16: healing the inner child

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"It's here?" asked Han while looking around to Sunoo when they arrived. "Yup!" Sunoo nodded excitedly. Suddenly, his inner child came out. "Whoa, quite a lot of people too," said Han. They had chosen a day when the theme park was crowded.

"That's why it's called a theme park," replied Sunoo. He walked to the entrance and bought coupons. "That's a lot of coupons, though," Han said in surprise when he saw the number Sunoo purchased. "Because half of these are for you," Sunoo divided the coupons in half and gave them to Han, essentially paying for her coupons.

"I'll pay you back later," said Han, feeling guilty about using his money. "Did I ask? No, right? Accept it and enjoy the games here," replied Sunoo, not caring about spending money for his loved one. "Hmm, let's see what games we should try first," Sunoo said, looking around and deciding they should start with less extreme games.

"Let's try that game first," Sunoo ran to a game he wanted to try, and Han just followed him. "Hello! Nice to meet you. So, this game is called Balloon Pop. You just need to shoot the balloon using this dart and get a special prize!" explained the owner cheerfully.

"Not that hard," said Han to Sunoo, she probably thought it's easiest but she never try it. "Really? Then try it," challenge him. Han took the dart, focused on her target, and shot at the balloon. Unfortunately, she missed it, perhaps not shooting it strong enough.

"Not that hard, Miss Han?" Sunoo teased her. "Fine, you try it then," Han handed the dart to Sunoo. Sunoo also tried to shoot the balloon but missed as well. They both attempted multiple times, and Han managed to pop two balloons only and she giving the prizes to Sunoo.

"Let's try another game," Sunoo suggested, he already tired of the balloon game. "Well, on you," replied Han, going along with whatever Sunoo wanted to play. As they walked around, they passed by a haunted house. The creepy music was loud, and Han was curious to try it.

"Sunoo," she called from behind, and he turned to look at her. "Should we try it?" she asked, subtly hinting at the haunted house. "Try what?" he asked in confused. Han glanced sideways, indicating the haunted house at the side, and Sunoo, realizing what she mean said, "I'm good. Thank you." he doesn't want to involve himself to this horror thing.

However, Han pulled Sunoo's hand to make him try the haunted house after being force many times. Reluctantly, Sunoo went along with it even though he's scared right now. In the inside, they both screamed at the unexpected scares, and Han ended up being more scared than Sunoo. When they came out from there, Sunoo give a glare to Han for being more scared than him.

"You didn't seem scared at first, but when the ghost appeared, I'm the one leading the way. Are you for real?" Sunoo showed his annoyed face. "I didn't know it would be that scary," replied Han in pout. "Forget it, let's try another game," Sunoo left her behind, and Han chased him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. They walked together, and he smiled at her, he can't handle being mad too long.

"Should we try the roller coaster?" Sunoo suggested, thinking they should try extreme games since they were already sweating from the haunted house. Han nodded, curious about the roller coaster experience. They both screamed with excitement during the ride, they feeling a sense of freedom and joy that they rarely feel in their teenage year.

After finishing the ride, they decided to take a break and enjoy some food. "We should rest first," said Han, and they sat down to catch their breath. Then they feeling thirsty and hungry which make them searched for food.

Sunoo had an idea suddenly. "How about we ride the Ferris wheel while eating?" he suggested. "Sounds good, let's do that." Han agreed with everything Sunoo want. They bought food and drinks that caught their attention along the way.

"Mint choco..." Sunoo mumbled while looking in the direction of the ice cream seller. "You want that?" Han asked, and he nodded, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Mint chocolate one, please," Sunoo told the seller.

Han observed him while waiting the seller prepare for the ice-cream. "How can he be excited over mint choco? Doesn't it taste like toothpaste?" she wondered. His eyes sparkled as he watched his ice cream being prepared. "You like mint choco?" Han asked, curious.

"I really, really love it! I don't know, every time I eat mint choco... It always reminds me of sweet memories," Sunoo explained. Han nodded, understanding what he meant. They walked to the Ferris wheel and chose the 20-minute ride.

"Whoa, that is such a pretty sunset!" Han exclaimed while looking at the scene from above. They took pictures of the sunset and snapped a selfie together for a lasting memory. "I really love this place. You should have told me earlier you wanted to go here," Han said, smiling in happiness. She didn't regret coming.

"Glad you love it. I was scared you might judge me for being childish for coming to this kind of place," replied Sunoo. "I wouldn't judge people easily. Don't worry about it."

"Sorry if you saw that side of me. I was comfortable earlier, so I didn't realize that my childish side came out."

"Actually, I never got a chance to come here when I was still a child. My parents were busy with their work until the end of their lives," Sunoo expressed, sharing his true feelings about his past. Han comforted him by patting his shoulder, realizing that they faced almost the same challenges. It all started with their families, which led both of them to end up in similar situations.

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𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐘 𝐏𝐈𝐍 [ 김선우 ] kim sunoo ✓Where stories live. Discover now