Jooyeon’s trusty DSLR was usually not part of her attire whenever she goes out on a date with Daniel, but the weather was beautiful and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom so she couldn’t miss out on capturing the breathtaking scene into the gallery of her favourite pictures of the season. She could even make some unforgettable memories with her boyfriend who repeatedly suggested the cherry blossom picnic date since spring arrived. She was more than glad to agree on their special date and she volunteered to prepare some food, especially since he was very thoughtful and attentive to remember that she would like to go on casual picnic dates where they can just relax and spend time with each other without overspending unnecessarily. He had repeatedly reminded her that they won’t be riding on his bike and that she could wear anything comfortable while hinting that he’d like to see her in a pretty dress.

As for Daniel, he had prepared for this date for a whole week and even did some research for the best place to have a cherry blossom picnic date in Seoul. After a comprehensive research, even considering the colour of the cherry blossoms (he couldn’t decide whether Jooyeon would like to see white or pink cherry blossoms better) he chose Seoul Forest as the dating spot for the day due to the many positive reviews that the place offers numerous trails for romantic walks, bike rentals, picnic spots and even a petting zoo. When they had arrived to the park, he was relieved to find that it was much less crowded than Yeouido Park which was his initial choice.

He was now walking a few steps behind his girlfriend who was busy clicking away on her camera, trying to capture all the beautiful sights on one of the cherry blossom trails. He was smiling to himself as he watched Jooyeon’s face lit up whenever she exclaimed excitedly at the amazing shots she just took with her DSLR while repeatedly telling him that this was her favourite place out of all their date spots. Daniel hadn’t forgotten to capture the beautiful sight either as he secretly took candid pictures of her using his phone, chuckling softly while setting one of her pictures as his phone wallpaper and thinking to himself that she looked prettiest when she’s concentrating on what she loves to do as he quicken his pace to catch up to her.

Jooyeon was busy browsing through all the pictures she took earlier when she felt a radiating gaze and warm presence on her right side, from the corner of her right eye she saw a tall and familiar figure approaching her. She turned her head to look at her boyfriend as he gently held her right hand with a soft and melting smile on his lips, “What?” she asked, returning the smile as they strolled at the park hand in hand. Daniel took the camera away from her and slung it over his shoulder while gently guiding her under one of the trees. He kept his gaze unwavering on her since the met and she wondered how did he manage to not trip or bump into anything while expertly walking in a straight line.

“What, what?” he replied nonchalantly as a gentle wind blew, making it rain cherry blossom petals. It added to the romantic setting and just made her look breathtaking.

“Daniel, you’re staring,” Jooyeon pointed out, she noticed the heart eyes dripping with sweet honey from his gaze and it made her heart flutter slightly.

“I don’t look away when I see something I like,” he whispered, brushing one of her cheeks gently with his thumb after placing a soft peck on her forehead.

She bit her lower lip, feeling heat creeping up to her cheeks, “Right…”

Daniel later reviewed the pictures that she had taken, carefully studying the pictures one by one as he smiled to himself when most of them were actually candid shots of himself. He didn’t mean to brag, but Jooyeon really had skills as a photographer (he had to give credit to his photogenic self too) because each picture that she took whether he was being rained down by the cherry blossoms or reaching up to catch a flower petal to something as simple as him walking with hands inside his pocket looked like they came out of a professional magazine shoot , “Ahem, I don’t see much of cherry blossom in these pictures. I didn’t know I was the model for the day,” he pointed out teasingly, nudging his girlfriend softly with his elbow.

“I take pictures of things that I like,” Jooyeon replied, avoiding his gaze as she leaned over to peer at the camera display.

“I’m flattered,” he said, trying to act cool but failed to stop himself from bursting into happy giggles as he briefly kneeled and rubbed the back of his ears bashfully. He had grown accustomed to receiving compliments by his admirers particularly on his looks, but he immediately blushed and melted with just one flattering remark from his girlfriend. He was with no doubt head over heels about Jooyeon, “Can you teach me how to use this camera? I want to take beautiful pictures of my girlfriend too,” he requested as she smiled gently and nodded.

Jooyeon was incredibly patient with him (and a excellent teacher too if he might add) as she explained to him the function of each buttons on the camera and taught him the basics of photography step by step in the simplest way possible for someone like him to understand. They had a lot of fun posing together and taking pictures of each other, all the while sharing smiles and laughter on the perfect day. The couple settled down under one of the cherry blossom trees for their picnic as Daniel moved to sit closer to Jooyeon, leaning in to really look at her, “Is it just me or you look prettier today?” he asked, one hand going up to remove some flower petals stuck to her hair before gently tucking her hair behind her ears.

Jooyeon failed to stop herself from reacting to his sweet gestures as she blushed profusely, “Is it your hobby to make me blush?” she asked, amazed that even small his actions still managed to make her heart beat rapidly despite already dating him for more than a month now.

Daniel grinned victoriously, his hands still caressing her hair lovingly, “Nah, more like daily goals? This is also my daily goal,” he said, pulling her closer by the hand and enveloping her in his embrace, “I love hugging you, it’s healing,” he added, whispering into her ear before planting a soft kiss to the side of her head.

“I think you look really handsome too today,” Jooyeon stayed in his arms, drowning herself in the therapeutic embrace because Daniel wasn’t the only one who needed healing from their daily stresses. It’s amazing how Daniel managed to charm, calm and put a smile on her face with his loving gestures, sweet words and healing presence.

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

The couple had a satisfying lunch thanks to the generous servings for more than two people prepared by both of their mothers. Daniel gobbled up the dishes in a matter of minutes, not forgetting to feed his girlfriend once in a while with a big puppy smile on his face. They were now lying down on the picnic mat next to each other, sharing earphones and listening to Daniel’s playlist of his favourite spring-themed songs. He glanced to his left and saw Jooyeon relaxing with her eyes closed being entirely at ease and happy. He knew she needed this healing excursion more that he did because he was aware of how distressed and burdened she must’ve felt after being tormented by his hard-core admirers ever since they found out about their relationship.

A painful groan coming from the girl beside him interrupted Daniel’s train of thoughts. Jooyeon sat up abruptly while grabbing onto her right shoulder as if in pain, “Are you hurt?” he asked, lifting himself up as he leaned closer to his girlfriend.

“I’m f-fine,” Jooyeon replied almost immediately, quickly flashing him a small smile, “Must’ve been a muscle strain from the straps of many equipments I have to carry around these days,” she told a white lie, hiding him from the truth behind the stinging pain on her shoulder. What actually happened was she had been confronted by Jinhee and her gang for the second time earlier in the week. Jinhee had grown furious after confirming the couple’s relationship status once she saw how Daniel had treated Jooyeon differently at the cafeteria, and displayed her dissatisfaction by subjecting Jooyeon to more physical and verbal harassment. Alone and defenseless, Jooyeon could only give them another warning while running away to safety with tears in her eyes.

Daniel rummaged inside his bag for something and took out some pain relief patches he had always carried around in case of emergency, “Here’s some pain relief patch, these ones really work like magic,” he offered while studying her expression in concern.

“Thanks, I’ll use them well,”

“Babe, you know you can tell me anything right?” Daniel said, fully facing Jooyeon as he laced their fingers together. His free hand gently lifted her chin up so that they could look at each other in the eyes, “Is something bothering you lately? You look worn out,” he asked worriedly, the usual smile disappearing from his face as he waited, hoping that she would finally tell him the truth or ask for his help. He had been well informed about the girls, particularly one named Jinhee who had been constantly harassing his girlfriend verbally and physically. Daniel wanted nothing more than to help her solve the conflict once and for all, but he knew that Jooyeon is a hard-working and strong girl who won’t easily give up on her loved ones when something gets in her way. As much as he was worried and wanted to protect her, he had to respect her choice and the only way he could offer his support was to keep an eye on her from a distance and constantly remind her of how much he loves her through his actions.

Jooyeon showed him a small smile and softly shook her head as he caressed her cheek, “It’s nothing, just preparations for the upcoming sports week. I’m sure you’re more exhausted than me,” she said, gently holding onto his hand on her cheek. “Practice must’ve been tough,” she gestured towards his hand, softly brushing her fingers over his arm cast, one of his recent minor injuries due to slightly spraining his wrist from the extra boxing training for the upcoming competition.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders, he had visited the doctor and confirmed that it was nothing serious, but his coach wanted to take extra precautions and as a result, he had to wear an arm cast and could only practice shadow boxing for a whole week, “More hours, more intense but it’s manageable. People’s expectations are higher this time,” he explained, swinging his hands back and forth in a boxing motion to prove that he was in a good condition.

“Don’t pressure yourself too much and have fun. Also, don’t get hurt. You’ll do great, I know you can,” Jooyeon advised, leaning against his chest with her arms wrapped around his torso. After winning the boxing championship for two consecutive years, she knew how stressed he must’ve felt with an added responsibility on his shoulders to show an even better performance and keep his winning streak. Since she couldn’t directly help him during the match, she could only offer him emotional support and cheer for him during the process. It was also part of the reason why she wouldn’t disclose her problems to Daniel, afraid that she might add on to his stress and only become a burden to him. She wanted to be someone he could depend on during his difficult times as much as he had done the same to her.

Daniel grinned, gaining some kind of confidence with just words of encouragement from his girlfriend, “I know, cause this time I have my girlfriend cheering for me. You’ll come for the match right?”

Jooyeon chuckled at how he managed to turn the mood around them back to being happy and cheerful again with his lovey-dovey tone of voice, “I have to because I’ll be the photographer on duty, but sure I’ll cheer for you too,” she replied teasingly, looking up to kiss him softly on the cheek.

Daniel returned the gesture by playfully pinching her cheeks, “Cheeky, I’m glad I asked you to be my girlfriend,” he said, searching inside his pocket and pulling out a small box, “Give me your hand,” he requested, holding his palm out for her.

“You got us couple rings? Daniel, you remembered…”

“I wrote down a list of everything you said when you were sleep talking,” Daniel explained, slipping in the matching silver ring to her finger. He had promised to make her romantic dreams come true, therefore he kept a checklist of the things Jooyeon wanted to do in their relationship. She had never expected that her boyfriend would take her sleep-talking rambles seriously let alone remember any of them, and the sweet and thoughtful gesture tugged at her heartstrings, awaking all the butterflies in her stomach as they tickled her insides while sending a signal from her heart to her brain. Daniel seemed to have endless ways in expressing his affection towards her that she couldn’t help but to fall deeper into his charms. They both had expressed their attraction and how much they feel towards each other, and she was beginning to feel a deeper affection towards him that had possibly grown into love.

Lee Jooyeon, you don’t just like Kang Daniel… You’ve fallen in love with him…

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

“I bet this time there’s definitely trouble in paradise,” Daehwi quipped, offering his sister a mug filled with hot chocolate as he sat down next to her on the couch. Jooyeon had been absentmindedly switching between one channel to the other while occasionally staring at the couple ring on her finger and sighing loudly. He knew it was given by her boyfriend during their recent date and he was more than happy for her, but instead of smiling widely while squealing loudly and rolling around in her bed like a love-sick teenager (Daehwi expected as much because he had never seen any guy affecting Jooyeon as much as Daniel did), she had a sad melancholy smile instead.

Jooyeon looked up to her younger brother, accepting the mug with her free hand, “Was it really that obvious?” she asked.

“Noona, I’ve known you my whole life and you’re so easy to read,” he replied with a frank and obvious comment before gently blowing on his drink to cool it down.

“Daehwi, what do you mean when you said that Daniel is ‘dangerous’?” she asked, no longer feeling like having any drink as she placed it on the table in front of them.

Daehwi shifted his eyes briefly at her, it was his turn to sigh heavily at his sister’s cluelessness, “Well, he’s good-looking, smart, athletic and popular. It doesn’t take a genius to know that he’d have a lot of admirers. Why is he dangerous? Because he might be a playboy,” he concluded before carefully sipping on the hot drink.

Jooyeon pouted, hugging her knees as she firmly shook her head, “No, Daniel’s not that type of guy. He’s good, too good for me…” she trailed off as she spoke the last sentence. As much as she loves him, she couldn’t help but to think that he was too good for her and perhaps deserves someone better.

“Then, if he has a girlfriend, his other admirers will be jealous and she’ll be affected which I’m guessing is the case for you right now,” Daehwi further added, concluding his overall observation.

“Should I give you a cookie for that?”

“You haven’t told Daniel yet?” Daehwi gasped, lightly slapping her on the knees.

“What is there to tell?” Jooyeon mumbled, pulling her knees closer to her body. Was she really that easy to read?

“That you’ve been bullied! This is a serious matter noona!” the younger of the two sibling yelped, getting worked up more than the victim herself. He knew of the verbal and physical harassment that his sister had received in the past week and had expected that the couple had discussed about it.

“I know how to deal with this. Trust me,” Jooyeon said confidently, staring at the ring on her finger as she nodded to herself. She has to fix the problem before Daniel finds out. She had to be smart when dealing with someone like Jinhee and couldn’t react to her harassment with more violence because Jooyeon knew the girl with turn the situation against her and act all innocent since she had the money and influence to back her up.

I apologize for the late update TT. I've been flooded with work (and the numerous updates from Wanna One's concert and comeback). It has been really hard to concentrate on writing my stories and I needed a whole day to be able to finish one chapter. Nevertheless, here's an update with truckloads of fluff and a pinch of drama. I won't drag the drama for too long because we need to make way for other conflict *cough* *cough*

I hope you guys have a great week ahead and enjoy the chapter ^^ Don't forget to leave a comment and tell me how you feel about this chapter ~!