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For what felt like the 5th time I drove along the same road while I was stressed with the navigation on my phone. "Where is this stupid hotel?". I looked alternately at my screen and outside at the many skyscrapers. It was a miracle that I hadn't had a car accident yet.
Quick reminder to you, Hyeona. Don't drive downtown in rush hour traffic anymore. Especially not as a novice driver. I didn't even want to know the liters of sweat I had dropped in the last 30 minutes.
"THERE IT IS!" I suddenly shouted out loud as I saw an underground parking garage to my right, with the name of the hotel written in capital letters on the building above.
How could I have missed that the last four times?
Without further ado, I steered into the underground garage and parked the car in a space.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and checked to see if Heeseung had responded to my last message.
âI'm waiting downstairs in the car park"
Searching, I stretched my head in all directions, I couldn't find him. Therefore, I unceremoniously got out of the black car and decided to text him again.
I was just about to start tipping, as suddenly a picture popped up in our chat. A picture of myself busy with my phone, exactly at the point where I am standing right now.
âOn time as always". His voice right in front of me made me startle.
I quickly stowed my phone back in my jacket pocket while admiring his outfit for a few seconds. Dressed completely in black, a leather jacket over the hoodie made him look both cool and classy at the same time.
He walked straight up to me and offered a hug, which I hesitantly returned.
"I know I'm making you speechless, but how about a hello?". He chuckled in my ear.
Damn, my heart was beating against my chest. Why couldn't I have it under control for once.
He took a step back and looked at me with his head tilted. My mouth was as dry as the Gobi Desert. I could hardly get a word out. What the hell had happened to me overnight? I was as nervous as on our first date.
Heeseung seemed to notice it and broke away laughing. âAlso, since when do you have a car?".
âIt's not mine. It's Kathy's.", I pressed out quickly and noticed how these words loosened my tension a little. âBut I passed my drivers license.".
âOh really!? You don't say! I really would have expected you to drive illegally.". I chuckled awkwardly and stepped into the car. I was absolutely not quick-witted today.
Had this damn spicy dream from last night thrown me off my game so much? I couldn't even look at him without my thoughts circling around it again.
Heeseung sat down on the passenger seat, eying me suspicious while I tried to steer out of the parking space.
âAre you nervous?".
My heart almost skipped a beat. âI know it's obvious.", I replied.
âCute.", he propped his arm on the window and stared out while I was trying to keep myself calm.
âYou know, if you want to stop somewhere so I can continue driving, let me know.", Heeseung grinned.
Since I had gradually had enough of his comments, which were practically melting me away, I punched in his direction a few times. "Shut up now, idiot.".
He chuckled and fortunately kept his mouth shut for the rest of the ride
***
After about a 30 minutes drive, we reach the large parking lot of the Vancouver observatory. At the entrance stood a huge statue made of metal, in the shape of a rocket. After we bought the tickets, we had to go through a door, behind which it was almost pitch black. Only on the ceiling and on the floor were small dots shining, which were probably supposed to represent stars. We followed the little arrows on the floor until it gradually became brighter. Finally, we landed in a large lobby crowded with people. Nevertheless, it was quiet. Like in a library.
In the middle of the room was a construction of our solar system, moving slowly in a circle and captivating little children's eyes.
On the ceiling was a large digital board that described the routes to the various museums and shows.
I turned to Heeseung questioningly. "What do you want to do?
He seemed to think for a brief moment. "Space museum and star theater?".
I nodded in agreement.
The tour of the space museum took about 2 hours. Along the way, you could sit in small rooms and watch short documentaries, see original parts of rockets, try on a spacesuit, and even enter a weightless room for a few minutes.
Yawning, I walked through the small swinging door that signaled the exit. "I'm so tired. Who knew 2 hours of running could be so exhausting.".
"And I'm hungry," Heeseung objected, which made me laugh.
"We can grab something on the way home. I'm sure some snacks bar or restaurant will still be open.".
Even though I was really tired, I was excited to see what exactly was waiting for us in the star theater. I can still remember spending hours there as a child, listening to the movie on the ceiling with the soft music.
An employee opened two large black doors in front of us, and a group of about 30 people entered the huge hall. At the moment, everything was still dark and only small lights on the floor illuminated the area.
We waited a moment until the first people passed us and determinedly reserved the best seats for themselves.
There were plenty of loungers in this room, so if you lay down on them, you had a perfect view of the ceiling.
Since some people were already lying down comfortably on it, I also went to find a free one. "What about this one?", I tilted my head. Heeseung didn't answer, but just flopped down on it with a relieved sigh. He must have been just as exhausted from the long walk.
I lay down next to him on the wide couch with a grin and waited for the movie to start. However, the next few minutes nothing happened. There was an uncomfortable silence and no one dared to speak.
"Is this normal?". Heeseung suddenly scooted closer, so that only I was able to hear his voice.
Quietly, I whispered back. "I have no idea, the last time I visited something like this was...".
"Ohhhh!!!"
The groan of the crowd made me cut my sentence off as suddenly the ceiling was brightly filled with purple, blue and pink clouds.
Since Heeseung's question was thus answered, I turned back with a smile and also watched the animated starry sky. A soft music started, and a film began to run, as if we were the scientists in a spaceship exploring the universe.
We flew past all the planets, directly at the blazing sun and then for a while further and further away from the light until it became increasingly dark. The spaceship stopped and turned once 180 degrees around, so that now a spiral-shaped snail lay directly in front of us.
"That's the Milky Way, isn't it?" i whispered to Heeseung.
"I don't know, the only Milky Way I know is this candy bar.". He grinned, and I had to pull myself together not to laugh.
"Now is not the time for jokes.", I lightly nudged his leg, which was enough to make him almost topple off the bench.
"Oh fuck.", I laughed silently and pulled him back a bit.
In the meantime, we were already getting some venomous glances from people on the surrounding loungers. Understandable, because we were pretty much the only ones who weren't lying there motionless, staring at the ceiling as if paralyzed.
I cleared my throat carefully and slid a little closer. "'Hush now. The others are already pissed.".
Time passed, and at some point I couldn't even tell whether we had been in this room for one, two, or five hours. The only thing I knew was that my eyes were getting heavier and heavier with each passing minute and, I was having a hard time keeping them open.
But my own tiredness flew away when I suddenly felt Heeseung's head slide onto my shoulder. Surprised, I looked to the side and realized that he must have felt the same way, because he had beaten me to sleep.
I carefully turned to the side so as not to wake him up, and was now lying face to face with him. I would have loved to take a short nap, but my pounding heart made this an impossibility at the moment.
Why did he look just perfect even when he was sleeping? His tanned, flawless skin, the strands of hair falling across his forehead, his perfect eyelashes, the curved shape of his lips that I would love nothing more than to gently press a peck on.
Never before have I had the opportunity to observe him so closely. When did all this happen? How is it possible for a person to change so radically in 3 years? In the past, I would never have seen him like this, but today everything about him is simply perfection.
Suddenly, he lolls a little and chews a few times before he calms down again and continues to sleep. "How can you be so cute?" I grinned softly and pushed a strand of hair out of his face, which almost poked him in the eyes.
The longer I looked at him, the more I realized what was actually going on inside me. Probably it wasn't just a little crush I got a few months ago. But much deeper. It reached back into our childhood. Since we were little kids, we were supported each other. Saw each other every day, could tell each other anything. Together with my brother, we formed an unbeatable trio. I trusted him more than any other person. That's why it hit me so hard. The incident on his birthday.
Suddenly the light flickered, and the hall was brightly lit. Everyone around us squinted their eyes in agony. I couldn't react quickly because Heeseung blinked a few times and then opened his eyes in confusion. "Oh shit, I've dozed off.". He groaned and only now realized I was lying right across from him.
"Have you been watching me??".
I giggled. "You sleeping is one of the cutest things I've ever seen.".
Heeseung rolled over with a another groan. "God this is embarrassing.". He sat up and adjusted his hair.
"Oh come down, drama queen. It's not the first time I saw you sleeping.".
The room was almost empty and the staff at the door looked at us promptly as my growling stomach caught their attention.
"What do you say we stop at that fast food restaurant we passed earlier," Heeseung suggested as we left the room.
Eagerly, I nodded. "I'm dying of hunger.".
"Are you driving or am I?".
"If I put you behind the wheel in this condition, I can sign my will right now," I joked. "A minute ago, you were sleeping like a log.
"What are you talking about? I'm in great shape.".
"I'm driving.", I determined, which made him laugh.
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