Happy Endings ⁘ Chenle

30 ⁘ Bowling

⁘ 30 ⁘

"Kim Da-eun," Haechan called the girl, attracting her attention right away. 

She turned to him, his voice and face so incredibly familiar despite her never having met him before. It felt odd - and then again it didn't. 

What surprised her, however, was the person right next to him. Not sure what to say, Da-eun just watched the two of them walk up to her. Haechan smiled. It was warm and cool and a little cheeky looking despite that not being his intention. 

When they came to a halt in front of her, Haechan offered her a simple, 

"Hey." 

She smiled at him, then put her attention on the other boy who quickly followed that up by greeting her as well. 

"Hey, nice to meet you," Renjun said, smiling politely.  

You can do this, Da-eun, she thought to herself. Be cool. 

"Nice to meet you too." She cleared her throat in an attempt to get rid of how flustered she felt. "So, where are we going? You didn't want to tell me." 

Wordlessly, Haechan pointed at the building across the street. She followed the invisible line his finger drew over to a building with a big, fluorescent bowling pin on it.  

"Bowling?" Da-eun asked in surprise. Haechan nodded confidently. 

"Yes," he confirmed. "And I should warn you that I am pretty good at it."

Indeed, he wasn't bad. 

His first attempt resulted in a spare - and a very impressive one at that. 

Haechan shrugged. It was a shrug that said 'I know I am good' without actually having to put it into words. While amused, Da-eun was up for the challenge. 

Playfully, she rolled her eyes and stepped past the boy. She grabbed the next best bowling ball - then quickly let go of it again when she realized it was way too heavy for her. 

Clearing her throat awkwardly, she chose another one and lo and behold this one was light enough for her to be able to actually lift it. 

Amazing. 

Confidence oozed from the girl that held the ball in her hand like she was trying her hardest not to drop it. On top of that, her steps looked a bit awkward as she tried to look cooler than she felt, knowing very well that two of her biggest idols were watching her right now. 

Act cool was what she was thinking but she was stumbling ahead only clumsily. 

However, while she was currently not confident in her coolness, she was very much confident in her bowling skills. 

She took a deep breath that helped her focus as she positioned herself in front of the lane. Another deep breath as she swung her arm back the first time. And then--

"Strike!" Renjun exclaimed excitedly, unable to hold back his amusement when he spotted his friend's bewildered expression. He laughed at Haechan, then walked past him to give Da-eun a high-five. "Well done." 

"Thanks," she said, smiling. As she walked back to her chair, she met Haechan's gaze on the way. He narrowed his eyes at her. 

"Not bad," he determined. She had trouble telling whether he was actually irritated by that or if he was just pretending to be. 

"Thank you," she said nonetheless as she sat down next to him. Yet, he soon started grinning, amused by their interaction. 

"You are good at bowling too?" Haechan asked doubtfully.