“I guess we choose the background first here.”
Before entering the booth, I touched the large screen and fiddled with various settings.
I figured I was better at this than Cha Rui, so I took the lead, and it turned out to be surprisingly easy to use.
There were many choices for the background, with various colors and images, but the basic white looked the best.
“Should we just go with this simple one?”
“Whatever you want.”
After finishing the selection, including the number of photos, we stepped into the booth, which was shockingly narrow.
I was fine, but Cha Rui, whose bone structure was naturally different, seemed like his shoulders were literally touching the walls.
Since we were both bulky, it took a considerable amount of time just to close the door.
We had to be extra careful as one mistake could potentially punch a hole in the wall.
Before we could even figure out the situation, the countdown began on the small screen mounted above.
Wait, isn’t the camera usually mounted on the front?
“Whoa, it’s taking the picture! Get close! Chirpy!”
I quickly snatched the bewildered Chirpy and, without thinking, grabbed Cha Rui’s face first.
Chirpy was an ignorant spirit, but I didn’t know how Cha Rui, with that kind of situational awareness, became an S-rank Hunter; he still hadn’t found the camera.
If I left him alone, only his crown with the rabbit ears would show, so I had to be proactive.
Only then did he figure out the camera’s location, blinking awkwardly and fixing his posture.
But his appearance was subtly strange.
He was usually relaxed, even unruly, in front of countless reporters, yet now his entire body was stiff.
His expression was even more serious.
Was he taking a passport photo?
He had managed to smile naturally on my father’s birthday, but a few months later, he was suddenly acting like a statue.
This is troubling…
Unable to watch any longer, just before the photo was taken, I subtly pulled up the corners of his mouth with both my hands.
Click.
It wasn’t like this situation wasn’t awkward for me.
Of course, I felt incredibly self-conscious, but I couldn’t just waste 6,000 won of my own money.
That money could buy two servings of tteokbokki; I couldn’t let it go to waste.
Determined to get my money’s worth, this time, I cheekily pressed my face against Cha Rui’s.
This pose, while slightly embarrassing to do, yielded quite decent results.
It was a fact I learned firsthand, though I wished I hadn’t, by looking at the picture I took with Woo Jaehyun.
Click.
At this point, Chirpy seemed to understand the atmosphere.
He joined me, pretending to devour Cha Rui and sharpened his little finger-claws.
The photo concept was a fox and a squirrel eating a healthy rabbit.
Click.
As I continued to tease him like that, Cha Rui’s stiff expression gradually began to relax.
Perhaps my efforts paid off, as he started to play along afterward, even naturally wrapping his arm around my waist.
We playfully pushed each other’s faces towards the camera, poked each other’s cheeks with our fingers, and didn’t hesitate to put each other in a headlock.
The awkward atmosphere was gone, and we were genuinely having fun.
The excited feeling was very familiar, as if we had been doing this for a long time.
“Haha! Look at your expression in this one.”
Laughter continued non-stop even while choosing the photos after the shoot.
Of course, most of it was my laughter, but a smile remained on Cha Rui’s face, as if he was enjoying himself.
Given his personality, this was practically a huge grin.
“Do you like this picture?”
“Yes, a lot.”
Our lips, which were pushed out like a duck’s because our faces were squished by each other’s hands, were hilarious.
Especially since Cha Rui’s ruined expression was rare to see, I absolutely couldn’t help but choose it.
Chirpy, who was pressing his cheek on my head all by himself, was also too cute…
I wanted to set it as my phone background right away, but I had to suppress the urge.
If I were to accidentally be caught, the picture might end up plastered all over the news with the headline, ‘The Shocking Double Life of Cha Rui.’
“It came out well. Here.”
A moment later, the long-awaited photos finally came out of the print slot.
They felt different from viewing them on the screen, and the laughter I had suppressed started to bubble out again.
Once the button was pressed, it was hard to stop.
Ah, I’m not usually a person who laughs this easily.
After finally catching my breath, I handed one of the two copies to Cha Rui and carefully put mine away in my wallet.
Seeing that, Chirpy seemed to get greedy and puffed out his cheeks, but he calmed down quickly after I gave him an almond.
“This is my first time doing something like this, but it’s quite fun.”
“Should we take more pictures next time?”
“Yeah, let’s try a different machine next time. I had no idea the camera would be attached to the ceiling.”
As we chuckled and headed for the exit, we stopped almost simultaneously.
An unexpected crowd of people had gathered in front of the shop.
About 20 people had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, all holding up their phones and recording.
Having gone through this before, this wasn’t a big deal, but the location secretly bothered me.
It was a total relief that we had taken off the headbands earlier.
I didn’t care for myself, but Cha Rui wearing the rabbit-ear headband with a ribbon would have been quite fatal.
“Wow… Cha Rui is so damn handsome, seriously.”
“But why are they both here? Did they take pictures together?”
“No way.”
Still, the fact that they only murmured and didn’t enter the store meant they were afraid of Cha Rui.
Most of them were young students, and they were more focused on watching Cha Rui than me.
Since they were surrounding the exit, I couldn’t go outside, and it was truly awkward.
I couldn’t keep waiting, and just as I was about to step forward first—
Cha Rui, who had been quietly observing the situation next to me, suddenly grabbed my hand and started running.
When the people failed to make way, he simply jumped over their heads.
“Oof.”
I, who was inadvertently pulled up with him, looked down with a highly bewildered expression.
I had always squeezed through people after asking for their understanding, but I had never thought of going over their heads.
Sure enough, everyone was looking up at us with their mouths wide open.
They hadn’t expected us to leave in such a manner, either.
Seeing their shocked faces gave me a strange feeling of exhilaration.
Heartfelt laughter burst out of me as I ran down the street, following Cha Rui.
Ah, this feels so good.
However, that friendly atmosphere vanished like a lie the moment we reached our destination.
The air around us became heavy, as if cold water had been poured over it.
[Closed every Monday]
I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly while checking the notice posted on the dessert shop.
Judging by Cha Rui’s stiff expression, he had no idea that today was their day off.
“Hmm, that’s a shame… Should we go somewhere else now?”
“……”
Despite my suggestion, he stubbornly kept his mouth shut and only stared at the notice.
I couldn’t bring myself to suggest going somewhere else because of the lingering regret in his eyes.
But was there a reason why it had to be this place?
Honestly, it felt a bit old-fashioned compared to modern dessert shops.
Cha Rui wouldn’t be concerned about the cost, so it seemed there was another reason I didn’t know about.
Would I be too sensitive if I attributed that reason to ‘Seo Inho’?
“Cheer up. We can just make shaved ice.”
“Make it ourselves?”
“Yeah. It’s a bit awkward at my place since my father is resting, so how about your place?”
Only then did Cha Rui take his eyes off the notice and look back.
The lingering regret in his eyes was now shaking with an unknown emotion.
Whatever it was, I decided to be satisfied with the fact that he had turned his attention to me.
“Let’s go shopping.”
A small supermarket nearby.
We only intended to buy simple shaved ice ingredients, so there was no need to go to a large mart.
Even a small neighborhood supermarket like this had everything if you looked hard enough.
The jelly for shaved ice held in my hand was proof of that.
It wasn’t a fast-moving item, judging by the fact that it was tucked away in a corner, but as long as the expiration date was fine, it didn’t matter.
“By the way, what kind of shaved ice are we making? Red bean shaved ice Patbingsu?”
I was checking the rice cake for shaved ice displayed next to it and only belatedly looked up.
I wondered what Cha Rui was doing, and he was currently choosing mangoes in the fruit section right in front of me.
He seemed to be considering it quite seriously, so he didn’t seem to be just grabbing one carelessly.
“Why mango?”
Ah, does he want mango shaved ice?
Now that I thought about it, the banner in front of the dessert shop also prominently featured mango shaved ice as their signature menu.
This guy, Cha Rui…
“You picked a whole bunch for me before, too. You like mangoes, don’t you?”
Now having caught up i can safely say this story is interesting but not at all going how I thought it would lmao 🤣 cant wait for the next chapter though!!