THE PAST, THE PRESENT, & THE FUTURE, txt ✓

12. Our Start Line

In Taehyun and Nari's daily life, a big chunk was often taken up by work and studies. Well, now it was work since Taehyun had graduated and earned a job as a school counselor at the high school he and Nari had attended.

But they still had some measure of routine for their personal life together. For example, Taehyun took her out on dinner dates on weekends no matter how busy they were. It was required, Nari claimed, for their peace of mind. "All work and no fun is just boring," she had said serenely three years ago, the first time they realized they barely spent any time together.

Oh, sure, they lived together and saw each other every day. But that didn't mean they did anything together as a couple too often, and Taehyun couldn't stand it. It was Nari who suggested their weekly dinner dates. From then, they always looked forward to it the whole week, the most routine thing in their five or so years together.

Another thing they did without fail was to spend one of their free days off work reading for a couple of hours, always lying on the sofa or bed together. Nari quickly lost herself in the book as she always did, but Taehyun usually ended up snuggling into her side and relishing in the warmth he felt with her. While Nari finished a book by the end of the day, Taehyun would be so distracted, alternating between cuddling her and admiring her in between reading, his book would be less than halfway done.

"You do realize that I won that bet about twenty times already," Nari had said about two weeks ago when they were driving to work, "and that you owe me boba tea, right?"

Taehyun glanced over at her, confused. "What bet and what boba tea?"

"The bet we made when you were fifteen," Nari said with a wicked grin. "The one where you bet that I couldn't finish a full-length novel before you did and the day I did, you would buy me boba tea for a week?"

"How do you remember a simple bet we made roughly," he did the quick calculations, "almost ten years ago on your eighteenth birthday?"

"How do you remember that it was my eighteenth birthday specifically?"

"Because that was the day that I realized I was in love," he said casually, grinning in triumph when she went red. "But really, how do you remember the bet now?"

She shrugged. "Maybe because I took it very seriously," she mused. "I do love boba tea, so how about it? Will you honor a bet that's basically invalid?"

"Sure, why not?" he said. "I am a man of my word."

And he had. He never told Nari, but he secretly loved seeing the delight on her face when he picked her up after work and handed her the plastic cup. He loved seeing the expressions she made as she sipped the drink. To be honest, he just loved making her as happy as he could.

Now, snuggled beside her on his bed as they held books in their hands, his mind was wandering in an entirely different direction from boba tea or magical lands, although still focused on Nari, who didn't notice him fidgeting at all. She was happily wrapped up in a new book, though on her phone, since they couldn't afford to buy new books that month. Taehyun was just rereading one he hadn't read for a while.

"Say, noona," he began. "Can I ask you something?"

Nari glanced up, only half-interested. "Hm?"

"What would be the perfect date for you?"

That caught her attention. "Well, that's really out of nowhere," she said. "I don't particularly have anything in mind. Maybe somewhere quieter?"

"I can do that," Taehyun said, "but is there anything else?"

"What's with your insistence?" she tilted her head, clearly confused. "There is one thing. Promise not to laugh at me?"

"I solemnly swear that I am not going to laugh," he raised his right hand.