that part was yours, but it just might be ours (1/4)
♥ happy #JumonicDay from the #angstcircle ♥
For Jasmine (our real maknae)
Pieced together from all over the world,
this story is for you.
It is about a bond so strong
that it can weather any difficulties, any obstacles in life.
That same bond unites all of us in friendship,
and we want to thank you for being a part of our lives!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
With love,
00’s
It is February when Changmin begs his mom to bake him a chocolate cake for his 5th birthday.
"Please?" he whines, his mismatched eyes looking up at her pleadingly.
"Changmin-ah," she sighs. "I know how much you love chocolate cake, so why not buy a bigger and better and tastier cake from the grocery store? Mommy is kind of busy these days," she explains.
He pouts. He's dead set on making his own cake this time. After all, he reasons, after all his years of being alive (a whopping four-going-on-five), all he's eaten for his birthdays has been store-bought cake. It's about time he figure out what's exactly inside of it that makes it so yummy.
"I. Want. To. Make. Chocolate. Cake."
It's a staring contest that his mom can't stand to win. She breaks out into laughter, the kind that makes Changmin all warm and giddy inside, and he smiles, knowing that he's gotten his way. "Thank you, mommy!" He hugs her tightly, arms wrapping around her lower waist.
"Alright, let's go buy the ingredients then," she grins, patting him on the head.
And that's how Changmin ends up racing a shopping cart against no one in particular down an empty aisle in the grocery store. He treats the cart as a scooter (but really, it's a racecar), almost tripping as he glides past shelves of cereal and crackers. "This is so fun!" he laughs to himself, ignoring his mom's concerned protests.
He figures he's going at precisely a million miles an hour (his goal one day is to ride his bike that fast). The next NASCAR champion, wind in his face, some groovy song booming over the supermarket speakers -
Oomph.
Oops.
A clash of metal, head spinning from the impact, does the race simply end like this? First-place Shim Changmin is out of the running! He's stopped dead in his tracks, his own cart colliding head-on with another.
It takes him a couple seconds to realize that he's not really on a racetrack with hundreds of fans cheering him on. He gulps. He looks up to see a girl seated in the shopping cart, staring at him with large eyes.
"Changmin!" His mother calls out, running over. "I'm so sorry," she apologizes to the woman pushing the cart. “Changmin, apologize right now.”
“Sorry,” he mumbles.
His mom only shakes her head. "Mrs. Im, right?" His mom's eyes flash in recognition. "I believe we met once at a friend's party."
The other lady smiles, slight wrinkles around her eyes. "Ah, yes. Nice to see you here, Mrs. Shim."
While the mothers socialize, Changmin curiously peers at the girl sitting in the cart. Her hands are clutching tightly to an unopened bag of lollipops. "I'm Changmin." He reaches out his right hand, remembering the way his dad greets others.
The girl looks at him inquisitively, cocking her head to the side. She doesn't seem to understand. He smiles. "What's your name?"
"Yoona," she says.
"Cool," he replies. He raises an eyebrow when he sees her squirming in her seat. "What are you-“
She jumps out of the cart onto the floor. “It was a bit squishy,” she explains.
He’s amazed at how graceful she is. It kind of reminds him of the people at the circus who can get out of any container no matter what.
“You were racing cars, weren’t you,” she’s teasing him now, eyes shining.
He’s caught a bit off guard. “How did you know?”
“I used to do that until one time I actually fell and got a boo-boo on my knee. That’s why I have to actually sit in the cart now.”
She does talk quite a bit, he notices. “Ah,” he murmurs, his respect for her increasing even more. “That’s so…heroic.” He has a thing for hero movies.
She beams. “What are you buying today?”
“Ingredients for chocolate cake!” he answers happily. “It’s my birthday tomorrow.”
“Happy early birthday then,” she gives him another smile. He thinks it’s a nice smile.
“Thanks.”
Their moms finish their shopping together and they’re at the checkout line when Changmin’s mom receives a call. “Yes, honey? …Yeah, we’re basically done! See you out in the parking lot. Love you.”
Yoona looks at Changmin, a question in her eyes. “It’s my dad,” the boy explains. “We walked here. The store is close to our house. But daddy just got out of work so he can give us a ride home!”
The girl nods, chewing on her lip.
They meet Mr. Shim outside, the man dressed in a suit and tie. He gives his wife a light kiss on the lips before ruffling Changmin’s hair.
“Honey, this is Mrs. Im, remember her?”
“Oh, nice to meet you again,” he replies, reaching out for a handshake. He turns to his son. “Well, we better get going, soon-to-be-birthday-boy!”
His dad sweeps Changmin up onto his shoulders, and it is from there that Changmin waves goodbye to his newfound friend. “Bye, Yoona!”
That evening, as he gets his hands dirty with melted chocolate and flings flour at his parents, he thinks of her, the girl who smiled, Im Yoona.
||+||+||+||
Across the neighborhood, Yoona is in her room with her stuffed animals, a picture book open in front of her. It is nights like these when she has to hide in her room with the lights dimmed. Her parents are arguing in the living room yet again, and it doesn't help that the book in front of her is one about Cinderella and her Prince Charming.
She purses her lips, remembering the boy she met earlier at the supermarket, and most of all, the sweet words and affection displayed between his parents. A cold feeling creeps into her chest, making her shiver.
She goes to bed after eating a pink lollipop from her secret stash. Strawberry. Somehow it calms her, and she lulls off to sleep.
||+||+||+||
The next morning, Changmin heads off to the park to play. The playground is full of kids, and there is only one empty swing, still swaying back and forth as if someone had just gotten off. He lets out a happy yelp at his luck and jumps on without a thought.
After fifteen minutes or so, he's forced to get off when his mom reminds him that his birthday party is happening that afternoon. He leaps down, almost twisting his ankle in the process. Oof. He furrows his eyebrows when his eyes capture of glimpse of something in the sand. He peers closer. It's a lollipop! Just his luck.
Finders keepers, losers weepers, he thinks giddily. It is his birthday, after all.
Changmin is still clutching the lollipop in his hand when his friends come over, their hoots and yells echoing in the hallway.
"Who's that from?" one of the boys asks, pointing at the lollipop. "It's pink," he giggles, as if it is taboo for a boy to be holding a pink lollipop.
"What's wrong with that," Changmin tilts his chin up in defiance. "And I don't know who it's from. But it's mine."
It tastes sweeter than any other candy he's had. And it's funny because he finds the same exact lollipop in the same exact place underneath the swings five more times in the next year. Sometimes he forgets to look and sometimes he searches earnestly in curiosity, but one thing he knows: each one, to him, is sweeter than the last.
It's strange, he knows. He wonders who it could be.
||+||+||+||
He doesn't see her (her, the girl who smiled) for almost an infinity. At least, it seems so in his mind. In reality, it is when he is eight years old when he's at the familiar playground once again, but this time, there are some nine-year-olds on the turf. His turf.
"Get out, shortie," one of them shoves him harshly on the shoulder.
"This is our territory," the other cackles, pouring a bucket of sand on Changmin's hair.
He's rendered speechless, blinking the sand out of his eyes. The nine-year-olds proceed to kick some more sand in his face, laughing hysterically. Changmin clenches his teeth, gaze growing dark. He is really going to explode-
"Watch it." It's a girl's voice. Someone falls into the sand.
Changmin shakes the sand out of his hair and turns around. He rubs his eyes. Once, twice. Is it really her? "Yoona?" he whispers.
She grins, and he can see the gaps where her two front teeth are supposed to be, and she's got the other guy in a choke hold. "Listen," she directs at the perpetrator. "It's not nice to bully others, especially those younger than you. Did anyone ever teach you manners?"
She releases him, then, and he and his friend scramble off into the distance. "Hey," she says. "Changmin, right?"
He nods. "You're really something." And it all comes flooding back to him, the sense of awe he got the first time he met her. Except she's only gotten better since then.
She looks at him, takes in his messy hair and tanned skin and his pants that are a little too short for him. She briefly recalls the image of him gliding headlong down the shopping aisle toward her cart, and she can't hold back a giggle. "Let's play!"
And so they do, guarding their "fortress" (the play structure) against the bad guys (the nine-year-olds who have long since disappeared - surrendered, Changmin insists). In her head, she pretends that she’s a princess and she’s her own kind of Cinderella, the kind who knows a bit of taekwondo and enjoys reading books. And then there’s Changmin, looking through make-shift binoculars and swinging through the monkey bars, and in her six-year-old mind, she decides that he wouldn’t be such a bad Prince Charming, really. Maybe.
But then again, what does she know? So she only smiles and tumbles down the slide after him, laughter ringing in the air.
She likes it.
“Hey Changmin,” she says while they’re at the drinking fountain. “We’re friends, right?”
He grins. “Of course.” And he puts out his right hand. She takes it and grabs it firmly.
And she smiles back.
Later, when it’s getting late and it’s almost time for dinner, Changmin leaves with his dad. Yoona reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out a pink lollipop. Heading to where the swings are, she sticks it in the sand.
She walks away.
10’s
He walks over, calmly plucking a lollipop out of the sand.
Strawberry.
These suckers are like a muse to him, he thinks, as he strums the strings by the bench of the whitest hallway in the whole campus. He’s not sure how long Kyuhyun’s going to be in there but while he doesn’t come out, the lyrics start to, like fireworks that light up in the sky, the outburst of ideas, note per note after every word.
Agitated, Changmin jerks the moment the door to the clinic opens, hoping to see his friend but ending up seeing an obviously on a 24/7 diet cheerleader wearing the school team’s colors. Most probably a senior, like himself, the way she observes him and his plain outdated pants from last year. Go Tigers! His smile proposes, a small awkward wave before he ends up sitting back again, and she shakes her head, limping out of his way and into the crowd. She stands out, as much as Changmin refuses to admit it, and he knows it’s not because of her sprained ankle.
He shrugs it off when Kyuhyun finally comes out, right ear wrapped in cloth and bandages to prevent further bleeding from a small brawl on the way to school. Not even a sophomore and he’s already making headlines, that Cho Kyuhyun.
“A cheerleader was checking me out,” Changmin brags, a smug smile etched on his face. “The… girl that came out before you did.”
Kyuhyun squints, recalling the other patients in the clinic. “I think we’re in the same year, I’ve seen her in homeroom.”
“Uh, no I don’t think so,” he continues, taking his lollipop out and pointing it at Kyuhyun like a lethal weapon. “I would have noticed that if she were.”
“Oh, Shimmy’s got a crushie,” Kyuhyun teases, chuckling. “If she isn’t, then could be that 1st year who tried out for the cheerleading team? Yunmi, was it? Or Yuri? Yooseul?”
“Yoona! Hey, Yoona!”
A girl, just about Changmin’s shoulders tall (he’s been growing a few inches since middle school, thank you puberty), breaks apart the two boys, ruthlessly pushing her way through the crowd to reach the girl shambling to the lockers.
Changmin nudges Kyuhyun, pointing at her. At Yoona. The name rings a bell, somewhere in memory lane, pulling on his sleeves like how a child would be requesting for another pink lollipop, the one in between his mouth at the moment. He takes it out and it hits him, as abrupt as the eye contact: the brief connection that he too can’t tell whether it’s just a tiny spark of hope, or a complete combustion of the arbitrary past.
||+||+||+||
The first time he’s ever talked to her is a year later, through loud music and endless jabbering at an after game party where the Tigers kills the Wolves at a 3-0 match in basketball. Kyuhyun somehow managed to get their band to play there. Changmin thinks a live band at a home party is a bit overboard, no matter how rich you are or how big the house is, but a gig’s a gig, and he’d much rather keep the money than speak his mind.
They play four songs, until it dawns on Kyuhyun that they never practiced any more than those four songs, so he mumbled something about taking a breather and let the CD to take over their supposed job. Changmin wanders off alone after taking (stealing) an unopened bottle of champagne that he found sitting on one of the tables. He finds a good spot where it’s not completely dark, but far enough from the chaos, and settles there.
“Underage drinking is a big no-no. You do realize the consequences for that, do you?”
He glances up to search for the owner of that voice, and finds a very familiar looking girl raising a brow at him with her hands crossed. “I’m not drinking,” he defends himself.
“Yeah, but you’re about to,” she counters as she settles down next to him.
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
They get themselves involved in a staring battle that does not last as long as anyone would expect, because Changmin bursts out laughing soon enough.
“What?” the girl asks, suddenly feeling uneasy. Out of reflex she wipes her mouth, brushes the corners of her eyes and runs her fingers over her hair in case something is stuck there.
“Your shirt,” he simply answers.
She glances down, and true enough, her eyes widen and she yelps in shock. There’s a splat of ketchup across her chest on her white t-shirt. Thinking of how she has been walking around without realizing how long it’s been there, her face flushes into a deep shade of red, embarrassed.
“What-how much did you actually eat?”
“I was hungry, okay. I didn’t eat much before the game,” she pouts while rubbing her finger over the stain in her attempt to remove it, but to no avail.
He watches her quietly for a moment before he takes his sweater off and hands it over to her. “Here, wear this.”
Frowning, she gives him a look. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. You can’t go around having those perverts out there staring at your boobs, can you?”
“Hey!” she hits his arm. Her face changes later as though she just thought of something, and she glares at him sharply. “Wait, does that mean you were staring at my boobs?”
“Hmm let’s just say my eyes just happened to fall at the right place.”
“Right place?!”
He manages a chortle and watches as she relaxes and joins in while slipping into his sweater. It’s a little too big for her small frame, but somehow it looks just right on her. “It’s… Yoona, right?” he tries after a minute of silence.
“It sure took you long enough,” she scoffs.
“At least I’m not as bad as Kyuhyun.”
“I don’t know if I should be upset neither of you remember my name, or honoured that some seniors were discussing me,” she playfully jokes. “Aren’t you supposed to be playing, though? I thought the band is paid.”
“So you do notice me.”
“I just checked to see who on earth were polluting the place with such terrible music.”
Changmin chuckles.
They sit there, just the two of them together, for several minutes longer while continuing to banter about trivial matters, like whether the worst cheeseburger of the town comes from their school’s canteen or the diner down the block, or if the cheerleaders are any help at all to boost the team’s energy. Yoona, surprisingly, doesn’t really say much to defend her crew, because “it’s a complete waste of my time,” she says, and recounts how she’s been forced to join so her school diploma looks a little better with a co-curricular participation.
He hears Kyuhyun calling his name, so he shrugs and gets up. “Back to noise polluting,” he mumbles, causing her to laugh. She’s about to take off the sweater to return it to him when he stops her. “Just wear it. I’m not responsible for any boobs-staring event that would be taking place otherwise.”
There’s a hint of familiarity in her laugh, as if he’s heard it before, not in their school, but somewhere, sometime ago that he can’t recall. “You’ll catch a cold,” she says later.
“I’m tougher than you think, you know,” he grins before walking off, leaving her there.
Her lips bloom into a smile as she watches his back growing smaller. She shoves her hands into the pocket, and finds a lollipop in there. The wrapper is slightly covered in dirt, and she chuckles, thinking of the funny coincidences in life.
||+||+||+||
Changmin doesn’t come to school the next day, confined in bed with a rather high fever.
On Tuesday, he finds his sweater in his locker, washed and folded nicely. On top of it sits two lollipops of the same flavour and brand, one that he found in the playground few days before, the other brand new.
He furrows his eyebrows, lips twitching in amusement and confusion simultaneously. Kyuhyun walks over to him to hand him some notes that Changmin had missed while absent.
“Are you okay?” his friend asks.
LATE 10’s
“No,” he mumbles to himself in dismay.
It is the start of a new semester, and he finds himself groaning. The assignment his English lecturer has given to them early that morning is one he would very much want to avoid even though he knows it is inevitable. He shudders at the mere thought of failing his English paper again, slapping his senses together as he furrows his eyebrows in concentration. “I can do this. Shim Changmin, you can do this.”
“For this assignment, I will be pairing each of you into groups of two.”
Changmin lets out a sigh in relief, glad that he would have a pair of helping hands in this particular assignment. (He prays that it is someone more competent than him and not any worse.) The professor calls out name after name, finally reaching Changmin’s as he immediately raises his hand and sits straighter in his seat. “-and Im Yoona.”
“Im Yoona?” Changmin furrows his eyebrows together. Something stirs in his mind but not enough for him to know entirely why he is reacting so naturally to the name. He quickly scans the lecture hall for his partner and spots a hand midair just few seats across from his seat. Where have I heard this name before? He squints his eyes in attempt to identify who his partner is, but her hair obscures her face from view.
His question is answered soon enough when everyone scramble around to find their partners. He stands and cranes his neck at the direction of the female, and finds a lump on his throat when he sees that she is directly looking at him. Her expression is a mask of surprise and confusion as she makes her way slowly towards Changmin.
Changmin’s mouth shapes into a small ‘o’ when realization hits him. There is a sudden flashback of the very same young lady in her cheerleading outfit, pompoms in her hands and hair tied high in a ponytail. The lump in his throat seems to grow the more he looks at her.
“Changmin? Shim Changmin?” Yoona calls out when she’s near enough for him to hear, “Are you the Changmin from Seoul High School?” She asks enthusiastically before adding; “Not that I was stalking you or whatsoever before this, it’s just cool to find someone from school!”
Changmin nods, his throat dry. It has been two years since their last meeting with each other; he was sure he would not be seeing her again, but fate seems to have its own way in convincing him otherwise. Yoona beams at him, happy to see a familiar face amidst the new faces in the hall; she vaguely remembers the last time they exchanged smiles with each other, but that was two years ago. Changmin wants to say something, anything to show that he is just as happy to see her, but he finds his throat tangled in a knot of mess.
Yoona doesn’t seem to mind though, for she is still smiling when she tugs his sleeve excitedly and says; “Are you free later? We should head to the library and work on the assignment together.”
“Uh…I’ll be free after five.”
“Alright, shall we meet in the library at say…seven-thirty?”
There is a pause as Changmin finds himself blushing at how Yoona is looking at him, presumably in waiting for his response. Mentally slapping himself, Changmin forces on a smile and nods. “Sounds good.”
“I’ll see you later then!” The brunette takes a step back and waves. “It’s nice seeing you again, Changmin-sshi.”
“You too, er…Yoona-sshi.” He replies with hesitation, and after the departure of his ex-schoolmate, Changmin sinks into his seat and stares blankly at the floor. Horrified at how awkward he was and realizing how rude that must have looked, Changmin covers his face with a hand and groans. “What the hell?”
||+||+||+||
“I’m a little confused. How are we sharing the same class together?”
Later that night, Changmin sees Yoona again in the library, and this time he promises himself he would make better effort into showing a better impression towards the young lady. When he reaches there however, Yoona is already waiting, and he sighs inwardly when he sees that she has already found some books for reference. So much for making a better impression when she is doing all the work.
“Uh…yeah. I had to…er…take this subject again.”
Yoona smiles and Changmin could see the sly glint in her eyes. “Why? Prepositions were too hard for you?”
“Well, maybe…” Slightly offended, Changmin’s mind works in haste to find a suitable comeback for the teasing Yoona has given to him. “Or maybe I was waiting to take it again once a lovely lady comes in.”
Two seconds pass and Changmin’s heart begins to pound at how blank the brunette in front of him seems to be. Fearing that his joke might have been misunderstood, Changmin sits straighter in his seat. “Er, I didn’t mean…”
Yoona blinks, unamused before erupting into muffled laughter. Changmin could only stare, (not missing the way her eyes seem to lit up in happiness) before the female snorts and brushes a tear away from her eye. “You need to work on your flirting skills, Changmin-sshi.”
He isn’t sure if he is blushing, but if he is, Yoona did not realize.
“But thanks,” She adds with a grin and Changmin feels his heart melting a little bit. “For saying I am lovely.”
Changmin isn’t sure what is happening to him, for his usual snarky self doesn’t seem to be responding to his request at the moment. He isn’t sure if it’s because of all the stress due to the assignment, or if it’s because of…
Yoona laughs. “I think you’re lovely too.”
…Okay.
||+||+||+||
It is day three of working together when the partners decide to pull an all-nighter in attempt to finish their assignment. Realizing that they only have a day left before the deadline, Changmin and Yoona skim through the fat textbooks on the desk and jot notes onto their notepads. By the third day, they’ve grown considerably more comfortable with one another, and Changmin is sure he has not done much in attribution. Two years of not seeing her, yet she remains as lively and bubbly as she used to be in high school. Her cheerful disposition triggers memories of when he had been in his band and her on the cheering squad, and there could be nothing happier than when he was still in high school.
“Changmin? How’s your part going?”
His thoughts are interrupted and Changmin glances up and makes eye contact with his partner. Ignoring the way his heart seems to be reacting at her doe-like eyes and encouraging smile, Changmin pushes his notepad into her direction. “Not anywhere near the end, but it’s progressing I guess.”
Yoona glances at his scribbling-Changmin winces and mentally knocks himself on the head for not writing properly-and gives a bright smile in response. “Hey, this is good. You’ve got talent in writing!”
“Seriously?” He asks in a skeptical tone and Yoona laughs. (The sound of her laughter is like silver bells in his ears)
“No, that was a lie.” She takes her pencil and cuts out a few sentences from his notepad before scribbling onto it. Changmin finds himself burning with embarrassment, but Yoona still had on her smile and he feels a bit more relief. “You don’t have to add so many sentences like these. They are redundant.” Yoona explains as she pushes the notepad back into his direction. “Other than that though, you’re good.”
Changmin nods, glad that he had a partner who knows what she is doing. “Thanks, you’re a life savior.”
“Don’t worry, you’re on the right track!” Yoona encourages him before stifling into a yawn. “I’m getting a little sleepy though. Do you know where to get coffee?”
Changmin glances at his watch and sees the figure of 12.45 a.m gleaming. “I do, but let me get it for you.”
He stands quickly, much to Yoona’s surprise. “You don’t have to though-“
“No, no. I want to. Just wait for me here, alright?” Before waiting for a reply, Changmin walks away from their table in quick but light footsteps, climbing down the staircase two steps at the time before rushing outside the building for the coffee his partner wanted. Three years in university has taught Changmin the locations of every possible coffee machine in campus, and it isn’t long before he returns with two cups of warm coffee in his hands.
Yoona’s face lights up immediately when she sees him, and she accepts the coffee gratefully. “Wow, you’re quick. Thanks!”
Changmin sits back on his seat, his heart still pounding from all the fast walking. He wipes his sweat from his forehead and smiles. “You’re most welcome.”
“Here.” Much to his surprise, Yoona hands him a packet of tissue papers. “It’s better to use this to wipe.”
Beaming at how thoughtful his partner is, Changmin takes the packet from her with another smile. “Thank you.”
Yoona takes a sip from her coffee before breaking into a grin. “You’re most welcome.” She says, and Changmin isn’t sure if she is mirroring what he had told her, or if she really did meant what she said.
“I meant both.” She whispers, and Changmin jumps in his seat in surprise. “What?”
Yoona merely giggles as she resumes drinking her coffee and staring at the book in front of her.
||+||+||+||
Two weeks later, the result of their assignment is revealed. Changmin breathes a sigh of relief when he stares at the grade of A-, nudging his partner sitting beside him as she gives a slight squeal in delight. “I thought we would only be getting a B! This is better than expected!” Yoona whispers excitedly and Changmin could only laugh at how happy she looked.
“Say, do you want to go out tonight?” The question came out from his mouth before he could fathom his thoughts. The sudden invitation places an abrupt stop on Yoona’s celebration-is that a blush on her cheeks?-before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and smirks; “Is that a date, Shim Changmin?”
By now, Changmin would have gotten used to her sarcasm and wit, but that doesn’t mean it would stop his heart from skipping beats. “If you think it is.” He says sheepishly, trying to act as nonchalant as possible but on the inside he is on the verge of tearing himself apart. You stupid boy! You don’t invite people for a date like this, you just don’t-
“I’m expecting flowers, alright?” Yoona chuckles before walking away. It takes Changmin twenty seconds to fully register what he has heard, and this time, unable to hide his excitement, breaks into a grin.
That night, Changmin granted Yoona’s wish by buying her a bouquet of daisies (because Kyuhyun has barked over the phone that he should not buy her roses, granted if he doesn’t want to scare her off) and Yoona’s jaw drops open in complete surprise.
“But…but…I was only…” The hint of red on Yoona’s cheeks is obvious, and Changmin feels a sense of triumph in his heart. “Shim Changmin!”
“If you don’t want this though, I can just give this to er…someone else.”
“No!” Yoona reaches out immediately and grabs the bouquet protectively. “Er…I mean, thank you. I really love daisies. They’re beautiful!”
Changmin grins, happy that she is happy. “Not any more beautiful than you, though.”
Yoona turns into a deep shade of red.
||+||+||+||
He’s huffing and puffing through the hallways and he knows that running isn’t exactly his forte, despite his efforts to go to the gym and all. But he’s running with all his might just the same, because he’s late for a date with Yoona and in all their two years of dating, it’s his first time being a whole forty-five minutes late. He passes by some planters and hastily picks a pink flower off the ground.
“Sorry,” he pants. “I had to stay behind for some help from the T.A.” He knows it’s a lame excuse, really, but it is his first year in law school after all. He can’t help it.
Yoona smiles. “It’s alright,” she shrugs it off and puts her arm through his.
“By the way,” Changmin smiles, handing her the flower. “For you.”
She shakes her head, laughing. “You never come empty-handed, do you? So cheesy.” But the slight blush in her cheeks tells him otherwise. He shrugs.
“Let’s go!”
To where, Changmin doesn’t quite know and most likely Yoona doesn’t either, but one thing he’s noticed about Yoona - them - is that as long as they are together, it feels like heaven.
“Where should we go?” he asks, squeezing her hand tightly.
“Hmm,” the college third-year purses her lips, and he finds it altogether adorable. “I’m craving some boba milk tea right now, to be honest.”
When they arrive at the boba shop, they both order strawberry flavored milk tea and Yoona finds it funny that they like the same fruit. What are the chances? But they just exchange smiles and play footsie under the table like the grown-ups they are and Yoona thinks - knows - that she has finally found her Prince Charming.
“Changmin?”
“Yeah?” He looks at her, and she finds herself drowning in his deep gaze. She gulps. She doesn’t know what it is about him - maybe the way his eyes crinkle at the edges when he smiles, maybe the way he works hard for his dream of becoming a lawyer, maybe the way he knows the right words to say to make the butterflies in her stomach come alive, or the way his arms wrap securely around her torso and she finally feels at home - she doesn’t know, but she’s undeniably grateful.
He’s leaning forward now, peering at her closely, face propped on his elbows. “What is it?”
She bites her lip. “I - I -” she stutters, and she can feel her cheeks burning pink, and the twinkle in his eye tells her that he notices this.
He chuckles lightly before cupping her chin. “I love you, Yoona,” he breathes, and right before he closes the gap between them, she finds herself saying I love you, too in response, and what happens afterward leaves her breathless.
When they finally pull away, her ears are still red and Changmin looks especially proud of himself (she wants to wipe that smirk off his face). It’s definitely not the first time they’ve kissed in their two years of dating but the effect is still the same.
They decide to randomly browse the grocery store nearby and Yoona vaguely remembers the time they first met in the shopping aisles back home, bringing a smile to her face.
“We first met in a store like this,” she murmurs, swinging their arms back and forth.
“Mmm,” he replies. He has a weird look of nostalgia on his face, and it’s like they’re kids again, racing shopping carts down the aisles. “You were very cute,” he divulges, smirking.
She groans inwardly but secretly she finds it nice - having someone love her.
“And you still are,” he winks.
“You’re cute, too,” she laughs, poking him in the ribcage, causing him to yelp in surprise.
They settle back to looking at all the items on sale. Her eyes are distracted at all the big sale and discount signs and she wants to buy practically everything on the shelves and Changmin chuckles in amusement. “You’re such a kid.”
She merely sticks her tongue out at him. “It’s all just for fun,” she says, humming as she makes her way to the ice cream and dessert section.
There’s a mischievous glint in her eyes and he chuckles. She’s always been more carefree and adventurous out of the two of them, he supposes. He kind of envies that, how she can smile so lightheartedly all the time, but then he thinks that maybe that’s one reason why he loves her so much - a ray of sunshine in his otherwise drab life, adrenaline coursing through his veins, heart exploding out of his chest.
He observes as she swiftly pulls out some ice cream tubs from the store freezer and puts them in their cart. She’s getting five all at once, and his lips curl into a smile. “What are you up to?”
part 2