Chapter Text
Dong Woo played with his dinosaur doll while waiting for his father who loaded the luggage into the check-in counter. He had heard from his father that they had to return to New York today and he didn't protest. Everything his father did was for his own good, so he had to comply.
What saddened him the most was parting with Kwon Joo Noona again. He wanted to get well quickly so he could meet and play together with Noona. Maybe it doesn't have to be at the amusement park. They could just meet in Korea. He had been missing Korea.
"Dong Woo-ya," Dong Woo heard a man’s voice calling him and he immediately raised his head, realizing the one who was just calling him was the Detective Uncle.
He smiled widely, waving at Detective Uncle and the woman walking beside him. Kwon Joo Noona looked beautiful even just in a t-shirt and long jeans, and the moment her eyes met his, she was running towards him.
Kwon Joo knelt and hugged Dong Woo, stroking the boy's head affectionately. "Take care, okay?"
"Noona too," Dong Woo replied cheerfully, hugging Kwon Joo's neck. "Thank you for accompanying me playing yesterday."
“My pleasure,” Kwon Joo let go of her embrace, smiling. "And, I have another present for you."
Dong Woo's eyes widened curiously when Kwon Joo took something out of her jeans pocket. A sea turtle magnet made from seashell. The seashell was silver when viewed from one side, but when you moved it, it would show other colours, like a hologram.
"Do you know what this is?" Kwon Joo placed the magnetic decoration in Dong Woo's palm, looking at Dong Woo's excited expression with a smile.
“Sea turtle,” Dong Woo answered. He looked at Kwon Joo earnestly. “I will live long like a sea turtle. Then we will meet and play together again."
Even though she was smiling, Kwon Joo felt a tear running down her right cheek and she immediately wiped it with the back of her hand. "That’s correct. Don't give up, Dong Woo-ya. Noona is waiting for you."
Dong Woo's smile grew wider. He put the sea turtle magnet into his jacket pocket and hugged Kwon Joo's neck again. "Thank you."
Kwon Joo hugged Dong Woo too, trying to give him strength with her hug. After a moment, Dong Woo loosened his grip, so Kwon Joo also let go of Dong Woo.
“Appa wants to talk to Noona,” Dong Woo whispered in Kwon Joo's ear, moving his head to his father who was standing not far behind Kwon Joo.
After stroking Dong Woo's head one more time, Kwon Joo walked over to Jin Hyuk. She realized now that Derek was walking towards Dong Woo after talking to Jin Hyuk.
Derek stood in front of Dong Woo, smiling. "Fighting."
Dong Woo nodded excitedly. “Uncle Detective, too. Fighting to tame Noona’s heart! Don’t disappoint Noona or you will have to face me.”
Derek nodded his head while laughing. “Of course. Thank you for cheering me up. I will try my best not to disappoint her or drop your expectations.”
Dong Woo nodded cheerfully. He saw his father hug Kwon Joo for a few seconds, then let go of her and waved to him. "Appa is calling me."
Derek nodded. He stretched his hand and shook Dong Woo’s hand. “See you.”
Kwon Joo and Derek stood in front of the departure gate until Jin Hyuk and Dong Woo disappeared.
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"It’s so cute!"
Derek couldn't stop laughing looking at Kwon Joo's adorable expression. "I’ll buy it for you."
Kwon Joo's eyes widened in excitement. "Really? Thank you!"
After getting a small sized Mickey Mouse wearing a Santa hat lollipop, Kwon Joo couldn't stop grinning. She wanted to eat the candy so badly, but because it was too cute, she felt bad to eat it.
In November, Disneyland had turned into a Christmas themed place. All the building walls, the windows, the lights, and basically everything, were Christmas-ly . There was even a giant Christmas tree decorated with thousands of lamps and ornaments in front of the Main Street USA entrance.
Other than the giant Christmas tree on Main Street USA, one more thing that attracted the most attention at Disneyland on Christmas. It was the majestic Sleeping Beauty Castle. This castle is not a ride, but a gateway to Fantasyland. It was the main place for the laser and fireworks show which are held every night at 9.
Derek and Kwon Joo were still on Main Street USA, looking at the Christmas ornaments hanging on every tree and lamppost, also on restaurant doors and windows. Out of 8 areas within Disneyland Park, Main Street USA had the most restaurants.
“Shall we go to Space Mountain?” Derek asked Kwon Joo who was still looking around with sparkling eyes. Kwon Joo's face looked so innocent like a child that Derek almost pinched her cheek, but he still has his awareness and self-control to not really do it.
Kwon Joo nodded cheerfully, walking straight to the Walt Disney statue that’s holding Mickey Mouse's hand. The monument is called Partners. Around the monument, some flowers are also arranged according to the Christmas theme, in white and red.
“Tomorrowland,” Kwon Joo pointed to the road on Mickey Mouse's left hand side, and Derek nodded. Tomorrowland includes rides related to Star Wars and outer space. The most famous ride here was Space Mountain which is an indoor roller coaster.
Kwon Joo sat next to Derek on the roller coaster, feeling so excited that she hugged Derek's arm for a few seconds. Only a few seconds, because after that she realized what she had been doing and quickly released her hug. Meanwhile, Derek who did count those precious seconds felt his heart start to beat faster. Only because of Kwon Joo’s touch.
The roller coaster began to move into a tunnel filled with blue lamps that made passengers feel like they were entering a passage to the future. Then it went on with an uphill path inside the tunnel with a screen showing the stars and galaxies.
Then the tunnel turned again into red and white stripes that almost hypnotized passengers, and suddenly everything went black. It was total darkness, but it wasn't scary because all around them now were millions of tiny lights like stars.
When the roller coaster starts to pick up its speed with sharp twists and turns, Kwon Joo and Derek start screaming and laughing. They could see nothing but the stars, then the cold wind hit their faces and the sudden movement of the roller coaster made them unable to stop laughing.
Derek got off first, and without thinking, he extended his hand to Kwon Joo. He didn't expect her to gladly accept his hand. Actually, he intended to help Kwon Joo get off the roller coaster, but when she really held his hand, his heart began beating faster again.
Having no intention to let go of Derek’s hand, Kwon Joo kept holding his hand until they reached the exit gate. There were so many people out here that Kwon Joo immediately cleared her throat and let go of his hand. To take her mind off Derek’s hand, Kwon Joo took out the lollipop from her backpack.
With a lollipop in her mouth, Kwon Joo looked around. She found a shop that caught her eye. So she looked at Derek, pointing at the shop with sparkling eyes.
Derek chuckled as he watched Kwon Joo excitedly walking to the shop, starting to look around at the accessories on the display shelves. It seemed like Kwon Joo was attracted to a Minnie Mouse ear headband with red sequined ribbons, but she didn’t have the confidence to try it on.
So Derek took the headband and put it on Kwon Joo's head. Her eyes widened in shock and she tried to remove the headband from her head, but Derek held both of her hands and shook his head. With one free hand, he took a mirror from the display table near them and showed it to Kwon Joo.
Kwon Joo should have stared at her own reflection in the mirror, contemplating whether it would still be suitable for her to wear something like that and buy it. But her mind was on something else. She realized Derek can hold both of her wrists effortlessly with just one hand.
“Centerjang,” Derek saw Kwon Joo’s cheeks start to blush, and honestly, he wanted to always make her blush around him. Because that means she also felt something when she's with him.
“How about you wear one too?” Kwon Joo suddenly said, causing Derek to gape in shock and let go of her hands. Kwon Joo took the opportunity to throw away the lollipop stick from her mouth into a nearby trash bin. “This is my first time in Disneyland, also my first time wearing something like this. I used to go to a theme park with my father, but it was just once, and we have never—"
"You choose." Derek dared to bet that no one had ever claimed to have seen Kang Kwon Joo seduce someone into getting what she wanted. And Derek wouldn’t mind it at all if Kwon Joo asked him to do anything. Like now.
So Derek and Kwon Joo ended up wearing matching head accessories. Derek wore a black hat with Mickey Mouse ears and Kwon Joo wore the headband that Derek put on her earlier.
All his life Derek had never really owned a couple's stuff. He dated several women, but none of them was as innocent or sweet as Kwon Joo. Neither woman asked him to wear a couple items together.
"Do you love it?" Derek played with the ears on Kwon Joo’s headband, and she smiled so wide, nodding her head. Derek almost casually put his arm around her shoulders if Kwon Joo hadn’t stopped abruptly on their way to Matterhorn Bobsleds in Fantasyland.
She stared at a doll that was on a shelf in front of a shop. Derek takes a few back steps, standing next to Kwon Joo to see what she was looking at. "Do you like it?"
Kwon Joo smiled slightly. "Cute. But I think it’s not suitable for me. Ah, Detective Cho, excuse me for just a moment."
Derek nodded, watching Kwon Joo walk to the right side of the place they were headed, then looked back at the doll in front of him. Maybe that doll didn't suit her, but he saw another doll that did.
Good thing today that he decided to bring his black backpack. The doll could fit perfectly in it.