周
り
に
乗
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SUNDAY AFTERNOON was spent on a favorite pair of roller-skates and a lollipop in hand.
the cool breeze hidden under the blanket of the humid air felt even better than the pink wheels that rolled against the concrete road. the sun touched sehwi's cheeks like a soft caress, staining it a pale gold, and the wind came like whispers as she circled around her quiet neighborhood. it was only shortly after brunch, but she couldn't wait for the pink and orange hues to peek from the clouds. maybe she loved the palette of colors too much, but the pigment of roses and violets were much more preferable to her than golden hour.
sehwi didn't know how to spend her second day of summer break until she discovered the old roller-skates hidden away in the back of her garage. the sight of the pair made her reminisce of how often she picked them up and never set them down. she remembered the white skates were a little too big for her back then. she expected herself to grow into them, but the pair was soon forgotten, along with the rest of the junk in the garage. she was surprised that she was still able to fit into them 5 years later.
she almost forgot how much she enjoyed skating until that sunday afternoon. the block was as peaceful as always, children danced with their sprinklers and the sound of someone practicing their saxophone tasted better than the strawberry and cream lollipop that she swirled between her lips. the wind breezed through her skirt as her body swayed with the rhythm of the skates, felt like the coolness of a frozen pop, but it surely wasn't comparable to the salty air drifted from the sea.
she was beginning to stray farther away from her immediate neighborhood; she knew that because she could no longer see the sycamore tree that stood right near her house. in her vision was instead a small park — an empty one, at that. she couldn't hear the saxophone or the laughter of children anymore, but it was music, particularly from a cheap radio. her wheels came to a halt, and it took her long enough to recall that jeongguk lived close by.
the girl continued down the road, peeking at each of the houses to see how everyone was spending their summers. to her surprise this part of the suburbs was a lot quieter than where she lived. most of the houses she passed were either dormant or empty. not a trace of a child, no one taking care of their lawn, nothing, besides the sound of that cheap radio.
it was too muffled to make out what it was, but the sounding music reminded her a lot of what her dad listened to. and as she grew closer, she realized how familiar the melody really was.
edith piaf's la vie en rose.
in the distance stood out a lone red corolla in the midst of rows of vacant driveways. it was jeongguk's — sehwi knew that because she's ridden in it countless times with jungha — and it stood alone in its driveway. the wind in her hair picked up, along with the speed of her roller-skates and the breeze in her skirt. she was a lot closer then, found herself circling around his house, and her eyes were so glued to the upstairs window of his house that she almost missed him on his patio.
by the look of him, he was a sleepy boy, sitting shirtless on his porch swing with a book in his hand. it was most likely the scarlet letter; jungha must have recommended the book and lent him her copy. and so sehwi only stared at jeongguk, watched him yawn and run his hands through his messy hair, saw his cheeks that reflected the red carnations that bloomed in his front lawn. it was until he looked up with the bags under his eyes and caught her gaze, that the taste of honey overrode the strawberry and cream in her mouth until it was all gone.
and then the corner of his mouth curled up, and his hand rose to give her a small wave. sehwi tried to slow down, tried to come to a pause altogether, but then her skates didn't obey. instead they kept rolling, until they hit the side of the curb and sent sehwi down onto the cement pavement.
her body shifted itself, and it instantly began to sting all over. her skirt had ridden up during her fall; she could already imagine the scratches on the back of her thigh. she could see her lollipop that was once in her hand on the ground beside her, and she noticed the wound on her knee, which earned itself a groan as she tried to get herself back up. but the road was scratching against her palms, too, and everywhere for that matter.
"sehwi."
a voice came from above.
when she tilted her head up she saw jeongguk, with a worried look on his face and his hand reaching out for hers. she didn't even notice him rush over, let alone him calling her name. "are you okay?" sehwi nodded, and he picked her up, tried to manage her balance as she stood up on her skates. he noticed her struggle, and bent down to untie the pair. so her mouth dried out, and instead of rushing to disinfect the cut on her knee she's flustered at the sight of him taking off her roller-skates for her and leaving her with only socks on against the sun-soaked pavement.
her feet felt warm against the road as she walked towards his house, but it didn't come even close to how warm her face felt when she stepped inside. but then the warmness moved throughout her whole entire body when jeongguk's dog greeted her with barks and licks as it jumped against her thighs. "hi, gureumie," she greeted back.
"sit down," jeongguk pointed at his couch, "you're hurt."
he sat her down at what seemed to be his haven for the day. she could tell that it was where he was spending all of his time during his day alone, with the open bags of chips and leftover beers that were kept secret from his parents on the coffee table and a paused video game idle on the tv screen. she giggled as gureum jumped up onto the couch to sit beside her.
the music was still playing, but this time sehwi could identify where it was coming from. the radio was sitting on his kitchen counter, the volume up high and the tunes still crisp despite the cheap quality of the speakers. the music was all she could hear; not a pinch of the birds singing outside and not a hint of the airplane flying by. just the sweet sound of french lyrics being whispered into her ear. just as sweet as jeongguk pulling a shirt over his head before gathering the things from his parents' first aid kit to help patch her scars up.
and just like that, sehwi reminded herself: the boy was made of honey. they were indoors, but his skin still glistened with the glare of the sun's golden glow seeping through the blinds. she couldn't grasp how much his rose-tinted cheeks complimented his dirt eyes or how his hands could be beautiful to her but they were. just seeing him stood behind his kitchen counter revived good mornings but at the same time gave her the same feeling as looking out into the midnight ocean. when she thought of summer, she saw him.
and she loved summer.
