off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ one hundred and eight

Hao didn’t really need an excuse or a reason to invite Haewon to his house. Whenever he did, she simply assumed he just wanted to spend time with her, because that was the most logical explanation. And yet, when he'd asked her over earlier this morning, Haewon had gotten the distinct impression that there was, in fact, some other reason. Maybe it was the jitter in his voice, or the early hour at which he'd called, but something was unusual. Actually, there had been a lot of unusual things about Hao lately.

That suspicion had been confirmed when, as soon as she'd arrived, Hao had ushered her upstairs, saying he had something for her. He'd nearly hopped his way up the steps, excited like a child about to open his Christmas presents. She'd never seen him like that, even when they were only kids, and hadn’t yet learned to tone down their emotions, in an attempt to seem "proper". His attitude, while something she could only interpret as positive, made her stomach harden. Anything deviating from the norm was sure to cause some anxiety.

"Go ahead," he said as he stopped in front of his bedroom door.

His voice sounded like he was stopping himself from spilling secrets. Haewon raised an eyebrow.

But even if she asked, she knew he wouldn’t answer her questions. And so, Haewon wrapped her hand around the doorknob and pressed it, trying to imagine what could possibly be waiting for her in that room. Aside from candles and rose petals, nothing came up. Though that hardly felt appropriate for the time of day.

When she finally opened the door, there were no candles or petals, but something caught her eye. Laid upon the bed, was a bundle of frabric — it took her a few seconds to recognize it as a dress, and not just any dress. It was the very dress she'd tried on at that fancy clothing store he'd brought her too, just a couple of days ago.

Her mouth hanging, she turned to Hao. "Huh? What... Is this?"

"Surprise!" he exclaimed, unable to hold back his smile any longer. "It looked so good on you, so I thought I'd just buy it."

For a second, Haewon almost took his words at face value, ready to move on with the conversation. Then, she remembered his strange attitude back at the store, the way he'd looked for modifications, his hushed conversation with the vendor, and the receipt in his wallet... And she narrowed her eyes.

"Hmm... And when exactly am I supposed to wear this?"

The question was enough to bring color to his cheeks. "Oh, um, you know, no particular time. I just... Bought it," he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck.

The thing was, Hao never was a great actor. He couldn’t have looked any more suspicious even if he'd tried. Amused by his totally not suspicious attitude, she let out something between a sigh and a laugh, as she shook her head. Was he just expecting her to buy everything he said, even though it made no sense?

"Hao, I know what you're concocting," she said, a smirk on her lips.

His eyes widened, and she saw his shoulders tense up. "...Concocting? Me? Hah, I'm not concocting anything!"

And he still tried to play the fool, even though he'd most definitely been caught red handed. Haewon refrained herself from telling him how cute he was — she needed to solve this not so mysterious mystery, first.

"Come on, you're not a very good liar," she teased, playfully slapping his arm. "It's obvious you're organizing a surprise party for me."

Judging by the look of pure horror on his face, he really hadn’t expected her to figure it out. His mouth moved soundlessly as he tried to reach for any deflection, but in the end, he could only slap himself on the forehead. He heaved an endless sigh, and Haewon almost wondered if it wouldn’t have been better to just play along, even though it was painfully obvious.