❝ chapter fifteen

s o l a r ’ s

[blue text = spoken in english]

Ddongie’s home. That’s what our fans called it - minority of our fans who support us together if there are any. My members called it our secret hideout or our private rest stop. It was true, hideout was a straightforward name and private rest stop wasn’t so bad either because I actually lost count on how many times I’ve came over for a short nap then just leave before and after we got together. We simply called it home though, our home. It felt like one. Fuller, safer, cozier and it’s where everything really begin. Probably even more than our current homes. 

    “Do you need help?” I asked, and he stopped stirring the teriyaki sauce. “I improved a lot now. You said my seaweed soup tasted good last time.” 

    “Maybe you can chop this cabbage for me.” He said and nods at the cabbage next to him. 

I grin and get off the chair at our dining table. Every times I sit here, it always reminds me of the proposal, and my body feels as if the confetti I accidentally swallowed last time hasn’t leave yet. He turns to steals a glance at me then turns back to the sauce when I don’t really seem to have a hard time with chopping just yet. 

    “Is this enough?” 

    He nods. “Yeah, it’s perfect. Thank you!” 

    “Did your mom say anything?” I asked then move the chopped cabbage into one plate. 

    “She’s over the moon, spamming me with crying stickers and said she couldn’t stop repeating the little message you left at the end.” He chuckles then turns to me. 

    He leans in and gives me a soft peck on my lip and smiles. “Thank you.” 

    I shrug with a grin. “You're welcome.”

Teriyaki chicken is our dish, third after the salad and the pasta. Does the hallabong ade count because no girl would ever forgot those that easily. 

The last time we made them, we weren’t expecting any victory. All we hope was for it to tasted edible enough so we wouldn’t starve for dinner but thankfully, we won with a full belly. It still tasted the same now, probably even better because it’s just the two of us and something about the night sky and bright stars on the outside made it slightly better. 

None of us say anything. It’s moment like this that we appreciate even more, not dancing crazily like we always do or displaying all sorts of skinship, or going on a date but silently enjoying each other’s presences over a homemade dinner is more than we could ask for. Somehow, this makes me feel like I’m already married than wgm ever did. 

    “Did you say you have to go to the jungle again tomorrow?” I asked after a while. 

    “Yeah.” He nods. “Sorry, I know we meet for the first time together after a month and tomorrow, I’m leaving again.” 

    “It’s fine, it’s your work.” I smile even though it’s disappointing. 

We never get to see each other that much, we see each other more often on video call and that somehow always end up being hijacked by my members so I always have to plan ahead on where I should call him without being interrupted. The girls are wild, he knows that but he doesn’t mind. It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t mind them because they all seem to do, even the first man I dated before, even their exes. 

    “I know this may seems too early, but what do you think we should do with our relationship?” I asked and he watched me confusedly. “The public, our fans.” 

    “Do you want to go with the flow or personally let them know ourselves?” He asked after some time. 

    “The latter.” 

    “Me too.” 

I nodded and we didn’t say anything afterward. Both of us knew the worse that could happened but it would be better to have them be aware through us then through Dispatch sneakily taking a picture of us. After all, it was irresponsible enough of us to hang out in public with less to no disguise. One big hoodie and a cap and that was it, not even mask. Not even a hair tie to seal this pink hair of mine earlier. 

    “Leggo.” 

    He chokes on his drinks. “Now?” 

    “Now.” 

He looked at me like the way he did when I wanted to get married right away that day. His chopstick stopped mid-air and it took him a few moment to finally tilted his head in a little confusion. My heart was probably even over its limit, at one point I think he smiled because he heard how loud it was.    

    “You’re always surprising when you’re in that seat.” He joked. “Are you sure? This won’t be easy, I mean we’re going to get hurt, you’re going to get hurt.” 

    “I’m always surprising, you know? And, we’ve been fairly irresponsible enough.” 

    “I don’t really think we’re being that irresponsible.” He said and pops another chicken into his mouth then stares at me, hands under his chin, a smile tugs at the corner of his lip and he chews his food teasingly.

Oh, so you want to play this way, Mr. Nam Yoondo.

    I tilt my head a little and smirk back. “Because I think I might want to be a little bit more irresponsible tonight.”