Wooyeon stared out the window with a blank expression, watching the scenery passing by. The weather was clear, the breeze mild, making it a perfect day for a date except for the fact that it was nearing sunset. Of course, it wasn’t a date, but it looked like one from the outside, anyway.
“….”
However, Wooyeon couldn’t fully enjoy this beautiful day with Dohyun. The words Garam said while he was waiting for Dohyun kept coming back to him.
‘Kim Dohyun has his own views on relationships.’
Or perhaps it should be called a philosophy on love. For Wooyeon, such a thing didn’t exist. Even before the concept of “love” emerged, his teacher was someone he admired, and naturally, all his standards were based on Dohyun. Whether it was an ideal type or anything else, for Wooyeon, everything related to love was synonymous with Kim Dohyun.
‘I’ll never meet someone from university, work, part-time jobs, or places like that.’
Dohyun used to be his tutor before but now Wooyeon’s his junior in the same major. He didn’t expect to date Dohyun, but being excluded from the beginning was disheartening. It felt like the possibility that was uprooted before he could even dream of it.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
Dohyun, who had been driving for a while, asked subtly. The movie theater they were supposed to go to was not far ahead. Wooyeon turned his gaze away from the window and answered calmly.
“The weather’s nice.”
He didn’t know why such words came out, but Garam’s words were undoubtedly venomous. It might seem fine now, but it would surely bother Wooyeon later. No, maybe it was better to correct it now before expectations grew.
“The weather’s nice, but….”
Dohyun slowly entered the parking lot. Because it was a Friday afternoon, there wasn’t much space to park. He parked the car near the exit, rested his hand on the passenger seat, and tilted his head.
“Why the sudden change in mood?”
“….”
Even though his heart ached, Wooyeon admired Dohyun’s face from the side. His neck was prominent, and the angle showing the bridge of his nose emphasized his sculpted features threefold. It was a somewhat unfair advantage for Dohyun, but Wooyeon couldn’t help but think that way.
“Do you want to see the movie next time?”
“No!”
Wooyeon reflexively answered and shook his head vigorously. Dohyun narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Wooyeon’s face. Soon, he smiled faintly and undid the seatbelt.
“I didn’t mean to do that either.”
It was a playful remark, but it didn’t seem like a joke. Following him out of the car, Wooyeon brushed off what Garam had said.
Humans are truly cunning. Even if you don’t want something, once you realize you can’t have it, you start to desire it. Even if they weren’t university juniors, Wooyeon probably didn’t stand a chance with Dohyun anyway.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“….”
No, that’s too miserable.
As expected, there were a lot of people gathered inside the building. The two faced difficulties even before getting on the elevator, and only after sending two full elevators did they change their route. Dohyun led a puzzled-looking Wooyeon toward the escalator in the middle of the building.
“Is it usually this crowded?”
Wooyeon asked, eyes widening as they ascended the escalator. Standing one step below Wooyeon, Dohyun held onto the handrail and glanced outside.
“It’s usually crowded, but today seems particularly busy.”
“Wow….”
Although the bustling crowd was overwhelming, it felt new to be in such a space for the first time. The sight of people cramming into one elevator, shrinking like ants under the escalator, and looking so joyful made it all feel distinctly different.
“What floor is the theater on?”
“The 8th floor. We have to go up quite a bit.”
Once again, Dohyun let Wooyeon take the lead as they boarded the next escalator. Wooyeon, who had been looking around distractedly, suddenly snapped out of it and composed his expression. Chuckling at Wooyeon’s sudden coughing fit, Dohyun raised an eyebrow.
“Are you amazed by the crowd?”
Aren’t department stores crowded too? Wooyeon felt awkward at his question and scratched his earlobe. When he went with his mother, the department store was usually empty, so it was his first time standing in the midst of a crowd. Although the university was quite bustling, being in a place like this felt different.
Soon enough, Wooyeon found himself looking around again. Especially when passing by the arcade on the 6th floor, his eyes widened considerably. Machines of various colors were placed under blue and red lights. Among them, the most eye-catching was a machine filled with crudely made dolls.
“Is that a doll claw machine?”
By this point, Dohyun openly observed Wooyeon. While Wooyeon was looking outside, Dohyun was observing Wooyeon. When Dohyun noticed Wooyeon’s gaze lingering on the claw crane machine, he casually asked.
“Want to try it?”
“Really?”
Wooyeon’s eyes sparkled unexpectedly as he responded. Although he occasionally came across doll claw machines, he didn’t carry cash around to try them. Operating the machine alone on the street felt somewhat embarrassing.
“…Do you like dolls?”
Dohyun furrowed his brows, not expecting such a strong reaction. Wooyeon hesitated for a moment before nodding firmly.
“No, I just find it fascinating.”
If he liked dolls, he would have bought too many to fit in his house. If it was about quantity, he could have equipped machines instead. However, that wasn’t the case; Wooyeon’s interest was just that much.
“How big are the theaters?”
“It varies for each theater, but they’re smaller than your house.”
“I see. I thought they were much bigger.”
“That size is pretty big.”
Nodding, Wooyeon turned towards Dohyun. Since they were standing in different sections, Wooyeon’s eye level was slightly higher as they faced each other. Seeing Dohyun from above, whom he usually looked up to, Wooyeon smirked slightly.
“I can see your hairline, Sunbae.”
Dohyun looked at Wooyeon’s face with vacant eyes. It seemed like he was slightly absent-minded or lost in thought. After a while of staying still, Dohyun turned Wooyeon’s head back to its original position.
“Your hairline is showing too.”
“….”
The sensation of his long fingers touching him felt vividly real. Wooyeon walked alongside Dohyun a beat later. Although he complained, “I’m not bald yet,” Dohyun just chuckled lightly.
Arriving at the cinema, they first bought their movie tickets. Even though they could enter with their phones, Wooyeon was curious about the physical movie tickets. While the printed tickets weren’t much different from receipts, the unmanned ticketing machine was much more fascinating.
“I heard that this movie is so scary that popcorn flies everywhere.”
“You’ve heard of that too?”
Since morning, Wooyeon noticed that every time he spoke, Dohyun would burst into a ticklish laugh. His eyes crinkled, and his smile lifted his spirits so much that Wooyeon felt his heart pounding. Because of that, Wooyeon admired Dohyun’s laughter several times, making silly remarks just to see Dohyun smile.
“What drink do you want?”
The snack bar selling food was also crowded. Hot dogs, squid, nachos… As Wooyeon browsed the menu, he answered belatedly.
“I’ll have blueberry… No, orange?”
As soon as Wooyeon answered, it was their turn to order. Dohyun ordered a large popcorn, a blueberry ade, and an orange ade. The payment was made with a card, which was the same card Dohyun had once asked Wooyeon to run errands with.
Wooyeon widened his eyes and watched the staff working. The staff inserted a paper divider into the large popcorn container and offered Wooyeon caramel and cheese flavors. Ordering a large size made the popcorn container bigger than his head.
“Who’s going to finish all of this?”
Even though it was before dinner, the portion was excessively large. Surely Dohyun would eat a lot, but it was unreasonable for Wooyeon to eat it all by himself. Seeing Wooyeon holding the popcorn container, Dohyun suddenly burst into laughter.
“If we throw some while watching the movie, maybe the people around us will help us finish it.”
The gentle laughter made Wooyeon feel like Dohyun found him adorable. Instead of taking over the popcorn, Dohyun picked up two drinks and started walking, then suddenly turned back to glance at Wooyeon, smiling as if melting into the moment.
“Why are you holding it so preciously?”
“….”
Wooyeon felt his cheeks burning. Unconsciously, he awkwardly lowered the hand that was holding the popcorn. With his right hand, he received one of the drinks Dohyun offered.
“Here, take this.”
“But I don’t have hands.”
“I’ve got hands for you.”
For some reason, Dohyun kept laughing. He was always a cheerful person, but today, he seemed particularly bright. Dohyun tore the straws and stuck them into both drinks, then held one of the drinks out to Wooyeon.
“Try it. Which one tastes better?”
Wooyeon reflexively took the straw in his mouth, but when his eyes met Dohyun’s, he quickly looked away. He knew that it wasn’t a big deal to be fed a drink, but because it was Dohyun, he felt embarrassed. Surely Dohyun was just helping because Wooyeon’s hands were occupied, but still, it felt awkward to him.
“Which one tastes better?”
“I think the blueberry one is better.”
“Really?”
Dohyun casually took the straw that Wooyeon had asked for into his mouth and proceeded to drink the orange ade. Watching him sip the drink, Wooyeon bit his lower lip with the tip of his front teeth. His mouth was filled with sweetness, but he couldn’t tell if it was from the drink or because of Dohyun.
“Which popcorn flavor do you prefer?”
“…Are you teasing me, Sunbae?”
He hadn’t even tried it because his hands were occupied, yet he was being asked which flavor he preferred. Wooyeon looked at Dohyun with a sense of injustice, and Dohyun responded by teasingly offering him the drink again. It was somewhat disappointing for Wooyeon, who secretly hoped Dohyun would offer him popcorn too.
“Popcorn tastes great with caramel.”
“Is cheese not good?”
“It’s okay, but… would you like to try it?”
Wooyeon offered the popcorn he had picked up for Dohyun to try, partly hoping to catch him off guard, but Dohyun just casually nodded. As Wooyeon extended it to him, Dohyun took it and ate it without hesitation, causing his lips to brush against Wooyeon’s fingertips.
“….”
“Not bad.”
so sweet>< how can they be so cute. Both Dohyun and Wooyeon are flirting omggg. 🦊💖🐰
I love them so much🥺
Thank you for the chapter! ❤️
Is Wooyeon being dense here?
I feel like we’re getting pretty close to the exciting part.
thankyou for the translation! i hope it continues
Thanks for the chapter
they’re so cute 🥰🥺
they’re so cute why can’t they just date already 😭
Thanks for the chapter
Ahhhhh it’s going too slow. Too slow. I need the revelation soooonnn ⛺⛺⛺
Oh man, Dohyun is in love isn’t he? Wooyeon is sooo adorableeee cute lil baby ❤❤
there’s no new chap this week 🥹? But pls don’t drop it (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀)
I was hoping for new chapters.. But it’s okayy, I can waitt
Bro is flirting with kiddo.. ooohhh