Still holding her close, Namjoon whispered against her lips, “Was I your first kiss?”
Why was his heart beating so fast in his chest? Blood was rushing loudly into his ears too. Why did her response mean so much to him?
Their lips still touching, Breeze murmured, “Yes.”
His heart flew off into outer space. Is this what it felt like when Jungkook flew over an audience? If it was, no wonder he found the courage to do it over and over again! Namjoon’s lips split into a wide grin, flashing his dimples at her. She drew slightly away, so she could see them. She reached up and kissed one of them. Then the other. Namjoon kept grinning at her.
The problem was he wanted to keep holding her. He wanted to keep kissing her. He could see where that could lead to trouble after a while, though. So he kissed her one more time: he just couldn’t resist! Then he slowly disentangled himself from her and reached down to take her hand as he remembered they’d ridden bikes here. He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. They had to return the bikes in twenty minutes. So he walked her to her bike then bowed with a flourish.
“Your noble steed, milady.”
Breeze giggled as she reluctantly let go of his hand to climb onto her bike. Away they went, streaming through trees while they were kissed by sunlight, a delightful breeze blowing her hair back. It was one of those golden moments in life, the kind they would remember forever. Both of their hearts were singing with a perfect joy right now, and they both wanted to hang on to it. So after returning the bikes, their hands intertwined and they walked a path for a while in sweet silence. Finally, they returned to his eomma’s house.
—
That evening they walked back to Ilsan Lake Park in the dark. Namjoon was being mysterious. He was carrying a picnic basket in one hand along with a blanket under that arm. His other hand was cradling her own and swinging her arm back and forth while they walked.
“I have something special to show you,” Namjoon smiled at her. The lights overhead illuminated the dimple lines that appeared. As her feet came to a stop under the light, she twisted to reach up and lay her fingertip over that adorable wrinkle in his cheek. He took advantage of the moment and bent to leave a quick peck on her nose.
“Joonie!” She was laughing.
“Fair’s fair. You touched my face. I get to touch yours.”
“Yes, but I touched you with my finger! You used your lips!”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you complaining?”
No. She was inwardly melting, actually.
“Oh, all right,” he sighed and reached up to slide his finger down her cheek.
A million tingles were sent flying down her nerve endings. Great. Now her knees seemed to be melting too. While she still had strength in them, she got up on her tiptoes and kissed his other dimple.
“Now we’re even.” Her breath slid over his lips.
Their faces still a breath from each other, Namjoon asked, “Can we play this game again? Right now?”
She laughed and pulled away. “No! You said you were going to show me something.”
Ah, yes! Now he remembered. He grabbed her hand and began to pick up his pace. After several minutes of walking, they arrived at their destination. Breeze looked up to see a glorious fountain, its waters lit up from within as they arced gracefully through the air before depositing themselves into a crystal pool that was also radiating with light.
He stopped and spread the blanket out on the ground. He set the picnic basket down and then with a little bow and a flourish of his right hand, he smiled at Breeze and asked in his best British accent, “Milady, would you like to have a seat?”
Breeze laughed and sat down. He joined her on the blanket.
“What’s in there?” she questioned, tilting her head towards the picnic basket.
“In here? Oh, it’s nothing…”. His eyes twinkled at her as he feigned innocence.
She reached over and opened the basket and started laughing. It was full of cinnamon Turtle chips.
“Joonie!” She was gasping for air she was laughing so hard. “How many chips did you think I could eat?”
He slid his hand into the basket and withdrew a bag, handing it to her. Then he set the basket on the other side of himself. She was giggling now.
“Joonie, are you planning to eat all those by yourself?”
He gave one decisive nod of his head as he declared emphatically, “Yep.”
“Did you bring anything to drink?”
He nodded as he dug down to the bottom of the basket. He unearthed bottled water, Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, and root beer.
Breeze laughed again. “How long are we staying here tonight?” She studied the array of drinks set before her. “How did you know I like root beer and Dr. Pepper?”
He shrugged. “You mentioned both of them in your book.”
“I did?”
“Yep. Two separate letters. So,” he glanced at the line of drinks, “what kind do you want tonight?”
Tonight felt like a root beer kind of evening, so she reached for that kind. Namjoon grabbed a Coke and put the rest back in the basket. Curious, Breeze opened her bag of cinnamon chips.
“What are these?”
“Only the most delicious chips on earth. Try one.” He lifted his chin in a quick movement toward her bag of crunchy snacks.
She popped one into her mouth, and her eyes grew wide. Then her face broke into a smile as she chewed the yummy snack. “These are really good!”
He nodded as he crammed three chips into his mouth.
“Joonie! Take your time! Savor them.”
“Have you seen how many I have to eat tonight?” He waved his hand teasingly towards the basket while his eyebrows flew towards his golden hairline.
Breeze snickered. “Oh, Joonie!” She shook her head at his silliness. But really! He’d brought enough snacks for an ARMY. Were they expecting guests?
Just then music began to play, and the singing fountain began to change colors. What had once been a crystal-clear flow was transforming from a passionate pink into a youthful yellow into a glittering green into a bright blue. The water rose and fell in graceful arcs and was lit up by an ever-changing array of various colors. Breeze watched as many streams of water soared skyward as they were lit up by an inner blue light. A moment later, the color shifted to a glowing red as the streams plunged downward to be replaced by yellow shafts of watery light that flew outward in bold arches. The fountain was bordered by a small waterfall that ran the length of it. Breeze watched as this ever-flowing fountain changed from a subtle orange to a radiating purple to a glimmering green to a brilliant yellow. As these gleaming arcs of colored light danced before her eyes, her ears were serenaded by a delightful tune.
Her eyes round, she turned towards Namjoon and murmured, “Do they play any BTS songs?”
He smiled secretively at her. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see…”
She punched him lightly on the top of his arm.
“Ow!” He exclaimed in mock pain. He rubbed his bicep. “Be careful of these muscles. I’ve been working out with Jungkook. You might regret it if you hit me very hard. You’re likely to bruise your hand!”
She looked up at him as a snicker escaped her lips. He had been grinning, his darling dimples on display. But as he heard the mocking mirth escaping her mouth, he scowled at her. “If you’re not careful, you may find yourself trapped between these two strong arms.”
Hmm. There was no place she’d rather be. But she demurred, “Ok. I’ll behave myself then.”
Disappointed, Namjoon hung his head. “You mean, you don’t want to be imprisoned by my arms again?”
She smiled at him. Then she leaned her head towards his until she was about six inches from him. “Maybe just a little…” she tormented him.
He grinned at her and leaned towards her lips, intending to kiss her again. After all, they had only four more days together before the real world would invade their lives again.
“Joonie!” A familiar voice assailed his ears followed by five more. Namjoon and Breeze were suddenly assaulted by a cacophony of “Namjoonie!” and “Joonie!” and “Namjoon Hyung!”