(Recap in italics)

She continued to eat and chat happily, cheerfully greeting Daeho each time he popped back over to check on her and Mikyung.

But pizza was only the first stop of the night.

After a few hours of eating and drinking, a rousing call for a change of scenery rocked the group, and the whole gang was relocated to a nearby bar with specialty beers and drinks.

Caden mostly stuck close to Daeho and Mikyung, all of whom did their best to avoid the increasing intoxicated Club President (though Mikyung certainly did so with the most zeal).

Soonbok had a tendency to pop up periodically - often followed closely by Jung Su, poised to avert any possible disasters - as she too became steadily drunker (although, unlike the President, no less pleasant) as the night wore on.  

Everyone cheered when the President - perhaps in an attempt to reclaim some of his favorability with the group - bought a round of drinks and anju (Korean bar snacks) for all of them.

At some point, Mikyung was drawn into a heated debate with one of the other senior members over the nuances between American and British english over several curious mixed drinks, and Daeho seemed to have wandered off - presumably to get more drinks, or perhaps just to socialize.  Caden chatted amiably (mostly in Korean - even the club members didn’t seem quite motivated enough to practice their english halfway through a night of drinking) with some of the younger members for a while before eventually excusing herself to make a bathroom run.

On her way back, she spotted Jung Su sitting by himself on the floor against some empty booths with a glass of beer in his hand.  Apparently fed up with his hair, he had hastily tied it back into a messy but functional bun at some point during the night.  He was now gazing contentedly at the small group of girls who surrounded Soonbok at a nearby table.  They all offered her their rapt attention as she was apparently deep in explanation about something that Caden couldn’t hope to make out over the noise in the bar.  She grinned, making her way over to the wayward boyfriend in the corner.

“Ah, is it really a good idea to be sitting on the floor?” she inquired mildly, easing down beside him.  Jung Su’s head jerked around a bit too quickly in surprise, apparently not having noticed her approach.

“Oops, sorry,” Caden apologized laughingly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”  The dark haired boy looked her over somewhat skeptically before turning away with a smirk.

“Oh yeah- you really are scary,” he murmured with some amusement, taking a swig of his beer.  Then he looked back over at her with a sideways glance.

“The floor probably is pretty dirty, but I don’t really care,” he announced, referring to her original question. “It’s the most out of the way spot where I can still see everything.”

“I don’t mind much either,” Caden said cheerfully, brushing her hands off on her jeans before pulling her knees to her chest comfortably.

His gaze lingered on her for another moment before he turned away again with a snort of laughter.  She watched with a grin as he shook his head, sipping again from his beer.  She then followed his gaze as it fell once more on Soonbok and her group.  Caden watched the small vivacious girl as she continued to command the attention of her friends.

There was something purposeful, yet sincere about the way that she interacted with them.  Caden’s mind immediately likened it to the fanservice performed by idols at on stage.  She frequently brought her face close to one of them while speaking, making the conversation feel extra intimate.  Occasionally, apparently instinctively, she would their hair, or the sides of their face, entwine her hands with theirs and offer little squeezed of affection.

“Wah~ Soonbok is an expert at skinship,” Caden declared admiringly. “Look at that!  Everyone is eating it up!”  Jung Su snorted, even more derisive this time.

“Yes, quite an expert.  She has all of her minions wrapped around her little finger just the way she likes,” he replied dismissively.  “It’s always like this with her, but especially when she’s drunk.  Gosh, how shameless…”

Another club member who was close with Daeho happened to be walking past them at that moment and instantly dissolved into laughter at this declaration.

“Hyung, how can you really say that with a straight face?” he demanded, continuing on his way. “You’re the exact same way when you drink!  A couple with matching vices…”

Jung Su appeared extremely alarmed by this sudden accusation, clearly not expecting to have to defend himself from his statement.  His face flushed slightly when he inadvertently met Caden’s eyes before instantly looking away.

“What’s this?” she teased mildly. “Our Jungie can show other expressions besides chic and cool all the time??”

“I don’t know who you’re even talking about,” he scoffed, reddening further even as he tried to play it cool.  He attempted to cover up by drinking deeply from his glass of beer.

“Your cup is empty,” Caden pointed out helpfully, which he ignored completely, tipping said empty glass back even further.

“You’re blushing, I can’t believe it!” she teased, reaching over to pinch one of his cheeks gently. “I’ve been able to witness all these new sides of you today!  I feel like we’re really getting to know each other - this is great!”

He immediately turned to face her with an extremely forced expression of pleasant complacency.

“Thank you for your approval miss.  So glad to be of service,” he pronounced in a sing-song voice, deeply bowing his head in her direction.  Once he righted himself, just as quickly his expression turned dead and he promptly turned away in feigned disgust.  Caden burst out laughing at this, causing Jung Su to shake his head again.

He finally gave up on his beer glass, setting it carefully against the wall beside him before returning his attention to Soonbok’s ever growing audience.

Caden continued to observe him closely for a few moments more, considering the apparent ease in their interaction despite their relative unfamiliarity.  She sighed thoughtfully, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin upon her knees.

“Jung Su-yah,” she called mildly.

“Mmm?” he answered pleasantly, keeping his eyes focused on the group of club members before him.  Caden turned her head a bit to the side, squinting her eyes slightly as she looked him over carefully,

“Is it true?  You actually like me?”

Jung Su looked around at her a bit too quickly, eyes widened in alarm.  She couldn’t help but laugh at this reaction.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” she teased. “You truly find me scary.”  He seemed to realize his overreaction.  He scoffed again, looking away from her in a purposefully casual manner.

“I already said that you’re scary,” he muttered, sounding somewhat amused. “What, you thought I was joking or something?”

“Still,” Caden said, chuckling. “Anyway, I didn’t mean it that way.  It’s just…  I was talking to Daeho earlier…  He keeps telling me that I’ve won you over and that you like me, and you treat me unusually well and everything.  I just - I don’t know…  I realize that some people probably find my teasing quite obnoxious - especially because I’m trying to do it in another language; I’m probably going around offending everyone by saying awkward things.  But that’s how I act toward everyone I’m close with, you know?  I just want to make sure that you don’t, like… hate it or something.  I don’t want to go around thinking we’re close when you’re just putting up with me for the sake of your actual friends, then go getting comfortable and having your resentment toward me steadily increase until you finally explode.  We’ve only gotten to hang out a few times, but you’re definitely someone I could be friends with.  Plus we’ll have to see more of each other no matter what since you’re so close with Daeho.  But I guess… I just wanted to hear it from you instead of anyone else, you know?”

Jung Su didn’t answer right away, looking her over carefully for a long moment.

“No matter how you put it, it only sounds like you’re fishing for compliments,” he deadpanned, causing Caden to burst into surprised laughter.

“How can you say something like that?” she demanded, pretending to pout. “That was a serious question!  I was being totally earnest…”  Jung Su’s expression suddenly turned to one of utter disgust.

“Ugh, are you trying to do aegyo?” he cried, shaking his head violently. “Stop that immediately!  It doesn’t work for you - doesn’t work, doesn’t work!”

“Rude!” Caden cried out, with something between a laugh and a scoff. “So what if I was?  Look at me!  I was made for aegyo!  I was aegyo before I knew what aegyo was!”

“Sure, looking at you someone might think that was true,” Jung Su allowed, still shaking his head disapprovingly. “But as soon as you talk that goes out the window.  No, no, no,” he pronounced with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“What’s wrong with the way I talk?” she cried, still torn halfway between amusement and offense.

“It’s not how you talk,” he clarified, as if that was totally obvious. “It’s what you say.”

“So just my overall personality is inherently wrong for aegyo?” Caden questioned skeptically.

“Basically yes,” he affirmed. “And therefore… please never do it again.”

“Hul!” she cried, still nearly in shock. “First of all, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get past how entirely rude you are.  And second, I wasn’t even doing aegyo to begin with.  Now!  Getting back to my original point - I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t secretly hate talking to me!”

“I don’t hate talking to you,” he assured her very unconvincingly.  She gave him a look to which he only grinned.

“I don’t hate it,” he repeated with slightly more sincerity. “In fact, sometimes I almost enjoy talking to you… Although I honestly don’t know why people keep acting like I treat you so great, or special or whatever.  If anything, I can see how the way I treat you might make you think we’re not friends.”  Caden rolled her eyes dramatically at this.

“Despite all the extra and unnecessary additions to your answer,” she said dismissively, before smiling teasingly, “I’m glad you feel that way!  Although, now that I think about it- even if you did hate talking to me, I would probably still bother you anyway.  Because I like to, and I’m pretty sure I could get Daeho to force you to put up with me.”

Jung Su tsked loudly.

“Not to mention Soonbok already loves you, so I’m stuck either way,” he sighed, pretending to seem put upon.

“She does?” Caden asked, trying her best to sound casual, but on the inside she was secretly thrilled.

“Yeah,” he continued matter-of-factly, appearing not to notice. “I’m pretty sure she was already determined to love you just from Daeho’s description, but honestly you don’t make it very difficult.”

He paused, glancing over to see an extremely large smile plastered over her face.  He scoffed again.

“Jeez, don’t look so damned pleased with yourself,” he said with much amusement, ruffling the top of her hair affectionately.

“Yah!” she cried, attempting (unsuccessfully) to swat his hand away. “I’m older! You’re not supposed to be touching my head, are you?  There are rules about this sort of thing!”

“What do you know, foreigner?” he demanded, tossing pieces of her hair onto her face.

“More than you, apparently,” she sniffed, attempting to blow her hair out of her face until he finally desisted.  She shot him a nasty look as she attempted to tame the mess he’d created on top of her head.

“You totally don’t seem like a noona at all,” he announced dismissively, totally unmoved by her displeasure.

“Whether it seems like it or not shouldn’t matter, since I’m still older,” she recited, attempting to sound as haughty and stuck up as possible.

“Only by what?  A year?” Jung Su demanded. “That hardly even counts.”

“You wouldn’t be saying things like that if I were a Korean 1-year-older noona,” she pointed out, working to sound as resentful as she could.

“That’s why I like you better,” he shot back. “I get to play around with you right away.  It’s way more fun this way.”

Upon this accidental admission, Caden instantly lost any semblance of false displeasure - leaving instead, the world’s most self-satisfied, jovial smirk in its place.  It took a moment for Jung Su to notice, and once he did, it caused him some alarm.

“Why are you looking at me with such a creepy smile?” he asked, sounding worried.  When she didn’t immediately respond, he frowned, thinking back to what he’d just said before finally realizing his mistake.

He looked like he was considering denying it, before appearing resigned to his fate.

“Fine! Fine!,” he burst out so suddenly that it actually startled Caden somewhat. “You got me to say it, so you win, right?  You got me to say ‘I like you’, are you happy now??”

She pretended to mull it over for a few moments before shrugging, expression apathetic,

“Eh, I don’t know… I think I was happier to learn of Soonbok’s feelings.”

Jung Su scoffed loudly, shaking his head slightly.

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” he replied jokingly. “Everyone loves her more anyway.”

“Except you two love each other more!” she pointed out cheerfully.  Jung Su’s expression turned a little pensive as he glanced over at his girlfriend.

“Naw.  I still love her more,” he said quietly, almost to himself.

When Caden didn’t immediately respond, he turned back to find her looking him over contemplatively.

“What?” he questioned mildly. “Do you feel sorry for me?”  She paused, then carefully shook her head.

“No,” she answered plainly, studying his face closely.  She then let out a small sigh before smiling gently. “Actually, I was just thinking… you’re a good boy.”

Now it was Jung Su’s turn to be startled, but Caden only continued to offer him her sweetest eye smile.  His expression softened the slightest bit before he over compensated by groaning exaggeratedly and softly shoving her face away with his hand.

“What am I, a dog?  ‘A good boy’... Ugh, why do you have to be so damned weird?” he demanded, suddenly fighting the urge to squeeze her from cute aggression.

“Why do you have to keep cursing at me?” she shot back, dodging his second attempt to shove her face away. “Anyway, you’re one to talk!”

“Alright, we’re both weird.  We’re the Weird Siblings.  I hope you’re happy,” Jung Su sniped, somewhat grumpy that she’d managed to avoid all of his subsequent face attacks.

“Weird Siblings high five!” she sang out with a grin, holding up her hand expectantly.

He looked between her hand and her face several times, expressionless.  Eventually he broke down with a grin, along with a sigh and an obligatory eyeroll.  He grudgingly completed the high five, allowing Caden to intertwine their fingers and shake their hands back and forth a few times.

“Aw, you guys are holding hands?  No fair!  I want to join!” cried a lightly slurring Soonbok, surprising them both by appearing suddenly.

She all but threw herself on top of them, effectively separating their hands.  She ended up mostly on Caden’s lap while leaning her head and shoulders heavily on Jung Su.  She firmly took their recently separated hands, entwining them one at a time with each of hers before smashing them all together with great enthusiasm, then pulling them lovingly to her face.  She sighed happily, apparently content.

“Are you having fun Soonbokie-yah?” Caden inquired cheerfully.

“Yes,” the other girl replied dreamily. “I wanted to come visit you cuz you’re my favorites and it looked like you were having lots of fun.”

“Psht, what fun?” Jung Su muttered quietly, shooting a quick glance at Caden before turning his attention back to his girlfriend.  He poked her firmly on top of her head a few times with his free hand. “Yah- no one here is having as much fun as you.  How much have you had to drink?”

Soonbok paused, then immediately her boyfriend with a death glare.  She untangled her hand from his, while keeping Caden’s pulled protectively to her chest, pointing an accusatory finger in his face.

“Hey you!” she complained, twisting her body to get a better look at him, and almost knocking Caden over in the process. “Don’t lie!  You think I can’t tell when you’re having fun?  How long have I known you?  I know!  How dare you lie to me!”

“Gosh, alright!  Sheesh,” Jung Su conceded, grabbing her finger lightly and curling it away from his face. “What’s with the intensity?”

“Admit it!” Soonbok demanded, attempting to remove her finger from his grip and return it to his face. “Admit you were having fun!”

“I was having fun,” he deadpanned, still managing to hold her steady in his grip.

“Admit that you enjoy Caden’s company!” Soonbok insisted.  Jung Su paused ever so briefly to glance at the person in question.  Caden had long since dissolved into near hysterical laughter as she attempted to balance a squirming Soonbok on her lap with one hand.  He let a sigh out through his nose before finally obeying.

“I enjoy Caden’s company,” he repeated in his snottiest tone. “Happy now?”

“Yes!” Soonbok cried, smiling brightly - mood instantly turning pleasant. “Don’t lie from now on!  Nobody likes it when you try to act cool!”

“Actually, I kind of like it,” Caden piped up with amusement, having finally caught her breath. “It makes him easier to tease.”

“Ah, that is true…” Soonbok replied thoughtfully before twisting to look at Jung Su once more. “Alright then, carry on.”  She patted him on the face before attempting to squish he and Caden’s hands back together, then wiggling herself free to return to the rest of the group.

“She’s definitely having too much fun,” Caden chuckled as she watched Soonbok’s retreating back.

Unbeknownst to her, Jung Su was glancing down at the recently abandoned hand at her side quite suspiciously.  Without a second thought he took her hand, entwining their fingers together once more.  When Caden looked over in surprise, he leaned in close with a playful smirk.

“So you like it when I act cool, right?” he asked, doing his best impression of the main lead in a K-drama (any K-drama, pick a K-drama).  

Before she even had a chance to properly react, they were both distracted by a massive sigh that sounded nearby, but neither of them could identify a source.

“Soonbok-ah,” came a quiet wail from somewhere to their left. “Why won’t you come have fun with me too?”

“Who’s there?” Caden called politely, looking around at all the booths that lined the wall where they sat.

Suddenly a head popped out of the booth about three or four down from them, at right about their eye level from where they were sitting on the floor.

“Ah, Club President- it’s you…” she observed tentatively. “Are you lying down on the bench?”

He blatantly ignored her question, turning his head to fix them with a hard stare from one eye, squeezing the other firmly shut.

“Are you okay?” Jung Su questioned rather skeptically. “You don’t look so great…”

“Soonbok is the life of the party,” the young man babbled, totally oblivious to their comments. “She makes sure everyone around her is having fun along with her.  She’s so lively and sweet!  She’s cute and reliable and perfect!”

“Um, Club President?  Should you be explaining all of Soonbok’s virtues to her own boyfriend?” Caden pointed out weakly. “He probably knows better than you…”

“No!” the other boy insisted forcefully, leaning his head a bit further over the edge of the booth. “The people who already have Soonbok’s heart don’t understand the plight of the rest of us!  You take her presence for granted from being spoiled with her great qualities all the time!”

Caden, who was rather speechless following this strange outburst, looked over at Jung Su imploringly.  He only shrugged.

“I don’t really know where any of this is coming from,” he explained plainly. “Soonbok isn’t really close with this guy, so I rarely speak to him.  I know that she complains about him getting on too much of a power trip at times, and he doesn’t treat Mikyung that well despite the fact that the club would likely dissolve without her.  All in all, I don’t Soonbok really cares for him much.  She just puts up with him for the sake of the club.”

Caden looked quite dismayed that her friend blatantly spouted all this out right in front of the subject in question.  She nudged him purposely with her shoulder, putting her finger to her lips.

“Why?” Jung Su deadpanned.

“He might hear you,” she mouthed, indicating the Club President with a jerk of her head.

“So what?” her friend mouthed extremely over exaggeratedly in return.

She sighed, pursing her lips slightly at his sass.  She needn’t have worried, though, because when she turned to check how the President was faring, she saw that he appeared to be off in his own little world- occasionally grimacing and muttering to himself.

“He really doesn’t look very good,” she observed, shaking her head.

“Ah, President, there you are,” came a jovial voice from the direction of the bar.  It was the same club member that had teased Jung Su about his drinking habits earlier.  Sungmin - she was pretty sure that was his name.

“President, you can’t keep bothering our friends like this,” Sungmin chastised, bringing his drunken sunbae some water. “Only the club members are obligated to put up with your idiosyncrasies.”  He did his best to right the other boy in his seat before offering him the water cup.

“Sorry about him,” Sungmin apologized sunnily, glancing over to where Caden and Jung Su still sat.  Suddenly his expression turned curious. “Why are you holding hands?”

The two glanced at each other in confusion before realizing that their still interwoven hands - left over from Jung Su’s drama antics earlier - remained resting between them.  Caden instantly made to untangle herself, but Jung Su held firm with a flash of something like a K-drama main lead type of look in his eye.  He held up their hands for the other boy to see.

“Ah, this? It’s actually common for Americans to happily hold hands with the people they consider close friends.  Who am I to knock another culture?”

Caden did her level best to fight all of the various expressions of annoyance, disbelief, and amusement which battled for precedence on her face.

“Is that true?” Sungmin asked with much amusement. “In that case, can I become close with Caden ssi?  All I have to do is act cool while sitting in the corner looking lonely, right?”

“That’s totally right,” she affirmed laughingly, sitting up straighter to converse with him excitedly. “Oh! And pretend to be disinterested and put upon when your friends come to keep you company, but secretly appreciate it a lot!”

They both laughed heartily, while Jung Su’s expression became devoid of all emotion.

“Ah, that’s right,” he deadpanned, holding their hands up before dropping Caden’s dramatically, “I forgot - we’re not close.”

This only seemed to cause the pair to laugh harder.

“I told you it’s easier to make fun of you when you act cool,” she teased, making to pinch at his cheeks.

“Ah, seriously,” he complained, swatting her away as best he could.

“You two do seem to be getting along well,” Sungmin pronounced, grinning. “Soonbok will be happy - she’s been excited to meet Caden ssi nonstop.”

“Soonbok-ah,” the Club President wailed softly, which they all ignored.

“I’d better find out where our next stop is going to be before anybody disappears,” Sungmin told them. “See if he’s going to be well enough to join, or if someone’s going to have to take him home.”

With that, he disappeared back into the crowd, presumably leaving the Club President propped up in the corner of the booth with his water cup.

“Well that was strange,” Caden announced matter-of-factly after a moment.  She glanced over at her friend questioningly. “It doesn’t bother you even a little that it seems like the Club President is in love with Soonbok?”

“Why should it bother me?” Jung Su asked plainly. “Soonbok is the one effected by his feelings, not me.”

“That’s true, I suppose,” she reasoned.

“Besides,” he continued in the same breezy tone, “he’s certainly not alone.  Soonbok has quite a few fans.  You just met her and even you’re a little in love with her.  I’m sure there are probably people even more in love with her than I am - I just happen to be the one she chose.”

Caden looked at him carefully for a moment.

“Are you trying to get me to pity you now?” she inquired, sounding unimpressed.  She began poking him sharply in the sides.

“I wasn’t,” he insisted, attempting to avoid her jabs.  When she persisted, he began to bat them away. “I wasn’t!  Quit it!  I said I wasn’t!”

“Ah, there you are!  I was wondering where you disappeared to,” came a pleasant voice over the noise of the bar, effectively saving Jung Su from a laughing Caden’s attacks.  They both looked around to see a smiling Daeho approaching with a drink in one hand.

“I figured you wouldn’t have left without saying anything, but it took me a while to find you.  Even longer when I kept getting pulled in to join a few drinking games.”  He grinned down at them. “Were you keeping Hyung company?”

“Yep!” Caden answered, grinning in return. “I found him sitting here in the corner all lonely, so I joined him.”

“That must have been a nice change of pace for Jung Su hyung,” Daeho replied.

“Depends on your definition of ‘nice’,” Jung Su muttered, causing them both to roll their eyes.

“Then I’m sure you won’t mind if I steal Noona back for a while,” Daeho prompted, holing his free hand out to help Caden up. “Come on, they’re about to play one of my favorite games and I made them swear to wait, but they’re getting antsy.”

Caden grinned over at Jung Su - who rolled his eyes dismissively - before taking Daeho’s hand.

“You have dirt on your ,” Jung Su informed her dully once she’d been pulled upright.

“Then you probably do too,” she shot back, quickly brushing the back of her pants off with her spare hand, all the while Daeho attempted to force the drink he’d brought into said hand.

“Come on, let’s get back over there,” Daeho grinned, finally getting her to take the drink, immediately tugging her toward the center of the bar by her other hand. “I bet you’ve never played this game before - you’ll like it.”

“Okay, okay,” she said, smiling at his enthusiasm.  She turned to wave to Jung Su in parting, when she noticed his forgotten empty beer glass.

“Ah, that’s right! You need another drink,” she declared, doing her best to hold her ground as Daeho relentlessly tugged her toward his other group of friends.  She glanced down at the glass she had just been given.

“Here! You can have this one.  What is it, beer?” she asked, glancing over at an impatient Daeho before immediately taking a swig.

“Oh…” he started as Caden winced heavily.

“Somek,” they said together.

“Emphasis on the ‘so’,” she assured them with a cough. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that…”

She looked back at Jung Su, who was watching his friends’ antics with some amusement.

“Somek?” she offered, straining against Daeho’s grip to return to Jung Su.  He accepted it without a word, appearing only the tiniest bit surprised by her insistence.  

“Here, give me your glass - I’ll get myself another,” she ordered, holding out her left hand while practically hanging from the other - leaning almost her entire body weight on the hand Daeho was still holding.  Jung Su obeyed, handing over the empty glass.  Caden grinned at him, finally allowing Daeho to lead her away.

“See you later, Jung Su-yah,” she called over her shoulder, waving the empty glass at him as she went.

He watched them drift through the crowd before glancing down at the fresh drink in his hand.  He took a long swig before looking the glass over closely.  He noticed a small spot where Caden’s chapstick had likely smudged onto the rim.

“See you later, Cay-den noo-na,” he muttered to himself in sing-song, rocking back and forth with each syllable.

He shook his head with a small grin, tipping his drink back once more before finally standing.  He brushed off the back of his pants haphazardly before moseying over to where Soonbok was now hanging out with some friends.

=======================================================================================================

A/N

Double weekend update! I hope you enjoyed.

Ah, Jung Su... such a stubborn cutie ^^

We'll get to see more a bit later just how his treatment of Caden differs from most of the other girls he associates with, but for now we just get some lovely friendship building ^^

And Soonbok and Mikyung <3 I just love Caden's friends, haha.

Please comment and subscribe if you do too! Kekeke ^^