chapter four | the fourth mistake

          Like everyone else, Shim Changmin has skeletons in his closet. There are secrets and wrongdoings that are too dangerous to let out. Now, while the mistakes he conjured weren’t life threatening, it could still make his heart beat rapidly against his chest.  

          The first mistake happened last night and this what was he was paying for right now, with a box of cake on his hand and a small bouquet of flowers on the other. He was clad in an outfit that would make any mother love him: a gray polo shirt and pressed denims.

          Last night, he drove Yoona home, with the full moon hot on their tails. Last night, the streets were quiet, as if waiting for Changmin to slip up and do something stupid. Last night, Yoona was seating in front and as Urban Zakapa’s A Different You played in the background, Changmin couldn’t stop himself from thinking he could do this every night.

          I kept seeing a side of you that I never thought of, that I never imagined.

          If I like you, if I wanna be with you, am I being selfish?

          Yoona had rolled down the windows and stuck an arm out. Orange street lights danced on her skin and she had smiled. “Changmin? If you have a car, why do you keep commuting?”

          “Gas is expensive.”

          “That’s it?”

          “Yes, that’s it.”

          She nodded and asked again. “Changmin?”

          “Yes?”

          Yoona had been using her cellphone this time, to voice out what she wanted to say. “Are you a shoe?”

          “Why?”

          “Because, I miss shoe.”

          Changmin focused on the road to keep himself from smiling. This is what Yoona does to him: she attacks him at odd times, often when his guard is down so he has no choice but to melt at every word she says. He wondered how she does that. It must be another form of magic. “Yoona, are you a pizza?”

          “Nope, why?”

          “Too bad, you stole a pizza my heart.”

          This time, Yoona laughed and swatted his arm. Changmin felt so accomplished.

          And just like this, they traded pick-up lines back and forth until the car was bursting with laughter and lightened hearts. He was surprised at how easy it was to be with her. Changmin never had to try. He could say the weirdest of things and Yoona would somehow understand and drill him to talk more. He stared at her, and not for the first time, he wondered when he would hear the sound of her voice.

          Changmin wondered what his name would feel like on her lips.

          “We’re here.” she pointed at a large house before them. Changmin pressed the brakes and parked the car at the side of the road. He set the car on neutral, told Yoona to wait, got out of his door and opened Yoona’s.

          “Gentleman,” her cellphone echoed. She got up and closed the door. “Thank you, I had so much fun.”

          “You’re welcome. Until next time, then.” Changmin leaned down to pat her head. “Good night, French-fry thief.”

          “Good night, ketchup king.”

          He smiled at her and waited for her enter her house before revving his car and heading home.

          This was his first mistake: when he accompanied her home and didn’t realize that her mother was observing them from the window of their kitchen.

          “Come in,” had Yoona been two decades older, she would have looked like the spitting image of her mother today. Her mother, like her, stood with an erect back and there’s a look in her eyes that made everyone believe she was in charge.

          “This is for you, Mrs. Im,” he bows. With a rehearsed smile, he gave her the bouquet and the box of cake. “Thank you for inviting me into your lovely home.”

          The truth was, Mrs. Im grilled her daughter to have her meet the man who brought her home last night. Yoona had no choice but to contact Donghae, who then gave her Changmin’s number. When Changmin woke up, there was already a dozen or so messages from her, telling him of this so-called emergency. That left him rummaging around his apartment for something to wear. He even allotted a few minutes for a pep talk in order to calm his heart down.

          “Welcome, Changmin,” Yoona’s cellphone greeted him when he entered the living room where she was grinning maliciously. Changmin began hating that grin.

          “Make yourselves comfortable. I’m going to prepare the food your friend gave,” Her mother dismissed them away with a nonchalant wave of her hand. Changmin noticed the golden ring around her finger.

          After all these y