C h a p t e r  S e v e n

The street was filled with passerby as the two of them expertly avoided the wave of crowd. They didn’t walk side by side, Naeun thought it would be too weird, so she slowed her pace by exactly two steps and took the chance to take a good look of this guy from behind. He was taller than her, obviously and his hair was black and shiny in a clean cut. Naeun could make the nape of his neck which looked soft and suddenly had the urge of touching it.

Snapped, she widened her eyes and quickly pushed away the thought and threw her glance on the pavement. Five minutes or so, they reached the fast food diner and stepped inside. While waiting for their turn in a queue, L turned to her, “What are you ordering? Two large sets of Big Mac?”

“Ha-ha.” Naeun gave him a dry laugh, “As hungry as I am now, I’m not you.”

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“Um.” Naeun looked at him, “Considering that you always order at least three slices of chocolate cakes, a big cup of iced latte and a plate of chicken parmesan every time you are in Pink Panda café, that makes you the fatty here, Kim Myungsoo.”

L raised his brows, “Well, look who’s the creep now?”

Flushed, Naeun glared at him, “I’m merely observing.”

When it was their turn, they ordered (L ended up being the one who ordered two large sets of Big Mac) and paid before taking their seats. Naeun sipped in her Coke as she discreetly watched L poured chili sauce on his burger, taking a big bite of it. They enjoyed the meal in silence before Naeun decided to speak up, “So, tell me, who exactly are you?”

L who was dipping his fries halted, “What do you mean?”

“Who’s L? And who’s Kim Myungsoo?” Naeun asked, her eyes were staring right at him, “It’s a mystery I’ll never solve.”

He threw the fries in his mouth, munching every bit of it and shrugged, “Kim Myungsoo is L. And L is Kim Myungsoo. Having two names doesn’t mean I need to have two different personalities.”

“I don’t believe you.” Naeun replied, her arms folded across her chest. “You’re L in a way that you are also Kim Myungsoo. But you’re also Kim Myungsoo in a way that you’re not L.”

“Wow. Woohyun hyung was right.” L ceased his forehead, “Women do have complicated minds.”

Exclaiming, Naeun threw her arms in despair, “I’m just stating the fact!”

“Which isn’t valid. Now eat your nuggets, Darling.”

“You eat your burgers, Kim Myungsoo.” She shot back, glaring at him. “Oh, I will.” He replied, not even bothered giving any attention to her scowl as he kept munching his food.

Naeun heard a beep and rummaged inside her purse and pulled out her phone. There was a text from Bomi saying they were about to head home and asked where she was. Glancing up, she saw L was sipping his drink and she typed a reply quickly. In honesty, she was actually having a good time tonight (with L included). He wasn’t exactly a total jerk like she thought he would be (sure he liked to insult her every five minutes but those words were harmless). He paid for her food and listened to her rants. He was okay. At least, for now.

As both of them finished their food, Naeun wiped the edge of her lips, “So, where to next?”

“Why?” L raised his eyebrows before giving her a small smile, “Couldn’t get enough of me, Darling?”

“You know what? Never mind. I’m just going to go home.”

L stopped her before she could stand up, “Where do you want to go?”

Naeun stared at him for a few seconds and threw her glance outside of the glass panel. The vast sky was dark with only a few blinks of stars and the moon was hidden between the clouds. The only things illuminating the city were the lights coming from the skyscrapers and the streets.

She looked at him, grinning, “To the stars.”

“I know just the place.” He grinned back.

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The hill was visible in her view every time she walked back to her apartment building. It overlooked the city with its mighty trees and luscious green grass, always dancing to the rhythm of the evening breeze. But Naeun never really have a thought of actually going there. It seemed pretty far by foot and she was not one to hike either.

Then, there she was. Standing on the peak of the hill, her breath huffed forming small circles of steam in the dark night. She was right. It was quite the hike they took and after only five minutes climbing up, Naeun felt her lungs on fire (literally). But she kept going anyway and they reached the top just about ten minutes later.

“Wow.” She heaved, her eyes scanning the beautiful view in front of her. She could see lights from the streets and tiny houses down the city and far up to the right side, Naeun barely noticed her apartment building. It was small but from where she stood, it looked a lot smaller compare to the tall structures around. Like an ant between a plant of mushrooms.

“Yeah.” L nodded, a hint of amazement in his voice, “But wait till you look up.”

And so she did. If the view of the city was beautiful, the sky was picturesque. It was nothing like she ever seen before. She took a step, admiring the scenic night and twirled around until she felt a little dizzy. Giggling, Naeun plopped on the grass and lied down with her hands under her head. She felt a presence next to her and saw L squatti