bad chemistry

forty - one

Making sure they're fully disguised, Jeno and Minju head towards the garage where her car is waiting to be used. She never really used it often since she is afraid of driving, so Jeno decides to try driving the nice car without needing to take public transportation. They called in a reservation at the place earlier. Minju rents out the entire place with excitement as she wants some privacy with him.

She turns her attention towards the driving male from time to time as he focuses on driving so that he doesn't crash as he doesn't drive as often either. She finds it quite hot that her date is now driving her car since she doesn't really let anyone drive it. Not even Jungwoo is able to drive it since she didn't want to give it to him.

Jeno turns his attention towards the other as they stop at the stoplight. Minju turns away quickly enough for him to not notice, and he wonders if he should do the thing that is most popular in the Korean dramas. He never really got the chance to do that in his past relationship so he takes a lot of courage as his hand makes over to Minju's and holds her hand quietly.

She is really taken aback as she turns to him quickly as the music fills in the void. The car continues to move again as Minju smiles brightly as their fingers intertwine together in sync as the energetic music moves through them in excitement. No words are meant to be spoken as their hands are interlocked tightly as she nods her head excitedly to the beat.

Parking quickly, he sighs to himself as the parking lot is fully packed as he knows it is going to be difficult to hide Minju's full identity. Minju squeezes his hand lightly to get his full attention as she whispers assuringly, "Just need to keep a low profile. Don't worry too much about it."

She then drags him along inside the arena as she wants to quickly ice skate as it's been forever since she is able to fully rest and enjoy a quiet night. Jeno scratches his head a little as he clears his throat quietly, "I never ice skated before."

Minju helps put on his shoes for him as she laughs to herself in response. She tries to hide her constant giggle as she asks endearingly, "You never did so?"

Jeno rolls his eyes playfully in response as he nudges her forehead gently as she falls back gently onto her butt. She grunts in reply as she crosses her arms angrily since she starts to feel upset that Jeno is starting to make fun of her. Minju finds it super annoying to respond back to Jeno but he soon places his hand against her shoulder before drawing her slowly into a warm hug. She allows him to as her face starts to brighten up again in response as they bask in each other's warmth before they pull away to head onto the ice.

Minju's face is full covered with a cap and also a face mask so that no one is able to recognize her as Jeno's hands are tightly holding onto Minju's as she guides him through the ice rink. Although he doesn't fear much things, he just has an uneasy feeling of falling onto his face which he is not super excited about.

The date itself is something that Minju really enjoyed as she watches Jeno struggle a few times as he tries to skate along the ice. She really wanted to take off her mask and her disguise so that she can blend in with the other citizens. But she knows that she is never able to unless she moves to a different country. That's the one thing that she felt bad the entire time as she envied Jeno for roaming around freely without needing to worry about covering his identity. She mindlessly thinks about this as she ends up falling onto the ice as she screeches barely.

Jeno manages to catch her as he wraps his arms around her without a second thought as they both tumble onto the ice soon after he does so. The world revolves in a blur as the two are kind stunned from the fall as Minju is on top of the other as they stare at each other quietly. Everyone passes by them as if they are nothing in the world as Jeno's nose turns bright red as the cold ice starts to seep through the open space between them.

Minju stumbles to sit up as she adjusts her mask and cap so that no one would notice who she is. Jeno manages to grab onto the wall as he holds her hand quietly as if he knows what Minju was thinking about; he proceeds to skate with her without asking any questions to not make Minju feel uncomfortable.

Their reservation time for lunch already passed as the pair starts to make their way towards the restaurant within the ice rink so that they can at least make it time for dinner. They didn't really speak any words as the male is well aware of what Minju is thinking about. They get a private room for the view as the restaurant's window viewing reveals the scene below them. Minju stares at the other for a few minutes as Jeno looks over the menu as he is indecisive of what to order.

"Do you really like me?"

Jeno's eyes move up from the menu to stare quietly at Minju as Minju's confidence is at the all-time low as she isn't making any eye contact with him. He doesn't respond to her question at all which further prompts Minju to add another question, "Can I even compare to your ex? I can't even go on a proper date with you since I would need to be all covered up."

Jeno lets out a loud chuckle after a long period of silence as this confuses Minju as she is not able to decipher whether he is being serious currently. He sips his water a few times before he speaks up confidently as Minju's eyes slowly make their way up to stare back at the latter. "I can truly say that I am realizing what being happy is because I don't feel that way towards anyone...and who cares if we don't go outside for fancy dates or to the cafe. I enjoy little moments like this... Is that what you were worried about?"

Minju tries to hide her smile forming on her face as Jeno then adds slowly with a sigh, "I'm really nothing. I can't give you the celebrity life that you deserve since I am just living by as a captain. I myself want to ask you that question."

"You're perfect the way you are. And I don't think anyone or anything that stop me from thinking that."