20 cm || Choi Yeonjun

68

"So fucking lucky." My face soured.

"Yeah.... I think, you've watched too much romance," I deadpanned. "You're getting rusty, Yeonjun-ah." Faking disappointment, I exaggeratedly shook my head. Squinting my eyes to irk him further then patting lightly on his shoulder.

Pushing the slight bubble of laughter back in, I continued walking. Leaving him gaping at my back, his cheeks painted a small rosy tint from the embarrassment.

I can't pin point exactly what changed but I did notice how Yeonjun became a little bolder with his words. Flowery ones that either hit different or made me want to hit him on the head instead. He's been throwing random pickup lines that can actually make my toes curl from the cheesiness. Whatever it was he learned it from, I gotta find it and burn it to ashes.

Not that he hadn't done actual flirting before but back then, he mostly showed his affection through thoughtful actions. He'll listen, silently remembering the things I wanted and then he'll surprise me by knowing even the smallest details. I sighed, feeling my insides starting to melt from the memory, a smile creeping up to my face at how happy we were before.

He sure was cute when he tried too hard to be romantic. His face not so subtle to show how he'll strategise, the gears in his brain turning to say the punchline at the right moment.

"C'mon! I got it from your favourite movie!" I heard him whine from behind, he was stomping hurriedly to match my pace. I paused, looking at him dead in the eye. He couldn't be serious....

"Yeonjun," I exhaled deeply. My fingers had fallen naturally on the bridge of my nose, massaging the spot to stop myself from letting out any more sarcastic comments. "You know what? never mind."

We continued walking aimlessly, passing by countless of bodies until we got to the very center of the street. My lips quivering when I felt his hands creeping into my smaller ones, I pretended to not notice. Innocently trying to wander my eyes just so he could clasp them together tightly.

The once narrow space became wider as we took small steps further. Our movements unsure, eyes still taking in everything around us. "Oh my God." I gasped.

My eyes widened in fraction, head frantically whipping to take everything in all at once, I felt Yeonjun do the same, his hand unconsciously tightening its hold.

I think we were at the very heart of the city. The lights here evidently shown brighter. A pristine-looking fountain sat in the middle. Intricate designs showing how old the place was, patterns that I have only seen in movies sculpted on cement and I didn't even notice that we were already walking on cobblestone. Thick maple trees stood tall, lining up decorated with lanterns, making the ambiance more magical than it already was. Benches littered the sides for the people to sit on and woah... they rented bikes! "We should also rent those out, Jiwon!" Yeonjun spoke, reading exactly what was on my mind.

"Should we?" I turned to him.

"Of course! It'll be fun!" I couldn't help but mirror his bright smile, his eyes were already turned to half moons. Small dimples poking out on the side of his lips.

With that, we chose two identical red bicycles. Yeonjun helped me wear my helmet after attaching his, noticing how I struggled adjusting the straps. "You ready?" He asked me, lowering his head to look at my eyes better. I nodded, patting his cheek lightly, muttering a small 'thank you'.

"We should really come back here... I think I'm in love with the place." I gushed. Everything was too unreal. I still couldn't wrap my mind around how the dull buildings and busy streets perfectly hid this paradise. "We will." Yeonjun answered. My heart clenched when his voice was laced with promise. His pace was intentionally slow beside me, his long legs have had a steady pace ever since we started. Making as much effort to look like he was still trying to get used to the feel of pedalling.

"Yah, I know what you're doing.." I whined out. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" I rolled my eyes heavenwards when he obnoxiously beeped his horn.

"You can go fast, you know. I'll catch—"

"I don't want to." He cut me off. Pouting even as he pedalled slower. Goddamn it. Why was he extremely adorable today?

"Then I'll leave you," I cycled faster, cackling loudly when Yeonjun let out strangled whines of surprise.

"Hng, Jiwonnn." He tugged my sleeve lightly once he caught up. "That wasn't nice."

"You shouldn't just leave me! What if you crashed into so—" This time, it was him who got cut off. His phone started ringing in his pocket. I stopped in my tracks once I saw him scrunch his brows together. Good thing we were already near the entrance after circling it for the fifth time. "Who is it?" I asked.

"Soobin." He answered. I gulped when his tone was clipped.

"I told him to only call me when there's an emergency." He continued, still staring at his phone.

"Answer it."

I unconsciously began nibbling on my lip when Yeonjun finally had the courage to press accept. He placed the device securely on his ear, sighing before he spoke. I winced when his face fell. It felt like cold water was splashed to my face when his eyes met mine, his features expertly schooling calmness but it was too late. I already saw it. His eyes too, they held a brewing storm inside of it. Warning bells began blaring inside of my head, millions of 'what ifs' swirling making me want to vomit everything that we've eaten.

It was the longest three minutes of my life. The whole time I was just holding my breath. Silently scanning for hints but coming back disappointed when Yeonjun turned his back.

I flinched when he abruptly cut my thoughts, I didn't even notice him standing in front of me. "We should go." I nodded my head, defeated. Eyes downcast as we headed back to return the bicycles.

What was once a cheery moment turned into a suffocating atmosphere. Yeonjun without a word, lead the way back. His shoulders were stiff, he must have not noticed but his steps were heavy against the floor. Hard patters that sounded painfully like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

I didn't have the strength to ask him anything. Too terrified to hear another bad news.

I scoffed bitterly. Of course something bad would happen at a time like this. What did I even expect? That everything will clear out now that we had almost everyone on our side? I'm honestly getting tired of it. Fate was playing a very fun game. We each take a step forward but every time we come to distance where we could finally reach each other, a force pulls us back to square one.

—————

Hello MOAs! I just wanted to let you guys know that I just finished my Midterms and let me just say.... it was the worst week of my friggin life. God, I think I'm starting to get consistent at giving you late updates. :((

BUT!!! WE'VE REACHED ANOTHER MILESTONE! We have reached 50K+ reads! And that's not all! We also surpassed 2K votes! Ya'll are making me cry ;-; I love you guys so much. I swear, I don't even get why you still read this book....

+x+ oh! And before I forget! Do vote for TXT on MAMA!

— Soobin's favourite bread <3