━ 𝘁𝘅𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

that one bet

"Gosh Hyeri, how is it that you're dating someone every few months and I haven't even dated a single person unless you count the neighbour's child many years back and even then, I didn't exactly date him, more like we just hung out for an afternoon at the old playground." I rested my head on the table, looking up at my best friend, who was currently sitting at the desk beside me, her legs dangling off the edge of the desk.

"What about Kai? He's single too. Maybe y'all can strike a bet or something? Like if you two try to date for a few weeks and whoever falls in love with the other by the end of the whole thing loses?" She suggested, pointing her thumb towards the brown-haired guy, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Kai?" I echoed, pressing my lips together and frowning a little. To be honest, I have a small crush on him but could never say anything to him without stuttering every few sentences, let alone ask him out even to study. Maybe this was my chance to try and hang out with him? "Sure, I'll try." I was freaking out on the inside, but I didn't want Hyeri to tease me, so I kept a nonchalant expression and agreed.

"Kai, wanna bet on something?" I asked, leaning over to see what he was doing. He was drawing a family of chubby penguins walking on the ice. Cute.

"Sure, what do you want to bet on?" He asked, looking at me curiously, his eyes sparkling.

"Should we try to date for a few weeks and whoever falls in love with the other by the end of the whole thing loses and has to do the other's bidding?" I said, repeating the bet Hyeri suggested.

Kai's eyes widened in surprise but he quickly recovered and to my surprise, nodded. "We can start now if you want." He said, a hint of a smirk appearing as he reaches for my hand and gently kisses its back. My skin tingled where his lips touched and he shot a charming grin at me before returning to his drawing.

I pretty much already lost the bet.

The next day, he asked me out for ice cream after school and we shared a huge bowl of different ice cream flavours with chocolate sprinkles and two cherries on top. "Mm, it's really good," I commented, closing my eyes with pure bliss. "Say ah," Kai said, holding out a scoop of ice cream in front of my mouth. "I'm not a baby, I can feed myself." I rolled my eyes as his spoon was shoved right in my face. "All guys feed their girlfriend don't they?" He grinned, possibly enjoying this way too much. "You're taking this way too seriously aren't you?" I asked and he shrugged, the corners of his lips moving up. After lots of grumbling on my part, I took a bite of the cold treat and tried hard to hide the blush that was spreading on my cheeks when he proceeded to use the same spoon to finish the rest of his ice cream. 

He picked me up at my house the following week and told me we were going somewhere he thought I would like. On the way there, he was humming songs throughout and when I asked him where we were going, he simply replied, "Just wait and see y/n, I promise you'll like it." Since he wasn't going to tell me where we were going, I looked outside the window,  admiring the lush greenery. We had driven out of the city a few minutes ago and the surroundings were green from the long grass fields sprouting left and right. The grass fields soon became more colourful as we drove along, brightly coloured flowers blooming everywhere. In short, it was beautiful. "Woah..." I exclaimed softly, pressing my hands against the window in amazement. Kai seemed to sense my excitement and chuckled softly while I turned to face him. "What's so funny?" "You're kind of cute sometimes." He commented while facing me before turning back to the road, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel. I blinked several times before pretending I was not affected by what he said and turned back to the window, but I could feel my heart rate increase a little as I enjoyed the view.

"We're here," Kai announced a while later. I stretched, stifling a yawn. How did I even fall asleep...?

He opened the car door, and I felt a little disoriented. "Where are we?" I asked softly, looking around. There was a quaint little cottage near a crystal-clear stream and there were beautiful oak trees surrounding us. If the flower field was beautiful, this would be straight out of a fairy tale. I walked around, exclaiming at the vibrant toadstools and the small colourful fishes swimming in the stream. Kai just stood there, watching me dart here and there, amazed at every detail of this picturesque place.

"Do you like it?" He asked after I finally settled down, sitting near the stream as I dipped my toes into the cool water. "It's beautiful." I exhaled, looking at the water as it glimmered under the sunlight, catching the rays of the sun. We sat there in silence for a while, enjoying the fresh air before he stood up. "Follow me." As I stood up and followed him to the small cottage, he said.

"Welcome to my hideout," Kai announced, rubbing his hand on his nape as he stepped aside, allowing me to go in. "Woah...you built this?" I asked, in awe of everything I was seeing. There was a wooden bookshelf in the cottage filled with row after row of books that would put my collection to shame. There was a small table in the middle of the room, probably for food and drinks when he was reading. In one corner, there were a bunch of beanbags and throw cushions that looked super comfortable to sit there and enjoy the serenity of the place. "Mmhm," Kai answered, looking a little proud of his creation. I would be too if I were him.

We settled down in the corner amongst the bean bags and cushions, the cool wooden floor beneath our feet. "Y/n?" Kai said, turning himself to face me. "Yeah?" "I think we should shorten the time for this dating bet." He said, and my heart sank. Did he not want to hang out? "Is there a reason why?" I asked, feeling genuinely curious about his request. "Because I don't need any longer to know I've lost the bet." He said, cracking a smile as my eyes widened. "Would it be a fun fact to know I'd lost the bet since the start?" I joked, as his smile brightened even more. "Would it be an even more fun fact to know that I'd lost the bet years ago?" He asked, threading his fingers through mine as I leaned my head on his chest, feeling a warm tingly feeling in my heart. We stayed in that position in silence, our smiles never leaving our faces.

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