First And Only [SEVENTEEN Fanfic]

25thツ

25thツ

25 ❣ The Teddy Bear and The Monster

This felt like a dream. 

Dreams either mean a nightmare, a good one or something weird. A dream doesn't have limits, so it'll always somehow surprise you with scenarios you won't understand when you wake up or forget the moment you open your eyes. 

In this case, it was the third option. I never imagined myself talking to him again, but seeing that I was, I was utterly speechless. What do I say first? I never even told Jihoon I talked to him before. That day of the trip. A few minutes before I drowned and blacked out.

But since there were no words, I decided to ask, "Are... you okay?"

"Hmm? Which are you referring to?" Mr. Lee asked next to the bench I was sitting on. 

"Your..." I cleared my throat. Lightly pointing at the wheelchair he was on, I said, "...you're on a wheelchair. What... what happened? I heard something before, though I wasn't exactly sure what it meant. You, um, were rushed to the hospital on the same day as me?"

"You were rushed into the hospital? Whatever for?" he asked me, his soft eyes looking at me. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It was... a mistake. That time. What about you? Did something bad happen?" Judging by his wheelchair, something really did happen. And Solji's the cause. What exactly did she do to him?

"Oh, I'm not so sure either. I just know I blacked out and found myself in the hospital with Solji and her mother. The doctors told me I broke my leg and won't be able to use them for two months," he explained to me. 

I pitied him. Did Solji really have to go that far? But she was slowly stabilizing and turning into human. She didn't turn into one overnight, but I sense she was slowly getting to it. Change can happen with efforts made into them.

"It's nice here, right?" he asked, all of a sudden. What a wistful change of topics. 

"Yeah," I breathed, looking around. There were people walking around happily and seemed to enjoy it here in Lotte World. Who wouldn't, am I right? I spotted Wonwoo not that far away, leaning against a light post as he was approached by a girl. He just smiled at her and said something I didn't catch. 

It wasn't like I could read lips. 

After he said something, the girl walked away. She seemed to be pissed or something like that. What did he say to her?

"I'm glad to hear that. I've been working on how to make this place a lot more magical," he said, chuckling. 

Wait. 

Did I hear that right?

Mr. Lee—Lee Jihoon's dad—was working on how to make this place a lot more magical? I caught that correctly, right? I wasn't just daydreaming and heard wrongly, right?

"I'm sorry, what? Working on how to..." 

"Yeah, I'm the owner of this whole place," he proudly said. "No need to feel small, Min Jae. It's totally fine between the both of us."

My jaw dropped, unable to respond to this news. How does one react to finding out your friend's dad is the owner of Lotte World? So what is Jihoon? The heir of this magical land of wonders? Oh my gosh. 

"Look, Min Jae. I can't talk to my son as freely as you can. If you can—and I'm not forcing you—can you... can you tell Jihoon that I still love him and care for him very much? He doesn't seem to want to listen to anything I say," Mr. Lee said, letting out a frustrated sigh.