"Your friend spoke to me," I told Changmin. "The tall one, Kim Younghoon."

"I know," he said. "He told me."

We were sitting on a bench in the park near my house that day. We kept our distance - him on one end of the bench and me on the other. It was awkward, neither one of us wanting to talk to each other until I had broken the silence.

"Your friend's an asshole," I said quietly as I fiddled with my fingers.

Changmin snorted, the corner of his lips turned upwards. "I know," he said. "It's hard to get used to it if you don't already know him, you know?" The longer I stared at him, the more I seemed to notice something new about him. That day, I realized just how beautiful his eyes were when he smiled.

I would never tell him that, though.

"I've never heard you curse before," he told me, turning to look at me. "It sounds weird coming from you."

"Of course you haven't," I said. "We've only known each other for a few weeks."

We were quiet once again, both avoiding looking in each other's directions. I looked straight ahead where a playground sat. There were a few kids running around it - some sliding down the slide, others swinging on the swings. It was a cute sight, and my heart suddenly felt warm.

"I'm sorry." It was his turn to break our silence. "That day in the, uh, classroom." He sighed, "I didn't mean to yell at you."

Suddenly, I felt relieved. I knew I wouldn't be able to forget about that day so easily, but when he apologized, I found it much easier to breathe. "It's fine." I finally turned to look at him again, "I won't hold it against you." Then, he smiled. It was a genuine smile, different from the ones he would give to his friends or other people. I found it hard for me not to reciprocate.

"Do you, uh-" He rubbed the back of his neck and pointed at the playground, "Do you want to go there? It's just that I, um, I saw you looking at the kids- it's okay if you don't want to, though."

"Okay." It didn't seem like he had expected me to agree considering how surprised he looked. I stood up and said, "Let's go."

We chased each other around the playground the rest of that afternoon, with the same smiles you see children when they get something they want. I had never laughed so much before, and I had never seen him smile so much either.

I wished I could see him smile like that all the time.