My Secret Lover

Chapter 25

Pov. Park Sunghoon*

"Two tickets for the night exhibition please!" asked Jake at the Ocean World counter, already rummaging around in his wallet. The woman behind the counter handed him two tickets, and in return, he gave her the exact amount of money. After that, he turned to me. I was already waiting in front of the entrance to the aquarium. Nervously I bobbed my foot and tugged at my hair, even though I already had restyled it three times in the last few minutes.

It was after 10 p.m. the late-night math tutoring session would be held at this time. Since Mr. Choi's TEAMS message said it wouldn't take place, Jake suggested going to the Ocean World night exhibition as an excuse because of this morning's incident. I had to come up with a clever lie for my parents and said that I was going to work out with Namra at the gym. That's why I looked like a bum with my gym clothes and baseball cap in contrast to Jake.

"Here," Jake said when he got to me and pressed a ticket into my hand. We walked to the guy who validated our tickets and then strolled to the aquarium.

We didn't hold hands, but our elbows brushed against each other as if we were leaning on each other's warmth. I liked the feeling.

The paths were decorated with dim white and blue lights. Meanwhile, pleasant music was playing while we looked at some animals such as garden eels, jellyfish, and mantis shrimp, which certainly kept us busy for almost an hour. After that, we walked through the underwater tunnel, over which sharks and rays swam.
"Well, what do you think?" he asked with a lent grin. I smiled involuntarily, dazed with relief. "I like it."
The ray slid on the glass and stopped in front of us. A giggle left my lips, the smiling face of the animal looked extremely cute.
"Hey. Stop flirting with my date," Jake quipped, putting an arm around my shoulder, and pulling me close, looking provocatively at the ray.

Date. The word caused my heart to flutter. A date is an appointment, something planned; not a chance encounter, but time set aside for someone.

"Look, bioluminescence!" Jake dragged me away from the tunnel to a large aquarium. The room was darker than the others, with only the natural underwater animals giving us mystical dim light. "Some creatures have the ability to produce light naturally," he murmured, looking intriguingly into the glass. Jake grabs my hand, our fingers intertwining like links in a chain. My gaze wandered to our hands, then I looked over at him, illuminated by the dim blue light.

He looked so dreamy, the shimmering sea blue with his concentrated yet impressive face looked beautiful.

"You're staring at me," he whispers, barely audible, and chuckles. I blinked. "Sorry."
I shake my head before my gaze drifts back to him. He caught me looking at him again and winks. "You look great," I said, a little out of breath, and immediately glanced back into the glass to admire the bioluminescence.
He grabbed my baseball cap and put it on himself. "I want to see your face, too," he said softly. He ran his thumb over the back of my hand, whereupon our eyes met once more. His eyes seem deeper than the ocean.

The more you stared at them, the more you want to drown in them.

"Are you hungry too? At the entrance next to the cash register I saw a restaurant, but I think they only serve drinks because it's already late in the evening," I changed the subject and scratched the back of my neck with my free hand.

Wow, I was the mood killer 1A.

"Or do you want to come over to my place and eat what my mom made?"
"What did she cook?"
"Me!~"
"Naw, shut up," I muttered.

He was cheesy. Even though it sounded macho, I admired that side of him.

Slowly the red rose on my face, I pressed the brim of the baseball cap in his face and denied his offer. "Let's just drink a hot chocolate!", I laughed, he on the other hand pulled up the brim again and pressed a kiss on my cheek.

There weren't many people at the night exhibition, his gesture was also so quick and short that no one could notice it.

"Hot chocolate sounds good," he said with a grin, and together we walked to the exit to the Ocean World restaurant where we sat down and ordered our drinks.
"I'm really tired from all day. Next week on Friday is our important match," Jake started and sighed out fatigued. "Friday? Do you feel ready yet?", I pecked. "I feel ready but well, Hee is our goal scorer and from the looks of it, the match won't be for him. We'll get some substitutes but let's see.... anyway, away with negative thoughts", Jake grinned and sipped his cup.
"You can do it! The way you guys left the ice field so demolished shows how hard you've been training. Hard training pays off, trust me on that!"
"I'm sure it does! But now let's leave the training aside, back to us! Let's enjoy the time together!", he said, and I could feel how he pressed his shoe on mine. Briefly I laughed and then bit my lip thoughtfully. "Tell me, why... why do you love me?", I suddenly asked hesitantly, nervously playing with the handle of the cup. "Why do I love you? Good question... Because you're just you, you can't decide who you fall in love with."
"YA! Don't just say some phrase you found on Pinterest. Why do you love me? And since when?", I pecked. "I've liked you since the first time you did a quadruple Axel-"
"Wait, that was last year at the end of February. That was over a whole year ago. That long?", I interrupted him in surprise. "Well, what can I say...? It's funny since we don't know each other at all but I feel comfortable around you, I long for it. You surprise me again and again and especially now that we know each other better and better I am sure that my feelings are right!"

I could never have imagined getting a confession of love in the Ocean World restaurant with hot chocolate in my hand.

"Wow..." I was taken aback. "Do I flatter you that much?" he laughed, lifting his cup, but pausing after a sip to look across the room, where his gaze lingered in surprise. He choked on his hot chocolate, a blush rising on his cheek. "What's wrong?", I asked. "Are you not feeling well?" Jake coughed, nearly dropping his cup as he gestured toward the door.
My eyes wandered back and recognized Jungwon standing there with an Ocean World uniform and broom in hand. He seemed to be cleaning the floor.

Fuck. Secret lover my ass when it seems like Jake's friends were following us everywhere we went...

My knees bounced restlessly up and down; a queasy feeling spread through me.

Didn't fate want Jake and me to be together? Why couldn't we ever enjoy time together without someone we knew running into us?

"What now?" asked Jake. "I swear I didn't know Jungwon is working here!" he quickly added. "I believe you Jakey but-"
"Did you just call me Jakey?" grinned Jake, but immediately became serious again. "Sorry," he added in a flash. I quickly grabbed my baseball cap back and asked Jake for a sanitary mask. "What about me? What am I supposed to tell him when he sees me?" asked Jake excitedly. "Just tell him you've always wanted to try the Ocean World chocolate milk or something like that," I suggested as Jake thrust the mask into my hand. "Shit, he's looking over at us," the older one muttered, smiling uncertainly. "Jake?", I heard Jungwon ask, to which he waved in greeting. "Quick, get up! He's coming at us!" he hissed nervously, to which I put on my mask and stood up. "See you tomorrow!", I said abruptly, confirming he looked me in the eyes and nodded. "See you tomorrow!", he said goodbye to me before I ran away.

What an evening...