off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ eighty one

Whenever Jiyeon would visit her local bookstore, the hardest part would often be lugging all of her books back to her place. Because she did not go out very often, she liked to do her shopping in bulk, and would most of the time find herself buying ten or so novels at once. Now, one book was not so heavy, but ten of them? Her noodly recluse arms were not nearly strong enough to hold them the entire way to her house.

How lucky she was that, today, Jiwoong had accompanied her. She had learned her lesson from last time: study dates were not very productive, often ending up with a lot more emphasis on the "date" part than the "study" one. Her monthly bookstore trip had seemed like the perfect backup plan. It didn't require too much concentration, and Jiwoong had even given her some input as to which books she might like, despite barely reading himself. Of course, as they'd walked out of the store, he had wordlessly grabbed the plastic bag containing all of her books. Because that was just the kind of gentleman he was.

Now, as they walked side by side in the streets, in the general direction of her house, Jiyeon found herself searching for excuses to make this date last just a little longer. Anyone would have thought it ridiculous, considering he was her actual boyfriend and she could simply have asked him to spend more time with her, but Jiyeon was feeling a little too shy to show so much desperation.

"It's really sunny today. Perfect weather for a stroll," she suggested innocently, her hands behind her back.

Jiwoong's lips curled up into a small smile. "It really is nice. I hate to think that monsoon season is going to arrive soon. It gets so gloomy then."

"Ah, does it? I kinda like the sound of the rain when I'm writing..."

"Well, yes, if I'm stuck inside with you, it might not be so bad," he teased, his eyes narrowing.

Before Jiyeon could react, blush or protest or straight up fawn, the almost comical sound of a crack made her jump in place. Then, a tumble of crashes after that. Both Jiyeon and Jiwoon froze in their tracks, and their eyes slowly panned to their feet, as if they were too scared to look at what had already happened anyway. As the sound had suggested, the bottom of the plastic bag Jiwoong was carrying had burst open, and all of Jiyeon's brand new books had crashed to the ground. They stayed silent for a second too long.

"Oh my god," Jiyeon finally gasped, as she crouched down.

Jiwoong followed suit. "I should've kept my hand on the bottom of the bag! I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's fine! Let's just pick those up before someone steps on them."

Eyeing the people walking on the streets, Jiyeon and Jiwoong quickly picked up the books, dividing the pile in two so they would be able to carry them, in the absence of a viable bag. Jiyeon could have sworn Jiwoong had taken one or two more books than she did, but she didn’t comment on it.

"Wow, I should probably bring my own bag next time," Jiyeon chuckled, as she held her books close to her chest.

"Or bring a smarter boyfriend," Jiwoong added, before they both laughed.

Jiyeon couldn’t help but shake her head. "There's no better boyfriend than you."

Apparently, Jiwoong could not wait a second more to kiss her. Without warning, he leaned in, his eyes anchoring into hers. Though the books they were both holding knocked into each other, it did not stop them from closing the distance, and sharing a quick, but gentle kiss. As they pulled away, Jiyeon couldn’t hide her smile.

"Yo, Jiwoong? Is that you?" a voice cut right through the flowers and sparkles.

The both of them jumped in surprise, and whipped their heads in the direction of the voice. As soon as Jiyeon's eyes took in the people that had called after him, her body froze solid. Dread in her stomach, she swallowed the lump in her throat, praying that this was just an hallucination caused by all the emotion. Standing before them, were the very guys who had given Jiwoong a dare to date her and break her heart, nearly a year ago now. Ever since she had found out the truth, from a conversation she had stumbled upon, she hadn’t seen these two. Or rather, she had done everything in her power to avoid them. Just seeing their faces brought back all of the pain and anguish of these days long gone.