Ivory (Sequel to Porcelain)

Chapter 18: I'll Show You

Our walk ended up taking us to a small park twenty minutes or so away from all the shops. I wondered if I should send my mom a text letting her know where we'd gone, but then I remembered the way she abandoned me, trying to play matchmaker. Knowing her, she'd probably be ecstatic to know that Minwoo and I had walked all this way by ourselves. She was probably hiding in the store's bathroom or something, not even buying anything, just to ensure we'd have alone time. The thought made me snicker.

Minwoo looked over at me, a tiny smile forming on his lips. "What?"

"Nothing," I said. "Just thinking about something crazy my mom did."

Standing next to me at the entrance to the park, Minwoo giggled. "Oh. Hey, you wanna go in here? I see they have a swing set. I love swings."

"Me too!" I grinned. "When I was little, I used to have competitions with my cousins to see which one of us could swing the highest."

"Who won?"

"Me, of course. I was a swinging champion back in those days." I smiled at him, enjoying how pleasant and comfortable it was to talk to Minwoo. It was nice being able to converse with someone and not have a palpitating heart the entire time. Of course, I couldn't speak for him. His face was still tomato red.

We entered the park, which was cool and shady thanks to all the tall leafy trees surrounding the small space. We passed by a gazebo, under which a few elderly people were sitting and relaxing. Moving further into the park, we encountered couples taking a slow, romantic stroll; college-age girls having a picnic on the grass; and loud children having the time of their lives on the playground. Minwoo and I joined them, plopping down in two adjacent swings.

Minwoo threw me a side grin, a slightly savage curve of his lips. "So, what do you say to a friendly competition?"

I laughed. "I say, I hope you're not a sore loser!" Then at once, I kicked off, using my feet to propel myself forward into the air. I swung back, tucking my legs under, just as Minwoo surged into the air beside me. I observed him out of the corner of my eye, determined not to let him snatch my title of swinging champion. I was getting higher and higher, but so was he.

But then a great thing happened. Great for me, not for him. I watched as he leaned further back to make himself go higher, and gravity caught the spotless white snapback on his head. It flew off, falling down, right to the dirt below us.

"No! My hat!" Minwoo cried, slowing down at once. He came to a complete stop and practically dove out of the swing, eager to reach his hat. But it was too late, the pristine white cap was white no more.

I grinned and declared, "I win!" After my swing had slowed and halted perfectly, I stood up and giggled down at the sight before me. Minwoo was crouched down, gazing down at his hat with a truly distraught look on his face.

"Sorry about your hat," I said, bending down in front of him. He looked up at me and gave me a pouty look.

"It looked so good on me," he lamented.

"Well, you should've known better than to take on the Queen of the Swings."

He shook his head at me, an amused grin fighting its way onto his face. "You make it hard to be upset about anything. Normally I'd shed a tear over one of my hats getting ruined like this. But I can't stop smiling around you."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks."

All the sudden, a confused look crossed Minwoo's face and he straightened up hastily, looking around.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Did you hear that? It sounded like music coming from somewhere."

I strained my ears, trying to hear above the squeals, shouts, and high-pitched laughter coming from the kids around us. It was very faint, but the sound of upbeat hip-hop music accompanied by cheers and applause reached my ears, drifting from somewhere behind us.