"If I had known this would happen, I would have taken you when I went to buy churros. Anyway, let's sit here while we eat."
"Yes."
As soon as he sat down next to Shi-heum on the bench, Yoon-Sung put a headband on Shi-heum again.
"You're the only one suffering because of me. I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing? Because of Yeon-hee?"
"Yes."
"I don't think you should feel bad about that."
Shi-heum took a bite of the churros. The chewy and crispy bread with sugar and cinnamon powder was quite delicious, perhaps because Yoon-sung ran to the faraway place and bought it for Shi-heum.
"...It's good."
"Oh, really?"
Yoon-sung took a bite of a churros after Shi-heum recommended it. He ate it pretty quickly. Yoon-sung's lips were covered with sugar and cinnamon powder. Shi-heum thought that if he kissed Yoon-sung right now, it would taste very sweet. But he soon shook his head.
"What's up with the sudden head shake?"
After Yoon-sung asked, Shi-heum said right away that Yoon-sung's mouth was all messy from sugar.
"Come closer."
Shi-heum gently wiped Yoon-Sung's mouth with a tissue. Yoon-Sung felt a weird vibe when Shi-heum touched him over the tissue. He leaned his head on Shi-heum's shoulder as soon as Shi-heum wiped his mouth.
"Why am I already tired when I didn't do anything?"
"Then take a break here."
"Nah, I don't want to make you feel bored."
Yoon-sung tried to lift his head off from Shi-heum's shoulder. Then, when he saw himself in Shi-heum's beautiful eyes, he stopped before he could do what he was planning to do.
"What are you looking at?"
When Yoon-sung, who had just come to himself after a long time, asked Shi-heum a question.
"I saw you because you're handsome."
"What, what?"
"I definitely know how to tell handsome and not-so-handsome."
"It's not that... Hey, you shouldn't say that!"
In response to a completely different answer from the usual Shi-heum,, Yoon-Sung blushed and shouted. Shi-heum ate the rest of the churros. Then, he grabbed Yoon-sung's hand and lifted him up.
"Let's go and ride the merry-go-round."
"Yeah."
Yoon-sung went to the merry-go-round, holding Shi-heum's hand. The line for the merry-go-round, where men and women of all ages could pretty much go in without any restrictions, was pretty long. Yoon-sung and Shi-heum waited for their boarding sequence, while deciding what to do next.
"There's a festival in the square a little later. Do you want to go see it?"
"But I'd like to see the roses."
"There's a big rose garden here, right? Do you like roses? It's surprisingly romantic."
"Well, I've come all this way, so I'd like to at least see the roses."
Shi-heum was interested in seeing the roses. Not with someone else, but with Yoon-Sung.
"I heard the rose garden here won first place at a really prestigious competition."
"Yeah, so...."
"Let's take a ride of this carousel and then check out the rose garden."
After Yoon-sung spoke, Shi-heum nodded and looked at the merry-go-round, lost in thought.
"Hey, so, have you been in a place like this a lot?"
Yoon-sung put his arm around Shi-heum's shoulder and asked. Shi-heum shook his head, focusing on the weight of the arm on his shoulder.
"This is my first time at the theme park."
"Really?"
Shi-heum told Yoon-sung that he hardly ever went out, especially not to the amusement park.
"But I did make it to museums pretty regularly. With the chairman... ah."
When Shi-heum stopped talking, Yoon-sung gave him a look that said it was okay to keep talking.
"Museums... You're saying the old man only took you to boring places."
"But I liked it."
"When you're with someone you like, you can go anywhere."
"You're right."
Shi-heum looked at Yoon-Sung's hand, which was on his shoulder.
"If I get the chance, I'd love to go with you."
"Where? a museum?"
"Yes."
"I'll go with you. So, do you want to go there on summer vacation?"
After Yoon-sung said something cool, Shi-heum smiled a lot and was excited to get on the merry-go-round.
"It feels quite different when I'm colorless and when I'm colorful."
Yoon-sung told Shi-heum what he thought as they rode the merry-go-round. Shi-heum climbed the horse with Yoon-sung's help.
A merry-go-round slowly rises and falls up and down to slow music. Yoon-sung took a few pictures with Shi-heum. Shi-heum felt happy having Yoon-sung by his side.
"Oh, it was fun."
After the ride ended, Yoon-sung said to Shi-heum with a smile.
"Same here. But Yoon-sung."
"Why?"
"I know this might be a bit forward, but... I think if you have a bad memory about something, you can just cover it up with a new memory. So if you just had a lot of fun riding a carousel with me... From now on, whenever you think about the merry-go-round, I want you to think of the good times we had together, not the bad ones."
"...."
Yoon-sung gave Shi-heum a look, and smiled big.
"Yeah, I'll do what you say. Thanks for your care."
Yoon-sung said so and stroked Shi-heum's head. Shi-heum realized that Yoon-Sung was trying to look happy, but actually, he wasn't feeling it.
'I guess I said something really out of line.'
Shi-heum's presence is not big enough to cover up the wounds Yoon-sung got when he was a kid. Shi-heum thanked Yoon-sung for not getting mad at him, and then he went to the rose garden with Yoon-sung.
At the huge rose garden, where they've gathered all the world's roses, Yoon-sung walked along the path full of sweet scents while watching the colorful roses with Shi-heum.
"I had no idea the roses were this pretty. Now that we know the colors, I'm sure you'll agree, there's nothing prettier than flowers like this."
"Yeah, they're gorgeous."
"Wait, no. There's something prettier than a flower right next to me. I made a mistake."
Yoon-sung said so, and looked at Shi-heum's face for a long time. Shi-heum, who just understood what Yoon-sung was saying, blushed a lot.
"What...?"
"I really don't think I've seen anything prettier than Hyun Shi-heum."
"Hey, don't say anything weird."
"I'm not saying anything weird. I'm just telling you the truth. Anyway, since we're here, how about taking another picture?"
When Yoon-sung asked, Shi-heum took a picture with him in a friendly manner.
After touring the spacious rose garden, Yoon-sung's stomach rumbled. When Shi-heum heard the sound and asked how it was to have lunch, Yoon-sung replied with great enthusiasm, and sat down at the picnic table in the rose garden.
Today, Mrs. Min packed the lunch box for Yoon-sung and Shi-heum. The lunch box had Gimbap, chicken Gangjeong, and a bunch of different fruits.
"Hey, it's Gimbap. Mrs. Min's Gimbap is the best. So give it a shot."
Yoon-sung grabbed the Gimbap with chopsticks and brought it right up to Shi-heum's mouth. Shi-heum paused because he was embarrassed and couldn't eat the Gimbap right away. He soon ate the Gimbap that Yoon-sung handed to him with his mouth wide open.
"It's delicious."
"It's good, right? Chicken Gangjeong will be delicious, too. Mrs. Min's cooking skills are amazing."
Yoon-sung's face showed just how pleased with Mrs. Min he was. Shi-heum looked at Yoon-sung's face like that and laughed with him.