"Luca-yah?" she asked, tilting her head.
In slow motion, Seo-in watched as Luca's expression morphed from shock to utter dread. He fumbled with the phone like it was about to explode in his hands.
And then—just as he lunged for the power button, the realization struck her: his gallery was open. Specifically ... a folder labeled "SEO-IN STUFF (DO NOT OPEN)" containing hundreds of screenshots ranging from accidental candid shots of her unflattering mid-sneeze to entire videos of her mortal sin material sleep-talking.
Silence stretched between them for exactly 1.5 seconds before Seo-in gasped dramatically and pointed an accusatory finger, "DELETE THAT RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR TO GOD—"
"WAIT—"
Luca leapt backward just as Seo-in lunged at his phone. His long legs won the battle but his balance lost the war—he tripped over his own feet with a yelp, sending them both crashing to the floor in a flail of limbs and flowers.
Seo-in landed on top of him with a loud oof and immediately made a grab for the offending device. The resulting struggle was equal parts comical and desperate, complete with frantic cursing and accidental elbow jabs.
Luca, still sprawled beneath her and clinging to the phone for dear life. "Hase, Hase, please," Luca wheezed, holding the phone above his head while Seo-in straddled his waist in full predator mode.
"It's just—research!"
Seo-in paused mid-lunge. "Research?!"
He swallowed hard. "...For a project?"
His voice cracked upward into a question, as if even he didn't believe this excuse anymore.
She narrowed her eyes—then pounced again with terrifying precision, snatching the phone while he groaned in defeat. But when she finally scrolled through the gallery ... her cheeks pinkened instantly at the sheer volume of shots: candid smiles, sleepy morning hair shots of them sharing breakfast—even blurry ones from years ago when they first started dating his favorite was still one where she had ice cream on her nose.
All meticulously saved and organized by dates and moods like some kind of adorable digital shrine.
Seo-in bit back a smile but kept up her stern act, "So, this 'DO NOT OPEN' folder was meant to be symbolic or…?"
Luca covered his burning face with both hands and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like. "I hate my life."
Seo-in burst out laughing before tossing him back his phone. Luca grinned sheepishly, his ears still a bright red. He quickly opened the camera app, pulling Seo-in into his lap as he held out the phone.
"A proper selfie this time."
She rolled her eyes playfully but went willingly, wrapping one arm around his neck while the other held the flowers like a dramatic bouquet toss pose.
"You better get every angle of me looking gorgeous, or else," she warned.
Luca chuckled, angling the camera to capture them both—but paused with a sly grin, eyes sparkling with a different idea.
"How many angles do you want, exactly?" he teased, shifting to hold her closer.
She was about to make a snarky retort when he abruptly tugged her forward, pulling her flush against his chest. She yelped in surprise, her words instantly dying in her throat as Luca looked down at her. The phone was long forgotten now; his other hand found her waist, fingers tracing slow, distracting circles through the thin fabric of her shirt. Seo-in's face flushed instantly—partly due to their proximity and partly because the look in his eyes was distinctly dangerous.
Seo-in's breath hitched as Luca's thumb grazed the bare skin just above her waistband. "Yah—" she started, voice already unsteady, but he cut her off with a slow, knowing smirk.
The bouquet tumbled forgotten to the floor as he leaned in, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.
"Say 'cheese,'" he murmured—then click, the camera captured her flustered expression mid-squeak.
Seo-in shoved him hard enough to send him sprawling backward onto the carpet, but Luca just laughed breathlessly at his own victory and held up two gloating fingers for every compromised photo in existence:
2-0. His lead.
And maybe she was blushing harder than she'd ever admit.
***
After taking a photo, as it was already dark, Luca called a taxi through an app on his phone as they reached the outside of the building.
"I'm hungry, what do you want to eat tonight?" he asked, trying to pass the time until the taxi they had called arrived.
Seo-in, still flustered from their little photoshoot moment, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before leaning against him. "Anything but campus cafeteria food," she declared dramatically, while drinking her coffee.
Luca snorted, scrolling through nearby restaurants on his phone. "How about that new Korean place near the river? The one with the ridiculous amount of side dishes you always steal from my plate?"
Seo-in gasped in mock offense—then immediately ruined it by grinning. "Perfect."
Just as she said it, their taxi pulled up, its headlights cutting through the evening dark like a beacon. Luca opened the door for her with an exaggerated bow—but not before whispering: "Also, you're paying for dinner after that blackmail attempt earlier."
Seo-in kicked his shoe lightly as she climbed in. "Yah! Those were your incriminating photos!"
Luca slid into the taxi beside her with a smug grin, buckling up as the car pulled away from the curb.
"Exactly," he said, stretching his arm along the back of the seat behind her. "My photos mean my rules. And rule number one: Seo-in pays for dinner when she tries to expose my secret gallery."
She rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a laugh, leaning into his side despite herself. "Fine. But only because you looked so pathetic sprinting across campus with those giant flowers."
The taxi driver glanced at them in the rearview mirror—two idiots bickering softly over imaginary debts and stolen side dishes and smiled to himself as Bremen's street lights blurred past outside.