“Hair, check. Makeup, check. Outfit…ok,” I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. I looked at my watch and it read 5:55. I grabbed my bag off my chair and went down the stairs. Halfway down, I heard the doorbell ring.
“I’ll get it!” I opened the door to see L.Joe smiling. “Perfect timing,” I smiled.
My parents came out and smiled at us.
“How long will you guys be out for?”
“I’ll make sure to have Na Eun home by 10,” L.Joe said.
“Ok,” they chuckled, “don’t do anything else, you two.”
“Mom! It’s just the festival….”
After saying bye to my parents, we went on our way to the festival.
“Sorry about my parents,” I said.
“Haha, that’s fine.”
The rest of the walk there was us playing around, teasing each other. We finally got there, and the place was crowded. There were families, couples, friends; everyone was there to have fun. Chunji and I went every year. There were food stalls, game stalls, and a Ferris wheel overlooking the festival. Lights glowed everywhere followed by laughter and screaming. I absolutely loved the festival. It just makes everything so much more joyful. L.Joe and I decided to go around, playing every game there was. After hours of trying to knock down bottles and such, we decided to go back home.
“Hey, how about that machine where you try to get the stuffed animals?” L.Joe pointed.
“Sure. You sure you can get one?”
“You’re on,” he smirked.
We went over to the machine and he inserted a coin in. The machine came to life, and L.Joe grabbed the steering handle and maneuvered it around the cage. After going back and forth, I thought he was never going to get one. Surprisingly, he lowered the claw and managed to swiftly grab onto the teddy bear in one try.
“What’d I tell you,” he smirked.
“Impressive,” I smiled.
“Here, for you.” He handed me the bear and I smiled shyly at him.
“Thanks,” I beamed, “I’ve never gotten any of these before.”
“Chunji never gave you one?”
“He failed every time he tried…”
“Well, I guess I’m better than him. What can I say?” I laughed and nudged him to the side.
We were walking out of the festival when Chunji and Soo Jung walked towards us. I stopped and quickly dragged L.Joe to walk the other direction.
“Wait!” Chunji yelled.
I ignored him and kept walking at a brisk pace.
Chunji held onto my wrist and turned me around. He stared into my eyes, and for some reason, I couldn’t let my eyes stray away from him.
“Na Eun-ah, we need to talk.”
********************
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said, still not facing Chunji.
“Why are you avoiding me? You don’t answer any of my texts or my calls. What’s going on?”
“I’ve just been really busy lately…that’s all.”
“And you have time to hang around with L.Joe?”
I turned around and looked at him. “At least he has time for me.”
