Still With You [5/?] - A Walk

Author's Notes: Hi, hello! This chapter was supposed to take a different course but I took @untamedshrew's advice and it turned out this way. I hope you all enjoy this new, sappy chapter.

Remember last chapter, when Kim So Eun announced that she's now okay with PDA? Well, she's going to have a few problems here.

(I'm excited about the chapter next to this. Hahaha. Also, I'm so sorry about the banner for this chapter. I'm not an expert in editing but I tried my best; I just haven't seen a bigger version of that picture. If you have, please tell me!)

...

It certainly seemed like a lot of people were hungry today.

“Is this line ever going to move?”

“It's moving, but it's really slow.”

“We've been here for so long and my feet are starting to hurt!”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “Just a little bit more patience, So Eun-ah.”

“And I'm really hungry!”

“I'm hungry too, if that helps.”

“Why did I even wake up this morning?” She turned and pouted at him. “I had this dream about fairies and flowers and this beautiful place I haven't seen before. You were even there.” She pointed am accusing finger at his chest. “But you ruined it, you know. Your dream self came into that beautiful garden and then I woke up! Urgh! I hardly have dreams these days. Why did you have to wake me up?” Pause. “Why do you even exist?”

He only shrugged, bewildered at her behavior. “I don't know.”

She peeked her head around the line and he heard the faint sound of her growling, low in . He looked up the ceiling of the college cafeteria and sighed. Waiting was getting tiresome. “We'll never be able to eat,” she groaned, turning back to him.

“Maybe it's the server. He might be a little too slow.” Kim So Eun didn't answer. Instead, she just groaned again and buried her face in his chest. Kim Bum wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss into her hair. “Can I ask you something?”

“Okay,” he heard her say, voice muffled through his sweater.

“Are you upset because the line is hardly moving or because it's that time of the month again?” She didn't say anything but he was sure he heard her low growl once more. “See, the boyfriend really does know best.”

His eyes turned to look around the other people in the line. There was a girl and a boy, clearly a couple, standing a few people in front of them, his arms around her as she leaned her back against him. He spotted Go Ara, a little bit more ahead of the couple, talking with a girl who's probably a classmate in one of her classes. Ara spotted him too and waved at him. The girl with Ara looked around and made eye contact with Kim Bum, and he was almost sure he saw her blush when she looked down after he smiled at her in greeting.

A few moments―and unintelligible mumbling and growling on So Eun's part―later, the line moved quickly forward and So Eun pulled her head away from Kim Bum's chest, looking around in confusion. “What's happening?” She turned to see the others in front of them moving forward successively. “We're moving? Hey, we're moving!”

She grabbed his hand and dragged him forward each time they moved until they found themselves standing in front of the cashier. She happily ordered for both of them (“Two plates of fried chicken, rice and mashed potatoes, please!”) and when she unwound her fingers from his to retrieve money from the coin purse in her pocket, he promptly stopped her.

“Lunch is my treat today,” Kim Bum said, opening his wallet. “And please add two chocolate sundaes to the order,” he added to the cashier.

Kim So Eun was quick to protest. “But―”

“No, I got this,” he insisted, handing a couple of bills to the cashier. “Consider this a prize for you, for surviving the long, unmoving line in the cafeteria despite the draining crankiness brought about by that weird time of the month.”

She chuckled at his choice of words to describe her situation. “Fine, but maybe there's a way I could repay you.”

He pretended to ponder on the thought. “Hmm... a kiss would do,” he said, tapping a finger to his cheek and leaning towards her.

“Haha, no way,” She only stuck her tongue out at him, grabbed the two sundae cones they ordered and sauntered on to find an empty table in the packed cafeteria. He went after her moments later, carrying their tray of food in his hands.

...

“Thank you,” Kim So Eun chirped gratefully, accepting the can of pineapple juice Kim Bum pushed across the table.

“You're always welcome.” He gave her a cheeky smile and proceeded to take a sip from his own can of soda. They sat there, quietly sipping on their drinks, and he found himself happy to just watch Kim So Eun's facial expressions as she surveyed her surroundings. She stopped moving for a while, though, and her eyes settled on a group of four girls seated two tables away from So Eun's right. “What's up?” he asked curiously.

She nods to the group. “They're staring at us, and whispering.”

Kim Bum turned to look just in time to see one of the girls, with hair dyed light brown and tied up in a ponytail, whisper something angrily to one of her friends and glare at the general direction of Kim So Eun, whose figure was hunched over her pineapple juice and eyes boring through the hole of the can. He frowned and leaned forward, taking So Eun's hand in his. He needed to take her away from this, especially given the fact that she hates it when people give her unwarranted attention.“You wanna go somewhere?”

She looked up from her drink and nodded. “Okay.”

They got to their feet and he silently led her out of the university gate and onto the street, where only several people were walking. They still had time to go out for a while; it was still a little bit over 12, and their next class together starts at 2:30. Kim So Eun walked sullenly beside him, and when he tried to take her hand, she shrugged him off and walked a little bit faster, veering further away from him.

“Kim So Eun, are you okay?” he called out to her as she turned left on a corner. She didn't even stop to answer him. “So Eun-ah, what's wrong?”

All of a sudden, Kim Bum was having trouble understanding the world. There he was, chasing his girlfriend down the street because apparently there was something wrong about people whispering and staring at her in the school cafeteria. His girlfriend, an actress who spends a lot of time smiling and acting in front of the camera and television crew, somehow couldn't stand the attention of four college gossip girls. Something in him snapped, and he grabbed her arm and gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

“Kim So Eun, you have to tell me what's wrong,” he pleaded.

She shook her head fervently. “I'm not good at this.”

“Good at what?”

“Good at being with you. In public,” she said, her eyes downcast. “I can't...”

“You can.” He wrapped her in a hug, and she willingly submitted herself to his arms. “I'm here. You're not alone in this.”

“Why?” he heard her ask quietly.

“Why what?”

“Why are you putting up with me? I'm moody and I'm paranoid and most of those girls probably think I don't deserve you, anyway.”

“Whoever said you don't deserve me?” he pulled away from her and looked her in the eye. “I don't care if you're moody or paranoid or anything. You're you, and I love you. Nothing and no one should ever make you feel like you don't deserve me, 'cause you do.” He let his words settle in for her for a while before he made a face. “Why are you so emotional today?”

She hugged him again. “You've already pointed it out. It's that weird time of the month.”

“Oh well, I guess that's probably it,” he sighed, and held her closer.

"Thank you, Bum-ah," she whispered. "You always know how to make me feel better."

...

“What about in there?”

“I'm still too full to eat anything.”

“It was just a suggestion.”

“How about in there?” she gestured to a bookstore to their right. “I haven't bought a good book in a while.”

Kim Bum looked at her and lifted an eyebrow. “You have to promise me something first.”

She laughed and tightened her hold on his arm. “Okay, what is it?”

“When you've already bought one book, we leave. No more prowling around to look for more books.”

She laughed again and raised her hand, as if doing oath, “Promise.”

She tugged at his hand and they entered the bookstore, stopping by the door to bow down to the store owner in greeting. The next half-hour was spent scouring the shelves around the shop, with So Eun occasionally reading a book's summary when she finds the title and cover page enthralling. Kim Bum found himself picking up a book once in while and handing it over for So Eun if he deemed it worthy of her inspection. When finally she decided on a book and approached the counter—he paid, despite her complaints—they left the bookstore, but not before the store owner, who confessed to them that she's a Boys Over Flowers fan, asked to take a picture with them.

"We should come back some time," So Eun remarked as soon as they were out the door. "There are more books to be discovered."

They were wandering down the street, hand in hand, trying to decide whether to go back to the campus or not, when Kim Bum's cellphone rang.

He looked at the caller ID onscreen and gave So Eun a questioning look. “Is your cellphone with you?”

"It's in my bag, inside my locker." She shrugged after taking a quick inspection of the pockets of her jeans.  Meanwhile, the phone continued to ring in Kim Bum's hand. “Why aren't you answering? Who is it?”

“It's your mom.”