Kyungsoo came in at the soup kitchen, a little bit sleep deprived, as he and Chanyeol had stayed up until about 1:30 a.m. messaging each other on Kakao Talk. The taller one had begun sending him funny memes during dinner with Yoora noona, making Kyungsoo laugh as he washed the dishes in his own home. And three hours later, Kyungsoo had to say goodnight, as he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore, mostly due to the pills he had to take before going to bed.

It didn’t matter because when Chanyeol entered the kitchen, Kyungsoo instantaneously brightened, giving him a big, heart-shaped smile.  The taller one smiled in return as he put his apron on and excitedly went over to his side.

Chanyeol would jokingly nudge him as Kyungsoo mixed the batter for the Korean pancakes they were serving later, and the smaller one would nudge him back, making Chanyeol chuckle giddily that the other senior staff began to look at them a little strangely.

Kyungsoo noticed, of course, and inched away from the chairwoman’s son, as they should get to work without distractions. Their aim was to cook 600 pancakes by lunch time and they wanted to make the pancakes decently thick and hearty, too.

Then Chanyeol started singing “A Whole New World” very softly, just enough for Kyungsoo to hear... and resulted to him suddenly bursting into fits of giggles.

“J-Joseong-hamnida,” Chanyeol apologized shyly at the ahjussis and ahjummas turning to their direction. They were the only ones making unnecessary noise inside the otherwise silent kitchen, as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol pressed their lips together to restrain their laughter, and the smaller one jabbing the taller one on the arm in jest to make him behave.

They managed to do so, with Chanyeol making the distance between them slightly more significant—maybe now one foot apart from each other, so Kyungsoo could concentrate on his batter and Chanyeol would take on the task of sweeping the floor and gathering of trash.

Minutes before they were supposed to serve the freshly cooked pancakes and Kyungsoo just completed the last batch from his pan, Chanyeol subtly tugged him by the wrists and pulled him just behind the ingredients rack, gently backing Kyungsoo on it.

“W-What?” Kyungsoo whispered, smiling slightly.

The chairwoman’s son smiled fondly and cupped Kyungsoo’s face in his hands, giving him a quick kiss.

“Chanyeollie!” Kyungsoo immediately yelped, half protesting, half amused as the taller one only answered him with an impish grin, deep dimple digging on his left cheek.

“I’m excited for our date later.”

And with that, they drew apart, emerging from behind the rack as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Thankfully, everyone else was too busy with the serving preparation to pay them any mind.

The word ‘date’ brought a soft smile on Kyungsoo’s lips, though. Truth be known, he hadn’t stopped thinking about it since they had finished chatting last night.

Lee hojangnim asked Chanyeol to drive her to the office to catch up on some work after the feeding program that afternoon. Somehow, the kind chairwoman wasn’t surprised that Kyungsoo was tagging along with them.

“It will be the last Saturday of volunteer work next weekend, Kyungsoo-ssi,” Chanyeol’s mother murmured, smiling at Kyungsoo through the rear view mirror. “I hope even after the feeding program, you will still continue to keep in touch.”

Chanyeol was almost tempted to say that Kyungsoo would, because he intended to keep on dating the aspirant chef, long after their volunteer work for the soup kitchen was over.

Good thing, Kyungsoo answered amiably, “Oh, of course, Lee hojangnim! I’ve learned so much these last five weeks that I am so grateful.”

“Don’t worry, I will write you a stellar recommendation letter for your culinary school. You definitely deserve it,” Lee hojangnim complimented sincerely as her son pulled in front of Yookshipil Building.

“Uh, kamsa-hamnida,” Kyungsoo replied shyly, his cheeks blushing a little that Chanyeol couldn’t help staring at him through the rear-view mirror.

Kyungsoo met his eyes then and gave him a full-heart shaped grin.

“Araseo, you kids have fun,” Lee hojangnim bade, already presuming that her son would be  hanging out with Kyungsoo again, as she gave Chanyeol a kiss on the cheek just before she alighted.

Kyungsoo bowed low to her as Lee hojangnim entered the building, and he took the seat beside Chanyeol in the car.

The drive towards Han River was short and sweet, with them chatting and laughing all the way through. When they arrived, they went for a leisurely stroll along the water. Chanyeol comfortably rested an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders as they did, with Kyungsoo sighing contentedly, taking in the sights with groups and couples biking, tourists taking pictures, families and friends jogging, and even some people fishing.

Chanyeol wished he could take Kyungsoo to a fancier date than this... if this was considered to be their first date, but he resolved to make it special, somehow. 

They came upon a vacant bench and decided to take a rest, as they had been walking for about 20 minutes or so.

“Would you like something to eat? Drink?” Chanyeol asked, scratching his head coyly.

Kyungsoo gently declined. “I’m still quite full from the bento set your Omma had delivered for lunch. Unless you want to?”

Chanyeol shrugged, sitting beside him then, as they silently watched people passing by.

“Thank you for taking me here,” Kyungsoo told him, turning to give him that beautiful heart-shaped smile again. “I love it.”

“You’re welcome,” Chanyeol replied, feeling his own heart expand inside his chest, that something this simple, with hardly any effort from him at all, would make Kyungsoo’s gaze glisten with happiness. “I know the best place where we can see the sunset.”

Then Chanyeol took his hand, placed a soft kiss on top of his milky-white knuckle.

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