Chapter Text
It turned out that the plan Kwon Joo talked about was not a plan she made by herself. The plans for today were made by Moo Dong Woo, Moo Jin Hyuk’s son.
Derek stood beside the Universal Studios Hollywood globe, watching Kwon Joo walk back and forth in front of him. She looked thrilled. Since they left the hotel, Kwon Joo couldn't stop smiling. Seeing Kwon Joo's cheerful expression made Derek rack his brains. Was she excited because she will meet Dong Woo? Or Jin Hyuk? Or because she actually loves theme parks?
Derek didn't want any of his thoughts about her to be correct, especially the last one. If Kwon Joo really likes theme parks, then he should have taken her to Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier yesterday and they wouldn't have met Jin Hyuk. But the thought made him feel selfish. Kwon Joo also hadn’t seen her first partner in a long time, so he shouldn’t think about his own pleasure. And for today, he would make sure Kwon Joo gets the pleasure she deserves.
Kwon Joo smiled cheerfully at Derek, causing Derek to smile back automatically. She smoothed out her shirt, making sure her jeans weren’t wrinkled, and her white sneakers were clean. She couldn't wait to meet them.
Just as she lifted her head, a child wrapped his arms around her waist, staring at her with sparkling eyes. “Kwon Joo Noona!!!”
“Hey!!!” Kwon Joo replied in a very cheerful tone that made Derek's eyebrows rise, but Kwon Joo didn't get to see him because her eyes now only focused on Dong Woo. Kwon Joo knelt, hugging the boy warmly. "How are you?"
"Excited!!!" Dong Woo replied cheerfully, hugging Kwon Joo's neck. “I miss Noona so much!”
"I miss you, too." Kwon Joo releases Dong Woo from her embrace to look at his face.
The child was 12 years old, but he was so thin and tiny that one would expect him to be not more than 10 years old. Dong Woo wore a baby blue coloured beanie, a white and blue striped t-shirt, long jeans, and sneakers.
Kwon Joo stood up, extending her hand to Dong Woo, who was immediately greeted by him excitedly. She said cheerfully. “Today we will follow all your plans. First, what rides do you want to ride?”
Dong Woo jumped cheerfully following Kwon Joo, then looked back. He saw his father with a man who looked gloomy. He pulled Kwon Joo's hand who was walking in front of him until Kwon Joo stopped and looked back at him.
With an innocent face, Dong Woo asked. “Is that Noona’s friend? What's his name?"
“Detective Derek Cho,” Kwon Joo answered sweetly, smiling. She saw Dong Woo seemed hesitant to walk ahead of his father, so Kwon Joo calmed him down. “It's okay, we will go ahead, and they will definitely follow us. Let’s go."
Dong Woo smiled, walking cheerfully next to Kwon Joo without waiting for his father or the Detective Uncle. He trusted noona who was holding his hand now. And for some reason he thought that Kwon Joo could control both his father and Detective Uncle with just a glance, so he'd better obey her himself.
Jin Hyuk realized now that Kwon Joo had walked to the entrance holding Dong Woo's hand, so he absentmindedly turned his head towards Kwon Joo with his eyes on Derek. A silent invitation.
No one spoke even though they were walking side by side. This situation was strange for both Derek and Jin Hyuk. Derek occasionally turned to Jin Hyuk, wanting to ask about Dong Woo or something, but his voice didn't come out even though his mouth had opened several times. In the end, he just walked silently next to Jin Hyuk, following Kwon Joo and Dong Woo who walked cheerfully in front of them.
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Walking through the Universal Studios Hollywood front gate, Dong Woo couldn’t stop hopping as he walked until Kwon Joo’s hand felt a little bit sore and she had to calm the kid down. She spoke softly and Dong Woo complied. Now they walked properly while looking around with excitement.
On both sides of the street, there were many souvenir shops, several counters selling foods and drinks, and many people walking around them. They walked straight up to Universal Plaza. The roads there were divided into two sides. Right and left.
Without thinking, Dong Woo immediately pulled Kwon Joo to the left side of the road. Kwon Joo followed where Dong Woo pulled her, smiling widely. She looked back for a moment, noticed Derek and Jin Hyuk were walking behind them while looking around in awe. This place is amazing, even for adults.
Dong Woo stopped in front of a yellow building with a red roof. The sign above the entrance reads “The Secret Life of Pets”. Kwon Joo had watched the movie. Obviously, she was just as excited as Dong Woo to get in, but there was a long line ahead of them.
“60 minutes,” Kwon Joo smiled slightly at Dong Woo, who had already pulled her hand to join the queue.
Dong Woo nodded, not minding to wait at all. So they waited, with Derek and Jin Hyuk just following them.
"After this, what are we going to ride, Dong Woo-ya?" Kwon Joo played with Dong Woo's fingers which were still holding hers.
"In the upper lot, this ride is the most important," Dong Woo replied cheerfully. "Then there's an arcade game I want to play, after that we can go to the lower lot."
Universal Studios Hollywood is divided into 2. They are now in the upper lot, while the lower lot is at the bottom and they have to take four escalators to get there. In the upper lot there are more games and cafes; like The Simpsons, Harry Potter, and Kungfu Panda, but the lower lot is the place for Jurassic World, Transformers, and The Mummy.
“Okay,” Kwon Joo nodded cheerfully, even though she didn't really understand.
Jin Hyuk patted Dong Woo's head affectionately, making the boy smile even wider. After that Dong Woo watched a toddler playing with her mother's hair. The toddler and her mom were standing in line in front of him.
“Kang Center,” Jin Hyuk whispered to Kwon Joo. He was pretty sure Derek was glaring at him right now, but he tried not to care. "If you're tired taking care of Dong Woo, let me—"
Kwon Joo shook her head quickly. "No. I'm fine. I'm so happy that Dong Woo is still willing to hold my hand."
Jin Hyuk smiled, feeling Derek’s eyes piercing through him, then he turned to Derek. He said coldly. “Dong Woo is 12 years old.” His tone was like saying: don't be jealous of my son.
Derek sighed, furrowing his eyebrows at Jin Hyuk. He noticed Kwon Joo was now squatting next to Dong Woo. They whispered to each other. Her face was beaming and happy, making Derek smile unconsciously.
Time passed and finally, it was their turn. The rides use a cardboard box-shaped iron seat with a handle. Each box is for two people.
Kwon Joo rides with Dong Woo, and that means Derek has to ride along with Jin Hyuk. Derek sat down next to Jin Hyuk, feeling extremely awkward. He was sure Jin Hyuk felt awkward too, as the man didn't even look at him.
Kwon Joo had fun with Dong Woo. They laughed as the screen showed Kwon Joo’s reflection as Cocker Spaniel and Dong Woo’s as Pomeranian. In the rides, they were posed as dogs or cats in the pet shop.
Derek was completely unfazed seeing himself depicted as a Dobermann animation, but Jin Hyuk was animated as a German Shepherd, making Derek snort.
“Don't tell me you're jealous of animal animation,” Jin Hyuk shook his head. His eyes were still on Kwon Joo and Dong Woo who were laughing in their box as he told Derek. "If you're jealous of me or Dong Woo, that is unnecessary."
"What do you mean?" Derek raised an eyebrow, looking at Jin Hyuk. He did not look at his surroundings which were decorated with robots of dogs and cats characters from the film. The robots looked real, moving, and talking, but Derek didn't have time to pay attention.
“I have no unplatonic male to female feelings for Kwon Joo,” Jin Hyuk said firmly, looking at Derek with a serious expression. “It annoyed me a little that you’re jealous of everyone and everything around Kwon Joo, but I am also delighted.”
Now Derek's brows furrowed.
Jin Hyuk looked away, staring at the cat robots they passed. “I'm glad that you seem genuinely sincere. And super protective of Kwon Joo.”
Derek blinked his eyes. So his feelings were that obvious? But Kwon Joo didn’t seem to know about it. Or was she just pretending not to?
“So,” Jin Hyuk looked at Derek again. "Don't be jealous of me or Dong Woo. We are innocent people."
Chuckling, Derek stared at the screen in front of him. On the screen, you can see both the Dobermann and the German Shepherd smiling.
Dong Woo and Kwon Joo chatted as they walked out of the building, excitedly discussing every cat and dog robot they saw, as well as the names of movie characters that neither Derek nor Jin Hyuk understand. But even though they didn't understand, seeing Dong Woo and Kwon Joo excited made them both smile.
Derek was more friendly to Jin Hyuk and Dong Woo now. He even got Dong Woo tissues and straws when they had lunch at one of the cafes. Dong Woo was shy to speak directly to Derek and just said thank you, but Derek didn’t seem to mind at all and remained friendly to the boy.
Kwon Joo noticed Derek's change of attitude, but she didn’t care how nor why. She was happy if Derek could be more friendly to Dong Woo and not see the boy as a rival just like when they first met.
After lunch, Dong Woo decided to play arcade. The arcade counter was decorated with hanging shelves filled with three sizes of banana minion stuffed dolls, medium-sized minion stuffed dolls, and giant green turtle dolls.
The game was simple, using a spear with a banana-shaped handle to put plastic bananas into coconut-shell-shaped containers that spun around a table in the centre of the room. If you can throw at least two bananas out of five chances, you will get a small banana minion stuffed doll.
While concentrating with all of his might, Dong Woo managed to throw in three bananas. He got a medium-sized banana minion stuffed doll. He even jumped up and down because he was so happy.
Kwon Joo laughed, clapping for Dong Woo, then reached out her hand to hold the boy’s hand. Dong Woo held Kwon Joo's hand, but he also held out his doll to Kwon Joo.
“For Noona,” Dong Woo said cheerfully, smiling widely. He did not see the expressions of his father and Detective Uncle which was more or less the same. Gaping.
Kwon Joo immediately refused, but Dong Woo was on the verge of crying because she refused his gift, so finally, Kwon Joo accepted the doll. She thanked Dong Woo until he’s tired of it.