3rd POV

 

Siyeon entered a shop with a nervous smile. The man took her ID and handed her a pair of keys.

“Keep the truck safe.” He grinned.

Siyeon salutes his words. “I will. Thank you once again!”

“Have a lovely day.”

“You too.”

‘Alright, let’s see what we got here…’ Siyeon examined the buttons of the pick-up. They looked pretty much the same as those from her Audi so she didn't sweat it.

“Ok let’s see…” Siyeon turns the key in and feels the engine rumble under her. “Oo okay.” She reverses out of her parking space and drives out of the parking lot carefully, not quite used to the new height of view from inside. Something she would later learn to appreciate.

She drives through the familiar streets of the town, passing the vendor-filled streets and high-rise buildings that towered them. A slight grin flutters across as she passes MinTech. Many new projects and innovations sat in the heart of the company, and she never forgets to be grateful to be a part of those creations. 

Her mind turns 180 upon seeing the library. She slows down to find a suitable place to park, ending up with a spot a good 10m from the library’s entrance. She was lucky that the road wasn't so busy. 

After locking the car, she waits by the staircase of the library, leaning against the wall with her legs crossed. She smiles unconsciously when she hears Sua’s laughter from the top. She puts her phone away to see Sua with a woman and a guy by her side. She looks on patiently.

“Sing!” Sua finally notices her, rushing down to the stairs to get to her.

Siyeon throws her arms out as an attempt to catch in case she falls. “Eonnie don’t rus-” Her voice was soon muffled when Sua crashed into her arms ‘softly’.

She pats Sua’s hair, feeling her quickened breathing tickle her neck. “It’s good to see you too, eonnie.” She breathed.

Sua squealed, showing off her excitement for their date. “What are we doing today?” 

“Secret…” Siyeon held her finger to her lips. “New date, new surprise.” She emphasised.

“Just don’t give her a heart attack.” The guy who stood by Sua added with a knowing grin. “Also, this bundle of explosive can get feisty.”

“HAHAHA!” Siyeon and the woman laughed at his comment.

Sua glared on.

“Bundle of explosives…” Siyeon chuckles.

 “Please, she knows it too.” The man walked over with an outstretched hand, and Sua kicked the back of his knee painfully. “I’m- OW! Park Hongseok, it’s nice to meet you.” 

Siyeon shakes his hand. “I’m Lee Siyeon, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Kang Seulgi. Glad to meet the person Sua has been talking about nonstop.” Seulgi hugs her shortly instead of a handshake.

Siyeon laughs as she pulls away. “Oh does she?” She glances curiously at Sua who avoids her gaze, hiding behind Seulgi’s shoulder.

“So much.” Hongseok mouths to her. 

Sua spots the ever-curious look growing on Siyeon’s face and intervenes. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow! Rest well!” She dismisses the conversation, pulling Siyeon away.

“Hahah,” Hongseok and Seulgi chuckled in unison. “See you tomorrow Sua. Have fun!”

"But not too much-!” Hongseok added but the two were already out the door. 

Siyeon led Sua to the direction of the pickup truck. She glanced at her when Sua was looking around, seeming to try and spot something.

“Where’s your Audi?”

Siyeon grins, tugging Sua lightly. “Today we’ll be using this.” She pats the trucks back.

Sua gasps. “It looks so cool~” She takes in its bold look, different from Audi’s subtle look.

“M’lady,” Siyeon politely opens the door to the passenger seat, helping Sua get up with the step by holding her left hand, allowing her right hand to grab the handle. 

Sua giggles at her politeness, grasping her hand. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She shut the door and got into the driver’s seat.

"You ready?” Sua nods. 

Siyeon checks the mirrors, adjusts the ac to a more pleasant temperature and backs out of the parking spot. She tries to ignore an expectant gaze on the side of her face. 

“How are you?” Siyeon began, wondering if she had done something wrong.

“Where are we going?” Sua fired back, tone holding No patience.

Siyeon grinned and only held a finger to her lips. 

“Sing!” 

“I’m sorry eonnie, surprise means surprise.” Siyeon unapologetically shook her head.

Sua huffed and glanced out the window, the same way she did when Siyeon first took her out, to Yokji Island.

"Eonnie please,” Siyeon reasoned, “It’s nothing extraordinary. Just trust me?” She questioned hopefully.

Sua rolled her head over with a look Siyeon couldn't read. “I trust you, I just want to know.”

“That spoils the fun Bora…” Siyeon only replied, holding out a pinky. “I promise you’ll love it.”

Her brows raised in anticipation. “Really?”

Siyeon nodded confidently. “Yeah.”

Sua linked their pinkies together. “If I don’t I’m going to tickle you to death.” 

Siyeon yelped at the thought. “I um take it back then-”

“No! No take backs!” Sua shook her head, satisfied with the deal she made. “There better be food at least.”

Siyeon shrugs, not willing to reveal anything.

Sua groaned. She couldn't stand the unknown. It was the second or third time now that Siyeon was keeping every little detail hushed.

“Okay but seriously,” Siyeon tried to keep her distracted. “How are you doing? Your baby?”

Sua smiled, poking Siyeon’s cheek before replying, “We’re doing great. My check-up yesterday was fun, I got an ultrasound!” She exclaims. 

“Ooo~ Can you see her limbs?” Siyeon improvised, having forgotten the material from High School Biology. She hoped she didn’t sound dumb.

“Yes,” Sua pulls out her wallet for her purse. “I have the photos here!” She holds them up.

But Siyeon had her eyes on the road so she sneaked a peek upon slowing down at a yellow light. 

“Hey, that's the first time I’ve seen you stop at a yellow light.” Sua comments knowingly. “You always beat it.” She laughs upon seeing Siyeon’s guilt.

“I mean, an ultrasound is a precious photo,” She examines it closer. “She’s adorable.” She peeks back quickly to see if the light had turned green.

“I know!” Sua gushes. “Aren’t her fingers and toes just so tiny?” 

Siyeon nods, shifting back to drive. “She’s gonna be one adorable baby.” She mumbles the last part to herself. “More than her mother at least…”

“WHAT↗️?!” Sua explosively reacted, picking up on her mutter. “Are you saying my baby’s cuter than me, even when she’s still in my placenta?” She exaggerated. 

Siyeon stifled laughter in . “Yes.” She replies unapologetically.

Sua reaches out to grab her shoulders but Siyeon evades them by leaning forward. “Bora I’m driving!” She pleaded.

Sua poked her side gently. But even a gentle poke made Siyeon twitch.

“HAHA↗️, you’re really sensitive to touch.” She commented. 

Siyeon shook her head. “I really wish I wasn’t.”

 

The view of the town to the highway piqued Sua’s curiosity even more. Siyeon gulped when Sua placed her hands on her relaxed arm, intense eyes penetrating her soul.

“We are going outside of town.” She stated her observation, a dangerously noticeable impatience lined her tone.

Siyeon nodded, leaving one hand free from the steering wheel for Sua to shake it aggressively in agony of curiosity.

“Sing! Just tell meeeee-!” She dragged out, pulling on Siyeon’s left hand. 

Siyeon kept a poker face even if it was almost impossible to do so. She shook her head. “Eonnie, I said you can trust me.”

Sua groaned. “I’m so curious I could explode. How long till we’re there?”

Siyeon glanced at the dashboard. It was 2.21pm, she could understand why Bora was getting impatient. Between teasing and revealing, she’d choose teasing, obviously.

“Another 10 minutes.” Siyeon curtly replied, interlacing her fingers with Sua fidgeting hands to calm her.

"Hmm~” Sua mumbled to herself, pressing her face against the window, wanting to catch the first glimpse of their destination.

Siyeon took an exit and headed into a narrow road surrounded by tall bushes. She heard Sua exhale in exasperation. She glanced over concernedly.

“How are there no signs??” Sua complained, face still pressed up against the window.

Siyeon hooked her fingers under Sua’s chin just as she slowed to a stop, to turn her head towards the front.

“Look.” She simply said.

On a huge black digital board displayed:

 

MOVIE NIGHT 🎥

DRIVE-IN CINEMA (All vehicles welcome)

TICKETS AT $10 (ID CHECK)

FREE POPCORN (LIMITED) 🍿

 

Sua gasped in shock. “THIS IS SO COOL!” She shrieked, getting up from her seat to look further into the space, already spotting a field of vehicles finding a spot.

“Eonnie sat down for a second,” Siyeon pulled her back down by the shoulder. “We need to find a good spot.” 

“Okay okay,” Sua wiggled in her seat, excitement basically flowing out of her. “I’ll help you find you a spot.”

The two searched, and Siyeon was glad she had purposely come 45 minutes earlier. It surprised without a doubt how many people there were. This activity was more popular than she thought.

A patroller came over to scan their tickets, before letting them settle into the space. They chose a spot some left-middle of the area, where there were not too many people surrounding them but enough to not feel alone. 

“Wait here.” Siyeon unbuckles her seatbelt and jumps off. She runs over to Sua’s side and opens her door.

“Aww,” Sua reacts upon seeing Siyeon holding a hand up with a polite grin. “Thank you Sing.”

“You’re welcome,” She supported Sua’s back as she stepped down. “I gotta tell you something.”

Sua nods attentively. 

Siyeon led her to the back, where there stood 3 grey containers. Sua hadn't seen them yet, now wondering about its purposes.

Siyeon then climbed up onto the ‘platform’, and opened the containers. 

“Here is the container for pillows and blankets in case you feel cold, the weather forecast says it’s windy at 3pm.” Siyeon checked her watch briefly. “And I wasn't sure what kind of back support you needed if you were sitting or laying down, so I just bought pillows of different thickness and sturdiness.” Siyeon rambled on. She opens another container. “This is the container of snacks, I have savoury and sweet tteokbokki because it’s my favourite, beef noodles and soup for you and your baby, fruits for us to share and ice cream if you’re craving it..? And plenty of water.” She showed off a 5 litre bottle. 

Sua felt like her heart could burst out of her chest, feeling beyond touched, loved even. She expressed wanting to climb on.

“I have to see what you have!” She exclaimed.

Siyeon placed the unfolded blanket down and got off to help her up.

“I’m going to lift you,” Siyeon stood next to her. “Safely.”

Sua grinned. “As expected.” She extended her arms in the air to grasp onto Siyeon’s shoulders. 

The secretary took the sign and hooked an arm behind her knees and another on her lower back to lift her up bridal style.

“Oo,” Sua expressed her awe as Siyeon held her up with ease. 

“You should do this more often.” She requests jokingly.

Siyeon gently sits her down on the space. “Sure.”

They laid out a thick rolled-up mat from the third container as the base and threw one of the fluffy blankets across. While Siyeon prepared the rest, Sua tested the pillows.

"This one’s perfect,” She chose the grey one, that was thick with feathers but had the best balance of support on her lower back.

Siyeon nods. “You can prop it where you like.”

Sua finds a suitable spot to prop the pillow against, before setting herself in different positions to see which was the best; first fully on her back but that was too low, halfway and her neck was kind of hanging, fully sitting up was no fun but handy if she were to be eating, on the side was the most comfortable but then she couldn't see the screen…

So she decided halfway. “Siyeon the screen’s lighting up!”

“Great!” Siyeon turned around, to see a welcome message across the screen. The field had also just become fuller. “Let’s relax now then.” She slides an empty tray on standby, starting with an easy appetiser, popcorn. 

Siyeon wondered how close she should sit to Bora. There wasn't a lot of space either, so she made some by setting two empty containers next to the truck on the grass. 

With more space, she took a pillow of her own to lay a respectful distance from Sua. She stopped mid-way getting comfortable when she felt Sua’s stare.

“What?” She wondered what she was missing, or what she wanted.

Sua motions to the gap. “Come closer! There’s no need for this space.”

Siyeon blushes a little. “O-okay.” She scoots closer. But Sua tugs on her arm until they are close to cuddling.

“That’s better.” She nods. Because of Siyeon’s taller height , she naturally borrowed her shoulder.

“Is this okay?” Siyeon questioned, relaxing as much as she could. The skinship was making her nervously flattered.

“Yes.”

The movie began and they helped themselves to the sweet caramel popcorn. A good choice. The movie of choice was John Wick. Siyeon understood then why an ID Check was required. 

Funnily enough Sua had seen plenty of clips circulating before, while Siyeon had heard of it but not seen which was why she chose to arrange their date on the specific day. 

At some point, the wind blew past and Sua’s hair flew all over her face. Siyeon looks down in amusement as Sua starts shoving the tickling strands away. She helped tuck a couple strands back, laughing when Sua pulled on her ponytail. Siyeon pats the top of her head and leaned down to kiss her. 

But she catches herself just before her lips could touch her head, subtly clearing and resting her arm by her side. 

Sua felt her closing in at the last second and looked up questioningly. She wondered why she hadn't done it. She kept quiet eventually, thinking that asking would push boundaries.

Scenes of battle preparation came up on screen and Siyeon got the idea of eating some food before all the gruesome scenes came by.

“Do you want to eat?” She asked first.

Sua nods. “I want something chewy.”

Siyeon feigned hesitation. “That means I’ll have to share my tteokbokki.”

“Come on,” Sua nudged her shoulder. “You know I would’ve asked for it anyways.”

Siyeon couldn't disagree, laughing as she took it out of the container, still warm to some extent. She opened the plastic lid and handed Sua her own chopsticks.

“잘 먹겠습니다!“ 

They dug in, savouring the sweet yet spicy sauce that coated the chewy goodness. Sua complimented her choice of food.

“Wait, can you feed me? I wanna tie my hair too.” Sua requests, but doesn't take no for an answer as she opens while taking her hair tie.

Siyeon nods, having no problem with that. She watches subtly as Sua exposes her neckline by gathering her hair up into a ponytail and in two swift motions, makes a messy bun.

The secretary blinked in confusion. “How- what? That was effortlessly fast.” 

Sua giggled, chewing on the fishcake Siyeon fed her. “Skills.” She wiggled her brows.

Siyeon nods in acceptance and feeds her two pieces of her precious rice cakes. ‘For you, eonnie…I don't even share mine with JiU…’ She thought to herself, amused.

Sua saw the faint smile on her lips and smiled back. “What are you thinking about?”

“Huh? Oh I uh,” Siyeon was slightly caught off-guard. “I was thinking that I never shared my tteokbokki with Minji-eonnie, she knew never to touch my food.” She replied honestly.

Sua laughs heartily. “Yet here you are, sacrificing it for me. I feel somewhat honoured.” She held her heart.

Siyeon nodded seriously. “You should.”

As Siyeon had predicted, smoothly-choreographed fights came up next and the gruesomeness was evident displayed across the humongous screen. Screams and gasps across the field did not go unheard by the audience.

“The blood!” Sua shrieked, unable to handle such gore for more than 10 seconds. She shrunk into Siyeon’s side.

Siyeon crossed her right arm over her body to pat the side of Sua’s face, as an attempt to comfort her. She didn't hide the hint of tease in her voice.

“Aw come on Bora, it's just about as gruesome as periods.” She joked.

Sua poked the area under her rib, effectively making her twitch.

“Ok ok sorry sorry.” Siyeon surrendered, patting the side of her temple apologetically.

Sua peeked at the screen, glad that there was no more stabbing when-

“Bang!” John had shot someone on his six.

“Ack!” Sua shut her eyes. “That was impressive though.” 

Siyeon chuckles. “Indeed. I still am obsessed with the suit. Do you notice how he automatically holds it up?”

Sua nods, then asks. “Why does he do that?”

“It’s bulletproof,” Siyeon pointed out. “He can shield his face.”

Sua’s mouth dropped to form an ‘o’. She watched such movies maybe once a year, drama’s and series interested her more. But it was cute for her to hear Siyeon’s enthusiasm.

“A thin jacket can do that?” She comments as she sees John Wick lift his jacket to cover the side of his face as he shoots the enemies accurately. 

“Yes,” Siyeon grins. “The material is called Kevlar. A synthetic fibre that’s heat-resistant and lightweight. It’s amazing really.” 

“Ooo~” Sua appreciates the newfound knowledge. “Must be useful.”

“Yep, utilised in the military.” Siyeon added.They focused again on the movie as all the fighting scenes had passed. Even if a person wasn't interested in action movies, they would be interested in John Wick’s consistent motives: revenge. Everyone knows what revenge is, what it feels like, and hence have similar passion as John Wick’s as he goes about on his adventures.

Sua is clearly one of those lucky victims. She liked the way John Wick spoke, very calm and collected, humbled even. She was also amazed by his stamina. It may be fiction but to see the whole thing play out in one smooth motion was impressive.

Siyeon really only cared about the fighting scenes, highly interested in it’s choreography. Of course, the plot interested her too but nothing was cooler to her than seeing John Wick attacking armed enemies with nunchucks. 

“HAHA↗️ the dog!” Siyeon exclaimed as the dogs attacked a man’s s. It was satisfyingly scary.

Sua screeched. She could feel their pain through the screen, even if she was no man. “Good doggy…” 

Three intense hours later, the movie ends with a win-win situation, Siyeon was happy about that. Sua yawned secretly, not from boredom but from overall tiredness. 

Siyeon smiled as she felt Sua snuggle up against her, resting her head into the crook of her neck. “Bora? Sleepy?” She communicated simply.

Sua nodded, closing her eyes.

Siyeon cleaned up as much as she could, moving the left side of her body minimally. Luckily they kept things in reach. She knew that they had at least an hour before leaving, so she let Sua rest, scanning the rest of the people. She had expected to see many couples, but there were also plenty of families to be seen, with teenagers.

She checked the time. 6.15pm. There was still plenty of time left. 

Siyeon rested her head against the back of the pick-up truck, absorbing the moment. Sua’s steady breathing against her neck, her arms tangled in her left arm, and Sua’s hair that tickle the back of the neck. Because of that, she turns to her, wanting to make physical contact herself.

She reached out hesitantly to smoothen the strands blown in the wind, breathing in the feeling that Sua was the prettiest woman she had ever met in her life.

 

:

 

“Sing?” Sua stirred, raising her head from Siyeon’s shoulder, with an expression mixed with confusion and concern. “Do we have to go?”

Siyeon lifted her attention from her phone. “Yeah. You napped for 30 mins.”

“Oh…” Sua sounded a little ashamed. “Sorry.”

Siyeon shook her head. “That’s alright, everyone needs a nap.l sometimes.” She assures.

Sua grins gratefully. “Thanks for lending me your shoulder.”

“No wonder it’s so sore…” Siyeon jokingly cracked her shoulders and neck.

“Eeeek-!” Sua shrieked, then noticed that the field was 60% empty. “Wow everyone left immediately.” 

Siyeon nodded. “Everyone's got things to do and places to be.” She mumbles, “Do you have somewhere to be tonight?” She questioned.

Sua narrows her eyes suspiciously. “No..? Why?”

Siyeon cleared , a wave of relief visibly washing over her face. “Nothing.”

“Sing…” Sua warned her

Siyeon smiles innocently. “Come on eonnie, let’s get outta here.”

Sua shrugged it off, knowing she could get it out of Siyeon If she really wanted to. She repeatedly tells Siyeon what a great idea the date was, and how pleasant she found it. 

Siyeon carried her off the ‘platform’ and helped her into the passenger seat. Sua reclined the chair and connected her phone to the car’s speakers with Bluetooth to play some comedy specials. She did wait for Siyeon first.

With all three containers back, Siyeon hops into the driver’s seat and drives them out of the Drive-In Cinema. They make sure to thank the organisers by the exit, sending them heartfelt waves. 

“Is this regular?” Sua wondered aloud.

“Yes, every Saturday and Sunday.”

“Ooo, sounds like you really wanted to do this.” She said knowingly.

Siyeon hides her embarrassment with a chuckle. “Yes, but not alone.” She grabs Sua’s hand.

Sua squeezes it and interlaces their fingers. “We’re heading back right?”

Siyeon glanced away, avoiding answering her question.

“Sing?” Sua pressed on. “Don’t tell me-”

“I may have uh, another surprise for you.” Siyeon revealed.

“Siyeon!” Sua gasps. “You’re kidding?”

“No,” Siyeon shakes her head. “This may not be a surprise though. Tik tok tik tok.” She randomly hinted.

‘Tik tok tik tok?’ Sua repeated in her head. Was she referring to a clock? What did that have to do with the surpris-

"Are we catching the sunset↗️↗️?!” Sua screeches.

Siyeon winced at her dolphin-like-echolocation pitch. “Yes, eonnie, I figured that a sunset was the perfect way to end the day.” 

Sua squealed for the nth time. “And I thought the date couldn't have gotten any better.” 

She turns to see the sun on the horizon. It had lowered, and she believed that they would catch the perfect time to watch the sunset.

Siyeon turns on the volume of the comedy special. She notices something.

“Did you make a playlist of specials?” 

Sua flips her hair sassily. “Of course I did.”

“I should really do that too.” Siyeon replied, she had always loosely chosen videos that popped up on her feed.

They listen intently to the specials while driving kilometres out of the Drive-In Cinema, headed to a popular beach to catch the sunset. Siyeon was a tad worried that there would be too big of a crowd to admire the view, but pushed it aside when she remembered that there was plenty of space to sit and that having Bora next to her was really the view she wanted…

Pulling into the beach’s parking lot, the two were relieved upon seeing that only some of the parking spots were taken. Siyeon quickly reverses into a lot nearest to the beach’s entrance and takes a container with the mat and some leftover food and untouched dessert. Sua insists on helping her carry something but Siyeon refuses, giving her a hand to hold instead.

“Smooth~” Sua was in slight awe. 

Siyeon smirks. “You know me.” She winks.

Sua giggled and dragged her towards a suitable spot she had found. They greeted others that were also there, all enjoying a fresh, cool can of beer under the sky. Sua pointed that out with jealousy. 

“Yah~↘️…” She pouted, stopping in her steps as Siyeon smoothened out the sand to spread the mat out. 

“What’s wrong?” Siyeon got up to face her. 

“I want a beer too!” Sua complained.

Siyeon chuckled heartily. “Eonnie, next time, there’s always a next time.” She hugged her assuringly.

Sua hugged her back, speaking on her shoulder. “You better bring me here again with beer.” She demanded.

Siyeon laughed this time. “Sure, sure. The baby can rest in the carrier next to us.” She suggests knowingly.

Sua nods in satisfaction, but can’t help but feel something, in her heart, when Siyeon mentions her child…in every conversation they had, Sua realised that Siyeon had included her baby as much as possible, whether it was doing a future activity with them both, or for the baby. She wanted to express her thoughts, but figured that another time would be better.

“Eonnie?” Siyeon called her amidst her daze. “An egg tart?”

“Huh?” Sua blinks, to see a yummy treat in front of her. “Oh yes please, thank you.” She takes it. 

 The sun glows in its orange halo and the two spectators huddle together to admire it, both in awe of nature’s present. The beach’s breath washed over them like the waves coming up shore, allowing them to find a sense of calm among their thoughts. Siyeon allows Sua to rest her head against her shoulder again, to keep them both tightly huddled under the blanket. 

 

: -The ride home-

 

“Here’s where you need to be.” Siyeon parked the car, with a homely grin.

Sua unbuckled her seatbelt, lifted herself, reached over to plant a lingering kiss on her cheek.

“Thank you for today, I had a lovely time.” 

Siyeon’s eyes widened. She turns her head slightly.

“Y-you're welcome…” she sputtered.

Sua giggled. “I’ll see you next time.”

She nods slightly. “Good night.” Her tone was dazed. .

As soon as Sua entered the building, Siyeon held her cheek hesitantly, afraid to erase the magical mark of Sua’s lips.

 

You best bet she went home with yet another lovesick grin.

 

 

~