The Couple Combo Disaster
The area around a university was naturally overflowing with all kinds of convenience stores and entertainment spots. So of course, the movie theater we were planning to visit was right there too.
I arrived at the theater entrance about five minutes before our meeting time. Just as I started looking around to see when Yuna would show up—
“Oppa. Looking for someone?”
A hand tapped my shoulder from behind. When I turned around, there stood Yuna wearing jeans and a white shirt. It had that clean, first-date vibe. Her neat and pure appearance made my heart flutter for no reason.
“Oh. You’re early.”
“I usually seem to arrive a little late, so I made sure to come on time today.”
Yuna let out a cute little “hehe” laugh. It was fine. The protagonist is supposed to make a fashionably late entrance anyway. She could show up a bit late and I wouldn’t mind.
And honestly, Yuna wasn’t usually late. I was just the type who always arrived way earlier than the agreed time.
“Shall we head in now?”
“Yes.”
We walked into the building together. The theater we’d chosen was a fairly large one, spanning from the fifth to the seventh floor. Probably because it was near the station.
After getting off the elevator, we stopped on the fifth floor and picked up our reserved tickets from the machine. While I was grabbing the tickets, Yuna stood there staring blankly at the popcorn counter.
“Want some?”
When I asked, she nodded vigorously. Yuna loved eating even though she couldn’t eat much. We headed toward the popcorn counter while chatting.
“What’s your favorite popcorn flavor?”
“I like half cheese and half caramel. That way it doesn’t get boring too fast. Sweet and salty, you know?”
Yuna was passionately explaining her popcorn philosophy. She had a point. Sweet-and-salty really was the golden rule.
Honestly, I didn’t really care that much about popcorn flavors.
“Then let’s do that for the popcorn and just get our usual drinks?”
“Yes. Obviously.”
She’d probably want Pepsi Zero without me even asking. You really are consistent with your tastes.
We reached the counter and checked the menu on the kiosk. While scanning the set and combo options, an event banner caught my eye.
Couple Combo Set - Discounted!
12,000 → 9,500 won
It looked like the theater was running a promotion. Yuna stared at the kiosk screen for a moment before turning to me.
“...Oppa. Should we get this one?”
She pointed at the event banner. The price difference was huge. The couple combo was about three thousand won cheaper than the regular double combo, even though the contents were basically identical. There was no reason to buy the more expensive one.
...But we’re not actually a couple.
Is it okay to buy a couple combo when you’re not a couple? It felt a little wrong, like my conscience was pricking me.
“But Yuna, look at that thing stuck in the popcorn.”
There was a heart-shaped pick stuck in the popcorn with the word “chu” written on it. The cola straws had weird heart decorations too.
...So they’re making us pay the embarrassment tax for the discount? That’s what this feels like.
“Come on~. We can just take those out. It’s cheaper, so it’s worth it.”
“I guess, but...”
The heart on the straw looked like it was impossible to remove. Still, if Yuna said it was fine, I wasn’t going to argue. After all, we weren’t exactly just friends either.
“Order number 162! Here’s your Couple Combo Set!”
After we finished ordering and waited a bit, the couple combo appeared in front of us. Both Yuna and I froze the moment we saw it.
...This is way more obvious than I expected.
The picture on the kiosk definitely hadn’t looked like this. The massive sign and the oversized heart decorations on the straws were impossible to miss. People walking by kept glancing at us.
It felt like ordering a pork cutlet at an amusement park only to get something completely different from the giant plastic display model. But Yuna and I were both socially awkward types who couldn’t handle this kind of attention. We seriously wanted to drop the combo and run away.
“...I think we messed up ordering this, Yuna.”
“...I’m sorry. It was my bad idea.”
“No, it’s not your fault.”
We both kept our eyes glued to the floor, desperately trying to avoid everyone’s stares. That’s when a little kid who had been running around the theater pointed at us and shouted.
“Mom! Those people must be dating!”
We’re not. We’re not dating. We just bought the couple combo because it was cheaper.
“Yoonseo, you shouldn’t say things like that. Hush.”
The mother gave us an apologetic bow as she dragged her child away. This was the most intense public humiliation I’d ever experienced.
...Can you all please stop staring now?
It was going to take me a while to get used to this couple combo thing.
After sitting at a table for a bit to mentally adjust to the couple combo, we finally started heading upstairs. Our screening room was on the sixth floor, so we had to take the escalator up one more level.
“Give me that. I’ll carry it.”
Yuna had a small crossbody bag, so holding the drinks and popcorn looked uncomfortable for her. Meanwhile I was carrying nothing.
“Huh? But I can still—”
“Just take one cola. Here.”
I handed her the cola she’d be drinking and carried the popcorn and the other drink in both hands. After walking a little, I let Yuna get on the escalator first.
I stood two steps behind her, looking up. She turned around on the escalator to look down at my face.
“Oppa. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s not even heavy.”
My hands were just a little uncomfortable since I couldn’t hold the railing. Yuna kept staring at me from above.
“Why are you standing like that?”
Who rides an escalator facing backward? It’s dangerous, Yuna. I almost started lecturing her out of habit, but you’re not supposed to do that on a date, so I swallowed it down.
“...I just wanted to look at your face a little longer.”
“Ah.”
Her adorable line about wanting to see my face even for one more second left me speechless. Well, if she falls, I can just drop the popcorn and cola and catch her.
Yuna’s words and actions were getting bolder by the day. Ever since the day I told her I liked her, it felt like she was slowly losing all her hesitation.
“Where did you learn lines like that?”
“I learned them from a visual novel. Especially the one we played last time at the convenience store.”
Yuna smiled as she remembered the convenience store dating sim. Yeah, that game did have a lot of memorable lines.
I was chuckling to myself when—
- CLUNK!
The escalator suddenly let out a loud noise and came to an abrupt stop. What the—?
The sudden jolt startled me. I’d been standing properly, so I managed to keep my balance by bracing my back foot.
“...Huh?”
But Yuna, who had been looking back at me, lost her balance from the small shake. She’d been standing near the edge of a step, and her body slowly started tilting toward me.
She quickly grabbed the handrail with one hand to stop herself from falling, but—
“-Mmph.”
The soft, moist sensation of lips touched my forehead. They felt plush and smooth, probably from lip balm. Yuna’s lips, which had been at just the right height, landed perfectly on my head.
It all happened in an instant.
“...Eeeeek!”
Once she regained her balance, Yuna yanked her lips away from my forehead at lightning speed. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my chest.
Of course it was racing... her lips had touched me.
Was my heart pounding from surprise, or because Yuna’s lips had touched me? Even I couldn’t tell.
I was shocked too, but my first priority was checking on Yuna.
“Yuna, are you okay?”
“Ah. Yes. I was surprised, but I’m fine.”
The escalator still wasn’t moving. It looked like there was some kind of mechanical issue.
“That could’ve been really bad. Thank goodness you didn’t get hurt.”
“...Yeah. I won’t stand like that anymore.”
Yuna’s ears were already bright red. The hand gripping the railing was trembling slightly. It didn’t seem like I was the only one affected by what just happened.
She didn’t say anything about it, but she definitely knew her lips had touched my forehead.
“It’s not moving, so we should just walk up. Let’s tell an employee once we get there.”
“...Okay.”
We slowly walked up the escalator together. It only took a few minutes, but an awkward atmosphere hung between us. It was definitely because of what had just happened.
When we finally reached the sixth floor, Yuna quietly spoke up.
“...That earlier thing doesn’t count. You know that, right?”
“Of course I know.”
I didn’t want our first kiss to be brushed off so casually either. And so our date got off to a less-than-smooth start.