1984 | choi chanhee ♫

CHAPTER THIRTY

Y/N POV

His hands wrapped around the steering wheel, effortlessly turning corners through the city in his worn down convertible. He had a mysterious smile glued to his pinkish cheeks, the curiosity of where he was taking me was almost eating me alive. He had a thing for silk shirts, the button ups with diamond cufflinks. He looked almost like a disney prince with it tucked into some tapered black dress trousers. He hadn't missed a piece of jewelry from his box either, covered in gold pieces, from his earrings to his bracelets and the many jeweled rings that covered his fingers.

♪ Running up that Hill - Kate bush ♪

There was a small boating lake just on the outskirts of the town centre and as night fell upon us it was up to a fluorescent string of lightbulbs that wrapped across the bridge to light up the area.
"What are we doing here?" I giggled as he politely helped me out of the passenger side.
"I thought I'd take you out on a boat." He overtly gestured to the obvious sign behind him - sticking out like a sore thumb in graceful scarlet red font 'Boating Lake, $5 for one hour."

A grumpy old man slumped over his stall accepted our money and set us up with a long slender canoe and a wooden set of ores. It wasn't busy considering the time of night and only one or two other boats dotted themselves in the lake.  The sky was coated in a rich layer of stars, accompanied by the subtle chatting of humming birds amongst crickets in the wild.

Stepping off the docks, my inevitable clumsiness almost caused me to fall headfirst into the deep waters of the lake. Chanhee held my arms firmly, throwing one of his arms around my waist with a small laugh and held to me to maintain my balance. For a moment, the proximity between us caused things to come to a halt around us - looking at each other with a loving gaze as I fell into his chest slightly.
"Didn't know you fancied a swim Y/N." He joked, ruining the moment with his unruly sarcasm - the rude remarks that I couldn't love more.

Luckily enough for me, Chanhee knew exactly how to row a boat - sort of. The unsteady wobbles causing minor turbulence along the way, however the little giggles we shared concealed any nerves that the boat may tip over at some point. Swerving through clusters of lily pads, the further out we were from the docks - the quieter it was. Setting down the ores, the boy took a second to look around, looking through the branches of the willow tree that hung over the both of us and into the field of long grass and dandelion patches beside the lake.

Finally, his gaze landed on me. The way his eyes lit up and his ears perked slightly when he grinned shyly had blood rushing to my cheeks - coating my cheeks in rosy red blush.

"Do I make a sight to stare at, love?" He asked with integrity, moving to the little wooden step closer to me.
"Hmmm... From far away, you're okay." I sneered jokingly, my voice dripping with sarcasm as he scoffed.
"Maybe I would take that to heart, if you weren't gawking at me only a few minutes ago." He retorted cleverly. "I'm surprised you've not consumed any insects."
"You're so conceited." I bickered back, folding my arms over my chest with annoyance.
"You know, I don't mean it." He sighed, leaning back on to the bench lazily.
"Yes you do." I said, teasing him with a boop to his button nose. Grabbing my wrist, he looked at me with an unimpressed gaze - softening up when he saw how chirpy I was about the entire thing. Pulling himself forward, he placed a gentle kiss on my lips and once he was confident that I was reciprocating - another and another. Passionately titling my jaw to meet his kisses, before pulling away and resting his head against mine like always.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do without you."
He whispered, cupping my hands, his face still against mine. Leaving a silence between us, I couldn't understand why things had turned out this way for us.
"Don't say things like that." I whimpered back, shaking my head slightly.
"It's just- I love you. I'd spend the rest of my life loving you. I'd let you walk all over my heart- I'd let you break me. As long as I'd get to see you everyday for the rest of my life." He blurted, his words only just above a whisper and breaking wearily.
"Stop." I croaked on the verge of tears. "I don't think I can go back. Not without you. Not if I can't be with you."
"You have to Y/N. We can't keep doing this. You have a life to go back to, you don't belong here. You belong there." Chanhee had now broken down, a singular crystal tear descending down his cheek.
"I belong with you." I added, quietly sobbing now having seen my boyfriend in the state he was. Swiping his thumbs across my cheeks, he shook his head bitterly, sniffling and lifting his head tiredly. He didn't bother arguing, however you could tell he disagreed. In my own mind, I knew this was his way of protecting me. Unfortunately, a feeling of rejection completely replaced any thought of that being his motive.

"I love you. I'm so sorry for everything I've done." I put my head in my palms, not looking up at the boy in fear of being eaten alive by misery.
"You've done nothing. This isn't your fault." He took my hands way, pinning them at my sides with a sigh. "It's the world's fault, it was cruel enough to drag us together and mean enough to tear us apart."
"I just wish things were different." I enveloped my frustration with a short huff. Still holding my wrists at my sides, Chanhee let go and brought his hands to my face sweetly.
"Unfortunately they can't be... But for now, you're mine. That's what matters." He placed a kiss on my forehead, his words working like magic to stop my broken sobs.

The sound of the waters around us rippling ever so softly made any city noise fade out into the background. A romantic autumn night between the two of us where any pending feelings of angst had unfolded and been cleared up carefully. As he embraced me with delicate arms, I quietly observed the nature over his shoulder. The wallowing of crickets and small swarm of fireflies in the trees surrounding the open water. A singular butterfly had perched upon my index finger as my palm rested on his spine. Pulling away, I held my hand up carefully, watching its thin cerulean wings flutter slowly as it rubbed its slender little legs together excitedly. Chanhee smiled endearingly, watching my eyes glisten in fascination at the sudden appearance of the creature.

"Hold your hand out." I said, looking at him with confusion as he shook his head in refusal. "Why? Are you scared of it?" I added with a short sneer, watching him protest in embarrassment.
"NoNo, it's just- I- What if it bites or something?" He  gushed, leaning away from me in disgust.
"They don't bite. Now please hold your hand out. If you don't like it I'll just take the lil guy straight back off you." I chuckled, grabbing his hand gently. Holding his hand flat, I rested my index finger on top of his - allowing the small butterfly to carefully crawl on top his dainty fingers.
"See, it only wants to say hi." I cooed in a cute tone, smiling as Chanhee softened up to the small creature and allowed it to gleefully crawl over his palm. Holding it up into the air, he let it fly away with a small smile - admiring the way his dark eyes shone in the beam of moonlight above, I once again hadn't noticed my own stare. Smiling at me with a shake of his head, he placed another peck on my lips, it would be almost cliché to say that another million butterflies had just escaped its cocoon elsewhere in this story.

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AUTHORS NOTE

everytime i write dates.. create fictional men.. i begin to realize.. i'll never have this .°(ಗдಗ。)°...

anyways.. very overdue but hope you enjoyed nevertheless.. have a lovely week and stay safe!..

sending my love always..

clover <3