Bang YongGuk

The next day I headed to the market. I talked a bit with the ladies from the market. “Auntie Jeon told us about the blouse you ordered from her. You’re such a romantic folk.”

They patted my shoulder. One of them sighed. “We are all relieved. You see HaSeul had bad friends.”

“Remember that gothic guy ?”

“Yeah he was the worst ! He always wear all black and was so white that he looked like he could overdose anytime soon.” One of them said.

The other groaned. “How could he be the worst ?! You don't remember of that university assistant … He played with her like an used toy.”

The old grandma hit her shoulder. “ Yeah, that jerk was the worst !! The supposed photograph !”

They all froze. “He was such con artist. He left her without a world, she was heartbroken ...”

“I doubt he was even a photograph, he just-” She interrupted herself mid sentence and looked at the lady with the fabric shop. “Give that man the gift for his girlfriend, huh ?”

The others looked a bit sorry. "Yeah don't mind what we just said ... We're only old women gossiping, huh ?"

I chuckled, they were lovely.  I  tried to reassure them. “I knew HaSeul was a bit of a troublemaker, don’t worry.”

Auntie Jeon lead me to her shop and showed me the wrap blouse. It was perfect, I couldn't Iwait until HaSeul would try it. I paid for the blouse and thanked the lady. “It means a lot to me. HaSeul likes such clothes but she can’t buy them in stores.”

The blouse looked so nice, with ruffles around the chest and the sleeves, it was very girly. The owner of the shop knew perfectly what was trendy right now and seeing the blouse, I had a feeling I would come often.

I left the market and felt bittersweet. What would they think if I told them  about my past ? I'm sure they would feel betrayed.  They think of me like the ideal guy, the catch that HaSeul got, after terrible relationships. It was silly but when people knew about me and my past, I felt better. I felt like people who didn't know that part of my life needed to know.

I cameback home, leaving those depressing thoughts aside. I was really excited to giveto HaSeul the blouse.She wasn't home yet,  despite her shift ending at 5pm on thursday. I highly suspected HaSeul started back her visits to inmates. It wasn't the first time she came late at night. Maybe it started back when I did night classes at university ? I understood she felt uncomfortable talking about this. Haseul feels like she's responsible for my whole well-being.

When I heard the front door opening, I ran to the door, where HaSeul was removing her shoes.

“Do you trust me ?” I asked her.

She looked dumbfounded. “Yeah. I guess I do.”

That answer wasn't satisfying to hear, yet I brushed it off, I took her by surprise. “Then, close your eyes.”

“Okay.” HaSeul closed her eyes and I ran in the room to get the blouse. “YongGuk where did you go ? Is it a joke ?”

I came back to her side and looked at her, eyes still closed. “You don’t believe in me ?”

“I just don’t like not knowing what to expect.” She explained.

I started to remove her hoodie and HaSeul gasped. “Trust me.” I reassured her.

She relaxed and I made her wear the blouse. It looked pretty. I took my time to tie the ribbon. It fitted her well. I wrapped my hands around her eyes and leaded her to the bathroom. “You can open your eyes.”

*

Choi HaSeul

I looked at myself in the mirror and froze for a bit. “You bought a blouse for me ?”

I checked if the sleeves fitted my arms and surprisingly, it did. Yongguk rested his hands on my shoulders, looking at our reflection. “Yeah, it’s handmade actually from the lady,you know the one that have a fabric shop.”

“Auntie Jeon?”

“Exactly !” He explained to me, embarrassed.

I looked at the ribbon in the middle, the ruffles, I turned around to look at the blouse. It was elegant, with a rose pattern. 

“I can’t believe it fits my arms.” I stated.

YongGuk and I smiled at each other reflection. He gently kissed my neck. “You are beautiful HaSeul, don’t get me wrong, but that blouse is so elegant and pretty on you, it suits you very well”

“Thank you. That’s a really nice gift. You do know one thing or two about  fashion”

“Let me have a photo.” YongGuk asked. I  sat on the bathtub and made silly faces while he took photos of me. He was laughing a bit. “Come on, let’s do a serious one.”

I nodded. “You want a y photo ?” I untied the ribbon, and exposed a shoulder.

YongGuk suddenly lost his smile.“A nice photo. I don’t take weird photos.”

I felt confused, what happened for his mood to shift  like this ? I shrugged, pushing that aside and made a huge smile, showing off my bunny teeths.

He took a photo and approached me.“We should have a date. Let’s go one night and go to Jamsil to stare at the exposition.”

“Oh, you mean the supermoon exposition?”  I asked. "Yeah, let’s go tomorrow after class.”

“Deal.”

*

Bnag YongGuk

I went to university on the morning and as I came back home, I ate and realized I should get ready for our date tonight. I started to shave myself and got annoyed by my hair falling in my eyes. These days, I had trouble to keep my hair away from my face. I looked at my reflection and decided myself to go and have an haircut. I headed to the market after shaving and entered the old hairsalon.

It was one of the ladies that talked often with me when I came to the market. "What do you want ?" 

"I'd like to cut a little bit my hair, like refresh my haircut, it's been months I've let it grow." 

She star