Innocence // STRAY KIDS' Han Jisung

nine

In which they have an adventure.

•☆•☆•☆•☆•☆•

You know those shots in movies or short films where there is a couple running around, usually the guy leading the way with the girl following and their hands together, and it all looks just beautiful?

Well, running while being dragged around by Jisung was certainly not Mirae's favorite thing to do.

The boy was certainly faster and more athletic than her, but she could notice he was making an effort to run to a somewhat reasonable pace. But it certainly wasn't working, because Mirae kept tripping on her own feet, constantly being on the verge of falling if it weren't for his hand that kept her running. Her back was already hurting from the constant bouncing of her bag on it, especially since the sole of her sneakers kept slapping her shoulder blades. She was actually impressed of not losing her breath.

Jisung led the way through the farthest side of the school building, sprinting through small bushes and scaring some small animals she couldn't distinguish as anything but a blurry colorful spot.

"Is it too far away?" she asked in between gasps as she jumped over another bush. "I didn't sign up for an obstacle race, you know!"

She heard him laugh out but he didn't reply back. At least he got the decency to slow down his pace, which she was thankful for; she was starting to feel sweat dripping from the sides of her face.

"We're almost there," he announced after they passed by another building. They turned around and Mirae almost fell on the grass when he abruptly stopped. "Here we are. Welcome to the best place at school!"

She responded to his huge grin with a dirty look, and just when she was about to curse at him, she looked at what was ahead of them. Her eyes widened and she gasped at the view, which made Jisung let out a chuckle.

There was a small pond a few meters away surrounded by small bushes with beautiful kinds of small flower growing out of them. The grass wasn't cut neatly, but it didn't matter; it gave the scenery a pure and natural vibe since it showed that no one care to keep it cut short like the park near the cafeteria. There were also big, strong trees raising up higher than the school building itself, providing shadow on the place and letting rays of sunlight pass through, producing beautiful shadows on the grass where the sun was blocked by the branches or leaves. She also noticed a small frog jumping around the pond and small butterflies and fruit flies flying around the place, minding their own business.

"So, did you like it?"

Mirae gasped when she felt his breath against her ear and stumbled back, almost falling on the ground. With her face red and the little dignity that was left on her, she proudly nodded her head and looked at him, noticing how hard he was trying not to laugh.

"It is really beautiful," she said and looked back at the pond. "How did you find this place?"

"I got lost when I was a freshman," he slightly chuckled and cleared his throat. "I told Minho hyung and Changbin hyung about this place—since Minho was still on school at that time, and they said this place used to be where students planted some trees for a school project that used to be mandatory. But it was dropped out since they changed it for the field trip we're going next month, and eventually this place was forgotten."

She couldn't hide her smile once he finished talking. "That sounds like a weird magic story."

"Well, this place kind of looks magical, doesn't it?" he shrugged, extending his hand out to the pond. Then, he looked at her for a moment, "Your glasses..."