Wonpil whips out a mat from the picnic basket and spreads it out on the grass, smoothening out a spot and gesturing for you to take a seat. You laugh at how he's trying to act all gentlemanly but comply anyway.

He sits across from you, placing the basket to his left, then carefully extracts the items one by one. Two containers, two canned drinks and a small thermos with ice. Two little plastic cups and two pairs of chopsticks. He opens the containers to reveal neatly cut kimbap rolls, all filled with your favourite fillings.

You open your own little bag and take out a tupperware of finger sandwiches - chicken ham and cheese, tuna and lettuce, and egg and mayo. All of his favourites. He gapes at the box and looks back at you.

“Is this some kinda competition, right now? You know your food is always better than mine.”

“Oh shut up, you already know your kimbap beats mine any day. Why else do you think I made sandwiches?”

He laughs at your offhanded reply and hands you the chopsticks. “Jal meoggesseupnida~” you both say in unison before digging in. You both eat and chat comfortably the way you normally would, hiding the slight nervousness you both feel since this is your first date.

You have been friends for almost 3 years now, and though you both had feelings for each other not so long from the start of your friendship, only a few days ago did Wonpil summon the courage to ask you out on a real date. Not as a friend, but as your boyfriend.

Out of nowhere, a bee starts to fly around you, circling around Wonpil and trying to take a dive at your food. Annoyed, he tries to swat it away a few times unsuccessfully. Finally, his hand makes contact but he immediately regrets it.

“!” he swears, making you surprised. He rarely swore. He stares at his hand and starts whining. You lean over and notice that he's been stung. You almost laugh at his worried expression as he looks at you, pouting.

“Y/n, I didn't know that I'd die today, but-”

You burst out laughing and that silences his ‘final words’. He blinks at you as you take his hand and carefully extract the sting, rubbing it off on the grass.

“You're not going to die, silly. At least I don't think you will. You're not allergic to bee stings, right?” you say as you cup his cheek to check if he is exhibiting any reactions. He doesn't seem to have a temperature, nor does it seem like his airways are constricted, and he doesn't seem to have any hives or itch…

“You seem fine but your pulse is a little fast and your breathing is a little irregular sometimes, but you don't feel like you're choking, right?”

You push his sleeve up to examine his skin for any bumps again and he clears his throat, making you look up and realise that he's blushing while biting his inner bottom lip. This makes you blush too as you realise the reason for his rapid heart rate and the little hitches in his breaths. They came, you now realise, every time you touched him.

You let go of his hand and look away from his piercing eyes, turning to grab your bag and dig around in it for a little while. You pull out a little tube of medical salve that you always bring with you in case of emergencies. You open the cap and squeeze out a tiny bit of the cream onto your finger. You gently take his hand and carefully put the cream on the affected spot.

“I love you,” he says as he watches you.

You blink in surprise at the sudden confession and release his hand. You absentmindedly push your hair behind your ears that are pink with embarrassment.

“W-wonpil, you do know this is our first official date, right?”

“So what? I love you, and I've known it for the longest time. There's nothing wrong with simply stating facts,” he says, unphased.

You blush and look away, playing with the cap of the little tube of salve before closing it once you snap out of your daze and reach out for your bag. A hand clasps around yours before you can reach it and you feel your heart rate quicken at the strong, steady grip.

“Do you… do you not feel the same?”

Wonpil is looking down at his hand - the one wrapped around your wrist. His firm grip loosens as his earlier confidence dissipates, his expression turning soft. You laugh at the absurdity of it all and use a finger to tilt his chin up and make him look at you.

His sad eyes stare into your own amused ones as you lean forward and plant a peck on his cheek. His eyes widen before the widest smile devours his face, all teeth and gums. He pulls you with the hand still holding yours and hugs you tightly.

Hugging you was always his thing. When he couldn't express how happy he was, all he had to do was hug you just like that for his feelings to get across.

“I love you,” he reiterates, squeezing your small frame in his arms. You laugh as you hug him back.

“I love you too.”

a/n: this came out longer than expected... HAHAH hope yall liked it!