Chapter 62: Finally with Eunah -4
Since the day we shared our hearts and made promises, exactly two days have passed.
Today was the day we decided to go out and buy a tree for the upcoming Christmas.
Dokyun, who had finished all preparations to go out and was waiting for her in the living room, turned his head at the sound of footsteps approaching.
"Eunah?"
At the end of his gaze, hidden behind the living room, Eunah peeked her head out from the hallway and called her.
"A-Are we really going…?"
Her eyes, visible beneath her hat, seemed to flicker with uncertainty.
Watching her for a moment, Dokyun recalled an awkward smile and spoke.
"Don't you want to go?"
"I-I'm not that I don't want to…"
She said, lowering her head deeply.
Dokyun felt her discomfort once again.
'Is this still a problem?'
Until they decided to go out to buy tree materials, there were no particular signs. Until the moment they ate breakfast, washed up, and changed clothes, everything seemed normal. But as soon as it was time to go out, she started to shrink away.
Feeling sorry for her, even as the thought arose that it was regrettable that she didn't want to go outside, he resolved firmly in his heart that maintaining this state wasn't good for her either.
"Ugh…"
Seeing her face drooping like that, his resolve weakened, and the thought of just staying at home grew stronger.
After briefly gazing at her downcast face, Dokyun soon approached her with a disappointed smile.
"It's not just today that matters."
He felt that he should probably look forward to the next time. With that thought in mind, as he approached her to speak, she began to step towards him little by little.
Approaching slowly step by step, Eunah eventually stood by Dokyun's side and linked arms with him, saying,
"T-Tree…!"
Raising her head high, the determination in her eyes, now firmly set beneath her hat, shone with a resolute light.
Watching her, Dokyun felt a sense of pride welling up somewhere in his heart, and touched by the rising emotion, he brushed her cheek and spoke.
"Yes, let's go. Today, Eunah, you're my bodyguard."
"Yeah…!"
With a playful remark, she replied with a sparkle in her eyes.
"I-I'll protect the queen bee…!"
With a proud smile on her face, standing tall, her response feels incredibly adorable.
As Dokyun listened to her answer, he lifted a bright smile onto his face and nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I'll count on you, bodyguard."
"Yes…!"
Feeling slightly better, their eyes met, and they began to draw a heart in the air with their folded fingers.
The captivating gaze.
Dokyun briefly felt lost in it, then quickly regained his composure and checked her outfit one last time.
As usual for outings, she wore a dress with a thick cardigan on top and a hat pulled down low.
Dokyun, confirming her attire, momentarily separated her from me, who was linking arms with her, and spoke up.
"Can you wait for a moment?"
"Hmm…?"
With a puzzled expression, she tilted her head, and Dokyun quickly walked to the dressing room, opening the wardrobe he had seen before.
Soon, he retrieved a blue scarf from the wardrobe and returned, draping it around her and speaking up.
"Now that it's winter, you should dress warmly. What if you catch a cold?"
"Ah."
She finally caught on, nodding her head in realization.
A smile spread across her somewhat dazed face.
"Okay, I'm ready."
As Dokyun neatly wrapped the scarf around her neck, he spoke again, and she giggled while touching the tuft of fur around her neck.
"Hehe…"
She looked somewhat quaint.
Dokyun thought she looked good in anything, then he spoke up.
"Shall we really go now?"
"Yes…!"
She responded joyfully, linking arms with him again.
It felt so satisfying, it lifted his spirits once again.
***
Following a somewhat familiar path, they opened the garage and drove out into the city in Go Eunsam's car.
He wasn't afraid of scratching it like the first time he drove it. It was actually comforting to be behind the wheel.
Dokyun suddenly felt resentment towards Eunsam boiling up inside him.
"Just come out already…!"
That would be the time to settle the score for the damage he caused, with his blood and tears.
A week wasn't enough time to forget the millions in losses.
He wouldn't deliberately scratch the car to provoke him, but if he were to show up in any accidents, Dokyun wouldn't just let it slide.
Oh, his back was starting to ache again.
'Even if I try to forget, the dizzying sensation of that day comes to mind once in a while, automatically igniting anger.'
As Dokyun momentarily stewed in the rising anger, he noticed Eunah, who had been standing next to him, wrapping her arms around herself again. When he turned his head, he saw her looking at him with a worried expression.
"Are you, are you okay…? Should we, should we go home…?"
Realizing belatedly, Dokyun calmed himself and then smiled reassuringly as he spoke.
"No, I'm fine. Just had a moment of bad thoughts."
"Uh… if you're in pain, you should say so…!"
"Yeah, should we go then?"
"Yeah…!"
She nodded with a smile.
Watching her, Dokyun calmed himself once again and steadied his mind.
He needed to stay composed.
Now was not the time to dwell on such things.
As this was their first outing together, he had to pay attention to his expression and tone of voice.
If he showed even the slightest sign of discomfort, she would start feeling negative about this outing.
Dokyun lowered his gaze and glanced at Eunah, who was still clinging tightly to him.
She was huddled up, constantly glancing around nervously.
For a moment, seeing her behaving like a frightened hamster made him chuckle involuntarily. Then, with a mischievous tone, Dokyun teased her.
"Bodyguard. Are you scared?"
Flinch.
Tremors ran down her arms, and then she raised her head toward him with a hesitant expression and denied it.
"No, no…!"
She said, withdrawing slightly from his grasp.
"Hmm… can you trust me?"
As Dokyun asked again, she furrowed her brows delicately, straightened up, and began to walk with determination.
"I, I believe you…!"
Her words were firm, with determination shining in her eyes.
Perhaps the prank had gone a bit too far; her abrupt turn of the head had made things a bit awkward. However, seeing that she didn't completely let go of his arm, it seemed like everything was alright.
Though, lightly pinching his arm with the hand resting on it would have definitely made him lose it, so he chuckled and affectionately said,
"Then I'll trust you and go."
"Yes…!"
As they chattered and walked on for a while, they arrived at their destination without noticing. As they entered the shop, they were greeted by the shopkeeper.
"Welcome!"
At the sound of the greeting, Eunah flinched for a moment, and while Dokyun smiled at her reaction, a surprised exclamation from the shopkeeper interrupted them.
"oh!"
A surprised sound was heard from the clerk.
When Dokyun turned his head and looked at the clerk, he saw someone who seemed out of place.
"You came to the department store last week!"
The person who greeted him with a friendly expression was the employee who looked a little lacking at the department store they visited with Eunseol last week.
Dokyun felt puzzled and awkwardly greeted him.
"Oh, hello?"
"Oh, I see you here again."
"Really?"
The words kept coming out as questions.
Why was that clerk here? He couldn't understand.
Perhaps sensing that from Dokyun's tone, the clerk smiled and spoke again.
"I have a part-time job. I work at the department store on weekdays and at a party supplies store on weekends."
"I see."
He works hard.
Thinking that, Dokyun nodded his head and the clerk suddenly looked at Eunah next to Dokyun and spoke with a puzzled tone.
"Oh? Did you change your girlfriend?"
Suddenly, everything stopped.
"What the hell!"
What is this crazy person saying?
Surprised, Dokyun turned his head and looked at Eunah, noticing that her expression was starting to disappear.
"Hmm…"
A voice that didn't want to know the meaning echoed in his ears.
Dangerous situation.
Dokyun felt a chilling tension all over his body and hugged Eunah, whispering to the clerk.
"This is my girlfriend, and the person you saw before is her sister!"
"I see."
The clerk nodded as if finally understanding.
Dokyun lowered his gaze again to check Eunah's condition.
"Girl…friend!"
Her expression changed and she blushed, muttering the word quietly.
Fortunately, she seemed to be distracted by the word "girlfriend" and completely forgot about the previous words.
Crisis averted.
Dokyun felt the tension that had erupted momentarily subside and silently cursed in his mind.
"Damn it…"
Does that clueless person even know what he just said?
Even if he thought he had no sense, that was beyond belief.
Not denying it when the clerk at the department store connected him with Eunseol was a mistake. Thinking that he would never see that person again, he just let it go. But now it had come back like a boomerang.
In the midst of the dizzying sense of danger, his heart momentarily skipped a beat, and he heard the clerk's words again.
"Oh… I made a mistake. I'm so sorry, what should I do…"
Dokyun glared at the clerk, feeling blood rushing to his eyes.
He looked genuinely sorry, but was it just my imagination that his way of speaking was irritating?
While staring at the clerk for a moment, he heard Eunah's voice from beside him.
"I-I'm fine!"
"Oh! Thank goodness. I tend to make mistakes like this sometimes…"
Dokyun felt his eyes welling up with tears and looked at the clerk.
He had a sincerely apologetic face, but there was something about that way of speaking that rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was just his imagination.
"Uh… because I, I, I'm your, your, your girlfriend…"
She said with a proud expression, emphasizing each word.
It was a moment where her quick wit shone brightly.
Taking a deep breath, Dokyun quickly gathered his thoughts, fearing that staying with that waiter any longer might lead to trouble, and hurriedly tidied up and led Eunah away.
As they walked away from the counter, Eunah still had a somewhat anxious look on her face.
"Girlfriend…!"
Was that word really so good? She kept repeating the word, exuding a happy vibe.
For the first time in his life, Dokyun felt grateful for a word and opened his mouth towards her.
"Eunah."
"Yes…!"
She looked up at him with a smile, full of joy.
With a laugh escaping his lips once again, Dokyun continued speaking.
"Do you really like it that much?"
"Yeah…!"
She nodded vigorously in response.
After a moment, she looked as if she had remembered something, glancing at him sideways before hesitantly asking.
"Bu, Bu-bee…?"
"Yes?"
Pausing for a moment and looking at him, she hesitated for a while, then spoke again.
"Bu, Bee… you're my, my boyfriend, right…?"
It was clear she wanted a definite answer from him.
In that moment, Dokyun felt a truly peculiar sensation.
"Yes, I'm Eunah boyfriend. Eunah is my girlfriend."
It felt as if the words had come out on their own, yet they also felt incredibly natural.
"Hehehe…"
Her face blossomed with laughter once again.
It was only later that Dokyun realized the meaning behind his words.
'Ah.'
Without realizing it, he had already considered her his lover.
He didn't doubt it for a moment; it felt so natural to him.
Once again, she looped her arm through his.
"Let's go buy the tree now!"
"Oh, yes."
For a moment, Dokyun was stunned by the realization, but he quickly regained his composure and responded.
As they continued walking, he felt a lingering sensation of that peculiar feeling he had just experienced.
Somewhere awkward, but definitely not unpleasant, feelings washed over him, and he raised his hand to his mouth in contemplation.
'…'
His lips, which had been murmuring softly, were touched by a rising smile.