LXXXIII

Seohyun tugs on Myungsoo’s shirtsleeve. He looks up from his book, takes in how her fingers curl around the white material of his sweater, how she is sitting next to him on the sofa of her living room, perched such that their arms touch, and smiles. They are spending a lazy Sunday afternoon in her living room, homework done and parents out of earshot. Soft music plays from the radio as they immerse themselves in each other’s company, the air warm and sweet after an afternoon shower, filled with the sounds of spring. She wears a jumper and has her pinkie hooked around his as she reads, her head close enough to his such that he can hear her quiet breathing and feel the softness of her hair tickle the side of his neck. His throat clogs up when he realises just how perfect this moment is.

“Yeah?”

He puts his book down and wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight to his side. Her fingers drop from his sweater and land on her lap. She fidgets nervously.

“I…”

“You…” Myungsoo mimics her hesitant tone, except his voice is laced with playfulness. He takes in how she’s biting her lip and turns so that he is facing her. “What’s it, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says quickly, taking hold of his free hand to reassure him. “I just- May we go on a date? I’m not unhappy about spending time together with you at home but we- We haven’t had a proper one.” Her voice gets softer and softer, embarrassed at having asked such a silly question. Myungsoo lets out a chuckle, a single sound of laughter, and drops a kiss onto her hair. She is frowning, as if she doesn’t know why he finds her question funny. But Myungsoo grins; trust her to be nervous about things like these.

“Of course we can go on a date,” he says. He isn’t smiling anymore, but there is light in his eyes. He stares at her seriously, sincerely. “I’d love to take you out.”

In a way, he feels guilty for having never taken her out on a proper date. He knows that she is contented with spending time with him anywhere, but the gentleman in him had been planning on bringing her on a night out, and he can’t help but feel slightly embarrassed that she asked him before he could ask her. Still, he was glad that she’d asked. The Seohyun back then, the shy girl with a troubled past, would never dare express her desires so openly. He was happy, estatic, even, that she had the courage to ask him. Myungsoo is proud of Seohyun, and proud that Seohyun belongs to him.

Seohyun is blushing, the red tinting her cheeks just slightly, at the intensity of his stare. A small smile plays on her lips, but Myungsoo interrupts her before she can say anything.

“But-“ and here he leans back, holding her shoulders at arm’s length- “I have to ask you, first.”

Her momentary shock gives way to a tiny laugh, as she giggles at his attempt of chivalry. Myungsoo sits himself properly on the sofa, so that he is facing her squarely, taking her hand and a deep breath.

He points a finger at himself. “Myungsoo-“ and then he smiles- “wants to go out with Seohyun.

“Would the most beautiful girl in the world allow this lowly boy to take her out on a date?”

--

LXXXIV

He waits for her outside her school again, like how he did the first time he brought her to the Home. This time, however, he came directly from his school, and so he is wearing his uniform. The crest of his school is sewn onto his blazer, and as the elite students from her school stream out of the main gates after class, they stare at him, and at the crest, before continuing on their way home.

He doesn’t care, not really. Seohyun knows that he comes from a notorious school, one that, if put in the nicest way possible, is less well-to-do compared to Seoul High. Seohyun has never let that affect the way she perceives him- she’s never let any of his past affect the way she perceives him- and so where he comes from, or where he studies, doesn’t matter. Myungsoo finds that he doesn’t care that he comes from a school that’s famous for high dropout rates and low college entry percentages. He’s sure enough of himself and of Seohyun, after all that they’ve been through, to know that these things are trivial. The stares from the students from Seoul High are curious more than anything, anyway, and so he just stares ahead and ignores them as he waits for Seohyun to appear.

She steps out into the courtyard and runs to him as soon as their eyes meet. He smiles as she approaches, bag bouncing against her back, a flush in her cheeks and an uncontained smile on her face.

“Hey,” he grabs hold of her hand once she is within an arm’s reach, pulling her close and engulfing her in an embrace. Her arms wrap around his back and fist into the material of his school blazer as she breathes in his scent. She looks up at him in excitement and his lips curl up further into the smile she so loves. He tugs her along, out of school and to the bus stop.

“Let’s go.”

--

They go to a nearby fair, a temporary theme park that has been set up in a large field. It is relatively crowded, seeing as it in the early afternoon, filled with children tugging onto the shirts of their mothers and students seeking fun after a day of school. Myungsoo clutches Seohyun’s hand tightly as they queue up for tickets, and doesn’t let her protest as he pays for them both. Ice cream sales are always good because Seohyun helps him regularly now, and he can pay for school and buy himself proper lunches and still save for occasions like these. It makes him happy, knowing that he has earning power, makes him feel like he is just that bit more worthy of being with her.

They dive right into the fair once they get their tickets. He gets her a cute hairband with Minnie mouse ears sticking from the top, and she laughs when he puts it on for her, messing her hair up slightly in the process. He blushes as he sets the accessory in place, smoothening her hair back. She points out a pair of funky-looking glasses and he shakes his head at first, relenting only when she says that he could pull off anything because he is Myungsoo and Myungsoo would look cool in funky-looking glasses. They walk off hand in hand, with their respective accessories perched on their heads. Seohyun has a wide smile on her face, and Myungsoo thinks she looks beautiful like this, healthy and glowing.

They go on a few kiddy rides, the spinning teacups and the mild roller coasters, then walk around the centre of the fair, where there are an array of booths, games to play and prizes to be won. Myungsoo drags her to the basketball stall, fixing her with an inquisitive gaze.

She shakes her head, but pushes him forward. “You play.”

He grins. “I’ll win you something,” he promises, before he’s off, shooting hoops like there is no tomorrow. She stands behind him and offers quiet but animated words of encouragement. The inflatable balls sail into the net one after the other, and the ticker on the wall increases with each shot he makes. Soon, he is two hoops away from the high score, then one. Then he surpasses it and she lets out a joyous whoop, clapping her hands together as he continues shooting. Shoot, score, shoot, score. The timer buzzes and he turns around and grins, enveloping her in a hug that lifts her off the ground. She laughs, drunk on happiness.

There is a wide array of prizes that he can choose from, but he makes his decision quickly, plucking a thin silver chain from the gift box. There is a tiny charm at the end, a little camera that dangles and winks in the afternoon sunlight. She beams as he puts it on for her.

“I won you something,” Myungsoo said. It isn’t pride that made him state his success. Instead, it is something more like disbelief, like he is trying to crystallise this memory, this elevated state of happiness, by voicing it out to make sure that it is real and not a figment of his imagination.

Seohyun smiles, then stands on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you,” she whispers. And in that moment, Myungsoo wishes that the charm hanging on the necklace were a real camera, so that he could capture her in this instant, this moment of innocent intimacy. Instead, he doesn’t take a photo, doesn’t hear the click of a camera shutter; his heart has already captured the moment, in the thumping in his ears and the way her hair curls around her face, already stored it into the depths of his being as something that he would remember and want to remember for the rest of his life.

They walk around the fair some more, into the outskirts of the coloured tents and excited voices, and settle onto the bank of a river. The faint smell of caramel permeates the air, mingling with the scent of the flowers that grow by the riverbed. They throw down their bags and Myungsoo tugs her into the shallow waters, forgetting, for a moment, how thin her wrists are when she bends down to splash water onto him. He lets out a surprised yell, the laughter bubbling from deep within his chest as she bites her lip playfully, before reaching out to flick water in her direction. The current is fast enough such that Myungsoo can feel the cool water rushing about his ankles, but slow enough for him to know that Seohyun won’t be washed away.

They play for a while more, and, when they get tired, return to the bank and take off their blazers to dry. Seohyun lies down on the grass, and tugs Myungsoo along with her. They lie in silence, facing the setting sun, fingers loosely interlocked. Myungsoo turns to face her, reaching out with his other hand to push wet hair out of her eyes. Her eyes are closed, but she smiles when she feels his fingers on her face. She turns to look at him as well. There are no words exchanged, because they both know that words are not necessary.

Suddenly he has an idea, and he gets up, fingers still touching hers, and searches the ground for something. He turns back after he finds what he’s looking for, and she stares at him curiously. In his hand are a few strands of dry grass, brown but not yet brittle, shot through with a few remaining lines of green. He sits up, transfers the hand that he was holding onto his knee, and starts weaving the strands together without a word. Seohyun watches quietly as his fingers move deftly, handling the grass with ease. Soon, he forms a cord with the grass, and then ties the cord together to form a ring.

“Ta-dah,” Myungsoo chuckles, showing it to Seohyun. He takes the hand lying on his knee, and slides the ring easily onto her fourth finger. It fits, by some miracle, or perhaps by Myungsoo’s prior calculation, perfectly.

“It’s a little too early for engagements,” he whispers bashfully, “but-“

There are tears in her eyes when she leaps into his arms, burying her face into the crook of his neck as she lets out a series of sob-laughs. He freezes for a second before smiling and wrapping his arms around her small frame, bringing her closer to him and letting her hair tickle his nose. And when she pulls back only to reach up to place a kiss on his mouth, Myungsoo feels tears in his eyes as well.

___________

Hello my lovelies ^^ A bit of Myungseo fluff for everyone, because heaven knows there hasn't exactly been proper fluff in this fic. This is only part 1 of their carnival date, although I cannot promise the same amount of fluff in part 2 (hint hint)

If anyone's noticed, yes, I updated this before I updated R2R, and that's because the new chapter of R2R hasn't been planned yet, but I've already finished writing this chapter. I will probably write R2R this weekend and post it early next week.

Thanks for reading, everyone, I love you all <3