You Were Right
Never Question
“How about this one?” Elena pulled out a glittering pink gown and gestured toward Eun Mi.
Eun Mi frowned. She wasn’t one to wear something quite so...well, pink.
“Why do I keep trying...” Elena mumbled, replacing the dress on the rack with a sigh. Eun Mi laughed, rummaging through a rack of pastel dresses. The spring carnival was the following week, and having the perfect dress was every girl’s mission. Eun Mi however wasn’t looking forward to the carnival; with all the planning and organizing she had been doing, there was very little time to find something to enjoy about it. And while she and Chunji weren’t necessarily fighting anymore, their friendship had taken a definite hit, and they found themselves circling each other, but not really interacting much. She had taken the extra time to bond with the rest of the boys, bonding with them over video games and having eating contests until their stomachs hurt.
“What’s Mung Ri’s favorite color?” Nyssa asked from the other side of Eun Mi’s rack.
“I don’t know, blue?” Eun Mi replied, not really sure what that had to do with anything.
“Blue would look great on you! Here, try this one.” Nyssa handed her a royal blue strapless sweetheart dress. Eun Mi took it in her hands, feeling the soft fabric between her fingers. It was a pretty dress, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to wear a blue dress.
“I don’t-”
“Come on, Mung Ri would love it. You have to look good for him remember?”
Eun Mi grimaced. She didn’t like the way that sounded.
“I guess I’ll try it on.” She said, walking into the fitting room.
Elena looked over at Nyssa, “What was that about?”
“What? I thought it would be a good idea.” Nyssa replied, shrugging her shoulders.
“Why does it feel like you’re forcing her to please Mung Ri? She’s not that kind of person you know.”
“I’m not forcing her to do anything, he’s her boyfriend and most girls want to look good for their boyfriends. That’s it.”
Elena nodded, sensing it would be better to keep quiet. Eun Mi emerged from the fitting room clad in the blue dress.
“Its nice!” Nyssa clapped. Eun Mi smiled politely. She moved over to the mirror and took in her appearance. The dress certainly fit her well. She was nowhere near as toned as Elena, and didn’t have the elegant curves that Nyssa possessed, but the dress hugged her in all the appropriate places and fell delicately at her knees.
“What do you think?” Elena asked.
“Its nice.” Eun Mi repeated, smiling in a way her friends knew all too well meant she didn’t feel comfortable.
“We’ll keep looking.” Elena responded, waving her back to the fitting room.
Three stores and what felt like 300 dresses later, Eun Mi was no closer to finding a dress she liked. She could sense annoyance radiating from Nyssa, and Elena was less than pleased by the many excuses Eun Mi created to not wear a dress.
They entered another store, hoping they would be able to find something soon. Nyssa pulled out a yellow dress, not really looking to see if her friend would like it or not. She had found her dress two days earlier and was not very interested in Eun Mi’s antics. Eun Mi looked over, sighed, and took it from her friend. She was getting frustrated.
“Here, try this one?” Elena held out a simple peach dress, short and sweet. Eun Mi nodded and took it.
“Hurry so we can get going.” Nyssa said, pulling out her phone.
“You can go if you’re annoyed.” Eun Mi snapped. She was already frustrated and she didn’t need someone to make her feel worse. Elena exhaled loudly and turned back to the rack in front of her.
“Well we’ve been trying on dresses for 3 hours Eun Mi. Just pick one.” Nyssa responded, eyes flickering up from the phone for a brief moment before going back to the device.
“I’m sorry I’m not excited about this Nyssa, but your attitude isn’t helping.”
Nyssa shrugged, unfazed by her friend’s words. Eun Mi let out a frustrated sigh and firmly placed the dresses back on the nearest rack she could find.
“I need a break. I’m going to get something to eat.”
Nyssa looked up from her phone, one eyebrow raised in mild surprise. She sighed lightly and followed Eun Mi as she walked out the door. Elena sauntered after them, doing her best to keep her comments to herself. She didn’t know why Nyssa was pushing so hard for Eun Mi to decide on a dress when they both knew that Eun Mi was an indecisive person when it came to shopping.
“What do you want to eat?” Elena asked, catching up to Eun Mi and linking their arms together in an attempt to diffuse the tension.
“We’re not going to take forever to pick that too are we?” Nyssa asked rolling her eyes.
“Nyssa you can go.” Eun Mi said angrily. “I don’t want you here if you’re just going to make me feel like crap all day. Just leave. I’ll see you later.”
Nyssa scoffed incredulously as Eun Mi walked away. Elena sighed and looked between both of her friends and followed Eun Mi toward the food court. Nyssa pulled out her phone and dialed, bringing up to her ear and feeling her annoyance increase with every ring.
“Where are you?” she almost yelled into the receiver. “I’ll be right there.”
“Why are we at the mall again?” L.Joe asked Chunji with a hint of annoyance. Chunji almost rolled his eyes. He had already explained why they were here. L.Joe was using this opportunity to make Chunji’s life difficult.
“Sang Ae wanted me to meet her to pick out her dress.”
“And she just couldn’t do that without you.” L.Joe snorted. Chunji shook his head and kept walking. He knew L.Joe didn’t approve of him dating Sang Ae, but she wasn’t as terrible as they all thought. She wasn’t wonderful either, but she wasn’t terrible.
They walked into a high end dress store, and were greeted at the door by a woman who offered them drinks as they took a seat. Sang Ae wasn’t there yet, she informed them, but they could wait for her there.
“I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” L.Joe muttered, getting out of the seat and making for the exit. Nyssa stormed into the store, huffing angrily about something to herself. She froze as soon as she saw Chunji and L.Joe. L.Joe raised an eyebrow, but shrugged his shoulders and left.
“Nyssa, what are you doing here?” Chunji asked, waving her over.
“Oh, I’m here to dress shop.” she replied as casually as she could. She wasn’t fond of Chunji and he sensed it.
“But...I thought you had already gotten your dress? That’s what Changjo told me.”
This was the problem with having a member of Teen Top as her date.
“Right,” she laughed awkwardly, “I’m here to help a friend.”
“Eun Mi said you were with her.” Chunji pressed.
“Of course she did.” Nyssa mumbled annoyed.
Before Chunji could comment again, Nyssa breezed into the store, both arms carrying shopping bags.
“Chunji!” She smiled broadly, handing all the bags to one of the workers and rushing over to press him into a hug.
“Hi.” He replied quietly, pulling her away. He gave her a small smile. She stepped back and noticed Nyssa standing next to Chunji. There was a split second of shock on her face, but she managed to get it under control.
“Oh Nyssa, thanks for coming.” She smiled, giving her a quick hug. Nyssa nodded but remained silent. Sang Ae saw the confusion on Chunji’s face and said, “I asked her to help since I knew she would be helping Eun Mi. I don’t want to risk having similar dresses.”
Chunji half laughed. Of course she would have that concern. There was no way Eun Mi would ever have a similar dress as Sang Ae. He was surprised however, that Nyssa would go shopping with Sang Ae when she knew Eun Mi didn’t get along with her. Wasn’t there some sort of girl code?
He didn’t have to make a comment however, because on of the workers guided Sang Ae to the fitting room to start trying on dresses. She had apparently already chosen a few, and now it was just up to Chunji and Nyssa to help her choose.
Chunji sighed and sank back into the seat. Nyssa avoided his gaze and instead wandered over to one of the racks containing multicolored gowns.
“What do you think?” Sang Ae called, stepping onto a platform surrounded by mirrors. She was wearing a peach knee length dress with a corset bodice that flared out at the waist. It hugged her curves and complimented her skin tone. Chunji looked at her and almost smiled. As much as he hated to admit it, Sang Ae was pretty, and the dress definitely looked good on her.
“So pretty!” Nyssa crooned, beaming brightly. Sang Ae smiled, and looked over at Chunji expectantly. He realized he was supposed to say something, so he cleared his throat and said, “You look really pretty.”
Sang Ae smiled, turning to admire her reflection in the mirrors behind her.
“Chunji.” He heard a voice call from behind him. L.Joe stood in the doorway, waving him over. Chunji glanced over at Sang Ae before getting up and walking to where L.Joe was. Nyssa had gone over to Sang Ae and they were chatting avidly about the dress.
“What’s up?” Chunji asked, noticing the dark expression clouding L.Joe’s face. L.Joe shook his head, “Not here.”
Chunji looked back at Sang Ae. She was looking at a cabinet of masks the worker was showing her.
“I can’t leave.”
“Screw your date. This is important.”
Chunji knitted his eyebrows in confusion, but nodded and stepped out of the store.
“Chunji?” Sang Ae’s voice called, “Where are you going?”
Chunji looked at L.joe, unsure of what to tell her.
“I need to do something, I’m sorry. The dress looks great.” He smiled, waving apologetically.
“But-”
Chunji walked away before he could hear the end of her protest. He was sure L.Joe had a reason to pull him out of there, but he was grateful either way. Being in there made him feel uncomfortable and stiff.
“What happened? I thought you were going to the bathroom.” Chunji said after they had gotten to the end of the hallway.
L.Joe hesitated, unsure of how to explain what he saw to Chunji.
“Mung Ri is cheating on Eun Mi.”
Chunji blinked as the words hit him. “What?”
“I saw him...and Sang Ae.”
Again, Chunji wasn’t sure what to say.
“I don’t…”
L.Joe sighed.
“They were in one of the phone boxes by the bathrooms. I heard them say something about separating you and Eun Mi and then they...kissed.”
Chunji shook his head. He had no trouble picture either one of them cheating, but with each other? The thought was disturbing, to say the least.
“So...they’re together?” Chunji was having a hard time understanding how this could have happened.
L.joe nodded and continued, “Apparently. I went to find Eun Mi-”
“She’s here still?” Chunji interrupted.
“Yeah. She was with Elena in the food court, but she was with Mung Ri by the time I found her. I didn’t know what else to do, so I went to find you.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Chunji asked. His head was spinning.
“Tell her? I don’t know Chunji. You know her better than anyone.”
Chunji looked away. His first instinct was to tell Eun Mi. But it was his word against Mung Ri’s, and after everything they had been through, he wasn’t sure Eun Mi would believe him. She trusted Mung Ri.
“You were right Chunji.”
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