Promise Me | Daerin

Chapter Four

On the second date, Haerin had taken Danielle to a restaurant further into the other side of Seoul and after they were done eating, she taught Danielle how to slow dance on the tiny square wooden platform off to the side of restaurant, Haerin rushing toward the manager to ask him to play some slow music for them to dance to as Danielle had bitten her lip to stop herself from grinning widely.

On the third date, they simply grabbed some food to go from a fast food place and parked Danielle's car next to the forest of Han River, sitting in the back seat and talking as they ate before Danielle had cuddled up into Haerin's lap, the girl placing her jacket over Danielle with her legs on either side of her body, the girl's back pressed against Haerin's chest. Danielle had dozed off after a few hours of gazing at the stars, her head resting on Haerin's shoulder, and the black-haired girl couldn't take her eyes off her, watching her furrowed brow and the way her chest rose and fell with each breath in her sleep as she pressed kiss after kiss to her hair and face gently.

Their fourth date, everything had changed.

"Danielle?" Haerin had whispered, her lips pressed to Danielle's temple as the girl hummed softly and cuddled further into Haerin's lap from where they were sitting on their rock at Han River, and Haerin had clutched her bottom lip between her teeth before she had asked the question that had been on her mind from the second they had started these dates...

"Dani...will...will you be my girlfriend?" Haerin had asked softly, her heart pounding with fear and anxiety, and the way Danielle had leaned forward to stare back at her in shock, the way tears had immediately sprung in her eyes before she had grabbed Haerin's face and kissed her deeply, repeating the word 'yes' over and over again against them...

Haerin's pretty sure she'll never get that image or the happiness that exploded inside her out of her mind.

It's been almost a month now since they started dating, and they're inching closer and closer to their graduation, a month and a half away from freedom, and Haerin finds herself wondering if her plans to leave Seoul after she graduates are still her plans at all.

She doesn't know what Danielle has planned for when she graduates, suspects she probably will want to head to college, but Haerin knows that's not an option for her. She can't afford it, and god, she's already stressing about how her and Danielle are going to make this work once she goes off to college, and is already stressing about what she's going to do with her life once they graduate...

She knows she should talk to Danielle about it, but she wants to put it off for as long as she can...they're so happy right now, she doesn't want to jeopardize that by bringing up serious stuff...

Haerin's lost count of how many dates they've been on now, but she plans for this one to be special, her mind on the paper in her bag as she clutches it in her hands and grins, following Danielle further into the cemetery to the clearing from before, the brunette-haired girl carrying the bag with her telescope in it with slight difficulty that has Haerin frowning and stepping forward quickly.

"Dani, baby, here...let me take it." She takes the bag from Danielle's trembling hands, her frown deepening as the girl lets out a wheeze of exhaustion before she sighs and offers Haerin a small smile.

Haerin sets down both bags before she grabs her own and pulls out two picnic blankets, resting them on the grass and gripping Danielle's shoulder to settle her down on top of them gently.

"I'll set up the telescope, babe, you just relax." Haerin says with a soft smile, and Danielle looks up at her with a weak smile, her eyes fluttering closed as Haerin takes in the sweat forming on her brow.

Haerin can't keep her out for too long tonight. She knows Isabelle has a curfew for Danielle, that she has to be back home by ten regardless, but it's barely eight and Danielle looks like she's already so tired...