Hwang Hwang Couple

24

“You know someone else is gonna swoop in, right? She’s really popular in our department - in the whole university, even,” Seungyoun continued, “It’s been a year since you’ve done this dance with her. You’re gonna miss your chance.”

Eunsang considers this, set his chopsticks down, and made up his mind.

***

The fifth time they had dinner without their friends (he refers to it like this because Seungyoun said it doesn’t count as a date unless the girl is aware that she is in one), Eunsang had everything planned out but of course, things went array.

It was supposed to go like this: he picks her up from her dorm with a bouquet of roses. They have dinner at an Italian restaurant that he heard about from his noona. They order dessert. Then he asks her to be his girlfriend. And he hopes she says yes.

But instead of picking her up at her dorm, he got held back by lab clean up, so he didn’t have time to pick up the roses. By the time he stepped outside of the building, it was pouring rain and the reservation was in thirty minutes. There was no way he’ll be able to pick her up and make it in time. So he asked her to meet him at the restaurant. But Seoul traffic - just like the entire universe, it seems - was not on his side so his cab got stuck that by the time he arrived at the restaurant, they missed their reservation by thirty minutes and their table is gone.

Eunsang, whose default setting is to smile and nod, was close to a meltdown. Nothing - literally nothing had gone his way today and of all the days, he needed this one to be perfect. But Yuna, who was seated on benches under the awning, greeted him with her usual bright smile - the all teeth, no eyes kind of smile - which prompted him to finally break into a bitter laugh at the whole situation.

He sat down next to her, feeling defeated but glad that she was at least there in her pretty floral dress. “I’m sorry,” he turned to her, “I had so many things planned but…”

“Why are you sorry? It’s okay,” she smiled, “Let’s go somewhere else and eat. You must be hungry too.”

He considered just how happy she looked despite having sat at a bench outside of a restaurant in drizzling rain, waiting for him. Then he considered how happy she’s made him over the past year with her mere presence. It was like the room lights up when she’s there, even if she was pouting over a fight she just had with her older sister or the Physics class she just had. Even in the cloudiest mood, Shin Yuna still made the room a couple notches brighter than normal.

Her eyes widened in shock for a split second before it morphed into a smile. And a nod. And then an eager nod that set off all the butterflies in his stomach.

“Really?” he asked, unable to keep the smile off of his face.

She nodded, “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”

(“Do you know how many guys I turned down because of you, oppa? A DOZEN!” she teased as they walked hand in hand along the Han River. Eunsang deposited the empty box of pizza on the garbage can as a way to hide to his blushing cheeks. “I can’t believe someone so smart can be so slow,” she continued, grinning brightly.

Eunsang chuckled and squeezed her hand, “Thank you for being patient with me," grateful that he has her by his side.)

***

The first time Shin Yuna saw him, he was listening to his friends talk and broke into a gentle smile that made her feel… calm.

“Kau tahu orang lain akan masuk, kan? Dia benar-benar populer di jurusan kami - bahkan di seluruh universitas, "Seungyoun melanjutkan," Sudah setahun sejak Anda melakukan tarian ini dengannya. Anda akan kehilangan kesempatan Anda. " Eunsang mempertimbangkan ini, meletakkan sumpitnya, dan mengambil keputusan. *** Kelima kalinya mereka makan malam tanpa teman-teman mereka (dia menyebutnya seperti ini karena Seungyoun mengatakan itu tidak dihitung sebagai kencan kecuali jika gadis itu sadar bahwa dia ada dalam satu), Eunsang memiliki segalanya yang direncanakan, tetapi tentu saja, semuanya berjalan Himpunan. Seharusnya seperti ini: dia mengambilnya dari asramanya dengan buket mawar. Mereka makan malam di restoran Italia yang dia dengar dari noonanya. Mereka memesan makanan penutup. Lalu dia memintanya menjadi pacarnya. Dan dia berharap dia mengatakan ya. Tapi alih-alih menjemputnya di asramanya, dia ditahan oleh lab bersih-bersih, jadi dia tidak punya waktu untuk mengambil mawar. Pada saat dia melangkah keluar dari gedung, hujan turun deras dan pemesanan dalam tiga puluh menit. Tidak mungkin dia bisa menjemputnya dan tepat waktu. Jadi dia memintanya untuk menemuinya di restoran. Tapi lalu lintas Seoul - seperti seluruh alam semesta, tampaknya - tidak ada di sisinya sehingga taksinya macet sehingga pada saat dia tiba di restoran, mereka ketinggalan reservasi tiga puluh menit dan meja mereka hilang. Eunsang, yang pengaturan defaultnya adalah untuk tersenyum dan mengangguk, sudah dekat dengan kehancuran. Tidak ada - secara harfiah tidak ada yang berjalan hari ini dan dari semua hari, ia membutuhkan yang ini menjadi sempurna. Tapi Yuna, yang duduk di bangku di bawah tenda, menyapanya dengan senyum cerahnya yang biasa - semua gigi, tanpa jenis senyum - yang mendorongnya untuk akhirnya tertawa terbahak-bahak pada seluruh situasi. Dia duduk di sebelahnya, merasa dikalahkan tetapi senang bahwa dia setidaknya ada di sana dalam gaun bunga cantiknya. "Maaf," dia menoleh padanya, "Aku sudah merencanakan begitu banyak hal tapi ..." "Kenapa kamu menyesal? Tidak apa-apa, "dia tersenyum," Ayo pergi ke tempat lain dan makan. Kamu pasti lapar juga. ” Dia mempertimbangkan betapa bahagianya dia meskipun telah duduk di bangku di luar restoran di tengah hujan gerimis, menunggunya. Lalu dia mempertimbangkan betapa bahagianya dia membuatnya selama setahun terakhir dengan kehadirannya semata. Itu seperti ruangan menyala ketika dia ada di sana, bahkan jika dia cemberut karena perkelahian yang baru saja dia lakukan dengan kakak perempuannya atau kelas Fisika yang baru saja dia miliki. Bahkan dalam suasana paling suram, Shin Yuna masih membuat ruangan itu sedikit lebih terang dari biasanya.

Jadi dia mengumpulkan keberaniannya dan berkata, "Yuna-ya ... maukah kamu menjadi pacarku?" Matanya membelalak kaget selama sedetik sebelum berubah menjadi senyum. Dan anggukan. Dan kemudian anggukan bersemangat yang memicu semua kupu-kupu di perutnya. "Betulkah?" dia bertanya, tidak bisa menahan senyum dari wajahnya. Dia mengangguk, "Aku sudah menunggu kamu untuk bertanya." ("Apakah kamu tahu berapa banyak lelaki yang aku tolak karena kamu, oppa? A DOZEN!" Dia menggoda ketika mereka berjalan beriringan di sepanjang Sungai Han. Eunsang meletakkan kotak pizza kosong di tong sampah sebagai cara untuk bersembunyi ke pipinya yang memerah, "Aku tidak percaya seseorang yang begitu pintar bisa sangat lambat," lanjutnya, nyengir ceria. Eunsang terkekeh dan meremas tangannya, "Terima kasih telah bersabar dengan saya," bersyukur bahwa dia ada di sisinya.) *** Pertama kali Shin Yuna melihatnya, dia mendengarkan teman-temannya berbicara dan tersenyum lembut yang membuatnya merasa ... tenang.