“This one,” Eunji announces, holding up a short blue skirt with a high waistline. “This is definitely the one.”

Tarian looks up from where she’s running her fingers over a rack of loose-fitting sweatshirts and eyes the skirt in question skeptically. “That skirt would look painted on if I put it on. Besides, do you see how short it is? I’d be flashing the whole world if I wore that.”

Eunji rolled her eyes and shoved the skirt at Tarian. “Short is in, Tarian. At least try it on. It’s gorgeous.”

Tarian was tempted to refuse, but in the end she sighed and took the skirt into the dressing room. It was a nightmare even getting into it, squeezing it up over her thighs and zipping it up. Both of her assumptions – about the tightness and shortness of the skirt – proved correct. But, Tarian had to admit, it was cute. She turned first this way and then that to check the skirt out in the mirror. It made her look awesome.

“Come out here and let me see!” Eunji called impatiently through the door.

So Tarian pulls open the door and models the skirt for her friend.

Eunji lets out a low whistle, admiring the skirt as Tarian turned around in a circle. “Damn,” she says. “That skirt is amazing. That’s it. You have to have it. You have to wear it tonight.”

“It’s a house party, Eunji,” Tarian points out, trying to tug the skirt down a little more. “Not a club.”

“That skirt begs to be worn everywhere,” Eunji argues. “A house party is just fine. I’m wearing a dress that’s just as short as that skirt. Come on. It’s on sale. And I’ve got the most perfect top that will go with it.”

It actually doesn’t take much coaxing for Tarian to shell out the ten thousand won for the skirt, and then she is tucking her newly-acquired shopping bag into the crook of her elbow and leaving the department store with Eunji.

They end up heading to Eunji’s house to get ready for the party later that night. Tarian still isn’t on good terms with Daeho even though she is fairly certain that she and Yongguk are over for good, so she’s been spending as much time as possible with Eunji. Only a small part of her brain allows her to think that maybe she is spending so much time at Eunji’s house is because there is a chance Yongguk might come over with Daehyun. She doesn’t want to think of it like that.

“Here’s the shirt I was telling you about,” Eunji says once they are safely shut up in her bedroom. She emerges from her extensive closet with a black shirt in hand.

Tarian gives her a skeptical look. “You said you had a shirt for me, not a bra.”

Eunji rolls her eyes. “It’s a crop top, not a bra. Don’t be ridiculous. And a skirt with a waistline that high is just made for short tops like this. Come on. Try it on. It’s actually pretty modest, you know. Everything is really covered.”

“Except, you know, my entire stomach,” Tarian retorts sarcastically.

Eunji responds by throwing the shirt at her.

Once Tarian has changed, however, she realizes that Eunji has been right all along. Because the waistline of the skirt is so high, there’s just about an inch of her stomach exposed. The shirt has long sleeves and a fairly high neckline, so, aside from the copious amount of leg and the thin sliver between skirt and shirt, there isn’t all that much skin showing.

“Told you it would look good,” Eunji says smugly, searching through her closet for the dress she wants to wear.

Tarian wrinkles her nose at her friend. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it,” Eunji teases.

“Okay, I’ll admit that your fashion sense is a bit better than mine,” Tarian says with a little laugh. “But all I’ve got are my combat boots. They’ll have to do.”

“They should be fine,” Eunji agrees. “You can rock this look with almost any kind of shoe, really. And your boots are black, so they’ll match just fine. You’ve got to wear your hair down, though. You can go through my makeup if you want.”

Tarian hesitates for a moment in front of the mirror, turning this way and that. Her two thigh tattoos, one on either side, are easily exposed with how short the skirt is. She wonders what Yonghwa will say when he sees them. Yongguk had liked them quite a lot. Even know she fancies that she can still feel his fingers ghosting over their outlines as he examines them. She has to give herself a shake. Yongguk is in the past, she reminds herself. She needs to quit thinking about him. He’s obviously already forgotten about her.

They arrive at the party fashionably late – Eunji is never anything but – and find it already roaring. Tarian doesn’t really know the boy who’s throwing the party, but Eunji seems to be on pretty good terms with him. He greets them with a friendly hello and tells them the alcohol is set up in the kitchen. Eunji promptly leads the way there to score the pair of them a couple of beers.

Minhyuk and his friends find them there, already with beers of their own in hand. He leans down and greets his girlfriend quite thoroughly – he’s already had quite a bit to drink, Tarian can tell. Then he manages to coerce Eunji to dance with him, leaving Tarian behind in the kitchen with Yonghwa.

“You look really nice,” he tells her with a gentle, genuine smile.

Tarian feels horribly self-conscious. “Eunji made me wear it,” she admits with a nervous chuckle. “It’s not really me, you know. This skirt is just so…short.”

“No, it’s good,” he assures her. “It looks fantastic. You’ve got great legs.” He nods at the ink on her thighs. “I’ve never seen these before. They’re really pretty.”

“Thanks,” she mumbles. “I was sort of worried what you’d think about all my tattoos. I know they’re not exactly kosher here.”

He bends down to peck her on the lips. “I love them,” he assures her. “I love everything about you.” He seems to realize what he’s said because he blushes and quickly says, “How about a dance?”

So they squeeze themselves out onto the dance floor with about fifty other kids Tarian vaguely recognizes from their school, pressed so close together that it’s more grinding and wiggling than actual dancing. Tarian doesn’t mind though. She hasn’t danced like this in a while, and she likes it. She likes the way Yonghwa’s hands fit so nicely over her hips, warm through the material of her skirt. She likes the way his hands rise every so often along her sides so that his thumbs can brush the inch of exposed skin between the top of her skirt and the bottom of her shirt. She likes the way his breath is hot on her neck as he presses kisses along the exposed skin there. She likes the way she can feel him hardening against her bum as it presses against him. She can’t deny that there’s a part of her that still wishes it’s Yongguk pressing up behind her, but Yonghwa is a good guy and she can appreciate that.

So when she turns around to dance facing him, she hooks her hand around the back of his neck and drags him down to connect their mouths sloppily. Their lips mesh seamlessly, and she hooks her fingers through his belt loops to drag him even closer. She revels in the way his whole body shudders with his desire for her.

They end up stumbling out of the crowd, down a hallway towards a less crowded part of the house. Tarian ends up against the wall before they get there, Yonghwa’s hands sliding up her skirt, his mouth insistent and eager against hers. She clings to him, her whole body thrumming with anticipation.

But Yonghwa pulls back. “I like you a lot, Tarian,” he whispers, his face flushed, his hands clenching almost desperately against her thighs.

She smiles and kisses him again. “I know. I like you, too.”

“I can’t…I mean, I want this.” He gestures to their intimate position with a wry little chuckle. “But I…I’m not that kind of guy, Tarian. I…want to be your boyfriend.”

“So be my boyfriend,” Tarian replies cheekily. She can almost pretend that she means it, too. It’s for the best, she knows. Everyone approves of Yonghwa. Daeho, Naeun, Eunji…hell, even Althea approves of him. It’s a match made in heaven. Who is she to fight it. “Let’s date.”

Yonghwa swoops in for another kiss, and her toes curl in her boots with the pleasure. But when he pulls back, she can tell that nothing more will happen that night. “Good,” he whispers against her lips. “I like being able to call you my girlfriend.”

She smiles and hugs him close. “Let’s go get another drink,” she suggests, and they head back into the party together, hand in hand.

“Tomorrow,” Yonghwa says as they start to dance again, a little more innocently than before, beers in hand. “Let’s go on a date. Dinner and a movie. How does that sound?”

“That sounds great,” Tarian says, but she thinks of how Yongguk never took her to either dinner or the movies and she’s not as happy about it as she should be.

So the following evening, after swearing to both Daeho and Naeun a dozen times that she isn’t going to meet up with Yongguk once she’s out of the house, she is allowed to leave with Yonghwa for their date.

“Your father is pretty suspicious,” Yonghwa laughs as they walk towards the restaurant. The summer evening is warm and pleasant, and Yonghwa’s long fingers are comforting as they entangle with Tarian’s.

She shrugs a bit sheepishly. “I guess I probably haven’t been the most trustworthy daughter so far,” she admits. “It’s been a big change, adjusting to each other. We didn’t know each other existed until about a month before I came here.”

Yonghwa is suitably surprised by this information, and the tale of Tarian’s childhood lasts all the way up until they have ordered their meal. From there the conversation switches to Yonghwa’s own family, which is decidedly less ed up than Tarian’s but quite a bit more boring. From there, they move on to talking about university choices.

Yonghwa wants to go to college to study music. All Tarian cares about is pursuing a photography career, and she isn’t so sure that university plays into her plans of the future. Despite Daeho’s insistence that she should be taking the university entrance exams coming up, Yonghwa seems to respect her choice not to go. She feels happy that he’s so accepting about it, but a small part of her knows that with Yongguk she’d never have to worry about whether he approved or not.

After dinner, they go to see the movie. It’s a new-age horror flick, which surprises Tarian a bit. She’d pegged Yonghwa for a romantic comedy sort of guy, but apparently he knows her well enough to know her preferences in movies. She feels a little guilty that she’s spent most of the evening comparing him to Yongguk. Yonghwa is a really good guy and she knows she should be paying more attention to him.

She decidedly takes his hand and laces their fingers together. He glances down at her and grins before swooping in for a kiss.

Once the movie finishes, they stop at a little stall for some ice cream before Yonghwa walks Tarian home. They’re just finishing their ice cream when they get to Daeho’s door.

“I had a really good time tonight,” Yonghwa says with a sweet smile.

Tarian smiles back. “Yeah, me too,” she agrees.

Yonghwa is kissing her goodnight when the door opens, revealing an anxious-looking Daeho on the other side. He looks relieved when he sees Yonghwa, almost as though he’d been expecting Yongguk instead.

“Ah, nice to see you again, sir,” Yonghwa says respectfully, bowing to Daeho. “I was just dropping Tarian off. I wanted to make sure she got home safe.”

Daeho puffs himself up again. “Of course. Thank you.”

Yonghwa winks at Tarian. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Bye.” With one last peck on the cheek, he leaves.

Daeho follows Tarian back into the apartment, closing the front door again. “He seems nice,” he comments. “Do you like that boy?”

“He’s my boyfriend, so yeah,” Tarian replies snarkily before heading into her bedroom at the end of the hallway. She doesn’t know why it irks her so much that Daeho approves of Yonghwa, but it does. It annoys the hell out of her.