72 – Date (4)

After buying some clothes to buy, after looking around the outlet for a while, we headed out for a meal. Han Yuna said there was a restaurant she wanted to go to, so she left it to her to guide her.

From Noble mtl dot com

Anyway, the route looks somewhat familiar. No, it’s a place I’ve been to so often that I’m so used to it that I’m sick of it.

This is the road where there is a regular restaurant where the two of us always stopped by to fill our hungry stomachs after finishing our day’s work after shopping around here.

“Are you sure you want to go there?”

“Yeah, were you caught?”

I asked just in case, and as expected, I got the same answer. Sticking out her tongue, she smiled cutely as if she had no intention of hiding anything.

“There’s no need to get caught, it’s strange not knowing.”

“If I don’t like it, should I go somewhere else?”

“No, I didn’t mean that. “I just thought it was a bit unexpected.”

The restaurant we often go to is a pasta shop. It is a cheap pasta restaurant that is rare in Seoul and usually costs around 6,000 to 7,000 won per serving. It was like a new world to us in the days when we had to spend our pocket money.

However, since today is a date, I expected to go to a restaurant that is a bit more expensive or has a nice atmosphere, so I thought it was surprising that they brought me here. It’s not that I particularly dislike this place.

“Why is this unexpected?”

“It’s our first date after dating for a long time, and I thought we’d go somewhere with a nice atmosphere. Or it’s at a restaurant that’s famous on social media.”

“Hmm, it’s not that bad either. But I wanted to come here today.”

Arriving in front of a building with brisk steps, Hanyu took my hand carefully and led me up the stairs as if she was escorting me. It seems she is being considerate of the paper bag in my hand.

“Welcome, how many people are there?”

As we entered, the owner with a familiar face welcomed us. I don’t know if it was to reduce labor costs here, but the people I always saw were visible. The representative one among them was the owner who was looking at the counter.

“Two people.”

“Then I’ll show you to the seat over there. “The menu is at the table, so when you decide to order, could you please call the staff?”

“Yes.”

As I headed toward the window following the directions of the owner, a male employee immediately brought me water and a cup.

We soothed her tired throat after a long shopping trip with cold water and checked the menu together. The overwhelmingly cheaper prices compared to other stores caught my eye. That is why this is a store that students like us often visit.

“What should we eat?”

“Aren’t you always on carbonara green onions?”

“Then you always say seafood and tomato pasta.”

“Foot, that’s right.”

The situation of people reciting each other’s tastes so naturally was so amazing that I burst out laughing without realizing it.

When we come here, the menu that Han Yuna and I choose is actually decided. Of course, there are times when it changes, but for the most part, it can be considered fixed.

In my case, I like tomato pasta made with seafood and a little spicy, while Han Yuna, on the other hand, always prefers carbonara, which can be said to be women’s favorite dish.

If you add a pizza, a side, and a drink depending on the occasion, you have completed the meal we always eat. You could say it’s truly standard.

“Here’s a margherita pizza, focaccia, and ricotta cheese salad…. “What should I drink?”

“I’m a mojito.”

“Then I’ll have to use cherry soda.”

Ding-dong.

“Yes, just a moment!”

After placing the order, Han Yu-na rang the bell at her table, and an employee who happened to be wandering nearby immediately approached her.

“We have one carbonara….”

He quickly wrote down what we said on the order sheet and asked if there was anything else to add.

I shook her head because I didn’t have anything in particular, but Hanyu I, on the other hand, opened her mouth with a flash in her eyes as if something had occurred to her belatedly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but could you please give me one chopstick?”

“You mean chopsticks? “Yes, I will bring it to you.”

I was dumbfounded by the sudden request for chopsticks. Because I could guess why he asked for that.

“I’m not a kid anymore.”

“But you still get lost when eating pasta.”

“Great, because chopsticks are comfortable.”

Actually, when Yuna Han and I first came here alone, I was embarrassed because it was my first time eating pasta with a fork. Even when my mom cooked it for me at home, I always ate it with chopsticks.

So, I was eating pasta, using my fork like chopsticks, and Han Yu-na, who was watching, called her employee and brought me chopsticks.

After that, I tried it once or twice more, and after I got used to it, I started eating with a fork, but chopsticks are still more comfortable.

Isn’t it natural that it would be inconvenient to have to go through the cumbersome process twice using a fork and spoon, when it could have been done in one go with chopsticks?

I thought so, but I couldn’t help but feel a little anxious, so I asked vaguely.

“… “Anyway, will you be okay?”

“Huh? What?”

“I thought it would be a bit embarrassing for my boyfriend to come to a pasta shop and eat with chopsticks.”

I wouldn’t have minded it if we were just friends, but if my soon-to-be-adult boyfriend comes to a pasta restaurant where everyone else is eating with forks and is playing with chopsticks by himself, I think it might be a bit odd.

Even if it’s me, Hanyu, she doesn’t really care, but her position may be different depending on the case, so she asked out of anger.

“Fool, what’s there to be embarrassed about? You can eat whatever you feel comfortable with. “Do you think noodles will fly around if you eat with chopsticks?”

“It’s not like that….”

She probably knew that I didn’t mean it that way, but she deliberately pretended not to know and responded in a tone that seemed to indicate that she was considerate of me or that it was no big deal.

Zech.

Then, she rested her chin on one of her hands and smiled as she gently covered the back of my hand that was on the table with her own hand. Rather than the dreamy feeling I saw at the clothing store earlier, the look in his eyes gave me a sense of warmth.

“And if it’s not good in other people’s eyes, it’s good for me. “You won’t lose my boyfriend.”

“… ….”

Where on earth did I learn such amazing words?

Thinking that it was clear that Hoops was planning to seduce me today, I secretly avoided her gaze and soothed her burning insides with cold water. Oh my, it’s hot.

Ah, but now that I think about it, I’ve already been seduced for a long time. It was a futile rebellion, good work.

***

After the meal, Park Si-yoon and I returned home a little leisurely. I think that perhaps our mutual feelings of not wanting to part ways overlapped, so our steps naturally slowed down.

There was no one in the playground of the apartment complex. It was late, so the kids had probably already gone home. Thanks to this, that place naturally became our temporary hideout.

“It was fun, right?”

“Oh, but weren’t you disappointed that we couldn’t do something special for a first date?”

“Ugh, I liked it. “It was a date exactly as I expected.”

Park Si-yoon said something like that, as if she was deep down in her heart for not being able to do anything special for me, but I firmly shook my head.

Of course, it may not have been special. In fact, all the places we walked alone today were places we always went, and the only things we did were things we often did.

Shopping, movies, meals. In a way, it is a standard dating course, which means that the processes that may be cliché are all familiar to us.

But it’s really strange.

Although it must have been the same place, same structure, and same situation, there was nothing new. Today I learned for the first time that just a slight change in my relationship with you can make the world seem so different.

Just like that day, the couple’s seat that was sitting the same way didn’t feel narrow at all, and in fact, I felt like it should have been narrower. It was the first time that I, who had watched the kissing scene casually, could only see you sitting next to me throughout the entire scene.

It was very novel that, instead of each of us choosing our own clothes at the clothing store we often went to together, we chose each other’s clothes and praised them for being pretty and cool. Today I found out for the first time that you are a secretly jealous person who doesn’t like showing my skin to other men.

I had a very strange feeling even at the restaurant I always went to.

Actually, the first time I saw you not being able to use a fork properly, I thought you were a bit foolish. But today, it was cute that you were putting pasta into your mouth with chopsticks until it exploded, looking like a squirrel trying to store food in its mouth before going into hibernation.

To me, you are someone who brings both familiarity and newness, so I think I couldn’t help but fall in love with you.

“Where should we go tomorrow?”

While I was complaining to myself that it was a shame to break up like this, Park Si-yoon lightly rubbed the back of my head and asked kindly. It was a voice that put me at ease just by hearing it.

“Are you going to play tomorrow too?”

“I told you, let’s hang out together for at least two days. Ah, am I leaving it up to you too much? Shall I decide?”

“That’s okay, I’m fine anywhere.”

It was my sincerity without any modification. Anywhere is fine as long as I’m with you.

Even if it’s a slightly unfamiliar place, even if it’s a familiar place that’s become a bit cliche now, it’s nice just to stay at home and chat just the two of us. Just the fact that you are by my side makes me happy.

So I don’t want you to feel pressured to show me something new. My joy is not something new, it is born from you.

“Then, when we get home, shall we take a shower and decide where to go tomorrow?”

“Okay, but what if I stay up all night?”

“… “Hmm, I haven’t thought about that.”

My boyfriend was so cute scratching his cheek with an embarrassed expression that I pinched his cheek without even realizing it.

Anyway, it would be nice. Actually, I was looking forward to having a trivial conversation with you all night long. I think it would be fun if we met each other tomorrow morning with dark circles under our eyes and burst out laughing at the same time.

Ah, but I don’t want to show Park Si-yoon that I have dark circles….

Okay, let’s cancel this. After all, sleep is important.

“Let’s go up slowly. “If it’s too late, your parents will worry again.”

“Yes.”

Both Park Si-yoon and I expressed regret by holding each other’s hands, but since it was already quite late, she had no choice but to move on with her steps.

While I nodded silently, I did not take my eyes off Park Si-yoon’s profile as I arrived at the apartment entrance. I felt like something was lacking as it was and that I wanted to leave a memory to decorate this monumental first date.

“Si-yoon.”

“… Uh?”

These are not words that came out unconsciously. Just today, I called out the two letters of your name with a clear mind, like I was when I was young, like the innocent me who made it clear without hesitation that I liked you.

At that moment, the surprised Park Si-yoon’s head turned and it returned to the right position. I lifted my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his cheek.

Page.

The heat remaining in the cheeks is transmitted through the lips, even if only for a moment, along with a cute sound.

You were also excited because you were with me. When I realized that fact, a smile naturally formed on my face.

Today is the first day, so I’ll end here, but be prepared next time. Park Si-yoon.

From Noble mtl dot com

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