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“long time no see,” says dan-i, racing up to seohyun. he’s leaning against the telephone pole, checking his phone. immediately, his head snaps up, and a smile slowly spreads across his lips.
“dan-i,” he breathes. she doesn’t hear it, but she sees the way his mouth moves.
“were you waiting long?” she asks.
“i just got here,” he says. it’s two minutes past four, so dan-i’s only two minutes late, but she wouldn’t be surprised if seohyun’s been here for much longer than that. either way, she just grins at him.
“let’s get going, then,” she says. seohyun pushes off and they start across the plaza toward a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop.
it has a cute awning that stretches over the sidewalk, striped in green and white. a few chairs and tables are scattered in front, but aside from an old couple swaddled in coats, there’s no one sitting out there. seohyun holds the door open for her.
“you like sweet things, right?” says seohyun.
dan-i’s head whips around to look at him. “you remembered?”
“how could i forget?” he puts his arm around her shoulders and shifts them away from the door to make way for a lone college student muttering to himself. they stare after him for a moment before looking at each other, noses just a centimeter apart. dan-i’s face flushes.
(damn her for living vicariously through webnovels all this time.)
“um.” dan-i opens her mouth to say something, but seohyun doesn’t remove his arm, and instead drapes it further across her shoulders, letting his hand dangle freely, just barely brushing the space where her shirt collar meets her skin. they step forward to order, but dan-i’s so preoccupied by that minute touch of skin that she doesn’t even look at the menu on the wall. she hardly even hears him order for both of them until he’s already scanned his phone to pay.
“you didn’t have to pay,” dan-i protests. he just smiles at her cheekily.
“then you can pay me back by staying with me today,” he says.
“i was gonna do that anyway!”
“then it should be easy for you.” he winks and moves his arm from around her shoulders, only to link his fingers with hers instead. dan-i’s heart nearly stops. his palm is so warm, his long fingers squeezing her hand slightly. archer’s hands. she wants to run her lips over the calluses on his fingers. the very idea makes her entire body feel warm.
seohyun’s cup comes first, steaming. it might be her imagination, but dan-i thinks she sees a smile in the thin clouds, like the cheshire cat: formless, disappearing. she blinks and the feeling is gone. the cup is in seohyun’s other hand —his fingers are still interlaced with hers. she wonders, for a moment, if she should hold up their joined hands, just for reference, like it’s not real if she doesn’t see it. imagine this: a date with seohyun. her boyfriend. dan-i still can’t really believe it’s happening.
“is everything okay?” seohyun asks, ever attentive.
“yeah,” she says. “i’m just happy.”
“why?”
she looks up at him, brows furrowed. the widening grin on his face betrays him. “you know exactly why,” dan-i grumps.
“if it’s what i’m hoping,” says seohyun, squeezing her hand, “then i’m happy too.”
“mocha frappuccino,” says the barista, placing the drink on the counter, and dan-i averts her eyes from seohyun. sometimes, he is blinding, in the softest way. seohyun releases her hand and puts a straw into the plastic cup before presenting it to dan-i. she misses the warmth of his hand.
“for you, ham dan-i,” he says.
she takes the ice-cold drink. her fingers shiver. “a cold drink in winter?”
“i think cold drinks taste better when it’s cold,” says seohyun, holding his paper cup to his mouth. through its steam, dan-i can make out his smirk.
“you didn’t get something cold,” dan-i accuses.
instead of an answer, seohyun just says, “i’ll warm you up if you get too cold, okay?”
dan-i’s face immediately flushes once again. what a cheeky little…
“try it,” seohyun urges. she puts her mouth to the straw and takes a sip. cold rushes into her mouth, cooling her burning face. the drink is sweet in all the right ways, chocolate and ice cream with a hint of coffee.
“it’s good,” dan-i says, surprised.
“you doubted me,” says seohyun.
dan-i scoffs, looping her arm through his. “sure, sure.”
(she does not notice the way seohyun’s eyes linger on their linked arms.)
dan-i leads them to a pair of seats by the window. “so, i guess you’re an expert in coffee?”
“not really.” seohyun shrugs. “i just come here a lot. it’s a nice reading spot. and it’s not very crowded.”
she knows that feeling. after all these years of playing tag-along with the four heavenly kings, dan-i’s found herself enjoying secluded places more and more. places where there are less likely to be the stereotypical jealous bystanders, where she doesn’t have to question why she’s being tolerated. crowds make her think about that inevitable day when she returns to her own world, or maybe dies to further the plot. it would be through no fault of her own. she has no control over it.
and then seohyun says, “i think we’re both the kind of people who don’t really like being around a lot of other people.” his piercing eyes look straight into her face.
dan-i fixes her eyes on her plastic cup. the swirl of whipped cream and chocolate syrup. “yeah,” she says. seohyun feels different from other people. he’s less tiring. and yet, she can’t look at him, the way his amber eyes do not falter. the way he looks directly at her. unafraid.
before dan-i can think, seohyun leans across the table and swipes his thumb across her bottom lip. dan-i starts and watches as he licks whipped cream off his thumb, once again looking directly into her eyes. she can’t tear her gaze away this time.
“you had something on your lip,” seohyun explains, like that makes it any better.
“that’s so cheesy,” dan-i says. seohyun says nothing in return, just smugly takes a sip of his coffee. wow.
dan-i leans her cheek on the cool window and shivers minutely. she can feel the cold frappuccino spreading through her chest, and imagines it being absorbed and finding itself broken into pieces in her fingertips. icy and cold. she looks back at seohyun’s warm, warm eyes; he’s looking at the window, at their reflections, blink, at her —
“should we head to our next destination?”
dan-i gapes at him. “a secondary location?”
the smile on seohyun’s face disappears, his mouth set in a straight line. “that’s right,” he says, wiggling his fingers as if to be scary. “come with me, dan-i. our secondary location awaits!” he stands, offering his hand to her.
“and what are my odds of survival here?” says dan-i.
“one hundred percent, unless cupid shoots you with a love arrow.”
dan-i cringes. “i hate this joke.”
“me too. let’s go.”
she takes his hand and they exit the coffee shop.
dan-i expects seohyun to drop her hand when they get outside, but if anything, he holds on tighter. his fingers are warm from holding his warm cup of coffee, which is now held to his mouth with his other hand. he takes a sip and glances over at dan-i, her warm face and half-filled plastic cup.
“so where are we going?” asks dan-i.
“i’ll give you a hint.” seohyun takes another sip. “we’ll have to finish these quickly, because i don’t think they’re allowed in the store.”
“store?” dan-i takes a long sip that empties a half of her remaining drink. her head feels cold.
“you’ll find out,” says seohyun. he takes their linked hands and stuffs them in his warm pocket.
two blocks later, they’ve disposed of their cups in a recycling can at a crosswalk and stand in front of crazy wisdom bookstore. seohyun holds the door open for her.
the inside is bathed in yellow-white light. books line every wall up to the ceiling, and in the back, dan-i just barely makes out a rack of plastic-wrapped tarot cards and glass balls.
“whoa,” she says. leave it to a novel character to sniff out out-of-the-way places like this.
seohyun excitedly grabs her hand and leads her to a table displaying new releases. “this is where they put new mysteries,” he whispers, running his hand over one of the covers. it’s black, the white silhouette of a circus tent embossed on the cover. it feels like something mystical. dan-i stares at his fingers splayed over the cover, and instinctively puts her hand over his. she meets his eyes and grins through the blush splotching over her ears and neck.
“let’s do a book club,” she says. “you and me.”
seohyun laughs softly, like they don’t already trade book knowledge. “should we start with this one, then?”
dan-i holds the book, feels the weight of it in her hands. “sure,” she says.
the bookstore has an upstairs too with more coffee, but dan-i and seohyun stay on the main floor. dan-i takes a random book and flips it open. “this is how your love life is,” she says, and points to a random passage on the page. “‘that’s probably good for indecisive people,’” she reads.
seohyun snorts. “i don’t think i’m very indecisive. i've already made up my mind.”
“okay, you try then.”
seohyun takes the book, opens to a random page, and reads the first passage his eyes come across. “‘though it is not for lack of trying, given the way some of the acrobats carry on.’”
dan-i scowls. “what’s that supposed to mean?”
“dan-i, are you an acrobat?” seohyun asks innocently.
“no,” she says flatly.
seohyun ignores her answer. “because you’ve been flipping through my mind all day.” dan-i groans.
“that’s terrible. i hate it. date over.”
“noooo dan-i, don’t leave me here!”
dan-i can’t help but grin. part of her is imagining seohyun swaying to “all by myself.”
seohyun puts the book back on the shelf where they got it. “where did you get the idea to do something like that, anyway?” he asks.
“the internet!” dan-i winks.
“of course.” seohyun does not look impressed.
“hey, don’t judge. the internet said it’s a very accurate way to tell fortunes.”
“and you’re the kind of person who believes in that sort of thing?”
dan-i snorts. “no, but it’s fun, isn’t it?”
“oh, of course. now i know you’re going to become an acrobat, and that you have been trying hard to get a date.”
“i have not!” dan-i protests.
seohyun puts a hand over his heart. “so you haven’t been trying to go on a date with me?”
“we’re on a date right now!” dan-i argues back.
“my heart is breaking,” seohyun deadpans.
“hmph. well, now i know you’re indecisive,” dan-i says.
“hey. you know that’s not true.”
“i think you’re still deciding if it is or not.”
the person behind the counter shushes them when they break out in a fit of laughter.
“we should probably go, then,” seohyun whispers. he buys the pair of the same book for their future book club (once again, not letting dan-i pay, the jerk) and the two of them set out into the waning evening.
they should head home soon. dan-i’s starting to get tired, even though it’s a saturday. hey, she tries to keep a healthy sleep schedule. unlike the boy next to her, who sometimes calls in the middle of the night to mumble his way through whatever is plaguing his mind in that very moment. she would never have guessed seohyun was the type of person to be clingy or call his girlfriend late at night, but she guesses all people are a bit different when they’re dating someone.
wow. she’s dating someone. she’s dating seohyun.
even if they’re just on their first date. still. they’ve already made it official. seohyun calls her his girlfriend. he has hearts next to her name on his phone. they text each other often. most days, he walks her home from school. wow.
“what’s going on in that head of yours, ham dan-i?” seohyun asks.
for once, dan-i decides to be truthful. “i don’t want today to end,” she says. “i still can’t believe we’re… together.”
“believe it,” seohyun says. “unless you don’t want to. i’m not going to force you do stay with me or anything.”
“it’s not that!” dan-i quickly says. “i like being with you. a lot! that’s why i don’t want today to end.”
seohyun hums noncommittally. “think of it this way,” he says quietly, for her ears only. “when today ends, we’ll have the next date, and the next, and the next.”
“hm. you’re right.” dan-i thinks for a moment as they walk. she hardly even notices they’re heading toward the bus stop. “maybe next time, you can come over and watch a drama with me.”
“would your parents be okay with a boy coming over?”
dan-i clicks her tongue. “sometimes i wish they wouldn’t be. the amount of times that eun jiho appears at our house is unreal. so they’re not very surprised by it anymore.”
“i’ll try not to be jealous,” seohyun says, smirking.
“hey,” dan-i says gravely. “don’t be jealous. it’s not attractive.”
“yes, yes, i understand,” seohyun says.
dan-i continues. “besides, he doesn’t come by much anymore. i’m seeing someone, after all.”
“oh?” seohyun’s smile grows wider. “who might that be?”
“you know who,” dan-i says, elbowing him in the side.
“ouch.”
they’ve arrived at the bus stop and climb aboard, taking two seats next to each other. seohyun laces his fingers with dan-i’s and shoves their clasped hands into his jacket pocket. he doesn’t even say a word about it.
“look at you, being so smooth,” dan-i says.
“who, me?” seohyun doesn’t look at her. “i just thought your hand was cold.”
“what about my other hand, then?”
“hm. bring it here.” seohyun takes her other hand in his free one and presses a kiss to the back of it. oh. that’s one way to warm it up. dan-i does not have words. she gapes up at him, her face on fire. how did he do that without breaking a sweat?
“how dare you,” dan-i says with no real malice.
“oops,” says seohyun with no real sincerity. “guess i got carried away.” he props his chin up on dan-i’s head and watches the buildings pass by through the window.
finally, they arrive at dan-i’s stop.
“are you sure i shouldn’t walk you home?” she asks.
“what kind of man would i be if i made you walk me home?” seohyun counters. “this is the least i can do for you.”
“you’ve already done too much,” dan-i gripes.
“hm? what was that? you want me to carry you home?”
“no, i didn’t say—” before dan-i can finish, seohyun sweeps her up over his shoulder and sprints to her building. the cold wind bites as they fly through the air.
at the base of the building, seohyun sets dan-i down. he’s barely even broken a sweat. dan-i had noticed before, but he really has nice shoulders. archery isn’t a sport that seems to have a lot of muscle-building, but seohyun’s very toned — at least, she thinks he is, from the brief time she’s had to observe.
“you should get inside,” seohyun says. “it’s getting cold.”
“okay,” dan-i says. the two of them trudge up the stairs to dan-i’s family’s apartment. she fumbles to get her keychain out of her coat pocket, but as she’s doing so, seohyun lands his hand on the door next to her head.
is this… a kabedon?
dan-i turns, encapsulated by him. “seohyun…?”
“can i kiss you?”
huh???
dan-i’s face flushes. wordlessly, she nods, unable to meet his eyes.
“dan-i. look at me.”
she does.
seohyun presses his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. it lingers just for a second, enough to make her want to kiss him again. how dare he be so good at that.
before seohyun can fully pull away, dan-i pulls him back down by his collar and rams her lips against his in a more unforgiving kiss. once again, it’s not a long one, but enough that dan-i feels breathless when seohyun pulls away just barely, his breath ghosting over her lips.
“we should do that again sometime,” he says cheekily.
“we will.”
the makings of a blush dust seohyun’s cheeks; dan-i counts that as her own personal win. she fishes her keychain out of her pocket and quickly unlocks the door.
“i’ll see you at school, seohyun,” she says, pressing another quick kiss to his lips. “text me.”
just as she’s getting inside and closing the door, she hears him say, “i will!”
dan-i can’t stop smiling. almost immediately, her phone buzzes.
had a great time with u! it reads, from seohyun.
me too, she replies.
how dare he make her so happy.