They had shopped as much as they could handle. Seunghyun usually didn’t shop for very long, but he and Gwen had been having so much fun, he hadn’t noticed how much time had passed until he realized he was really hungry. He pulled Gwen to a restaurant so they could both eat, Gwen carrying bags of stuff she had already bought. As they shopped, Seunghyun had watched her buy everything on her own, with a card she pulled out of her bag over and over again, not even blinking, no matter what the price was.

Seunghyun wanted to ask about it, considering how expensive some of the clothes and things she bought were, but, based on how she reacted earlier to him asking about her family life, he knew better than to actually speak on them.

They walked together from store to store, sometimes not even going in, just looking at what the stores had put in their window displays. Sometimes Seunghyun would explain some of the cultural things that Gwen didn’t understand, careful to use as much English as possible, though it sort of turned into an English lesson, with Gwen teaching him words for certain things he was trying to explain. Either way, they were having fun.

Once, they were approached by a family of tourists who were looking for a certain store. After giving them directions, the tourists started to leave, only for the mother to turn to them and tell them that they made a very cute couple.

Gwen was too flustered to respond, and Seunghyun, seeing that, turned to the lady, bowed and said thank you.

After that, they were silent for a while, walking, the stores forgotten.

“Do you want to get something to eat?” Seunghyun suggested after a while, pointing to one of the restaurants on the street they were on.

Gwen nodded, and they headed into the restaurant, Seunghyun holding the door open for her.

They remained silent until they had been seated. Then, Seunghyun decided to attempt a conversation that would be unthreatening.

“You like sports?” Seunghyun asked, remembering the conversation earlier in the car.

Gwen nodded. “A lot. Back home, I could keep a conversation with any of guy friends or my brother’s about sports. Though, I must admit, I wasn’t a very good Chicago sports fan.” Gwen smiled, and to Seunghyun, it looked like she was remembering something that had gotten herself into some trouble with the people she loved.

Curious, Seunghyun asked, “Why do you say that?”

“I rooted for St. Louis teams. The Rams, the Cardinals, the Blues….”

Seunghyun didn’t understand. “Why was that a bad thing?”

Gwen smiled at Seunghyun, enjoying his ignorance. “Chicago and St. Louis are classic sports rivals. They’re the biggest cities in the Midwest, and whenever the two play against each other, things are heated.”

“Why do you root for St. Louis, then?”

Gwen thought for a second. “I guess it started with baseball. I was rooting for the Cubs, the Chicago team, when they were in St. Louis. And I noticed how…polite the Cardinals fans were. Sure, they booed the Cubs players, but they respected them, whereas in Chicago, the Cubs fans do anything they can to hate on the Cardinals and their fans. I value respect, and I found that in St. Louis’ teams’ fans.” Gwen stopped talking. She hadn’t realized how much she had been talking, but sports were just one of those things she enjoyed.

“What would you say is the most popular sport in America?” Seunghyun asked, trying to keep her talking.

“Probably….baseball or football. It depends on which season it is,” she laughed.

“So I should be playing baseball instead of basketball?” Seunghyun asked as their drinks came.

Gwen nodded, taking a sip of her soda.

“What about wrestling?” Seunghyun asked lightly, trying to get her to laugh at the thought of him being a wrestler.

Instantly, he knew he had made a wrong move. Gwen tensed, and looked down at her lap, wringing her hands on the table.

“What—”

“My…dad…works as wrestlers’ agent. He used to wrestle himself,” Gwen answered before Seunghyun could ask what was wrong, since she knew that that would be his next question.

“Do you not like him wrestling because you’re scared for his safety?” Seunghyun asked.

“Not for his safety…” Gwen said quietly.

Seunghyun realized how bothered she was, and instinctively reached across the table for her hand. She flinched a little at the contact, but soon relaxed. They didn’t say anything for a while, still holding hands.

“Gwen!” a voice called from across the restaurant. Instantly, Gwen took her hand from Seunghyun’s. Seunghyun didn’t move immediately, relishing the last few moments of the warm feeling her hand had given his.

Then, looking up as someone, the person who had called Gwen, Seunghyun scowled.

It was Daesung.

He didn’t stay long, only asking Gwen how she was, what she had been up to, and so on. Just like when they had gone to the café he worked at, Daesung didn’t pay any attention to Seunghyun.

Just as he begun to leave, Daesung turned to Gwen and asked, “There’s a party on Friday. Do you want to go?”

Gwen looked at Seunghyun, registering that her companion didn’t seem too pleased that Daesung was here, then back to Daesung. “Actually, Seunghyun has a basketball game, and I told him I would go.”

Seunghyun was shocked. It wasn’t a lie, he did have a game on Friday, but he didn’t think Gwen would really come to one.

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