"You should try that one, it's really good." Ryujin looked at Beomgyu before looking back down at the caramel apple uncertainly. She gingerly picked it up before bringing it closer to her mouth, a hand under her chin in case the caramel was to drip down.
Beomgyu watched as Ryujin took a small bite of the apple, chewing slowly as she processed whether it was to her liking. A small smile played on his lips seeing the nod of approval from her before she took another bite.
"Is this on your menu?" Ryujin asked in between her chewing. She must have liked it a lot because she had already inhaled half the apple. Beomgyu bit back his laugh seeing the sauce on the side of her lip.
"We sell it only when autumn starts. But I thought you would like it," Beomgyu explained, tapping the end of his lip to let Ryujin know she had something there. Ryujin flushed in embarrassment, quickly wiping away the sauce.
"How old were you when you started the cafe?" Ryujin quickly asked to distract Beomgyu from her embarrassment. Beomgyu swallowed the cake he was chewing.
"20 years old," Beomgyu hummed as he looked through the assortment of treats, wondering what to choose first. He looked up to see the pure shock on Ryujin's face and he had to quickly clarify.
"Well, I'm technically a co-owner with Eunbi sunbae. I started doing part-time in a cafe and she was the one who taught me everything. We decided to start our own cafe, and then we got her boyfriend at the time to help us out. So three of us run the whole thing, along with our workers."
"That's really cool. The only thing I remember doing at twenty was training all day." Ryujin sighed, taking another bite of her caramel apple and making sure there was no sauce on her lips anymore. Beomgyu chuckled.
"You joined the team pretty young, right? I remember seeing you in the Olympics in 2019 as well,"
"Yea, that was my first big tournament. It was nerve-racking."
"At least you did well. I remember when everyone in school talked about you because you were our age,"
Ryujin smiled as Beomgyu talked about his high school days. His eyes twinkled as he spoke, a pretty smile decorating his lips. Ryujin rested the temple of her head on her knees which she brought close to her chest, staring at Beomgyu as she nodded along to assure Beomgyu she was listening.
"Ryujin! The sun!" Beomgyu paused in his story-telling as he pointed eagerly to the front. Ryujin's heart fluttered by the way he called her name, and she brought her head up to catch the view.
Ryujin's breath got caught in her throat, it was truly magnificient. A hue of red and blue coated the skies as the sun slowly went down. Subconciously, her lips stretched into a smile as the breeze got caught in her hair.
Beomgyu looked over at her with the same smile on his lips. His smile faltered taking in Ryujin's side profile. He quickly looked away as he cleared his throat when she was about to turn toward him. He busied himself trying to find something else to eat.
"How did you find this place? It's really quiet and nice," Ryujin asked after the sun had set, and darkness had start to engulf them. Beomgyu had brought fairy lights and draped it around them and turned it on, giving it such a fairytale-like vibe.
"I used to come here a lot with my mother, when I was really small. She would sit at this spot and I would run up and down to find her flowers," Beomgyu reminisced with a small smile playing on his lips.
They had run out of treats to eat, and they were contented and full. They continued to stare at the view as they shared a chill conversation. Ryujin laughed at the thought of a small Beomgyu running around to find his mother flowers.
"That's cute. I didn't go out much as a kid,"
"Really? Why?"
"I started fencing at a young age. I played competitively at 10 years old,"
Beomgyu's mouth fell open in shock and admiration, to know what you want at such a young age was a feat he could never achieve. He had changed his dreams countless of times during his teenage years, and Ryujin knew what she wanted when she was still a kid.
"Do you regret it?" Beomgyu asked softly, genuinely curious. If she had played at such a young age, that meant dedicating most of her time to training and competing. Ryujin released a deep sigh, running a hand through her hair as she thought of Beomgyu's question.
"Actually, I kind of do. My relationship with my family turned sour because of this job, and I don't have many friends because I used to skip school a lot to go train. There were some times I wanted to quit, but I didn't."
"Why?"
Ryujin pursed her lips, glancing toward her lap. She looked back up again, and before Beomgyu could apologize for the insensitive question, she opened her mouth and spoke.
"My younger sister. She really admired me back then, I couldn't let her down." A ghost of a smile played on her lips. Beomgyu smiled lightly, it was rare to find someone who adored their younger siblings the way he did with Yun-Jae. A lot of his friends often complained about not being able to stand their own siblings, but this was the first time someone else other than him talked about their sibling with such gentleness.
"I get it man. I always felt like a really important role model for my sister, so I had the mindset that I couldn't do anything wrong. The last thing I wanted was for my sister to be disappointed in me," Beomgyu hummed when Ryujin grew quiet, offering an encouraging smile when she looked at him.
"Wow, look at us being softies." Ryujin laughed, bringing her knees close to her chest as she rested her chin on her knees. Beomgyu chuckled, leaning backwards as his palms supported his weight.
"Are you close to your family?" Ryujin asked after a few moments of silence. Beomgyu instantly nodded, it was a given. His siblings and him were close in age so they grew up playing with one another and understood each other pretty well. He loved his mother dearly and held him close to his heart,and although his father had abandoned them, he still loved him at the end of the day.
"That's nice," Ryujin whispered as a small smile decorated her lips. Beomgyu returned the smile, nodding along. He laid on his back and after a few seconds, Ryujin followed suit.
Although it was their first time offically getting to know one another, it wasn't as uncomfortable as both of them feared. They clicked and got along well, and their chemistry wasn't half-bad. Sure, they were slightly different from one another but at the end of the day, they liked the other's presence.
"Do you listen to any music?"
" I listen to quite a lot of nct, but that 's probably because my friend is a huge fan and keeps on recommending their songs to me."
"That's cute, do you have a bias?"
"Doyoung is pretty cute. I like his voice. How about you, do you like any artists?"
"I would say Bruno Mars, I went to his concert recently,"
"You should play your favourite Bruno Mars song,"
Beomgyu laughed but complied, grabbing his phone and unlocked it, looking through his playlists before clicking on one that would fit the vibe. He made sure it wasn't too loud and it could serve as background noise while they continued their conversation.
"This song sounds nice. I'll add it to my playlist when I get home." Ryujin hummed mindlessly as she bopped her head to the relaxing beat. Beomgyu nodded approvingly, nodding along as well.
"Can you sing?"
"Of course I can, I used to be an idol trainee you know?"
"Really? Sing the next verse then,"
He sang the next verse for her, and she got goosebumps. When he turned to face her after singing the verse, she nodded with an impressed look on her face. His expression turned cocky and his lips curled into a smirk.
"So? Don't I sound better than Doyoung?"
"Don't delude yourself,"
The banter continued until they compromised that Beomgyu was on par with Doyoung. (Ryujin didn't think so, but she said nothing so they could move on) It was getting late, and Ryujin had practice tomorrow morning, but she didn't want to say bye yet.
Although it might have been too early to admit it, she enjoyed Beomgyu's presence by her side as compared to the loneliness she would feel all alone at home.
"It's quite dark now, I'll call the guy to come pick us up," Beomgyu hummed as he got up. He stopped the song and started to type on his phone. Ryujin got up as well and helped him pack everything up.
"Thank you for today, it was really nice."
"No thank you, it must have been busy to slot in a time for a date with your hectic schedule."
Ryujin shook her head lightly, lowering her head as a shy smile grew on her lips. Bemogyu rubbed the back of his neck, awkward now that it was coming to an end. He, too, enjoyed the date thoroughly and hoped it wasn't the last time.
Soon enough, their ride came and brought them back to the cafe. Although Ryujin had refused, Beomgyu had insisted that he walked her back home.
"You live alone?"
"Yep, you?"
"I live with my younger sister. My brother moved out recently,"
They talked with one another as Ryujin led the way to her house. It was weird, she never had visitors over. She was slightly nervous that Beomgyu knew where she lived now. Beomgyu must have caught whim of her thoughts, because he suggested to drop her off just outside her apartment complex instead.
"Beomgyu?" Beomgyu turned around just as he was about to leave when Ryujin called him.
"...Let's keep in touch, yea?"
A breathy chuckle left his lips as he nodded eagerly, bringing his heand up to wave goodbye. A look of surprise flashed through Ryujin's features but she returned the wave, a bright smile on her lips despite feeling tired after such a long day.
Beomgyu turned around and continued hiw way back home, his heart fluttering at Ryujin's words that he continuously played in his head.
┈┈┈┈┈❀┈┈┈┈┈
mental asylum
dumbass
23 years old wow so old
jisu (soobin's wife)
what
you're literally only a few months younger than me
dumbass
still
mini me
wow u guys are fighting like an old married couple
when are you guys even getting married oml yall are so slow
jisu (soobin's wife)
we haven't even been dating for a year
yeonjun and yeji are the ones who are so fast who gets married after like 6 months?😭
mini me
a lot of people
dumbass
shh go study don't u have exams
mini me
:((
jisu (soobin's wife)
soobin
the girl has prob been studying for the whole day alr
give her a break
dumbass
w h a t
mini me
🥰
beomgyu oppa wru
im omw home alr
mini me
hurry up i'm hungry
wow the disrespect
dumbass
where did you go its quite late in korea now
mini me
eunbi said he went on a date
jisu (soobin's wife)
WHAT
that snitch
dumbass
ayo who??
secret
jisu (soobin's wife)
👀
mini me
how long are u going to takee
dumbass
are u not curious
mini me
no im hungry
jisu (soobin's wife)
mood
im opening the door chill yunjae
ryujin!!
thank you soso much for just now, i had a lot of fun :)
nearly 2k words for you🫶
im soso excited for them to get to know each other better
also this chapter wouldve been published so long ago if it wasnt for the rlly bad internet connection😠