StrongChan: “You can do this, Misun. It'll be worth it. You trust me, right?”

Giant Baby: “Noona fighting! Remember that he loves you, too.”

SassJae: “It'll be worth the effort. You can always about why you haven't met his crush yet. Or why he's being so secretive ;)”

Best Unnie: “Don't flake out on him. I know you're thinking about it, but don't you dare! <3”

It was Friday night and Misun was being inundated with supportive messages. But no matter what they said, she was still nervous. She had reached out to her closest friends in search of advice or a way out of going to the mall with Daehyun. But she was having no such luck.

She sighed as she got ready for bed, climbing under the covers. Countless scenarios went through her head concerning tomorrow. What should she wear? Should she act normal? Like she isn't bothered by this? Should she pick something that's actually really ugly that no girl would like? Misun groaned and rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She watched the glow of the street lights flicker across the ceiling for hours until she finally fell asleep.

***

The doorbell rang and Misun jumped. She straightened out her blouse and jeans, then grabbed her bag and coat on the way to the door. She opened it to find Daehyun standing handsomely before her with his leather jacket open, in a white t-shirt and dark skinny jeans.

He looked her over and smiled. “You look nice~ Ready to go?”

“Mhmm” She nodded and stepped out, locking the door behind her.

Daehyun grabbed her hand and led her down to the parking lot to a red sports car. He took her to the passenger's side and opened the door. “Climb in.”

“Wait, this is your car??” She asked, eyes wide. He simply nodded and smiled wider. Misun shook her head but got in anyway. Daehyun shut the door and went around to get in behind the wheel.

“Okay, the mall is about 30 minutes away. Think you can handle me in an enclosed space for that long?” He glanced over at her with a cheeky grin as he drove out of the lot.

She smiled back at him, trying to relax. “I don't know, that seems like a long time.”

Daehyun laughed and shook his head. “Aish, so mean to me…” He reached out and the radio. Songs that they both knew played one after another and they sang along, imitating different styles and voices. By the time they reached the mall, Misun had relaxed to her usual self.

“I've never actually been to this mall..” Misun told him as they walked toward the building.

“Really? Well then you better hold my hand so you don't get lost.” He winked at her as he offered his hand.

“Hmm, maybe I'd rather get lost..” She laughed at his dumbfounded expression and reached out, holding his hand tightly. “I'm teasing, you dork.”

“I knew that. OH LOOK, A PHOTOBOOTH!! Come on!” Suddenly Daehyun was dragging Misun through the mall to a set of photo booths along a wall.

“A what?” She looked at the box in confusion, having never used one.

“Let's take some pictures! Come on, it'll be fun!” When she still looked hesitant, he gave his best pouty face, hoping to win her over. “Pleeeeaseee?”

“Alright, fine.” She blushed as he pulled her into the tiny booth and closed the curtain.

Since there wasn't much room to sit, he pulled her onto his lap. “Alright, you just sit here and be your adorable self, while I press all the buttons.”

She sighed, but did as he said. “I'm not adorable. And aren't I too heavy?”

“Nonsense. And no, you're lighter than a feather. You should eat more.” He teased, making her smile. “Okay here's the first one. Smile~”

Together they smiled and goofed around for three of their four shots. For the last one, Daehyun pointed to his cheek. At first, Misun couldn't figure out what he wanted. When she got it she blushed, but took the opportunity anyway. She leaned in and kissed his cheek just in time for the shutter to click.

Blushing like crazy, Misun practically jumped out of the booth for some cooler air. Daehyun laughed at her as he stepped out.

“Now what?” Misun asked, looking over as Daehyun waited next to the booth.

“Now the pictures come out.” Sure enough, two sets of pictures came down the shoot and into Daehyun's hand. Misun looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Look at us, we're freaking adorable.” He chuckled and handed Misun one set of the pictures. He folded his and put it in his wallet while Misun put her’s in her bag.

“Okay, and now what?” Misun looked up at him as he slung his arm across her shoulders.

He looked around as he answered. “Now present. What do girls like?”

“Right, um…” Misun felt her heart sink a little, but she had resigned herself to helping Daehyun like a good friend should. “Girls like flowers? Clothes? Jewelry?”

He nodded as he thought as well. “Jewelry might be nice.” He said with a smile.

“Alright, there’s a few jewelry stores here on each floor, according to the directory. We can go to each until you find one you like.” She suggested, stopping at the map as they almost walked past it.

“Woo, let’s go~” Daehyun led the way to the first shop of the day.

“Aw, what a cute couple.” Two old ladies were talking on a bench as Daehyun and Misun passed by. They both blushed and continued walking, pretending not to have heard what was said.

They perused the first three shops with no luck. Nothing seemed to catch either Misun’s or Daehyun’s eye.

As they browsed around the fourth store, Misun thought of a question. “So do I know your crush?”

“Yeah, she’s in the drama club.” He told her absentmindedly as he looked at the case of rings.

Her mind immediately went to Sooyeon and she tried not to freak out. Those two did spend a lot of time together practicing. Maybe she had eventually won him over. “Daehyun oppa, let’s go look at a different store.” She clutched at his hand tightly and began to pull him away before he could even protest.

“Misun.” He called out to her, but she wouldn’t look at him. He chuckled because he knew what she was thinking. In the month or so that they had been friends he had gotten to know her pretty well. “It’s not Sooyeon, just so you know.”

Misun stopped and turned to look at him. “It’s not?”

He rolled his eyes and pulled her in for a hug. “No, dummy. This girl is someone much better.” He kissed the top of her head before letting her go and taking her hand in his. “Alright, next store~”

After finishing the first floor, they decided to get giant pretzels. It had been almost two hours that they were here already and they could both use a break. As they ate, they talked about different kinds of jewelry and confession options.

“Honestly oppa, she’ll probably love anything you give her because it’ll be from you.” Misun told him as she dusted some cinnamon sugar off of her fingers.

“I’m still worried. She might not return my feelings.” He looked down and tore off part of his pretzel, dipped it in cheese, and held it up. “Wanna try?”

Misun nodded and opened . Daehyun calmly fed her the pretzel while secretly going crazy on the inside. “Mm, that’s good! Want to try mine?” He nodded and she fed him some, smiling as he groaned at how good it tasted.

They quickly finished up and threw their trash away. “Alright, second floor?” Daehyun asked, taking her hand naturally.

“Let’s go!” Misun used as much enthusiasm as she could, pulling him along behind her. They went up the escalator and into their fifth store of the day. They combed through the cases, looking for something cute or romantic. However, Misun became sidetracked when she saw a necklace sitting in a back corner of a display case. It was an onyx heart with gold claws holding a diamond in the middle. She stared at it long enough for Daehyun to notice and he came over to investigate as well.

He rested his chin on her shoulder to see what she was looking at. “Find something?”

“Hm? Oh, uh, no?” She tried to process her words. “It’s not something that every girl would like. If she likes cute things, it’s probably not-”

“That gold and black one, right?” He asked, to which she just nodded. “It’s perfect, actually.” His small grin widened to the biggest smile she had ever seen him wear. He called the attention of the store clerk and quickly purchased the necklace without any trouble.

“Alright, so I guess we’re done?” Misun asked as they headed back out to the car with their arms linked. She tried to keep the sadness out of her voice, but Daehyun still noticed.

“How about you come to my and Jae’s apartment for lunch? He’s hanging out with Zelo and Jongup today, so it’ll just be us, is that okay?” He offered as they got into the car.

“That sounds good, let’s do it!” Misun smiled, glad to have her time with Daehyun extended by any amount possible.

★☆★☆★☆
Heyyy
This kid makes me feel some kinda way, let me tell you... Look at him, so happy to just come out here and ruin my life with his face..

someone save me

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. On to the next!