Chapter 5: The Offer

A smile crept upon Ji Yong’s face as he recalled the most wonderful thing his cousin had told him the whole afternoon they were together. Minji shared about her new acquaintance and he felt like he had been pulled up on cloud nine when he found out it was none other than the apple of his eye, Park Sandara. Ji Yong, being a guy who doesn’t let opportunities pass when they appear, immediately asked his dear cousin to help him in wooing Dara. At first, she was delighted when she found out about Ji’s feelings towards Sandara, but that immediately changed when Ji Yong told her about his foolish act. After much persuasion from Ji Yong, she finally agreed to help him with Dara whenever he needed it.

“Okay, Ji Yong-oppa. I’ll help you. But you have to lose that cool guy act you’re fronting. I know you can do better, oppa, with you only being yourself.” That was Minji’s only request to him. She was definitely right; his crappy act was only making things worse. Good thing he sent those flowers to Dara yesterday. He thought of it as his first step in introducing his true nature to her.

Ji Yong took off his bucket hat as he opened their apartment’s front door. He found Young Bae and Seung Ri playing cards when he entered their living room.

“Hah! I got you again, Young Bae-hyung! Three times in a row!” Seung Ri said, slamming his cards on the coffee table.

“Gah! You know how I at this game.” Young Bae replied, shaking his head.

“Hey, guys! How’s it going?” Ji Yong greeted as he sat with the two guys.

“Hey, bro. Looks like you’re in a good mood. Is there something that happened?” Young Bae said.

“Well, you know what makes him happy, nowadays, hyung. It’s probably has something to do with that Sandara girl again.” Seung Ri replied as he shuffled the cards.

“Yah, how sure are you it’s about her again?” Ji Yong denied.

“Come on, Ji. Is there anything else coming out of your mouth aside from ‘Sandara this’ and ‘Sandara that’?” Young Bae replied.

“Well, I can’t help it if she’s always in my mind. That girl is really something.” Ji Yong said as he placed his hands at the back of his head and reclined on the sofa.

“Anyway, what is it all about?” Young Bae asked.

“Well, you remember my cousin Minji, right? She met Sandara as she went to Hongdae and they became friends.” Ji Yong replied.

“Really? What, so you asked your cousin to help you with Park Sandara?” Young Bae asked.

“Exactly.” Ji Yong said. “And I’m going to the café tomorrow to apologize properly about what I did.” He added.

“I wish you good luck, hyung. I bet you won’t be able to step inside the café when she sees you. She’ll throw you out right away.” Seung Ri jeered.

Ji Yong just ignored Seung Ri. “Anyway, I’m going off to bed now. I’m gonna have to have my ‘beauty sleep’ before I see her again. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.” Ji Yong said as he stood up from the sofa and headed off to his room.

Young Bae and Seung Ri just laughed at him and continued playing cards.

“He’s gone nuts.” Young Bae remarked, chuckling.

“Totally, hyung.” Seung Ri replied, chuckling as well.


The next day, Ji Yong went to work earlier than usual and asked permission from his boss that he be excused in the afternoon. He lied that he had to help his cousin with some papers regarding her enrollment in Hongdae. Fortunately, his boss fell for his made-up excuse and allowed him. As he went on with his job during the rest of the morning, he constantly checked the clock to see if it was already time. As soon as the clock struck 12 noon, he immediately went to his boss to bid goodbye.

Ji Yong shifted his blue cap as he stormed out of the record store. He dashed the couple of blocks to the coffee shop and in about ten minutes or so, he reached the place. His heart was thumping heavily from all the running and probably from a bit of nervousness and he could hardly catch his breath. Before he went inside, he rested for couple of minutes. He took in a deep breath before he went in. 

The familiar aroma of coffee brewing welcomed him. He immediately saw Dara sweeping the floor. Good thing her back was turned away from him. He had a slight suspicion that she might use the broom to clobber him if she saw him enter. He quickly took a seat in one of the tables where Dara wasn’t facing. He noticed there were only a few people. It’s just perfect. He didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of many people, in case his plan once again backfires.

Since Dara was busy cleaning, Bom immediately approached him and took his order.

“Welcome to Starbucks, sir. May I take your order?” Bom greeted.

“Ummm, just a medium Vanilla Bean Frappe and a cinnamon roll.” Ji Yong replied with a slight smile.

“Okay, sir. I’ll be back with your order.” Bom said, as she wrote on the piece of paper she’s holding. She then walked back to the counter and entered the door to the kitchen.

As Ji Yong waited for his order, he couldn’t help but look at Dara as she continued to sweep the floor. He wasn’t being a ert or anything, but he can’t help but notice her nice and slender legs since she was wearing a brown sweater dress that went down just above her knees. Not to mention, her dress hugged her petite frame just perfectly. And the few rays of afternoon sunlight that hit her brown wavy locks made her hair look like it was shimmering. Ji Yong was totally enjoying this small slice of heaven before his eyes.

Before he could further enjoy the view, Dara was finished sweeping and made her way behind the counters. Ji Yong was thankful she was still too busy to even notice him as she passed by. Ji Yong tapped his feet anxiously as he leaned his arms on the table. He looked back at Dara who was now wiping the counters.

After a few minutes, Dara became conscious that somebody was staring at her. She lifted her head up to check who was looking at her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Kwon Ji Yong sitting there by the front window and smiling at her. She bit her lip as her eyebrows began to crease in annoyance. She realized he was totally not minding the look on her face ‘coz he just gave her a wink.

As anger began to smolder inside Dara’s mind, Bom went out of the kitchen with a tray in her hands. Dara looked back at her and approached her.

“I’ll take care of this.” Dara said, taking the tray from Bom’s hands. And before Bom could react, Dara was on her way to Kwon Ji Yong’s table.

“What the hell are you doing in here? You have a lot of nerve showing your face again in here after what you’ve done.” Dara said, slightly slamming the tray on the table and then bringing her hands on her hips.

“Uh, I-I’m here to apologize about what happened the other day.” Ji Yong said with an innocent look in his face.

Dara stared at him for a while, her eyes squinting in anger.

“Okay. Apology accepted. Now, can you please leave me alone?” Dara tried to say in a clam but firm tone.

“Leave you alone? I wasn’t stalking you or anything. I just wanted to get to know you better.” Ji Yong replied.

“Well, mister, sorry to break it to you, but the feeling isn’t mutual. Now, can you please leave me alone?” Dara reiterated. “If you don’t, I’d be more than happy to call the cops the next time you come here and bother me again.” she added.

“But, I just want to get to know you better. Is there anything wrong with that?” Ji Yong replied.

“I don’t care. I don’t want anything to do with you. And that’s final!” Dara said in a hushed tone.

“Wait, did you like those flowers I sent to you yesterday?” Ji Yong said with a smile on his face.

“What? So it was you who sent those flowers?” Dara said with a surprised tone. She definitely didn’t expect it was him who sent those lovely flowers. And she was even happy when she first saw it. Her cheeks burned as she thought of it.

“What? It doesn’t look like I’m the type that gives flowers?” Ji Yong asked.

Dara remained silent. She was still taken aback with what he had just revealed. 

Ji Yong paused for a short while, not knowing what else to say. A plan then suddenly came to him.

“Look. Okay, then. I’ll leave you alone.” Ji Yong started. “Only if…” he continued.

“Only if…what?” Dara asked in annoyance. She was still thinking of the flowers but this guy is totally getting on her nerves. 

“Only if you agree to go out on a date with me before I do so.” He replied with a slight smirk on his face.

“What?!” Dara whispered in shock, her eyebrows creasing even further.

“You want me to leave you alone, right? Well, then, I will if you agree to spend one entire day with me. After that, I will do all my best to not let our paths meet ever again.” Ji Yong said.

“Are you out of your mind? Why would I even wanna do that? I don’t have any interest in you. I especially don’t wanna go out on a date with someone like you. You’re totally creeping me out.” Dara said, trying to keep her voice down so Bom couldn’t hear the commotion going on.

“Well, you don’t want me to go in here again and bug you out until you can’t take it anymore, right? And even if you call the cops, they won’t keep me in when the only crime I’ve done is trying to court a girl. So, I guess going out on a date with me is the best choice. I get to know you better even for just a while and then after that, you’ll never see the rest of me.” Ji Yong said coolly. 

Dara stayed silent. She totally didn’t know what to answer. She didn’t want this jerk to bother her anymore. But she would never agree to out on a date with him. Ever. Even if it meant he would leave her alone after.

“Can’t decide just yet?” Ji Yong said, noticing Dara’s lingering silence. Well, then I’ll give you time to think about it. When we see each other again, I hope you can give me your answer already.” he added.

“And what makes you think we’ll see each other again after this?” Dara asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Ji Yong noticed that she still managed to look beautiful even when she’s mad.

“I just know it.” Ji Yong said, flashing his winning smile at her.

Dara took in a deep breath before she answered. She never felt so pissed off in her entire life.

“Fine, then. Now, if you may, finish your food quickly and get out of here. I don’t wanna see your face any longer.” Dara said crossly.

“I would. But the problem is…this wasn’t my order.” Ji Yong said, looking at the Caramel Frappe and two corn muffins in front of him.

Dara looked at him with deadly eyes. She growled in frustration and took the tray in her hands. She stomped her way back into the counter, slammed the tray on one of the counters, and then approached Bom.

“What the heck is going on, D…” Bom started, noticing Dara’s pissed-off look.

“Bom, can you please give me that jerk’s order before my sanity explodes and I clobber him with a fire extinguisher?” Dara interrupted, trying to keep her cool, as she glanced at Ji Yong’s direction.

“Yeah, sure.” Bom just said, knowing how Dara is when she’s furious. She handed her the tray that was on the window where the orders were usually served.

Dara marched her way back to Ji Yong’s table. She then slammed the tray on Ji Yong’s table.

“There you go, mister. I hope you get indigestion.” Dara said, still trying to keep her cool and wore a sarcastic smile on her face. She then rolled her eyes as she stomped her way again to the kitchen.

Ji Yong just let out a chuckle and turned his attention to his food.

“She looks so cute when she’s mad.” he said to himself as he took a sip from the frappe.