chapter 18

It was around 8:45 when we got to the aquarium. As we all get out of the bus, we were all handed a ticket which we presented at the entrance. Yoongi continued to walk beside me, but I guess it's because his friends were not here.And since Yuri is not here as well, it kind of works out.Quite surprisingly, the students were in order. There was a huge line up in the entrance, and since we are going down these huge spiral stairs, it was taking forever to move two hundred junior and senior students at the same time.Because Yoongi and I sat at the farthest back of the bus, we were the last ones in line. We both remained silent until we finally made it downstairs , entering the underwater tunnel.I couldn't believe my eyes. It's like I'm under the ocean. It's like I'm inside a transparent tube that allows me to see what anyone couldn't see from above the water.It's breathtaking!Hundreds of different types of coloured fishes are swimming freely above the rainbow- like coral reefs. The water gave out a light blue colour as it reflects inside where we are all standing, making it have such a calming effect." Wow." I say as I see a school of fishes sticking together as they swam all around. I tilt my head up and follow them."Look!" Yoongi points out two heart-shaped fishes. " It looks stupid."" What do you mean?" I pout as I ask, walking towards it. I tap the glass gently where the fishes were, startling them a little. " They're so cute!"The two fishes touched their mouths together and swam around and around, most likely that they are performing a dance." Aw!" I say smiling at their cuteness." They like each other."The surrounding suddenly quiets down, and that's when I realised that all of the students besides us has already made a turn at the end of the tunnel. We were so focused at these love fishes that we didn't notice.How stupid." Let's go." I say. " I think they already went out to see the other creatures."" Oh!" He says realising that everyone's gone. " Yeah, Let's go."We began walking but Yoongi is still in a trance, looking at the fishes swimming around us. He's walking slower than usual, but I think it's because of the mood that this whole scenery has created." How would you know if you like someone?" He suddenly blurts out, his eyes still glued to the fishes." Um," I begin, even though I was bit surprised by his question. "When you like someone, you feel your heart beating faster. You feel it thumping against your chest."" How'd you know? You like someone?"" Nope. I just googled it the other day."" Beating faster, huh?" He says as he nods. " I want... to feel it."" Me too." I admitted as we continue to walk, finally turning where the stairs are. " I want to feel it too."We went upstairs, the sun hitting both of our faces. For some reason, the wind in Busan is much more fresh, and it really does smell like the sea.We soon saw our classmates looking at some ducks in the pond, some of them stopping by, but mostly not caring about them and moving forward inside the aquarium to see the sharks.As Yoongi and I pass by the ducks, he stops for a moment." I want to eat a duck now."" You seriously want to eat a duck after seeing that?" I look at the ducks in the pond, paddling their feet smoothly." I'm a surrealist, remember?" He says with a shrug as I sigh.What am I going to do with this person? Has he been always this emotionless? No affection at all?When we head back into the underwater tunnel, different types of sharks welcomed us. There's one that looks like the one from the foreign movie ' Jaws'. The one that looks like a hammer and a lot more.After that, we headed to where the starfishes, turtles and sting rays are. There was a section when most of the students gathered. Yoongi and I managed to squeeze in, and it's a shallow aquarium where you can freely touch sting rays' backs." Please be gentle." The woman who works there reminds us.I dipped my fingers into the water, and the first sting ray comes swimming my way. I touch it, and as it swam, my fingers  glide smoothly. It felt wet, slimy and smooth at the same time." Oh, another one." I say as the another sting ray approaches. Yoongi watches me but is doing nothing, just standing still." Come on, try it."He dips his fingers but the sting ray had already swam away. He pulls back his hands and shake off the excess water." It's dumb, they don't like me."" Nonsense." I say as I see one smaller sting ray coming towards us. " Hurry! It's coming."He dips his fingers, just right in time as the sting ray passes by, but because of his small back, out fingers touched. The sting ray already left, but both of our fingers are still on the water. I look at him at the same time he looks at me. " Ah, let's move on." He quickly says withdrawing his hand from the water. He walks away and join the other students, leaving me alone for a bit."Why did I froze when our fingers touched?" I wondered to myself. " It's just someone else's hand."I shake my head as I shake my thought, rushing to follow Yoongi.The rest of the trip was amazing. In fact, I've seen every type of creature you can ever imagine that exists under water. As our trip ended, we all gathered at the souvenir shop. It's where the exit is,  and it is quite strategic because you have to pass by it in able to leave.The shop has a lot of cute items. From mugs to pens, to t-shirts and caps, from snow globes that they call ocean globes, and they even have jewelleries. But what I liked the most is the plushy section. There are a lot of stuff animals, ranging from whales tk fishes, and they are all so fluffy.I poked one of the stuffed beluga whales and it felt so squishy and soft. Yoongi roams his eyes around." Follow me." He says, and I followed him right away. He went to the one of the claw machines on the side of the shop, where no one is actually using it. Inside were various plushies, all shaped into sea creatures." That one's so cute!" I pointed at the pink and white heart shaped fish against the glass. Yoongi inserts a coin into the machine and starts moving the claw, targetting the plushy I had pointed at.He presses the red button and the claw starts to fall down slowly, then securely landing on the heart shaped stuffed plushy." Oh my god! You did it." I exclaim as the claw lifts it up, and brings it into the box. He bends down and takes the small plushy, handing it to me." Thanks for the lunch box you made me."•••