I wake up normally, for once.

            I swear, it has been difficult for me to wake up on my own terms. Recently, there have been too many phone calls that wake me up before noon.

            Today, there was none of that, which makes me believe that today will be a good day.

            I reach for my phone to check if Unnie or Hoon left any messages before they left, but I'm actually shocked to see a text from Himchan.

From: Himchan
Hey, do you have any time today. Wondering if you wanna hang out with your best friend.

            I think back to our last conversation, which I really don't count as one because we had it over the phone, and I realize that within the relief I felt from talking to him was an undertone of something I'm not quite sure of yet.

            But I chose to hear what I wanted to hear, and now I'm about to pay some sort of price for my ignorance.

            I quickly type my text because there's nothing more I hate than a coward who avoids consequences. And I'm not about to hate myself on this beautiful day.

To: Himchan
Sure! Where at?

From: Himchan
UCC at the corner of your street? I'll be there in 30.

            I feel myself take a huge breath, as if preparing to go to war.

            Well, you can't go to war without armor... so I do my daily routine, all while imagining what kind of conversation I'm about to have with Himchan.

            My brain is still on hyper drive as I walk to the coffee shop.

            I feel like a friggin' kid waiting for her parents to come home from getting her grades from school. This is either going to go very well or very badly.

            I order some kind of fruity juice drink the guy in front was trying to sell me just to shut him up, so I can take a seat in a corner booth.

            I didn't realize until my phone chimed that I had been already waiting for nearly three hours.

            A feeling of relief, but also hurt passes through me.

            I check to see if it's Himchan who texted, but it's not; it was Hoon, asking where I was.

            Again, I feel conflicted emotions.

            Did I want to be the kid who got scolded because of bad grades, or did I want to be the kid whose parents didn't even care that I failed a few classes.

            I type a quick text.

To: Himchan
Hey, I'm here. Where you at?

            I look at the untouched fruity drink in front of me and sigh.

            Yup, no appetite today.

            I leave the coffee shop and head to the park behind it.

            I am a glutton for punishment.

            I don't head back to the apartment and just cut my losses. No, I stick around near enough so that if he does show up, I won't be far.

            I sit on the swing for I don't know how long, but when I look up, I see the edge of the night sky.

            Well, that's one day wasted.

            I figuratively pick myself up and dust off my knees.

            I still don't know which emotion is prevailing. Relief or abandonment.

            I still stare at my phone for a half a second longer than I should; willing him to text or call me.

            Like something out of a k-drama, my phone rings and I feel just a glimmer of hope before reading the caller ID.

            I hit answer because he's just about the only person who can cheer me up right now; other than the person who just stood me up.

            "Eunji-ah, have you eaten dinner yet?" I hear Sunggyu ask.

            "Nope. Why?" I ask.

            It takes him a couple of seconds before he responds, "I was thinking sandwiches in a park on a cold night looks good."

            I feel my back straighten because I could swear his voice on the phone sounded less digital than it should be.

            The call ends and I see him come up to me in sweats and a cap.

            "See, this is what I call a disguise! No one is ever going to look at you and say 'Woah! You look so much like Sunggyu from INFINITE,'" I joked as he takes a seat on the swing beside me.

            "Let's see how pretty you look like after twelve hours of choreo practice," he comments, but at the same time giving me half of his sandwich.

            "You think I look pretty?" I say in the most sarcastic tone possible.

            "You could wear the ugliest garbage bag in the world and make it look pretty," he replies with the same amount of sarcasm.

            I break, I finally smile at his ridiculousness.

            "There it is," he says with his own smile.

            "Did you get that line from Woohyun?" I ask.

            He shakes his head as he takes a bite out of his half of the sandwich, "Thought of that on the fly. Nobody can beat this wit."

            It was my turn to shake my head, "How did you even know I was here?"

            "I didn't. This is my usual route when I take a cab to visit you. I ask them to drop me off at the coffee shop at the corner, then I walk to your building," he explains.

            "Damn, you are smart, aren't you," I tease.

            "I have my moments," he answers without missing a beat.

            He finishes his sandwich, while I haven't even taken a single bite out of mine.

            "You want it? You look like you could use some more," I offer him my sandwich.

            "No, you eat it. You said you haven't had dinner yet," he says, turning to look at me.

            "I'm not hungry," I say.

            "You should still eat it, or at least take a bite," he says.

            I shrug and I take a bite, "What are you doing in this area anyway?"

            "Wishing it was already Wednesday," he says as he starts swinging himself.

            "It's just three more days," I say with a smile.

            "Yeah, but I wish it were already Wednesday, so we can go on a date. Why did I even ask to go out on Wednesday? I just had to play it cool, didn't I?" He asks himself.

            "Isn't this a date?" I ask him.

            He immediately stops his swing and turns to look at me, "Really, you count this a date?"

            I shrug as I realize I'm about to finish my sandwich, "Good food, good company. Aren't those the only requirements for a date?"

            "Yeah, but... this is boring compared to yesterday," he says.

            I feel myself laugh, "Gyu, if all of our dates we're going to be as big as yesterday's we'd be burying ourselves in debt. This is just as good as yesterday, I promise."

            He raises an eyebrow at me, "Are you sure?"

            I nod, "I'm sure. Tell you what, why don't I come by your studio tomorrow with dinner?"

            He smiles at me, "Well, I'm not going to stop you."

            "Thanks, Gyu," I say as I reach out for his hand.

            "For?" He asks as he rubs circles with his thumb on my hand.

            "I was having a pretty weird day," I explain vaguely.

            "If you would have told me earlier, I could have been here sooner," he says, trying to comfort me, but also trying not to pry.

            "You have better things to do than to listen to me whine about my day," I say softly.

            "Hey," he says as he pulls me off of my swing and into a hug.

            "I want to hear all of it. I want to hear if you had a bad day, or a good day, or even a weird day. I want to know about it all. Don't ever think that I'm too busy. I will make time, Eunji."

            I could only nod as a response.

            "I was about to go crazy today because I kept checking my phone and there weren't any messages from you. I kept replaying what happened last night, if I did something wrong..."

            ”Okay," I say.

            "Okay?" He asks, confused.

            "Okay, I'll start bothering you with texts about my days at random intervals," I say with a smile.

            "Okay," he confirms with his own smile.

            "But you have to do the same. I want to know about your days too," I say.

            He nods with a smile, "Okay."

            "'Okay' is going to be our word, isn't it?" I joke.

            He just about starts to say the word again when I give him a peck.

            He smiles at me, "Come on, I'll walk you home."