Page 50 of A World Apart
Looking up, I saw Youngsoo hand Jihoon a cap and a pair of dark sunglasses, which he promptly put on. I cocked my head to the side, trying to see past the accessories. I mean, I knew it was Jihoon so I could tell it was him, but if I didn’t know, or I wasn’t looking for him, I wouldn’t be able to tell. He was just a guy wearing Ray-Bans, a Cubs cap and nondescript baggy clothes. He looked like any other 20-something you might find hanging out in Santa Monica.
“What do you think?” he said.
I nodded my approval., “You’ll do.” He smirked and opened his door, the bright sunlight making me raise my hand up to cover my eyes.
“Miss Thompson,” Youngsoo pulled my attention back to him, and away from the way the sun framed Jihoon like some sort of religious idol. Youngsoo held out a pair of mirrored shades to me.
“For me?” I said, surprised at the gesture.
He shrugged, as if embarrassed. “Just in case,” he said, not elaborating on what the ‘case’ might be.
I gratefully accepted the sunglasses and opened my side door, stepping out into the bright sunshine of LA in April.
Chapter 19
“Waaa,” Jihoon exclaimed drawing out the sound as we walked up the steps leading us to the pier. From here we could see the Ferris wheel and the yellow coaster about half-way down the pier.
I'd come here with Becka when I'd first moved to LA and I'd had a similar reaction.
The UK doesn’t really have anything quite like this. There’s Blackpool Pleasure Beach but I’m not sure the Wild Mouse compares to an actual roller-coaster on a pier.
All the way up the pier to the Pacific Park there are food stalls, games stalls and arcades. I watched with pleasure as Jihoon’s eyes darted from side-to-side, trying to take it all in.
“What do you want to do first?” I asked, looking up at him, enjoying the way he seemed so excited.
“Everything!” he grinned and grabbed my hand, guiding us towards the arcade.
It seemed like we played on every single machine in that arcade at least once. Jihoon absolutely destroyed me on the basketball hoops game, but I got him back when we went head-to-head in Commando Shooter.
He poured an absolute fortune in quarters into those coin-pusher machines, and didn’t seem even remotely bothered when his only reward was a keyring and a couple dollars in change.
We were both giddy as we stepped out of the arcade and back onto the pier, squinting in the bright light of the morning sun.
It was still early enough that there weren’t too many people milling about, but I did notice how Jihoon hastily put his mirrored sunglasses back on and gave his cap a slight tug. He flashed a smile at me before asking, “Roller-coasters?”
“Heck yeah!” I agreed happily, and together we began walking down the pier again. Our pace was unhurried, and we often paused to look at this or that. Jihoon stood, mouth agape in front of a sugared doughnut vendor. The smell wafting from the fryer could probably have coaxed Snow White out of her glass coffin. I handed over a couple bucks in exchange for a paper bag dotted with fresh grease spots, the heat from the sugary treats inside almost burning my fingers. Gingerly, I tore off a chunk, steam coiling into the air.
“Want some?” I asked, playfully. I expected him to take it from me, but to my surprise − and some illicit delight − he leaned forward and bit the morsel from my fingers, his lips brushing my fingertips. Straightening up, his mouth quirked in a smile even as he chewed. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I knew he was watching me, so I feigned indifference as I tore off my own bite sized chunk and popped it into my mouth, before running a fingertip around my lips to catch any sugar there and then licking my finger… slowly.
Jihoon coughed and then turned away, hitting his chest with his fist as if his bite had gone down the wrong way.
“Okay?” I asked, coming up behind him and putting my hand lightly on his back, not failing to notice the way his muscles flexed under my hand.
“Hot,” he gasped, clearing his throat again.
I turned away to hide my smile.
Eventually, we made it up the pier to Pacific Park, where we both ‘oohed, and ahhed’ over the rides. Luckily, the queues were so short we managed to get on pretty much everything we wanted at least once. I almost puked from laughing so hard when we went on Shark Frenzy. Jihoon insisted we ride in the great white shark, of course, but we were both completely unprepared for how much we were going to get thrown around as we rotated around the track. We kept sliding into each other, apologising profusely and then it would keep happening until we just stuck together and slid side-to-side. Eventually Jihoon put his arm around me and held me so tightly I forgot to feel self-conscious.
It was mid-afternoon by the time we finally got round to queuing for the Ferris wheel, after I’d said no to going on the Plunge ride again. I’m not sure my stomach could take another go, and besides, the crowds were getting thicker by now, pressing in on us as we moved throughout the compact park.
Jihoon had been quiet as we stood in line and as we finally stepped into our own pod, I turned to him and asked if he was okay.
“I saw some girls,” he said, looking out over the crowd. “I think they might have recognised me.” His jaw was clenched tight, and he was fiddling with the hem of his shirt, practically radiating worry.
“Did they take pictures?” I discreetly looked out over the crowd − now some feet below us, trying to see if anyone was pointing in our direction, but I couldn’t see anything.
“I don’t think so.” He sighed. “I just wanted one day.”
