One Afternoon in the Park

The Stranger in the Park

Jaebum had never been one for romance, never even looked at anyone in a romantic way. He just wanted to keep to himself, because that's the way he liked it. No one to worry about, no one to have to listen to, just peace and quiet.

That is until his eyes grazed the glossy hair and glimmering eyes of the man he saw in the park that day.

His plan was just to take a walk after he needed to clear his head to write more lyrics at his studio. He never thought he'd find so much inspiration in just one specimen.

The man just sat there, in silence, sitting on a bench, the sunlight filtering through the yellow leaves of the tree behind him, creating an illuminating glow around him. His head was tilted downward, eyes consuming every word of a book in his hand, his other hand was perched at the end of his outstretched arm resting on the back of the bench, his fingers tapping lightly against the weathered wood. The fringes of dark hair that fell on his forehead danced in the breeze.

He was about 15 feet away from him and hadn't realized how long he'd been creepily staring until the man's eyes drifted up from his book and speared directly into his. Jaebum was taken aback quite literally, as he took a swift step backward and turned his entire body to the side, trying hard to look intently at nothing in particular off to the side. He swore he heard the man chuckle as he could see him stand in his peripheral vision.

Jaebum stood stiff, still staring at nothing as he heard footsteps approaching him. The sound stopped, and he could sense the man standing directly next to him, but remained fast in his position, not looking at him. The book was waved in front of his face.

"It's To Kill a Mockingbird" A low, warm voice stated.

Jaebum felt himself starting to sweat, he was terrified the man could see his face getting red.

"Hey... Isn't that what you were trying to see? You could have just asked you know. It's an old American classic, but they have Korean translated copies that you can find at a library or online."

Jaebum swore he felt sweat pooling at his forehead, despite the coolness of the autumn air. The stranger did not move from his close proximity and Jaebum panicked, unsure of what to do. He heard the man let out a bit of an annoyed sigh, so he finally forced his head to painfully turn to the left, avoiding eye contact still.

"What's your name?" Jaebum felt the words escape his lips though his brain told his mouth not to. The man's eyes widened a bit before his expression softened, a smile almost appearing but not quite.

"It's Jinyoung." The way the stranger responded was a bit uneasy.

"Oh I-I'm sorry for being so forward. I don't meet new people too often. I wasn't sure what to say to you." Jaebum's head turned back to its original position away from Jinyoung, so he could hide the red of his cheeks once again.

"It's alright.... Do I get to know your name?" There was a bit of mischief in his voice.

Jaebum's head whipped towards Jinyoung, realizing he hadn't even thought to share his own name, "Jaebum... it's Jaebum."

An actual smile spread on Jinyoung's face this time. "Well Jaebum, next time you can just ask what someone is reading if you're interested."

"Oh I wasn't" Again Jaebum's mouth spoke without his permission, and he realized how rude his tone was only after it was too late. He nearly clapped his hand over his mouth when he saw Jinyoung's taken aback expression.

"Oh...?"

"I mean, I was admiring the lighting of the rest of the park behind you, I came out here to clear my head and the sun was hitting the trees so perfectly, it was too much not to sit and take in." Jaebum pointed to the bench where Jinyoung was sitting, only to see that a cloud had rolled in front of the sun, causing the glow to fade from the park.

Jinyoung looked back at Jaebum, a laugh behind his eyes that wasn't escaping through his lips. "Well, I'm disappointed that my book was so distracting that I missed such a beautiful sight. I wish you would have let me know so I could have turned around."

"Oh, it happens often this time of day in this area."

"Then I'm surprised you were so starstruck by the view that you've apparently witnessed so much." A teasing tone soaked Jinyoung's voice. Jaebum swore he saw the man wink, but he convinced himself it was just his imagination.

"It was nice meeting you Jaebum, I'm new around here, but I certainly will be coming back. Don't be a stranger." Jinyoung waved his book in front of Jaebum's face once again before shooting a crooked smile and walking away.