The Gift I Wanted
When he suggested they split up into pairs for a while, Dayeon and Eunchae cheerfully shouted their okay. They'd been wanting to give Jiyun and Dohyun some time to themselves from the start, so the idea actually sounded pretty great.
"I've never ridden a tram before. This is so cool."
"Right? First time for me too."
The tram reservation—the one that looped you through the animal habitats—didn't have much of a wait, since the park wasn't crowded. Even as they walked over to board, the two of them kept glancing at each other, each waiting for the other to make a move on holding hands.
"Wah..!"
That little standoff ended on its own when a nervous Jiyun caught her foot on a rock and nearly went down.
"You okay, noona?"
Dohyun's hand shot out to catch her—and then, just as naturally, he didn't let go.
"Y-yeah..! Totally fine..! Better than fine, actually..!"
"Huh? Better than fine.. pfft, you're adorable."
"Wah, no, that's not—I didn't mean it like that..!"
There was something uniquely charming about watching someone who always presented herself as a total professional come completely undone. I guess this is what they call gap moe.
Jiyun was beating herself up over failing to show Dohyun only her best side. The irony was that those exact unguarded moments were what he found so attractive.
"I heard this is the best seat for seeing everything."
Before they'd even boarded, Dohyun had looked up which seats offered the best views of the animals. He settled Jiyun into the prime spot, then sat down beside her without letting go of her hand.
This actually feels like dating. Maybe it was because he'd never gone on a one-on-one date with Eunchae or Dayeon. Just being here with Jiyun, the two of them holding hands and doing something together—it was the sweetest, most genuinely romantic feeling he'd had in a long time.
Wait, no—I did go on a movie date with Eunchae. But that had been less of a date and more of a "having sex in a movie theater" situation, so it was hard to say he'd felt any of that fluttery excitement.
"I don't know, I'm kind of excited and nervous at the same time."
"Yeah? Worried a tiger's gonna come charging at you like this?"
He lunged at her in a mock pounce, and Jiyun's face went scarlet all over again, her gaze dropping to the ground.
"Y-yeah.. that's it.."
"You get embarrassed pretty easily, huh, noona."
"I do not..? I'm the type who never gets flustered no matter what, super mature, always taking the lead—that's just who I am?"
She could say that all she wanted, but they'd barely started the day and she'd already dropped her gaze to the floor dozens of times. Face burning the whole while, which only made it cuter.
"Hmm, I see. Sure, I'll give you that one."
"What do you mean, 'give me that'? I really am that type?!"
"Pfft.. okay, okay, sorry, sorry."
Her reactions were so cute he couldn't help wanting to tease her. It was a whole new kind of flutter.
"Think Dayeon and Eunchae are having fun?"
"Those two? Hmm, they've probably already ridden T Express like three or four times by now."
He grinned, picturing the two of them shouting "T Express!" over and over.
"But why'd you want to come to the safari instead of riding the attractions with the girls?"
Being here alone with Dohyun felt like a real date, like something out of a dream, and Jiyun loved every second of it. Still, a part of her couldn't help worrying that she'd stolen time he should have been spending with Dayeon and Eunchae.
"Ah, I always need a bit of a warm-up when I first get to an amusement park."
That was part of why Dohyun preferred Everland over other parks. Riding the attractions themselves wasn't a problem, but if he went too hard right from the start, his condition would tank and he wouldn't last the rest of the day. A warm-up was essential, and the best warm-up was something like this—just taking it easy and looking around.
"Same here! So you do that too.."
She murmured it with a delighted little expression, having found something they had in common, and lightly bit her lip.
...Ah. I almost kissed her.
She looked so pretty in that moment that Dohyun nearly leaned in and kissed her without thinking. Whoa. That was close. It had been a completely reflexive, almost involuntary movement. If he didn't keep a tight grip on himself, he really might do something reckless.
"Ahem. Ah, we're moving."
"Oh, you're right! My heart's pounding..!"
As the tram wound through the safari, most of the animals were just lying around—they were nocturnal, after all. But the tigers were a different story.
"Wow, wow..! That tiger is huge..!"
The tigers were remarkably active, prowling alongside the slowly moving tram. Seeing one from that close, its sheer size hit you all over again.
They spent a wonderful stretch of time watching the tigers and the occasional other animal that stirred, teasing each other along the way. It ended sooner than either of them expected.
"That tiger was so big! When it walked right past us I was actually terrified!"
Jiyun was still going on about the tiger even after they got off the tram, and Dohyun found it so cute that he ducked into the gift shop and came back with a giant tiger plush, which he pressed into her arms.
"I could've bought this myself."
"Come on, I wanted to get it for you."
Jiyun badly wanted Dohyun to see her as the cool, loaded older-sister type, so she'd been determined to cover every bill she possibly could. She'd refused to let anyone else pay for the Everland tickets, and at the brunch café she'd slipped off to the bathroom and settled the check while everyone else was still eating.
"Isn't it a little much to not even let me buy you one gift? You won't even let me pay for anything."
But wanting to do nice things for Jiyun was something Dohyun, Dayeon, and Eunchae all had in common. They were the kind of warm, affectionate group where everyone just wanted to take care of each other and look good doing it.
"Then I'll get you a gift too."
"Hmm, I'd rather receive a gift that's better than something you buy."
"Huh? If I'm not buying it, how is it a gift?"
She tilted her head, wondering if he wanted something she already owned—but nothing she had seemed like something Dohyun would covet. My car..? Should I just give him my car..? If she had to pick something worth wanting, it would be her beloved imported car. A completely ridiculous thought, but there it was.
Dohyun leaned in and pressed a light kiss to the cheek of a still-pondering Jiyun.
"This was the gift I wanted."
"Uh, ah, wha.. hwaaah..!"
Jiyun let out a startled cry, her ears and neck flushing red. People nearby started looking over, wondering what the fuss was about.
"Ah, uugh.."
Even more embarrassed now, Jiyun jammed her gaze into the ground again, trying to hide a face so hot it looked ready to steam.
"Sorry I didn't ask first. If that made you uncomfortable, uh, I really.. I'm sorry..!"
Seeing her reaction, Dohyun started apologizing, worried he might have upset her.
"Nngh...!"
Jiyun's head snapped up, and she found the courage to press her lips against his.
"Th-that, what you, what you did.. that wasn't.. a gift.. so..!"
This time it was Dohyun who went blank. She'd kissed him..?
Of course, that she liked him had been a settled conclusion based on everything he'd seen from her today. That was why he'd gone for the cheek kiss even while telling himself he should hold back. But he had not expected Jiyun to come at him this aggressively with a kiss on the lips. His face went red whether he wanted it to or not.
"Whoa, noona.. that was bold.."
"You started it..!"
And on top of that, she was giving him this kind of gift while insisting that what he'd done didn't count.
"Hah.. I really love this, noona."
He touched his lips with his fingers and broke into a bright, radiant smile.
"Hnh, d-don't smile like that..!"
"Huh?"
"It's like you're glowing.."
She made a little show of shielding her eyes, as if he were too bright to look at, and Dohyun's laugh burst out of him completely.
"Pfft.. ah, that's the first time anyone's ever said that to me."
He'd said plenty of things like that himself, sure—but hearing it for the first time wasn't a bad feeling at all. No, he actually liked it a lot.
"But.. you really are too bright to look at.."
She whispered it so softly it was barely more than a mosquito's hum. Dohyun stepped in close and gently pulled her into his arms.
"Mm. Thank you. You always shine too, noona. You're so pretty."
It was a warm, tender moment. The words were sweet. Namu Amitabha... Internally, he was chanting a Buddhist prayer. He'd pulled her in without thinking because she was just that cute—but the sensation of her chest pressing against him was so violently soft that an unavoidable physiological reaction was already underway.
"Um.. Dohyun, your.. down there.."
Apparently the prayer hadn't done a damn thing. His swollen cock was pressed against her, and there was no way she couldn't feel it.
"...Ah, no, this is just a physiological—it's a reflex.."
He started stammering out an excuse, completely flustered. Fucking hell.. There was nothing else he could do but curse internally.
"...Hnn, that's.. I'm happy.."
But Jiyun's reaction was something well beyond common sense.
"Huh..?"
"Th-this is because of me, right..?"
"Uh, y-yeah..?"
"I'm happy.. It means I'm attractive enough to turn you on. Sexually."
She pressed even closer, rubbing her chest against him, and Dohyun's mind started going genuinely hazy.