30 minutes later...
At West Ways Carnival...
"We're here," Zach says as he parks the car in a place Ara is not too familiar with.
"I didn't know Mr Sung Ho here has a thing for carnivals. I remember the last tine we went to a carnival back in middle school you were begging to go home," Ara says in a sarcastic tone.
"Believe me, I eventually found the interesting parts of it," Zach says as he unbuckles his seat-belt.
"So I guess, you grew to love it?" Ara asks as she unbuckles her seat-belt as well.
"Yeah," Zach says as he opens the car door.
"Let's go," Zach adds.
Hearing that, Ara smiles at Zach before following his action as she opens the car door.
Upon getting out of the car, the two teenagers walks to enter the crowded carnival. They weren't too surprised when they saw the crowd of people wondering around, knowing that the West Ways Carnival has only been around for a day, yet the anticipation of the hype has been around for a while. Well, other than providing fun carnival games, delicious food, and cute souvenirs, what makes the carnival extra special is the special performance from a punk-rock band.
While wondering around the crowded carnival, Zach thought about finding a place to have dinner first before they play some carnival games. In their search, they found a small stand where they sell American food such as burgers and fries.
"So what would you like to have?" Zach asks Ara as the two continues to look through the big menu hanging on top of the small desk of the cashier.
"I think I'll go with the cheese burger and some fries. And you?" Ara asks.
"I'll have the chicken burger and some fries," Zach states.
"Man, and we both actually agree that we both love french fries," Ara says with a smile, finding it cute that they both share the same love of fries.
"We have so much in common, Kim Ara," Zach says in a rather flirty tone. Little did he know, Ara began to blush a bit upon hearing his words, deep inside finding the boy to be kind of cute yet playful at the same time.
The two teenagers waited a few minutes for their order to be ready. It didn't took long for the cashier to hand them their order, in which they happily enjoy as they continue to explore the carnival. As the punk-rock bank starts playing their hottest hits, Ara and Zach didn't bother to get to lost with their performance, since they are too excited to explore the whole carnival in one night. They decided to play some carnival games, try some snacks, take cute photos at the photo booth, and even check out some souvenirs.
A few hours later...
After a few hours of exploring the carnival and simply just having some fun, Ara and Zach decided that it was time to end the day. Though both of them finally felt a bit sleepy at this point, yet the two souls felt beyond happy for the awesome night they had. Like an escape from reality, they felt like tonight they brought back the inner child in them back to live, which gave them a beautiful feeling inside. While Ara is happy that she spent a happy night with her best friend, Zach is beyond grateful inside that he is able to spent a wonderful time with the girl he had longed have feelings for.
At Ara's house...
"Ok, we're here," Zach says as he stops his car in front of Ara's house.
"Thanks for tonight, Zach," Ara says with a smile on her lips.
Seeing her sweet smile, Zach's thin lips couldn't help but form a smile as well. Under the lonely night sky, he felt like her smile shines as bright as the moon, while her eyes twinkles like the stars. Though he had always love seeing her beautiful smile, he felt like her smiles had become rare for the past few months, ever since her silent love situation towards Junghwa. He had missed her smile since the day it disappeared from her lovely face, breaking his heart every time when he could only see her sad and cry. The past few months had showed him Ara's more vulnerable side, making him realize that she's more than the sassy and strong-head girl he thought of before. Deep inside, her heart is fragile and needs extra concern to handle. During that time, Zach had comforted her during her hardest time, trying to make her smile again. After all, he knew that he wanted to be the person she will always remember, whenever she's happy or sad.
As Zach continues to stare at Ara's beauty, he found his mind starts wondering far as his gaze shifts from her brown eyes to her light pink lips. Suddenly the thought of their first "real" kiss surfaces back in his head, where they shared it at a hotel room, when both of them were living their heartache moment after attempting to be sober. Inside his heart, he is beyond happy that he is able to experience such a beautiful feeling with the girl he fell in love with. To treasure the memories and cherish the moment with the person who kept his heart awake all night is the best gift he could ever ask for in life. Sometimes he wished he could repeat that moment again and that Ara wouldn't mind. Yet, knowing that she's not ready to love again, he thought the option he has now is to wait for her to be ready and open her heart again for him.
"Zach? Are you ok?" Ara asks. She noticed that his gaze began to look lost.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Zach says as he snaps back to reality, finally finishing his daydream of a kiss with his best friend and return back to reality. He felt his cheeks starts to burn a red shade, knowing that the tension between them and his inappropriate thoughts starts to make him feel awkward.
"Are you sure? You kinda look red. Are you sick?" Ara asks.
"I'm fine. Don't worry," Zach says. "Well, it's late. You should get some sleep."
Hearing that, Ara only nodded at Zach's words. She then opens his car door and exits his car.
"Bye, Zach," Ara says as she waves goodbye at Zach from outside the car, in which he waves back before driving off to exit the neighbourhood.
Ara watched as Zach's car exits the neighbourhood, disappearing from her sight. The thought of the cheesy boy came crossing her mind, reminding her of all the fun they had tonight. She is beyond happy that they got to have some quality time as best friends tonight, having fun as if they didn't have to worry about anything else. Looking back at the past few months, she realized that Zach had always been by her side through her ups and downs. From being her shoulder to cry on whenever she felt sad regarding her unrequited love to Junghwa, to being her partner in crime in annoying the mean girls at school. Through all his wonderful traits, there were times Ara wished that she could fall in love with him. Maybe by that, she thought wouldn't need to experience anymore heartbreak, knowing if she love the person who loves her, everything might just be ok.
Zach....Sung Ho...Thank you for always being there for me. Honestly, I wish I could fall in love with you. Maybe if I did, my heart would have been in a better condition now. At least, maybe. Ara thought.
To be continue...