Chapter Text
Ikjun ends up waiting for her while she washes up.
“Just make yourself comfortable!” She half-yells from the bathroom, and he replies with a will do! before sitting on her sofa. He takes a look around her living room. It is small but comfortable, with a TV, a sofa, and a table. On the table there is an aromatherapy candle and a photo frame, and she is in the frame. One thought flits instantly without warning.
She’s pretty.
Ikjun shakes his head at that, and chides himself silently. His outburst on the car was the one he didn’t think of before he blurted it out; he saw her blushing a shade of pink, and he took it as a compliment. He never chases a girl, after all. As in Junwan’s word, “this saekki just goes around and girls will be chasing after him. What a show-off.”
He ponders then, what made him so attracted to her?
Is it her short hair, fitting so well with her chic personality? Is it her witty remarks, which are so different than the girls who chased him? Or is it her---
His thought is interrupted by Songhwa going out from the bathroom just then, hair up and wrapped in a towel; she quickly flits into her room after saying that she will be ready in a minute after changing her clothes and drying her hair.
Fifteen minutes later, Songhwa is ready to go with dried hair and light makeup; Ikjun, who was playing a game in his phone, looks up when he hears the door opening. He closes the game and stands up.
“Are you ready, ma’am?” He asks jokingly.
“Yes, oh my, I’m sorry you have to wait for so long.” Ikjun dismisses her worry by throwing a smile, and they make their way into the car.
On the drive to the theatre, Ikjun decides to ask her about the photo.
“The photo on your living room table… Is that when you graduated from SNU?”
“Yeah, why?” She turns her head to look at him curiously.
“Anieyo, I’m just curious. You were standing in front of those other students… Does that mean you’re the best student?”
She smiles shyly, nodding. “Yeah.”
“Like from the whole batch?”
“Yeah.”
Ikjun's eyes widen. “Woah. That’s so cool.”
Songhwa doesn’t respond right away; she thinks for a few seconds until Ikjun steals a glance at her. “I guess… Yeah, it was a bit cool.”
Ikjun senses her doubt, and carefully asks, “What’s in your mind, Chae seonsaeng?”
“Nothing, just…” she trails off. “I guess I must have studied well back then. I just live life to get through the day now, you know how busy doctors are. These past years have been so hard, I guess I kind of forgot why I wanted to become a doctor at the first place.”
He nods, “I think I can relate to that.”
She turns her head towards him and smiles. Somehow, him saying those words gives her great comfort; to know someone who isn’t a doctor but understands her feelings well. “I believe being a soldier was not easy either.”
He nods. “It really was not. At first, I just thought I would do well because I have good physical strength. And yes, that is one of the reasons I did pretty well, but what I didn’t expect was the emotional baggage on top of it, you know?”
She nods. “I think I do.”
A comfortable silence follows after, and they look at the road for a while, deep in thought. Ikjun is the one who breaks the silence again.
“You know, I think it’s funny that we’re talking about a subject this deep en route to the movie theatre.”
She laughs, a genuine laugh. She hits his shoulder playfully and he laughs too, because apparently her laugh is contagious. He decides there and then that he likes seeing her laugh.
They reach the movie theatre shortly afterwards, and in the middle of the movie, he gets a call from his superior telling him to prepare for a mission immediately. He looks over at her apologetically, and she knows at once that he has to go.
“I’ll just finish this by myself. Just go, it’s okay.” She smiles, a tad bit disappointed; but how could she blame him? It’s not like he wanted this to happen.
“I’m sorry, Songhwa-ssi.” He claps his hands together, and Songhwa shakes her head. “Nothing to be sorry for. I’m glad we get to watch the movie together, Ikjun-ssi.”
Ikjun shoots her another I’m sorry look, and her hands react faster than her brain, stopping him from going. “Uh… Ikjun-ssi,” He halts, looking at her. She hesitates, and decides that she will just go for it. “From now on, shall we… switch to banmal?”
She swears she could see his face lighting up at her suggestion, and she takes it as a good thing. He nods shyly, and says carefully, “I’ll go now, S-Songhwa… ya.”
Songhwa giggles a little, and Ikjun heart melts; suddenly his urge to stay increases tenfold. “Eo, go. Call me when you get back, Ikjun-ah.” Her face slowly heats up while saying that, and she hopes Ikjun doesn’t see it in the dark of the movie theatre. He nods, then pats her hands before standing up and flitting away quickly.
She smiles to herself.
This is not bad.
This is not bad at all.
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