PAMPERED

367 Playground

“Chunchun, watch me!” Penny sat on the swing and pushed herself away before riding it happily. “Hehehe.” D

Her feet would touch the ground every once in a while, making the swing go higher and higher. Chunchun sat several feet away, watching her mother enjoy the swing all alone. When Penny had enough of it, she grinned at Chunchun.

“Do you remember when we used to go to this playground?” Penny remarked, her grin fading a bit. “We used to play here with Tiana, Mouse, Blacky, and Renren.”

Penny’s smile was slowly replaced with sadness as she held the chains attached to the swing. She leaned her head on one of them, her eyes on her well–behaved cat.

“I kind of… miss those times,” she added quietly. “Don’t you?”

Chunchun stared at her before walking over to Penny’s feet.

“You really know when I’m sad, don’t you?” Penny chuckled as she picked up her cat, still swinging gently.

Silence ensued, with only the metal creak of the swing echoing.

Even though there had been some changes in the playground, it was still as empty as she remembered it. Looking around at the dark surroundings, with only a few lights on the side, Penny watched as the surroundings slowly brightened up with memories of this place playing before her eyes.

***

“Renren, let’s try this seesaw!” young Penny beamed, pointing at the seesaw.

The sickly little boy looked at it and then at the person asking him to play. “I don’t want to, Penny.”

“Great!” Her eyes lit up. “Sit over there, and my spot’s this one!” (2)

Having said that, young Penny quickly went to her spot as if she hadn’t heard Renren’s refusal. With a heavy heart, Renren dragged his feet to the other side. Penny had been eyeing this seesaw since they arrived here. In the back of his mind, he knew she would ask him one of these days. He just didn’t expect it to be today.

Renren got onto the other side of the seesaw and straightened his leg so she could get on. Just as she placed her hand on the seat, Renren already moved up a bit. When she sat down, he was stuck up in the air.

“Okay!” Penny pulled the handle and beamed at him. “I’ll jump a bit.”

Penny jumped a little, but because of her weight, Renren always ended up in the air.

Renren: “…” His face was red.

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367 Playground

Penny: “…” Her face was red.

Their pets, who were watching them, stared at this humiliating scene. They were unsure if they felt bad for Renren, who was always in the air, or for Penny, who was always at the bottom because of her weight. (2)

***

Penny chuckled as she recalled that memory, her eyes falling on the swing. The corner of her lips curled up as she shifted her gaze to the monkey bars. The moment her gaze fell on them, she remembered the time when Renren had to step on her shoulders just so he could reach them.

Sadly, he couldn’t do the same for her because she would have ended up crushing him.

“At first, I knew I was hurting his pride, but we eventually enjoyed it, didn’t we?” she whispered, looking around the playground filled with memories of little Penny and Renren. 2

They filled this place with all sorts of memories every Thursday. They tried everything once a week, played in every corner of this empty playground, and filled the sadness and emptiness in it with little joys of life.

“I always said I rushed here every Thursday because I felt sorry for him,” she whispered. “But honestly, it’s because I enjoyed his company.”

She enjoyed every second with him.

Whenever they were together, time often felt shorter than it was supposed to be. There wasn’t even a time they noticed the hour. They would just get a little shock when it was getting darker and Haines would pick her up.

“Now that I think of it, he never left before me,” she whispered. “And I was never the one who

watched him leave.”

He always stayed until she went home.

Even when she was driving away, he was always standing where she left him, staring at the rear

of Haines‘ car without fail.

The more Penny thought of it, the more her eyes stung.

“Chunchun, Renren is really foolish, isn’t he?” she muttered, swallowing down the rising tension in her throat. “Why am I surprised that he is still foolish now? His foolishness grew along with

him.”

A subtle smile turned up on her face, and she hung her head low. “Say, Chunchun,” she called. “Should I walk over there now? The more I think of that brat Patricia, the angrier I get.”

Meow.

“You don’t want me to?”

Meow.

“But why?”

10:30

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367 Playground

Meow.

“I would look like the villain?” Her lips curved down as another deep exhale slipped past her lips. Penny rested the side of her head on the chains, Chunchun still in her arms.

Slowly, she closed her eyes, listening to the sharp creak of the swing. As she listened, she couldn’t help but hear the voices of young Penny and Renren in the playground.

“Penny, look at this.”

“Penny, that’s not safe.”

“Can we not try this one? It looks dangerous.”

The cold wind softly blew on her face, making her smile bitterly. Thinking of the past was truly a bittersweet experience. Young Renren always told her to be careful, that it wasn’t safe, that it looked dangerous. However, regardless of that, he never said no to her.

Renren would still try things he found dangerous and unsafe just to make her happy. Above all, he would still genuinely enjoy it.

How selfish of her, indeed. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Meow.

While Penny was reminiscing about the past and sobering up, Chunchun suddenly purred and jumped out of her arms. Penny slowly opened her eyes, her brows rising before they furrowed.

“Chunchun,” she called, her eyes following Chunchun as she slowly rose from the swing. Her eyes were focused on the cat because it was dark. But then, suddenly, she caught sight of a pair of hands picking up Chunchun.

“Hmm?”

Slowly, Penny lifted her gaze and saw the man carrying Chunchun in his arms.