#79
“Yes?”
When Bonoh asked back in confusion, the host immediately thrust the microphone at him. Bonoh’s current score was 240 points, and if he added 60 more points with the last pin, he would be in first place. It seemed like an intention to maintain tense suspense. Even though many people glanced over as they passed by, it didn’t seem like many were actually paying attention…
“Your ideal type!”
When Bonoh couldn’t answer, the host asked the question again. It was disappointing that the flow was interrupted, but at the same time, he thought answering this question would be an opportunity to send a meaningful message to Taeseong. Bonoh answered without avoiding Taeseong’s gaze.
“Uh, my ideal type is someone who looks good in glasses and is sexy noo- no! A sexy person is my ideal type!”
Someone who looks good in glasses and is sexy – that was Joo Taeseong. Taeseong was the one and only person who perfectly matched his ideal type. So for Bonoh, this answer was no different from indirectly revealing his feelings for Taeseong in front of people.
“Oh~, so if you meet your ideal type today, are you thinking of making a move?”
“Yes! I’ll confess right away.”
So that his aspiration could reach Taeseong, Bonoh put strength in his stomach and answered with deep breathing. Then, before the host could stop him again, Bonoh threw the last pin in one go. The dart pin went right into the middle of the 20-point triple line, just as Bonoh intended.
Total score: 300 points. First place.
‘Huh?’
As soon as he confirmed the score, Bonoh turned his gaze toward Taeseong. He hoped that even if he wouldn’t be happy, his mood would lighten up a little, but Taeseong had the exact opposite expression of what Bonoh hoped for. Taeseong was glaring at Bonoh with an even more menacing face than before playing darts.
“Joo Taeseong!”
Bonoh followed Taeseong while holding a rabbit doll as big as himself. The host had handed him the prize, telling him to give it to his ideal type when he met them.
Of course, since Bonoh’s ideal type was Taeseong, he intended to give the doll to Taeseong when he received it, but Taeseong walked away without waiting for Bonoh. He hurriedly chased after Taeseong, but it was difficult to walk quickly while holding the large doll.
“Wait, just wait! Huff, hah…”
“……”
In that short time, they had gone quite far, and Bonoh was panting as he finally caught up with Taeseong.
“This, I wanted to give it to you…”
“I don’t need something like this.”
When Bonoh held out the doll to Taeseong, Taeseong let out a laugh mixed with a sigh. Taeseong’s expression was so cold that Bonoh’s arms holding the doll lost some strength. He wondered if he had done something unnecessary. Come to think of it, he remembered hearing that many people dislike dolls that are too big because they’re inconvenient to deal with. Moreover, Taeseong didn’t seem like the type to like dolls, whether big or small.
“Ah, then…”
However, when Bonoh hesitated and tried to pull the doll back to himself, Taeseong snatched the doll away. The problem was the way Taeseong was holding the doll. The way he gripped the rabbit doll’s neck with one hand looked like he was strangling it no matter how you looked at it. It looked even more so because Taeseong lifted the doll up to his eye level.
“Is this really mine?”
“Huh?”
“They said to give it to your ideal type. Are you sure you can give this doll to me?”
“Of course! That’s why I have to give it to you…”
Bonoh couldn’t understand why Taeseong was angry. Because he went out to play darts alone? Because he was left alone among people? Or? Could it be because of the ideal type thing? Because I tried to show in front of people that I like Joo Taeseong? Various possibilities were spinning tensely in Bonoh’s head.
“Um, Joo Taeseong… You do like me, right?”
In the end, Bonoh ended up asking the question he didn’t want to voice.
“……”
The silence was brief, but it felt long to Bonoh. When Taeseong just stared without saying anything, Bonoh became impatient. Unable to bear the silence, he ended up blurting out whatever came to mind. Even though he knew in his head that he should stop, his mouth moved on its own.
“I mean, you had someone you were waiting for a confession from before… But still, since you’re dating me, it’s not like you have no feelings for me at all… right?”
“You said you remembered…”
“Huh?”
Bonoh became scared of what words would come next. Is there something else I don’t remember?
“Then you should remember this too. You said you liked me so much, so when I said I’d date you, you said in return that I could meet other people. Are you changing your words now?”
Taeseong said this while looking down at Bonoh’s dumbfounded face. Kim Bonoh, are you still going to insist you don’t remember even with this? Why don’t you just confess that you don’t remember already.
Taeseong hadn’t intended to lie from the beginning either. He was angry when he woke up in the morning because it seemed like he didn’t remember, but if Bonoh had admitted it right then and there, it would have been passed off as a happening. As much as it was a confession obtained with difficulty, betrayal washed over him, but it was also true that he himself had been impatient, grabbing onto drunk Kim Bonoh to get a confession.
Since Bonoh had a history of running away every morning, Taeseong couldn’t let his guard down even that morning. He was worried that even if his body couldn’t run away, he might pretend not to remember and back out. Just in case, he casually brought up the phrase “dating relationship” to test Bonoh’s reaction, but his answer was a beat late and somehow ambiguous.
It wasn’t that he was pretending not to remember – Kim Bonoh really couldn’t remember. He even lied about remembering… Moreover, when talking about his ideal type, Bonoh had clearly been about to say “sexy noona.” Fuck, that damn sexy noona. In that moment, Taeseong’s insides twisted.
At first, he just thought he’d tease him a bit since they agreed to call each other “jagi.” He didn’t think Kim Bonoh would be able to say such an embarrassing term of endearment. He expected him to struggle and eventually confess that he didn’t remember after not being able to last long.
But Kim Bonoh was different from what he expected. His face gradually turned red, then he hesitated and bit his lips tightly. After hesitating for a long time, he slightly lowered his head and called out “jagi…” in a small voice, and in that moment, Taeseong was momentarily dazed. The sight of Bonoh’s ears turning bright red was so amusing that even the annoying emotions gradually subsided.
Even so, every time Kim Bonoh used that term of endearment, he would be embarrassed, but he never said he didn’t remember until the very end.
Let’s see how far this goes. He started making up stories like that and eventually came to this point.
But Kim Bonoh, you can’t possibly let this slide, right? You like me a lot. When I say I’m going to meet other people, can you really endure and let it pass? Taeseong waited anxiously for Bonoh’s answer.
“I did say that, right… I almost forgot…”
Bonoh tried to smile, but the corners of his mouth trembled awkwardly. Even though he felt his fingertips getting cold, he tried hard to ignore it. When Taeseong looked at him, Bonoh couldn’t continue speaking.
After that, silence settled between the two. In the middle of the noisy festival, only the two of them were quiet. Taeseong walked with an expressionless face. Occasionally he would look back at Bonoh and gesture, or ask if there was somewhere he wanted to go or if he was hungry, but his voice was unusually calm. The sharp anger or annoyed expression that had appeared on Taeseong’s face had disappeared without a trace.
However, that calmness made Bonoh even more anxious. Rather than his anger being resolved, Taeseong seemed to be deeply contemplating something, and there was a high possibility that contemplation was related to him. Even with so many people around, for Taeseong to be expressionless, he seemed quite absorbed in his thoughts.
Even while following behind Taeseong, Bonoh couldn’t feel the reality of walking together with Taeseong. He could hear people’s laughter from all directions in the excited festival atmosphere, but Bonoh’s heart seemed to be one step away from there.
What is Joo Taeseong thinking about right now? Bonoh looked at Taeseong’s fingertips, then shifted his gaze to look at the rabbit doll he was holding. Taeseong was holding the doll carelessly by gripping its dull neck, but seeing how he was being somewhat careful not to let the doll’s legs drag on the ground made him feel a little proud. Even though he grumbled that he didn’t like it, seeing him continue to take care of it like this, maybe he secretly liked it.
But watching Taeseong’s other hand naturally swing with his steps, Bonoh’s heart became complicated again. What if that hand holds someone else’s hand instead of mine? Bonoh swallowed a sigh at the sudden surge of anxiety.
Is this really dating? A relationship where one person can meet other people – no matter how much he thought about it, it was an absurd condition. He couldn’t have been the first to suggest such a thing. Just thinking about Taeseong holding hands with someone else made his heart break.
If he had been the first to suggest it, there would have been only one reason: “Because otherwise, Taeseong wouldn’t have agreed to date me.” That thought made Bonoh’s heart freeze cold. Even Taeseong’s current silence where he said nothing might be an answer.
What if Taeseong says let’s break up, no, let’s take back our decision to date?
Bonoh unconsciously quickened his pace. And he grabbed Taeseong’s swinging fingertips with both hands.
Bonoh held tightly onto Taeseong’s hand as if clinging to it in the noisy crowd. But worried that Taeseong would dislike it if he put too much weight on his hand, he struggled to hold it as lightly as possible. Like a balloon slightly heavier than air, it seemed like just a light touch would be good.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
