I woke up. I wasn't startled awake, or covered in a sheen layer of sweat. The dream wasn't violent enough, or the memories, too real, to disturb me to that point.
I laid there in bed, thinking, processing, analyzing everything. Then I decided that having those memories haunt me outside of a dream wouldn't do me any good whatsoever. I got up, brushed my teeth, showered, and got dressed. I figured I'd take a stroll outside. Clear my head a bit. Walk around the block, maybe buy a drink, or two, somewhere in the night.
I looked at the clock. 2.30 AM. Well, no harm in it. I knew I wouldn't be sleeping properly again, at the very least, for the remainder of the night.
Perhaps I could even go get some football training done at the nearest pitch.
As I left my room, and began walking down the corridor of the upper floor of the house, I saw that Su Ah's bedroom door was open a tiny crack, letting out a small beam of light into the otherwise pitch blackness that enveloped the hall.
As I passed by, I heard the recognizable and continuous tapping of a keyboard, along with thoughtful hums and noises.
Su Ah seemed to be writing. It was nothing too strange.
As for Mia's room, well I didn't hover around her room long enough to find out.
I made a quick stop by the garage, grabbed one of the dozens of balls I had, and made my way out. The evening breeze had a cold, nipping chill, which meant it was at that perfect, breezy temperature, but a touch colder, making the walk feel crisp and clean, which was quite the pleasant surprise considering how the the days had been.
I wished I had a car; I'd have hit the motorway while blasting music, or even just cruising along with the windows down, the stereo turned low.
While humming a tune, I let the ball drop to my feet, and began juggling while walking, balancing the ball between my feet in a one, two pattern and repeating it. As I walked, the streetlight illuminated the path with an ethereal glow.
The whole world seemed silent and slow.
I just continued, not looking where my legs carried me.
It wasn't long until I turned a corner and—
"Eeek!"
Someone slammed into me.
The ball dropped, rolling away.
There was an awkward pause between us.
"So, um..."
"Right, well, it was a nice coincidence seeing you again after some time, Dae Hee. Take care and, uh, don't stay outside for too long at this time of the night." I gave her a soft smile as I moved to pick my dear ball up. Poor baby was left there on its lonesome. I gently rolled her between my legs, then lifted it back to my hand. It fit comfortably within my palms.
"Oppa?"
I raised an eyebrow, giving her a 'hm?', not bothering turning my back to face her, already in the motion of walking away. She just seemed so bashful and unsure.
"Um..." She trailed off. There was something strange and almost wistful in her expression. Like she had something on her mind but was unsure whether she should speak it out loud. "Do you… I don't feel comfortable being on my own, do you mind if... I keep you company? If it isn't too much to ask of course."
"Are you afraid you'll be kidnapped or something?" I joked.
"No, nothing like that. I'm more concerned that... the people on this part of the town, some of them have been known to, you know—" Dae Hee bit her lip. She gestured with a vague sort of wave, trying to indicate a situation I knew she wasn't ready to verbalise. "They're the type of people that do 'bad' stuff."
"Bad stuff?" I frowned. "What kind of bad stuff?" Why have I never heard of it?
"Well..." She leaned in, hands balled into fists and an expression of pure determination and focus on her face. It would have been adorable in a normal setting. Her whisper came in a single breath. "I'm talking about, you know... sex."
"Sex..." I repeated, incredulously. My jaw dropped slightly. "Right..." Then, the absurdity of the situation, or perhaps simply the way that Dae Hee had said that, made a smile tug at the corners of my mouth and my chest shake with silent laughter.
"What? What's so funny?" Dae Hee pouted. She crossed her arms under her chest, making them jiggle.
"Nothing, nothing. Nevermind. I apologize, I think a fly found itself a home within my nose. You're not going to do... 'sex', are you?"
"Obviously no."
"Well, good to have the facts straight." I chuckled and turned my eyes towards her. She was a good half-a-head shorter than me. "Then you're welcome to tag along. Though I will probably do some football practice as well, if that's something that would bore you."
Dae Hee tilted her head, lips tugging into a shy, small smile. "No, no! I wouldn't be bored with such a thing! That would actually be wonderful!"
"Good, then. Follow along." With a small shrug, we set off together. Dae Hee kept pace beside me, her stride shorter to match mine.
I glanced at Dae Hee from the corner of my eye.
For the entirety of our walk, I had the impression that Dae Hee, who was now staring at me and smiling in an all-too-familiar way, was still musing about what to say to spark up the conversation. In her own weird way, I could almost feel a twinge of nervous energy coming from the girl. Thankfully, the pitch was within sight, and the tension didn't have to stretch on for any more prolonged period of awkwardness.
"It's closed, Oppa." Dae Hee pointed out. Her eyes had the kind of innocent, yet blunt stare, that told me she wanted to point it out, but not at all to stop whatever I intended to do. She was just making sure that we were both on the same page. The page, being 'the gate was locked shut'.
"Yes." I agreed, nodding solemnly. "It is indeed closed, as you observed."
She nodded, then tilted her head, as I began moving.
She followed suit.
We walked around the back, where one part of the fence, behind a bush, was actually wrenched open, in an almost crude manner. It wasn't so wide, but there was more than enough space for the both of us to fit in at the same time. Dae Hee sucked in a breath and her eyes lit up, but didn't voice anything, almost too shocked at the action of trespassing to even utter a word. "I come here every time. No one really gives a damn, and it's not as if there's any type of security system whatsoever. It's perfect for what it is."
We crossed to the other side.
"Isn't... isn't this illegal?" Dae Hee's voice came out as an almost whisper, and I couldn't tell if she was amused or scared. Perhaps an adorable combination of both.
"You don't need to worry. Just consider it as a grey area."
I could see her eyes going wide, and I couldn't help the small grin that spread across my lips. "So... you do this often?"
"Not as often as I used to, but on rare occasions, yes."
Dae Hee gave me a sidelong look. Her eyes lingered on me. "Hmm. You're a bad person, Oppa."
I raised a brow. "You think so?"
"Yeah, a bad, bad, boy. No good, no respect, just pure... hooliganism." She spoke in a tone that was more like someone reading off a recipe card. A bit deadpan, monotone even. There was no fire behind it.
"Ah, right. My darkest sin."
I moved further in the pitch, rolling the ball between my feet. After running around a bit, I stopped to stare at Dae Hee who stood where I left her. She was shifting uncomfortably on her heels, fidgeting and glancing between the ground and my general vicinity, her long hair framing her face. She looked way too awkward standing there, like a pole, and just as useless as one.
I sighed.
"Come here, Dae Hee, let's see if I can't teach you some of these basic football skills."