Jungkook had returned to the park the next day at the same time in the hope that he would find her again. He set off down the path, his eyes searching every direction for her. He had walked through the entire park in a futile attempt to find her. Disappointed, he turned and headed for home. His smile could not be seen today.
—
The next morning, he had woken up an hour earlier than usual. He was determined to get to the park early today, in case she normally walked her dog at an earlier time. He pulled a baseball cap over his hair and put on his favorite sunglasses. He hadn’t taken such precautions the other day, and a group of girls had chased him for several blocks, the song “Run” playing in his head the whole way.
The sun was brightly shining once again. As he entered the park, walking along the cement path, he heard a dog bark. Then a clear, feminine voice called, “Twenty-two, come here!”
Jungkook’s heart soared. She was here!
He turned toward the sound of her voice and saw her behemoth of a dog bounding towards him once again. Jungkook looked quickly around, but there was no cover. This dog was about to smash him to the ground again. Some corner of his mind began to laugh as it recognized that his brothers would be getting a kick out of this if they could only see him now. He was often pounding them into the ground or picking them up and carrying them around. They would find it funny that he had finally met his match in an overly enthusiastic, enormous puppy.
Jungkook braced himself for the incoming, furry bullet. When it hit him square in the chest, he fell backward, laughing this time. That huge, slimy tongue covered his face once again. Unfortunately, when he’d begun laughing, Jungkook had opened his mouth, so the dog had deposited a gift inside. When Hyejin came to a stop over him, he was spitting violently.
As Hyejin ran towards Jungkook, she gazed down at the beautiful, laughing boy and sighed. It was him! He’d found her again. When she stood still over him, he was expectorating excessively and wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his shirt.
“Twenty-two, you are a bad boy! You must learn to listen to me! You attacked this poor boy again!”
She knelt down next to Jungkook, a sad smile on her face. “It seems I owe you yet another apology. I am so sorry. I’d like to say that he doesn’t usually attack people with puppy love like this, but he does it all the time! And he’s so big, I can’t control him!”
Jungkook smiled up at her. He was so happy to see her again. Even if it meant he’d had to receive a kiss from her dog. Then he spoke, “Would you like some help?”
She stared down at the gorgeous guy lying next to her. His dark locks had fallen towards the back of his head. His entire forehead was exposed to her view. She was stunned by its beauty. He had a mole on the right side directly below his hairline. She gaped at that brow for a moment. Then she made the mistake of glancing down into those fascinating, obsidian orbs. And all the breath left her body again.
He’d asked her a question, but she couldn’t seem to recall it. So, she just continued to lock eyes with him. Waiting for something. What?
Jungkook watched the gorgeous girl bending over him. Did she realize her face was oh-so-slowly inching its way towards his? Come on, just a bit farther. That’s it. Keep coming.
He could help her out if he’d just lean up on his elbow a bit. He decided to do it. Unfortunately, as he began to sit up, Twenty-two took it as an invitation to claim another kiss for himself.
This horror was followed by another session of sleeve wiping mouth after savagely spitting.
“Twenty-two!” Her voice full of rebuke, the lovely lady spoke again.
“Please,” Jungkook exclaimed, “tell me why you named that dog ‘22’! It’s been bugging me for two days!”
“Oh!” she smiled. “That’s easy. He weighed twenty-two ounces at birth.”
Jungkook blinked. That was it?
“Do you name all your pets by their birthweight?”
She considered his question for a second before replying, “No. Actually, Twenty-two is the only pet I’ve ever had. But I don’t think I’d use the same strategy to name my next one.”
“No? What strategy would you use?”
She got a mischievous twinkle in her eye as her lips curved in a lop-sided grin. “I think I’d use his length next time.”
Jungkook snickered, “What if he was 22 inches long? Then you’d have two pets with the same name.”
She grinned. “Hadn’t thought of that. Well, George Foreman named all his sons George, so I supposed I could have two dogs named ‘Twenty-two.’”
She was showing off the two perfect rows of her tiny, straight teeth.
“Does that mean that your name is ‘22’ also?” Jungkook asked her, laughing.
Confused, she frowned at him momentarily before releasing a tinkling peal of laughter. “That was a good one! No, my name is Hyejin.”
Hyejin. Her name was like a hot cup of tea on a cold, winter day. Or a sweet spring breeze ruffling the leaves on the trees. It reminded him of the smell of winter, one of his favorite things. His mind began to compose a song for her without even trying.
“Your name means precious and bright.” His grin was dazzling. She might have been blinded by it if the tear in her eye hadn’t acted as a protective shield against its glow.
It also means rare intelligence, she thought, wryly. Though it was nice that he had chosen to major on her being valuable and a shining light. Too many people overinflated her worth based on her IQ. She was so tired of people believing they knew who she was because they had seen her name in flashing lights at school or read her test scores. She was more than mathematical computations and satirical essays. She had a heart and a soul. She loved well. She was compassionate and kind. She adored singing. She cherished every opportunity to release her heart through a song. Though no one else seemed to value the voice she’d been given. Just once she wanted to touch someone with her voice. Would someone please hear her?
🐝