Date (ii)
(triple update, 28, 29 & 30)

We put the remaining food into the basket and head to the main road, my stomach bloated from our picnic lunch. The same car from before cruises up to us, Daehyun again letting me in first before sliding in himself.

“Where are we going now?” I ask, laying back against the seat and hugging my backpack. Daehyun smiles giddily at me once again, putting a hand over his eyes.

I purse my lips, trying to decipher the hint. “Dark?” I question, brainstorming. Daehyun nods, saying, “This one’s quite hard to guess.”

Daehyun’s hair is all ruffled from the wind. My hand naturally reaches out, patting his hair down. “Hm… Will you tell me, then?”

“...You have to earn the hint,” Daehyun replies with a hum. I never knew he could be this cheeky.

“Oh great Jung Daehyun,” I exaggerate teasingly, “what do you require of me?”

Daehyun mulls over it, thumbing his chin. “You sang, so… dance?”

My mouth drops open and I turn to Daehyun in disbelief. “So now I have to pay with my body to know where you’re kidnapping me to?” I ask with a laugh. “What kind of trip is this?”

Daehyun lowers his head, red tinting his neck as he chuckles. “How about you tell me about yourself?”

“You’re supposed to make me do something hard,” I laugh. Daehyun wiggles his brows lightly. “Then, dance.”

“Ah… Forget what I said,” I mumble. Daehyun bursts out into a merry laugh, the sound bristling the hairs down my neck.

“Okay. Tell me about yourself.” Daehyun leans back, waiting patiently. I scrunch up my nose.

“I’m Yoo Youngjae.” Daehyun nods. “I’m a junior.” Daehyun chuckles, nodding once again. “I live in Daeyoung.”

“Those don’t count. Tell me something about you I don’t know,” Daehyun presses with a genial smile. I nibble slightly on my fingernail in thought.

“My blood type is AB?” I unsurely say. Daehyun nods fervently, encouraging me to go on. “I… I like R&B a lot.” Daehyun seems to mull over this, periodically moving his head for more. I squirm, not used to having to introduce myself. What is there to say about myself?

“My favourite colour is sky blue?”

“You sound so unsure,” Daehyun chuckles. “When is your birthday?”

"24th January, 1994. You?"

Daehyun blinks rapidly, thick lips sandwiching against one another. "28th June. 93. Your birthday passed."

I nod, remembering how I had woken up to someone incessantly ringing my doorbell. Himchan flung a cake into my face the moment I opened the door and I ended up late for school, trying to get the icing out of my hair and get Himchan off me.

"Your birthday's coming soon," I chime. "Anything you want?" Daehyun's probably rich enough to get whatever he wants anyway, and popular enough for his friends to get it for him.

Daehyun stares at me, zoning out for a moment. "Daehyun," I sing, waving a hand. Daehyun decidedly shakes his head.

"Come on. There must be something you want," I urge. Daehyun looks to his lap before saying slowly, "You said I could claim three... dates, right?"

"Yup. Two left." I put out a peace sign, wiggling my brows. Daehyun nods gradually.

"Are you free on 28th June?" Daehyun coughs. "Just a normal outing," Daehyun reassures like the last time.

"Aren't you going out with your friends on your birthday?" I quizzically ask. Considering how close-knitted the basketball team is, it'd be surprising if they didn't celebrate Daehyun's birthday together.

Daehyun shakes his head. "It's okay if I spend it with you, right?" He asks in a lowered voice, sound coming out almost as a grunt. "You don't have to do anything for me."

"But why?" I ask softly, genuinely confused. It's a special day; he should spend it with someone special.

I flush at the thought. We're friends, yeah, but does he really think of us as friends that close?

"I..." Daehyun starts, gulping. Silence drapes over us as I peer at him.

"I like..." I flutter my lashes as Daehyun grimaces. "Uh, being with you," Daehyun mumbles. Warmth slowly clambers up to my face and I cough softly. Now that I think about it, the question I asked was kind of stupid and awkward. How else was he supposed to answer? I want your money?

"Well, I like being with you too," I laugh to mow over the uncomfortable pause in our conversation. "A lot," I add with a chime. "Also, you don't need to use one of the two dates. It'll be a birthday present," I joke, waving my arms lightly.

Daehyun chuckles. "Is this your form of dancing?" He muses. "So that means you get two hints." He scratches his neck, saying, "I might as well just tell you where we're going."

"Yes!" I eagerly lean over in wait. Daehyun shakes his head, bringing up his camera.

"Let me take your photo, and I'll tell you," Daehyun beams. I furrow my brows, wanting to protest when Daehyun assures, "Just one picture, and I'll tell you right away."

I relent with a pout, leaning awkwardly back into a seat and smiling. Daehyun snaps a photo, grinning down at the screen and gently rubbing a thumb over it.

"Have you heard of Dialogue in the Dark?" Daehyun begins to explain, telling me all about this exhibition where people experience what the world is like for the blind. Daehyun bought two tickets for the tour, refusing to tell me how much they were.

Hearing that, I'm really intrigued now. Trust Daehyun to pick cool places to go. We arrive in a short time, Daehyun occasionally sneaking the leftovers from the picnic basket. They instruct us to leave our bags in our locker and I excitedly wait by the door in line, curiosity b in my system. There are a few others in our group, a couple and a pair of sisters.

“You’re more excited than me,” Daehyun beams. Before I can reply, the staff sits us down for a briefing. Our tour guide is visually impaired and we won’t get to see how he or she looks like until the end of the tour, when we exit. The staff member opens the door for us, showcasing an endless abyss of darkness. He quickly ushers us in and shuts the door. I widen my eyes, squinting in search of any source of light within. The anxiety begins to claw its way to my chest.

“Okay,” the tour guide starts, “I know most of you are feeling afraid at this point but I assure all of you, you are in safe hands. If anyone absolutely cannot go on, please tell me and I’ll you out, okay?”

It’s so dark I can’t make out anything at all. I can’t even see my hands right in front of my face. Our tour group members begin to whine for their partner, whimpers of “I’m scared!” and “Unnie, I want to go home!” emerging in the darkness.

“D-Daehyun?” I nervously call out, groping about before hitting someone. “Sorry!” I blather. The person grabs my hand, rough skin texture familiar. “Youngjae, I’m here,” Daehyun’s soothing voice sounds near my ear and I relax, my heart still pounding. Honestly, it’s terrifying. I can’t make out a single thing to the point where I’m really starting to doubt if I even have eyes at all. So this is what it’s like to have no vision…

“Hold my hand!” The only other boy in the group determinedly states as the tour guide tries to calm us down. The two sisters are mewling in fright, trying to comfort one another with the words “It’s okay, I’m here”.

“Mm, you guys might want to hold hands if you’re scared. That’s what the other visitors usually do,” the tour guide advises. My heart thumps loudly within my ears, my eyes still frantically veering about. I desperately look for something to prove that my eyes are still working, but there is absolutely nothing I can make out in the overwhelming darkness.

“Are you okay?” Daehyun’s familiar voice drifts towards me and I turn towards the source, tension crumpling from my nerves. “Yeah,” I mumble. Our hands are still awkwardly linked, Daehyun’s hand over my wrist and my fingers holding just a bit of his flesh. He lets go briefly and I jolt, instinctively grabbing on.

“Sorry,” I murmur, shakily untangling my fingers when Daehyun catches them. “Are you scared?” His baritone voice sounds in the darkness, the tour guide trying to placate the two wailing sisters. A bit sick of looking around to find nothing, I shut my eyes, barely managing out an embarrassed “yeah”.

Daehyun doesn’t reply, the boyfriend of the girl in our group muttering about the off chance he didn’t tie his shoelaces. I laugh but the sound comes out more like a fearful croak.

“Do you want to go out?” Daehyun asks. I shake my head, before realising Daehyun wouldn’t be able to see. “No. I’m fine, Daehyun,” I quietly answer, my eyes still shut to pretend if I opened them, I’d be able to see at least something. There is not a single trace of light within the room, inciting irrational paranoia in not just me, judging from the yelps of the two young sisters who claim they’ve really lost their sight.

“...Do you want to hold hands?”

I perk up upon hearing the question, opening my eyes. We are kind of holding hands now, just that our hands are positioned really awkwardly and I’m grappling on to Daehyun’s skin more so than actual fingers.

“If that’s okay,” I murmur, fright doubling as one of the young girls begin to cry. Daehyun’s hand slips down from my wrist and he gradually grabs my hand, grasp tight and secure. A bristling sensation arises on my palm, worry still flooding my body.

Daehyun slides his fingers between mine, interlocking our hands firmly. It alleviates a good part of my distress, quelling the jolts down my skin.

After the sisters are escorted out, the tour guide starts the tour. I decide to focus on the tour, clinging onto Daehyun’s hand as we stroll forward. We walk through several places without any traces of light, first, a forest, where we graze several plants and trees. The tour guide coaxes us to employ all our other senses to the fullest, telling us to inhale deeply every now and then and explore the things around us with our hands.

Then, we head to a marketplace, where we touch several items being sold like fruits and spices. The background sound is loud, the chatter of the common folk teeming at our ears. As we stride to the bridge, the river splooshing noisily against the shore, Daehyun still continues to hold my hand tight. Occasionally, he shows me some things I missed and I do the same, us mulling over our heightened sensitivity to recognising things in a different manner.

As we settle down in the boat, the tour guide speaking animatedly about the things around us, I feel the last of my dread diminish away. I reach out with my free hand to touch the stream, surprise to feel actual water on my fingers. Chirps of cicadas and the smell of mud are strong in the air. Having to comprehend things without sight is so starkly different from what we’re used to… After all, most of us rely primarily on our sight. Texting, reading, just about everything.

“Daehyun,” I begin softly so as to not interrupt the tour guide. The boat rocks from one side to the other, the ride peaceful and serene. Daehyun hums, hand still intertwined snugly with mine.

“You don’t have to hold my hand anymore,” I whisper. “I’m not scared now. Thanks.” I start to slip out of his grasp, the brushing of our hands igniting heat in my skin. It’s quite awkward for us two to be holding hands, honestly...

“Oh,” Daehyun replies gruffly, his hand remaining stationary. I untangle my fingers from him, pulling away with another soft thanks.

“Uh,” Daehyun starts. I hum in response, waiting. A silence falls over us as the tour guide instructs us to listen to the ripples of the river.

“But now,” Daehyun clears his throat as quietly as possible, “...I’m scared.” Surprised, I instinctively turn to him, naturally not being able to see his face. I around, touching Daehyun’s elbow then finding his hand. I comfortingly squeeze his hand like how he had, hoping to quell the fear in Daehyun.

“Thanks,” Daehyun says lowly. The tour guide starts to speak again, telling us to listen to the trees and how the leaves sway in the wind.

Time breezes past quickly with how immersive and moving the experience is, Daehyun and I emerging