JISEOK Fanfic | Jiseok short story collection (visual) - The scent of strawberry shampoo beyond the screen

Finally, the day had come. Finally, I was going to meet her in person.

I wanted to make sure she’d never regret booking that plane ticket, but at the same time, I knew very well how much she loved simple, little things.

The moment I opened the front door after checking who it was, I couldn’t hide the excitement rushing in.

Like a kid visiting Disneyland for the first time, I was so excited I held her hand tight and led her to my car.

I’m running my best in-car karaoke session of my life for 45 minutes.

It wasn’t just some ordinary park. It was a place with a tradition my cousin and I did every summer. The “park speedrun.”

No matter how old we got, we always bet on who could finish the park course faster, and we’d race full speed back home to eat dinner.

Someone special... I wanted to share these precious memories and places with the most special person to me.

This time, it was a race all the way to the car. A thrill even deeper than what I’d felt as a kid stabbed straight through my heart.

I shyly reached out, took her hand, and looked straight into her eyes.

"So, you go between those swings, up the stairs, down the slide, cross those stepping stones, then run back to the car. Ready?"

She nodded with a bright smile all over her face. Seeing how happy she already was put me at ease.

"Three, two.... one!"

I shouted and charged forward fiercely.

'Should I just let her win? Or should I win and ask for a victory kiss? Would she like that too?'

I was so busy thinking of all kinds of things in my head that I didn’t notice she had already reached the last obstacle.

I chased after her in a panic, but she touched the car first by a hair.

She bounced in place and giggled, then, out of breath, she plopped down by the roadside, leaned against the car, and panted. I burst out laughing and sat down beside her.

"What would you like as your victory present?"

"Food. I’m hungry."

she said with a laugh.

"The flight was really long."

"I was so excited to show you this that I totally forgot to feed you! Sorry."

I whined with a face like I was about to cry.

"It’s okay. Should we go home and order delivery? Let’s pick out what to eat on the way back."

I grinned and nodded, then took her hand and helped her up.

The delivery app was packed with food options, and it wasn’t easy to pick just one for her, since she hadn’t had much Korean food before.

She kept scrolling through my phone screen, agonizing over it.

Every time something tasty caught her eye, her voice would go up a notch, only for her to change her mind and say it wasn’t what she was craving right now.

When we finally got home, she made her final decision with jajangmyeon, a familiar food she hadn’t had in a long time. She said she’d challenge the other menu items starting tomorrow.

I smiled watching her wiggle with excitement every time she took a bite.

She looked tired, but even that was adorable. I’m definitely totally whipped for her.

"Can I have some more drinks? I’m not really sure where they are."

she asked, with a mouth full of jajangmyeon.

I nodded, took the cup, and stood up.

But on the way, I slipped, and the sauce and food on the table spilled all over her white shirt.

We both froze in shock. As I panicked and flailed helplessly, she burst out laughing instead.

"This is why you shouldn’t wear white. My luggage is still at the hotel, so I don’t even have anything to change into right away."

"I left a shirt on my bed, so change into that for now! I’ll clean up this mess I made right here."

I hurriedly handed her some tissues, then rushed to my room to look for something she could wear. She nodded in the direction I pointed and walked off.

"What about this shirt?"

Just as I was about to answer, my voice suddenly disappeared for a moment. It was because she looked so tiny and yet so huge wearing my shirt.

It was an oversized shirt even on me, so seeing it on her really drove home just how enormous it was.

Staring straight at me with a puzzled smile, I could feel my cheeks heating up fast.

Without saying a word, I took the wet shirt from her hands and headed to the laundry room. She was so cute I couldn’t stop smiling, and I let out silent little chuckles to myself.

When I got back to the living room, she was stretching and yawning. The long flight and jet lag must have hit her all at once.

I moved closer to her on the sofa and slowly narrowed the distance. I was trying to strike a cool, natural pose to put my arm around her shoulder, but she let out a snort of laughter.

"If you want to hug me, just hug me. You don’t have to act like you’re not."

My own state was funny enough to me that I gave an awkward laugh, then gently pulled her into my arms and leaned back comfortably on the sofa.

This was the first time we were in the same space face-to-face, not through a screen.

The faint scent of strawberry shampoo from her hair, her soft hair, the pleasant weight of her snuggling more comfortably into my arms, and her breathing gradually settling down...