BGM: LeeSsang feat Jungin - The Girl Who Can't Break Up, The Boy Who Can't Leave

A young high school couple was having a heated argument inside the train. The girl, with one arm wrapped around one of the vertical railings near the door, was pointing her index finger at the boy, repeatedly yelling at him for some reasons only the two of them know. The boy, who was comfortably standing in the middle of the subway car, showing off his sense of balance by not holding on to anything for support, could only squirm in embarrassment as his girlfriend nagged him in front of the other commuters.

"YA! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WEAR IT?!?"

"It's not really my style."

"BUT IT'S A COUPLE SHIRT! YOU HAVE TO WEAR YOURS WHEN I WEAR MINE!"

On the far end of the subway seating across from them, you and Jongin were secretly enjoying the particular scenario, for it provided you with a chance to create your own mini-drama by dubbing improvised dialogues to the unsuspecting NBT couple.

"But couple shirts are so corny," Jongin said, laughing as his words unexpectedly matched the recent gesture made by NBT boy.

When you noticed NBT girl lashing out at her boyfriend again, you exclaimed, in a voice that only you and your chingu could hear, "Corny??? CORNY?!? YOU THINK I'M CORNY?!?"

With one hand still covering his mouth, Jongin explained, "I meant the shirts, not you-" and once again, this seemed to be a believable dialogue since NBT boy was frustratingly combing back his fringe with his fingers as he talked to his girlfriend.

"BUT I WAS THE ONE WHO BOUGHT THEM!!!" you quickly retorted when NBT girl interrupted whatever it is her boyfriend was saying. "If the shirts are corny, then I'm corny!"

Jongin gently patted your shoulder. "Oh look! She's actually crying!" He pointed towards the NBT girl, who was wiping her own tears after successfully managing to get a handkerchief from her pocket.

Seeing it as a good opportunity to bring more silly drama to your little game, you pretended to sob and babbled, "I can't believe I wasted my allowance money on those shirts! It's not like I can wear mine alone anyway. I would look so stupid walking around the city wearing a shirt with the letters 'VE' in it without you by my side wearing the one with the letters 'LO' printed on it."

credit to couple shirts

After a quick glance at what the NBT was currently doing, Jongin copied him by gently your forearm. "Oh, honey pie, don't cry-"

You burst into laughter. "Honey pie?!? Where did that come from?!?"

Totally embarrassed by the term of endearment he just used, Jongin buried his face in his hands not only to hide the blush forming on his cheeks, but also to control the laughter that is hurting his jaw. "I don't know, it just came out!"

After the two of you have finally recovered from laughing at Jongin's honey pie moment, you asked your favorite commuting buddy about his opinion on couple shirts. "Just curious. Would you - at some point - ever consider wearing a couple shirt?"

"I do own a couple shirt-"

"YOU DO?!?" you interrupted.

"Yeah, although I don't think it counts as a couple shirt. It's more like a friendship shirt," Jongin confirmed. "Taemin bought some for me, Moonkyu, and himself several months ago."

"Well, that's sweet~" you cooed. "But I guess you can't really refer to them as couple shirts since there are three of you," you figured and Jongin nodded to acknowledge your explanation.

He turned to you and stared straight into your eyes. "What about you, then? Are you going to force your future boyfriend to wear a shirt with the letters 'LO' on it?" he teased, referring to the made-up couple shirt design you mentioned earlier.

"I personally think it's too cheesy and it's nothing but a really arrogant way of flaunting your relationship with the rest of the world, but I don't really know. Maybe I secretly want to try it at least once, just to know what it feels like to wear them."

"I want to change my guess,"

Back at Happy Bubble, a couple of minutes after Yeonhee had finished preparing the boys' bubble tea orders, Chanyeol suddenly voiced out his intention to tweak his prediction in their ongoing bet. "About Jaemi's secret crush. I want to change my answer," he said, occupying the seat beside Joonmyun.

"Why would you want to do that?" Kyungsoo asked.

"Didn't you guys notice? It's obviously Jongin. Didn't you see them earlier? They already look like a couple. She even waited for him to finish practice so they could go home together," Chanyeol reasoned.

Joonmyun, who, along with Yeonhee, were the only two people in the room who actually know the identity of your crush, exchanged knowing looks and cryptic smiles, since the information about your fondness for the forgetful Chinese boy has now become their little secret. Although your little heart-to-heart talk yesterday confirmed their suspicions, Joonmyun decided not to tell the others about it, for proclaiming his victory would only expose the truth about your unrequited infatuation towards Yixing. Besides, it's not like Joonmyun needs the 30,000 won he has to split with Yeonhee anyway.

"Wait. Who was your first guess again?" Minseok questioned.

"Myself," Chanyeol confidently answered.

Kyungsoo covered his face with his two hands, barely coping with the unbelievable secondhand embarrassment brought forth by his friend. "Aren't you ashamed - AT ALL - to assume that?!?"

"Why? It is possible that she likes me. Don't get me wrong. Jaemi's not really my type, so I'm not saying this because I wanted her to like me, but guys... SERIOUSLY! How can she not like me? How can she not fall for someone with a face like this? Right?" Chanyeol then cupped his chin with his thumb and his index finger and flashed his camera-ready smile. "But if she's into boys with darker skin tone, then I guess I really have to change my answer."

"That's really mean! Jongin is not dark-skinned!" Yeonhee exclaimed, dis-attaching the blender jar from its base, so she could rinse off the residues from the last bubble tea she prepared. "You're all just fairer than him!" she pointed out.

"Ethpecially Joonmyun hyung," Sehun chimed in.

Youngho put his cup of lychee-flavored bubble tea on the table and leaned on his chair. He then folded his arms across his chest and said, "If Chanyeol hyung is right about Jaemi liking people based on their physical appearance, then her secret crush should be me. I mean, c'mon, look at me. Not only do I have the face to turn her knees into jelly, but I also have the body to-"

"But she already had that crush before she even met you!" Kyungsoo interrupted, stirring the red beans in his Korean-style milk tea with the jumbo straw. "I know who she likes, okay? And trust me, it isn't you, Youngho-ah. Sorry!"

"Maybe she already stopped liking that previous crush of hers and is now interested in the super cool handsome guy Seo Youngho!" he supposed, pointing both of his thumbs towards his chest.

Minseok frantically waved his free hand in disagreement while taking a sip of his toffee-flavored bubble tea. "Why would Jaemi have any interest in a pair of giants like you two? Surely, she wouldn't want a boyfriend who'd look like her father whenever they'd hold hands while strolling the park? I mean, it's obvious she prefers the cute type of guy - someone whose height is perfect to hers-"

"Hyung, I thought you like Jihye?" Sehun asked.

"Hey! Just because I said Jaemi probably prefers cute guys like me over awkward giraffes like them, it doesn't mean I'm romantically interested in her!" Minseok defended.

Shaking his head, Kyungsoo scolded his hyungs and his dongsaeng. "Look at you. You're all fighting over who you think better suits Jaemi's ideal better and you're not even interested in dating her!"

"I think Jaemi's really cute," Youngho admitted, taking his cup of lychee-flavored bubble tea from the table. "But she's too nice and quite timid at times. Not my type at all," he clarified.

"That's why I like Jihye," Minseok mentioned. He placed his left elbow on the table and rested his face on his left hand. "She's more lively. More outspoken. I like how she always speaks her mind regardless of the situation," he smiled. 

"But Jung Jihye is too loud!" Chanyeol pointed out.

Joonmyun crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair. "I think Jihye is a lot like you, actually," he revealed, tilting his head a bit. "Think about it. She's loud, impulsive, overprotective... she's like the female version of yourself."

"And you're the male Jaemi... the only difference is that she's a bit more charming than you are," Chanyeol retorted. When he noticed Joonmyun contract his eyebrows in displeasure, he added, "Oh and she doesn't scowl as much as you do, Hyung."

"What about you, Sehunnie? What's your ideal girl like?" Yeonhee asked.

The question caught Sehun off-guard that he nearly choked on the two pieces of tapioca pearls that he just slurped. "M-M-Me?" he asked, rubbing his chest, as if trying to speed up the passage of the tapioca pearls along his esophagus. "I-I... I like-"

"-a girl who knows how to make bubble tea!" Kyungsoo teased.

"I wonder if I'm going to end up like her."

After the Namba Bus Terminal couple finally kissed and makeup, your fun dialogue-dubbing activity with Jongin also ended. Now, as you look back on their fight, whatever the actual reason may be, you suddenly started contemplating about what kind of girlfriend you'll be like in the future.

"Like Who? NBT girl?" Jongin asked.

Looking at Jongin with a pair of sad puppy eyes, you nodded. "Yeah, I'm afraid to be like her. Jongin Chingu, what if I end up being a horrible girlfriend who nags her boyfriend all the time and forces him to wear couple shirts?"

Jongin couldn't help but chuckle at your unnecessary worrying. Sure, you nag a lot, alright, but only when you need to scold people about taking care of their health or minding their manners. It never occurred to him that you'll be a nightmare like the NBT girl who does nothing but yell at the poor NBT boy. "I think you're going to be a great girlfriend someday," he admitted, his smile getting wider as he noticed you scrunch up your nose in flattery.

"Aww~ you're being too nice~" you cooed, lightly hitting him in the arm.

"That is, if you manage to find a boyfriend first," he teased, and this time, the slap in the arm he received from you was nothing but light.

You folded your arms across your chest and pouted like a 3-year-old kid on a timeout. "I should've known your niceness will only last for less than a minute!" you jokingly muttered, making Jongin laugh even more. 

"I'll tell you what kind of girlfriend you'll be," Jongin offered, adjusting the sleeves of his jacket as he extended his arm, as if he was getting ready to start counting. "First of all, you're going to be an awkward girlfriend-"

When you suddenly hit his arm with your elbow, Jongin went on to explain what he meant. "What I mean is that, you won't be comfortable with any type of compliment or skinship at first. When your boyfriend tells you that you're pretty, you won't believe him. When he tries to hold your hand or attempts to kiss you, you will feel really awkward. I bet you're going to blush a lot too." Jongin paused briefly to brush the fringe off his forehead and you realized that he needs to have his hair cut really soon.

"Since you're not very vocal or expressive, you will probably convey your feelings by doing 'motherly' things such as preparing a packed lunch, nursing a wound, knitting a scarf-"

"I don't know how to knit," you interrupted.

Quite surprised to know that you don't know how to knit, Jongin just responded by saying that maybe you're going to ask Jihye to teach you how to do so. Even when you told him that it seemed really cheesy and so cliche to knit a scarf or a sweater or whatever for a boyfriend, he still stood by this assumption, saying that a girl in love would usually find herself doing some