Chapter 29

“Baby, I’m online. Get on my love line. Neoneun jigeum eottae. Niga jom malhae bwa. We got a love line. We got a love line” is blasting through the speakers at the neon illuminated bowling alley.

“How about we make this fun?”

“What do you suggest?” I question slightly suspicious.

“The loser has to buy dinner!” Sungyeol exclaims through his face mask trying to conceal his identity from the public.

“That’s not fair! I at bowling!” I unconsciously pout.

“You can’t be that bad.”

“Oh no! Trust me when I say I .”

“I’m sure that’s not true ______. Let’s give it try, yeah?”

                Uggg! Don’t give me that look Sungyeol! Put your peepers elsewhere!

“Sure,” I say in defeat.

“Awesome! Ladies first” he says motioning me with his hands.

“You’re so kind” I subtly sass making my way over to grab a bowling ball. Okay breathe! It’s been a couple of years maybe you’ve gotten better I mentally try to reassure myself. I swing my arm and let the ball roll towards the pins… Gutter Ball. Aish! Embarrassment envelopes me and I feel myself turn red. With my head down in shame I walk back to the seats.  “I told you I ” I say as I take my seat.

“No worries. You were the first to go, you’re just nervous” Sungyeol says trying to make me feel better. “My turn!” He calls out, getting up.

“Yes!” Sungyeol fist pumps the air in joy for getting 7 out of the 10 pins. “Your turn” Sungyeol tells me after high fiving me.

Gulp… Please let this be better I mentally pray for a miracle. Gutter ball. This is going to be a long night…

…

I knew that I was going to lose. So, why did I ever agree to go along with it again??

                As I was pulling out my wallet to pay for dinner, I was surprised when Sungyeol gently places his hand on my shoulder and says “I’ll pay” while pulling out his wallet.

“What? But I’m paying.”

“Did you really think that I was going to let you pay?”

Blink Blink “But I lost” I say confused with my head tilted to the side.

“Yes, but that was just for fun” Sungyeol says with his choding smile beneath his mask, proceeding to pay the male cashier for our food.

“Here, I’ll carry the tray and you choose a place for us to sit,” Sungyeol tells me.

“Sure, thank you. Do you have a preference of where u want to sit?” I ask him.

“No, anywhere is fine with me.”

“Hmm… How about back there in the corner?” I suggest.

“Yup, that’s fine!”

“Here you go” Sungyeol says to me handing me my food from the tray.

“Kamsabnida!”

“Ne. Let’s eat, I’m hungry” Sungyeol expresses as he takes off his mask.

“Are you sure you want to take your mask off? What if someone sees you?”

“I’ll be fine no worries. It’s dark in here anyways and if anyone sees us I’ll just say that you kidnapped me and forced me to go out with you.”

“What?!? Me kidnap you? You’re like a foot taller than me. Who’s going to believe you?”

“I’m Sungyeol. Of course they’ll believe me.”

“Well, I can just show them the CCTV’s from here that show you having a great time, especially the times where you jumped up and down like a kid when you got a strike.”

Silence

Hm that’s what I thought I think to myself and take a sip of my Cola in victory.

“So, how is your dance coming along for the competition,” Sungyeol asks me as he takes a bite out of his burger.

“It’s going well. It’s just very tiring because we have long practices every day now.”

“Yeah, I understand how you feel. Practices always become super intense as the day of the performance draws closer.”

“I can’t imagine how you do it. Your schedule must be 10x more intense than mine.”

“It is tough but you learn to bear with it because it’s just something that comes along with your passion.”

Wow! I’ve never seen this side of Sungyeol before since he’s not typically a serious person. “That’s very true. There’s no doubt about that.”

…

“Before taking you back home, there’s something that I want to do” Sungyeol comments.

“Really? What is it?”

“Let’s go in there” Sungyeol points to the photo booth.

 “Uh… Sure” I say even though I don’t really want to. I hate having my picture taken because I’m not photogenic what’s so ever. My face always looks super awkward but I can’t say no to Sungyeol since he asked so nicely.

“You can go in first,” Sungyeol offers while lifting the curtain to let me in.

“Thank you.” Ommo! The space is so small. Sungyeol and I are literally squashed together.

“Okay, let’s try a funny one first” Sungyeol suggests. Of course Sungyeol being Sungyeol, he does his signature derp face.  

This one-->  

            Trying to contain my laughter, I try to muster moose ears with my tongue sticking out. Not nearly as funny as Sungyeol’s but at least I tried.

“Let’s do this one with aegyo” he says again.

“Should we do the buing buing expression?” I ask unsure of how to pose.

“Sure, let’s try that!” Click!

“What should we try next?” he asks.

“I’m not sure.”

“Hmm…What does an angry pepper do?”

“What?” I ask confused at the totally random question.

“He gets jalapeño face!” Sungyeol says doubling over in laughter.

“Ommo!” I began laughing. Click!

“What about the last one?”

“How about we smile?” I propose. He shakes his head in agreement and the next motion caught me off guard. He wraps his right arm around my waist and puts his right cheek on my left cheek. Click!

“Let’s go check out how the pictures turned out!” he exclaims leaving the photo booth.

            Oh my gosh! I think touching my hot cheeks before leaving the photo booth as well.

“Did the pictures turn out well?” I ask.

“They did! You look funny here!”

“Where?” I question, “Hey! I tried my best.” I defend looking at the funny picture. My eyes scan every picture and my heart stops at the last one where we’re both smiling. That one has got to be my favorite.