near miss (1/1)

Myungsoo shivers as the heavy rain drums a steady beat against his umbrella. He nuzzles his nose into the cozy comfort of his knitted scarf. He really hated winter.No---that was a lie---he did like winter, but just not as much as summer. Nothing won against summer and its memories and her.Much too often is the phrase recycled by sappy dramas and shojo-mangas, but there was a girl that Myungsoo just could not forget. Her name was Jinae, and she was forever imprinted into the back of his mind.Myungsoo turns the street corner and sneezes as a sprinkle of raindrops lands across his face. He shakes his head a little, almost like a wet dog, then wipes his face with the sleeve of his coat with a small 'ugh.'  He thinks of particularly nothing as he waits for the bus, unconsciously fingering a frayed fringe of his backpack's strap (which weighed more from his Canon camera than his actual college textbooks.) He kind of thinks of summer and Jinae, but not really. He kind of wonders how she's doing, where she's at, doing what, with who, if she's still wearing that same smile? But again, not really. He hasn't had any contact with her for the past three years and it's as if time has gently faded the memories. You can say it's similar to how the fragrance of detergent becomes barely noticeable on a day-old shirt.Speaking of shirts, he really likes the plaid shirt that the girl in front of him is wearing. It's a big blue and white checkered one that's casually layered over a gray hoodie. Loose and baggy on the girl's petite frame, it reaches mid-thigh and she wears it almost like a minidress with black leggings underneath. It's cute. And so is the fluffy bonbon on her knitted beanie hat. (Myungsoo suppresses the urge to play with it like a kitten swatting a ball of yarn.) Oblivious to Myungsoo's staring, the said girl gently twirls her sky blue umbrella over her head as she talks to her male companion beside her. Myungsoo watches the raindrops cascade down the slowly spinning umbrella like a merry-go-round. Merry-go-round. Memories of humid summer breezes, the soft texture of a white cotton onepiece dress and the sugary scent of cotton candy suddenly fill his mind like a broken dam. "Can we go on that merry-go-round next?""That ride's for kids." Myungsoo watches as her gaze lingers on the festive golden lights and colorfully painted horses. The sweet cotton candy slowly melts and dissolves away on his tongue as a handful of silent seconds tick by. There is something foreign within Jinae's eyes that Myungsoo has only seen once in her before; nostalgia, longing, sadness, and more sadness. She wears melancholy and pain over her pretty features, as if something is pressing against a bruised, tender spot in her heart.Gazing at her pain stricken expression, Myungsoo is overcome by an urge to just hug her tight in his arms, to comfort her through his warmth because he wasn't very skilled at offering words of thoughtfulness. But they had only known each other for three days; he wasn't sure if she had opened up to him enough for him to do that. It was true that Myungsoo had totally jumped the gun when launching this relationship---he had crossed the line by too far at first meeting for them to start off as merely friends---but he still felt that he should respect her personal pace in deepening their connection."Let's go on it." Myungsoo would do anything to brighten her expression; he usually had a very stubborn personality but if it was for Jinae's sake, bending his will seemed even easy."No, it's fine.""No, if you want to, we should. We have plenty of time tonight, anyways."Jinae steps closer to him, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips, albeit appearing a bit forced. But it's a smile nonetheless and it makes Myungsoo's lovesick heart skip a beat. The way those pink lips softly curved upwards to reveal pearly teeth. The way her chocolate brown eyes crinkled into crescents and sparkled brightly like crystals under the moonlight. It all drove Myungsoo crazy. A good kind of crazy.(Instead of falling in love all over again by her smile, what he should have realized was that her eyes glittered like that because of unshed tears.)"Nah, I changed my mind. I came here with you to have fun, not mope around about things that can't be retrieved."Myungsoo hesitates a bit but shrugs, then nods. He wonders what she was talking about (he'll ask later), but shoots her a sincere smile anyway and reaches for her hand. He had worried and fretted the entire day over the timing of when he should take the initiative to hold her hand, but at the next moment, all uncertainties vanished into the summer breeze. When her slender, warm fingers curled shyly around his in a welcoming response, everything felt so natural, so right. He never wanted to let go, and he was sure she felt the same way too. The awaited bus rumbles down the street and Myungsoo snaps out of it. Gripping his backpack's shoulder straps with nearly frozen fingers (he should have brought gloves), he takes one big step back from the edge of the sidewalk."Ah!" The girl exclaims as the vehicle's tires splash water onto her boots. Myungsoo can only see her backside because he's standing behind her, but he pictures a pout on the stranger's face."Hahaha! That's what you get for stealing my cherry tomatoes during breakfast!" The guy laughs with a teasing finger pointed at her now dripping boots. Myungsoo hypothesizes that this dude is her boyfriend."Yah, you don't even like tomatoes!""I do now that I heard they boost your stamina.""You don't work out at all, Chen. You're such a lazy ass you'd wait for an elevator even if the world is ending," the girl deadpans as she steps onto the bus. With a beep, she scans her pass card and bows a greeting to the driver as her companion follows suit.Myungsoo almost trips on the slippery bus steps when the guy, supposedly called Chen, replies cheekily, "Last night's bedtime activities sure do count as good exercise.""Y-Yah!" The girl whips around to punch her boyfriend in the arm, but Myungsoo hurriedly shuffles away from the two. He can clearly envision a tomato-red blush on the girl's unseen face but he doesn't bother to linger around to see it; it was way too early in the morning to deal with some couple's bold (public *cough cough*) flirting. PDA was a real pet peeve of Myungsoo's, even though he once delved in the guilty pleasure of it himself. His thoughts drift back to Jinae, once again. "Hey, what are you---mmph!!!"Myungsoo seals her words off with a brave, forceful kiss against her mouth. Jinae still tasted like chocolate fudge from the icecream they just finished a few minutes ago, but there wasn't a single hint of coolness left from it. The kiss was warm, hot, fervent and fiery. The small group of guys that were sitting around the back of the bus cough uncomfortably, and Myungsoo smirks smugly into the kiss. He didn't like how their eyes had latched hungrily onto her sun-kissed body, which wasn't really covered up much in just jean shorts, a bikini top and an open hoodie cardigan hanging off her shoulder. Their gazes ignited a fire of possessiveness within him, and hence this sudden, quick public make out on the bus to show the whole world that she was his, and his only. "W-What was that for?" Jinae asks breathlessly as they hop off the bus at their destination (after receiving a dirty look from the old bus driver). Myungsoo just gives her a big, wide, almost childish smile that makes it hard for Jinae to process in her mind that this adorable-looking boy in front of her is the same aggressive man that had just smooched her right in front of an audience back on the bus. "You know you liked it too."  With a sigh, Myungsoo quietly takes his usual seat in the very back left corner of the bus. After slinging his backpack onto his lap, he leans his head against the cool bus window. He doesn't plug in his earphones today. Instead, he half-heartedly listens to that couple chatter to themselves about nothing, really. They sit side by side together in the seats a few rows in front of him, and somehow their voices sound familiar to him. (He doesn't care enough to realize that he only actually knows the girl's.) Soon enough, their voices tune out of his consciousness as he stares blankly at the gray cityscape that passes by. Clear raindrops splatter against the glass and streak diagonally downwards like falling stars.