Everything came to terms after Namjoo brought me down from my ed up little fantasy. I guess appreciation was the least I could show these people, even though they annoyed me to no end and made me feel soft, I felt like they cared about me. Explicit care was so rare to me, no wonder I tried to push them away. 

After getting too many tips from Luhan about what his stupid cousin liked and what topics to avoid, I was finally being pushed out the door with them following. Namjoo and Bomi had the excuse of forgetting they had agreed to go to some other girl’s birthday dinner, which I’m not sure held true or not, and Luhan was going to call Sehun right after he arrived to tell him that his parents had wanted to have their monthly family dinner with him. Everything was in place, and as much as I hated to say it, I was nervous as hell. I had short breath, and I kept blinking. I think my palms were sweating too, which was ing disgusting. I hated this weird outburst of teenybopperesque reactions I was having. 

I walked into the theater, painfully aware of every step I took and how awkward my waddling was, wondering if I made the right choice letting Namjoo pick my outfit. She wasn’t exactly the queen of subtlety. I kept blinking, and I’m pretty sure that by now, I looked like a goddamn raccoon. I was forced to do an impression of my normal self, the one that would stand up straight with her arms crossed and a natural glare on her face, when I was facing the self confidence of a 13 year old girl on the inside. It hadn’t even been 2 minutes of waiting, but I had somehow managed to convince myself that I was hideous, that emotions were stupid, and that I got stood up by the twerp, who really didn’t even know it was a date. I jumped up a little bit a few seconds later, when I heard my name being called out behind me. I turned around, feigning disinterest, and I felt my cheeks go hot at the sight of the annoying son of a that is Oh Sehun. I cleared my throat before he got close enough to hear me, and I perked myself up a little bit more. 

“About time someone showed up.” I commented, trying to be my usual self, but anyone could tell that my voice was obviously a few keys higher than usual. 

“Sorry, I got caught up in a bit of traffic over here.” He quickly apologized, checking his watch. 

“Well, Namjoo and Bomi can’t make it, they have some birthday dinner to attend, so we’re just waiting on Luhan to buy the tickets.” I murmured, losing my confidence with my last vocal blunder. As if on some ing cue, Sehun’s phone vibrated and he proceeded to read what appeared to be a text from Luhan. 

“.” He said while locking his phone and proceeding to make eye contact with me. Like a goddamn grade schooler, I looked away. “Looks like Lu can’t make it either.” 

“That’s great.” I acted like I groaned, but really I was relieved with how well the plan was going so far. 

“Sorry for making you come out here, Eunji. I can take you home if you want.” He said, putting his phone back in his pocket and flashing me an apologetic smile. 

“What?” I was sort of taken aback by how quickly he was ready to go. 

“I mean, I know we’re not each other’s favorite people and I see how this would be awkward. I know you probably don’t want to spend time with me, and well, I-“ I cut him off before he could finish his sentence. I knew he was going to say that he didn’t want to spend time with me either, but I was too fragile to hear it right now, what with my newfound “emotions” and all. 

“You can leave.” I said, firmly and maybe harshly. “I don’t need to hear that you’re here out of compromise, and I don’t care if you don’t want to spend time with me. I really want to watch this movie, so if you don’t want to, that’s fine. Sorry to have wasted your time.” There was something in my voice, and the way I snapped at him, and the way he looked at me that made it clear to both of us that I was hurt. I turned around and instantly shunned myself for thinking this would go any other way. Who cares that you invited him into your home? Who cares that you told him the biggest secret you had? Who cares that because of that secret, he knew more about you than anyone other than Jihoon and your mother? It was stupid to think that he would be any more interested than he’s ever been. He was with me for convenience and nothing else. He was a business partner, and it was foolish of me to have even attempted to envision him as anything else. 

“What if I don’t want to leave?” He said, sheepishly after I had taken a few steps towards the line to purchase my own ticket. I turned around and saw a sincere grin begin to form on his face. “I want to see it too, if you don’t mind.” My cheeks flushed again, and we went in to see the film. 

Lucky for me, I was too focused on the narrative to even give a about what the kid was doing. We walked out in silence, not really sure what to say to each other. He was the first to speak. 

“Are you hungry?” He asked, before we exited the theater. 

“Yeah, a little.” I nodded, and we exited the building, walking to the nearest restaurant we could find. It happened to be a nice looking pasta place, and my soul nearly left my body when I saw the prices. “Hey, Sehun, I know we’re already settled into our seats and all, but I really wouldn’t mind just getting McDonald’s or something.” I fiddled with my bag, sneaking peaks at my wallet to see if I had enough money to even afford the