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'Seriously?’, asked Seung Gil a little incredulously. 'All this because of a balloon?’
'Yup!’ Phichit looked up from an absolutely perfect selfie he had uploaded on his Instagram moments ago: the two of them posing in front of a crazy light mapping on the wall of local culture centre. 'But not just an ordinary balloon! A shining one!’
He pointed at his trophy and the Korean gave him an amused look. Phichit beamed upon seeing that. He felt so happy that Lee was having fun! After all this whole escapade had been a spontaneous and, truth be told, pretty crazy idea. They had come to Europe two days ago to prepare for Finlandia Trophy they were both participating in a week from now. Their planned training base was in Helsinki, yet the very evening they had arrived there, Phichit had come across a fascinating piece of information on the Internet. Supposedly, a huge light move festival was to take place somewhere in central Poland, starting that Friday and the Thai had come to a conclusion that he just needed to take part in it.
And so, two evenings later, they found themselves in a city called Lodz, and were strolling down the lively streets, admiring rather impressive light shows. Actually, Phichit was not sure what had surprised him more: that Ciao Ciao had agreed to his plan, or that Seung Gil had decided to keep him company. As far as the Thai knew, Lee was not a huge fan of such events, and yet…
He stole a glance at the Korean, walking by his side. it was pretty awkward between them recently. Well, they certainly were more than just friends at this stage - they had already kissed for the first time - but Phichit still was not sure where their relationship was going. Right now, however, he just wanted to enjoy their time together without worrying about such things. Especially since Seung Gil was seemingly having a good time as well.
They turned into a slightly narrower street with stalls set along it especially for this occasion, and took some time to laugh at the most cheesy stuff offered there. Phichit went as far as buying a small purple flashing crown as a gift for JJ, and even the usually composed Lee had to laugh at that. It was a pleasant evening, even with all these people gathered around, and they still had many things to see. Seung Gil had mentioned something about a mapping with a dragon before, and the way his eyes had shone back then made Phichit want to see it even more.
Suddenly there was a tug on his sleeve. The Thai looked at his, well, boyfriend, and furrowed his brow, noticing the uncertain look on Lee’s face.
'What is it?’
Seung Gil only nodded towards something ahead of them. Phichit followed his gaze and gulped. What he saw was not just a crowd, but a real sea of people, swarming in the main street they were supposed to get into.
'D-Don’t worry’, Phichit stammered, grabbing the Korean’s hand. ‘We’ll manage somehow. Remember, the dragon awaits!’
He could not tell if this show of enthusiasm actually worked, but was nevertheless rewarded with a nod on Lee’s part. The Thai steeled himself, and holding Seung Gil’s hand in his right and the precious balloon in his left, he started to maneuver through the crowd. Actually, it turned out to be easier than he expected, at least at first. They were surrounded mostly by young people who moved forward pretty smoothly; still, according to the map they had to cross the street if they wanted a good view of the dragon. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones who had such idea and the opposite side of the street was even more crowded. It was going to be tough.
He gripped Lee’s hand a little harder and started pushing through the human mass. There were definitely more big and bulky guys here, who didn’t really care about others, as well as some people with child carts and even dogs! Phichit heard Seung Gil grumble something about how irresponsible it was and how such people should never own a pet, and it somehow only added to the Thai’s determination. True, there were moments when he basically had to pull the Korean to get through, yet their chances did not look that bad after all.
Phichit could already see the tenement house with the dragon mapping, when he felt a sudden pull on his arm, while Lee let out a painful yelp. The Thai looked over his shoulder, and frowned, confronted with a woman who apparently tried to push through right between them. She seemed rather annoyed and was saying something in Polish, pretence clear in her voice.
'Excuse me?’, Phichit asked, as politely as he could.
'Let me through!’ The woman switched to English. 'I need to get to my child!’
The Thai blinked, looking around. He expected to see a crying five-year-old nearby, but no. Nothing like that.
'A child?’, he repeated, a little confused.
'There!’ She pointed ahead. Phichit looked that way and indeed saw a child, comfortably seated on some man’s shoulders. There was no need to panic… or this lady here was too used to having her way to notice it. And he was definitely not letting go of Lee’s hand and risking losing him in the crowd in a foreign city.
'I’m sorry, but…’, he started, yet the woman clearly did not want to listen.
'What’s the meaning of this?’, she demanded. 'I need to get through, and you two keep blocking the way! Not to mention punching me in the stomach!'
Phichit bit his lip. They were stuck in a deadlock and some people were already starting to turn their heads towards them. On top of that he was getting really angry now. THEY punched HER in the stomach? How could she make up something like that? And for the love of Buddha, she almost broke Seung Gil’s arm, was she really this blind?
And then, all of a sudden, Seung Gil let go of him. The woman took advantage of Phichit’s momentary confusion, and pushed forward, while all the Thai could think of was to grab Lee’s hand again. Fortunately, he managed to do it, before any other people could follow the aggressive mother. Still, he felt his mood drop. Why did the Korean do it? Was he mad at him? Or disappointed? Phichit should have known better than to bring him here, after all Seung never really liked such events…
He glanced at Lee, and his heart sank. Something was very, very wrong. The Korean was paler than usual, his jaw set, eyebrows furrowed, nostrils flaring. He looked positively furious.
Phichit felt a shiver run down his spine - this was not going to be easy - and decided he’d better get them out of here. He headed sideways, slowly meandering through the throng of people, until they reached a wide passage opening to their right. It was much less crowded, so the Thai lead them there, before stopping at some distance from the main street. Now came the hardest part. Phichit took a deep breath before facing Seung Gil.
And then the unexpected happened. All of a sudden Lee pulled him closer, resting his head on the Thai’s shoulder. Phichit’s heart skipped a beat at first, but then he realized that Seung Gil was in fact trembling and momentarily found himself on the verge of panic.
'Seung Gil?’, he asked in a fervent whisper, awkwardly patting his boyfriend’s back. ‘Seung Gil, darling, look at me. What's wrong?’
The Korean did not reply at once. Instead he took a few deep breaths, before pulling back and plopping down on a nearby bench. He gestured at Phichit to follow him.
'It’s fine’, he said softly, though it was clearly untrue. 'It’s just… I’m not good with the crowds. I’m sorry, I should have mentioned this earlier, but we were having so much fun… I thought it would be alright. I didn’t mean to ruin the evening…’
'But you didn’t!’, Phichit assured, dropping down on one knee and grabbing Seung Gil’s hands. He still refused to let go of the balloon, and its glow added a somewhat otherwordly feel to this moment. 'It’s not your fault at all, so don’t worry! And… are you really okay?’
'I am now.’ Lee nodded in response. 'I just needed a breath, that’s all. Don’t worry.’
'How should I not?’, the Thai protested. 'This was my idea, after all! I… I thought you were mad at me!’
Seung Gil blinked in confusion.
'And… Why should I be?’
'Well…’ Phichit looked away, suddenly feeling embarrassed. 'When you let go of my hand back then, I thought…’
The Korean shook his head, looking slightly amused.
'You shouldn’t jump to conclusions so quickly. I just wanted that idiot woman to leave you alone. I wish I could have helped you somehow, but I was already pretty stressed out and nothing came to mind, so…’
'It's fine’, Phichit smiled at him. 'Fortunately, it was just one person. Other folks here are okay, I think.'
'They are’, Lee admitted. 'Still… Don’t get me wrong, I really had a lot of fun, but…’
'We should call it quits for tonight?’, finished the Thai knowingly. 'Fine with me, I don’t think I’m in the mood anymore.’
'We…’, Seung Gil cleared his throat. ‘We can always see the dragon tomorrow, after all.’
'Of course, we can!’, Phichit agreed enthusiastically. 'And right now I could really use some hot chocolate. What about you?’
'Sounds like a nice idea.’ The Korean replied with a nod and a smile. 'And, oh, I'm glad that your balloon is intact as well’.
Phichit looked at him in surprise, and then an idea struck him.
'While we’re at that… wait here for a minute, okay?’
He rushed toward one of the girls who were selling the shining stuff, picked a blue plastic rose from her basket, and, having paid for it, returned to Seung Gil’s side and handed him the flower.
'And… what’s that supposed to be?’ Lee stared at him in disbelief. Phichit gave him a bright smile.
'Well, I just thought you needed your own shiny item, you know!’
Seung Gil let out a laugh at that.
'Phichit Chulanont, you truly are incorrigible!’
'Yup! And that’s why you love me!’, he replied half-jokingly. He certainly was not prepared for what he heard in response.
'Yes. That’s why I love you.’