That Day's Story (1) (feat. Seo Taehyun)
***
I remember it was an unusually cold winter day. Just like any other, I was at the gym, working out.
“Eight, nine… ten!”
What I was lifting so diligently was a pair of 20kg dumbbells.
I held one in each hand, alternating curls in what’s commonly called a dumbbell curl.
My planned routine for today was four sets of twelve reps each, so once I finished this last repetition, the dumbbell curls would be done.
“Twelve! Hoo…”
After forcing out that final lift, I let out the breath I’d been holding and set the dumbbells down.
This set had been the last of my biceps work, but I still had more exercises left.
Now that I’d hammered my biceps, it was time to hammer my chest.
I was just about to switch stations when my phone, resting on the table, started buzzing wildly.
I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face as I kept staring at my phone.
Was dating always this sweet?
It felt like just yesterday that I’d met her as my best friend’s girlfriend’s friend and fallen for her at first sight.
Now here we were, exchanging these sugary messages. The thought filled me with a strange new emotion.
She’s way too good for me.
People always said most women didn’t like it when their boyfriends were obsessed with the gym, but Jihye never minded.
In fact, she said she thought it was really cool how I took care of my body and even cheered me on to keep working out like this.
A girlfriend who understood and supported her boyfriend’s hobby, who gave him space for his own time, yet was happier than anyone when they were together.
Where else in the world could you find someone so lovable?
If I ever got the chance, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.
Going over to Jihye’s house to see her new cat.
I’d actually been hoping to see her face after my workout today, but the freezing weather had made me hesitate about going on a date.
And now the location was my beloved girlfriend’s house.
There was no reason to refuse, so I decided I’d head straight there once I finished exercising.
I should greet her parents properly and bring a housewarming gift—like a cat toy.
I picked up my phone to text her that I’d come over right after my workout.
Part of me wanted to rush over immediately, but I couldn’t just abandon my routine.
I was the kind of person who couldn’t relax unless I completed my daily workout, so there was no helping it.
My fingers moved across the keyboard. I was just about to hit send when my eyes caught her next message and froze.
Nobody at my girlfriend’s house…?
Even though I was a total beginner at dating, I wasn’t dense enough to miss what that meant.
If this was true, I could stay at her house much longer than I’d expected.
The thought of being completely alone with her made my heart start racing.
Going to my girlfriend’s house, playing with a cute cat, watching Netflix together on the TV, and if the mood felt right… naturally progressing to skinship…!
In my head, an entire romance drama had already been perfectly scripted.
After finishing our honey-sweet conversation, I hurriedly cleaned up my spot.
At this point, the rest of my workout routine didn’t matter at all.
If my girlfriend’s house was empty, who cared about lifting weights?
Any muscle loss from skipping chest day could be fixed by training even harder tomorrow.
I left the gym in a rush, determined to seize the opportunity heaven had given me.
“Whew… Okay. This should be good enough, right?”
About an hour later, I arrived in front of Jihye’s house and took a deep breath to steady myself.
I’d gone home, showered thoroughly, changed into neat clothes, and even prepared a cat toy as a housewarming gift.
Just in case we ended up kissing, I’d also brought breath freshener to spray in my mouth.
First I’ll play with her cat, then we can naturally watch a movie or drama together. If the moment feels right, I’ll go in for a kiss…
Calling her boyfriend over when her whole family would be out late?
I wasn’t clueless about what that implied.
I just lacked confidence.
Jihye was so incredibly precious to me that I was terrified of misreading the situation and doing something awful to her.
I’ll just read the room. Playing with the cute cat should help us get closer naturally, and maybe that’ll give us a chance to confirm how we both feel…
I was shaking the cat toy vigorously, waiting for Jihye to open the door, when the front door finally swung open.
There she was—my lovely girlfriend, standing right in front of me.
“Taehyun~? You’re here~?”
“Yeah. I’m here, babe.”
“You got here so fast~? I called you on short notice, so I thought it would take longer.”
“When my girl calls, I come running. Oh, where’s the cat?”
“The cat~? It’s in my room right now. Come on in~.”
“Okay.”
Was I nervous because I was at Jihye’s house?
Or had I simply lost my mind because she looked so beautiful standing there to greet me?
Either way, I’d ended up asking about the cat first thing.
Coming over to my girlfriend’s house and immediately looking for her cat… I really must have seemed obsessed.
Thankfully, Jihye didn’t seem to mind. She casually led me inside.
“Make yourself comfortable~. Why are you so tense?”
“Ah, right. Sorry.”
“Hehe. By the way, what’s that in your hand? A cat toy~?”
“Yeah… I brought it so we could play with the cat…”
“I see~. You can have fun playing with it later.”
Jihye gave me a mysterious little smile as she looked at the toy I’d brought.
What on earth did that smile mean?
Since I had no way of knowing what was in her heart, all I could do was guess.
“Wait here for a bit~. I’ll go check if the cat’s in the room.”
“Uh, yeah. Got it. Should I wait by the door?”
“Mhm~. I’ll call you when you can come in.”
When Jihye closed the door behind her, the tension finally left my body and I let out a long sigh.
I’d worried that asking about the cat the moment I arrived was a huge mistake, but judging by her reaction, it didn’t seem like she thought badly of me.
Since she’d invited me over specifically to see her cute cat, it was only natural to ask about it first.
Now that I was here, I’d make sure to play with the cat like my life depended on it.
“Taehyun~. You can come in now.”
“Ah, okay. I’m coming.”
With Jihye’s permission, I carefully opened the door and stepped inside.
The first thing that caught my eye was how neatly organized her room was.
It perfectly reflected Jihye’s personality—she always carried herself with a relaxed, graceful air, yet handled every necessary task with meticulous care. The room was spotless.
It was the complete opposite of my own room, which I let get messy whenever I had the chance.
But… where’s the cat?
I’d expected it to come running the second I opened the door, but there wasn’t a single cat—or even a single cat hair—in sight.
Feeling puzzled, I scanned the room, and my gaze happened to land on the bed.
“Meow~.”
There, I finally found the cat I’d been searching for all this time.