twenty-three

  Soyeon frowned as her eyes lingered to her watch once more, tapping her foot impatiently whilst she checked the time. Exactly ten minutes had passed since a particular boy had texted her, and though she had dashed to the door within a matter of seconds, he was yet to arrive. She could feel her groupmates’ intense gazes upon her back, knowing they were definitely watching intently as well.

  A pattering of footsteps let her heave a sigh of relief, and she lifted her head up, grateful to see the boy hurrying towards her. “…Sorry, Injung-ah, I got caught up in the gym because I saw-“

  “I don’t really care who you saw.” Soyeon purposefully put up a frown, feigning irritation. “I’d bet you met some eye-catching, attractive young idol and started flirting with her. You’re always like that.”

  “Sounds like someone’s jealous?” Minho smirked teasingly.

  She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “In your dreams. Why on earth would I be jealous when we’re not even dating?” She posed it as a rhetorical question, not expecting him to reply. “I’m just annoyed at having my precious time wasted – you’re the one who asked me to get out here.”

  “I know you’re happy to see me, Injung.” Minho said cleverly, grinning triumphantly as he saw a light blush appear on her cheeks. “You’re always like that, pretending to be mad when you’re actually overjoyed.” He seemed amused. “…Anyway, I came today to ask you something.”

  “I am not glad to see you, Minho. Stop being cocky and delusional.” Soyeon rebutted him furiously, though truthfully yes, she was rather content to see him. “What do you want to ask me? Make it fast – my groupmates are staring and pretty soon, tabloid reporters will start appearing out of nowhere.” It was a pathetic lie as well, for she truthfully wanted him to stay a little longer than he usually did.

  “Well…” Minho fidgeted uncomfortably, becoming slightly nervous as well. “…If you didn’t know, Taemin and Sulli’s wedding is going to be in about five weeks-“

  “Yes, I know, Minho – I’m not a social idiot.” She interrupted him snappily, despite the fact that she anticipated his possible question even more when he brought up the topic of the wedding. “I’ve been invited too. It’s not like I won’t be invited-“

  “Then, go with me.”

  “I said I’m going- what?” She paused, as she finally caught his question.

  Minho drew his breath. “Go with me. Go as my partner. I’ll you.”

  Soyeon was slightly stunned as she heard his offer. It had been a few weeks since their first meeting, and they had been meeting each other every now and then. Despite the fact that most people considered them as a couple, they had never been intimate and neither had proposed a possible confirmation to their relationship. She originally did not see much prospect in the relationship; however, with such an offer from him, her mentality took a turn, though only slightly.

  “Are you asking me out?” Soyeon was a little too astounded to fully comprehend him.  

  Minho nodded, attempting to smile. “Yeah.” He realized how short and curt his reply had came out, and thus he was quick to make an alteration. “I mean, don’t just go with me to the wedding as a friend. Go as my girlfriend, as my real girlfriend… We should start dating- I mean, date me, Soyeon. Become my girlfriend.”

  She was completely astonished, stunned stock-still. “B-b-but… We’ve only started meeting up for a few weeks, Minho, do you seriously- No, you’re kidding me. You’re definitely kidding me. This kid, really… You’re always trying to make a mockery of me, aren’t you?” She chose to divert her attention away from him by muttering an incoherent string of words, quickly staring at her palms.

  He felt rather exasperated when he received such a response from her. He knew that she would say ‘yes’, he knew she desired to say ‘yes’, but her somewhat pompous self stopped her from giving him an immediate acceptance. She was that sort of person – hypocritical, contradictory, duplicitous; but even with such a personality, there was something about her, just something about her that made her somewhat endearing.

  “You’re a little douche, aren’t you?” He flicked her forehead jovially, patting the top of her head after that. “I don’t think it’s an appropriate timing for me to joke, right?”

  “I just don’t think…” Her voice faltered for a moment, unsure of what to say to complete her sentence. “…It’s strange for us to be a couple, don’t you think?”

  “If you’re talking about the , that’s not much to be concerned about.” Minho broke into a wide grin, as if trying to reassure her by appearing carefree. “Anyway, a lot of guys date girls that are older than them nowadays, and besides, I’ve always liked older women for their mature personalities.”

  “…Well if you phrase it like that then…” A small smile crept to her face. “…Alright.”

  “You’ll date me?”

  “Yes, I will.” She nodded dreamily, but then she was quick enough to snap back into reality and to jolt out of her dream-like state. “But we’ve got to lay down some ground rules – like no flirting, no being all bossy and irritating, no being late for dates, and do not, do not always expect me to comply to your requests, and you should’ve asked me to be your girlfriend and not phrased it as a demanding sentence-“

  She was cut off, as he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her softly as he gripped her small shoulders. Soyeon’s eyelids shot up, her eyes widening as she felt him kissing her, kissing her, kissing her. It was strange, it was weird, it was queer, but at the same time it was comfortable, so immensely comfortable, and there was this warm, cozy little feeling that settled itself at the pit of her stomach and it felt exceptionally…nice.

  “We’ve got a lot to get started on, don’t we?” Minho mused cheekily, as he released her.

  Soyeon nearly whacked him. “Ya! Choi Minho! I’m going to kill you! You absolute idiot, how could you kiss me like-“

  “I could kiss you again, you know, if you like~”

  “You blithering idiot!”

  “Ooh, Uncle Mi, your cellphone is so cool! It even has girly games!” Seonjung exclaimed in delight as she fiddled with Zhou Mi’s phone, scrolling through the list of games. “I want to play with the Cooking Mama one, it’s so fun!”

  “Me too, me too!” Yeonjung did not waste a single minute in joining in. “Let me play first!”

  “I’ll show you how to play~” Huiling grinned cheerfully.

  Kyuhyun placed his hands on the girls’ shoulders, ushering them towards the living room. “Alright, alright girls, have fun playing… And make sure you take turns!” He reminded them, but being children, they bluntly ignored him, much too absorbed in their game. Taking a deep breath, Kyuhyun headed back towards the dining room, where Zhou Mi was seated.

  “…You’re brave to sacrifice your phone. The last time I lent Seonjung my phone, I found it in the toilet bowl, immersed in her pee.” Kyuhyun shuddered at the thought of it, attempting to brighten Zhou Mi up by adding in some humor.

  Zhou Mi forced out a chuckle. “Nah, nothing’s going to happen to my phone. Huiling has self-control and she’s pretty discipline.”

  “Well, she is Victoria’s girl, after all.” Kyuhyun said, his words coming out rather tactless. “But she’s also your girl too, hyung, of course.” He quickly corrected himself, seeing the way Zhou Mi had flinched distinctively after Kyuhyun had mentioned Victoria’s name.

  Zhou Mi drew his br