“Well, this is a nice surprise,” Sunny declared, gripping Ryan’s arm.

“What do you mean?”

“You coming to pick me up from work.  Makes a change from Sooyoung dumping me so she can go to the salon or something.”

“I was just passing by and thought I’d see how you were getting on.”

“Yeah, right,” she scoffed playfully, seeing through his lie.  Not that it mattered, if she was going to get to spend time with him.

“It’s true,” he argued.  It wasn’t, if he was completely honest with her.  The truth was he hadn’t planned on walking her home at all, at least not until his own plans were scuppered by unforeseen circumstances.  “Family things,” he was told.  He wasn’t happy about it, but there was nothing he could do to change it.  But what would it matter to Sunny what he had planned originally if it wasn’t going to happen?  He kept quiet and continued walking along the busy road from the diner.

“Ok,” she nodded, smiling yet quietly unconvinced.  “Well, whatever, it’s still nice to have you walk with me.”

Ryan sighed and walked with her, arm in arm, crossing at pedestrian points and passing mild small talk along the route – talking about his day, her day, the problematic customer she had served today.  Mild annoyances, but still something that had irritated her.

“So, what are you planning for next weekend?” Sunny asked.

“Oh, I’m going to a party at a friend’s house,” he replied nonchalantly.

“A … a party?”

“Yeah, he’s going back to China.  He’s been working for the school for a few years and now he’s going back home.  Got a new job there, I think.”

“Oh.  Ok,” she replied, disheartened.

“Yeah.  He’s been talking about it for a good week or so now.  Invited everyone from work.”

“Everyone?”

“Yeah, even Nate’s coming.  He’s bringing Yuri too.  She’s done a lot for him, you know.  He’s never been a party person, but all of a sudden he has this new life in him.”

Sunny remembered the party he was talking about.  Yuri had talked about it on the day she was invited, asking Tiffany for the afternoon off.  She was grateful when their manager agreed to let her have the earlier shift, and there was even a suggestion from Taeyeon that some others would attend too, providing Nathan cleared it with his colleague.  Sunny walked along quietly, not sure why Yuri had known for a few days and she had only found out now, especially if guests were invited.

“Something wrong?”

“No,” she lied.  “It’s nothing.”

“You sure?”

“I just ... you know ... I assumed I’d be ... your date, I guess.”  It felt strange to her to ask for such a title, especially given that Nathan had been so quick to suggest it to her friend.

“Well, you can come if you want,” he offered, almost reluctantly.

“‘If I want’?”

“Yeah,” he answered, clueless as to her response.  “I would have asked but I didn’t think it would be your scene.  Just a bunch of guys sitting around, talking, drinking.  Not much of a party really.”

“That doesn’t matter,” she sweetly chastised him.  “What matters is that I’d be with you that day.  I was going to make plans to spend the day with you anyway.”

“Ok, so come along then,” he shrugged, almost dismissive over the idea.

“Ok ... thanks,” Sunny smiled at the non-invitation.  It almost felt as though he was doing her a favour by bringing her.  She shrugged and chalked it up to it being a work’s function.  Maybe they really were all really boring.  After all, it was a school, and she remembered that there were very few teachers like Ryan or Nathan when she was studying.  Maybe the teachers there were the same: old, fastidious, conservative, reminiscent of the time before technology, when people spoke to your face and not your Facebook wall.  Old fashioned people, grandfather types.

Maybe that was why he didn’t seem so interested in bringing her along.  She shrugged and carried on her journey home, arm in arm with her boyfriend.

 

~~~

 

Sunny looked around at the dozens of people that had turned up to send Chen on his way home.  Friends from University, young colleagues, a couple of former students that had kept in touch with him.  It was quite possible that Nathan and Ryan were the oldest people there, or at least among the oldest there.  Nobody seemed to be stuck in a corner, mulling over the loss of the younger generation to the “anti-social” media or something; they were the younger generation and they all seemed pretty social to her.  Everyone was mingling, bringing drinks to one another, and genuinely celebrating this moment.

The music was very much of her time too.  Although she was very eclectic in her own tastes, the music of the decades before she was born weren’t high on her playlist of choice.  This, however, was music of her lifetime, something that Hyoyeon would be dancing to in the clubs, or Sooyoung would be listening to on the music channels.  And she kind of enjoyed that more than any other era.

The girls were very fashionable too, and a few were incredibly beautiful.  She looked around in awe at some of them, wondering how long they had spent in front of the mirror to look so flawless.  She had spent the entire morning searching through her summer dresses, getting her hair ready and had spent the last week experimenting with her makeup as best as she could with YouTube tutorials to make herself look as pretty as she had today.  To look as flawless as some of these girls, she presumed, she would have to take months for preparation, and perhaps spend a tidy sum on cosmetic surgery.  She felt out of her league compared to them, and yet they were still friendly towards her.  Not one person there turned their nose up at her because she wasn’t “super model” quality.  At least not to her face, anyway, she presumed.

The food that had been laid out for them was astounding.  All sorts of buffet food and finger food from Korea, China and even the Western world.  She was amazed at the variety on display, and silently thanked the Heavens above that Sooyoung and Yoona had not turned up.  Despite their skinny figures, they could most definitely put away a tidy pile of food.  Occasionally, Sunny would feel nauseous just watching them.  But the food here was delectable.

Ryan wasn’t as bored as she had imagined him to be either.  If anything, he seemed more than happy to be there.  It almost made no sense to her that he was so happy and full of life.  When he invited her, he seemed incredibly bored by the prospect of attending.  Now, it would be ridiculous to suggest that he stay away.  She couldn’t understand why he took his time to begrudgingly invite her.  This wasn’t a party she would avoid.  In fact, on first sight, this was a party she would very much enjoy being invited to.

“You made it!” Yuri bounced over to them and hugged Sunny, breaking her overly analytical mind.  Nathan followed behind her.  They looked incredibly chic together, and yet amazingly casual.  Nathan’s dark blue jeans, white shirt with the top button unfastened and open black blazer paired with Yuri’s off-white strappy summer dress, wedged heels and loose ponytail.  If Sunny hadn’t known better, she would have assumed they were cosplaying as some kind of Hollywood couple holidaying in Monaco. 

“You two look great!” she complemented the couple, smiling widely.

“Thanks,” Yuri blushed slightly.  “You look beautiful.”

Sunny smiled at the returned compliment.  Admittedly, she did not look out of place on a Californian beach in her lemon summer dress and white cotton shrug, with her strappy sandals.  Even Ryan had made an effort to look good with his open plaid shirt and black t-shirt, his dark skinny jeans and Vans sneakers.

“I’m going to find the guest of honour,” Ryan announced before he disappeared into the crowd.  Sunny smiled dutifully, acknowledging her suddenly social boyfriend.  It still irritated her to see the change in his demeanour, but she put it down to her own paranoia.  He walked back into the house, leaving the party in the garden to talk.

“Should we go and find him too?” Yuri asked.

“I think we should speak to him, but let’s keep Sunny company first,” Nathan compromised.

“What about the wine?”

“Wine?” Sunny asked.

Yuri nodded.  “Nathan decided to buy Chen a bottle of wine.  Apparently, it’s the custom in England to do that,” she mocked.

“Oh ...”

Nathan smiled and lifted up the hand holding the bottle of white wine.  “It’s just a small token,” he explained modestly.  “You know, show the host we’re grateful for the invite.”

The trio waited around and talked whilst their absent member searched for their soon-to-be departed colleague.  It surprised them when he appeared from the opposite end of the garden, but considering the number of people that were present, it was not entirely surprising to think that Ryan had missed him.  Pleasantries were exchanged and wine changed hands gratefully, before the host himself departed to mingle with the other guests.

Sunny’s mind worked hard to keep her insecurities in check.  Despite her happy-go-lucky exterior, she felt she lacked a lot.  Her outer beauty was nowhere near as pristine as Yuri’s or Seohyun’s, her culinary prowess couldn’t hold a candle to Taeyeon’s or Hyoyeon’s, and she wished she had the assertiveness of Sooyoung or Tiffany.  She longed to be the perfect woman for most every man to walk the planet, even though the only man whose opinion mattered was Ryan’s.  Still, she remained mindful of her crowd and sat and waited dutifully for him, keeping herself occupied with topics of conversation from Yuri and Nathan.  They talked more about the date to the art gallery and the performance in the park.  It amazed Sunny how Nathan was able to find such things, not because Ryan hadn’t done so, but because she hadn’t found them either.  The missing partner returned from the house, shaking Chen’s hand, and scouted for his girlfriend.

“There you are,” he smiled, sitting next to his lover.  “I thought you’d left.”

“Why would I leave?” Sunny asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Yuri echoed in a more playful tone.  “For one thing, she’s your ride!”

Ryan smiled before he looked around at the people.  “Does anyone want a drink?” he asked, not paying attention to anything.

“No, thank you,” Sunny smiled.

“I’m good,” Nathan replied, lifting his bottle.

Yuri lifted her bottle and swallowed what little was left of her drink.  “I would love one,” she beamed, giggling to herself.

“Yuri!” Sunny chastised her.  “Honestly, girl.  We can’t take you anywhere.”

Nathan laughed at his companion’s apparent love for alcohol.  “Don’t worry,” he comforted her.  “It’s a party.  What’s a party without a few drinks, right?”

“Yeah!” Yuri grinned cheesily.  “See, Sunny?  Nathan gets it.”

Sunny rolled her eyes as Ryan took the empty bottle and went to the drinks area to get a refill.  “Yuri ...” she whispered.

“Hey, relax,” Yuri sighed.

Nathan leaned forward.  “Sunny, it’s ok.  Not only am I taking her home, but ... I guess to some people, a party just needs a few drinks.”

“Maybe,” Sunny replied, “but Yuri isn’t the best at handling her drinks.  She’s better than me, that’s for sure, but it still doesn’t take her that long to get drunk.”

Nathan turned to his date and smiled.  “Still, I’ll make sure she gets home safely.  Besides, if tomorrow she wakes up with the most horrendous hangover, you can turn around and say you told her so.”  He turned back to Sunny.  “Sound fair?”

Sunny tilted her head and smirked at Nathan.  As tempting as it would be to leave her to suffer tomorrow, she couldn’t do that to her ...

“Yeah!” Yuri interrupted her internal argument.  “Now stop being a bore and let’s get this place rocking!”

Sunny shrugged.  Perhaps, this once, she could be persuaded to let her friend suffer.

 

The party drew on and the four attendees laughed heartily through their conversations, as they ranged from the mundane to the absurd.  People had joined in and left the group as the evening drew on.  Nathan had danced with Yuri and with Sunny, much to Ryan’s relief.  He was many things, but a dancer was not one of them, and having Nathan prepared to make a fool of himself in front of everyone made the evening better for him.  Alcohol had flowed freely though their system, he and Yuri having put away the most for the evening.  It didn’t seem to bother Nathan and Sunny, since they had volunteered to be the designated drivers for the evening.  Food had gone through their bodies as well, sustaining them all for the evening

As had been prophesised, Yuri was becoming a little worse for wear.

The foursome were now sitting together on the porch. Nathan sat on the steps with Yuri on his lap, Sunny on the step below him.  Ryan sat on a garden chair opposite.

“Ok, what do you like most in a partner?” Yuri asked Ryan.

“Hmmmm ...” he mused, considering the options in front of him.  “Definitely someone who can dance.”

“Dance?” Sunny asked, laughing.  “I was dancing earlier!  You didn’t want to dance with me.”

“Not like that,” Ryan shook his head.  “Like, ily.” 

Sunny’s jaw dropped as Yuri sniggered drunkenly behind her hand.  “I’ve never danced for you like that,” she gasped.

“No, I know,” Ryan furrowed his brow.  “But she meant any partner ... right?”

Yuri nodded hesitantly.  “Well, I kind of meant something about Sunny, but I guess anyone will do …”

Ryan nodded, confident in his choice.  “Yeah, I like a girl that can dance.  Especially someone like Shakira or Beyoncé.”

Sunny looked at him, raising her eyebrow.  He didn’t return the stare.

“Someone who really knows how to shake it.”  He nodded, approving his own answer.  “What about you?” he asked, looking pointedly at Yuri.

“Uhhh ... I ... I guess I would say a guy who is strong,” she answered, unsure of her response.  “I think a guy who can stand up for himself.”

“And he’d have to be able to get you out of trouble too,” Sunny smirked.  She was still perturbed by Ryan’s comment, but she made a mental note to discuss it with him later.

“Done and done,” Nathan nodded proudly.

Yuri laughed.  “You’ve never gotten me out of trouble,” she corrected him.

“Ah ...” Sunny tried to interject.

“Let’s just say that one of your male customers might disagree with you,” Nathan warned her.

“What?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Yuri flushed bright red and sat in almost silence.  “Your turn, Sunny,” she mumbled.

Sunny chuckled to herself.  “I like a guy who’s out of the ordinary,” she mused, almost philosophically.

“What do you mean by that?” Nathan asked, intrigued.

“Ummm ... a guy who is ok with cooking, ok with a girl being a geek, probably accepting that I might be better than him at video games ...”

“Especially Mario Kart,” Ryan spat.  “Oh, but don’t accuse her of cheating, because then you’re just a ‘sore loser’.”

“Yes, but you’re my sore loser,” Sunny giggled sweetly, before sitting with him and kissing his cheek.

“You still cheated.”

“If you say so,” she smirked, remembering her win against him, using her red shell power-up to knock him off the track at the final moments of the race, Ryan getting angry at a multitude of excuses despite the handicaps she had imposed on herself.  She guessed he was just a sore loser, and made the apparent mistake of calling him out on it.  Still, at least there was one activity she could scratch off her list of things to entertain her boyfriend with.

“What about you, Nathan?” Yuri probed. “What should your ideal partner have to keep you interested?”

Nathan sat and thought about it for a while.  “I think someone who can laugh,” he decided.  “A girl who has a great sense of humour, and a laugh that really lights up the room.”

“Really?” Yuri smiled at him.  He nodded back.  “I wonder how my laugh sounds then.”

Sunny giggled in her typical sweet manner, watching the pair together.  “So what do you like most about Yuri?” she asked.

Yuri faced her lover expectantly.  “And don’t give me any of that crap about how my eyes are jewels in the night or something.”

Nathan laughed.  “Actually, I was going to say how I love your free spirit and how you just say things the way you see them.  You don’t hold back with anything, and you have a real love for life.  It’s refreshing to see that.”

Yuri blushed and looked away in embarrassment.  She had not expected an answer like that.  She had expected something about one specific attribute of hers, like her strong thighs or her flat stomach.  She had never seen herself as free spirited either, but it sat well with her.

“What about you, Yuri?  What do you like about Nathan?”

She could never compete with a complement like that.

“His kindness,” she flustered.  “He’s such a sweet person and ...” she smiled to herself.  “Yeah, his kindness.  What about you?” Yuri asked.  “What do you two like about each other?”

Ryan took a deep mouthful of his beer and answered without hesitation.  “Her .”

Sunny choked, half in amusement, half in disgust.  “What?”

“Well I’m not gonna sit here and be all mushy about it when we all know that what we love most about each other is something physical,” he reasoned.  “I know you like the mushy stuff and I like that about you too ...”

“But you love my most?” she .

“Yup,” he smirked, drinking another mouthful of beer.

Yuri laughed heartily, the alcohol contributing to her inhibitions.  Nathan, on the other hand, offered nothing more than a polite smile.  “Ok, ok, ok,” she breathed out her laughter, “your turn, Sunny.”

Sunny shook her head.  “I’m still shocked by his answer.”

The remark was rewarded by laughter from Ryan as well as Yuri, followed by a patronising kiss on her head by her boyfriend.

 

~~~

 

“I really enjoyed myself today,” Ryan smiled as they drove down the highway.

“Uh huh ...” Sunny watched the traffic from behind the wheel.  She had agreed to let him drink for the evening, thinking the party would be boring and the influence of alcohol would make it more bearable.  Now, she regretted the decision.  Throughout the whole event, he had been seedy and perhaps a little too lewd, and she was sure the drink was the reason why.

“You looked like you had a good time too,” Ryan answered for her.

“I guess ...”

He took a look at his fatigued and weary companion.  “Everything ok?”

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“What makes you think I’m not?”

Ryan looked at her.  She looked tired, drained of energy.  She wasn’t as cheery as she had been before.  He thought through what had happened, using what was left of his mental faculties to make sense of her attitude.

“I’m sorry,” he answered solemnly.  “I ... I guess I went too far.”

Sunny didn’t reply.

“Sometimes I will have a drink and I’ll be fine.  Or I can have a drink and I would just turn into some bad guy.”

“You’re not a bad guy,” Sunny sighed.

“I know,” he corrected himself, “but I would say stuff like that and make people uncomfortable.”

She slowed the car down, ready to turn.

“You were really good to drive and let me drink.  And I embarrassed you in front of your friends.”

“That’s not what upset me,” she mumbled.

“It’s not?”

“Think harder ...”

He did.  “You mean when I said about ...”

She nodded.

“Sunny, babe,” he looked at her, his most heart-breaking gaze in his eyes.  “I love more than your .  I know you’re more than that.  I know there’s more to you than that.”

“Like what?”

“Well ...” he ran through his usual thoughts, hampered as they were through alcohol and pressure from being put on the spot.

“Nobody is around,” she coached, “and I won’t tell anyone if it’s sweet and romantic.”

He sighed.  “I like how ... how you ... uhhhh ...”

She shook her head and laughed to herself.  Even when given the opportunity to say something without people knowing, he was still quiet.

“I like how you care so much about things that wouldn’t bother me,” he answered firmly.

“Huh?”

“You spend so much of your energy listening to your heart.  You care so much about things that wouldn’t bother me.  You let your emotions kind of rule your decisions.  You let your feelings take priority over your brain.  And I like that.  I like that you care about other people.  I like that you don’t like offending people.  I like that you go all mushy when you see a dog or a cat on TV or in the street.  I like that you feel a lot more than I do.”  He looked at her intently, declaring each statement with the sound of absolute sincerity

She thought for a moment, holding back the tears that were coming.  “So ... why didn’t you say that earlier?”

He sighed again.  “I ... I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?  How can you not know?”

“I guess I just thought about my image,” he admitted.  “I’m not exactly the most sentimental, am I?”

She slowly shook her head in resignation.  He wasn’t sentimental, at all.  So, it kind of made sense that she took it personally when he came out with the most objectifying comment he could.  Maybe she had taken it the wrong way, and maybe letting it bother her was wrong.  But what could she do?  He hadn’t given her any clue that he had other interests in her.  Maybe that in itself was a clue.  She took a deep breath and pushed her insecurities to one side.  He could clearly see her emotional complexities, and he had said how she lived her life with her heart as the guiding star.  It was true.

Maybe he wasn’t so insensitive.

“It still bothered me,” she admitted to him.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“Did you mean that?”

"Did I mean that I’m sorry?  Or that I like those things?”

"That you like my ,” she answered, slightly annoyed at him.

“I ... Yeah, I do.  I’m a guy, so obviously I will like those things.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t see anything else.  You are still my girlfriend.”

Sunny smiled, relinquishing her argument and her anger.  He was right; he could like her physical assets and still see her emotional side.  Liking one didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate the other.  Far from it, her body was as much a part of her as her personality.  She relaxed into her seat as she drove, continuing her journey.

“Would you still love me if I didn’t have my ?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t change a thing about you, babe,” he answered.

She smiled through her naivety, accepting his compliment and ignoring the small voice that reminded her she hadn’t asked about changing anything about herself.