Page 130 of A World Apart
“A classic,” I said with a grin.
“I’ve never seen it.”
Eyebrows raised, I turned to look at him over my shoulder, but he just shrugged.
“I was very busy for many years.”
I snorted and turned back around, snuggling back against him and settling in to enjoy the movie.
“Well, what did you think?” I asked as we rolled up the blanket to take back to the stall. We’d sat through two movies, but it was getting late now and though we’d grabbed a tub of ‘Mac&Scream-Cheese’ and a cup of ‘Cauldron Soup’ to share in the intermission between ‘Scream 1’ and ‘Nightmare on Elm Street,’ I was kind of keen for home.
“Mmm.” Jihoon frowned as he considered the question. “I preferred Scream.”
“Okay, solid choice. Talk me through your reasoning.” We walked over to the stall, arm in arm, the crowds of movie-goers behind us chatting amongst themselves as they waited for the next movie to play.
“To tell you the truth, Freddy scared me too much,” he admitted, smiling as he shook his head.”
“Billy and Stu didn’t scare you?”
He made a ‘pfft’ sound. “If everyone in that movie had more common sense, no one would have died. Plus, I could outrun them very easily.”
“If people in horror movies had more common sense, it would make for a veryshort movie.”
Jihoon hummed in agreement as we returned the blanket, a different person now sat there, thankfully, as I hadn’t stopped wondering if the teen from earlier had recognised Jihoon’s voice.
Outside the gates of the park, the noise of the ramped-up nighttime activities hit us like a wall of sound. The crowd seemed to have doubled in size as more adults had come out to play. We walked down the street, now lit by neon signs and flashing lights, thumping music coming from all directions from competing sound systems, all vying for people’s attention to their particular stall.
But when we came upon one horse-box style van selling handmade figurines, we both faltered, hearing the so-familiar opening refrain of ‘Fall in Love,’ the collaboration GVibes had down in the spring with Haley. I laughed and took a step forward to move on, but Jihoon tugged me back. I looked over my shoulder at him, and though I couldn’t see more than his eyes through the mask, in the twinkling neon lights, I could see the mischief there.
He let go of my hand, took a few steps back before reaching behind him to flip on the battery pack, at once illuminating the fluorescent-coloured wires that, against the black jumpsuit in the night that had now fallen entirely, made him a multi-coloured stick-man. He began to dance, the routine from ‘Fall in Love’ coming easily to him after weeks of repetition and practice. But it wasn’t Jihoon dancing, it was a very talented stick-man.
I burst into delighted laughter as I clapped my hands. More people seemed to take notice, stopping and pointing. Some even took out their phones and pointed them in his direction, presumably recording. I felt a twinge of nervousness before I reasoned with myself that he was completely unidentifiable. I tried to relax and just go with it, after all, that stick man sure could dance.
The song ended though, and the stick-man held the final position as the dozen or so people who had stopped to watch began to clap and cheer, asking for another one. He bowed, but shook his hands before jogging back over to me. He pulled me into his arms and I felt his chest heaving as he pressed against me. I leaned up on my tiptoes, carefully rolling his mask up to his nose so I could press a kiss to his mouth. He seemed hesitant at first, probably because a few people nearby catcalled us, butthen he pulled me to him tighter, deepening our kiss. The first kiss we’d shared in public.
I melted in his arms. Out of all the overwhelming sights, sounds and smells around us, I only felt him.
Chapter 41
Knowing it was probably quicker to wait for the regular bus than wait for a taxi on Halloween weekend, Jihoon and I left the main thoroughfare of the carnival behind and headed back to the stop we’d arrived from.
On the way home, I rested my head on Jihoon’s shoulder as we both looked out the window at the night-time transformation of the city, made somehow even more vibrant in the dark of the night, illuminations chasing the shadows into the alleys we all knew instinctively to avoid.
“I wonder if I’ll be here to see all this next year.” I murmured, giving voice to the anxious uncertainty I’d blithely pushed aside for months now.
Jihoon shifted under me, but made sure not to jostle me where I had settled against him.
“You’re going to leave LA?”
“I think I’ll have to,” I sighed, briefly explaining. “The studio isn’t going to renew my contract, and without them, I don’t have a Visa.”
He was silent a moment before he said, “Where will you go?”
“Probably back to the UK, maybe London. I’m not sure yet, I haven’t made any decisions.”
“Will you miss it here?”
I thought about the question, taking my time before I answered. “I don’t think I’ll miss the city. I mean, I like it well enough, but it’s not really that much different from any other city.
