After finishing up dinner and cleaning up with my sister, we put YuJin to sleep and sat on the couch with ice cream pints in our hands across from each other.
"So, are you gonna tell me who it is?" she started raising an eyebrow with a curious look in her eyes.
I chuckled at her expression "What are you talking about?" I asked, smiling as I ate a big spoon of ice cream.
She rolled her eyes and sat up straight, clearly not buying my act, "Don't play dumb with me, I know something is going on, I just don't know who he is." she said and I sat up straight as well.
"Alright, I'll tell you everything" I start and she pays full attention. "His name is Lee Seokmin, or Dokyeom as per stage name, for now he prefers me calling him by his stage name since he's used to it these days. I met him at his album's listening party and he's really sweet, caring, kind and beautiful- inside, out. He cares about me, and he just makes me feel warm I guess? There's this weird feeling I have inside me, I can't explain it" I said thinking about the moments spent with Dokyeom.
"Look at you all smiling and blushing while talking about him, my my" my sister was smiling proudly, way too much for my own good.
I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed by her observation. "Can you stop with that smug look?" I retorted playfully, knowing that my sister was just teasing me out of love and care.
My sister laughed heartily at my response, clearly enjoying teasing me about my newfound feelings. "Oh, come on, Hannie. I've seen you since you were born. I can tell when you're genuinely happy," she said with a warm smile.
I couldn't help but smile back, appreciating her understanding and support. "Well, he's really special," I admitted, my thoughts drifting back to the moments I had shared with Dokyeom.
"I can see that, my little over achiever hasn't been this smitten by anyone recently" my sister replied, her tone softening. "You deserve someone who makes you feel that way. The unknown feeling inside you will tell you exactly what you're feeling towards him in a while"
I nodded appreciating her outlook on my relationship. "It's not even a week since we've started dating but it feels so natural with him. There's that new relationship's thrill, but also the comfort of a stable and long relationship."
"Don't rush into it too fast, you need time to understand and know him completely. At the same time you both need time to figure yourselves out about how you are with each other,"
My sister's advice resonated deeply with me, and I knew she was right. While the initial excitement and connection with Dokyeom were undeniable, it was important not to rush and allow our relationship to develop naturally.
"I'll keep that in mind," I replied, grateful for her wisdom. "I know we both have a lot to discover about each other, and I want to savour every moment of it."
We talked a little more, sharing stories and laughter, before deciding it was time to call it a night. Jiah had somehow managed to convince me to stay the night so we were heading to sleep when I received texts from Dokyeom asking if he should come pick me up in case I had been drinking. Instead of texting back, I called him.
"Hey there" his sweet voice came from the other side and I smiled instantly but decided to have some fun.
"Dokyeomie? Heyylo~" I spoke in a drunken tone. My sister looked at me with a surprised expression, clearly not expecting me to speak that way on the call.
"Hannie, are you drunk?" Dokyeom's concern was evident, and I almost felt guilty for teasing him. "Did you have fun today?"
"Fun? I did! YuJin and I had a lot of fun," I replied, emphasising the word 'fun' with playful exaggeration. Then, I couldn't resist teasing my sister. "My sister is boring, though," earning myself a pillow smashed on my face by her making me laugh.
"Well I'm glad you had fun, do you need me to come and pick you up?" he asked and I hummed as if I was thinking up a response. "It is past midnight now" I said in the phone.
"I know. Tell me when you're leaving I'll come to pick you up" he said, sounding ready to leave his house at any moment of time, making me frown at how much he cared about me.
I couldn't resist taking our little act a step further. "Dokyeomie, you know what? You're really nice. You take care of me, I like talking to you. " I slurred my words, adding a playful giggle for effect.
On the other end of the call, Dokyeom's caring nature shone through as he responded with genuine concern, "Hannie, I like talking to you as well, right now can you send me your sister's address?" he asked, his tone so soft as if talking to a baby.
Before I was able to answer the phone was snatched from my hand and my sister took the matter in her own hands, "Hi there, Jiah here, Hana's sister. She isn't really drunk, we didn't have a lot of alcohol today, she was just teasing you." she said glaring at me, making me frown sarcastically.
"Oh? Hello, Dokyeom here, nice to talk to you. I've heard a lot from her about you. Hana is really fond of you" he spoke in a respectable and soft tone making Jiah widen her eyes "He's sweet sweet!" she whispered to me, keeping the phone on her shoulder so he wouldn't catch any of it and I proudly nodded. My sister formally introduced herself to him and then handed my phone back to me.
"I'm sorry about worrying you, I'm alright" I said and he chuckled
"I really thought you were completely drunk there," he said "I still want to come pick you up" he said and I raised my eyebrows, "I miss you" he spoke in a lower voice.
"You saw me a few hours ago," I chuckled and he whined from the other side "You don't miss me? I know I saw you a few hours ago, but I miss you"
"I miss you too," I answer and he scoffed from the other side "just because I said it first" and I laughed at how offended he sounded. We bickered for a few minutes before he once again asked me if he could come pick me up.
"I'm staying the night here, plus you would have had to drive a lot to just pick me up and drop me off, it's late. Get some sleep instead" I answered worried about him.
"I wouldn't have minded." he said and there is a moment of silence that passes as I hear him yawn lightly before he spoke up as if something clicks in his head. "Could you pick me up tomorrow morning? I could go to a nearby gym tomorrow morning and we could meet then." he suggests and I sat up straight, listening to his idea, already liking it.
"I'm in Seongsu-dong, do you have any gyms nearby that you can go to? I can pick you up from there and we can go have breakfast at my place then." I spoke, already excited about meeting him tomorrow early morning.
Dokyeom seemed enthusiastic about the plan. "Oh, I do have a training centre there. I'll let JaeSung know."
"Who is JaeSung?" I inquired.
"My manager," Dokyeom explained. "I thought you guys were introduced to each other."
I shook my head, realising that we hadn't been formally introduced. "Ah, no, we haven't been properly introduced. I might have seen him a few times, though."
We finalised our plan for the morning, and I couldn't help but feel excited for tomorrow morning.