The time Soojung reached 18, Myungsoo asked her out on a date.

After parking his bike in front of Soojung’s house gate Myungsoo confidently walked through the garden to the front door holding a bucket of red roses in his hand, and then he stopped for a moment in front of her front door to take his ringing phone.

“What, Sunggyu hyung?” Myungsoo asked lazily as he answered the phone call who turned out to be from his brother.

“Have you reached her house?”

“Yes, and the fact that you called me now is interrupting me from knocking her front door.” Myungsoo walked back and forth in the garden when he noticed something that made his eyes grew widely. “Hyung, I think we have a little problem here.”

“What do you mean with ‘we’? It’s just you who will date her which means it’s ‘your’ problem only,” replied Sunggyu.

Myungsoo couldn’t believe his sight right now, and moreover he couldn’t believe what his brother just said. It’s true that Myungsoo asked Sunggyu for a dating advice eventhough the latter was not that experienced either. When Myungsoo asked Sunggyu what flower he should bring to Soojung, his brother answered white lilies, because it’s what girls like he said, or so he knew. And there he was at Soojung’s garden in which tulips was planted everywhere. Myungsoo took a little note in his mind to never ask Sunggyu again about dating advice.

“You said it was red roses!” Myungsoo couldn’t hide his frustration over the phone, and over the tulips in her garden too. “And here I am standing in front all of the tulips in her garden!”

“….what to do?” Sunggyu was obviously dumbfounded. He wanted to be a cool hyung to his brother when Myungsoo asked him about dating advice, that he didn’t know much about. So, when he was asked about what flowers should Myungsoo bring to Soojung, he confidently answered red roses, which he barely observed from dramas on television. “I-It might be his mom’s!”

“How do you know about that?”

“I don’t know! I said ‘might’! Which means it could be hers too…”

Myungsoo sighed as he took a seat in the ladder of Soojung’s house porch and massaged his temple. He always wanted his first date with her to be perfect, and then his brother ruined it with his words. “I’m screwed…”

“Yah, it doesn’t matter. Man up and asked her out. Now. You’re wasting your time worrying about the flowers.”

“I get it.” Myungsoo stood up and he faced the front door now. “I’m hanging up now, hyung.” Myungsoo pressed the ‘end’ button in his phone and put his phone inside his pocket. He took a deep breath as he prayed that he wouldn’t screw up and she would go on a date with him. With a little fighting he muttered to himself, he finally knocked the door.

He didn’t expect that it’s her sister who would open the door for him. He never met her sister before, he only knew her sister when Soojung talked about her to him. She thought highly of her sister because her sister was able to make so much money with her clothing business at such a young age. Soojung said that every man that would want to approach her in the past had to get through her sister, Sooyeon, approval first before they could date her. According to Soojung, Sooyeon could sense if the guy that approached her sister is sincere or not, in which they both laughed about. Sooyeon scanned Myungsoo from head to toe and furrowed her eyebrows before asking, “Who are you?”

“Uh, hello. Is Soojung home? I’m her friend from school, Kim Myungsoo.” Myungsoo bowed in front of her and she bowed back to him. He nervously stand in front of her as she continued to stare at him for a while. He somehow felt scared and intimidated with Sooyeon’s action. He could only wonder what Sooyeon think about him since it’s his first time meeting Sooyeon. What if she didn’t approve him? What if he’s not allowed to see Soojung again? This thought ran around Myungsoo’s mind at that time.

Sooyeon stared at Myungsoo’s statue like well-being standing in front of her while holding a bucket of red roses. With him being nervous and all she could convince herself that this guy was sincere. She chuckled and said, “Don’t be so nervous! It’s not like I’m going to lock you up in a cage full of hungry dogs if you didn’t get my approval. Wait here, I will get her.”

Myungsoo eased up as he heard Sooyeon’s word and Sooyeon disappeared into the house. From the front door he could hear Sooyeon shouted from to Soojung’s room upstairs, “Soojung-ah! Your handsome boyfriend is here!” Myungsoo could feel his heart beat faster when he heard Sooyeon’s words. Boyfriend. He would love to call himself that, but they hadn’t reach that phase… yet.

Soojung who had been watching Myungsoo from the first time he walked down to her house, hastily grabbed her bag and headed downstairs. There she could find her sister grinning widely in the kitchen counter as she fixed herself some bread. “Why?” asked Soojung.

“It’s just… your boyfriend is so handsome,” replied Sooyeon.

Soojung shook her head. It’s not the right term to describe what Myungsoo was to her. Of course, he was her friend. But they’ve been closer than a friend for a several months now. At first, Myungsoo would take her to the cram school with his bike because Soojung’s ride didn’t come. What started as a help, ended up being a routine. Now, Myungsoo would take her to cram school everyday after school ended. But Myungsoo never took her home as her ride never failed to show up after cram school.

“What boyfriend are you talking about. He’s just a friend.” Soojung put her shoes on and she sling her bag on her shoulder.

Sooyeon laughed at the innocence of Soojung and her-allegedly-friend. Young love could be like this. It made her miss high school sometimes. “Okay then. Said that to him as he handed you those roses.”

Soojung scoffed at Sooyeon. “Whatever. I’m going!”

Soojung was greeted by the smiling face of Myungsoo and a bucket of roses as she reached the front door. Soojung couldn’t smile her smile too as he said ‘hey’ and handed her a bucket of roses. She said a short thank you and put the roses in the living room. She put out a fake disappointed face as she came back to the front door, “You do know that I like tulips right?”

Myungsoo looked flustered. Damn, I just ruined the date. Just wait for me, Sunggyu hyung. He rubbed the back of his head as he tried to answer Soojung. “Uh… judging from your garden, I think yeah I know.”

Soojung crossed her arms with her face still looked disappointed. Myungsoo knew that it meant she wanted an elaborate explanation. Myungsoo sighed. “Fine. I’m sorry for not knowing what your favorite flower is. I asked my brother for advice and he’s a no help since he told me that a bucket of roses will be great. I will make sure that he will get my revenge.”

Soojung nodded and closed the door behind her as she walked past Myungsoo to the front gate. Soojung stopped her steps and turned her back to Myungsoo, “What are you doing there? We’re not gonna waste our time talking about my sister’s tulips. I thought we would have a Korean beef?”

“Y-yah! So you tricked me?” Myungsoo approached Soojung who was laughing and gave her a light hit on her shoulder before running from her to get his bike. “Yah Kim Myungsoo! You’re not gonna get away with it!” As Soojung saw Myungsoo started to prepare the bike she said, “Yah, take me with you!”

Myungsoo was the one who laughed now. He was so happy that he could take control of the situation now. He took a seat in the front and he patted the back seat as Soojung approached him with an annoyed face. Soojung sat on the back seat and when he already made sure that Soojung was already seated he said, “Hold on to me.”

Soojung wrapped her hands around Myungsoo’s waist as he started to pedal the bike. The spring breeze was so nice to accompany them on the bike ride that afternoon. Soojung smiled as she realized that she hold Myungsoo’s waist tightly. She wondered how many hands that already wrapped his waist before? How many girls that Myungsoo already took a ride with before? The thought shook away as they crossed a bumpy road and Soojung started to shriek. Myungsoo laughed at his friend’s action and pedal up slowly to ensure Soojung’s safety. “You okay back there?” asked Myungsoo shyly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay.” She gave him a light pat on the back to assure him that she’s okay. What made her surprise was when Myungsoo brought her hands tighter around his waist. She could feel that blushes surfaced on her cheek. This friend of her are really something. She really cared about him and he really cared about her. Soojung brought her head to Myungsoo’s back and lean on it. She closed her eyes as she tried to cherish the moment that she had with him right now.

As they continued the ride through the neighborhood full of growing trees, they smiled along the way.

“I don’t know why I befriend this meat monster.” Soojung shook his head as she watched Myungsoo kept eating the meat non stop when she already stopped eating half an hour ago. “At this rate you will completely drained my wallet.”

Myungsoo put the raw meat to the griller and put the cooked meat to his rice bowl, and the cycle continued. Myungsoo continued on chewing the beef while Soojung continued to stare at him judgingly. He realized that Soojung was staring at him, and he gave her a smile.

Soojung scoffed at the sudden cute action of Myungsoo. What kind of devil that already claimed his body today? He continued to smile throughout the day? That’s so not Myungsoo. The Myungsoo that he knew from school was cold and the type that most likely to join a gangster like triad or yakuza after he graduated. And yet here he was, acting all cute to her so that he could eat more meat. Soojung didn’t mind about paying him actually, she just wanted to .

“You ate too much, Myungsoo-yah. You will lose your bunch of followers at school.” Soojung again, bringing the topic about his follower. Since he’s a candidate for school president election this year, he pretty much got much followers thanks to his look and intelligence. She admitted that Myungsoo was doing a great job in his studies, and not to mention that he had his way with words that made everyone agreed to him.

After what seemed  like forever, Myungsoo put down his chopstick and leaned backwards, Soojung could hear herself chanting ‘thank God my wallet is safe’. Looking at Soojung’s relieved expression, Myungsoo d his back pocket and handed his wallet to her. A little bit flustered, Soojung took his wallet and wondered why. “This one’s on me. It’s not nice to hav