boy next door | jjk

셋 :: have courage & be kind

4:37 PM
her mother still hasn't come home yet. haneul began to worry as negative thoughts started to fill inside her head. sweat started to form as she took out her phone with her trembling hands and dialed her mother. it went straight to voice mail.

she sighed and decided to calm herself down. "don't worry, she'll come back home safely". she said to herself the exact same words that her mother said to her a month ago before the tragic accident happened.

"don't worry, your father will come back home safely"

but he didn't. well, he did come home safely to the sky above, Heaven. haneul then laid down at her bed while letting out a soft sigh. "i hope you're happy up there dad" she mumbled.

"i miss you"

still feeling numb and tired of everything, she decided to take herself a nice walk in the park. of course, she didn't forget to text her mother where she'll go.

inhaling the fresh air and enjoying the nice breeze at the park, she smiled at the view as she sat down on a bench. she brought her favorite poetry book so that she can read while killing her time there. putting her AirPods on, she started to read while listening to calm lofi songs. the children playing around, old couples that are feeding the ducks on the pond, and a few teenagers hanging out bring up the atmosphere.

when her eyes are wandering around the park, a familiar figure caught her attention. he is wearing a light gray sweatshirt and ripped jeans with timberlands on. "it was the boy from earlier..." she whispered.

his eyes are focused on something and it appears to be his sketchbook. haneul wondered why she bumped into him again. maybe he lives nearby? or maybe he comes here often? after 5 minutes of bickering with herself, she decided to walk up to him. she still has 0 friends here so maybe a nice talk can bring them close together.

"come on haneul, you can do this. Cinderella once said have courage and be kind, and that's what you're gonna do" she talked to herself while her feet dragged her closer to the bench where the boy sat.

"hi, it's me again" she awkwardly stood as the boy jumped a bit because of her sudden presence. he closed his sketchbook and quickly put it inside his bag. "um yeah hi" he said back.

"can i sit here?" she asked quietly. the boy nodded as she sat down next to him. she took this opportunity to study his features more. he has big doe eyes, a sharp jaw, a big nose, a cute dimple, and she even noticed there's a small mole below his lip. he is stunning. how come she didn't notice that before?

"so you come here often?" she bravely started the conversation. "just when i need a break from everything" he answered. "or everybody...". she nodded again while mentally slapping herself. she knew she is not the type to make the first move, but there's just something about him that attracts her.

"so what's your name?" he asked as he looked at the sky. "haneul" she answered.

"haneul, your name has the same meaning as the sky" he pointed. she smiled remembering the story of why her mother named her haneul.

"yeah, my mom named me haneul because when she gave birth to me, the sky was so bright and beautiful as if it was celebrating my arrival, that's what she said" she chuckled at her mother's story. the boy can't help but smile hearing her laughter. "what about you? what's your name?" she asked him.

"jeongguk, nothing special about it" he simply said while looking away. she noticed his sad tone and wondered why he seems so gloomy about himself. half of her wants to ask more about him but she knows her boundaries.

"anyway, do you like to draw? i saw that sketchbook of yours" she smiled. jeongguk widened his eyes and shook his head slowly. "it's nothing" he looked down. "come on, i saw a glimpse of it, and i think you're pretty good" she praised.

jeongguk stared at her and decided to take out his sketchbook. he showed her some of his favorite sketches and she gasped in awe. it is indeed a beautiful sketch. they both then talked about small things while enjoying each other's company.

"sorry about before at the convenience store, i was kinda rude" he scratched his head. she can see that his cheeks are getting pink. to her, it is adorable. "it's okay, i know you're the one who put the banana milk inside my bag" she said.

"oh yeah, hope you enjoyed it," he said back. she then took out the banana milk that she brought and gave it to him. jungkook frowned and tilted in his head in confusion. "it's yours, you can drink it, i brought the strawberry one anyway" she then took out hers.

"so you brought 2 drinks all to yourself?" he chuckled. she can feel her cheeks are getting hot because of the embarrassment as she rolled her eyes. "i-i, you know what i'm just gonna pretend you didn't ask that," she said. jeongguk chuckled once again as they both drank their milk while staring at the beautiful orange-yellow colored sky.

the moment is so perfect. to haneul, this moment is something that she rarely got. she smiled to herself, hoping that good things keep coming to her.

to them.