Listen to this: What I want to do once I have a lover

The silent vibration of an electronic device, a pleasant yet somehow familiar whiff of manly scent, and a feeling of cozy warmth around your shoulders woke you up from your regular thirty minute power nap at the library. With eyes still closed, your hands fumbled around for your phone and turned off the alarm as you peeked at the digital clock on the screen through half-lidded eyes. After a few seconds of contemplating whether you should add another half an hour to your much needed afternoon nap, you decided to wake up and turned your head to the right when you felt a hand softly brushing your hair, “You’re up,” the owner of the hand spoke, smiling gently at you. He pulled the sweater –his sweater– snugly up on your shoulders while you tried to make out the identity of the boy sitting next to you as you grew curious of his attentiveness to your presence.

It took a good two minutes of staring at his attractive features with your head leaning on your folded arms, before a snicker escaped your lips, “I knew that this was all a dream,” you said.

“What were you dreaming about?” the boy asked, intrigued.

You heaved a dreamy sigh, “That you, Kang Daniel, the golden boy and hottest guy on campus asked me to be your girlfriend,” you quipped, letting out another snicker, “Funny isn’t it?”

Daniel figured that you were still drowsy, but he was enjoying your half-asleep responses way too much to wake you up, “If I become your boyfriend Lee Jooyeon, what do you want to do with me?” he stopped typing on his laptop and turned his head in your direction, supporting it on the knuckles of his propped hand.

Ignoring the more important question of why this boy was sitting next to you at your usual corner table inside the library, you pondered over his question while drinking in the lovely scenery before you, “Hmm, if you’re my boyfriend…. I want a piggy-back ride on your broad shoulders,” your conscience was thrown out the window as you revealed one of your hidden wishes.

“That could be arranged,” Daniel’s lips curved into a smirk as he nodded thoughtfully, “Anything else?”

“Oh, couple rings! I’ve always wanted to own matching items with my boyfriend,” you exclaimed, having a light-bulb moment as you nodded satisfyingly at your answer.

“I think we’ll rock the overall couple look,” he remarked, approving your surprisingly reasonable demands, it was as if he’s talking to the fully conscious version of yourself, “What about dates? What type of dates do you prefer?” Daniel continued with a question he was dying to know the answer most.

He raised an eyebrow at the beautiful smile grazing your lips before you responded, “Casual dates like going for a picnic? I think it’ll be really sweet,” you covered your mouth and yawned.

“I need to keep a list then,” he chuckled, his body was now leaning comfortably against the table as he created a mental list of the things you’ve said.

“We can take our time and do it one by one,” you noted, pulling the sweater closer around your body and inhaling it’s calming scent, a soft pillow under your head would be just perfect right now, “And…” by now you were on the verge of falling back to dreamland.

“And?” Daniel prompted louder, hoping to hear the answer before you doze off.

“A perfect kiss,” you finished, earning a yourself a wide and gentle smile from Daniel, “But…”

“But?” he frowned slightly at the appearance of a contrasting word.

“You’re way out of my league,” you pouted, poking his upper arm with your index finger, “Whoever becomes your girlfriend is super lucky,”

Daniel sighed heavily, closing his laptop shut and grabbing your finger that was prodding on his arm, “That’s it. Come on Jooyeon, time to wake up now,” he pulled you up to a sitting position and lightly shook your shoulders.

He shifted his hands to squish your face and pinch you softly on the cheeks (because he couldn’t possibly raise his voice in the library), before you slapped his hands away and rubbed your eyes, fully awake now, “I’m not dreaming am I?” you asked as he nodded firmly, hands still cupping your face, “Did I just… sleep-talk?” judging by the highly amused yet slightly annoyed look on Daniel’s face, you were a hundred percent sure he’d just seen one of your embarrassing sleeping habits, “What did I say?” you timidly asked, avoiding eye contact.

“You pretty much spilled the beans about having a huge crush on me,” he let go of your cheeks and grinned mischievously, “It’s actually quite amusing and you’re not even drunk,” he commented.

You had let the cat out of the bag and there was no turning back, the only way to survive Daniel’s impending teasing is to dig a hole and bury yourself or just pray that the ground would open up and swallow you whole. There was no denying the fact that the attractive boy sitting beside you have been in your mind these past few days and you had a sliver of hope that you were still sleeping or this was one of your crazy daydreams playing tricks with you. You heard him clear his throat and you cursed silently, before turning around to face him again, “Any chance you could forget that ever happened?” you gave him a pleading gaze.

“Sorry, I don’t think I can let this one slide,” Daniel softly shook his head, he was thoroughly enjoying your priceless reaction to simply forget what just happened and he was planning on taking advantage of the situation for as long as possible.

“Why not?” you snapped and folded your arms in front of you, completely changing your attitude as you glared daggers in his direction, “Are you planning to blackmail me again? Did you record everything?” you gasped loudly.

“I could make it a reality if you want,” Daniel replied in a calm manner, pulling his chair closer to decrease the space between you. Your routine bodily response to a close proximity with him occurred like clockwork as you clutched both hands to your chest. You grew nervous as he leaned in dangerously near to your face, slipping an arm around your waist, “Because I really am your boyfriend silly!” he announced and flicked his finger lightly on your forehead, “Did you really forget what happened last night or you’re just purposely testing me?” he questioned, slightly disappointed.

Both his arms encircled your waist as he stared adoringly into your eyes. You tried to gather and arrange last night’s events carefully in your head, from Daniel’s sudden visit to your house, to him nursing your thumb’s slight burn, until he clarified the truth about is sister and confessed his feelings for you at the playground. In your defense, you had every right to doubt yourself because everything felt like a dream, especially the part where he asked you to be his girlfriend and you two shared a kiss. Your hands instantly went up to your flushed cheeks, wondering kind of bad luck did you have that you managed to show at least one embarrassing side of yourself to Daniel every time you were with him, “I guess it just takes time for my brain to register everything,” you bit your lower lip nervously, “Sorry…”

Daniel’s presence in your life has greatly affected you and distorted your brain’s sense of reality, it’s crazy how you weren’t able to register even that beautiful smile of his. The feel of his soft and warm lips on your forehead as he left you a kiss, was a more than enough assurance that everything that happened right now was part of reality, “Glad to know you’ve already thought of a list of things to do with me, your boyfriend,” he pointed out, making fun of your earlier babbles, “So… could we maybe skip everything and go straight to the ‘perfect kiss’ part?” he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

“Not in the library!” you pushed him away before your lips could make contact, when you saw the librarian coming from over his shoulder.

**************************************

“Dabin’s early morning emergency meetings has to stop. I can barely function in the morning!” Doyeon grumbled exasperatedly, pushing more kimbap rolls into . She insisted that you sit with her at the table, despite knowing that you already had a hearty breakfast at home with your family and easily bribing you with your favourite beverage before you could refuse further. The campus cafeteria was rather deserted with only a handful of students trying their best to keep their eyes open while munching on a simple breakfast, and you saw a girl sitting at the table on your left almost dozing into her bowl of cereal. You were sipping on a small bottle of banana milk while keeping your best friend company, as she quickly devoured her meal within the minimal time left before the start of classes, still finding the time to update you on the happenings in her life from last week. Doyeon’s chatters was instantly cut short at the sight over your shoulder, “Ok Jooyeon, don’t panic cause a certain boxing star is approaching behind you,” she squeaked, her frown quickly transforming into an excited and surprised look.

You said nothing as you followed her gaze and heard a voice calling out, “Babe, I was just thinking about you!” before you could react, you were greeted with a soft peck on your cheek as the owner of the voice placed his tray on the table and took a seat beside you, “Mind if I join?” he asked as you came face to face with your boyfriend.

You blushed at his way of greeting you with a kiss, not to mention the term of affection that still sounded unfamiliar in your ears after his relentless request to have a pet name for you. His sweet and warm gestures have doubled their effects on you since you’ve started dating him a week ago, giving you no chance to release any of those butterflies from your stomach and stop the colouring of your cheeks. “Daniel, you’re here early?” you gulped before asking, turning your full attention to him. You did not expect to see him too soon at the campus since he did not mention anything in his ‘good morning’ text a few hours earlier.

“I’m starving, so I decided to drop by for a quick bite before my morning class,” Daniel explained, slipping an arm around your shoulders for a quick hug, “Didn’t expect to see you here. My day is going great already,” he grinned widely, successfully making your lips curved upwards and your cheeks turned redder. His irresistible charms did not show any signs of stopping even after he’d become your boyfriend. It felt so surreal to have this kind of interaction with Daniel because you’d never imagined that there would actually be a day for you to be in a romantic relationship with the campus’s heartthrob. You might even develop a bruise on your upper arm from constantly pinching yourself to prove that you were still not dreaming, that Kang Daniel really did ask you to be his girlfriend and you agreed without thinking twice.

You broke eye-contact with him when Doyeon cleared to get your attention, “Ahem, when did this happen?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows knowingly. Just two weeks ago, she was practically begging for you to date Daniel and being one of your strongest supporters, the girl could easily put the pieces of the puzzle together to figure out the reality of your relationship with the boy next to you, “Believe me, I’m happy for you two but as your best friend, shouldn’t I be formally informed about this Jooyeon?” she said, gesturing towards both of you with her hands going in a circular motion.

Daniel gave your hand a gentle squeeze before digging into his grilled sandwich, as you bit your lower lip and turned sheepishly towards Doyeon, “I was going to… but you always get too excited and I’m still trying to process everything,” you carefully said, trying to gauge her reaction.

“Finally!” Doyeon dramatically threw her hands up in the air and clapped excitedly, effectively waking up the girl sitting at the other table. Daniel nudged you with his elbow and raised an eyebrow questioningly while his mouth was busily chewing on the sandwich. You merely nodded and motioned for him to continue his meal as you handed him a piece of napkin. “I’m so happy for you two! You’re going to be the cutest couple on campus!” she cheered enthusiastically.

You knew you shouldn’t be surprised, but the fact that your best friend accepted the news without any doubts or questioning, left you in awe because you were still overwhelmed with the mere presence of Daniel who was enjoying his breakfast beside you, this time as your official boyfriend. You appreciated Doyeon’s –possibly strenuous– efforts to restrain herself from asking you more details until she eventually took her leave off to class (not before she made you promise to fill her in all the details later), leaving you at the table alone with Daniel. Both of you were drowned in silence as you watched him finishing off the last bite of his sandwich and chuckling to yourself at his cute rounded cheeks stuffed with food –an adorable eating habit of his that you seemed to notice from the few meals you’ve shared with him, “Do you have any plans tomorrow?” he spoke, wiping his hands and mouth with the napkin you offered earlier.

Daniel pulled out a similar bottle of banana milk from his bag and you stared at his lips pouting in concentration as he attempted to poke a straw into the drink. He succeeded on his fourth try and smiled triumphantly before drinking with such eagerness that he managed to finish the milk in mere minutes, “Nope, not really. Why?” you giggled, unable to resist your hands from cupping his face. The sight of childlike Daniel was very rare and something he’d only show to his family and close friends, this time his girlfriend included.

Daniel returned your gesture with a broad smile as you both turned to face each other, “Because I’m also making a list of what I want to do with my girlfriend,” he took your hand on his cheek and intertwined your fingers together, pulling you close, “How about date to late night movies?” he suggested before fishing out two movie tickets from his pocket.

He was staring at you in anticipation as you read the title of the movie, recalling that you have seen the trailer before, “Action? Hmm, wouldn’t it be better to go with your guy friends?” you recommended an alternative.

His grip on your hand tightened, “All my friends are free, but I only want to see this movie with my girlfriend,” Daniel said, tucking your hair behind your ear as you playfully shook your head. “Still playing hard to get?” he sighed and gave you a suspicious look.

“Still pulling out the smooth moves?” you replied teasingly.

“Please Jooyeon, I got us couple seats,” he mentioned, as he recalled the struggles he had to go through to get his hands on these exclusive tickets for couples, that involved standing in line for almost two hours. He was starting to regret choosing superhero action for the movie and wondered if you’d prefer to watch a romance flick instead.

You had to look away from his puppy eyes to avoid yourself from melting to the floor as you answered bashfully, “I was just messing with you Daniel. I’d love to go on a movie date,” If you were to be honest, wherever you are and whatever kinds of dates didn’t matter as long as it is with him.

“Awesome, I’ll text you the details later,” his radiant smile was almost blinding as he managed to catch your attention again by kissing the back of your hand, “Babe, what’s your favourite colour?” he later asked.

You looked up, sending him a quizzical look, “You want to know my colour preference?” you questioned.

“Is it wrong if I want to get to know my girlfriend better?” Daniel reasoned, his thumb drawing lazy circles at the back of your hand.

“What do you think it is?” you asked him back, testing whether he was being observant on simple and subtle details about you.

Daniel briefly scanned your outfit, “Definitely not pink… is it blue? No, rainbow!” he shot answers confidently, clearly missing the target.

You let out a lighthearted chuckle, “Nice try, but no. On second thought, I can’t give you the answer that easily,” you rubbed your chin and pondered.

Without another word, your boyfriend leaned in and pressed his warm lips to yours, kissing you softly before pulling away, “Will that do?” he said, grinning victoriously at your adorable reaction. You felt your heart skipping a few beats at the sudden kiss, learning that Daniel is definitely bold and expressive in showing his affections in a romantic relationship, and that you definitely needed a lot of getting used to or else you’d ended up with serious heart problems.

“Ok, get a room already you two!” you heard Doyeon’s loud voice from a distance, seemed that she haven’t left the cafeteria and simply moved to a table further to keep an eye on the new couple. Your mentally groaned at the peculiar habit of your family and friends to spy on you and their invested interest in both of you. On the contrary, it was reassuring to know that those close to you provided full support on your love life.

A super late update because I was stuck with a writer's block and suddenly had a lot going on in my life after the previous chapter update. This is more of a filler chapter really with truckloads of fluff and cheese XD , I quickly typed this once I gained my inspiration again. I hope my readers will still enjoy this nevertheless ^^ Welcome to new readers and subscribers and thank you for the lovely comments on the previous chapter. Have a great day all of you!