Though a few days had passed, the news of ‘Our National Star’s Ex-lover is a Busan Girl’ was still trending on the web, and that bothered Eunji as much as the person who caused it. Thanks a lot, she told him via text message the following morning after he revealed to the viewers that he, “Started dating spring last year but naturally drifted apart because of his busy schedule.”

Daehyun stopped by at Eunji’s place exactly at 8 o’clock. As usual, just to deliver her breakfast to her door. Just when he was about to press the bell by Eunji’s door, a way for him to inform her that her breakfast had aarrived, the girl opened it beforehand and showed up in front of him all dressed up for the day.

“Wow, you’re awake!”

“How can I open the door when I’m not?” Eunji sassily replied.

“I mean,” as Daehyun continued, Eunji walked pass the threshold and locked the shut door behind her, “You’re early and you’re already . . . ,” he motioned at Eunji who didn’t even bother to look at him. “That’s rather rare.” She accepted the paper bag Daehyun handed to her, took the muffin out, and then she irately nibbled on the pastry.

He took note of Eunji’s irritated look and dared himself to ask, “What happened?” though he knew he shouldn’t have. She heaved a sigh and they stopped in front of the elevator closed doors, waiting for it to come down and pick them up.

“I thought you’re my bestfriend?”

Daehyun scratched the back of his head. “Y-yeah?”

“Then you should have known not to ask me when I’m pissed off,” she told him before rolling her eyes hard and went back to staring into thin air.

“Alright. I’m sorry.” He was used to Eunji’s cantankerousness, but he’d say that he missed her old self. She wasn’t this bad-tempered before, she was more all smiles and jokes and laughs—the Eunji now was so sensitive and emotional. She stepped into the elevator first when the door slid open and he followed suit.

There was a high-school girl, judging from the uniform she was wearing, already inside, having coming in from the floor above Eunji’s. Daehyun knew the school was one of the most popular performing arts school in Seoul from its striking yellow fabric.

He averted his gaze back to his friend and handed her her cup of coffee. “Careful, it’s hot.”

She lifted the lid up and blew the surface of the liquid before taking tiny little sips of it. “Thanks,” Eunji said. It was those small things like a mere ‘thank you’ that made Daehyun sure the girl hadn’t completely outgrown her old self. Ding. They arrived at the ground floor and quickly marched to the door.

-

On campus grounds, all Eunji could hear was the news of her ex which annoyed her to the extent of wanting to throw their phones away into the pile of dirt in the pot nearby. “Give it a f-cking break, people,” she grunted, though everyone around was too nailed on their phone to hear. Even when she had set herself down on a seat at the very back of the class, a seat she always aimed for, the two girls sitting in front of her was also talking about him.

“Ya~ You two,” Eunji called out. The two girls looked from the iPad laid on the table and turned around. “What is everyone talking about?” She plastered a nonchalant face, pretending to be in the dark about the craze.

“Kim Sungkyu admitted to dating a girl last year and that she was the inspiration for his new album,” the one with the shoulder-length hair said.

“And he said the girl is a non-celebrity from Busan,” the other one with the thin lips said.

“You’re from Busan,” short-hair said, “Who knows it could be you.” Then she exchanged looks with her friend and laughed.

Eunji knew that was meant to be a joke, but she froze in her seat. She let out a nervous chuckle and replied, “Yeah, right,” and looked away.

“Since you never show any interest in idols, do you even know who Kim Sungkyu is?”

That, again, was meant to be a joke, but it froze Eunji once again. “Well . . . h-he sings and is kinda popular.” Eunji shrugged like she didn’t care.

“Very popular,” Daehyun corrected her.

~

One late night in the midst of the blossoming season where the wind was gushing strong and the weather was slightly chilly, Jeong Eunji was ironically walking alone down the pavement of the crowded area of Hongdae. Her feet was aiming for one of the clubs she often stopped by these past days in an endeavor to get past what happened between her and her friend.

She sat on the high-chair at the bar and asked for, “The usual,” to Oh Sehun, the bartender, whom she came to befriend.

“I assumed that you have yet to make up with that friend of yours,” Sehun said as he placed her drink in front of her after a little while.

“You assumed right,” she lifted the glass and placed her lips at the mouth, letting the brownish liquid warmed . A sigh escaped her and she stared blankly at the glasses Sehun was preparing for the other visitors.

When the tall boy, only a few months younger than her, came back to her, available for a talk, Eunji told him, “If he really is a true friend, he wouldn’t have forced his feelings on me.”

Sehun was making another glass of drink, replaced the now-empty one in front of Eunji with it, and then came up with a smart reply for her, “If you were smart enough, noona, you wouldn’t have accepted him.”

“I didn’t ask for this,” she said as she pushed the glass away, “I don’t wanna go home drunk.”

“But that guy over there can get your drunken home.” Eunji looked up from the marble table, at Sehun, who directed her gaze toward the guy he meant. Yet, the only ‘guy’ available at the other end of the long bar table was a bald 30 something man with a snake head coming out of his shirt in the form of black ink. “I swear there was this guy—”

“Hey,” a figure from behind Eunji, with his mouth in a very close proximity to the back of her neck, sounded. His breath swept against her bare skin which was only covered in a few short strands of hair that didn’t get to be pulled up and tied with the black band.

Eunji swiveled around and was instantly greeted with the person’s face in front of hers. She raised an eyebrow and eventually said, “Hey,” back in reply.

“Can I?” The guy gestured at the empty seat next to her and she replied with a nod.

“What could have brought a mesmerizing girl like you here?” Eunji let out a small laugh and then smiled at the guy.