It tipped over and splashed onto the cutlet Park Dong was cutting. Everything spilled onto the plate even the ice cubes.
"ACK!! S-SORRY!! What do I do?!!"
Park Dong froze, his hands trembling as he held the fork and knife.
"…We're eating, and…" he said slowly.
His jaw tightened as he forced a smile not really a smile.
His whole body was trembling.
"…Why the hell are you checking a mirror right now… huh?"
He looked down at the plate.
"…The chicken cutlet tastes like cherry now…"
"I-I'll eat it then…!"
He let out a long sigh, rubbing his temple. "Forget it. Just throw it out…"
"B-But still…"
Irina stared at the ruined food.
This isn't how it's supposed to go…!!
Park Dong bought her a new one.
After finishing their meal in tense silence, they stepped outside.
They walked side by side, but with a noticeable distance between them.
Irina glanced at him.
She bumped her fist lightly against his arm. "Hey, are you still sulking, Mr. Sulky? You're so quiet~"
"I'm not sulking," Park Dong replied. "We just ate, so I'm just walking. That's all."
"Yeah, right. You're totally sulking. Even your nose looks more crooked now."
"…It was always crooked," he shot back flatly.
"…"
Irina stopped walking, staring at his back.
Park Dong didn't notice and kept going, too lost in his thoughts.
…I'm really not sulking.
So what if she was late or spilled a drink?
The real issue is…
He suddenly flushed, imagining them acting all lovey-dovey.
Now that we're dating, I don't know how I'm supposed to act…!!
I want to treat her as more than a friend, but when I see her, I freeze up…
so I keep snapping without realizing…
"…Huh?"
He finally noticed she wasn't beside him.
Turning around, he saw her standing there.
"Didn't you say you'd treat me better?" Irina said.
Park Dong stared at her, then quickly looked away, blushing.
"Ah-what… what are you waiting for? Hurry up…"
Irina clicked her tongue. "Tch. Why don't you come here instead?"
"Geez…"
A while later, they arrived at a shop.
"What is this place? A gift shop?"
"They sell cute goods and clothes too."
They walked inside.
Irina took the lead. "Me and the girls always stop at two points when we're in Nammun. They've got so much cute stuff."
(Two points - refers to the store they're in.)
(Nammun - refers to South Gate the name of the area. )
"Damn, it's pretty huge," Park Dong said.
Irina stopped at an aisle of earrings.
She held one up to her ear and looked at herself in a nearby mirror.
"Kyaa~ isn't it so pretty? It'd look perfect on me."
Then she held it up to Park Dong's ear. "Why don't you pierce your ears and wear this while you're at it? LOL."
"I'd get mugged every day if I did."
"HAHAHA."
A moment later, Irina spotted a ridiculous poop-shaped hat on display.
She picked it up and placed it on her head, laughing brightly.
"Oh, this hat is super cute!"
Park Dong watched her wearing the blue poop-shaped hat.
"It's poop-shaped, LOL. Can I just put it on?" she said, chuckling. "HAHA, why does it suit me so annoyingly well?"
Park Dong stared at her, a faint grin forming on his lips. He walked over and patted the top of the hat.
"HAHA. Is that poop recognizing one of its own?"
Irina glared at him. "HEY!! What do you mean by that?!"
She took it off. "Let's go. We're not buying anything anyway."
As they left, Park Dong quietly grabbed the earrings she had been holding earlier and secretly bought them.
-
The rest of the day passed with them walking around, sightseeing, eating street food, playing at the arcade just spending time together as the sky slowly darkened.
-
They stopped in front of Irina's apartment building.
Park Dong rubbed the back of his head. "Well… then go inside."
Irina clasped her hands behind her back. "Okay, go~"
They stood there, staring at each other.
"I said get going."
"I told you to go inside."
"If you don't go, I won't go."
Park Dong clicked his tongue and took a step back. "Tch."
Irina watched his retreating back.
…I did it.
She leaned against the column by the stairs, trembling.
I went on a date…!! KYAHHH~! WITH PARK DONG!!
A delayed surge of emotion flooded her.
With the guy I bicker with every day…
She covered her face with both hands.
A date!! And we pulled it off like it was a real thing!!
"…What are you doing?"
She froze.
Park Dong had come back.
She lowered her hands and saw him pulling something out of his jacket pocket.
"I forgot this."
He opened his palm.
"Earrings? What? When did you get those?"
Park Dong held them out, looking away to hide the blush on his face.
"…You said they were pretty."
Irina took them, staring at him.
"I'm really going now~," he said quickly.
She watched him leave again.
Park Dong walked off with a satisfied look.
That was freaking cool.
Irina held the small plastic package with both hands, looking down at it.
"…Hehe… you little punk…"
She turned and walked into the building.
-
Later that night, both lay on their beds, phones in hand.
Irina: hey but how do we tell the others that we're dating lol should we just not say anything..?
Park Dong: too much? -,-;
-
The next morning, Seolhyo set her bag down at her seat.
She and Seojin had arrived together but split off to their own classrooms.
She made her way to the girls' bathroom.
Pushing the door open, she spotted someone inside.
Hong Aera glanced at the mirror and saw her through the reflection.
Seolhyo walked up to the sink and spoke casually. "Did you hear what happened to Choi Giryang? He got beaten so badly, I bet even his own parents wouldn't recognize him."
Aera didn't look away from the mirror. "…That's insane."
"Yeah. He took a hell of a beating."
Hong Aera let out a small amused chuckle. "Well, whatever~ Not something I need to know anyway. Serves that fucker right, lol."
Seolhyo adjusted her black tie. "…Hey, let me ask you something."
Aera met her gaze through the mirror. "What?"
Seolhyo glanced at her. "Why do you hate me so much? You've made it pretty obvious, even before all this. Did I do something to you?"
Aera stayed silent for a moment.
"…Your brother did. He's the one who wrecked my brother."
Seolhyo blinked in surprise. "Brother!?"
"…It was a year ago," Aera continued.
"My brother started the fight, apparently. Some kids from our school got beat up, and he tried to get revenge or something…"
-
At an abandoned building, Aera's brother stood with a smirk, behind him are guys from his school.
Across from them was Seol Minsu, with his own group behind him.
Aera's brother stretched his shoulders. "You're the guy who's so good at fighting, right? Let's see it then."
He'd been confident.
-
"I remember when he came home," Aera said quietly.
Her reflection didn't change.
"His face was completely bruised. Cheeks, lips… both eyes swollen shut. Even his hands were in casts."
"…He got beaten until he was nearly dead."
She let out a small breath.
"So yeah. I wondered what kind of bitch his sister was. That's all."
Aera frowned slightly at her reflection.
"…It wasn't your fault. My dumbass brother dug his own grave. But he's still my family, so… yeah."
She didn't say anything else and turned to leave.
Seolhyo watched her for a moment, then sighed and stepped out into the hallway.
…Again with Seol Minsu… I'm going to lose it.
She sighed tiredly.
Then her eyes landed on someone ahead stepping out of a classroom, yawning widely.
She chuckled under her breath.
How wide can he even open his mouth like that…