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Donghyuck stared at Izumi.

Her cheeks had turned a shade of red, he had never seen on her. Something he thought he would never see in his life. Park-Miya Izumi blushed. And it was all because of him! (At least that what he imagined.)

She saw this get-together as a date. Did he think of it as a date? Like a date-date? Did he want his very first date with his crush be in a chicken restaurant? He remembered Izumi telling him, that she wouldn't mind going to a chicken restaurant as her first date. She would feel less nervous this way.

And now she stood in front of him, more nervous than she'd been for the premier of their play. Her eyes were glossy, she was biting the inside of her bottom lip and her hands were shaking, while she was holding onto the sleeve of his jumper.

"Donghyuck" Izumi said, her voice cracking, "do you want to postpone this? If you're feeling unwell or are too tired, just say it. I wouldn't—"

"No, Izumi! No!" 

Izumi blinked twice. "Okay" she said with a chuckle. "Then can you please be my usual Donghyuck again? This quiet and insecure version of you is scaring me." My Donghyuck. She had called him her own. A proud smile spread on his lips.

"Of course. I'm sorry for this just now. I don't know what went through me" he chuckled awkwardly and then grabbed Izumi's hand. "We should hurry up, otherwise we won't find a place to sit. The restaurant I picked is rather popular." Donghyuck smiled at Izumi and she smiled back at him. 

—

Even though the restaurant was crowded, Donghyuck and Izumi still managed to get a rather good table by the shop window. They were currently browsing the menu; well, Izumi was browsing the menu. Donghyuck was looking at her, as if she was the most beautiful and delicate Hina doll he had ever seen.

"Would you stop staring at me, Donghyuck? It's making me quite nervous" Izumi suddenly said and Donghyuck threw his head back. "You saw it?" Izumi shook her head.

"I could feel it."

"Sorry."

Izumi chuckled and put down her menu. "Let's just order half-and-half and some Buldak ones." Donghyuck nodded and rang the bell on the table. A waiter came to their table. "We're having one portion half-and-half and one portion of the Buldak ones" Donghyuck told the waiter, who nodded. "What beverages can I bring the two of you?"

"A jug of beer with two glasses and a bottle of Soju" Izumi said and smiled at Donghyuck. "Like in the old times." She grinned at him and he scoffed. "You heard the lady" he told the waiter, who bowed and disappeared.

"You really want to relive that awful night where I had to carry you all the way home?", he asked and Izumi chuckled. "As if you didn't enjoy hanging out with me!"

"You're a complete lightweight, Izumi! You can't even drink a lot! You're basically drunk after just smelling a glass of Soju!"

Izumi chuckled. "Wow, Mr I-Can-Drink-All-I-Want" she sassed, "wanna see how much I can drink?" Donghyuck shook his head. "I don't think I'll be able to handle drunk-Izumi. Tipsy-you was already a handful!" The two of them locked they eyes and Izumi rolled her eyes immediately.

"I wasn't that bad" she said with a pout and Donghyuck chuckled. "Actually, you weren't. You were cute. Really cute." The two of them looked at each other. "Do you really think I'm cute?", she asked him and Donghyuck nodded. "I actually do."

"Why?"

The question caught Donghyuck off-guard. He looked at her. She looked insecure. "I think you're a very cute woman" Donghyuck said. "Your eyes have this cute shimmer in them and your smile is very cute as well." He smiled and watched Izumi's face change color.

"My smile is not cute. It's cool" she said while making a duck-face. "Yeah, very cool indeed" Donghyuck joked and Izumi scoffed. "Stop trying to flirt with me."

"You think that's my flirting, Izu-chan?", he asked and Izumi nodded. "Of course! You're a sweet-talker. A real charmer. That's how you flirt." Donghyuck chuckled. "If you think that's my flirting, then you should see my real flirting techniques."

"Show me then."

"You're not ready for them yet."

Izumi rolled her eyes. Donghyuck was definitely a handful. He was way more playful than usual and it was fun to tease him. Izumi looked at him and tilted her head. Donghyuck was very handsome. His tanned skin made him glow and he had cute little moles on his face.

He was beautifully breathtaking. Izumi didn't know enough verbs to describe how beautiful he was. Maybe Jaemin was right and Izumi was a simp for Donghyuck. 

"What's going to happen after tonight?", she asked and looked at the same-aged man. "What do you mean?" Donghyuck looked at her. "To us. What will happen to us tonight. What will happen when we walk out of here?"

Donghyuck frowned. He knew in what direction Izumi's question was going. "I don't know yet, Izumi" he answered and the girl nodded. "Will we confess to each other?", she asked and Donghyuck widened his eyes. "C-Confess?", he asked and Izumi nodded. "I'm not the only one who thinks of this as a date, Donghyuck."

Silence washed over the table. The Japanese woman looked at her co-actor and opened her mouth slowly. "I have absolutely no experience with being in love or liking someone" she said and bit her bottom lip. "But my friends told me to shoot my shot and that's what I'm trying tonight." She looked past Donghyuck.

"If" she looked directly into Donghyuck's eyes. The boy felt a shiver go down his spine. Her gaze was intense, as if she was trying to look directly into his soul. "If it's true what Giselle and Jaemin told me... about me and you... then I would like to confess to you."

Donghyuck froze. Wasn't this already a confession? Who in their right mind would plan a confession like this? Donghyuck gulped and nodded. "We'll see where the night leads to, Park-Miya Izumi."

Izumi nodded. "We'll definitely will."

— ❄︎ —

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠!

𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞.

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

—𝕤𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕞𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕠𝕡