silver lining » wonwoo

six;

The pair seated side by side in the nearest playground, scooping spoonfuls of ice cream that was in their hands, not letting it melt to the ground. Silence floated in the air, yet both of them didn't mind for they were too enjoying the simplest pleasure they could find at the moment. Though, as the ice cream slowly disappeared, leaving only the cone, Yiseul was starting to get uneasy. Every time she tried to make a conversation with him, he always seemed uncomfortable, and this time she didn't want him to feel that way. Thus, it was a doubt for her to decide where or how to start. She felt like drawing for a lottery. If luck was on her side, she would get him to open up.

"Is this about what Soonyoung told you earlier?" Yiseul looked up, surprised to hear his sudden question. Rather than upset knowing his friend had spilled his secret, he looked quite sorrowful to her.

"He didn't tell me that much," she answered, her hands fiddling on her lap. A pang of guilt engulfed her for wanting to know what seemed to be his deepest secret. "I know I have crossed the line, I'm sorry. I just thought I could help in some ways."

Silence took over the situation since the two of them got lost in their own thoughts. The only thing heard was the squeak of the swing set that was getting old. It had been there since she was a child, and she thought it either needed to be replaced, or more lubricants. Whatever it was, Yiseul realized that she was running out of topic to think or talk about. She even forgot the reason why she asked him to have ice cream in the first place. It was probably because she tried to make him tell her about what he was dealing with, which made her feel somewhat pathetic. No matter how sincere she was trying to help, there were things that just couldn't be helped, and a line that couldn't be crossed. Wonwoo's problem was one of them.

"It's weird, don't you think?" Wonwoo let out a bitter laugh. When she took a glance at him, he was looking up at the cloudy sky painfully, like it had something he was longing for. "To be scared of amusement park? A place where people have fun and relieve their stress, yet I get anxious just by the mention of it. Sometimes, I want to get over it and be back to normal. But it's not as easy as I thought, although people keep telling me it's a piece of cake."

Her chest felt burdened after those words left his mouth. It seemed as if his wound was deeper than it appeared. And Yiseul felt bad for ever bringing it up intentionally for the sake of her own curiosity. She wished she knew it earlier, so he wouldn't have to be reminded of the old pain and suffering all over again.

"If you want to know, I will let you," his surprising statement could only make Yiseul grip the swing chain tighter. As much as she wanted to apologize, her throat just didn't let her to voice her words. She felt too bad to even say anything. "But not now, nor will it be in the near future."

*

Ever since Wonwoo had got her a new keychain, he had never showed up in front of her again. Sure, he was still as friendly, despite the fact that he wasn't the kind of person who smiles a lot, but it made her agitated to notice that he was distancing himself from her. Their interaction was limited to greet each other in class, and that was all. Yiseul even hung the cute fox keychain from him on her bag in hope that he'd notice, but he didn't make any comment about it. Had she acted too reckless to cause a gap between them?

"Stop thinking about it," Daeun nudged her gently, yet Yiseul looked like she could've collapsed at the moment. "You act like it's the biggest deal in the century!"

Yiseul sighed in defeat as she dragged her feet through the hallway. She didn't even have PE or any other exhausting subject, but thinking about what might've gone wrong left her with no energy. Yet again, Daeun was right in her say. It was Wonwoo they were talking about, there was a chance that he was just being himself, and not avoiding her just like she thought. Still, though, something about it just felt dreadful.