Impatiently tapping your right foot on the pavement, you glanced at the time on your phone. 5:22PM. You have been waiting for 22 minutes too long, waiting for your late date. Releasing a sigh, you considered calling him, for you were certain those around you were laughing inside at how long you've been standing in the same spot on your own. ‘He wouldn’t ditch me, right?’

Just when you were about to hit the call icon, you heard heavy footsteps and panting, the noises growing louder by the passing second. A figure covered your view of the stores across the street, the footsteps halting simultaneously.

“Sorry I’m late,” his deep voice let out as he attempted to regain his breath.

The unimpressed look on your face said it all – it would take a lot to make up for his arrival. Scanning Chanyeol’s outfit, you nodded in approval. His white button-up was rolled up to just under his elbows, the tightness showing off his arms, and you could faintly see his lean body beneath the material. His ironed black pants enhanced the length of his legs, stopping above his ankles and making you envious of how thin they are. ‘So he did put in more effort than I thought,’ you smiled to yourself, before glancing at his pushed-up hair that exposed his smooth forehead.

You didn’t realise your mind had wandered until you felt a sudden weight on your arm. Looking to your left, you saw Chanyeol childishly clinging onto your arm, apologising repeatedly and pouting, his voice and attire not suiting his face. ‘Don’t tell me he’s doing aegyo…’

“Let’s get a move on,” you muttered, moving elsewhere to make him stop. “And I hate skinship, just so you know,” you added, lightly shaking off his arms that previously wrapped your bicep tightly. In your peripheral vision, you saw him frown slightly. “I’m sorry…” he muttered, thinking you wouldn’t hear, before walking next to you and putting a smile on his face.

Smiling to yourself, you focused on the street ahead of you – a mall visible from tens of metres away and stalls preparing for the night market closer by. The silence between the two of you was both comfortable and awkward, leaning more towards the former.

“All that waiting made me hungry,” you complained, craning your neck and turning to face him.

“Then let’s eat!”

Shocked by his fingers entwining with your own, he eagerly led you to an almost-empty ramen business nearby. 

Leading you to a table with two seats, Chanyeol went up to the counter with an uncertain expression before turning his attention to you. Sitting on a matching wooden chair, you picked two pairs of chopsticks from the dozens provided and set them on the table – one for you and one for him. He smiled before diverting his attention to the counter.

“Two of number 11 please,” he ordered, handi