“Oppa, what are you hiding?”

Yonghwa stared at Seohyun’s face. It’s funny how they’ve only been officially dating for 5 days and yet she just knows him too well.

“What do you mean?”, he grinned like a fool.

Seohyun glared her eyes at him with even more suspicion.

They were currently having dinner at a hidden hole-in-a-wall restaurant which was so difficult to find. It took them 20 minutes to locate the place after going around in circles and passing through unfamiliar side streets. Seohyun had already suggested that they change their plans but Yonghwa was pretty insistent on going to this particular restaurant. When she asked why he was so assertive about dining there, he revealed that it was her manager’s suggestion that he take her there for safety reasons. It turns out that the restaurant was a known secret hideout for dating celebrities. Two kind-hearted ahjummas run the place who don’t really care about the status of their customers and value their privacy a lot.

Yonghwa chuckled. He was hoping she wouldn’t catch on to what he was hiding but it was too late.

“Am I that readable?”, he asked.

“You just have this certain look on your face”, she claimed.

“A what?”, Yonghwa laughed

“I’m serious! You just have this expression that tells me you’re hiding something and I’m about to find out...soon?”, she smiled widely at him.

Yonghwa sighed. There was really no way that he could prolong this any longer. He reached for his backpack and took out a neatly wrapped box with a cute silver ribbon on top.

“Here”, Yonghwa handed her the gift.

Seohyun bit her lip in excitement and shyly took the present.

Never forgetting her manners, she asked, “Oppa, can I open it?”

“Of course!”, he chuckled.

Seohyun carefully unwrapped the gift and was surprised to find several things inside: a notebook, a set of colored pens, one box of unused polaroid films, and tape.

Still puzzled with what she saw, she inquired, “I don’t get it. What’s this?”

“Why don’t you open the notebook to find out?”

She did what she was told. Upon opening the notebook, she discovered a checklist written on the first page.

Let’s create memories together:

The Checklist

Texting

Phone calls

Video calls

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Coffee/Tea dates

Driving together

Watch movies

Bring Seohyun to School

Take Photos together

Dorm visits

House visits

Holding hands

Linking arms

Hugging

Seohyun’s brows were now tightly knit together. She really couldn’t figure out what Yonghwa is up to.

“Okay, before you say anything or let me explain,” Yonghwa assured her.

He continued, “When I was at your dorm, you asked me how our dating would work. You mentioned that you don’t want to feel pressured to do things that you’re not comfortable with. So I’ve given it some thought and I came up with a checklist to be our guideline in seeing if you’re comfortable doing these things with me. There might be some things in the list that you’re already comfortable to do and for some, it may take time— and that’s okay. So whenever you’re ready to do something, just cross it out the list so I would know that you’re ready. This isn’t really how typical dating goes, but I want to understand and clarify where our boundaries are so I’d have the consent to do the things you’re okay with.”

She felt heat rising up to her cheeks and felt her heartbeat drumming faster. If she was so touched by his intentions last week, she was definitely more moved by what he just did.

She smiled, “Thank you, Oppa. I like this.” She ran her hand across the page, “So can I add more to the list? I have some things in mind and just as you have thought of me, I also want to make sure you’ll be okay with the things I want to do.”

“Add as much as you’d like. Eventually, we’ll probably add more things along the way. So what do you have in mind?”

She got a pen from the box and quietly wrote down the following:

Reading dates

Library visits

Shopping

Karaoke

She was about to add a bit more but she suddenly stopped and gave Yonghwa a worried look.

“What’s the matter? Is anything wrong?”

“Hmm I was just wondering, this might be a bit unfair to you.”

“What made you say that?”

“Well, you did make this list to check if I’d be comfortable but are you really comfortable with all of these, especially with what I just added? I do like this. In fact, this is so helpful since we’re still trying to get to know each other. Just because I had the courage to link my arms with you in front of the cameras, doesn’t mean I’m brave enough to do that now. We both agreed to take things steady and in our own terms. I want to consider you too. It’s not just about me discovering where we’re at. You’re also part of it so please don’t forget yourself.”

Yonghwa was stunned. She was right. Come to think of it, he wasn’t ready to do all of it now. Although he had suggested it, He wouldn’t have the courage to hug her immediately (even if he wanted to, he’d probably feel awkward). He also discovered something new about them. They were both watching out for each other. He couldn’t help but think how much she had blossomed from that evening in Japan. Japan has always been memorable to him. Mostly because they were allowed to do their own thing in front of the cameras and the locations where they went were the only ones scripted. He had told her then that she needs to try reaching out too and it can’t be just him. Little did he know, she must have been trying hard all those times to reach out to him but she just had her way to do it that took him tonight to fully understand that. She has fully captivated him and she has reached his heart in a way he couldn’t explain how.

“You’re right, I’ve never thought of it that way. I wanted you to know how much I value you in this season we’re at but I guess I sort of forgot how we’re still learning about who we are individually and who we are in this relationship.”

“So to make this fair for the both of us, why don’t we create two columns beside this list? Let’s put one column under your name and one column under my name. Each item that is agreeable to us, let’s put a check mark in our column so that we’ll know when we’re okay with it and if we’re not, let’s just leave it blank.”

“That sounds like a good plan, but I have another proposal.”

“Go ahead, what is it?”

“I realized that there are some items in the list that I’m not particularly sure about. You know those things that I’m willing to do spontaneously but at the right time? For instance, remember that time when you linke