off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ seventy three

Jaewook couldn’t recall the last time she had been on a date. An official one, with someone she called her boyfriend. Any memories she might have had of those moments wouldn’t be very enjoyable anyway. But now that she and Matthew were officially a couple, she was looking forward to spending some time with him. And without the ambiguity that had always surrounded their relationship. This time, she could say it shamelessly: she was going on her first date with her boyfriend, Matthew. She still hadn’t quite gotten used to it...

The ideas for this special date had ranged from simply hanging out at home, to straight up driving to the other side of the country. They had settled on something a little more achievable, yet special all the same; Matthew had been talking about this drive-in movie theater that had opened recently, and they'd found it would make a perfect date location. Movies were always a popular choice for first dates, as they allowed to spend a moment with someone without too much effort, and had a built-in conversation starter for when it would end. But Matthew and Jaewook weren't exactly at the first date stage, despite it being their first official one, and the privacy of a car seemed like a much better way to enjoy a movie together. Not to mention, if they didn’t have to get out of Jaewook's car, they didn’t risk running into anyone they knew and getting caught red-handed.

Though it was technically a movie date, the movie itself was unimportant. They'd just driven up at whatever time was the most convenient for them. That was how they found themselves watching the most confusing mess of an action movie they'd ever encountered, bad CGI and stilted dialogue included. For the tenth time in the past minute, Jaewook shifted in the driver's seat, her hands flat against her thighs. She had been trying her hardest to focus on this movie, but the plot was so nonsensical and convoluted she couldn’t make heads nor tails of it.

It seemed that Jaewook was not the only one who couldn’t focus. All of a sudden, she felt a hand gently come to rest over hers on her thigh, and Jaewook immediately abandoned the movie. Matthew was still staring at the screen, obviously trying to play it cool, but she could see the way his lips were drawn, as if he was holding himself back from smiling.

"I'm really not going to be able to keep up with the plot if you do that, you know?" she spoke up, though she'd given up on whatever semblance of plot there was long ago.

A small smile on his face, he turned to her with the most innocent expression. "Well, I'm pretty interesting too, wouldn’t you say?"

Nothing Matthew said was ever that funny, but Jaewook couldn’t stop herself from chuckling in response. There was something about him, about the way he spoke and smiled and looked at her, that just activated the giggles in her. It was a little ridiculous, she was aware of it, but in those moments she couldn’t really care about her image. He was just too cute.

"Right, you are," she murmured, shaking her head.

"So, can I keep distracting you?"

"You’ll just do whatever you want, anyway."

Taking it as permission, Matthew's eyes narrowed into crescents. His hand wrapped around hers and he lifted it, pulling it towards him. Following the movement, Jaewook shifted in her seat once again, this time to get as close as she could to him. His smile never once leaving his face, he peppered small, fleeting kisses against each of her knuckles, and Jaewook's breath hitched in her throat. Well, there was no way in hell she could possibly go back to watching that damn movie now.

"You mean so much to me," he whispered against her skin, and the touch sent a shiver up her nape. "I'm so happy we're here together."

Jaewook's first instinct was to check if the A/C in her car was still on, because her body temperature had risen dramatically. Every single thing Matthew did felt so new, so unfamiliar, so enticing, she found herself at a loss for words. It was rare, for her to get thrown off her feet, as she always liked to remain calm and impassible, constantly in control of everything around her. But with Matthew, she couldn’t hide. She couldn’t hide who she was.