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“Minha-ya,” Seokhyeong’s soft voice echoed throughout her small apartment. He tried to ring the doorbell, but due to the many shopping bags he was carrying, he opted to make his presence known instead. “It’s me.”
Minha’s face brightened when she heard his familiar voice. She promptly placed down the bowl of popcorn she had been fiddling with, stood up from the couch, and rushed towards his voice.
As she opened the door, the image of her boyfriend appeared before her — his cuddly body, his chestnut hair, and his loving gaze.
Seokhyeong returned her welcoming smile. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
“Gwaenchana.” Minha and Seokhyeong were supposed to watch a movie at her apartment tonight, but his day trip seemed to delay his arrival.
Minha scanned his body and saw the many bags he was carrying, maybe two to three per hand. “Oppa, what is all this?” she said, a mix of shock and amazement, as she leaned forward to share the load.
Seokhyeong chuckled while giving the lightest bags to her. He pointed to each one with his mouth while enumerating, “Those are candles from the temple. This are meoktae, local kimchi, some side dishes, and… ah!” He raised the big bags he was carrying. “When we stopped by a store on the way home, Eomma thought these would look good on you.”
Minha peaked at the contents he was describing. After sorting out her disastrous first encounter with her mother-in-law, they bonded over their shared taste for fashion.
“You shouldn’t have, oppa,” she said, lengthening her vowels to sound cute. She could remember the happiness on Seokhyeong’s face when they got along with each other. “I’ll call eomoni to thank her.”
Finding her aegyo cute and irresistible as always, he gently dropped the bags to envelope his little teddy bear into a hug. “Just do it tomorrow. She’s probably tired right now.”
Minha felt his warmth spreading to her at the tightness of his hug. “Are you tired too, oppa?” she asked as she wrapped her arms around his wide back, still holding the small paper bags.
“Aniya,” Seokhyeong dug his head deeper into her shoulder.
Truly, the day had taken a toll on him, but that didn’t stop him from driving straight to Minha’s place after dropping off his mother and taking a quick shower at his house. “The traffic was a bit bad, but it’s okay.”
“You should’ve just stayed at home then,” she exclaimed as she softly brushed his back, tracing his defined shoulder blades. “We can watch the movie next time.”
Seokhyeong slowly released the hug. “But I’ve been looking forward to this all week,” he pouted, his hands laying gently on her small shoulders. Minha held back the smile forming on her face as Seokhyeong pleaded with his eyes, his aegyo showing as well. “And you prepared everything already. Let’s watch it tonight, please?”
“Arasseo, arasseo.” Minha snickered at his clinginess. “Come in, oppa,” she invited. Seokhyeong swiftly picked up the bags from the floor and retrieved the ones he gave Minha a few moments ago.
“I’ll bring this to your kitchen and your room, okay?” He rushed inside, no longer asking for permission.
Why did you even give it to me if you’re going to take it again? She thought, smiling, as she watched him place his gifts in their perfect place.
He systematically stacked the numerous tupperware containers in her fridge and properly laid the few pieces of meoktae away by her counter. He then gently placed the paper bags filled with fashion items on her bed, which was separated from the rest of her apartment only by a few platform steps.
Satisfied with his work, he looked back to the couch where the two were supposed to watch a movie. He frowned when he didn’t see Minha sitting there; instead, his girlfriend was still in front of her front door, almost starstruck. “Why are you still standing there, Minha-ya?” he asked, his head tilted in confusion.
Minha replied with a smile. It was almost as if he also lived in that apartment together with her.
“It’s nothing, oppa,” she sat on the couch, grabbed the bowl of popcorn, and tapped the space beside her. “Let’s watch now, hm?” Seokhyeong nodded, dumping his body onto the couch and sitting close enough to his lover.
Minha played a romantic comedy movie, perfect for a date night. The two shared the bowl of popcorn as the movie went on. Only the faint light of the television illuminated their faces in the deep night.
Every now and then, they would steal glances at each other, seemingly more immersed in that compared to the movie they were watching.
Once the popcorn ran out, which was early on in the movie, Seokhyeong placed the bowl down on the carpet. Minha smiled as he grabbed one of her hands, interlocked his fingers tightly with hers, and placed his head comfortably onto her shoulders. Seokhyeong made a satisfied sound, as if leaning on her made him feel perfectly at home.
“Oppa,” Minha turned towards his head, inhaling the scent of his shampoo. She still felt bad about him coming tonight even though he had a long day. “Aren’t you tired? We could’ve moved tonight’s date if you were.”
“Hmm,” Seokhyeong answered in a singsong tone, nudging his head teasingly. “It went away when I saw you?”
“Mwo-ya…” she giggled at his cheesiness, tightening her grip over his hand.
“Then,” he raised their interlocked hands and shook it gently to show it off. “I’m charging right now?”
The two bears giggled audibly at their flirting. Minha decided not to argue with him any longer and let him lean comfortably on her shoulder. As minutes passed, she started resting her head onto his, as well. They were so close and comfortable with each other, even beating the movie’s level of love and skinship.
“Ah, oppa,” she remembered as the male lead character of the movie passed by an aisle of colorful candy. “I bought a bag of gummy bears in the grocery a while ago. They reminded me of you.”
Seokhyeong still had his eyes fixed on the screen. “Gummy bears?” The last time he had eaten those sour candies was probably over twenty years ago.
“Ne, but transparent ones! ” Minha enthusiastically replied. How could she have forgotten buying them when she wanted to try them out for so long? “The twist is, you have no clue about the flavor. I’ve only heard about it, but they say there are really rare flavors that only have one piece per a hundred packs.”
Seokhyeong giggled at her excitement over a bag of candy. “Should we try it out, then?” He raised his head to take a glimpse of her. Whenever Minha was talking about something she loves, her eyes gleamed brightly like a star in the night sky. She seemed to have no idea about it, but Seokhyeong loved it so much.
“Ne!” Minha faced him too, her head rapidly nodding in agreement. “They really give a surge of energy!” she exclaimed as she gently let go of his hand and rushed towards the kitchen.
“But I’m still full of energy,” he gently shouted in reply, pouting. When Minha came back with the legendary bag of gummy bears, Seokhyeong attempted to convince her with his supposed energy by shaking his arms in the air. “See?” he asked, fishing for compliments.
“Yes, you’re cute, oppa,” she teasingly replied. Minha squatted on the couch, one of her legs over the other and her back resting against the arm of the couch. She pointed to her position while looking at her boyfriend, signalling him to do the same. Seokhyeong followed, moving forward to close the distance between them. They were facing each other, eyes locked, as Minha opened the bag of gummy bears.
“I think this is cola,” she exclaimed as she chewed her first piece. Seokhyeong proceeded to take a bear as well, furrowing his eyebrows as he made sense of the taste. “Don’t all gummy bears taste the same?”
“Aniya, oppa!” she faked an angry tone. She took another one. “You should let it set in your mouth as you chew, really relishing the flavor, then swallow it in one go,” she advised, pointing to her cheek as she chewed. “I think this is peach.”
Seokhyeong smiled as he swiftly moved to plant a kiss on her chubby cheek. Minha blushed at his sudden move. “Oppa!” she said embarrassingly as she swallowed the bear.
“Arasseo, I’ll try it then,” Seokhyeong said as he tried to make the smile on his face disappear. Minha watched him carefully while he chewed the candy. To his surprise, it bore a different flavor, something he wasn’t expecting at all. “It’s sweet,” he swallowed, his face completely bewildered.
Minha frowned at his claim. “Gummy bears aren’t supposed to be sweet.”
“But it is.” He thought of a way to prove it to her, so he gave her a quick peck on the lips to prove it to her. “Right?”
Minha’s head moved a few millimeters backward from the force of his peck. He pointed to his lips, telling her to taste the flavor he implanted. Shyly, she slowly licked her lips. “I can’t taste anything.”
“It really was sweet. Maybe it’s the rare one,” he chuckled. Seokhyeong swallowed the saliva in his mouth. “I can still taste it though.”
Minha shook his arms gently. Instead of him moving though, it was her who swayed her whole body. “I really wanted to try it though! Why did you swallow it so quickly? I told you to relish the flavor first!” she said in her aegyo voice, making Seokhyeong completely melt. He held her chin upwards with his index finger, stopping her from moving. “Mianhae, mianhae, Minha-ya,” he apologized over and over again.
Minha’s pout was still intense and her eyes were similar to a puppy asking for a treat. The sound of her slightly angered breath overpowered the volume of the movie’s, which both of them seemed to have completely forgotten by now. Seokhyeong broke into a genuine laugh, the one reserved solely for Chu Minha. Again, he was in complete disbelief at how cute and beautiful his girlfriend was.
Seokhyeong grabbed a gummy bear from the bag before staring at her eyes again. He signed for her to open her mouth as he held the bear close to her face. “I have a feeling that this will taste much, much better,” he teased. She took a moment to break her pout, deciding to trust the man who stole her gummy bear. He gently deposited it into her mouth, delivering it with his fingers.
Her cheeks fluffened as she slowly chewed the candy. Paired with her sulky pout, her face looked like a soft mochi that Seokhyeong really wanted to squeeze. Minha continued to chew slowly, trying to identify its flavor. “It’s sour. It’s sour like every other gummy bear,” she repeated his words of indifference, still disappointed at missing her chance at the rare sweet gummy bear.
“I meant this ,” Seokhyeong smiled slyly before pulling her chin closer and leaning forward for a kiss. He pushed her tongue to her lips with such force that Minha opened it quickly for him. He diligently searched for the gummy bear resting on her mouth and attempted to scoop it into his. Although initially in shock, Minha responded by softly kissing his upper lip, looking for the fabled sweet taste of the rare gummy bear. In the midst of their intense exchange, Seokhyeong carried her body, his big hands gripping her thin waist, and placed her on top of his legs, closing the distance between them and deepening the kiss further.
Since the transparent candy seemed stuck to her mouth, Seokhyeong lowered his body and leaned backwards, so as to slide it down easier. Minha giggled at his desperate attempt and helped him by leaning downward, pushing him slightly by the shoulders. She proceeded to suck his lower lip as passionately as she did the upper one. Seokhyeong held her head with one of his hands, gently tilting it over his. In her search for the rare flavor trapped somewhere in her lover’s mouth, Minha leaned on him continuously, pushing him downwards and pinning his body down the couch. The movie continued playing as they exchanged the taste of the gummy bears, completely engrossed in each other.
“You stole my candy again,” Minha giggled as their lips parted, successfully transferring the candy over to his boyfriend. “And it really was sweet, oppa.”
“I told you so,” Seokhyeong smiled as he gently rubbed her back, her body resting perfectly on his chest. Their size difference made it look like they were puzzle pieces made to fit each other. “This is the best gummy bear I have ever had,” he added. Certainly, Minha’s tip worked — let it set in your mouth first, relishing its rich flavor before swallowing.
The two bears smiled, falling silent for a moment as they listened to a few dialogues of the movie that they were supposedly watching. Minha dug her head deeper into his well-defined chest and held one of his hands tightly. “Stay here for the night, oppa.”
Seokhyeong covered her small teddy bear with his other hand. “Wae?” he asked teasingly, peeking at the top of her head that was resting so comfortably on his chest.
“Well, you’ve been driving all day,” Minha paused, thinking of another possible excuse. After all, if there’s anything she realized tonight, it’s that her boyfriend was not tired at all. “I don’t want you to overwork yourself.”
Seokhyeong giggled at her response. He dug her fingers through her soft, chocolate hair. “Don’t you just want to taste more gummy bears?” he tried tilting his head to meet hers.
“Yaaa,” Minha looked up at him while blushing profusely. “Oppa!” she called. He was watching her teasingly, a sly smile plastered on his face.
Seokhyeong brushed his thumb across her red cheek. “I wasn’t planning on going home tonight before I even got here, anyway.”
“Jinjja?” Minha beamed. Her eyes brightened up instantly. She audibly pecked one of his cheeks and exclaimed, “You should’ve said so, then!”
He lifted his head to kiss her cheek as well. “And Minha-ya,” Seokhyeong whispered. “You’ve been asking since I got here, but I’m really not tired yet.” He read the desire burning on her beautiful eyes; it was his girlfriend’s turn to completely dominate him.
“ Not yet ,” Minha replied as she lifted her body to line up her head with his. She kissed him slowly, but every attack was imbued with unparalleled passion and love. Minha gripped his shoulders to anchor her body, while his boyfriend held her hips tightly with his arms. Seokhyeong followed her lead as she engulfed the rarest gummy bear that has probably come into existence.
The movie continued running in the background, its sound seemingly muted to the two bears who could only hear each other’s breathing. They didn’t even notice that the bag of gummy bears fell from the couch or that the bowl of popcorn on the carpet tilted over. As the night deepened, all Seokhyeong and Minha were focused on was each other, gently mixing the sweetness and sourness that lingered at every touch.