Narrator
Haruto was back, Wonyoung was okay, everything was smooth again.
Cheol snuck out early in the morning to run some errands.
Cheol's POV
I woke up and looked at the clock. It was 8am. Everyone else was still fast asleep. I quietly climbed out of bed so I could brush my teeth and get dressed.
I was about to leave, when someone appeared at the front door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Minji blocked me. "I've been strictly told by Haerin not to let you out."
"I have stuff to do," I said.
"Mhm, like going on another manhunt for Namjoon?" She said.
"No, I'm going to buy a present for Haerin," I said. "It's her birthday tomorrow."
She sighed and moved away from the door. "Wear this."
She handed me a really warm oversized winter coat.
"It's really cold out there." She said.
I opened the door and the ground was covered in snow. It was freezing. The warmth of the house was taken away by a gush of the outside wind.
I put the coat on and headed out on my own.
I walked alone in silence, with my hood up and my shoes sinking into the snow with each step I took until I reached the city centre. There were loads of shops and people by the time I was there.
"What do I buy??" I looked around cluelessly.
There were too many options. Expensive jewellery, cheap bracelets, but nothing really seemed to work.
I wasn't going to give up that easily and continued my search for the perfect present, when something suddenly caught my eye.
There were people fighting over something. I took a closer look at it and it was a tomato frog. The same frog that Haerin had really liked in a video, but she never got it.
I didn't waste any more time and went over to try get ahold of one. People were swarming for it, and I had to squeeze in between some of them.
"Give it here!" One guy said.
"No, I want it!" A girl argued.
I dashed through and grabbed the last one. People saw this and started clawing at my hand. I wriggled out of the herd and someone pushed me over.
"Stupid kid!" They said. "Why do you need that? Give it to me."
I shook my head no.
"I'm telling you, I need it for my daughter! She's a real big fan of NewJeans!" Another person said.
I clutched onto it.
More and more people caught on to the fact that I had it, and they were pretty much attacking me now.
"Stop!! Get off me!!" I pushed them away.
I ran away as they chased me, and an employee stopped them for me.
"Hey! Let the kid take it! Do you not know who this is?" They said. "He's Kim Cheol! The boy Haerin was being clingy to!"
I'd been recognised. I thought this would never happen, but unfortunately it did.
"O- oh," another stranger said. "We're sorry,"
I didn't really know how to respond in situations like these, so I left and went to go pay.
"Waaaaowww, it's you!" The cashier exclaimed. "Can I get a picture?"
"Sorry?" I said.
"You were at that airport with NewJeans!" She said.
I let her take a picture with me. People know who I am now. I didn't really like it.. I felt kinda intruded. Like I'm being watched everywhere.
"You don't have to pay, just take it," she said.
I thanked her and pocketed the tomato frog.
Next, I decided to pay the doctor a visit. I don't want to be sick during Haerin's day.
I sheltered myself from the snow, and put my hood down as I went into the doctor's.
"Well, it looks like your symptoms are almost completely gone." He said, looking at his clipboard. "We have medicines that can speed it up, would you like them?"
He came back with some to show me, and I bought it from the pharmacy afterwards.
I wandered around to see if there was anything else for me to do.
I came across Namjoon and Yeonjun. It looked like they were buying supplies?
I got ready to approach them, when someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned around.
"Don't do that!" Haerin said behind her face mask.
She was wearing the same coat as me. She looked really cute in it with the fur hood up.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I walked here on my own, Minji said that you left the house when I was looking for you." She said.
"Oh, okay," I blushed. "Do you want to shop around?"
She nodded instantly.
"Hey look!" Someone approached us. "It's Kang Haerin!"
More people showed up and started filming and taking pictures of us. I didn't really know what to do, I didn't know how bothersome going out into public would be until now.
"Put this face mask on," Haerin said, handing me one, and I did.
She held my hand as we ran away from the crowd.
"People know you now, Cheolie," she said. "You have to be careful."
"I hate this," I muttered.
"It's not that bad, I'll show you the ropes." She said.
Haerin's POV
Cheolie was so cute in the big coat. I just wanted to hug and squeeze him. Thankfully my red face was hidden behind my mask.
"When people spot you, it's best to keep walking and ignore everyone," I said. "Usually we get bodyguards to stop people getting really close."
He nodded in acknowledgement.
I held his hand while we walked around, and he didn't really want to let go, so we stayed like that.
We shopped for all sorts of things together. Clothes, matching shoes, snacks, everything.
"Does this look good?" I walked out of the fitting room.
He was stunned. He just blinked at me.
"Y-yes it does," he stammered, looking away, as red as a tomato.
We tried on lots of outfits together, and bought them all since we could afford it now.
We walked around some more, with all sorts of bags from different stores.
"My arms are tired," I said.
Cheolie took all my bags from me and carried them.
"Where to now?" He asked.
My stomach rumbled. I forgot to eat this morning because I went to find Cheolie.
"I'm hungry," I pouted.
"Okay, do you want to have bbq buffet?" He asked. "It's around 35000 won per person."
I nodded, smiling warmly.
We went there together and sat down after paying to get through. He set the bags down.
"I'll go get the meat, turn the grill on," he said.
"No no no, I'll do it," I said. "Stay sat down."
I turned the grill on and went to get us some meat.
I returned with a plate of beef and some lettuce.
"There'll be rice soon," I said.
"Okay, let's put the meat on the grill," I reached for the fat to spread on it.
"Wait no, the grill isn't hot enough yet," He said. "We have to wait, trust me."
This was new. I didn't know Cheolie knew how to cook.
I figured we should conversate some more while the grill heated up.
"Is- is this like a date?" I asked.
"If you want it to be," he said effortlessly, paying attention to the grill.
I giggled a little at his answer.
"It's ready," he said, spreading the fat onto the grill.
He then put the meat down and it sizzled and popped.
"Your rice is here," a lady said, settling down our bowls. "Enjoy,"
We thanked her, picking up our chopsticks.
"Can I take off my mask?" Cheolie asked.
I looked around, and people didn't really seem to notice us. Everyone was enjoying their food, way too much to look at us.
"Yes, we can." I answered, taking off my mask. I felt my heartbeat increase when we did so. I didn't have a mask to hide behind anymore.
"D- Do we need to flip it?" I asked.
"No, not yet." He answered.
This was really cute. The amount of attention he was paying to the grill and how concentrated he was.
After a bit, he flipped it and let the other sides cook.
"How do you know all this?" I asked.
"My mother taught me," he said.
I remember when we were really tense and awkward around each other. But we opened up more and more over time.
"Oh yeah.. have you spoken to her recently?" I asked.
His smile kinda faded. "Nah, not really, she doesn't know who I am anymore anyways."
I felt really sorry. Somebody this young had already lost their mother. Knowing she's still here but not at the same time must've been so sad.
"I'm sorry," I apologized.
"It's all good, that's why I've got Chaewon, I guess." He said. "It's ready, eat up."
He put some meat on lettuce and fed me.
"Try it," he said.
I ate it, and it was delicious. The wait was so worth it. It tasted better especially when Cheolie fed me.
"Mhm!!" I nodded. Cheolie's face lightened up, he looked really proud of himself.
We had a great time eating and talking together, it just made me fall even deeper in love. It got pretty dark outside, and the snow still didn't stop.
"Aahh, so full." He sighed.
We left the place with all our bags and began the walk home. We talked a lot in the snow, with the street lights on over us. I love being near Cheolie so much, it just makes me feel really safe, it allows me to come out of my comfort zone.
When we got home, I stopped Cheolie in front of the door. I just really felt the need to kiss him on the cheek, so I did.
"Thank you for today," I said shyly. "I- I love you."
I could see him blush madly as he opened the door quickly.
"You're back!!" Chaewon greeted us at the front door. "Went out on a little date, hm?"
"If you say so," Cheolie settled down the shopping bags and unzipped his coat.
We walked into the living room together.
"Hey!! What's good?" Haruto said, looking at his screen. He was playing video games, like normal. Wonyoung was watching him play.
"Nice to see you again man," Cheolie replied.
"Hahaa!!! Eunwoo, you're shit at this!! How'd you not see the guy to your right?" Haruto joked over his microphone.
Cheolie and I settled on the sofa to watch YouTube on the TV. We shared snacks, and watched various videos, including me and the girls' NewJeans videos.
After 5 or so videos, Cheolie drifted into sleep on my shoulder, and I eventually fell asleep on him, too.
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