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Chapter 23
Double Date
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[[ CHANGGU ]]
It's finally winter break. I couldn't help smiling as I get ready to go out with Jiyoo. I'm still over the moon that we're finally together.
I drove my car to her new apartment. She was waiting for me by the door, wearing a thick white jacket and a black beanie on her head. I got off the car. She waved at me smiling, bouncing on her feet. I chuckled. "You're so cute." I told her as we hugged.
She laughed. "Aren't we so squishy?" She said, her voice sounding muffled against my chest.
"I prefer less layers between us." I said, frowning.
Her eyes widened, pulling her head away. "Heeey!"
My eyes widened as well, then I laughed. "Nooo! That's not what I mean!" I said defensively.
She laughed and hit my chest. "Let's go before you say anything else you'll regret."
I put her bags in the trunk and we went for a two hour drive back to my hometown where we'll pick up Kino and Yeeun.
"I've never met Kino and Yeeun." She told me.
"Right? I've told you about Kino. Yeeun is Kele's friend."
"Kele is his sister, right?"
"Yeah," I said turning left. "Have I ever told you about their story? Yeeun and Kino, I mean."
"Nope. Tell me." She said, turning towards me.
"Yeeun liked him ever since we were in high school,"
She gasped. "Woah! That's a long time."
I nodded. "But Kino had a girlfriend."
"What? It was one-sided?"
"Yeah."
"Poor girl."
"But last year, we went on a summer roadtrip. Yeeun just came back from studying abroad."
Jiyoo leaned in excitedly, "And?"
"I don't know how it happened, but she still liked him and he fell for her anyway."
She squealed. "Yay!"
I chuckled. "Do you like their story?"
"Why not? I'm the happiest for Yeeun. I salute."
"But you know what,"
"What?"
"I told you Kino's a dancer, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, he's still undergoing therapy for his other leg. He can't dance like... he used to before."
"Why?"
I glanced at her and smiled sadly. "Because he saved her." I said, filling her in with what happened almost two years ago. It's crazy how time flies.
She turned silent.
"Why are you suddenly so quiet?" I asked her.
"It's sad." She said, "I'm glad they're still together."
I let out a sigh. "Yeah, it's sad. Kino loved dancing more than you could imagine."
By the familiar pastry shop, I spotted two familiar figures walking hand in hand. "There they are." I told Jiyoo before honking.
She gasped. "Woah, Yeeun's pretty!"
I grinned at her. "No, you're prettier."
She frowned. "Stop lying."
I pouted. "But it's how I feel."
"Whatever." She said, biting her lip with a smile, as Kino and Yeeun entered the car.
"Hi, guys!" Yeeun greeted with a smile.
"Yeo Changgu!" Kino and I fist bumped.
"Thanks for driving all the way here!" Yeeun said.
"Ohㅡfinally, I'm meeting the famous Son Jiyoo." Kino said grinning. I gave him a behave-yourself-look.
Jiyoo smiled at them. "Hello! I'm Son Jiyoo! It's nice to meet you!"
⛄⛄
[[ JIYOO ]]
The drive on the way to our destination was composed of Kino and Changgu catching up. Yeeun was a little shy, so we didn't really talk a lot but it was okay.
Finally, we arrived at a place surrounded by thick snow. Changgu parked in front of what seems like a winter palace by how huge it was and yet it's something more homely than that.
There were people skiing outside and people building snowmen and makinh snow angels. I felt excitement rushing through me.
We got off the car with our bags and checked into the building. "Wait," I said turning to Changgu. "We're sleeping in one room?" I asked him.
Kino coughed, getting hit by Yeeun on the arm. He supressed a grin.
Changgu's cheeks and ears flushed slightly. "Yeah, but... that's because..." he struggled to explain.
I turned to Yeeun and Kino. "You guys are getting one room?" I asked.
They nodded in unison.
"Oh, okay..." I said, heart beating fast. "Let's go unpack!"
"Let's go!" Kino wrapped his arm around Changgu's shoulder.
Yeeun walked beside me smiling. "Don't worry. You can make him sleep on the couch." She whispered. "See you later at lunch."
Kino and Yeeun found their room first. Our room was five rooms away from theirs.
Right. There's just one matrimonial bedㅡand a couch by the window. "Where are we going to have lunch?" I asked Changgu, sitting on the bed.
For some reason, he's more quiet than usual.
"Uh... they have a restaurant here. We'll meet Kino and Yeeun there."
I nodded. "Okay. How much time do we have?"
"An hour."
I unzipped my luggage and then I unzipped my jacket to take it off. I took off my boots and my socks. Changgu watched me as he sat beside his own luggage. He laughed. "Are you stripping?"
"Shut up, you dirty minded!" I said frowning. I took off my hoodie next, and as I was about to take off my long sleeves when Changgu asked, "Jeez. How many layers are you wearing?"
"Don't ask. Or watch."
"I didn't know you are so afraid of winter."
I completely took off my sweater and tossed it towards him. "Wipe that smirk off your face."
He laughed again. "You're becoming more and more violent."
I relaxed my back on the soft mattress and stared at the ceiling.
"Are you done?" He asked playfully.
I turned to him with a disbelieving smile. "Shut up."
He took off his jacket and sat beside me. "I'm just wearing this inside." He said, showing off his sweater.
"Huh, good. You have a thick skin."
He smiled and laid down beside me, leveling his head with mine. "Jiyoo,"
"What?"
"Jiyoo!"
"What!"
We both laughed. He encircled his arm around my waist and pulled me close. "Let's cuddle."
"For an hour?"
"For an hour."
I smiled and scooted against his warm body, basking on his manly scent. Before I knew it, my eyelids were heavy and I dozed off with a light feeling in my chest.
⛄⛄
I woke up to Changgu gently shaking my shoulder. "Jiyoo, wake up. It's lunch time." He said softly, planting a kiss on my forehead.
I opened my eyes and fixed my gaze on him and his beautiful, beautiful smile. "Get up, sleepy head." He said.
"Woah, I fell asleep."
"Obviously. You were snoring."
I sat up, eyes wide. "Really?"
"Just kidding." He said.
I frowned and hugged him. "I'm still sleepy."
"Did you come here to sleep?" He asked with a chuckle, gently stroking my hair.
We went to the said restaurant and immediately spotted Yeeun and Kino. As we ate, I noticed there's a tensed silence between the couple that weren't there earlier. Did they fight?
Kino sliced a meat for her, but she declined it. "No, I'm full." She said quietly.
I looked at Changgu but he just shrugged at me.
After the intense lunch, (the food was good, by the way) we went to join the activities outside. Changgu and I built our snowman.
"It's too slim." I complained. "I want it fluffy."
We added snow to it until it was as tall as our knees and as round as we like. We decorated it with anything we saw and took several pictures with it.
"It looks like you." Changgu said.
"Yah! It looks like you."
"No."
"Yes."
He suddenly poked my shoulder and gestured towards Kino and Yeeun, building a snowman in silence. "I'm worried about them." I said.
"I know you just met, but can you talk to her? I'll talk to Kino."
I nodded and smiled. "Alright."
By the time they finished their own snowman, they just left it there and separated ways. Changgu followed Kino and I went to Yeeun who was laying on the ground, making a snow angelㅡwhile crying.
"You're going to melt the snow with your tears." I said, lying down beside her to make my own snow angel.
She smiled just a little,continuously moving her arms and legs up and down in a lazy manner. "Sorry, we must have been so obvious."
"What's wrong?" I asked softly.
She let out a sigh and stopped moving. "Sometimes, he just says things that hurt. I know he's going through a lot." Her voice trembled. Uh-oh. "But... lately, he's being so sensitive about dancing. When it's mentioned, he just explodes."
I stopped too and just laid there, staring at the blue sky. "Um. Changgu mentioned what happened... to me. And I don't really know the whole thing butㅡif you're trying to understand him now, maybe... be even more patient on him. You know, he might think he's not as good as he used to be anymore." I took a deep breath. "The feeling of not being good enough, I'm sure you know it. But how much more when he knows it used to be the best thing he can do, but not anymore?"
She sat up, looked at me and smiled. "Thank you, Jiyoo-ssi."
I smiled back at her. "I hope you enjoy this time with him."
⛄⛄
[[ CHANGGU ]]
"I already said I'm sorry, but she keeps acting cold." Kino complained with a frown on his face, stabbing the thick snow repeatedly with a stick.
"Maybe she's really cold?" I joked, but he stopped and looked at me deadpan. I cleared my throat. "Kino-ya, just be patient with her. You hurt her feelings. You love her, right?"
"Man, is that even a question?"
I grinned. "So, do what we came here for. Make her happy."
He nodded. "I just... I know I'm wrong. I just can't help getting so worked up about dancing. I hate myself for it. It's not even her fault."
"You knew this would happen to you when you saved her life." I told him. "I've never seen you love someone more than you love dancing. Don't forget that."
Finally, he grinned as we watched Yeeun and Jiyoo making snow angels. "What about you? You're so obvious. You're totally crazy about Jiyoo."
I chuckled, grabbing a ball of snow and throwing it at him. "Am I that obvious?"
He laughed. "Yeah, your eyes sparkle. Did you use contact lenses dipped in glitters?" He threw a snowball towards my face.
"Yaaah! Why my face! Oh, it's on!"
His eyes widened before getting up and running away.
"Yah! Come back here!" I screamed, making another snowball for my next attack. Yeeun and Jiyoo looked at us quizzically. "Jiyoo-ah, come here, help me." I told her.
"That's unfair!" Kino said.
Jiyoo ran towards me and threw snowballs at Kino. I laughed and high fived her.
"HEY! TAKE THIS!" Yeeun aimed a snowball at Jiyoo but I've wrapped her in my arms as it hit my back instead of her. I smiled at her as our face came closely. "I'll protect you, Son Jiyoo!" I said grinning.
"No, we're attacking together. In three... two... oneㅡgooo!" She squealed as we attacked Kino and Yeeun in fast throws.
Yeeun hit me with a huge snowball by the chest. "That's for attacking my man!" She yelled. Kino laughed and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
Jiyoo and I smiled happily at each other. "Mission accomplished." I said to her.
⛄⛄
[[ JIYOO ]]
After the snowball fight, Kino and Yeeun went skiing. Changgu and I went to the ice skating rink. I felt my skating shoes rolled over the ice smoothly even though I trembled, trying to find my balance at first. I looked at Changgu and laughed because he doesn't want to remove his grip from the railings. "Come on, just take it easy." I said.
"What if I slip?" He asked.
"Uh... you'll break a few bones?"
"Son Jiyoo!"
I laughed again, skating towards him. "I'll hold you. Come on," I reached out my hands to him and he looked at me skeptically before taking them. "Now, carefully." I said as we led us to the middle of the rink.
"Have you done this before?" He asked.
"No, but maybe I'm the reincarnation of Elsa." I said with a smirk and then suddenly, something crossed my mind. "A-ha!"
"What is it?"
"I finally found something you can't do."
He breathed in relief. "You scared me!"
I laughed as we skated around hand in hand. We looked at each other just like that. "Are you enjoying this trip?" He asked.
I nodded. "Yeah," I replied and cleared my throat, singing a part of the song he made, "Wherever we go, if I'm with you, if you're there, I think anywhere will be okay..."
His eyes widened as he brightly smiled. "You remember the lyrics!"
"Of course, you wrote them." I said and then I narrowed my eyes at him. "Who's your inspiration in writing this song?"
"Hm," he said thoughtfully. "Someone."
"Who?"
"I met her in a bar." He said.
I frowned. "As expected, Yeo Changguㅡthe woman charmer."
He laughed, pulling me close. "She's really good at making drinks."
I raised an eyebrow at him.
He smiled and brushed the tip of his nose against mine. "When I talk to her, I never want to stopㅡexcept if it means, I get to kiss her."
"Huh."
"She's annoyingly good at ice skating for a first timer."
"I wonder who that is." I said, smiling up at him.
He tucked strands of my hair behind my ear. "I wrote the song the night after we went to her hometown, when she confessed to me."
"Really?" I asked, wide eyed.
"I get sad when she's hurt. All I could think of was going away with her somewhere far away, where she could not even think about her worries for a split second because she's having too much fun."
My heart was fluttering non-stop. "What's her name?" I asked, grinning.
"Son Jiyoo." He replied, leaning his forehead against mine.
"Oh! We have the same name." I said playfully.
He smiled and softly he said, "You make happy, Jiyoo."
"You know what would make me happy?"
"What?"
"If you try to skate alone." I said grinning at him mischievously before letting him go.
"Jiyoo! Nooo!" He said, panicking.
"Don't panic. Just play it cool." I encouraged.
He took a deep breath and slowly made his way towards me. He grinned victoriously, "Oh, I think I'm getting iㅡow!" He slipped down in shock. I quickly made my way towards him.
"Are you okay?"
"It hurts." He said, brows furrowing.
"Where?" I asked, worriedly.
"My hand... I think I used too much force when I fell-"
I took his hand and planted a soft kiss on it. "Come on, let's get you out."
"Waitㅡ"
"Why? Does your back hurt? Where does it hurt?"
"Here," he said pointing at his lips with a grin.
I stared at him in disbelief. "Yeo Changgu!"
He roared in laughter. "It's true!"
"Your lips didn't even hit the ice!"
"Ahhh, it hurts." He whined like a kid.
I shook my head and gave him a gentle kiss. "Still hurts?"
He smiled. "Totally healed."
❄❄
By the evening, we played cards with Yeeun and Kino by the fireplace, hot beverages with us. "So, Jiyoo-ssi, what do you dislike about Changgu so far?" Kino asked.
"Yah!" Changgu exclaimed.
"Hm," I looked at Changgu who smiled innocently at me. I frowned. "His innocent look."
Kino laughed. Changgu frowned. "Why?" He asked.
"He looks innocent, butㅡit's misleading." I said.
"Yah!" Changgu said, pouting.
"See what I mean?" I asked them.
Yeeun grinned. "What about you? What do you dislike about Yeeun so far?" I asked Kino.
He looked challenged. "She's so cold when we fight." He said, giving his girlfriend a tentative smile.
"And you're so sensitive." Yeeun threw back. I thought for a second they would fight again but they smiled at each other and I felt relieved.
"Then, what about Changgu to Jiyoo?" Yeeun asked.
"Haaa-ha." I said nervously as Changgu eyed me.
He smiled just a little and said, "She always blames herself. I wish she wouldn't."
"Awww!" Yeeun exclaimed, looking at the both of us adoringly.
By the end of our game, Kino and Yeeun got up and the latter said, "There's a hot tub here. Do you guys want to come?"
My heart beats loudly. I looked at Changgu and he seemed like he really wants to go, but... I'm sorry, Changgu. I can't. "I... I'll pass." I said with a tight smile. "I'm so tired from all the activities we did."
"Okay, then. Get some rest." Kino said before they left.
"Are you okay?" Changgu asked.
"Do you wanna go with them?"
"No, it's alright. Why?"
Going to the hot tubㅡmeans I have to show some skin other than my arms, and I can't. At least, not yet.
We headed back to our room in silence. "I'll get changed." I told him and then I went to the bathroom and stripped off my clothes. I turned my back on the mirror and looked over my shoulder, staring at the ugly scars there.
I remember Mijin's mom seeing them when she helped me out with the dress. The look on her face. I remember Hajoon seeing them for the first time. The look on his face. I... don't want to see that look on Changgu.
I took a deep breath and stepped under the shower, setting the temperature warm. I closed my eyes and tried to erase the look on their faces and the image of the ugly souvenirs I got from my childhood.
I dressed in pink PJs and prepared my smile for Changgu as I walked out of the bathroom. "Your turn!" I said.
He smiled at the sight of me. That look. I want that look to stay that way. "You look cute in pink." Like I'm everything he'd ever wished for.
"Just in pink?"
His smile widened. "No, you look cute in every color."
"Psh," I snorted and went to bed as he went into the bathroom. I covered my feet with the blanket and pulled my knees to my chest. Sitting there quietly.
Well, it's not like it hasn't crossed my mind what couples do on trips like this. I think I'd feel relieved if Changgu wasn't thinking about it, but I think I'd feel relieved as well if he was thinking about it.
My cheeks heated up.
What the hell.
He walked out of the bathroom several minutes later, wearing blue PJs. I smiled at him. "Hey, handsome."
He grinned and sat beside me. "Why are you so serious? What's on your mind?" He asked worriedly.
I smiled lazily. "How better looking you are in pyjamas."
Changgu leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Do you want me to sleep on the couch?" He asked.
I chuckled and leaned my head on his shoulder. "Why? Why not next to me?" I asked, putting my chin on his shoulder as I looked up at him.
He looked at me, flustered. "I mean, that would be betterㅡbut whatever makes you comfortable, you know."
I took his hand and kissed the back of it. "I'm sorry for not going to the hot tub."
"Aye, stop thinking about that. It's okay."
I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Sleep next to me."
He smiled, "Okay."
⛄⛄
[[ CHANGGU ]]
I stroked Jiyoo's hair until I felt her breathing became at ease as she fell asleep in my arms. I gently removed my arm beneath her head and tucked her in.
I watched her eyelids flutter as she dreamed. And even though she's not doing anything special and she's probably in another world right now, I couldn't help thinking how much I love her. And I'm happy to sleep next to her.
I fell asleep like that, but I woke up early. I had no idea what time it was and Jiyoo was muttering something in her sleep. I turned on the night lamp and looked at her. "Jiyoo..."
Tears rolled down her cheeks. "No... no..." She muttered repeatedly.
I shook her shoulder. "Jiyoo, wake up. Jiyoo!"
She opened her eyes and I saw fear in them. She looked at me, still crying and pulled me in a tight hug as if she'd lose me.
⛄⛄
[[ JIYOO ]]
I was in the closet, counting in my head, trying to hold my breath. The footsteps came closer and closer.
Like always, he found me.
He yanked me by the arm and dragged me outside, but this isn't the kid version of me anymore. It was me of the present.
"Stay away from me, please..." I pleaded.
My father loomed over me like a predator sizing up its prey. And then he smirked wickedly.
And suddenly, there's another person in the room. Yeo Changgu.
"You ruined my life!" Father screamed, "I will ruin yours. Starting with this scumbag." He said, dragging the seemingly unconscious Changgu into the room.
"No, no, this is not happening." I muttered, crawling towards him. I checked his pulse and breathed in relief. He's alive. He's alive. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight but my father pulled me away from him, sending me flying across the room.
He pulled out a pocket knife and aimed it at Changgu. "No... no..." Tears began to stream down my face. I tried to move but my bones felt broken. "No... please... no... no..."
I crawled towards them but my father has buried the knife in Changgu's chest.
"Jiyoo, wake up. Jiyoo!" Someone called out. That voice...
I woke up crying and trembling in fear. My heart was hammering wildly against my chest when I saw Changgu looking at me. Alive.
I pulled him in a tight hug, unable to stop crying. "Changgu..."
He rubbed my back gently. "Hey, you're okay. It's just a dream."
"I don't want to lose you." I said in between sobs.
He held my shoulders, putting a little distance between us. He cupped my cheeks and I closed my eyes, feeling tears rolling down my cheeks, feeling his lips on mine. "Never. I'm here." He said and I held on to it like a promise.
__________
A/N:
Thank youuu for reading this chapter!
Lets all take a moment to fangirl over the concept images of SUM[ME:R]!!
Changgu looks so good with his blond hair down! I just wanna ruffle it. 😭
They all look so good 😭😭
Breathe if you love Pentagon.
💜
[ Which member's concept image is your favorite? ]
-i really loved changgu and hongseok's but i'm probably being biased. so i'll say yanan and kino's instead. 😂😂