“Where did you want to go today?” Howon asked, while spooning some food into his mouth.

You shrugged, “I was thinking that we could hang out at the mall and then buy some ingredients to make cookies. You want to find out how I make them, right?”

He nodded, excitedly.

“Good.” You smiled and went to put your bowl in the sink.

Howon went to change after he ate because you wouldn’t allow him to wash the dishes. When he came out of his room in a pair of skinny jeans and a purple v-neck, you were already waiting for him on the couch.

“Ready?” You asked.

“Yeah.” He replied, slipping on his high tops and pocketing his wallet.

He let you exit the house first and locked the door after him. A cab was already waiting outside because you called earlier. It drove you to the mall and the two of you entered. The first half an hour was spent walking around and admiring the new decorations the employees put up. Howon was walking with his hands stuffed in his pocket when he was suddenly tugged back by you.

“Let’s try this!” You suggested. “This must be new!”

Howon looked at what you were pointing towards: a sticker booth.

“I’m not really model material –“

“Nonsense!” You said. “Have you seen how the other girls look at you at school?!”

“Well not exactly, but –“

“Exactly. You haven’t. And trust me, if you asked them out, they’d accept in a heartbeat! I’m probably going to continue rambling about how amazing you are if I don’t stop here. Anyway, my point is, girls would kill to be your friend, let alone girlfriend, so don’t you even start with me!” You nagged.

You began dragging him towards the booth and he let you.

“Plus, the last time we took a picture together was so long ago that it’s sad.” You pouted.

After twenty minutes of taking pictures and decorating them in the booth, you two came out and waited for the photos to develop. You gave Howon first pick since he agreed to take the pictures with you and he picked the one where you two were making a heart with your hands. He stuck it on his phone and you stuck the one where you both were posing coolly on yours. The rest was split between the both of you.

Howon offered to buy the two of you a smoothie after walking around for a while. You two sat there and sipped on your smoothies while talking about random things that came to mind.

“I’ll be back in half an hour.” You said, throwing your empty smoothie cup away. “There’s something I have to do.”

“Oh, do you want me to come with you?” He asked, about to get up.

You shook your head, which confused him. Why didn’t you want him to come along? Was it something personal? You knew you could trust him with anything. You two are best friends after all.

“Don’t worry.” You assured him when you saw his expression. “You’ll know when the time comes.”

You left after telling him that you’d meet him at this table after you were done and Howon was left sitting alone in the food court, pondering on what he could do for the next half an hour. He checked his phone and looked at the date. Your birthday was coming up. He could use this opportunity to buy your present. He got up and threw away his drink, getting ready to embark on his journey of finding a present for you.

He honestly didn’t know much about women’s clothing so he just went to the first one he set his eyes on. Howon’s always gotten you useful things as gifts for you such as your favorite books or whatnot, so going clothes shopping was new to him – especially when Sungjong wasn’t there to help him.

It took a few