alters » nct dream

52

"i'll give you the pleasure of ordering the food for tonight." said donghyuck as he passed the menu to seolhyun. his elbow rested on the table, his chin resting on his palm as he stared intently to seolhyun. he wasn't focusing on any of the words she was saying as he got lost in his thoughts looking at her. 

he did let her choose the food for them, but little did he know that she ordered all of his favorites for both of them, knowing him too well to even ask what he wants.

as soon as she finished ordering, they both thanked the staff before making eye contact with each other. the air has been different between them these days, and they both know why.

"i'm so happy these days," said seolhyun, not breaking the eye contact between them, "it feels safe."

"me, too. i'm happy that you're safe now too." replied donghyuck, his left hand reaching out to seolhyun's right hand that was resting on the table. he sneaked his hands into hers, making her lips curve into a smile in an instant.

donghyuck looked down with a smile on his face. his hands supported his head by his forehead before he mumbled to himself, "i think i'm in trouble this time," but it was loud enough for seolhyun to hear him. she laughed, knowing that he was just being dramatic. her grip around his hand tightened, making him groan as he shoved his face further into his arms.

"why?" she asked, laughing.

"is it supposed to be like this? it doesn't make sense." he said, finally looking up to face her again, his cheeks tinted in pink as he stared intently into her eyes.

"seolhyun, i'll fall for you again if this keeps up." he said, his tone serious.

i'm really in trouble, he thought as his eyes gets lost in her dreamy ones. 

"fall for me then. it's mutual so there's nothing holding you back." 

he had always known she was the bold type, but he could swore that her words made its way to his heart, lighting up some fireworks in his stomach. his deep trance were broken when the staff served their food, forcing the two of them to break their physical contact. after thanking the staff, the pair started enjoying their food.

"everything on the table are my favorites," said donghyuck, taking a piece of sushi with his chopsticks.

"of course. i ordered all of your favorites." she said, placing a sushi on his plate. 

after a few minutes of enjoying their meal, seolhyun broke the silence with a question.

"when did you first notice you were falling for me?" she asked. her question surprised the male, making him choke on his food. she laughed, before pouring the coughing man a glass of water. 

"can you please not surprise me like that?" he said, his voice hoarse from all the coughing. 

she laughed, "sorry, i thought we've been friends long enough to get you used to me asking things out of the blue."

"yeah we've definitely been friends for long," he replied, "long enough for us to even catch feelings for each other."

she muttered a small "right," as she played with the food on her plate with her chopsticks. "so what do we do about it?"

she looked up to meet his softened eyes. they loved being this way with each other, the phrase 'a girl and a boy can't be just friends' made sense to them now. but it is undeniable that deep down, they were worried that things could go wrong if they took even just one more step forward.

"are we going to take a break like jeno and eunha did, or are we just going to let things flow by itself?" she asked.

"i don't think i'll be able to distance myself from you, hyun." said donghyuck, eyes teary just from the thought of it.

"me too, actually." seolhyun chuckled, "but we know how things will go if we let it flow. and are you ready for that?"

"i think we'll be okay, hyun." said donghyuck, serious as his hands reached out to hers again.

"but really though, when did you start falling for me?" asked seolhyun, right hand busy feeding herself while her left hand was in donghyuck's.

"i first thought it was when you ran and hugged me after the interrogation, but maybe it was way before that." replied donghyuck. seolhyun raised her eyebrows in anticipation to hear some more explanation, "okay to be exact, when the dreamies broke up for awhile. they were talking about taking care of weiyun and eunha and i exploded to them saying that you need to be safe too. maybe that was when i realized that i actually cared about you more than usual."

"more than when we were just best friends?"

"exactly." he nodded, "you have that special place, you know. you're more than a best friend to me, but there's also another boundary there before the couple phase."

"we're more than just best friends, but less than a couple."

"but i wouldn't hesitate to cross that boundary to be honest." said donghyuck, looking up to meet her eyes who were already locked on him.

"yeah, me too, hyuck." said seolhyun, her lips curving into a sweet smile as he returned the same sweetness in his.

"hey," called donghyuck, "you know i love you, right? and i don't mean it platonically anymore."

she smiled, "i know. i love you too, hyuck."

for some reason, the word 'love' meant so much more to them now. the phrase they often blurt out to each other to show their appreciation now makes the butterflies in their stomach go wild. their 'i love you' now releases chemicals in their brain that makes them want to do anything for each other. what started as a close friendship between them bloomed into a relationship that they're both willing to commit to. 

• • •

the game continues throughout all the remaining chapterss

any guesses on what song i used in this chapter?

also, seolhyuck for the win 😎

- ayraa