Sometime in mid-September-

 

Caden walked up the stairs of the subway exit and out onto the city streets.  It was still plenty early in the night for Seoul standards, but later than she typically began her evenings out.  She’d planned to meet with Daeho and the rest of the English club for one of their weekly gatherings a few hours before.  She typically met up with Daeho at the restaurant when he got off work, then they’d head over to wherever the group was hanging out together.  However, on this day she’d received a text from Daeho right around the time she had been getting ready to leave saying that he needed to stay late and work a few hours of overtime.  He had suggested she go straight to the restaurant where the group was meeting for dinner and that he’d meet up with them all once he got off.

 

Caden tugged at the sleeves of her shirt as she was hit with a sudden cool breeze.  With monsoon season months behind and summer finally passed, the temperature steadily dropping to reveal the cooler, dryer pleasant crispness of fall.  She could already tell this season wouldn’t last long enough for her liking.  Fall had always been her favorite season - and not only because it happened to contain her birthday.

She continued on her way, making a beeline for a pile of fallen leaves - making sure to avoid passersby as she did so - and stomping them happily.  She wasn’t looking forward to experiencing her first Korean winter.  Japan had been notably colder than her California home, but being just outside of Tokyo, the snow rarely stuck that way she knew it would in Seoul.  She was almost happy that traveling around the city required so much walking as she was able to soak up as much of the lovely fall weather as possible before the cold grip of winter took hold.

She huffed happily, tugging her collar closer against the mild chill.  She hadn’t bothered with a jacket, knowing that she didn’t want to have to keep track of it after she started drinking and that she wouldn’t need it anyway after she worked up a sweat walking.  But she wasn’t quite there yet.

 

As she made kept walking, making a few turns along the way, Caden saw that she was finally approaching a now familiar restaurant.  She waited as a couple exited before swinging open the door and making her way inside.  The place was practically empty, aside from a rather tall, fit waiter with his back to her.

“Welcome,” Daeho droned, without looking up as he proceeded to clear a recently vacated table.  Caden grinned, then waved enthusiastically as the old manager popped his head up from back in the kitchen.

“Ah, she’s finally back, my favorite foreigner,” he mused curtly, fighting a small smile.  Daeho whipped around at this, looking very surprised.

“You act as if I wasn’t just here a few days ago,” Caden teased. “It’s nice to see you.”

The old man simply grunted, but she knew that was about as good as a declaration of love coming from him.

“Noona!” Daeho cried, leaving his chore behind as he walked over to her excitedly.  Then his expression turned skeptical.

“I thought I told you to go without me,” he said slowly, tone almost accusing. “Didn’t you get my message?”

“I did,” she answered casually, grinning despite herself. “I figured I might as well give myself a few more hours of lesson planning, then head over with you.”

His expression instantly brightened once more.

“So you’re here to break me out early?” he demanded, sounding a little too enthusiastic at the prospect.  Caden snorted.

“You think I would cross your beloved Manager-nim?” she quipped, raising an ironic eyebrow as she sat down at a nearby table. “I came to keep you company while you finish up your shift.”

Daeho’s expression deflated just as quickly, looking more than a little put out.

Almost immediately, said Manager-nim appeared carrying a large tray full of various banchan and two bowls of tofu stew.

“You heard her,” he barked in his gruff voice. “Get back to work so I can be rid of you sooner.”

Daeho sidestepped this order, approaching the man to retrieve the tray of food.

“How kind of you to look after us like this!” he exclaimed before being brutally glared down by his boss.

“Get your hands off of this,” the older man all but spat, sidling past his charge who much annoyance. “This food is for the girl and I.  You - back to work.  Now.”

He set the tray down, quickly distributing the contents before Caden, who was watching this little spat unfold with much amusement.  Daeho stood behind him, simply shaking his head sadly.

“It’s a real pity when a business owner can’t take the time to care for their employees the way they do for the customers.”

The owner paid this comment absolutely no attention as he finished unloading the food and all but flung the empty tray at Daeho before sitting down in the chair across from Caden.

The young man sniffed dejectedly, steeling himself to the clear rejection.

“Fine,” he allowed. “Back to work.  Please enjoy your meal while the help starves.”

Caden laughed at this, while the owner merely grunted, turning his attention on her.

“Hurry and eat while it’s hot,” he ordered, in a tone only considered ‘affectionate’ coming from him. He pushed one of the sides toward her. “Make sure to have plenty of this one - this batch is fresh from the market.”

“Thank you.  I will eat well,” Caden announced with a grin.  She waited for him to take the first bite before digging in.  It was delicious as expected.  The stew was still bubbling away in the stone pot - red broth gleaming tantalizingly.

As they ate and chatted, Daeho occasionally walked back and forth conspicuously past them as he completed his nightly duties.

Caden couldn’t help but laugh at the way he eyed the food, practically drooling from behind the owner’s back.  Finally he cozied up to her elbow under the pretense of asking his manager some questions, while simultaneously eying  a few of the banchan he clearly wanted a bite up.  She happily obliged, offering her friend a bite from her chopsticks, which his Manager-nim grumbled and rolled his eyes about, but allowed.

Rejuvenated by the small victory, Daeho cheerfully skipped off to continue his cleaning.  He made good time of his work, popping by another handful of times to snake a few more bites that she offered, to the owner’s increasing annoyance.

Finally, under the guise of wiping down their table, Daeho managed to signal to for a bite of the stew.  Caden obligingly held up a spoonful, laughing at her friend’s antics.

The owner finally seemed to lose his patience at this, grabbing the towel and using it to swat Daeho.

“Knock it off!  Get out of here,” he ordered, as Daeho tried to dance out of his reach, nearly missing the spoonful of soup as he did. “If you make a mess of this table I’ll have you cleaning it with your tongue!”

“That sounds pretty unsanitary, Manager-nim,” Daeho proclaimed, dodging farther out of reach and returning to finish wiping down the other tables. “Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to stop bothering you for good, but unfortunately there is still another half hour left in my overtime shift.”

The owner frowned, looking rather murderous as he sized up his employee with disdain.

“Fine - you know what?  You’re right.  I’m tired of looking at your face,” the older man announced dismissively. “Finish cleaning up these dishes, then get out of here.”

Daeho instantly perked up at this.

“Really?” he asked, trying his best to reign in his excitement.

“If I have to say it again, I’m keeping you here all night,” the man grumped, promptly Daeho to instantly and wordlessly collect all of the empty dishware off the table.  He shot a self-satisfied wink at Caden - to which she suppressed a giggle - before disappearing into the back.

The owner followed his progress with an eyeroll, turning back to Caden.

“Get him out of my way before something happens,” he ordered, only flashing a brief of satisfaction as she laughed.

They chatted for the remarkably short time that it took for Daeho to complete the task at hand before he reappeared, looking victorious.  He tossed his apron haphazardly toward the kitchen as he emerged, straightening his clothes and running a hand rather haphazardly through his hair in an attempt to tame it somewhat.

Caden reached to pull out her wallet, to which the owner merely shook his head, holding up a dismissive hand.

“You never let me pay for anything I eat here,” she complained, wallet still halfway out of her bag.

“That’s a decision I make for myself,” he declared firmly. “If it was otherwise, I would let you know.”

Caden remained frozen with her wallet half out and an expression halfway between amusement and exasperation as she decided whether she should even bother to argue.  The older man beat her to it.

“If you’re really so determined to compensate me, I can see this meal taken out of his paycheck,” he pronounced with a curt nod toward his employee.  Caden laughed out loud at this, finally replacing her wallet.

“Then I suppose I’ll just have to thank you again for the delicious meal,” she replied with a grin.

 

“Thanks for all your hard work today, Manager-nim,” Daeho recited unenthusiastically, as if reading the lines of a play he had no desire to be a part of. “I’ll be leaving for the night.”

“Is this your house?  How dare you throw my property around willy nilly leaving a mess?” the owner snapped in response, looking just as cross as ever. “What do I pay you for?”

“I’ll see you for my next assigned shift,” Daeho droned on, paying his comment absolutely no attention.  He scooped up Caden’s hand and began gently, but firmly leading her toward the door.

“We’ll see if you still have a job next time you see me,” the old man groused obligingly.  He paused, tone turning notably gentler as he spoke to Caden.

“You be sure to have fun tonight, young lady,” he called in what for him was a friendly tone. “Make sure not to be a stranger… And work on getting yourself some better friends while you’re at it.”

“I will!  Thank you again!” Caden called over her shoulder as she was all but dragged outside. “I’ll be back soon, promise!”

 

As soon as the door shut behind them, Daeho let out an enormous cry of relief, flopping all of his gangly mass over Caden’s shoulders, clinging to her as if for support.

“Oh yeah?” she chuckled, reaching up to pat his arms affectionately as he wrapped them around her shoulders. “Happy to be done?”

He only groaned loudly, dropping a bit more of his weight on her, walking with his feet awkwardly out to accommodate for their height difference.

“Hey!  Don’t make me carry you without warning me!” she scolded, hobbling along in the vague direction of the bar where their friends were waiting. “I have to brace myself!”

“Yes, be careful,” he murmured tiredly, removing most of his weight, but leaving his arms wrapped comfortably around her neck, continuing to waddle along behind her. “We don’t want to break anything.”

Caden merely rolled her eyes with a laugh at his goofy, sleepy behavior.  A few passerby gave them odd looks at this display - as Koreans tended to be fairly critical of the mildest PDA (between the opposite anyway).

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to make it through the whole outing tonight?” she inquired, half joking, half serious. “The night has just begun and you’re already pooped… We haven’t even started drinking yet.”

“I'll rally!” he declared fiercely. “If I can make it through that shift, a night out will be a breeze!”

His chin was resting solidly on the top of her head, so she couldn’t get a good look at him, but she was fairly certain that he was wearing a look of intense determination.  She shook her head slightly (earning some mild complaints from her human hood), chuckling. Whereas she often needed a break from the all-night get togethers, Daeho seemed to live for them.

Maybe it was just the age difference - though more likely the cultural difference had something to do with it.  Korean late night drinking culture was no joke.  Caden was still wading her way into it all.

 

Finally - after removing Daeho from her person and significantly speeding up their journey - they arrived at the bar that their friends had migrated to following their dinner.  It was fairly popular among students already, and they could see that their group settled in one corner, taking up a significant portion of the space all on their own.

As soon as they started to approach said group, a mild cheer rose up in greeting and they were immediately crowded by excited, slightly drunk friends.  Everyone was clamoring to begin drinking with them and by the time they made it from one side of the room to the other, they had already been stopped for 3 shots of soju and been handed one soju mixed cocktail.  As the attention began to wear down slightly, they made their way over to one of the empty tables in the vicinity.

“Wow, they certainly waste no time,” Caden mused to Daeho, feeling the first tingles of a promising buzz take hold, setting her drink down on the table.

“Yeah, we mean business around here,” Daeho’s good friend and fellow club member Sungmin piped up, sliding up to join them. “That’s what you get for starting late.”

“If this is supposed to be a punishment, I’ll take it,” Daeho joked, taking a swig of his drink.

“We all know that,” Sungmin teased, holding up his drink to cheers.  They both shot Caden a look, which she returned with feigned confusion.  They continued to stare at her, waiting, glasses raised.

Finally she groaned, grabbing her drink again and raising it to complete the toast.

“I was attempting to slow down slightly,” she complained, taking a swig of her own.

“I’m sorry, Noona - I had no idea,” Sungmin offered with a grin.  He held his glass up once more, clinking it against hers with a smirk that started Daeho laughing in earnest.  Caden shot him a glare, but obliged, taking yet another drink along with him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be monitoring the beloved Club President?” she accused jokingly. “I’m pretty sure that’s part of your club duties that this point…”

“Yeah, you don’t have to tell me that,” he sighed with an eyeroll and a grin. He glanced around before indicating the culprit in question, standing a handful of tables over, apparently ranting quite fervently at a clearly annoyed Mikyung.  Daeho and Caden exchanged pitying looks for their friend.

“He’s not too drunk yet, but… well, as you can see,” Sungmin continued, turning back to face them. “I tried to go over there and break it up - give Mikyung sunbae a break, you know?  But I couldn’t manage to distract him.  Sunbae was nice enough to release me from my duties, but I feel bad.”

“Poor Mikyung,” Caden murmured, sipping her drink slowly.

“Don’t worry about her too much,” Daeho pronounced, shooting her a reassuring smile. “When she’s determined to be rid of him, she will.”

“True,” Sungmin chimed in, tipping back the last of his drink.  He shot them a knowing grin. “Time for a refill.  I’ll see you.”

They waved him off cheerfully.

“We haven’t even said ‘hi’ to Mikyung yet,” Caden pointed out. “Maybe we should…”

“Absolutely not,” Daeho declared cooly, taking a drink. “I’m not going anywhere near that disaster.  We wait.”

Caden couldn’t help but laugh at his insistence.  She glanced around, realizing something,

“Wait… where are Jung Su and Soonbok?  I don’t think I’ve even seen the-”

Before she could finished her statement, an excited shriek tore through the room.

“Caden unnie!” Soonbok was on her before she could even turn, nearly knocking them both into the table in her enthusiasm.  She had clearly started drinking before she arrived.

“Careful,” Daeho ordered brightly, grinning down at his friends.  Just then one of his friends managed to catch his attention from the bar.  He promptly downed the remainder of his drink and excused himself to go join them.

“I was just talking about you,” Caden laughed, turning to return the fierce hug the younger girl was giving her. “Did you guys just get here too?”

“Oh, we were at dinner, but I was craving brick toast so we stopped for dessert afterwards,” Soonbok announced, snuggling into Caden’s embrace.  As she mentioned this, Caden noticed that several of the younger girls seemed to have just arrived with them as well.

“Nice,” Caden offered with a smile. “Was it delicious?”

“Sooo delicious,” Soonbok gushed, finally releasing her somewhat.  Her expression briefly turned stricken. “Oh, I didn’t even think to bring you some!  Do you want some?  I could send Jung Su-”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” Caden assured her, shaking her head. “I don’t need dessert.”

“Everyone needs dessert!” Soonbok insisted firmly.  She looked as if she wanted to argue further, but at that moment, she caught sight of the Club President - who was still having a very one-sided and strangely heated conversation with Mikyung.  Her eyes narrowed and her lip curled back in anger.

“What is he doing over there?” she hissed.  She started as if to make her way over, then paused, expression melting back into a sweet smile for Caden.

“I’m going to go check on Mikyung.  See you later?” she crooned.  Caden laughed, waving as the younger girl’s expression turned hard once more.

 

Caden watched with much amusement as Soonbok charged off, sights set on Mikyung.

Suddenly an arm draped heavily over her shoulder.  She looked up to see Jung Su gazing casually in the direction that his girlfriend had just taken off in, the smallest of smirks playing around his lips.

He looked around after a moment, as if just noticing her attentions for the first time.

“Ah, noona- hi,” he greeted casually. “How are you feeling?  I heard you were drinking quite steadily before I arrived.”

Caden scoffed.

“Nice to see you too Jung Su-yah,” she replied pointedly, before adding somewhat dismissively. “Shouldn’t you focus your energies on monitoring Soonbok’s alcohol intake instead of mine?”

“Eh, she’s fine for now,” he replied, equally dismissive. “She’s in her violent mood, rather than her lovey-dovey one, see?”

He pointed using the forefinger on his hand that was currently wrapped around Caden’s shoulder to point out where Soonbok was currently berating the Club President on Mikyung’s behalf.

“It’s ten times easier to stop her from beating someone to a pulp than it is to keep her from ually harassing all of her friends - as you well know,” he concluded, shooting her a rather cheeky grin.

Caden folded her arms across her chest, looking him over with some amusement.

“And what about you?” she pointed out deftly. “Who’s going to monitor your drinking?  I’m not an expert, but if I had to guess, I’d say you’re currently a drink or two in?  Drunk enough to become an expert in skinship, but not drunk enough to try kissing every friend you see?”

Jung Su’s smirk instantly fell from his face and his arm dropped from her shoulder a little too quickly.  His expression quickly turned sour.

“Just who asked you, huh?” he muttered snidely as he shoved his hands into his pockets and slouched away.

Caden laughed unabashedly at his retreating back, shaking her head at his silliness.

“Wah, you really scared him off,” Daeho pronounced, returning with a fresh drink in hand.  He held it out for her to try, which she did before returning it to him. “Jeez, what’d you say?”

“I was just pointing out some of his more incriminating drinking habits,” she told him with a grin.

“Oh wow,” her friend marveled with a shake of his head. “Jeez noona, how can you be so mean?  You know hyung is sensitive.”

“Me??” Caden demanded. “Even Jung Su would say that’s pretty rich coming from you!”

“Maybe,” he reasoned, grinning cheekily, “but he expects it from me…”

“And he doesn’t from me?” she pressed, sounding genuinely surprised. “Have I been falsely presenting myself as a good person all this time?”

“Whoa, let’s not go that far,” Daeho deadpanned, earning himself a light smack on the shoulder, which he promptly laughed off.

“You don’t really think I went too far, do you?” she asked cautiously, her eyes resting on Jung Su’s back as he made his way over to join Soonbok, who had already managed to both drive the Club President safely away from Mikyung, as well as begin to drive her unnie slightly insane from her attentions.

Jung Su arrived, much to Mikyung’s relief, and almost immediately snatched the drink that someone had brought Soonbok from her hand - downing half of it in one gulp.

“Naw, not really…” Daeho admitted with a smile. “Or even if you did, I doubt you’d be in trouble for long.  You get special treatment from hyung - you’re the favorite.”

Caden snorted at this, not even bothering to argue - the accusation was so far from reality.

“At any rate, he seems fine now,” he pointed out with a grin.

Caden watched with interest as Jung Su and Soonbok began arguing with apparent intensity in regards to how much the girl should be allowed to drink and at what rate.

While on the outside this might have come across as seemingly vicious, Caden had by now been around long enough to notice that this ‘fight’ mostly consisted of Soonbok passionately stating her case while Jung Su simply goaded her with an almost entirely straight face.

Caden couldn’t help but notice the brief moments where his stone faced mask broke and glimpses of his true amusement shone through.  She saw the way his eyes softened affectionately when Soonbok got especially heated and the forced way he pushed down the ever threatening curl of his lips.

“Though apparently you’re not quite convinced,” Daeho muttered pointedly - a statement that Caden missed completely.

Engrossed, she was still watching as Mikyung attempted to use the confusion to make her escape - which caught Soonbok’s attention almost instantly.  The younger girl all but latched onto the older girl, complaining heavily.

Jung Su burst out laughing at this, dropping all pretense of seriousness.  After a moment he let his attention drift, unintentionally catching Caden’s eyes as he glanced around.  His smile softened for a moment as he raised his glass to her in a somewhat taunting toast before downing the last of it.

He flashed her a victorious grin before turning his attention back to the display in front of him.

“Is there a reason you find yourself staring so intensely at my cousin?  He has a girlfriend you know,” Daeho pronounced matter-of-factly, his eyes clearly amused.

 

This is what finally managed to capture Caden’s attention, jolting her out of her reverie.

“What are you talking about?” she squeaked, doing her best (and failing) to sound incensed. “I was just-”

“You were just?” he prompted in a somewhat patronizing tone, easy grin still in place.

“-just watching their usual antics,” she insisted, turning to face her friend fully.  Daeho remained unconvinced.

“Big talk for someone who’s bright red,” he teased, poking her lightly on the cheek.  Her hands flew to feel her obviously flushed face, taking a deep breath to control her heart rate.

“I’m a white person!” she cried in her own defense. “That’s what we do!  Koreans turn red when they drink and foreigners turn red in the sun and when we get even a little worked up!”

“I guess staring at him got you pretty worked up then,” he shot back with a cheeky grin.  Caden rolled her eyes good naturedly.

“I get worked up staring at any of you,” she replied, playing along with a wink. “Why?  Are you not getting enough stares from me?  I could stare at you if you really want.  We could stare at each other.”

Daeho paused for a fraction of a second - barely even long enough to register.

Then he smiled down at her, eyes full of warmth, all but gleaming.

“I could stare at you all day long,” he announced quietly in English with a grin that drew across his lips like the drawing back of a curtain.

Caden blinked, feeling her heartbeat quicken again in surprise.

“Shut up!” she cried instinctively also in English, half in annoyance, half alarm.  Without even thinking she all but downed the drink in her hand.

Daeho couldn’t help laughing at this and she felt her face flush slightly once more.  

“What?” he countered in Korean, clearly attempting to sound innocent. “Weren’t you talking about a staring contest?  I’m really good at staring - I’m sure I could beat you… that’s all I meant.  Why’d you yell at me to shut up, Noona?”

 

She narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance, clearly not believing a word he said.

“We’ll see about that,” was all she could manage, socking him on the arm once more with a pointed pout.

He took the hit, merely laughing before wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulder and beginning to lead her back over to the bar.

“Come on,” he said brightly, “let’s get you another drink.  Your cup’s been empty too long.”

With only a bit of minor grumbling, Caden allowed herself to be lead away to do just that.

 

They spent quite a bit of time chatting with Sungmin and the handful of various other club members that had posted up at the bar for the night.  Caden had eventually managed to sneakily swap her alcoholic beverage out for a water, finally allowing herself a brief reprieve to attempt to return to a safer and more comfortable level of buzz.

She also strategically left a plethora of water cups out beside her fellow drinkers to help them help themselves.  She wasn’t here for carrying anyone home at the end of the night.

 

Eventually she was captured by an extremely happy and bubbly Soonbok and brought over to where she, Mikyung and a few of the other girls were gathered at a table of their own.  When she first arrived, some of the girls were discussing their current K-pop biases and attempted to explain the appeal of some of the new groups to a clearly skeptical Mikyung.  Many of the groups they were describing were relatively new, and while Caden had certainly heard of most of them, she hadn’t made much of effort to dig deep into their music.

Predictably, talk eventually turned to ultimate biases and several Big Bang members were mentioned.  Caden played cool, casually bringing up her recent interest in GOT7 to attempt to steer the conversation back to safer subject matter.  It worked perfectly as several of the girls - including Soonbok - clamored to agree and talk of The Boys was mostly dropped.

Eventually Mikyung tired of all the pop culture talk, changing the subject much more forcibly.  Soonbok started playfully berating her when she made an attempt to discuss club matters and homework, insisting that kind of talk had no place here.  They began a lighthearted, but fervent spat which had all the girls laughing and giggling at their intense and slightly odd arguments.

Caden could very well see why Soonbok was so drawn to Mikyung.  Their dynamic bore more than a passing resemblance to another important relationship in her life.

 

Prompted by the thought, Caden looked around for Jung Su, surprised that he had gone so long away from his girlfriend’s side - especially among a group of people.

She spotted him almost immediately.  He was seated at a table close by with a direct view of all of them and their antics.  She was almost a little taken aback to see that he was actually seated with other people - a few of the younger boys - and even seemed to be taking part in their conversation somewhat.

She caught his eye almost instantly as he was already gazing in her direction.  She offered a friendly smile which he returned with a contemptuous smirk and a shake of his head.

Maybe he was still sore over her teasing earlier…  Despite Daeho’s less than helpful reassurances, she almost felt a bit guilty about that.

She thought back briefly to their various interactions over the past few months.  Certainly they were beginning to see a lot more of each other, and just as certainly their relationship seemed to consist mostly of her cheerfully bothering him and he halfheartedly shooting back with his own little zingers.  She had continued to assume this was all in good fun, but who knew?  Maybe he just found it bothersome.

‘Although,’ she reminded herself, ‘he did admit to liking me that time…’  

Indeed, after that funny incident a few months before she had not questioned their friendship again… Maybe her teasing today was just a bit too cold hearted.  Everyone has their sensitive subjects.

Thinking back to that incident, Caden did realize one thing she hadn’t noticed at the time.  She remembered teasing him over accidentally declaring his friendship for her, but she now realized that she’d never said it back.

She wondered if that bothered him at all.  He probably didn’t even remember.  She was pretty sure that she was the only one overthinking everything that happened between them.

She should stop that.

 

Caden was drawn back to reality as she noticed Jung Su’s expression turned quizzical and realized that she must have been staring awkwardly at him that whole time.

She shot him a sheepish grin before turning back to the group at the table.  She might as well go talk to him now that she’d managed to appear incredibly in need of his attention.  She had to take a trip to the bathroom anyway.  She cheerfully excused herself, offering a brief apologetic grin at Jung Su as she went - though she needn’t have even bothered, as his attention had already been reclaimed by the other guys at his table.

She smiled to herself, again reminded that she was clearly the only weirdo who was overthinking everything.

Ah well.

Nothing wrong with caring.

 

 

*

 

Jung Su was slightly confused.

He’d been sitting contentedly, exchanging a few words with a trio of club members at his table, carefully watching over the girls across the way, sipping his drink.  Life was good.

A minor uproar in the girls’ conversation had caught his attention, and he watched with some amusement as they all chatted excitedly.

After a moment, Caden - still laughing at whatever was being said - turned, glancing briefly around the room before her eyes met his.

She looked almost surprised for a moment, before offering him a cheesy smile.

He scoffed.  Was she trying to make up for her teasing earlier.  He had added a few more drinks to his tally since their conversation and still managed to remain a presentable person.

Feeling a bit insolent, he simply shot her a brief smirk, shaking his head at her efforts.

Her face fell slightly to which he grinned in earnest, expecting her to turn away.  To his mild surprise, her expression turned merely contemplative as she continued to hold his gaze.

Unsure what exactly was going on (did she need his attention?) he was sure he appeared at least a little confused, which seemed to knock the girl out of whatever mind wipe she had fallen victim to.

Realizing her mistake, she offered another equally goofy grin before finally turning away.  He shook his head once more.  Was she drunk?

He continued to watch as she got the group’s attention, and said something he couldn’t make out before turned back again.

“-it’s actually pretty nice. Have you ever been there, hyung?” one of the guys beside him asked, drawing his attention.

“What’s that?” he asked. “I missed the first part, sorry.”

He followed the odd, goofy foreigner girl out of the corner of his eye as she breezed past, shooting him a sly smile as she went.

He’d never understand that girl.  What a weirdo.

“Ah, you were busy keeping an eye on the girls?” another boy asked knowingly.

“You know me,” he murmured, turning his full attention to the trio before him.

“I’m almost jealous,hyung,” the third moaned. “You’re the only one they let watch them like that.”

Jung Su made a face at the implication, offering a dismissive chuckle as they all laughed.

“It’s true though, you know,” the first piped up with a grin. “If all the hoobaes weren’t so scared of your standoffish attitude, you’d be able to have as much of their attention as you wanted.”

“I guess it’s good that I don’t want it then,” Jung Su snipped.

“You know what we mean,” another said with a wolfish grin. “Soonbok likes them all already.  Mikyung sunbae doesn’t seem to care about you either way-” Jung Su rolled his eyes at this. “-but the other girls…”

“Other girl you mean,” his friend cut in teasingly. “I’m pretty sure you have a certain noona in mind.”

Oh jeez, here it comes.

“It’s true you’ve got Caden noona’s attention locked down,” the other boy pointed out deftly.

“We’d be happy to take that if you don’t want it,” another joked.

“Feel free,” Jung Su groused, working to hide his amusement. “I’m busy enough as it is.”

“Nobody’s arguing that,” one of the boys mused with a grin. “If only it were that easy.”

“Yeah, what’s your technique, hyung?  Is it the broody, bad boy thing?  Is it the troubled artist thing?  What’s the key?”

Jung Su scoffed, rolling his eyes, not even bothering with a response.  The guys all laughed heartily amongst themselves.

Suddenly one of them caught sight of something apparently over Jung Su’s shoulder.  He quickly elbowed his two fellows who followed his gaze, expressions becoming a mixture of alarm and amusement.

“Uh, we’ll be back, hyung,” they announced quickly, standing with a few brief bows. “We just have to go mingle with some of the others.”

 

Jung Su didn’t even bother to look behind him as they scrambled away, trying and failing to appear casual.

“Ugh, why does everyone keep leaving as soon as I sit down?” Caden complained cheerily, plopping down in the seat beside him, clearly not having noticed any of the weirdness that had just occurred previous to her arrival.

He shot her a sideways look, sniffing purposely.

“I don’t think it’s you,” he deadpanned, keeping his gaze focused down on the table before him. “I have had a few more drinks since we last spoke.  I’m sure they’re just trying to avoid my indecent drunken behaviors.  I was this close to laying a kiss on all three of them, you know.”

When she didn’t immediately snark back, he snuck a glance at her face to see her looking almost troubled.  As soon as she caught his gaze, her expression turned slightly unreadable.

“I doubt they would have protested,” she joked, sounding just the slightest bit strained.  She seemed to be contemplating saying something else.

This wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting.  Feeling almost guilty, he changed tactics.

“You’re right,” he tried again, attempting to lighten the atmosphere. “It must have been you after all.  What’s your secret?  I’ve been working for three years to be able to clear a table full of people with my mere arrival.”

Caden grinned for real this time.

“Intimidation isn’t really something one can teach,” she informed him laughingly. “Besides, I have a feeling your other half is sabotaging your efforts.”

“You’re probably right,” he allowed, glancing over at Soonbok as he said it. “Plus I doubt someone as terrifying as you could understand the curse of trying to scare people off with a face as friendly and adorable as mine.”

Caden’s eyes widened, almost startled by this proclamation.  This reaction instantly broke Jung Su’s serious facade and set him laughing in earnest, which in turn set Caden laughing as well.

After a moment, unbeknownst to him as she began calming down, she looked him over carefully- her eyes still bright with amusement.

“Jung Su-yah, by the way,” Caden began casually.  He looked over at her, still grinning at his own joke.  She turned, looking him directly in the eye with a bright smile, “I like you.”

He unintentionally felt his stomach flip-flop and for a brief moment his heart seemed to beat harder in his chest.

Suddenly he was aware of a ton of little details that he had never once noticed before.  The way she reached out to touch his hand as if to emphasis her point.  The way a strand of her hair fell across her eyes as she tilted her head, shooting him a look full of affection.  Just how close they’d been sitting up until then.  Was this why she’d been looking at him so strangely all night?

“I’m sure you already know,” she continued, appearing not to notice his internal dilemma, “but after all the trouble I gave you when we first started hanging out and tricking you into admitting you liked me, I just realized that I never said it back.  And it didn’t seem fair to leave you hanging on the line with your solo declaration of friendship, so I figured I’d join you.  Better late than never.”

 

Of course that’s what she meant.  Of course.

He wouldn’t have expected… he wouldn’t have wanted it to be otherwise.

He felt his face flush slightly, quickly turning away in what he hoped was a natural manner.

He couldn’t even remember a time when he’d reacted this way toward a confession (and he’d received a lot of confessions), especially a fake one.

Why was he like this?

It probably had a lot to do with dating the same girl for so long and not having many female friends.

Usually he just thought of Caden as he thought of everyone he got along well with - just as a Friend, a person.  But occasionally she did things that smacked him in the face with the reminder that she was also a girl.

Like now, and…  No - pretty much only now.

He looked her over from the corner of his eye.  Somehow he doubted that anyone else had the same problem.

 

He turned to face her fully now.

“Wow,” he deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. “Are you in love with me or something?  You know I’m already spoken for…”

The comedic change as Caden’s pleasant smile fell and was replaced by a look of true horror served to fuel his amusement as he pushed on,

“Or wait, maybe it’s just that you’re one of those types of people.  What do the Japanese call them?  Tsundere.  Is that why you only make these grand confessions when we’re alone?”

“Ah jeez, this guy can’t be serious,” she scoffed mostly to herself, shooting him a vicious glare.  She reached over to push his face away in annoyance.  “Really though, that’s the last time I try to be nice to you.”

“I doubt it.  I’m pretty irresistible,” Jung Su grinned, grabbing her hands to stop her from reaching him. “Why were you thinking about the first time we hung out anyway?  That was weeks… months ago now.”

“Why?” she demanded, sounding somewhat surprised. “I think about you a lot.  Mostly how annoying you are…”

“That’s funny,” Jung Su countered immediately. “I always seem to forgot just how annoying you are until we’re together.  I don’t know what it is… I think my brain blocks it out to protect my sanity or something.”

“Good to know,” Caden replied smoothly, still trying to escape his grip and take a swat at him. “I’ll have to try harder to make my annoyance more memorable.”

“Get a room you two!” Soonbok called out cheerfully as she cruised by on her way from one group of friends to another.

“Ew!” Caden cried jokingly.  Jung Su gave her a sharp look.

“I don’t want a room,” he shot back.  Caden gave him a questioning look which he responded to by yanking her practically onto his lap using her still captured hands. “I want to do it here - I’m an exhibitionist.”

“Whatever floats your boat,” Soonbok replied brightly over her shoulder, hardly paying them any mind.

“Wow,” Caden marveled, practically shoving herself away from him. “I guess I’m only nice to you when we’re alone and you’re only nice to me in front of others!”

“I can’t argue with that,” he replied insolently, leaning back comfortably in his chair, totally unaffected by this accusation. “We’ve all got our kinks.  I guess we finally found the one that works for us.”

Caden rolled her eyes in utter disgust.  She got the gist of his statement, although she still wasn’t an expert on Korean slang - particularly when it came to any sort of .  She was eternally surprised by his sudden bursts of obscenity.  She wasn’t sure why he felt the need to force it and she was fairly certain she’d never get used to it.  What a weirdo.

“I’m leaving. Have fun alone,” she taunted, turning to flounce away purposefully.  This is what she got for overthinking everything.

“I intend to,” he countered, equally mocking.

Jung Su watched his friend’s retreating back, instantly regretting his unnecessary behavior.

He always tended to overcompensate when he was feeling put on the spot.  He hoped she wouldn’t be mad at him for too long.  As bad as he was at being nice, he was even worse at apologizing.

She didn’t seem to mind that he wasn’t nice…

Usually anyway.

Maybe she wouldn’t mind his terrible apologies.

Hopefully…

 

He watched as she approached a nearby table that was full of club members, most of whom were whispering and giggling to themselves over what had just happened.  

Great.

He hoped Caden wouldn’t notice.

Also residing at said table was Mikyung, finally free from Soonbok’s attentions, currently flirting shamelessly with Daeho.

Granted, maybe it was only ‘shameless’ by Mikyung standards, but it was still painfully obvious to him.  He couldn’t fathom how his cousin never seemed to notice.

Or maybe he just wasn’t interested, who knows.

Appearing to notice this interaction, Caden paused just short of approaching the pair, apparently debating on whether or not to interrupt this moment.

This didn’t last long, as the moment Daeho noticed her, he promptly broke off his conversation with Mikyung to flirt shamelessly with Caden.

Huh.

So a lack of interest it was he supposed.

 

Suddenly his view of the proceedings was unexpectedly blocked by a wall of bodies.  He looked up to see the same three club members from earlier gazing down at him with a combination of impertinent amusement and misfortune.

“So… was that an example of your technique?” one of them asked pityingly.

“Yeah hyung - apparently you… keep Caden’s interest by being rough and embarrassing in front of everyone?” another added, his face seeming unsure whether to laugh or grimace.

Jung Su groaned loudly, plopping his head into his hands in frustration.

The guys all murmured consolingly before strategically retreating, and Jung Su was left to figure out how to clean up his mess.

 

*

 

Caden had stomped away rather dramatically from her conversation with Jung Su.  She was oddly reminded of another conversation she had recently had with a certain deep-voiced idol.  What was it with boys and pretending to be interested in you for a laugh?  Why was that such a thing?

She had noticed a handful of friends lounging at one of the nearby tables, and had made her way blindly in that direction.

Now she saw that Daeho and Mikyung were happily chatting, while some of the other club members who she wasn’t as close to were whispering among themselves and shooting her a few pointed looks.

She wasn’t sure if they were simply trying to figure out whether or not she was angry about the situation, or if they were clutching their pearls at her for playing a part in the commotion.

Either way, she didn’t pay them much attention as she approached her friends.  They didn’t seem to notice her coming as they continued chatting away.

Mikyung was smiling and laughing more than she’d ever seen her do at once, while Daeho was clearly coming to the end of an expressive story that he obviously found hilarious.

As she neared them - both laughing at whatever he’d just finished saying - she could finally make out the conversation.

“So why did it take you so long to come over and say hi to me tonight, huh?” Mikyung teased, tucking her hair behind her ear and eying him with feigned reproach.

“I had to wait in line,” he joked, laughing. “You don’t know how popular you are - it’s tough to get close to you.”

Mikyung giggled (!) appreciatively at this, tossing her head playfully while shooting him a look.

“You and your excuses,” she teased. “I don’t buy it - I think you owe me another drink at least for avoiding me.”

“That I can happily do,” he responded, smiling.

Caden paused, unsure whether she should cut in on their moment.  Apparently she waited a bit too late to decide, as Daeho spotted her not a moment later.

“Noona!” he called, perking up slightly. “You escaped my tactless cousin in one piece!  What was going on over there?  Do I need to go yell at him for you?”

“Ah, no don’t worry about it,” she assured him weakly, sneaking a quick glance at Mikyung who was now looking between the two of them rather glummly. “I just need a little break from him for now.”

She glanced over to where Jung Su was sitting, but a few of the other boys had immediately surrounded him, blocking him from her view.

“I get that,” Daeho chuckled. “Come, join us!  I promise we’ll be much nicer.”

“Didn’t I just hear that you owe someone a drink?” Caden reminded him helpfully. “You two should hit the bar before it gets overrun.”

“Ah, very true,” he admitted, glancing over at the crowd in question. “Did you want anything?  I could get you one too.”

“I’m good,” she announced, holding up her water that she was still playing off as alcohol. “Still full.  You guys go ahead.  I’ll mingle.  I can’t be hiding by your elbow all night.”

“The group would never allow it,” Daeho boomed enthusiastically. “The people would riot!  Alright, we’ll see you in a bit.  Come on, sunbae.”

He walked off with a wave, followed closely by Mikyung who caught Caden’s eye with a polite smile.

“We’ll be back,” she murmured, unable to hide a small satisfied looking grin.  Caden waved them off, looking around briefly to figure out who she should try talking to next.

Almost immediately a group of the younger girls caught her eye, gesturing her over enthusiastically.

She cruised over, quickly joined by a few of the boys from Jung Su’s table.  No one mentioned his outburst, but a few of them seemed resisting probing her for details.

Eventually Soonbok wandered over, followed by Daeho and Mikyung, and eventually Jung Su himself.

She admitted she relished his apparent awkwardness as he made his best attempt at politeness, which was quickly met with disdain by the rest of the group.

She was feeling better already.

 

*

 

Ugh.

Jung Su was annoyed with himself.

Shocker.

He continued to keep an eye on Caden in between looking after Soonbok.  She didn’t seem too mad…

Dammit.  He figured he still had to take responsibility and make an effort.  He hated effort.

He waited a while - probably too long, but who could say - before finally making his way over to join the group.

He was happy to discover that basically everyone was satisfied with mock him over the incident, leaving Caden almost totally out of it.  She was clearly enjoying this as well.  He kept noticing her fighting down little snotty smirks from the corner of his eye.  Whatever made her feel better.

Somewhat surprisingly, she didn’t bother to avoid him, or even ignore him.

She continued participating in conversations he jumped into and even answered him directly, though she wasn’t giving him much eye contact or enthusiasm.

Which was fine.

But…

Ugh.

It meant he was going to actually have to figure out how to apologize.

God he was bad at… peopling.

Eventually Caden wandered off once more and he set to thinking up a strategy.  He quickly lost track of the conversation going on around him, hardly responding when Daeho shot random teasing jabs his way and almost forgetting to answer on the rare occasion when Soonbok required his attention.

Eventually the group collectively decided it was about time to move on from that particular bar.  Jung Su had been so deep in thought by then that he had no idea where his friends had even gotten to.

He stood up, shuffling after the tide of club members moving toward the front door.  There were a handful of people loitering in the hallway outside the bar, including his girlfriend and cousin.

And there was Caden, talking to one of the members whose name escaped him.  

He watched as they chatted for a minute, before the other girl excused herself, leaving Caden momentarily - for a brief and fleeting moment - alone.

He steeled himself, knowing this opportunity wouldn’t last.

He might as well get it over with.

He could do this… friendship thing.

He strode up to her purposely.  Her attention was turned elsewhere so he tried to be careful so as not to scare her.

He scooped up her hand gently, carefully drawing her around to face him.  He knew Soonbok couldn’t stand it when anyone tried to grab her by the arm or wrist and he was pretty sure foreigners would like it even less, so he was purposefully delicate and undemanding.

Caden looked around surprised, then her expression turned somewhat skeptical when she realized it was him.

“Can… Can I talk to you?  For a second?” he asked awkwardly, keeping his tone as mild as possible.  Caden looked at him blankly for a moment before simply nodding.

He hurriedly led her back toward the bar, just outside the door where they wouldn’t be right in everyone’s way.

They stood facing each other, crowded together somewhat as they wedged themselves into the corner, her face right below his as she looked up at him expectantly.

“So…” he began, mind racing as he tried to come up with the best way to phrase his thoughts. “I… You… You know I’m kind of…”

“Yeah, I know,” Caden mused, small smile curling up the corner of her lip.  He sighed, shaking his head.

“That’s no excuse though…” he said quietly, looking down as the embarrassment of forcing himself to be sincere overtook him. “Being… not being…”

 

He let a deep breath out his nose, forcing himself to look into Caden’s face which currently appeared torn between slight bemusement at his apparent struggle, and the desire to save him from himself.  She held back though, waiting for him to finish.

“I’m not used to having to consider people’s feelings,” he announced bluntly, drawing a rueful smile from his audience. “And I know that isn’t… normal.  Or acceptable.  But I’ve gotten away with it for so long that I don’t know how to react when someone actually gets upset with me - let alone when I care about the person getting upset with me-”

Caden’s amusement was clearly increasing.

She seemed to be fighting to keep from laughing.

He waited as she pressed her lips together purposefully, still refusing to let him off the hook before he finished his apologized.

So he trudged on.

“-so I guess what I wanted to say is…  I promise to stop taking it out on you when people tease me for liking you,” he concluded.  Caden raised her eyebrows somewhat at this, and he realized the implication of his statement.

“I mean - I won’t allow the group’s collective hassling of me choosing to be kind to someone who isn’t my girlfriend or my cousin to influence my behavior toward you - said person,” he hastily clarified. “Because that’s what it is I guess… that makes me act especially like an toward you at times.  In front of others.  Under the guise of physical attraction.  Because, from an outsider’s point of view, it would only make sense for me to be nice to you for the purpose of getting into your pants.  When in reality, I’m just too ashamed to admit that I actually like you as a person, or whatever.  Because I don’t usually like anyone at all.  I’ll stop doing that.  And, I’m uh… sorry I did it before.  Uncalled for.”

 

Caden was just staring up at him, her expression unclear.

Was she looking at him with disbelief?  Amusement?  Annoyance?

What??

After an agonizing moment, her face broke into a frustrated smile.

“This really is the first time you’re doing this, isn’t it?” she asked with a laugh that sounded accidental. “You weren’t making that up?”

Her eyes were sparkling with amusement now.

A wide smile spread across Jung Su’s face.

She forgave him.

He’d managed to pull it off.

 

*

 

Caden was annoyed with herself.

Or Jung Su.

Or at herself for not being annoyed enough at Jung Su.

 

She shook her head, looking up at her friend carefully, her body still torn between wanting to start laughing hysterically and smacking him on the head.  For his part, Jung Su was gazing down at her somewhat apprehensively as he waited for her reaction.  The intensity of his gaze surprised her somewhat - maybe because they were huddled so close together - but perhaps it shouldn’t have.  Jung Su did everything with either the utmost attention and effort, or none at all.  Apparently she’d earned his effort.

Which meant that the lame- speech he’d just given was him trying his best.

An involuntary giggle escaped at this realization.

“This really is your first time doing this, isn’t it?  You weren’t making that up?” she demanded with a frustrated smile, already knowing that she’d lost.  Nothing she could possibly tell herself was going to allow her to remain upset with the dumb boy in front of her.

Dammit.  She wasn’t used to losing.  Especially to boys.

At least she wasn’t trying to date this one.

 

His lips parted into a smile that somehow hit her like the sun emerging from behind a cloud, almost alarming in its sincerity.  Caden was so unused to seeing this expression coming from Jung Su that it practically set her tittering with amusement.  If his words hadn’t managed to express his feelings, this reaction hit it home.

She marveled over how he could possibly possess such power over people’s emotions (particularly girls, let’s be real) and not choose to use it to his advantage.  That’s what she would have done.

Does that make Jung Su a better person than her?  Somehow she doubted it.

 

“You understand how lucky you are that I’m letting you off this easy, right?” she teased, grabbing the front of his shirt with feigned aggression.

“It wasn’t easy for me, but yeah… I know,” he replied, still beaming.  He playfully pried her hands off of his chest, holding them firmly between them instead. “I appreciate it.”

“A likely story,” Caden joked, shaking her head.

“Just make out already,” a bored voice called out, causing their heads to turn suspiciously quickly.

An extremely amused looking Soonbok stood watching them from down the hall.

“At least you’ve picked a slightly more secluded location to carry out your shameful deeds,” she continued brightly, noting their close proximity to the corner and each other, “but let’s keep it moving!  You’re holding up the party!”

Caden glanced back at Jung Su as he delicately released her arms.  She waited to see if he was going to offer some kind of comment, or run off to join Soonbok.  Instead, he merely continued gazing down at her with an arguably expectant look on his face.

She felt an unexpected rush of warmth at this when she realized that he was still apologizing.

She attempted to cover this up by turned back to Soonbok with a cheeky smile.

“What can I say?” Caden joked, “He is pretty irresistible.”  She glanced back to see Jung Su wearing a sly, approving grin.  She turned back to Soonbok again,

“I’m sorry I won’t stop stealing your boyfriend away.  I promise I’ll stop.”

Soonbok brushed this off with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Please, take him,” she joked. “Whatever keeps him entertained while I’m busy having fun.  I feel bad for leaving him alone to fend for himself.”

“What am I, your pet?” Jung Su muttered, barely loud enough for Soonbok to hear.

“What was that, my puppy?” she asked with exaggerated affection.  Caden giggled while Jung Su merely rolled his eyes.

“Anyways, come on Unnie!” the younger girl called cheerfully, gesturing enthusiastically. “Half the group already left.”  She held out a hand which Caden laughingly reached out for, shooting Jung Su one final, amused look.  He immediately leaned down near her ear before quietly murmuring,

“Thanks for understanding, Noona.  I mean it.”

She paused, but Soonbok had already darted forward to claim her outstretched hand, pulling her forward happily and directing them toward the stairs.

Caden began chatting with her merrily, but snuck one last glance back at Jung Su.  He was standing there with his hands in his pockets, watching the two of them with a satisfied smile.

She quickly turned back to the girl beside her, trying not to shake her head.

Since when is being friends with someone supposed to take so much effort?

Being friends with Jung Su was hard work.

 

*

 

Jung Su stood with his hands in his pockets.

His gaze followed as Soonbok and Caden disappeared around the corner, suddenly floored in the shocking and mildly disturbing realization that he was watching what promised to be the two most time consuming women in his life disappear from view.

Jesus Christ.

Being friends with Caden was hard work.

 

And yet.

He was no longer annoyed with himself.

That was new.

He forced down a self satisfied grin that threatened to emerge abruptly.

He made to follow his girlfriend, when Daeho suddenly materialized beside him.

“Should I ask why you continue to lure Noona into dark corners when I’m not looking?” his cousin asked, throwing him a playful jab.

Jung Su scowled, attempting to cover up his true reproach at the question.  He knew that Daeho was only teasing - most likely merely concerned that he was mistreating Caden.  

His cousin was not the jealous type by any means - especially when it came to friendship - but he couldn’t help but feel that the implication was that he didn’t deserve Caden’s undivided attention.

No one would even look twice if Daeho or Soonbok whisked her off for some alone time.

Why couldn’t he?  Once in a while…

“I’m doing her a favor actually,” Jung Su snarked, crossing his arms over his chest. “She’s always asking me to help her escape from you.”

“Well as long as you’re both getting along,” Daeho replied cheerfully, wrapping an affection arm around his hyung.

Jung Su rolled his eyes.

“Actually, I was just… apologizing to her.  For earlier,” he admitted, shrugging off the other boy’s attentions.

“Wow!  That’s new,” Daeho marveled with a wide grin. “In that case, I’m proud of you, hyung!  Look at you, maintaining friendships!”

Jung Su snorted.

“Yeah- we’ll see how long I last,” he groused pessimistically.

“Hopefully at least as long as she does,” Daeho replied brightly, grinning as began making his way toward the door.

Jung Su followed closely behind as they descended the stairs and leisurely made their way after their friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

A/N

 

Eeeeh!  Back in a flash with a waaaaaay too long update lol

I considered breaking this up as it got longer and longer, but I figured that would just put one more chapter between us and GD.  And who wants that?

Me apparently, but... ^^

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  We get some Jung Su character insight, which is always fun.

In my mind, all the O/Cs are, like, equally as gorgeous as Big Bang, so I love writing their chapters just as much lol.

But!  I know what the people want!  And so Big Bang will return in the next exciting episode of...

My story!

Lol

Let me know what you think!  And any guesses for what is to come!