Chapter 2

They walked side by side that morning, the sun was already up, their neighbors outside cleaning their yard, they actually had to greet each one they passed by.

“It’s was nice seeing you again Yong, go and sleep, I bet you’re tired” she smiled and tap his shoulder lightly as she continued walking towards their house

“Joohyun wait!”

She turned around with a subdued face

“Would you like to have dinner with me? Just to catch up”

She thought about it and was about to answer when Yonghwa added “If you’re uncomfortable we can invite Yoona and Jonghyun along and Yuri and Sooyoung and their husbands”

Yeah. And we’re the odd one

“No need, I’m not afraid of you so yes dinner would be nice” she stifled a laugh

“great!” he answered excitedly “I’ll pick you up 7 later?”

She rolled her eyes “Yonghwa, as if we live far away from each other, let’s just meet halfway or something”

“Okay can I have your number so I can let you know or you can let me know when you’re ready?” holding his phone

“Sure” she took his phone and punched in her numbers “Later Yonghwa” she bid him goodbye and walked aimlessly home. If she weren’t sleep deprived, she would pour her everything that morning to analyze everything Yonghwa said and did. But she is too damn tired and sleepy.

She woke up early afternoon and told her parents that she’ll be going out with Yonghwa for a friendly dinner. The problem with living in a small town is that everyone seems to know everyone and everyone seems to know everything that has been going on with everyone.

The Jung son is dating the Seo daughter.

Perfect match

Both an only child

Excellent family background

Both good looking

The Jungs is moving abroad

The Jung son and the Seo daughter broke up

The Jungs left

The Seo daughter left

And everyone went on with their lives

She’s not the one to be bothered by other people’s opinion but she can’t wait for people’s reaction once they see them together given that they know that Yonghwa is engaged to someone in the US. Fate is cruel. She takes her very first long vacation at the same time he does. Does it mean they are meant to see each other? Why?

These are the things that run past her mind as she closed their gate to meet Yonghwa. She wore a simple one-piece white sleeveless dress paired with a canvass color doll flat shoes. She decided to braid her hair to complete the simple clean look it’s a simple dinner after all.

Yonghwa was already waiting by their gate and waved at her

“Are you sure you don’t want to use a car?”

“I’m positive, I think I grew tired of the city’s traffic and noise, it’ll be nice to just walk, you know enjoy the weather and fresh air”

He just shrugged “As you wish”

They silently walked side by side as they cross the street to head to the center of the town. They greeted a few ajummas who were hanging out to enjoy the cool night breeze

“Oi! Aren’t you Misun's son?” one of them asked. Yonghwa then bowed and greeted them

“Aigoo it’s nice to see you two together again!” another one spoke

The two just smiled and nodded

“How time flies, it feels like it was just yesterday when that Lee kid worked part time at our mini mart to take Yoona out and now they are married with two kids!”

Joohyun knows it’s time to retreat, any conversation that has flashback and in it is never good, especially if the past is no longer connected to the present. She effortless made their way out of the conversation using her charms and continued their stroll

“So where do you want to eat?” he asked her, he knew there are moments when she finds him staring but made no fuss about it

“Anywhere, I just miss everything about this town so much I can even eat at the old jjajangmyun place”

“Would you like to eat there now?”

She beamed “I’d love too!”

~~~~~~

It was a weekday so it wasn’t packed with a lot of people. They immediately found a table at the corner and sat there.

“Aigoo! If it isn’t Yeong Al’s daughter!”

She laughed as she bowed “Annyeonghaseyo”

“When did you arrive?”

“Just last weekend ajumma”

“You have to come home more often, this Jung boy even comes home more often than you do! And he comes from another country!”

She was still smiling when she answered “I will ajumma and I’ll make sure to eat your ever famous jjajangmyun everytime!”

“You are still sweet and because of that I’ll throw in an extra kimchijigae for free”

“gomawoyo!” Yonghwa exclaimed

When they were left alone, they found themselves just looking at each other

Joohyun smiled “Congrats on your upcoming wedding Yong, you must be pretty excited”

He smiled back “yeah I guess, I mean it’s only natural that I marry at this age”

Joohyuns eyes grew big “OUCH!! How can you say that to someone who has no lovelife at all?!”

Yonghwa laughed “I didn’t mean it that way! I mean well it sorta feels like the right thing to do, Jenny and I have been living together for almost a year and well mom has been bugging me about proper decorum”

“how long have you two been together?”

“1 year”

It was her turn to laugh “wow! That was fast! You must really love each other to be living together as soon as you got together”

“It just worked that way”

“Oh well what do I know, I’ll die an old maid, I’ve accepted that” she jokingly frowned

“why do you say that? Not even dating?”

“dating yes, relationship, no. You know how those love story work where the guy drops everything for the girl or vice versa?”

He nodded

“Well I