─── Six ───

    “Be honest, how do I look?” I asked Nari, twirling around in front of the mirror. She came over after work to help me get ready for my date with Sehun tonight. We had a few disagreements about whether I should go for a y or feminine look, but eventually, we settled on the latter. As for makeup, I opted for something more natural. The only product on my eyes was mascara and a little bit of eyeliner.

    “Oh, c’mon! When Sehun lays his eyes on you, he’ll be totally infatuated, I guarantee it!” I looked at my reflection unsurely. He worked in a field full of such pretty girls, would I really impress him like this? They were already so pretty without their hair and makeup done. Meanwhile, I needed hours to even look presentable.

    “Are you sure? Maybe I should change into that other top.”

    “Nonsense! Besides, you’re going to be late if you don’t leave now. It’s already past 18:00.” I groaned. She was right. I was so busy fussing over my outfit that I didn’t even realize the time. I cursed to myself while I yanked my bag off my bed and scurried to the coat closet, Nari close behind. It was kinda chilly tonight, so I grabbed a long, tan peacoat and pulled on a pair of white sneakers that gave me a slight boost in height. Sehun was hopelessly taller than me, but at least my legs would look longer.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

    Following a quick ride on the subway and a short amount of walking, I arrived in front of the restaurant. I had never been to this side of town. It was close to SM Entertainment, though, so maybe that’s why he chose this place. I walked in through the front doors and immediately, the hostess guided me to the back without even asking for a name. That’s the power of such a famous idol, I guess. As we passed a few private rooms, I could feel my body trembling and my heart racing in my chest. I always wanted this, but now that it was about to happen, I felt so nervous. Would I finally get to confess my feelings after all these years? And most importantly, did he feel the same?

    “Oh, you’re here,” Sehun greeted me, not looking up from his phone once I entered. Either I was overdressed for this occasion or he was severely underdressed. He most definitely came from practice, judging by his workout clothes and the black Nike cap on his head. 

    “Hi,” I replied. I took a seat across from him and peered over at his screen, instantly recognizing the PubG loading screen. I took my coat off, hoping that I’d get a better reaction from him once he saw what I was wearing. Still nothing, much to my dismay. For some reason, I was already feeling disheartened. I expected him to talk more animatedly or at least look at me with more interest. He didn’t even greet me that warmly when I came in. Perhaps he’s nervous, too? He’s so nervous, he can’t even look at me, maybe? I let out a sigh, settling on that explanation, and began browsing through the menu. I skipped past the greasy foods even though I could really go for a good pizza. I wanted to order something light so it wouldn’t be too hard to talk while we ate.

    “Did you come straight from practice?” I inquired. If he wasn’t going to start the conversation, then I might as well give it a shot. He didn’t reply for a while, but instead of ignoring me for PubG, he was ignoring me for Kakaotalk.

    “Mhmm.” I nodded my head in acknowledgement, irked by how dry he was being. Now what? This was the first time I had trouble talking to him. Normally, our conversations would flow so naturally. I should’ve known things weren’t going to go well tonight after we went the whole day without texting. Nari told me not to worry about it, that he’s a busy man, but I knew how this system worked. If a guy liked a girl, he wouldn’t stop texting her. If there’s no texting whatsoever, that’s a bad sign. After a starstruck waiter had taken our orders, Sehun finally exited Kakaotalk and slid his phone into his pocket. Thank god, I thought to myself.

    “You said you’re single, right?” He stared at me intensely, waiting for an answer.

    “I am,” I confirmed eagerly. Last time we had this talk, we couldn’t get past this point. We were rushed and the environment around us was so hectic. He probably wanted to wait for the right moment and there was no better moment than right now. It was just the two of us in a private room, nobody could bother us.

    “Perfect, because I have a friend who I think you’d click with.” Wait. What?

    “Hyung, sorry I’m late!” The door opened and Sehun waved at the guy who walked in. Everything suddenly made sense. He wasn’t texting me all day because this wasn’t a date between us, it was just him trying to play matchmaker for his friend. I was mortified. I freaked out for a whole day for nothing. I stared blankly at the table in an attempt to conceal my disappointment as he took a seat next to Sehun.

    “I’m Choi Sungmin,” he introduced himself to me with a slight bow. I looked up at him for the first time. Maybe if my heart wasn’t so set on the person sitting in front of me, I would’ve taken more interest in him. I mean, he was tall, maybe around 177 cm, and his perm looked good on him. It did justice to his relatively attractive face. His sense of style wasn’t bad, either. But now that I saw him sitting next to Sehun, I could easily see the difference between their individual beauty. Unlike his hyung, Sungmin had a cute image kinda like Nari. Sehun should’ve set him up with her, not me. I quickly averted my eyes when I noticed him starting to beam at me. I must’ve stared for too long.

    “Aww, she’s shy!” Sehun teased, elbowing Sungmin who let out a nervous chuckle. 

    “No, I’m the one who’s shy! Noona is so much prettier in person.” I cringed at the word. Ah, what a dealbreaker. I wasn’t into younger guys and I most definitely didn’t like being called Noona straight off the bat.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

    The rest of the night passed by boringly. I tuned in and out of the conversation, occasionally sharing my opinion when they asked. For the most part, though, it was only the two of them talking. Sungmin made good company, yet his bright smile and charismatic personality couldn’t distract me from the anger that built up inside me with each minute that passed. I can’t believe Sehun tricked me. He must’ve known what he was doing, baiting me like this. In the end, he was just using me for his ulterior motives. Or what if he thought he was doing me a favor? If I thought about it that way, then I didn’t have a reason to be mad at him. Who was I kidding? I can never stay mad at Sehun. Despite all the trials he’s put me through, I’ll never hate him—it’s just impossible. As for the feelings I was ready to admit to him today, I suppose they’ll have continue to staying buried.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁