'' ᵃ ᵈᵃᵗᵉ ᶠᵘˡˡ ᵒᶠ ᶠᶦʳˢᵗˢ ''
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Sunoh's breath hitched when he caught sight of Nari at the other end of the road.
She was wearing a beautiful white dress, the skirt of which had many layers that shifted with every move she made while the top part was dusted with glitter which shimmered as she walked. On top of her dress she had put on a white coat to keep herself warm, but it was unzipped to show off the dress beneath. She had made her hair wavy, and some of the more curly strands kept being blown in her face by the wind which made her squint and scrunch her nose every now and then.
She looks heavenly—just like an angel, Sunoh thought as he pushed himself off the wall that he had been leaning against while waiting for her. Suddenly, he felt very underdressed in his jeans and white knitted jumper which was hidden by his black coat. His signature red scarf was wrapped tightly round his neck, protecting his neck from the cold. Sunoh cursed at himself in his mind for not picking out something better to wear for their first date.
A week had passed since their first Friday spent together, and Sunoh had finally managed to gather up enough courage to ask Nari to spend the weekends with him after much self-encouragement. He had been hesitant to call it a date when he rang her late on Friday evening since he didn't know if it would be too early for that, but when he heard Nari's happy teasing of 'are you making the first move and asking me out on a date?' from the other end of the line during their phone call, Sunoh didn't hesitate to agree.
"Hi," Nari grinned as she came to a stop in front of him, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear so that it wouldn't hit her in the face anymore. The butterfly hairclip which usually kept her hair out of her face was nowhere to be seen, allowing her hair to move as it wanted to. She cursed at herself as she realised she should have at least substituted it for a different hairclip, but then remembered that she didn't own any besides that one.
"You're beautiful," Sunoh blurted out, pulling her out of her thoughts.
They blinked at one another silently for a moment.
"I mean—" Sunoh's face flushed red, "I, uh—I didn't mean that—wait, no—no—I did—I did mean it, but I didn't want to just say it like that—I wanted to tell you but not—not like this! I wanted to—"
He huffed and clamped his mouth shut as he failed to string a proper sentence together. Lowering his gaze to stare at his feet instead of her, the Hwang boy hid his flushed cheeks in the fabric of his red scarf.
"I meant to say 'hi'," he mumbled, voice muffled by the scarf, "But I was thinking about how beautiful you are and it slipped out and...yeah..."
Nari continued to stare up at him wordlessly for a moment, her cheeks gradually darkened in colour as his words replayed in her mind. She felt giddy, the happiness bubbling up inside of her until she did something that she hadn't done not even once in the past month. Seo Nari smiled.
She had been used and broken, cast aside and thieved of her happiness. She hadn't smiled in so long that she had been sure that she had forgotten how to. But now she was standing with someone just as broken as her, and she was smiling. All because of him—all because of Hwang Sunoh.
In that moment, she truly believed that Sunoh would be able to fill the cracks in her broken heart with a glue that wouldn't put it back to how it was before, but would make it into something better and more beautiful than it had been before. Her heart would become something similar to pottery fixed by kintsugi, and that thought caused her happiness to spill over. She found herself not only smiling, but laughing too.
Sunoh's gaze snapped up to her immediately, his breath being taken away by her for the second time in the past five minutes. Her eyes formed crescent moons while dimples appeared on either side of her lips which were stretched into a smile, a joyful sound bubbling out of her and warming up the atmosphere around them. His heart fluttered at the sight.
"Thank you," Nari told him, her laughter dying down but a small smile remaining on her face. She looked up at him as she confessed, "You look beautiful too."
His face turned a darker shade of red at the compliment as he mumbled, "But I'm not as dressed up as you...I look so plain beside you."
"No," Nari shook her head, "You're beautiful. Who cares what you wear or how you do your hair? What's important is what's inside. And what's inside of you is beautiful, Sunoh, even if it's broken. You're beautiful."
Sunoh was so moved by her words that tears pooled in his eyes as a genuine smile spread on his face. He too hadn't smiled in the past month so it felt a little strange, but it was a nice strange. Sunoh liked this feeling—he liked the feeling he got whenever he was with Nari. The thought made him smile more.
He looked even more charming in that moment than in any other, and it was Nari's turn to feel her breath being taken away. His smile was just as beautiful as the rest of him, his cheeks rising and making his eyes curve slightly as smile lines appeared around his mouth. He was handsome usually, but his smile definitely made him much more attractive. Nari found herself wanting to keep his smile all to herself.
If other girls catch sight of it, they will start showing an interest in him and then it probably won't be long until Sunoh leaves me just like Tae-joon had, she thought to herself as her smile faded away. After all, I'm nothing special—there are so many prettier and richer and just overall better girls out there. Tae-joon had realised that and that's why he left me...how long will it be until Sunoh realises it too?
Pulling herself out of her thoughts with a light shake of her head, Nari reached up to wipe his tears away gently as he continued to look fondly down at her. "I didn't mean to make you cry...I'm sorry."
Shaking his head, Sunoh replied, "It's okay—they're happy tears." He grabbed onto her hand and gave it a light squeeze as he said, "Thank you, Nari. For your words and—just—for everything. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Sunoh let go of her hand as he said, "Should we get going?"
Nari grabbed his hand again before he could hide it in his pocket and intertwined their fingers, chuckling at the way his eyes comically widened at her gesture. It was the first time that they were holding hands since they made their relationship official, both of them looking down at their interlocked fingers for a moment. Nari's much small hand was almost hidden from view by Sunoh's much larger one.
Tearing her gaze away from their hands, Nari began to pull Sunoh down the road while trying not to laugh at his still comically shocked expression, "Yeah—let's go."
─🌊─
"Wow," Nari said, looking around the empty cinema room as Sunoh pulled her up the stairs towards the more comfy seats located at the very top. "I guess you weren't joking about renting the cinema for the day."
Sunoh stopped in his tracks, slowly turning round to face her. "I just—I thought it would be better this way," he stuttered out, "You know—with no distractions or interruptions or anything. But if you don't like it—if you want other people here I can ask them to let people in—"
Nari stopped his rant by squeezing his hand gently and shaking her head. A wide smile bloomed on her face. "That's not what I meant—I meant that this is awesome. I've never had a whole cinema to myself before—I didn't even know that it was possible to rent a cinema!"
Letting out a relieved sigh, Sunoh continued pulling her up the stairs before they reached the very top where there was a row of beds instead of seats. They settled down in the middle of one of the double beds located in the middle of the row, Sunoh leaning back against the pillows provided while Nari remained sitting up and looking around the empty cinema hall.
Fairy lights were hanging down the walls of the cinema hall, their lights bright enough to be seen but dim enough to not distract from the movie when it would eventually turn on. Balloons were hanging from the ceiling, and almost every seat in the hall was supplied with food and drinks. Rose petals had been sprinkled all over the floor, but Nari only noticed it now that she was able to get a proper look around the hall.
"This must've been so expensive," Nari commented as she leant back against the pillows, snuggling into Sunoh's side. "Renting the cinema, I mean. Not the petals and stuff."
"It wasn't really that expensive," Sunoh responded, shrugging lightly. "At least I don't think it was. It wasn't even a sixteenth of my monthly allowance, so it was basically nothing."
"Wow," Nari breathed, looking up at him in awe. "Your family must be loaded if renting an entire cinema is only a sixteenth of your monthly allowance."
Sunoh nodded, his mood visibly dampening at the mention of the word 'family'. His sadness didn't last long as Nari pushed a piece of toffee popcorn past his lips and into his mouth, giggling softly when he looked down at her in confusion. He found himself smiling back at her as he munched on the popcorn, forgetting all about the inkling of negativity that had slipped into his mood accidentally.
"Do you like it?" Sunoh asked nervously, gesturing around them. "The setup and the lights and stuff?"
"I love it," Nari reassured him. "You prepared all of this just for me—of course I love it."
"It's just—I want you to know that I was sincere about this, okay?" Sunoh said, his nervousness not going away just yet. "I know people say that simple gifts are better because they have more deep thought and feelings in them and stuff like that—I know that, but I still wanted to do this. I wanted to prepare something big for you—something memorable—but that doesn't mean I didn't think about it carefully, okay? I was being sincere while planning this, I promise..."
As he trailed off, Nari wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. He returned her hug, relaxing into her as she continued to reassure him.
"I know," she said. "You don't have to explain yourself every time you do something for me, okay? I understand. I know that behind each of your actions there are only good intentions, so you don't have to apologise or explain yourself to me. I can feel the warmth behind everything you do—whether you use money or not, I can feel your sincerity. You're different to those that spend their money left and right just because they have it, and I know that. Don't worry about this anymore, okay?"
Sunoh nodded, letting out a breath of relief. Nari always knew what to say to comfort him and convince him that he hadn't made any mistakes, something which he had recently become terribly afraid of doing. Jojo had broken up with him without giving him a reason for the sudden end to their relationship and so Sunoh had guessed that it must have been something he did despite not knowing what it could have been. He became extremely cautious about everything that he did after that, afraid that he was doing something wrong without knowing it.
But Nari kept praising and thanking him for everything he did, making sure to tell him that he was free to do what he liked and that she was perfectly happy with him and anything he did, no matter how big or small it was. Her words always comforted him, and he was grateful to have her by his side.
Lifting his head, Sunoh whispered a 'thank you' to her as he moved a curled strand of her hair out of her face gently. She just smiled in response before shifting into a more comfortable position and laying her head down on his shoulder.
The movie began to play and the couple turned their attention to the screen without letting go of one another.
─🌊─
As they walked around the market with their hands intertwined and soft smiles playing on their faces, they chatted about their favourite parts from the movie that they had just watched.
After Sunoh had told her that he had rented the cinema out for the entire day and could easily rent it for the entirety of the following day too, Nari had suggested that they go elsewhere before returning there towards the end of the day. Once they had left the cinema, Sunoh had suggested that they walk around the market for a little bit first since he had easily noticed how Nari's eyes lit up once she noticed the market's entrance in the distance.
Nari was fascinated by everything that she saw around her as they walked through the market, and it was obvious—her eyes sparkled with awe as they darted around from one stall to the other, her head turning this way and that as she tried to look at each and every stall that they passed.
Noticing a jewellery stall nearby, Sunoh became intrigued and tugged on Nari's hand who immediately looked over at him, humming in question. Leading her over to the stall, he smiled when she gasped at the collection of jewellery laid out on the stall, her eyes excitedly glancing at everything in front of her.
A sweet old lady was standing behind the stall, smiling at the pair as she greeted them, "Hello dears."
"Hello," the teens greeted her back politely, bowing politely to her.
"Your jewellery is beautiful," Nari complimented as her gaze fell back to the table, one of her hands moving up to tuck her hair behind her ear though it didn't help much—her wavy tresses kept falling in front of her face again and again.
The old lady's smile widened as she uttered a 'thank you'.
Sunoh glanced around at all of the jewellery that lay on the table, his gaze landing on a pretty hairclip with some white flowers and small pearls decorating it. He picked it up and brushed Nari's hair out of her face, clipping it back with the hairclip while making sure not to hurt her. "It suits you," he said when she turned to look at him while gently touching the hairclip.
Using the small mirror that lay on the stall, Nari admired the hairclip Sunoh had chosen for her, a smile blooming on her face. "It's beautiful."
"You're beautiful."
Giggling, Nari nudged him. "Is that your favourite phrase today?" she teased, trying not to show how flustered the compliment was making her.
Sunoh shrugged, smiling back at her. "I guess so. I should have told you that you're beautiful ages ago—I've thought it more times than I can count. I don't know why it took me so long to say it aloud."
Nari couldn't stop blushing and smiling as Sunoh paid for the hairclip, thanking the old lady for her blessings before pulling her away to resume their walk through the market.
─🌊─
"The machine is rigged," Sunoh mumbled as he watched the teddy bear toy fall out of the claw once again. He had already tried only about a thousand times, but he hadn't managed to get a single toy out of the claw machine. "It won't let anyone win—it's made to take your money without giving anything in response," he huffed, annoyed and embarrassed all at once.
Nari shook her head as she rolled her eyes lightly while pushing him aside. Making a 'shoo' gesture at him as if to tell him to take a few steps away from her, she arrogantly said, "Watch and learn."
She slid a coin into the machine and scanned its contents for a minute, smiling to herself when she spotted the item she wanted to get. After flexing her fingers in an exaggerated way that made Sunoh roll his eyes at her, Nari pressed the start button and focused her attention on the machine. Her gaze narrowed and expression turned serious as she adjusted the position of the claw a couple of times before pressing the button and watching the claw lower with determination burning in her eyes. Her lips formed a little pout of concentration as she waited with baited breath for the outcome.
Sunoh couldn't hide his disappointment when the claw grabbed one of the items in the machine and successfully delivered it to Nari who turned to him with a triumphant grin on her face as she showed it off to him. His lips formed a pout as he grumbled, "You've probably played it a thousand times before."
"Nope," Nari denied, "It was actually my first time. I was bluffing when I said 'watch and learn ' earlier—I actually have no idea how I managed to pull this off."
"You're kidding..."
"Nope."
"Beginner's luck, then," Sunoh grumbled, even more upset that he had lost to someone that had never played with the claw machine before. He had spent many nights in the arcade playing it while hiding away from his mother and managers, and he had thought that he was pretty good at it up until now.
Nari giggled at his cuteness and held out one of the phone straps that she had won to him as she said, "Here—for you."
The phone straps had matching chains with teddy bears attached to them, one of the chains being black while the other was white. Nari had chosen the black chain one for herself and held the white one out to Sunoh who took it and attached it to his phone without any hesitation, Nari soon copying him.
"You're not going to sulk anymore, right?" Nari asked as she watched him smile down at the bear chain.
Sunoh shot her a playful annoyed look out of the corner of his eyes before breaking out into a smile again. "No, I won't," he answered, reaching for her hand again and pulling her further into the arcade. "Come on—I bet you I'll win against you on the dancefloor game."
Nari snorted. "Don't underestimate me—I stan MONSTA X."
─🌊─
"How many kids do you want?"
Sunoh choked on his milkshake. "I'm—I'm sorry—what?!"
Without looking at him, Nari repeated her question.
The couple had stopped at a fast food restaurant to eat after playing every game in the arcade and had chosen to sit outside since Nari wanted to 'people-watch'. Now, her gaze was focused on a couple looking after 7 young children, the burger in her hands long forgotten as her mind wandered. She remembered planning her future with Tae-joon back when she thought that nothing would ever go wrong with them, and now she decided that she wanted to scrap that plan entirely. She didn't want to make a future plan with Sunoh in case something went wrong between them, but she couldn't help but to feel curious about what sort of future he would want to have nonetheless.
"I—uh—don't know," Sunoh answered, face slightly flushed as he pulled his scarf away from his neck and coughed. "I haven't really thought about—um—kids...w-why are you asking?"
Nari's face formed an expression of worry as one of the children she had been watching fell over and began to cry. "No reason," she answered. "Just felt curious."
Sunoh nodded slowly, following her gaze over to the family she had been looking at and watching them with her for a moment. "I don't think I'd want that many," he commented as he watched the parents struggling to subdue their 7 kids, half of who were crying while the other half were running around screaming their heads off. "It would be a nightmare to take care of all of them."
Chuckling, Nari agreed, "You're right. I don't think I'd want that many either—maybe 3 would be maximum for me? 4? Yeah, 4—no more than that."
Sunoh nodded slowly. "That's...that's great. 4 is good—great—it's great."
Nari turned to him and burst into laughter when she caught sight of his flustered state. After convincing him that she wasn't asking him to have children with her, she went back to enjoying her burger and giggled lightly to herself as Sunoh's cheeks gradually came to resemble his bright red scarf.
─🌊─
After a day full of exploring the city, the couple finally made their way back to the cinema. As Sunoh had promised, the cinema was still empty and the employees greeted them warmly as they made their way back to the hall that they had been in that morning.
The couple snuggled up on the same double bed that they had been on that morning, neither of them wanting to head home just yet despite it being very late already. They watched a couple of movies, chatted a little, and eventually fell asleep in one another's arms while remembering all of their shared firsts that day—their first time sharing smiles, their first time holding hands, their first time exchanging gifts.
In the future, the both of them would remember this as 'a day of firsts', and each looked forward to more firsts that they would experience together as time passed.
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HAPPY VALENTINES DAY GUYS!
lmao I felt single enough already and then I wrote this fluffy love-filled chapter and made myself feel even more single ('༎ຶД༎ຶ')
apologies for the wait, I was having a bit of an author's block where I didn't know what to do with the story now but then I was like 'oh it's Valentine's Day soon, why not write a lovey-dovey date chapter?' so I did and here it is
I hope you enjoyed! Please vote and comment! ❤❤❤
Thank you for reading~~! I love you guys, thanks for your continued support despite the long intervals between updates ( ˘ ³˘)❤