"It's okay." Emma told me with a smile when I told her that my guardian wants me to go with him. "Who is he though? Uncle?" she asked.

"Yeah, my uncle." I lied. It's not like we're the type of friends who know each other's family background anyway.

"Okay, take care then. Hyejin and Jiyeon will go with me anyway." she said. "Hyejin already finished taking a bath. After Jiyeon's done, we'll be leaving."

I nodded and smiled as I tried to look for a nice shirt in my cabinet. But I don't seem to have anything nice to wear. All of them look the same. Statement shirts, school pride shirts, and all sorts. Did I even own anything that is not a T-shirt?

I scavenged once more in the trash that is my drawer to find a piece of nice clothing that's maybe just hidden somewhere in there. Before I could discover the entrance to Narnia, I found a plain gray shirt. Yes, a T-shirt still, but at least it doesn't have a print on it.

"Impressing your uncle?" Emma teased. "If you want a dress, I can lend you one." she offered.

"That's so nice of you but I don't do dresses." I told her honestly. "And besides, they won't fit me."

"Yeah.." she trailed. "You didn't bring anything else aside from T-shirts?"

"Nah." If I did, I would've found one by now.

I picked a pair of denim shorts and a pair of black ankle socks and then locked my cabinet. It was then I noticed that Bigbang is included in the passel of pictures taped on Hyejin's cabinet.

I hurried to gather my new set of clothes and toiletries, except for my socks, when Jiyeon got out of the bathroom. We exchanged smiles before I entered. It was really awkward but that's not the issue right now. I have to take a bath as fast as I could so GD won't have to wait for so long.

I normally take 30 minutes to take a bath but I managed to cut it short to 10 minutes this time. I particularly paid attention to my hair and scalp because GD developed a habit of ruining my hair. It would've been embarrassing if he found dirt stuck in his nails after ruffling my hair. As much as possible, although nearly impossible, I don't want to embarrass myself in front of him any further.

I heard a knock on the bathroom door as I was already getting dressed inside.

"We're leaving." Emma informed me from the outside.

"Okay. Take care, guys."

I finished up by wrapping the towel around my head to dry my hair a bit. I got out after hearing the door shut.

I wore my socks, wrung my hair with my towel, combed my hair, put on a lip balm and then took off.

~~~~~

"It took you forever." GD announced as I slid into the passenger seat.

"Remind me. Who was the one who showed up here all of a sudden?" I joked.

He raised his hand and said, "At least I got to see you in your comfy clothes."

"Okay, rule number one. No teasing." I stated.

He raised his hands in the air in surrender.

Cue the laughter.

He then proceeded to switch on the engine, shaking his head. "We're gonna have a great time again." he said with a chuckle.

I smiled to myself upon hearing him imply that he had a great time with me yesterday. "Thank you for the notebook. I really liked it." I told him.

"You're just thanking me now? Psh. The moment has passed."

"Better late then never." I joked, jutting my tongue.

He glanced toward my direction as if to check if I was being serious.

"Seriously though, thank you." I gave him a smile which he returned. "So, where are we going?" I asked.

"We're getting you a phone." he told me casually, his attention not leaving the road.

"Sorry, what?" I asked after a long pause because I thought he would tell afterwards that it's a joke or something.

"We're getting you a phone to use here in Korea." he elaborated. "I was waiting for you to send me a message last night but you didn't so I was a little pissed. But then I realized that it was your first day here yesterday so you probably didn't get a phone plan yet." he explained in dead malice.

He was waiting for my message last night? Why?

He gave me a quick glance and then turned his attention back on the road. "You okay? Why are you not saying anything?"

I shook my head as if to resist the urge to interrogate further. I won't ruin this day. Just good vibes, nothing else.

"You're not okay?" he asked, now a little bit worried. 

​"No! No. I-I'm sorry. I didn't know any other way to contact you."

"Do you have a Twitter?" he asked. "Follow me and we'll exchange tweets."

"Will that be a good idea?" I asked. "I mean, many people are watching, for sure."

"Nah. They can think whatever they want. Some people, no matter how many times you deny, will create issues out of you." he uttered. I saw bitterness in his eyes but it disappeared so fast I wasn't sure anymore if I actually did. Does it have anything to do with Kiko, what he just said?

Nope. No questions, Maki. Resist the urge.

He turned his gaze to me when we stopped on a traffic light. "You can also follow me on Instagram." he suggested.

"I think you just want another follower added to your social media accounts." I joked.

"Seriously? I already got millions, so nope." he replied, sticking his tongue out.

"Tch. I think KakaoTalk will do. That way, no one else would be able to see it. But don't worry. I'll create Twitter and Instagram accounts just to follow you." I teased, also sticking my tongue out.

He just laughed at me before diverting his attention back on the road as the green light flashed.

Shortly after, we arrived in our destination. He cautiously parked the car out front. He wore a black cap on his head after handing a similar one to me. He also handed me a mask. After one quick look on the rearview mirror, he stepped out of the car. I also did the same quickly so he wouldn't open the door for me. It's a sweet gesture, yes, but I don't want to be too much of a bother.

I accidentally rammed my body into his as I got out of the car. He caught me in his arms and we were back again in an awkward situation. His face was too close to mine for comfort so I broke free and fixed myself up. I gave him a small smile, which he didn't see because of the mask, and apologized.

"It's okay." he replied.

We walked side-by-side to the store, our elbows lightly brushing against each other. We were welcomed by the staff with friendly greetings.

"What brand do you want? Apple? Samsung? LG?" he asked.

"I'd go for the cheapest one. I'll only use it for a year anyway." I told him.

"Okay, iPhone it is." he announced. "One iPhone 5S, please."

I turned to him in surprise, my eyes growing wide in shock. "What? No!" I whispered.

"Why? It's good. The interface is great. Topnotch. Hands down." he joked, but it's not a good time.

"I... I can't afford an iPhone." I told him reluctantly. "Can't I just use my phone now and install KaTalk in it?"

"Who told you you're paying? I'll pay for it." he said.

"No. You can't do that."

"Actually, I can." he challenged.

"Please.." I begged. I can't just keep receiving things from him. It's embarrassing and inappropriate.

He turned to face me and then held my shoulders. "Chinguya. Don't worry too much. After a year, you'll give this phone back to me. Deal?"

I could only sigh in resignation. There is no way I can win in any argument with him. He always finds a way to get me into giving in. "Deal." I answered in a small voice.

"That's my girl." he murmured proudly and then ruffled my hair.

-----

Two parts in four hours? I'm on a roll! 😂

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