small smile came to her lips.
"A picnic sounds nice," she whispered.
