You Should Be Cute in Moderation
I couldn't take my eyes off Jung-woo the entire time we wandered around the festival. Separate from the way the crowd seemed to overwhelm him, he kept staring at everything like it was utterly fascinating.
It reminded me of a child seeing an amusement park for the first time.
"Whoa!! There are so many experience booths too."
"The clubs run experience booths. The more school clubs there are, the more booths they set up."
"I see. So festival attractions aren't just about performances."
Even though he was a freshman, I wondered if he was that clueless. Still, that was exactly what made the moment feel so good.
Right now Jung-woo was experiencing something new, and the thought that he was sharing those firsts with me made the corners of my mouth refuse to stay down.
"It's definitely different from a high school festival."
"Isn't comparing high school to university a little unfair?"
"It's just so new to me. I had no idea they went this big."
He really needed to be cute only up to a certain point. If he kept being this cute, what was the person standing next to him supposed to do?
Because of Jung-woo's nonstop adorableness, I spent the whole time stroking his hair without caring who was watching.
"Yeoni, they're selling tanghulu. Want some?"
"Do I look like a tanghulu addict to you? Let's go."
"I knew you'd say that. I'll buy it for you."
"No thanks. When you factor in the round-trip bus fare, we shouldn't spend too much. I'll get it."
I held one tanghulu in each hand and gave one to Jung-woo as well. Even though he hated sweet things, it would have felt weird if I was the only one eating.
"Ugh. It's way too sweet. I can't finish this."
"You can't avoid sweet stuff forever. You should at least be able to handle one tanghulu."
"This is supposed to taste good?"
"Yeah!! It's crunchy and sweet. Isn't it great?"
"I honestly don't get it. But since Yeoni bought it for me, I'll eat every bite."
Watching him shiver after forcing down the whole thing only made me laugh. If it was that hard to eat, he didn't have to finish it. Then again, if he couldn't finish a single pack of Pocky and loved 99% cacao, that pretty much said everything.
"Yeoni, they say if you hit the punch machine and beat the high score, you get prize money."
"You want to try?"
"I'll never manage it. Want to give it a go?"
This guy really had no filter with his girlfriend. What kind of logic was it to claim it was impossible for him and then tell me to try?
Of course, if you compared the two of us, I was stronger. But he didn't need to hear the facts spelled out like that.
I was about to refuse because it put me in a bad mood, but those eyes sparkling with expectation pulled me in.
"I only tried it once back in school and never touched one again."
"It's fine. It's just for fun anyway."
"If it's just for fun, you should try it too, Jung-woo."
At that, he quietly held out his arm. Yeah… if he hit the machine with that skinny arm, he'd probably fracture something instantly.
With no other choice, I stepped up to the punch machine and threw my best punch.
-BAM!!
A pretty loud noise rang out. I might have hit it harder than I meant to, but there was no way I'd broken the high score…
"Congratulations!! You've set a new high score!!"
There was? Wait, only 860? Why was that the high score?
Still not fully processing what had happened, I accepted the prize money from the booth operator.
"Yeoni, we just got some spending money."
"Jung-woo… I feel so pathetic right now."
"Huh? Why?"
"I didn't even hit it that hard. The old record must have been really low, right?"
"Low? 860 isn't exactly low."
"Is 860 considered high?"
"Even when I was swimming at my peak, I never reached 860."
Today of all days, I regretted inheriting my sports-loving dad's DNA. A girl hitting 860—a score even Jung-woo in his athletic prime had never managed. Haha. I wanted to swear.
Still, unexpected money was good money, so I decided to enjoy it and we kept wandering. That's when a tarot booth caught my eye. Come to think of it, Jung-woo had mentioned getting a reading by himself before.
"Jung-woo, want to get a tarot reading? We've never done one together."
"Sure. I'm curious what our compatibility will say."
A tarot reading by college students couldn't be that accurate, but it would still feel nice if it came out well.
"Hello."
"Welcome. Are you two a couple?"
"Yes, we are. We were curious so we came in."
"Please have a seat. I'll read for you."
The operator spread the tarot cards across the table. I picked three that felt right and laid them down.
"Hmm… your compatibility is quite good."
"Really?"
"Yes. You both try to cover each other's shortcomings and always treat one another with care."
When I thought about how Jung-woo and I were dating, it wasn't wrong at all. It seemed less like a scam than I'd expected.
"There was almost one moment of trouble, but the two of you were careful enough to overcome it."
"Jung-woo, why is your face like that? Does something come to mind?"
"Ah, no? Nothing."
He was lying. It was obvious he'd barely held back something he wanted to say before we started dating. Part of me wanted to dig into what it was, but since it was already in the past, I let it slide.
"One more thing I'm curious about—can you tell who likes the other more?"
"Of course. Please pick two cards from here."
"These."
"Let's see… The man likes the other person more."
This wasn't wrong either. It wasn't that I liked him any less, but Jung-woo was definitely the one who expressed it more. To outsiders, it probably looked like the one who showed it more was the one who felt it more.
"Jung-woo. Do you like me?"
"No. I love you."
His completely unexpected answer sent heat rushing up my face. I immediately turned my head the other way and hid behind my hair. Why did he say things like that so casually? There were people watching!!
"Oh my, how sweet!! Any more questions?"
"I think that's enough. Thank you."
"Thank you for stopping by."
Jung-woo took my hand and led me out of the booth. He started humming like nothing had happened, but I was still reeling. That surprise love attack was completely unfair!! Please turn your blinker on before you swerve in like that.
"Yeoni."
"…What?"
"Your face is all red."
"I know that!! Don't point it out."
"Are you embarrassed?"
"Of course I'm embarrassed! There are people everywhere and you just say stuff like that!!"
"I love you."
Heart, calm down. You already know that when Jung-woo says he loves you it's basically the same as saying hello. No matter how much I tried to get used to his surprise affection attacks, they were still one of the things I simply couldn't adapt to. I was making an effort, but I'd never be able to match him.
"Yeoni, look—it's that thing. You know… what was it called again?"
"Three Cuts of Life?"
"Yes!! Want to take some?"
"Sure. We haven't taken any pictures since the amusement park."
Because it was a festival booth, the setup was much smaller than the ones we'd seen on the street. They were taking one group at a time. Luckily there was no line when we arrived, so we got to go right in.
"Yeoni, how do you want to do them?"
It was a space for just the two of us. No one around to interrupt. Maybe here I could be a little brave.
Not wanting to overthink it and lose my nerve, I hugged him from behind and rested my head on his shoulder.
"Like this."
"Okay, sure!!"
-Click!!
Next we made bunny ears on each other's heads with our fingers.
-Click!!
One chance left. Since it was the last one, I wanted it to be memorable. What would be good?
While I was thinking, one idea flashed through my mind.
"Jung-woo, sit down on that chair."
"Okay."
"And close your eyes."
"Close my eyes? Uh… sure."
He sat down and closed his eyes just like I asked. He'd done it to me before. There was no reason I couldn't do the same. And there was no one here. What was there to hesitate about?
After a few deep breaths to steady myself, I slowly walked over to him.
-Chu!!
-Click!!
The instant my lips touched his soft cheek, the camera captured the moment. Jung-woo must have realized what I'd done, because he looked up at me with wide, startled bunny eyes.
"Uh…?"
"A gift. Thanks for coming all this way."
"No… that…"
"What, you don't like it?"
"I-I like it. I do, but…"
I'd never seen Jung-woo this broken before. So this was why he kept teasing me. I finally understood.
I leaned in and whispered into his ear while he was still flustered.
"I love you."
Seeing him still glitching out only made me laugh. We left the booth and spent the rest of our time together until it was time to send him off. It felt too sad to part at school, so I walked with him all the way to the bus terminal.
"I'll head out now."
"Yeah. Thank you so much for today. Make sure my mom doesn't catch you, okay?"
"I know. I definitely won't get caught."
Once he left, I wouldn't see him for a whole week. The festival would be over so we could still text every day, but not being able to see his face was going to be really hard.
There were too many people around, but… since I wouldn't see him for a while…
I ran forward quickly and hugged him from the front.
"Have a safe trip."
"Yeah!! I love you, Yeoni."
"I-I love you too…"