3 Paths to Love

Chapter 49

Myungsuk giggled as Zahra's face lit up. "This is amazing," she mumbled and stuffed the rest of the cookie into her mouth, already reaching for another one. "If the others found these, they'd be gone by now."

"That's why I hid this box for us," he said, having set the rest of the basket for the other club members. "You should come to the cafe one day. Everything's really good," Myungsuk hummed, the cool night breeze blowing in his hair.

He tightened Insoo's jacket around his shoulders, staring up at the clear starry speckled sky. Climbing two hours up the hilltop was worth it. Zahra and he carried the basket together, talking about Galactica the whole time.

He kicked up some dust as he bit his lip. He convinced her Insoo would make a great Captain Giya cosplay.

Speaking of which, the familiar roasted scent wafted around Myungsuk and Insoo stepped into view.

"Having fun?" Insoo asked, reaching down to poke the tip of Myungsuk's nose.

"Yup," Myungsuk said, enthusiastically nodding, turning back to Zahra. "I invited Zahra to come to the cafe."

Zahra lifted her head, two cookies in her hand, and smiled around the cookie hanging from her mouth. "Yeah, I wanna visit the shop nearby."

"They'll have new stuff by next week," Myungusk pointed out.

"So you're making plans without me?" Insoo asked with a pout.

"Uh oh," Zahra grinned. "Someone's jealous," she cooed.

Myungsuk blinked before whipping back to Insoo, gaping. "Are you really jealous?" he asked, fiddling his fingers together. "You can come too," he said and tugged Insoo's shirt, shuffling through other remedies to cheer him up. "You're the one I'm dating. I like you the most."

Insoo's face softened and squeezed Myungsuk's cheeks in his hands, pressing their foreheads together. "I know. I like you the most too," he whispered. "I'm not jealous. In fact, I'm really happy you're making friends."

"Really," Myungsuk breathed out, their scents intertwining, building a small nest around them. Just him and Insoo. When Insoo nodded, Myungsuk's heart burst and he flung his arms around him, giggling into his chest. The flutters in his stomach danced to Insoo's laugh and nuzzled him as he was pulled closer.

"Telescopes are done," Boonnam's voice called out, monotone but clearly unimpressed.

"Ah," Insoo pulled back, his hands sliding down Myungsuk's arms. "Let's go before we miss it."

Nodding, Myungsuk laced their fingers together and carefully followed Insoo around the hilltop to where the rest of the club was. With the number of telescopes, they all paired off. Some already looked through them while their partners waited, chatting away and nibbling on the snacks.

"This is ours," Insoo said, walking over to the one at the end. "You can go first."

Myungsuk squinted one eye and peered into the eyepiece, the glass clinking against his glasses. "Oof," he jerked back, pouting when Insoo chuckled.

You should remove your glasses," he said, holding his hand out. Myungsuk slid them off, snapping them close and handing them to Insoo. He squinted as his blurry figure hurried to where Myungsuk's backpack was leaning against a tree. Jogging back, Insoo wrapped his arms around him from behind. "Okay, try again."

He tried again, slowly adjusting the magnitude as he tilted the telescope up, Insoo guiding it as well. "Now, you should probably see-" Insoo trailed off, tilting it to the right.