off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ sixty two

Arcades had been one of Yujin and Irang's favorite spots to hang out at, all throughout their friendship. It was the perfect place to waste some time, and play games they simply couldn’t have played in their living room. The snacks were often top notch too, and there was nothing quite as satisfying as racking up the tickets after finding an exploit in one of the games. Yes, arcades had very much become a staple of their relationship, and a surefire sign of a good time.

Today, though, Yujin and Irang were not on their typical one-on-one outing to an arcade. Rather, they had been invited by their classmates to join them, and though Irang had hesitated a bit, preferring to spend time with her family, learning that Yujin would be there had convinced her in a second. Any excuse to see him would do, as she lacked the courage to explicitely ask him on a date. And apparently, judging by how he'd barely texted her lately, Yujin lacked the courage, too.

But being with other people meant waiting for their turn to play their favorite games. Not to mention, their classmates weren't quite the poster children for the old adage of "sharing is caring". They'd been watching two of them battle it out on a Dance Dance Revolution machine for what felt like half an hour now, and Irang was convinced she wouldn’t step foot on it before sunset. Still, cheering for her friends was always fun, but her voice was starting to give out.

At least Yujin was here. They hadn’t really talked, too engrossed in their friends' performance, but the two had ordered smoothies as they often did, and stood side by side, enjoying each other's presence. It was strange how much the atmosphere between the two had changed since they'd gone from friends to partners. Even just standing next to him, Irang could feel her heart beating just a little faster than it usually would, and it almost felt like the warmth of his body was transferring to hers. It felt comfortable, much more so than when they'd first started dating.

"You want some?" Yujin suddenly asked as he handed his strawberry smoothie to her.

"Oh, yes!"

Without giving it much thought, Irang grabbed the straw in between her fingers and brought it to her lips. She herself had never been so bothered by the concept of "indirect kisses", even when they'd just been friends. Yujin, on the other hand, always seemed to get a little awkward when those would happen. That he would even offer her his own smoothie made it all feel that much realer. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. There was no reason to feel embarrassed about these things.

"Yes, I won!" one of their friends cheered, jumping up and down in triumph.

A large grin on her face, she stepped down from the machine and all but threw herself in her boyfriend's arms. Irang and Yujin averted their eyes almost immediately, as she shamelessly kissed him. In front of all of their friends, in front of even her defeated opponent. It certainly put into perspective how anxious Irang had felt about holding Yujin's hand for the first time since they got together. Some people did not worry nearly as much, apparently.

"Come on, Soojin," the boyfriend chimed her, "not in front of the innocent children!"

Irang never quite liked when her classmates regarded her as an inexperienced child that knew nothing about the world, but it wasn't far off enough that she could complain about it. She'd always been a little more innocent than her peers. Maybe that was a result of Hanbin's protectiveness.

Soojin chuckled at her boyfriend's words, shaking her head as if in disbelief. "Oh, please! Yujin and Irang have been dating for a few weeks now, they've obviously kissed."

As if she'd been dipped in icy water, Irang felt her whole body freeze. Her eyes wide, she stared soundlessly at her friend, processing her words. Next to her, Yujin seemed to have had the exact same reaction, and he didn’t move an inch for an entire minute, as if he'd been turned into a statue.