Serenade, Jung Jaehyun [DISCONTINUED]

13. Dora The Explorer

Silence was left between the two. Ever since they arrived at the food stall, both of them only interacted for the tteokbeokki and two hotdogs. Daeun convinced them to walk to the spot, using the car is just going to waste more time.

"So...you were out for a day?" Jaehyun cracked the ice, patiently waiting for the burning tteokbeokki to cool down.

"Yes, I went to my aunt's house and drove around. Nothing special." She smiled, looking straight into his eyes. It's spring, so it is understandable if the cold was still somewhat in the air. Jaehyun noticed her behaviour and abruptly stood up on his seat.

"Here, take this." The black jacket that was once complimented his outfit looks was now offered to the one who's eating, leaving him in a plain white shirt paired with dark blue jeans.

"Y-you don't have to—"

"You're trembling, and look at you! Apparently you're wearing a dress that suits summer. It's still spring, I know the night is cold." Without any further ado, he put the jacket around her small figure making Daeun stop munching on her hotdog.

"T-thanks."

"Let's say this is my way to say I'm sorry for last night. I didn't expect to see you there with the boys, you guys were awesome!"

"Yeah, they made me join them. It's worth it tho! You guys were on fire." She paused, "I love your solo song too, R&B suits you well."

"Really? Was it good? I never thought of releasing it nor making it trending for no reason but I guess I'll have to make a solo R&B album later. I'm still a rookie." His dimples were there, showing how giddy he was when it comes to him performing on the stage.

She was—well, not going to lie—starstruck. Seeing him being loose, comfy and free was comforting. He was like a whole different person when she met him for the first time at Jiah's cafe, his talkative behaviour is like a fresh air for Daeun.

She—again—loved it.

"You're, well, very good. I like your voice tone."

"Thanks again, Daeun. Now that we're here, can I bring you to my apartment?"

"W-what? What for?"

"I didn't mean something bad! It came to my mind that you said you're interested in poetry so, yeah, wanna see my collection...if you're chill with it...?" He was unsure whether this was a good move or she would dump him right after. Fortunately, she agreed with his idea by smiling and nodded vigorously—she definitely loved it, intrigued and ready to explore more about their same interest.

"Sure! I'd love to."

"I'll get my car—oh MY GOD! I forgot I wasn't driving today, oh God..."

"It's okay, I'll drive. But, we'll have to walk to my car at the parking lot."

"Ah, thank God. I was ready to get scolded by you."

"Hey, I'm not the type to scold people, okay?" She rolled her eyes, making the pale one chuckled before pulling her closer by his jacket, having no idea why he did that.

The female stumbled a little, seeing him inserting his hand into the jacket's pocket made her... blush? The idea of keeping them close due to the cold made her heart jump. Just another day of thanking God for not making the space crowded, or else they would be the headline of news on social media.

"Uh, I pulled you closed because there was a group of weird looking men staring at you." He half whispered, trying not to catch anyone's attention.

Daeun nodded, making a bolder move by hugging his arm seeing his body trembling due to the cold breeze.

"I think we should be faster, you're going to be dead in the cold if we keep on playing around."

🎸

The familiarity of the apartment made the female smile as she remembered every single thing that happened at this exact place a few weeks ago. It feels like déjàvu, the strawberry milk box on the table, the lighting, the untouched guitar and the scent. Daeun chose to sit on the couch across the television and took the milk to have a drink.

"You surely love strawberry milk."

"You're very good at guessing, Jaehyun." Both then chuckled before the home owner moved to take several books from the shelf to impress the female, who was immersed into the tv show about animals.

The view was making him laugh, she's really adorable, it makes sense if she could cry whenever wrong people touch her by accident.

"Hey, are you here to watch some animals or to enjoy my poem books?" Jaehyun pulled her face by her chin towards his direction, making her breath stuck on her throat. The sudden action made her stop turning back to the screen and immediately took a thin book to check on it.

"Oh! Sorry, I was a little too focused on the bear."

"No need to say sorry, I just want to show you these, my collection. I wonder if you read an English poem?"

"I do! I rather read the English ones rather than ones in Korean. They're quite difficult to understand, I can't even unveil the meaning in some books. Like the one Jiah once gave to me, it took me months to understand what the hell they were talking about."

Jaehyun giggled, oh she couldn't shut up once she was given a chance to speak. The way she blabbered about the hard to read poem, his eyes were only looking deep into hers, noticing every single detail of her facial structure.

"So? What was that book talking about?"

"It's just freaking love! I thought it was about change in modernization or something, but it's actually quite simple, it's love."

"Well, how do you know love's simple? Have you experienced falling in love?"

"Of course I did, but it was a long time ago. I forgot about it already, so maybe the sparks weren't there."

Daeun stared into space.

What love actually is?

She never knew.

She learned how to feel it.

Has she ever experienced it?

These questions were running around her mind. Now that Jaehyun asked about it, she felt the eagerness to express her loving state to someone, or maybe receive the energy to dig into the meaning of love. Though there are various themes for poetry, love what was confusing her each day.

or sure, she doesn't need someone to love to understand the concept of love, but she believed that loving would help her get through it.

"What language do I have to use to understand love?"

"If you ask me, it's music." The male now leaned back into the couch, holding his head with one hand while looking deep into her soul.

"What do I love the most? Oh, arts. Anything related to art, then that's my favourite."

Jaehyun smacked his lips, "I guess you could draw it all out whenever you feel like it, no?"

"Quite. I could paint my problems away."

"Then, how can you draw love?"

"Is that how you figure it out?" Daeun looked excited, she reached for Jaehyun's hand and put it into her fist making him blush quite obviously.

"Why don't you try it out? Since you still can't put it into words."

"I will then, and you need to be beside me when I do."

🎸