~~~~~

Namjoo jerked awake when her phone rang and drowsily rose from bed. Stepping out of her bedroom she saw that Kyung had already left and her place was as empty as always. Rubbing her head she reached down for her phone and glanced at the strange number flashing on it. Suddenly recalling she’d given her number away to Jongin, she quickly answered it.

“Hello?” a strange deep voice greeted in turn. Namjoo frowned utterly confused. Obviously this voice wasn’t Jongin’s.

“Who…”

“Me, you don’t remember?” the voice said then exclaimed, “It’s only been a day and you’ve forgotten my voice already?”

Namjoo waited in silence trying to depict the owner of the deep voice.

“It’s Chanyeol.”

Her hopes tumbled down in disappointment. “How…”

“Ah…Jongin told me to call you,” Chanyeol said. “I thought you said you didn’t have a phone.”

Making a face out of utter frustration that Jongin had given her number away she stomped her foot against the ground, hopping about to release her pang of failure. She’d known it was too good to be true that he’d asked for her number, thinking he wanted to stay in contact.

Laughing, she excused, “Well…I…I just gone a phone. The one I had before fell into the toilet, so I just recently replaced it.”

“Oh, well that happens,” he seemed happy to be talking with her, “Jongin said he met you earlier to return your umbrella to you.”

“Yea, he did.”

“He said you sounded sick. Did you take medicine yet?”

He shouldn’t be the one worrying. It should be Jongin, Namjoo complained.

Feigning a smile Namjoo replied, “I did and I just woke up.”

“I must have called at a bad time, sorry.” He apologized as she made way over to her couch and dropped onto it to lie down.

“It’s fine, I’m up now,” Namjoo said. “Is that why you called?”

“Yes, and…” he droned on, “Namjoo, are you free tomorrow? Or perhaps this weekend?”

Frowning, Namjoo sat up. “Why?”

“Actually, I was wondering if we could go on a date.” He straightforwardly said.

Sitting silently Namjoo stared into space. Her insides shrieked with why he was the one asking her. A red alert beeped inside her head. Wrong direction, wrong guy.

“Namjoo?” he called when she didn’t reply. “Hello?”

“Oh…um…” Namjoo clamped her eyes shut and scratched her head. How was she going to turn the situation around so that Jongin could step back into the picture?

“This weekend, you said?” Namjoo asked. “Well, I probably won’t be busy...”

“Great!” he excitedly exclaimed. “I’ll see you then.”

“O…ok,” Namjoo said then hung up and flopped back down onto the couch, throwing her body about as she kicked the cushions.

This was all wrong!

~~~~~

Tossing and turning in bed that night, Jongin shifted onto his back and stared up at the ceiling engulfed by a blank darkness. Folding his arms under his head he wondered if he’d done the right thing by giving Namjoo’s number away to Chanyeol. It was annoying that he felt an unease after doing so, and if he hadn’t he’d still feel uneasy.

So what was the problem? He couldn’t figure it out. He had done a good deed, hadn’t he?

A voice mocked him at the back of his head. Shaking his head to ward off oncoming thoughts he to his side and forced his eyes close. The second he did he recalled going to find her earlier in the day and flushed with embarrassment upon remembering how she’d caught him checking her out.

Abruptly sitting up he rubbed his head viciously. So what about it, he thought, it was a completely normal thing for a man to check a woman out, especially if she was eye catching.

“Maybe I do. She doesn’t seem that bad. She has a nice body and nice legs. Have you seen them? Whoo!”

“Oh my god…” he murmured and buried his face into the palm of his hands. Letting out a deep breath he dropped back onto the bed and pulled the blanket over him. There was no time to be thinking about useless things. In seven hours he would have to be up. Anyway, Namjoo and Chanyeol were going to end up as a couple.

~~~~~

The very first thing he heard when he met up with Chanyeol after class was his loud laughter while exclaiming that Namjoo had agreed to go on a date with him.

“She went silent for a minute, so I thought she would reject me.” Chanyeol slapped his upper back before linking an arm around his shoulders. “Then I said her name, Namjoo,” he said in his soft, deep voice, “that must have got her attention. I’m telling you, girls die for my voice.”

From the side Jongin frowned at Chanyeol before shoving him off. “Good for you. Don’t forget I’m your benefactor. Today you buy me lunch.”

“Of course,” Chanyeol jumped back at him and linked his arm around him again. “I’m in such a good mood!” broadly smiling he bobbed his head from side to side. “Anyway, what about Chairman Goo’s daughter? Are you really going to see her?”

“Oh, yea,” Jongin mumbled. “I talked to my mom this morning. There’s a blind date on Saturday.”

“Ooohh…good luck with that,” Chanyeol cooed then clicked his tongue and shook his head, “I bet she has experience with men.” He raised his brows suggestively. “You might end up looking like a baby to her but you might as well learn a thing or two. Good luck anyway.”

“Yea, great,” he muttered.

He wasn’t looking forward to it but anything other than being cooped up at home sounded good, and he didn’t want Chanyeol calling to tell him about how his date went. It was better to keep busy, but why wasn’t he feeling at all satisfied?

~~~~~

Everything was turning out to be a bummer. Namjoo hadn’t foreseen a date with Chanyeol, actually she’d never expected him to ask her to one at all. Now how the hell was she going to try to opt out of that? What was she going to do now?

Scrubbing the table furiously Namjoo ransacked her brain for an answer. If she couldn’t get a rich husband soon, she would have to start looking for a second job and she didn’t think she should have to return to her routine of 3 hours of sleep per night. It had been a while now – almost six months – since she’d started enjoying the comfort of 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night.

The loan and the interest she owed would be the end of her. Namjoo didn’t want to start worrying about that yet. Why couldn’t she enjoy the ways of living for once?

Looking up as the door opened she recognized the tall Chanyeol who first looked around before seeing her. The broad grin on his face upon sighting her made her force a smile on in order to return the kind gesture. He shouldn’t have come, she thought, but walked over to him anyway.

“Hi,” she greeted.

“I was hungry so I decided to stop by,” he told her. “When are you done?”

“Not till evening,” Namjoo replied then wondered if he’d come alone. Her eyes sought for the door behind him but his voice brought her attention back.

“Mind if I grab something to eat and wait?” he asked.

She glanced up at him, “I really won’t be done until late.”

“It’s fine.” He smiled determinedly before turning toward the counter. Namjoo was urged throw her head back in complaint now that his back was to her but didn’t.

“You don’t have any exams or homework to do?” Namjoo asked.

“Exam period is over, I’m free,” he proudly said then tapped his fingers against the counter in thought. “Number nine looks good. Can you ring up my order?”

“Oh…sure,” Namjoo faked a smile and walked around the counter, wondering how she was going to deal with this. If he was going to come he should have come with Jongin. Looking at Chanyeol she smiled sweetly again as she pounded the buttons on the screen to process his order.

Namjoo was really taken aback when she stepped out hours later to find him sitting at the table immersed in a game on his phone. She had really hoped he would have left, even after purposely making him wait some twenty minutes.

Upon noticing her he immediately exited his game and stood up. “Are you done?”

She automatically nodded while observing him. Really, what reason was there for him to ask her out on a date? Surely she hadn’t done anything to make him think that she was fond of him. Unless Jongin had told him about how she had waited for him in the rain and he took it as a gesture of her crushing on him? Oh god no!

“Do you often go straight home right after work?” he wondered.

“Yea.” She realized he’d walked from campus to Mr. Pizza, so without agreement they began walking down the sidewalk naturally, passing restaurants, parked cars, and younger adults still about.

“You don’t go anywhere else?”

“I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Don’t meet up with friends? Or go out to eat?” he curiously asked.

“No,” she answered quietly. At the slight pause she glanced up at last to find him looking at her. “What?”

Cheerily smiling, he chirped, “You seemed surprised I came earlier.”

A sudden thought hit her making her debate whether she should feel bad at all. Deciding to lean toward honesty she said, “I was.” Then she heard him let out a short laugh and looked up at him, unable to help but wonder if she was the fool now.

“You’re interesting,” he commented. “So, Namjoo, why is it that you always go straight home?”

“Well,” she wanted to starkly say with a hint of rudeness, “because I can’t waste money and I tire from standing all day, so before the ache in my feet travels up to my shoulders I’d like to rest before worrying about anything else.”

Instead she really said, “I don’t have friends.”

Chanyeol turned silent, causing her to immediately assume he pitied her.

“Then,” with that cheeriness in his voice, “starting from today I’ll be your friend, so lets go somewhere for dinner.”

A frown instantly burrowed across her face and she stared up at him with absurdity.

“Why? You don’t like the idea?” he asked with a shake of his head.

A friend…

Truthfully, Namjoo couldn’t recall when she last had a friend. All her life she’d been occupied with raising Joohwan she had no memory of befriending anyone. And she considered no one close until recently. Wow, she suddenly realized, it was kind of pathetic.

“Then,” Namjoo began, “should we?”

With a nod they walked another block before reaching a fried chicken restaurant. Once their food arrived at the table Namjoo found herself nibbling hungrily on the tender strips without minding Chanyeol who ate slowly across from her. In front of him there was completely no need to keep her lady-like image. She wasn’t going to impress him.

“So,” Namjoo started while chewing, “where are your friends? You’re alone today.”

“All busy.”

Including Jongin?

“All of them?” Namjoo pressed on with a raised brow, searching his face and hoping he would mention Jongin. What was that guy up to that he couldn’t visit with Chanyeol today when he had come to see her the other day?

“Yes,” Chanyeol nodded as he tore apart his piece of chicken. “Junghee is busy with a presentation for her economic geography class, Minhoon has an overdue essay to type up he didn’t do because he was drunk, Woosung is studying – he’s probably meeting up with Junghyuk and some others but they most likely won’t get anything done. You’re probably confused right? If you’re not busy this Friday, come out to karaoke with us and I can introduce you.”

“Oh…Friday?” Namjoo asked and watched him emphasize a nod.

“Come out to play,” he urged then lightly laughed, “and Jongin, I’ll get him to come too. He’s such a bummer these days.”

Now she was interested.

Giving him her full attention she asked, “Why?”

“He’s going on a blind date this Saturday,” Chanyeol almost broke out into a grin, “I can’t help but feel sad for him.”

A shadow dawned over Namjoo and her heart plunged to the pit of her stomach. “A blind date?”

“You know his dad his ill. No matter what he’s going to have to take over his father’s position in the company, but Jongin isn’t very experienced in the office – you know, I mean with work and the hierarchy and all that stuff. The girl he’s going on a blind date with has a lot of experience, so if they get married it’ll work out perfect for his family.” Chanyeol explained. “Jongin really has no choice but to go.”    

Namjoo’s jaw mentally dropped all the way to the floor.

“On Saturday?” Namjoo repeated in disbelief.

Chanyeol nodded again, “Mmm…he says he’s going there after stopping at the library to finish editing his essay.”

Saturday…blind date. Her insides screamed disapproval. If the marriage went through for him she’d lose her only chance to a life of happy fortune!

~~~~~

All Friday, Namjoo spent her time counting the passing hours. Chanyeol had sent a text of where he would be meeting up with his friends, reminding her to come after work. If Jongin came to hang out with them and she could just manage to pull a string to get him coming toward her, everything would work out just fine.  

Namjoo felt anxious. Jongin didn’t seem that difficult of a person to get through considering all the times he’d fallen for her little tricks. She could definitely take advantage of his naivety. She just had to get a little closer.

When the clock struck seven she immediately ran out the door and down the block. After arriving at the karaoke bar she hurriedly walked around raggedly breathing as she searched for the room Chanyeol and his friends were in. Too impatiently, she pushed the door abruptly open when she discovered them. Her hasty entrance had all persons turning to stare at her.

“Namjoo!” Chanyeol called out happily before walking toward her. With a hand at her back he led her in and closed the door then proceeded onto introducing her to his friends.

“So this is her, huh?” one of them teased then said to her, “You better watch out because Chanyeol’s a little dirty inside.”

Namjoo awkwardly smiled, turned off.

“Chanyeol, why don’t you and your girlfriend sing something for us?”Junghee suggested and handed her a microphone.

Namjoo’s eyes widened upon seeing the microphone in front of her and quickly shook her head. “N…no, it’s fine. I’m not that good at singing.”

“Everyone here has to sing at least three songs,” the girl smiled and shoved the mic into her hands.

Chanyeol immediately ushered her up front toward the screen and boldly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Namjoo couldn’t help but turn to look at the large hand that landed on her before turning back to the friends watching and feigned a smile. Suddenly she wasn’t sure if her coming was a right decision or not. Where was Jongin?

For what felt like a long two minutes Namjoo felt herself swaying in Chanyeol’s arms as he rocked back and forth, bringing her along with him. Then the door finally opened and Jongin walked in. The other friends merrily greeted him, urging him to sit down, and began giggling about Chanyeol and his new girlfriend before asking why he was so late. Namjoo swore that in that second she wanted to chuck the microphone across the room.

As the song came to an end her eyes anxiously ran over Jongin, her insides pleading that someone else would want to sing next. She was desperate to sit down with him and have a chat. Instead, Chanyeol excitedly exclaimed, “Someone, press number twenty!” then he turned to her with a huge grin, “I’ll make sure you won’t regret coming out. Come on, sing with me!”

In less than a second as the music blared through the room Chanyeol began bouncing in a hyper manner, urging her to join him. Staring at him flatly Namjoo pushed an animated smile onto her lips. Conscious of keeping up her image in front of Jongin, she began jumping excitedly with him, screaming into the microphone as they sang facing each other. The music reverberated throughout the room, echoing through her body hypnotically. Focused on the lyrics Namjoo forgot about Jongin as she became immersed in her passionate singing.

He was gone by the time they finished. Disappointment washed away the excitement roaring through her when she scanned the room one more time to confirm it was true. From beside her fired up Chanyeol, oblivious to her disdain, suggested, “Lets sing another one.”

Ignoring him, Namjoo shoved her microphone into his chest and hurried out the door, running down the winding hallways frantically until she was outside. Panting she ran down her right then down her left, her eyes dancing wildly through the dark in search. A frustrated cry made her kick against the ground.

Jongin’s blind date was tomorrow and she had her own date with Chanyeol. What was she going to do now? 

***I think what's interesting to me is that regardless of how self-absorbed Namjoo is about becoming rich through the means of using Jongin to her advantage, they're both bound to be drawn to each other as she's already caught his interest. With just a little more tenderness and he can worm his way into her heart.