Cute Stranger | Luqi

04

"It seems like someone having a blast last night..." said Yuqi when they met up on the following day, looking snug and cuddly in her dark brown plaid dress covered by a beige-colored coat.

Lucas grinned widely at her. "Sorry for showing up like this..." he apologized to her. He must be looking like crap right now. Well, to be honest, he still felt a little bit hangover right now. The last night party had been going on till two o'clock in the morning. He didn't know how many drinks he chugged down last night. All he knew this morning he woke up to a head-splitting headache and terrible hangover. It felt like dying.

"Are you okay? We could cancel today's plan you know. I don't mind..." she muttered before getting onto his passenger seat, watching him with apprehension.

"What? No. No. We can't..." he replied with a slight panic tone. He had been waiting for this moment for weeks. There's no way he would cancel their date at the last minute and drove back home to get more sleep. "I'll be fine once we got something to eat..." he reassured her.

She threw him another concerned look, then with a sigh she mumbled, "Okay then but let's get somewhere less crowded and comfortable..."

"I thought we're getting your ice cream..." he glanced at her before starting the car engine and gliding through the busy afternoon traffic.

"We can get it later. You need something spicy for the hangover first, you look a bit pale..." she mused. He glanced at her with mounting adoration. How could someone be this perfect and considerate at the same time? She must be an angel in disguise!

He already had hangover soup this morning but he guessed he will never tell her now. "You right. I haven't eaten anything since this morning..." He lied with straight-face after several seconds battling a sudden urge to pull her into a tight embrace. 

"Oh, I know! Let's have a picnic!" she exclaimed all of sudden, eyes sparkled, looking very excited.

"Picnic???"

"Yeah, so we can get ice cream and your spicy hangover soup, then a bit of laying down..." she elaborated her suggestion.

"Oh, that sounds like a plan. Let's look around for a picnic kit, I afraid we don't have one..." he beamed at her. He didn't know whether this a good idea or not, but the picnic date sounded very relaxing and comfortable also felt somewhat special.

"Or we can rent one..."

"We can do that??" he raised his eyebrows at her, feeling a bit lost. He never went on any picnic since he moved to Seoul for his study. His friends preferred auto-camping, barbecue, and drinking party over-- well basically everything.

She nodded. "Of course. There are several stores around the park that rent the picnic sets to visitors..." She explained. "We can reserve a picnic basket there and get some desserts at nearby cafes or bakery..."

"Cool. Lead the way, my lady..." He mused. She laughed at that remark and mumbled something like 'silly' as the car drifted through the crowded street of Seoul.

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One trip to the picnic rental service store later they settled down beneath one of the cherry blossom trees at the recreational park near the Han river, with him carrying a lovely picnic basket and Yuqi holding one paper bag full of snacks.

"This is nice..." Lucas heaved a deep sigh, admiring the beautiful color of autumn foliage dangling from the numerous trees around them, swaying lazily as the autumn breeze blew past its branches.

"Yeah, it's s a perfect day for a picnic..." she seconded him, looking happy, glowing under the bright blue sunny sky.

"To be honest, this is my first time having a picnic at the park-like this..." he said, crouching down beside her, setting up their picnic sets on the soft green grass under the big cherry blossom tree.