Our First Date, Sprinkled with Skinship (3)
The place Yuna led me to by the hand wasn’t the rides, but the souvenir shop. She insisted that jumping straight onto the attractions would leave us too drained to explore the rest of the park afterward. It seemed she preferred wandering around the grounds with me, strolling like a leisurely walk, over rushing into the thrill rides. She tugged my arm impatiently, urging me forward.
“Hurry up! Kyaaa!!! They have cat-ear headbands here!!”
Her voice shot up like a little girl seeing a cat for the very first time. The moment we reached the corner lined with animal-ear accessories, Yuna snatched up a cat-ear headband and planted it on her own head.
“Jihyeok! How do I look? Does it suit me?”
Most people picture cats as aloof or majestic beings that demand reverence. That’s why owners are called “butlers”—they’re high-maintenance pets. But Yuna wearing those cat ears looked like the single most adorable thing in the world, exactly like a newborn kitten.
Gazing at her, I said, “Can I pet you?”
“Me? Or the headband?”
“Who else? My girlfriend, obviously.”
“Okay~ I’m ready anytime~”
When I stroked her head, Yuna leaned into my touch with pure delight, letting out a soft purring rumble. For one fleeting moment, she really did look like an actual cat to me.
She caught the hand that was petting her and pulled it closer, yanking me forward. The momentum brought my face right up to hers.
It was only a quick peck, but the suddenness made my face burn bright red. I looked at her and murmured, “There are so many people around…”
“It’s because your touch feels too good… Did you hate it?”
“…How could I possibly hate it?”
“Really? Then… should we do it again?”
Instead of answering with words, I showed her. I pressed my lips to hers once more.
“Haa… what am I going to do with myself?”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“I like it so much I feel like I might faint.”
“You can’t do that. You said you’d take the lead today.”
“Did I? I almost forgot because it felt so good.”
“Even if my girlfriend forgets, I never will. No—I can’t forget.”
“Hehe. Got it~ Oh! Jihyeok! Try this one on!”
Yuna grabbed a fluffy dog-ear headband with soft fur trim from beside the long rabbit-ear ones and placed it on my head. With my naturally small, sleepy eyes, the dog ears made me look like a loyal puppy waiting at the front door for its owner. Instinctively she cried out,
“I’m home~!”
“…Huh?”
She threw her arms around me as if rewarding the good boy who had waited for her. I was startled by the sudden hug, but I gently patted her back.
“What was that about? ‘I’m home’?”
“Sigh… When you put on the dog ears, you looked exactly like a little puppy waiting for me at the front door.”
“…Huh? I feel like I’d run straight to you instead of waiting.”
“…My heart just fluttered.”
“Really? I wasn’t trying to, but I’m glad it worked.”
Once we decided the headbands suited us, we headed to the register without a moment’s hesitation.
“How much for these?”
“Just a moment, please~”
The employee scanned the barcode with a PDA. The price popped up on the monitor.
“We’re running a discount for couples and families right now. You two are a couple, yes?”
“Yes!”
“We are.”
“Perfect. Then it’s just 2,000 won with the discount~”
Yuna pulled her wallet from the eco-bag she carried, took out two thousand-won bills, and handed them over.
“Would you like a receipt?”
“No, thank you~”
“All right. Enjoy your time~”
“Thank you!”
“Have a good day.”
We left the souvenir shop still wearing our new headbands.
“We’re keeping these on until the date ends today~!”
“Got it. Where to next?”
“We have to take pictures~ I want to show them to your parents too~ We still haven’t changed our profile photos, right?”
“True. Now that we’re dating, we should update them with a couple shot.”
“Are you going to show me off to the whole neighborhood?”
“Of course. I have to brag that a girl this pretty is my girlfriend.”
“Hehe. Then I get to brag too~”
Hearing that Yuna knew a good photo spot, I took her hand and let her lead me to the perfect couple photo zone.
Countless flowers beautifully decorated the beds, and artificial blooms that would never wilt stood eternally fresh, drawing every eye. Along the wide path, a tunnel of crafted wire wrapped in vines burst with vivid flowers that brought the whole structure to life. The area was already packed with couples and plenty of families.
I was genuinely impressed and grateful that Yuna had found such a place. I reached out and stroked her hair.
“You really like it, huh?”
“Yeah. How did you even discover a spot like this?”
“I worked hard to make wonderful memories with my boyfriend~”
“Thank you, Yuna. Truly.”
She caught the hand that was petting her and hurried toward the flower field, picking up the pace.
“If we’re late we’ll lose the good spots. Let’s go!”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
We settled into a patch bursting with bright yellow forsythia.
“What pose should we do?”
“Wouldn’t an arm around the shoulder be nice?”
“That pose works for anyone. I want the picture to show how much we like each other—how much we love each other!”
“Hmm… then how about this.”
I stepped behind her, wrapped both arms around her waist, leaned down, and gently rested my face on her left shoulder. I puckered my lips and held the pose—back-hugging her while giving her a cheek kiss.
“How’s this?”
“…Take the picture right now. This is perfect!”
Bent over like that, I couldn’t see the phone camera, so I simply closed my eyes and kissed her cheek.
“Okay! Hold still. I’ll snap it quick!”
“Take as long as you want.”
“Hehe. Does that mean we’re staying like this all day?”
“I’d be fine with that.”
Even though she teased me, Yuna took our photo with the forsythia flowers as the perfect backdrop. After about ten shots, she sealed the session with a kiss on my lips.
“All done~”
“Really? Then let’s pick one together.”
“Yes!”
We looked through the photos on her phone and chose the very best one. While the others were nice, the seventh shot perfectly captured the sweet, loving atmosphere between us. It practically shouted that we were an adorably smitten couple, so we decided it would become both of our new profile pictures.
Yuna sent the photo to me. The moment it arrived, I changed my profile. Then I posted it in our family group chat.
I showed the messages to Yuna.
“These are my family’s reactions to you. As you can see, it’s nothing but compliments.”
“What a relief~ I should greet them properly one of these days!”
Yuna already wanting to meet my parents was adorable, but I couldn’t help wondering if it wasn’t a little soon.
After taking a few more photos at the flower zone, the two of us—who hadn’t eaten breakfast—left the area and were heading toward the food stalls when a voice called out.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
Yuna turned around at the sound. One of four men walking together held up a map and asked,
“We can’t read this map properly. Could you tell us where this spot is?”
The location he pointed to was quite far from where we stood. I figured I could give quick directions and then we could grab something to eat. I started to step forward to help, but—
“I’m sorry. We don’t know the area well either…”
“You don’t know how to read maps either?”
“No. My boyfriend has a terrible sense of direction, so he’s just following me. I only know the paths around this immediate area.”
“Ah… I see. Thank you anyway.”
The men bowed politely. After returning their bow, Yuna quickly whispered to me, “Did you memorize all their faces and features?”
“Huh? Yeah, I remember most things after one look… Why?”
“Call the police right now.”
“…What?”
I was startled by her sudden serious tone. I wanted to ask why, but she looked completely earnest, so I trusted her and immediately dialed the police.
“I made the call, but…”
“Since it came from inside the park, they should be here within five minutes. Let’s tail those guys until then.”
“Uh, okay.”
We followed the men as they continued asking others for directions. Before long, the police arrived.
“We received a report. Who called us?”
“That was me.”
Yuna spoke to the officers in a completely serious voice. “Those men over there with the map, asking for directions. It’s them, right?”
“Oh? Yes, that’s correct. Thank you for the report. All right, team—let’s move.”
“Yes, sir.”
Watching the officers approach silently, I asked Yuna, “…Did you figure out what kind of people they really are?”
“Yes. A veteran might have taken longer, but I knew the moment I saw their faces. They had bad intentions.”
The spot marked on the map really was far away. I had been about to give directions without any suspicion, but…
“If it hadn’t been for you, Yuna, I would’ve been in serious trouble… Thank you for saving me.”
“It’s only natural to protect my boyfriend. Once someone’s caught in my Magic Eyes, escaping is impossible.”
Seeing her speak so confidently, I couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“What? Why are you laughing!”
“Nothing, I just—haha! Hearing you say ‘Magic Eyes’ was so cute I couldn’t help it. Hahaha!”
“Stop laughing… It’s embarrassing.”
“Okay, pfft… Okay.”
“Ughhh… I said stop laughing!”
Yuna kept tapping my back with both hands. It looked less like she was trying to hurt me and more like she was trying to hide her embarrassment.
I caught both her hands to stop the tapping and kissed her.
“Sorry. I laughed too much, didn’t I?”
“…If you know that, then stop. It’s embarrassing.”
“Got it. I was just so impressed by how amazing my girlfriend is.”
“…Really? Then I’ll forgive you!”
Her anger melted away with a single kiss.
The police had caught the suspects surprisingly quickly. After loading the group into the patrol car, an officer turned to Yuna with gratitude.
“Thank you for the report. Their disguises are incredible, so catching them is always difficult…”
“There weren’t any victims, right?”
“No. They’re an organization that lures people to secluded spots to commit crimes, so fortunately there weren’t any this time. These types split up into separate teams, so to round them all up we need to know their bases… But now that we have these guys, we should be able to find out.”
The officer bowed once more.
“Sorry for keeping you. Thank you again for the report. Have a wonderful day!”
“Yes. I hope you catch them all!”
The officers saluted us, climbed into the car, and left the amusement park.
Yuna linked her arm with mine and smiled.
“You’re really hungry, right? Let’s go eat~!”
“Yeah. You were so cool today, Yuna.”
“Really~? Thanks for the compliment, boyfriend!”
There had been no obvious warning signs, yet with nothing but the ability to see a person’s true nature at a glance, she had identified the criminals instantly. Walking beside her, I realized I would never have to worry about being deceived or put in danger. I felt deeply grateful that Yuna wanted to stay with me forever. After what had just happened, I once again felt thankful for her ability and said softly,
“Yuna.”
“Yeah~?”
“I love you.”
“…Eek?!”
Of course, I also found her flustered reaction to the sudden confession incredibly cute.