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It was the 7th day of the 7th month, and Jihoon was tasked to prepare Lady Su Yeon to go out and thereafter, bring her to the festival to meet with their friends Ma Hoon and Do Joon. So Jihoon does the same, making sure to make the lady absolutely stunning for the event.
And definitely nothing compares to the feeling of seeing your work get acknowledged by others. So Jihoon can’t help but display his proudest smile as he marched behind the lady, his masterpiece, who has snatched the attention of the male attendees that night.
Shortly after, the lady already receives a card from a young man. The lady reads the name that was written on it, and seemed to be confused with the situation, so she asks Jihoon, “What is this?”
Jihoon grins proudly, “This is a type of flirting” he explains, “After exchanging glances, and you like each other, you exchange names. But if you don’t like someone, you can choose someone else.” Jihoon adds.
Lady Su Yeon bobs her head down (albeit slowly) to acknowledge that she understood what the man had said. She seemed to be curious about something though, and she looked like she was about to ask a question but their friends appeared as they were walking towards the bridge of love.
A few moments after, a parade catches their attention. They enjoyed the show altogether, however, Jihoon unexpectedly gets separated from his friends as the parade passes by the already crowded bridge they’re standing on.
The man then gets pushed by the crowd away from the direction where he remembers friends were in. He also had tried pushing past against the people, but to no avail.
Great. Now he’s alone. Again.
•••
After getting separated from his friends, he decided to just enjoy himself at the festival. And for Jihoon, nothing compares to the enjoyment he gets from getting new products esp. getting a new perfume.
And so when he comes across a vendor of perfume sachets, his eyes instantly lights up. He excitedly checks on each scent, finding one to his liking, of course.
It was unfortunate though, that none of it seemed to please him. They were fragrant scents but he thinks it’s nothing compared to the one his friend Hoon gave him.
So Jihoon rejects when the vendor inquires, “What will you be getting, sir?”
“In all honesty none of these scents smell better than thi—“ the man utters, reaching for the perfume sachet he attached on his waist earlier. He panics when he doesn’t feel it on him, his eyes bulging out and head tilted downwards as he goes around in circles trying to look for it.
He then recalls that maybe he lost it by the bridge as he was being pushed away. So he hurriedly ran towards the bridge, eyes hopeful he could still manage to find it.
Upon reaching the bridge, he immediately spotted his perfume sachet on the ground, by the foot of a young man. It was almost not noticeable, if not for the cute flower design on it, Jihoon wouldn’t have noticed.
He proceeds to picking it up and pouts as he dusts it off.
“A thief!” a woman shouts, and the next second Jihoon realizes he’s being pushed back by a group of guards chasing the thief. He tries to keep his balance so as not to fall off the bridge because: first, that would be embarrassing and second, he doesn’t know how deep the water underneath was, he could drown.
When he was about to completely fall, helplessly, a man grabs his arms and pulls him back on his feet. Jihoon stares at the man in shock, partly because he didn’t expect someone would catch him from his fall on time. And maybe partly because the man holding him looked hella attractive—tan skin, sharp eyes, very very visible and sharp jawline, with his attractive furrowed brows that make him look cold despite the contrast to the warm look coming from his eyes. He also felt hella attractive as he feels the strong sturdy built holding him still like it’s the safest place to be in. And he also smelled really really nice.
“Are you okay?” the man asks, his deep voice ringing to Jihoon’s ears.
“Uhh… yes.” Jihoon responds, withdrawing his arms from the grasp of the other, but as soon as he does, his feet wobbles and he loses balance again. And the man catches him for the second time around.
“I don’t think you’re okay. Let’s find you a place to rest on first.” the man says with a smile, carefully wrapping his arm around Jihoon and guides him as they walk towards a private corner which unexpectedly had a great view of the lake.
They sat there silently for a good amount of time, painfully awkward because of too much time that passed without saying a word. Woojin seemed to want to say something badly, judging from the way he glances at Jihoon then sighing and looking away. So Jihoon tries to think of a good conversation-starter too, until he realizes he hasn’t thanked the man for saving him yet. Perfect.
“Thank you for saving me back there…?” Jihoon smiles as he looks at the man sitting next to him. He also drags the last word, as if asking the man to fill the sentence in.
Much to his disappointment, the man only responds with a “You’re Welcome”. And Jihoon questions himself for his failed attempt of asking the man for his name.
Right, what was I thinking trying to flirt with a handsome man like him.
He must have already found a girl he likes, probably a really beautiful one. Ah, how lucky.
And since when did I even think I could like anyone, let alone someone from the same gender?
He drowned in his own thoughts miserably.
“Hey, do you feel better?” the man asks in genuine concern, distracting Jihoon from his reverie.
“Yeah” Jihoon responds insecurely, assuming that the man is about to say goodbye now that he’s okay. And he will be left alone, again.
“Oh, I’m glad…” the man says, nodding his head. He remained silent for a few seconds before uttering “Perhaps, did you… come here... alone?”
“Ah… I uhm,” Jihoon blinks repeatedly at the question before answering, it wouldn’t be bad to say I didn’t so I could spend some more time with him, right?, so he says, “No. I’m alone”
“Then,” the man starts shyly, and Jihoon thinks that’s cute “...would you like to go back to the festival together?” as he sticks out his hand towards Jihoon.
And Jihoon swears his heart was about to burst from happiness. Too much that he’s unable to formulate words. He just smiles and nods, taking the hand being offered to him.
•••
The two of them spent the evening at a restaurant offering wheat-based dishes. Jihoon wasn’t really a picky-eater so he was okay with anything. But the man, he learns, was a big fan of wheat-based foods, so he basically orders everything the food stall offers that has wheat on it, probably because this day marks the last best day to eat those before the cold season comes.
After which, they visited a stall that sells accessories.
Jihoon took a liking on one of the hair pins being sold. He lifts it up to see it more closely before asking the vendor, “Excuse me, how much is this?”
“15 yang” the vendor responds.
“15 yang?? That’s so expensive!” Jihoon whines.
“If you’re not buying, then get lost!” the vendor exclaims, shooing Jihoon away. Jihoon was sulky as he glares at the hair pin while walking away.
But the man with him steps forward, “No sir, we’ll buy it” he declares. He reaches for his purse, and hands him 15 yang, taking the hair pin from where it was carefully placed.
He then walks toward Jihoon, reaches for the hair pin he’s wearing and removes it, and replaces it with the newly-bought hair pin. “There, it looks pretty on you” the man utters, and Jihoon doesn’t miss how the other’s lips curl up into a smirk, exposing his snaggletooth” and he might have blushed a little because it’s cute.
“Thank you. You saved me, again. I’ll be sure to pay you back, just tell me how...” Jihoon suggests. Again, probably another lame attempt to get the man to tell him anything about himself.
“No need, I bought them as a gift for you.” the man assures, and then breaks into a warm smile. “If you find something else that you want, just tell me” he adds.
If Jihoon’s heart skipped a beat, he doesn’t let it show. Why on earth does it seem like he’s flirting with me, but won’t tell me a single thing about him? He asks himself, making him utterly confused with what he’s actually feeling.
As they continued to wander around the stalls, they found one stall that shows the process of fabric-weaving and is even offering a learning activity for a handful of interested ladies. It also had some beautiful and colorful fabrics on display which naturally drew Jihoon’s attention.
Jihoon scans the carefully hung fabrics, trying to find something that befits his taste. He was too lost in the moment that he didn’t notice the man had already gone missing. He rushes out to search for him, totally worried (that he really did left and that may be the last time he’d see him), and was about to go away from there much further, except he hears the man’s voice coming from the farthest corner of the fabric shop, saying “I think this one would look good on you”
When he sees him, Jihoon felt the urge to run to him and hug him. But he held himself back. Instead he says coolly, “I thought you already left”
“Well, I’m still here, aren’t I?” the man says as a matter of factly. He moves closer towards Jihoon though, this time touching his cheek and says, “I’m sorry, did I worry you?”
“I— it’s just because you haven’t told me your name, that I think I won’t meet you again that got me worried... ” Jihoon himself is surprised by his sudden confession.
The man chuckles at this, “Quite impatient are we? Let’s talk later, try this on first” Woojin says, wrapping Jihoon with the fabric. The man however, wraps it way above his and Jihoon’s head, and pulls it gently towards him.
Jihoon feels the warmth they’re sharing within that piece of fabric. And he looks into the man’s eyes who were staring at him intently. They were silent for a moment, before the man spouts the words “May I… kiss you?” and Jihoon swears, he couldn’t hear nor focus on anything else but the man in front of him.
Jihoon was flustered, staring alternately at the man’s eyes and lips, and he’s sure the other is doing the same thing too. Jihoon gulps at this. He thinks hard, is this right? Should I say yes? But before he knew it, he’s already closing his eyes and lets the other capture his lips.
They shared a short kiss, but it already made Jihoon gasp for air.
When they let go, the man pulls out a brown card from his pocket, “Here”
Jihoon holds it carefully on his two hands. He then reads the name written on it that says “Woojin”.
And they both smile.
“Sorry for giving it to you only now. But I actually didn’t bring any name cards with me so I had to ask the owner for a card and ink to write down my name.” Woojin confesses shyly.
“I— actually didn’t bring one too.” Jihoon gasps at this realization. “...but they call me Jihoon”
“It’s been a wonderful night meeting you, Jihoon” Woojin says, this time planting a kiss on the back of the other’s hand.
•••
It was already late in the night, so Woojin offered to drop Jihoon off at their house. The two of them walked hand in hand, slowly as if not wanting to part. Some people who saw their skinship, said nasty comments, but the couple chose to ignore them.
Not a lot of people would understand them, they know it. But more than just that acceptance, this day was a day meant for lovers— it’s a day to let love reign over anything. So they just let it be.
When they reach Jihoon’s house, they bid each other their farewells. Jihoon being the one who doesn’t want Woojin to go the most, because it makes him scared and doubtful that this day actually happened— scared that what happened between them might all be just a sweet dream.
And Woojin reassures him again. The man takes Jihoon’s perfume sachet and says, “I’ll come back and meet you again tomorrow to return this. See you, my handsome Jihoon”
And true enough, it makes Jihoon feel secured. He decides to believe Woojin and the feelings they’ve harbored for each other.
Truly, it’s been a lovely night to fall in love.