“Are you seriously wearing that to the mall? Like for real?” Nichkhun asked Jiwon as she stepped out of the bedroom.

 

Jiwon was wearing her black sweatpants with an red oversized t-shirt. She thought that since they were going to watch a movie, she should dress comfortably.

 

“Yeah.. what’s wrong with it?” She asked.

 

“You look like a beggar…. We’re going to the mall just so you know.” He replied, standing up and dragged Jiwon inside the bedroom.

 

“But it’s comfortable,” Jiwon said as she closed the door.

 

“You have no fashion senses. Good thing I’m here to fix all that.” Nichkhun replied as he looked around Jiwon’s closet.

 

Nichkhun pulled a casual dress to which Jiwon replied with a ‘get that thing away from me’ face.

 

“Why do you have it if you won’t wear it? Such a waste of closet space.” He said as he put back the dress and kept searching.

 

“My mom bought me that dress even though she knew I hated dresses. It was for my first date with Jongmin.”

 

Khun cringed at the sound of Jongmin’s name. He was already bothered by the kid that gave Jiwon the letter and the guy at her workplace… he didn’t need her ex-fiancé to be in the picture again.

 

 “Why is your closet made up of sweaters, t-shirts, and sport shorts? Don’t you have anything… fancier?” he asked, giving up on finding her clothes to wear.

 

Jiwon walked up to the closet and started searching. She wanted something mall-appropriate yet comfortable. She took out a pair of her favorite black leggings and a white loose long-sleeved button down top. It was something simple she found comfortable and mall-appropriate. She grabbed her cross-body pouch bag as well. Jiwon walked to the bathroom, closed the door, and changed her clothes. When she came out, Khun turned his head around to her and nodded in approval.

 

“That looks SO much better than before.”

 

As they walked out of the bedroom, Jiwon analyzed Khun’s outfit from top to bottom. It was really simple and casual, but it looked extremely good on him. It looked as if he wore something fancy when he’s just wearing simple khakis with a red checkered shirt. Yah snap out of it Jiwon…. He’ll think you’re a creep if you keep starring.

---

 

Nichkhun already booked the tickets for 6:05pm so they had around 2 hours to kill before heading over to the mall. Since Jiwon rarely goes to shopping streets like Hongdae, Khun took her around. She was amazed at the cute cafés and clothing shops. She’s been in the UK for so long that she forgot this kind of youth infested atmosphere. As they were walking, some girls would stop from time to time and admire Khun. The same goes to Jiwon; guys would stop what they were doing and admire her. The amount of people amazed her to as she could feel her claustrophobia creeping up. Nichkhun could see that she was really tensing up, so he brought her to a quieter place.

 

“Where do you want to go? We kind of have quite some time to kill.” Khun asked.

 

“Let’s grab something to eat…” Jiwon replied. 

 

“What do you want to eat?”

 

“Anything would be fine… I just want to sit down and get away from the noise.”

 

Nichkhun brought Jiwon into a small Korean BBQ place called “Ancient BBQ.” She was relieved when she walked inside the restaurant because it was less noisy and had less people. She swore at least 3 bodies were grinding up next to her as she was walking.

 

“Khunnie! It’s been a long time since you came!” a sudden voice yelled.

 

Both Khun and Jiwon turned around and were met by an old man smiling at them.

 

“Haraboji! Nice to see you too!” Nichkhun replied and gave the old man a hug.

 

“Omo! Is that your girlfriend Khunnie? She’s so pretty.” Another voice said.

 

“Halmoni! I miss you~” Nichkhun said as he hugged the old woman too.

 

Jiwon smiled at the sweet reunion before bowing and saying hi.

 

“How could a woman be so pretty? What’s your name sweetie?” the old woman asked as she approached Jiwon.

 

“Ahaha, thank you. My name’s Jiwon.” Jiwon replied, giving her a light bow.

 

“You’ve really hit the jackpot this time Khunnie… she’s really pretty and well mannered.” The old man said as he gave Khun a pat on the back.

 

“I’m not his girlfriend haraboji. I’m just a friend from school.” Jiwon said before anyone  misunderstood.  

 

She would be flustered whenever someone mistakes them as a couple and it has happened at least 20 times now. Do they really look like they were dating? That thought made her cringe in all sorts of ways.

 

“Oh is that so? Too bad for you sweetie, Khun’s such a sweetheart. Every girl that sees him immediately falls for him.” The old woman said.

 

“Well I see him a lot but he’s still the same ordinary jerk to me.” Jiwon said before walking to their table. She didn’t want anyone to see how hard she was blushing. 

 

“Don’t worry boy, you'll get her eventually.” The old man said before walking towards their table.

 

Nichkhun smiled and secretly hoped that it was true. He wasn’t sure about his feelings towards her, but he becomes so happy whenever someone mistakes them for a couple. It makes him realize that they do look good together. When he saw Jiwon lightly hitting her cheeks to stop blushing, he couldn’t help but smile at the cuteness she was showing. She’s really something…

---

 

After ordering a few portions of meat and some soup, they waited for around 10-15 minutes until the meat was already cooked. Both of them argued about who would be cooking the meat in the beginning, but Jiwon won since Khun knew there was no talking someone as stubborn as Jiwon out of doing something she really wanted to do. They continued to eat while talking about school assignments and annoying teachers. An hour passed and they decided to head out. Khun paid the whole thing although Jiwon was against it at first.

 

“We still have like an hour before the theatre door opens… what do you want to do now?” Khun asked as they entered the busy streets.  

 

“Let’s go to the mall and do something. The streets feel really suffocating,” Jiwon replied.

 

As they walked towards the mall, Jiwon felt as if the number of people that are present doubled from before. It was extremely difficult to walk since the streets were crowded. The reasons might be because it’s a weekend and there’s an idol group promoting a skincare shop around the corner. The streets were filled with screaming fans that annoyed the hell out of Jiwon. The fans were aggressive, pushy, holding big DSLR cameras, and did I mention loud? Since the streets were so crowded, Nichkhun laced his fingers with Jiwon so that they wouldn’t be separated. If she got lost in these streets, she wouldn’t know how to go home.

 

Suddenly, fans started to push each other more harshly as the idol group came out of the shop. Jiwon was pushed around and was forced to separate from Nichkhun. Again, he claustrophobia kicked in and she started to hyperventilate. What made her panic more was the fact that it was her first time walking alone in these streets so she had no idea where to go. The screaming aggressive fans just made it worse. Meanwhile, Nichkhun too started to panic because he was worried for Jiwon. She was walking all alone in an unfamiliar place and would most definitely get lost.

 

“Jiwon?! Song Jiwon!!?” Nichkhun yelled trying to find her.

 

Unfortunately, his voice was too small compared to the hundreds of girls screaming around him. She must be so scared right now… come on Khun! Find her quickly!

 

After a couple of minutes, Jiwon successfully got out of the crowd and into a quieter area. Her heart was beating immensely fast and she was panting. When she calmed down a bit, she looked at the crowd to see if Nichkhun was anywhere to be seen. He didn’t abandon me right? He wouldn’t do that… right?

 

Jiwon took out her phone and called Nichkhun’s number, but it ran into voicemail. She kept calling him, but nothing. She waited for a few more minutes before calling him again. Just as she was about to give up, someone tapped her shoulder. Jiwon felt relieved by the tap and turned around. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Nichkhun, but Jongmin.

 

“I knew I recognized that hair… what are you doing here all alone?” Jongmin asked.

 

Jongmin was wearing a black tuxedo. He looked like he was about to go to a party or something.

 

“I-I’m waiting for a friend,” Jiwon replied, trying not to look at him.

 

“And why are you wearing that? Aren’t you supposed to be in a dress by now? There’s a charity gala today you know.” He said.

 

“You know w-well enough that I-I’m not going.” She replied.

 

Jongmin sensed her tenseness and put his hands on her shoulders.

 

“Why are you so nervous to see me? Regret dumping me Song Jiwon?” He teased.

 

Jiwon didn’t reply and stayed quiet while checking her phone. She really didn’t want to see him right now, or ever. Good thing half of her brain was worrying about Nichkhun’s whereabouts. If it weren’t, she would probably go crazy right now.

 

“Have you seen your mom? Or are you still being immature?” Jongmin asked, hoping she would answer him.

 

Instead of replying, Jiwon scoffed. She always hated how Jongmin would make fun of her hate towards her parents and say it was imature of me. He was really adding the fuel to the fire.

 

“I think it’s better if you stop acting so childish and come home with me. I’ll tell your parents to come pick you up and we’ll be engaged again.”

 

Jiwon looked at him with pure hatred and anger. Was he being serious? Is he that delusional?

 

“Are you playing stupid or just plain stupid? I’m not going back to my parents and get re-engaged with you. I would rather slit my wrists than do that.” Jiwon replied.

 

“Being engaged with me wasn’t that bad… I loved you a lot.” Jongmin said.

 

“Oh please, it was like hell on earth. You were such a jealous creep and not to mention delusional. You only wanted my money and my parents only wanted your money. My happiness and free will was completely ignored.” Jiwon replied.

 

Jongmin smirked and grabbed her wrist.

 

“Whatever… at least when I bring you back, your parents will continue the money deal with my parents. I’ll probably get double for bringing you back myself.” He said as he tried dragging her to his car.

 

Jiwon tried to get out of his grasp, but his grip was too tight. She could already feel a bruise forming.

 

“I don’t want to be with someone who only cares about wealth, who’s materialistic… someone like you. I can also sue you for kidnapping, so let the go!” Jiwon said as she attempt to get out of his grasp keeps failing.

 

Jongmin let out a big chuckle. This was just too fun for him.

 

“You think someone would want you without getting offered something else? A stubborn cold-hearted who doesn’t understand that money is what spins the world around, not some stupid happiness and free will. Who would want you if it wasn’t me?”

“Me.”