“What?” Seunghyun couldn't hide his surprise. “Close your eyes.” Daesung winked at him, smiling his sweetest of smiles, preparing to blindfold him with his handkerchief. “Yeahhh.. I'm not sure I trust you.” Seunghyun chuckled. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't for the life of him think up one reason for someone to use a blindfold at a manhwa bang. What was he going to do, read to him?! It didn't make any sense. However, it was clear as day that Daesung was putting a lot of effort into their date and that made Seunghyun want to move mountains for him. Putting on a blindfold was the least he could do. But one always had to play a little hard to get, right?

“So ahm... if I let you put this blindfold on, what's in it for me?” Seunghyun teased, smirking slightly. Daesung snorted. “Oh, you'll just have to find out..” Daesung played along. Seunghyun's heart fluttered. He wasn't ready to let himself believe that his plan could actually work, that Daesung was really in it for the long run, but it was hard as hell not to get into the magically shiny world of Daesung's smiles and giggles. Seunghyun closed his eyes, bending his knees a bit to make it easier for Daesung to tie his handkerchief over his eyes.

Seunghyun's knees got weak, trembling under the weight of one silly smitten kitten. This was getting out of hand, Seunghyun's mind was all over the place. As Daesung slid the handkerchief over his eyes, Seunghyun caught a faint whiff of his scent mixed with mild soap. Seunghyun took a deep breath, trying to breathe in all the Daesung-particles in the air, filling his lungs with his essence in an attempt to bring him closer. Instead of closeness, Seunghyun felt a pang of loneliness. His lungs burned with unsatisfied yearning and the familiar feeling reminded him that at the end of the day, Daesung wasn't his to keep. And he probably never would be.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Daesung had tied the handkerchief a bit too tight, almost giving Seunghyun a headache. It was completely dark, he couldn't sneak a peek even if he wanted to. “Daesung-ah?” Seunghyun stretched out his hands, feeling around for something of substance but all he grabbed was the thin air slipping through his fingers. He got this panicky feeling that Daesung had left him there alone, that he had sneaked out as a joke, leaving him behind. “Daesung-ie?!?” Seunghyun waved his hands around more aggressively. There was a knot forming in his stomach.

He knew he was overreacting but it was such a strange feeling being robbed of his eyesight, having to depend on Daesung for guidance in this unknown little room. The atmosphere was surreal, making it more difficult to reason with the voice in his head. He felt so alone, so cut off from the world. Like it was only the two of them in the entire universe, and Daesung was the one in control. They were taking a drive along a tiny road on a steep mountain hill, one wrong move and they would be catapulted into the sea, never to be heard from again. Daesung just kept going faster and faster. Seunghyun wanted to slow down, to take the safe route, but he didn't know how to tell him, how to slow him down. One wrong move and they were over, sinking to the bottom of the deep, dark ocean.

“Okay, this isn't funny anymore!” Seunghyun said with a hint of anger in his voice, he was using it to mask his insecurities. He could hear a quiet snort to his right. He breathed lighter, at least Daesung hadn't left. Okay fine, if he wanted to play, he would get to play. Seunghyun readied his muscles and strained his ears, listening for breath sounds. The moment he heard something, he pounced. There was nothing there. He could hear Daesung's muffled giggles. “Come on!” Seunghyun complained. A fraction of a second later he gasped audibly. Easy. Easy. He tried to talk himself down, so that the arms that were wrapped around his waist wouldn't detect the insane emotional turmoil he was in. Daesung's arms felt good around him. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy it for a sweet short while. Daesung was squished up against his back, laughing his face off. “Yeah, yeah, you caught me.” Seunghyun laughed, going to great lengths to stop his voice from trembling. His heart was pounding, rivaling the heartbeat of a race horse that had just come in first after running itself into the ground. He hoped Daesung wouldn't notice it.

“So, what now?” Seunghyun asked brightly, trying to be super casual. Daesung released him, “Well, we play a game.”. “What sort of game?” Seunghyun asked hesitantly, not sure where this was headed. “So, after turning in circles a few times, you'll go forward until you feel a bookcase, take out the first book your hand touches and open it up on a random page.” Daesung's voice was high pitched from excitement. “Okaaay, and... then what?” Seunghyun wasn't quite getting the point.

“And then... we re-enact it!”. Seunghyun could tell by Daesung's voice that he had stretched his hands out in an excited 'Ta-da!' motion. “We what?” Seunghyun couldn't hide his surprise. Why on Earth had he thought this was a good idea? Re-enacting a scene from a manhwa, it would be awkward and embarrassing at best. He usually didn't get all that self conscious around Daesung, but the pressure of being on an official date was taking its toll, making it harder to just horse around without thinking about how it made him look. It was frustrating, because that was exactly what he wasn't prepared to lose. Daesung was the only one he could completely let loose with and be himself. That was so precious to him, since most of his life was about protecting his cool image, showing his best sides to his fans. He needed Daesung by his side, he couldn't imagine getting through the ups and downs of idol life without him. He was starting to regret having told him anything at all, let alone coming up with this ridiculous idea of these ten dates. What if they ruined everything, what then?

“It'll be fun! Imagine like, getting a Doraemon one! Like the 'Face Eraser', it's the one where Doraemon erases the face of Nobita with this huge eraser and draws it on again with a marker, looking all squished and crooked. It was hilarious!” Daesung rolled around laughing. “I even brought a marker just in case!” Daesung squeaked. Seunghyun couldn't help getting infected by Daesung's excitement, butterflies tickling his stomach.

“You are so cracked! Okay, let's do this thing!” Seunghyun let Daesung spin him in a few circles, making him slightly dizzy so instead of going straight ahead, he kind of tripped to the side and slammed into the bookcase that was there. Daesung roared with laughter as he came to his rescue. He put his hand around him to steady him. It was true what they said, when you lose one sense the others become stronger, he could feel every micro movement of Daesung's hand on his side. Seunghyun picked the first book he came in contact with and opened it randomly, handing it to Daesung. Daesung abruptly stopped laughing, clearing his throat awkwardly.

It was quiet for a while, before Daesung finally said “Yeah, uhm... maybe I didn't think this thing through... maybe we should just do something else...”. “What! After all this you want to back out, no way!” Seunghyun objected, ripping the book out of his hands before he could get the chance to hide it. “The point was that we wouldn't get to choose, right? That's what makes it so funny!” Seunghyun told Daesung, resolution taking form within him.