chapter eight.

                                    

                                          
as donghyuck's driving home, he passes by a public market selling different kinds of fruits. he stops and parks his car in front.
he gets out of his car and approaches a stall. he looks around until his eyes stop at the strawberry fruits. maybe renjun likes strawberries.
he bought a half kilo of strawberries as well as some mangoes because those are his favorites. he smiles to himself as he pays for them.
"i hope renjun likes them." he smiles to himself befote he gets back to his car to drive home.
~~~
tomorrow afternoon, he goes to the back of renjun's school, the usual spot where he would see the younger sitting on the ground.
it's the exact same time he went yesterday but renjun isn't here today. maybe he decided to not skip his class. 
he walks towards the gate and calls the security guard. "good afternoon, sir!" the guard greets him with a smile. 
"uhm, have you seen the boy who always goes here?" he asks.
"oh, i think i know who you're talking about. no, i haven't seen him. sorry, sir." the guard smiles apologetically.
"can i ask for a favor?" the guard nods. "his name is huang renjun but i don't know where's his classroom. can you give this to him, please?" he hands the guard the plastic of strawberry fruits.
"sir, we have guidance office. you can leave it there and ask for a call slip."
donghyuck hisses, "i'm in a hurry, i just need to give this to him. please? kind sir?"
the guard sighs and grabs the plastic of strawberry fruits, "okay, i'll see if i can find his classroom."
"thank you, kind sir. i gotta go now."
"wait, sir! what's your name so i can tell him—"
"no, no, it's okay. i'm sure he'll know it immediately. thank you again." donghyuck bows and left the school's back gate.
today, renjun decided to not skip classes. he needs to catch up with the lessons. good thing, his classmates are helping him with some notes he needs to take.
"huang renjun." upon hearing his name, he looks at the door and sees one of his classmates approaches him. "someone wants to give this to you."
he furrows his eyebrows and grabs the plastic from his classmate. "thanks." he opens and peeks inside. he smiles when he saw the strawberry fruits. thank you, donghyuck hyung.
"oh, renjun has an admirer!" one of his classmates teases him and he just rolls his eyes.
when the classes ended, he immediately goes to his work place, the ice cream parlor. as usual, his co-workers greet him but this time, he greets them back. they are so confused and happy at the same time.
he takes over his counter and starts doing his job. he's shocked to see donghyuck in front of his counter. he then smiles a bit, "good day, sir! what can i get for you?"
"strawberry with chocolate syrup, two of them, please." donghyuck smiles.
renjun nods and taps the order on the monitor. "anything else?"
"how 'bout your number?" the purple-haired man grins, "we've been seeing each other for few days, i still don't have your number."
renjun chuckles and opens the drawer under the counter then grabs a piece of memo note and a pencil. he proceeds to write his phone number on the paper. he gives it to donghyuck afterwards with a smile on his face. "don't call me at night. actually, don't call me at all, just text me."
"what if i want to call you? i'll try my best to not call you at night." donghyuck holds his hand for a while.
he sighs and nods, "okay, fine."
"renjun!" he turns to his friend, jaemin, who's beside him. "there's a line behind him."
he suddenly panics, blinking several times at donghyuck. the latter just laughs because of the younger's cuteness. "i'm sorry!" he bows, "it would be 24,000 won, please."
donghyuck quickly pays and renjun gives him his receipt and table number. they wave at each other before renjun proceeds to the next customer.
~~~
after his only two-hour shift, he sits across donghyuck, smiling at him. "hey, thank you for the strawberries. i consumed them immediately because they're so delicious."
donghyuck nods, "you're welcome. i figured they're your favorites. here, i saved your ice cream." he slides the cup of ice cream in front of renjun.
"thanks, hyung." he grabs the ice cream and starts to eat before it melts.
"uhm, renjun, can i drive you home?" he looks at the older and presses his lips together.
"no, i'm okay. i can go home by myself." he flashes a thin smile.
donghyuck pouts and nods, "okay. please be careful and take care of yourself."
renjun blushes and suddenly holds the older's hand, "thank you, donghyuck hyung." he interlaces their fingers together and they smile at each other.
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