Chapter 137
Seo-jung rubbed his eyes as he watched Cha Yoon walking towards him. Why was Cha Yoon here when they had just parted ways in front of the X House? Could it be another double date like last time? As he was making his own guesses, a notification rang out as if reading Seo-jung’s mind. It was a message from the production team.
“Ki Seo-jung’s last official date partner is Cha Yoon. Please enjoy your day with Cha Yoon today.”
Seo-jung read the notification message several times. But no matter how many times he read it, nothing changed. It wasn’t that they had picked the same partner and were going on a date together, nor was it a double date paired with other people. It was literally a date between the two of them, each other’s date partners.
As he was just staring blankly at the screen, not having expected this situation, he felt a presence very close by. When he looked up, he saw Cha Yoon rubbing his eyes while staring at his own phone, having arrived in front of him at some point. His brows were deeply furrowed.
Seeing Cha Yoon’s rarely seen flustered face, Seo-jung realized that he too had not anticipated this situation at all. At the same time, he remembered the scene from the day before, when Da-bin and Joo-ah were talking. Da-bin had taken Joo-ah’s hand and left, and they had been having an incomprehensible conversation with quite serious expressions.
“Ah, I told Song Joo-ah not to cause trouble.”
Cha Yoon’s voice was heard, as if to show that Seo-jung wasn’t the only one who had recalled this.
What should I do? Early this morning, Seo-jung had admitted that his previous thoughts were wrong, and he knew he needed to change going forward. But even so, this was a slightly different issue.
“…I’m afraid of how strange we might look to others.”
After Cha Yoon had accepted Seo-jung’s anxieties and worries, their dates had mostly taken place at home. On the rare occasions when they had to go out, it was natural to use the less noticeable evening hours.
Even anniversaries were no exception. Knowing that Seo-jung was always on edge when outside, Cha Yoon also restrained his own feelings as much as possible to accommodate Seo-jung. To not appear to fall within Seo-jung’s definition of ‘abnormal’, to look like nothing more than close sunbae and hoobae to anyone watching.
Cha Yoon was someone who didn’t care about others’ eyes, so Seo-jung knew that this was solely for his sake. But even so, he couldn’t tell him to stop. Because crossing that line was too difficult for Seo-jung.
After spending days like that, now a ‘date’ alone with Cha Yoon? This was on a completely different level from the beach walk he had half-heartedly agreed to with Cha Yoon this morning.
Seo-jung looked ahead. He could see numerous cameras and production staff filming him and Cha Yoon from a distance. What should I do? He remained frozen, unable to even grasp how he should react or what response he should show.
As expected, it was Cha Yoon who made the first move. He ruffled his own hair and let out a small sigh.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“I should have been more careful.”
Cha Yoon apologized as if it was all his fault. Cha Yoon said this because he knew how much Seo-jung had been worried about this kind of situation and how difficult it would be for him, but it wasn’t the case for Seo-jung. Seeing Cha Yoon put himself in the position of a sinner without having done anything wrong made Seo-jung feel upset and hurt.
“…Why are you sorry, Cha Yoon-ssi? You didn’t do anything.”
Seo-jung’s voice was filled with emotions he was trying hard to suppress. Nevertheless, Cha Yoon didn’t back down and continued to admit his fault.
“It’s because I was careless that the situation turned out like this.”
“That’s the same for me, isn’t it?”
Finally, unable to hold back, Seo-jung met Cha Yoon’s eyes.
“If it’s wrong that you couldn’t stop it at your end, then I’m equally wrong.”
“…”
“So don’t talk like that.”
Even Cha Yoon couldn’t say anything more to Seo-jung’s firm words. Silence fell again between the two who had been exchanging words. Time passed again in the deflated atmosphere.
It was around the time when the production staff watching the situation started whispering to each other. Cha Yoon, reading the atmosphere, finally spoke.
“Hyung.”
As Seo-jung turned his head, Cha Yoon met his eyes as if he had been waiting and asked with a slight smile.
“Since it’s turned out like this, shall we just have fun today?”
“…”
“We used to hang out quite often when we were in school. It might be fun to reminisce about old times after so long.”
Cha Yoon used a more playful tone than usual. It was all to lessen the weight that the title ‘date’ carried. That this was nothing significant. That it was just a friendly gathering that sunbae and hoobae from the same club could have. It was essentially rationalization, but the strategy seemed to work as Seo-jung’s eyes began to waver slightly.
To others, we’re just close sunbae and hoobae from the same club, wouldn’t it be strange to resist this much? No, to be more honest, beyond that, Seo-jung wanted to spend time with Cha Yoon. Noticing Seo-jung’s wavering heart, Cha Yoon took half a step closer.
“It’s silly to keep standing here making our legs sore. All the production staff are waiting too.”
“…”
“Don’t think about anything else, just have fun with me today.”
Hm? Cha Yoon lightly grabbed Seo-jung’s wrist as if pleading. A small sigh escaped Seo-jung’s lips, and then his head moved. Finally, the persuasion had worked.
“Ah, finally came around.”
Cha Yoon smiled brightly as if he had overcome a big hurdle, brushing up his disheveled bangs. Seo-jung, momentarily captivated by Cha Yoon’s curved lips, ended up laughing without realizing it.
“Let’s go.”
Hurry. Cha Yoon urged, lightly tugging on Seo-jung’s wrist that he was holding. Seo-jung slowly moved his feet that had been standing still.
Seo-jung, who had started walking quite boldly, couldn’t help but be surprised once more when they arrived at the pre-arranged location. The first date location was none other than a ‘silver workshop’.
Since most of their dates had been limited to indoor activities, they hadn’t done much together. At most, they would go to a restaurant to eat together, exercise together, watch late-night movies that suited Seo-jung’s taste, or visit bookstores, and maybe take a trip once a year on their anniversary.
For Seo-jung, a workshop like this? This was a place he had never thought he would visit with Cha Yoon in his lifetime. How would Cha Yoon react? Wouldn’t he be surprised too? Seo-jung moved his eyes to look at Cha Yoon.
And what he saw was a bit different from what he had expected. Cha Yoon’s face, looking around here and there, was full of curiosity to anyone who saw it. While it was clear that this was his first visit too, like Seo-jung, his reaction was markedly different. Am I the only one who’s so nervous about this? As he was rubbing his face, trying to shake off his bewilderment, a woman who appeared to be the workshop owner approached and greeted them.
“Welcome. You’ve arrived right on time.”
“Ah… Hello, teacher.”
“Yes, shall we come this way first?”
After hastily greeting her, the workshop owner guided the two inside.
When Seo-jung came to his senses, he found himself standing in front of a workbench, already wearing an apron. He looked ready for the workshop class by all appearances.
Seo-jung lightly rubbed his face. The date had already started. Being overly awkward or fidgety here could easily lead to strange misunderstandings. So, let’s just act like we usually do with other people. He finished his mental preparation in his own way.
“If you’re done with your aprons, could you look over here for a moment?”
The owner lightly clapped her hands. Following the sound, Cha Yoon and Seo-jung’s gazes turned to the workshop owner standing in front of them.
“Before we start the class, you both need to decide what you’re going to make.”
Seo-jung scanned the samples placed on the table. From rings to pendants and bracelets, there were quite a variety of things they could make, making it difficult to choose easily.
“This is our first time at a workshop, so we’re not sure what would be good to make.”
“How about rings then? They’re easier for beginners to make, and they’re also what most people who visit here choose to make.”
After hearing the answer, Seo-jung seemed to think for a moment before turning his gaze to Cha Yoon beside him.
“Shall we make rings then?”
“Do you want to make a ring, hyung?”
Seo-jung answered, “Yes.” The fact that it was easier to make than other items was the biggest plus point. Hearing Seo-jung’s answer, Cha Yoon nodded lightly and said to the workshop owner,
“I’ll make a ring too, the same as him.”
“Then you can each make one and gift it to each other.”
The workshop owner, who had been quietly listening, chimed in with a smile. Seo-jung, who had naturally been thinking of making his own ring, was only flustered by the workshop owner’s words.
Whether aware of Seo-jung’s feelings or not, the owner simply handed the prepared wax to the two of them. And before they could voice any other opinions, the class began. Thanks to the owner’s enthusiastic explanation, it was difficult to bring up anything else about it.
After finishing all the safety-related explanations, the workshop owner clapped her hands once more. Seo-jung, who had been following the tools with his eyes and learning how to use them according to the explanation, looked ahead.
As both of their gazes turned to her, the workshop owner opened her mouth.
“Well then, that concludes the explanation of how to use the tools. Now, what you need to do is measure the ring size you’ll be making, but…”
Ring size. What was Cha Yoon’s ring size again? As he was trying to recall the number, searching his memory, Seo-jung couldn’t help but freeze at the workshop owner’s next words.
“Do you know each other’s ring sizes?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
