A 

Choi Da Ni - 19

 

 

Dani could not believe what just happened.

 

After seeing that lovey-dovey scene of June and Hanna, she quickly walked out saying she had to run some errands. She was extremely angry, she can't believe someone already made a fool out of her in her very first week of being here. A thing about Dani is, she's a very difficult person to deal with when she's angry. 

 

Whilst driving, she saw her friend, Suhyun, walking along the sidepath when the rain suddenly poured heavily. Suhyun quickly ran into the nearest tree, looking for her umbrella. Dani panicked when she saw her friend in distress, she parked infront of Suhyun and quickly opened her window signalling her to hop in.

 

 

"Suhyun-ah! Get in!" Dani called, smiling.

 

 

Suhyun looked up and smiled in relief. She was relieved she didn't have to think about the difficulties of going home with a heavy pouring rain. After Suhyun hopped in, Dani smiled and instantly maneuvered away.

 

"So, where do you live?" Dani asked.

 

Suhyun was still in the state of awe, admiring her friend's car. She didn't expect Dani driving around with such stylish black car. After all, she didn't have to drive her home, she lives somewhere nearby. 

 

"Yah. Suhyun-ah." 

 

"Oh! I live 6 blocks from here. I'll show you the way, don't worry. Thank you, Dani." Suhyun said gratefully.

 

Dani took Suhyun home, whilst driving, they were jamming on PSY's hit songs. Dani seems to forget her thoughs about June.

 

But in a short while, they arrived infront of Suhyun's home. It turns out she lives near her apartment.

 

"Thanks for the ride, Dani! Have a great weekend!" Suhyun said, entering her house. 

 

Chanhyuk opened the gates for his little sister and much to his surprise, he saw Dani inside the car. He made his way beside her, again, trying to hit on Dani which he kept on doing whenever they meet. 

 

"Hey, it's nice to see a gorgeous looking girl driving a black tinted car." Chanhyuk said trying to look cool infront of Dani.

 

"Uhm well, thanks." 

 

It was funny and at the same time, awkward to Dani, she gave a look to her friend at the back. Suhyun chuckled, understanding what Dani meant with her eyes. She pulled her brother away whilst bidding good bye to her friend. Chanhyuk looked like he didn't want to be pulled away from Dani anytime soon. 

 

"Bye guys!" Dani exclaimed then drove away from their house.

 

"W-wait!"

"Bye, Dani!" Suhyun said, pulling his brother inside their house.

 

Having Suhyun as a friend makes everything much better. It reminded her there's so much positivity left around even if there's one person that s you up — speaking of that one person... Dani arrived her apartment, dead tired. She heard her phone rang with her PSY- Daddy ringtone. 

 

It was June.

 

She threw her phone unto her bed and began making her dinner, she didn't want to talk to June, just yet because she wanted a time to cool down. Cooking relaxes her mind and it makes everyone around her happy. Her brother called earlier saying that she's going to stay at their dad's house over the weekend. For her, it wasn't a very good idea at all but there's nothing she could do when her dad already said so. Her dad was extremely domineering and strict— just like what you expect having a CEO as your father would be like. 

 

 

But her dad was not a CEO.

 

A thing about Dani's father is that, he knows what he wants and is very driven on how to get it. That's the trait she got from her dad. 

 

 

She took her time cooking all of her favorite food to bring in her dad's house. After she made some chocolate chip mint cookies, baked manicotti, and some salad, she placed it into a container and stacked it inside the fridge. She made sure she's got some to bring to her friends on monday.

 

 

She was watching her favorite cartoon while eating a sushi served in a wooden platter. There's one more thing she needs in order for her to take her mind off of June and Hanna. It was her ultimate childhood favorite dessert.

 

 

"I want some mint chocolate chip ice cream." 

 

 

She looked inside her fridge and found no traces of ice cream.

 

 

Damn it.

 

 

She was forced to get her phone and call her brother to ask if there's any place nearby she can get mint chocolate chip ice cream from, but instead, she saw all of these messages left by so many people— mostly Junhoe. She opened the ones from her brother first.

 

Oppa: I'm picking you up at 7:30AM tomorrow morning. You better be ready to go by the time I get there. Oppa: Pack a lot of clothes since we will be staying at dad's house until sunday night.  

 

A groan escaped from her lips. Going to see her dad was already bad as it is and now, waking up early in a weekend is added on the list. 

 

Not wanting to talk to her brother, she left Suhyun a message on facebook instead. 

 

 

Dani Choi: Suhyun-ah, is there any nearby ice cream shop here? Those who are selling mint chocolate chip flavored ones.

 

 

It did not took her a while to respond.

 

Suhyun Lee: There's one 2 blocks away from your apartment but you need to be extra careful since its already late and some bad things could happen to a pretty girl like you. kkk~

 

Dani snorted. Yeah right. Pretty girl not.

 

Dani Choi: Thank you, Suhyunnie. Gtg. Bye!

 

She left as early as she should, still in her Winnie the pooh designed pajamas with her hair tied up into a messy bun, admiring the beauty of the streets in Seoul. It was indeed looking far from Los Angeles. Somehow, she really felt like she was in the right place called home. It was just sad her mom wasn't there with her, but Dani shrugged away the thought and continued walking around the streets, trying to find the ice cream shop Suhyun was talking about. 

 

She wasn't really afraid of the people who might come after her. First of all, she somehow felt safe and second, she trained for kickboxing since she was 13 years old — 6 years.

 

Staring at the sign outside saying  'Ice cream shop', Dani entered with much confidence and excitement, mint chocolate is on the top of her list which makes her giddy. She entered the shop with a full bright smile plastered unto her face. 

 

"Hello!" she greeted and bowed at the staff behind the counter. 

 

"Hello, what can I do for the beautiful lady?" the guy behind the counter asked. 

 

Dani ignored his last remark and focused on looking at the ice cream tubs infront of her.

 

"A whole tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream please." 

 

As she patiently wait for her icecream to be packed, a couple of guys entered the shop as well.

 

"Omo! Dani-ssi?" Yunhyeong asked while eyeing her back carefully.

 

She looked at them quite shocked, she didn't expect Yunhyeong and Bobby to be here.

"Hi guys. Uhm, w-what are you doing here?" Dani stuttered when she saw Bobby's piercing gaze.

 

"What do you think?"

 

Bobby answered her sarcastically and made way beside her choosing his flavor of choice.

 

"Aish! You don't have to be so rude to every girl you meet." Yunhyeong sneered at Bobby.

 

Dani was intoxicated with Bobby's scent, it made her heart pound fast again but she immediately covered it up with a fake smile. 

 

"We were having a sleep over at Hanbin's and I was the one who lost the bet. I had to drag Bobby along with me due to protection purposes." Yunhyeong jokingly said.

 

She chuckled at Yunhyeong's remark and looked at Bobby's direction. The light from the ice cream bar hits his face perfectly which highlights his edgy features. Her eyes fell on his lips, his redish-pink perfect lips. 

 

Her attention was caught by the guy at the counter.

 

"Excuse me, miss? Here's your ice cream." 

 

"Oh? Oh! Yeah, my ice cream. Thanks!"

 

Dani grabbed the plastic bag gently. The guy gave her a wink as he handed the plastic with the ice cream and his move was seen by the guy beside Dani.

 

"Hey guys, I got to go. I'll see you on monday!" Dani said.

 

"Wait! Wait for us. We'll take you home. Its very late and not safe for you to return home by yourself." Yunhyeong kindly offered whilst blocking Dani's way out.

 

Bobby saw the ice cream guy staring at Dani which annoyed the hell out of him. Bobby slammed his money on the counter which made the guy infront of him jolt back. 

 

 

"It seems like you can't take your eyes off my girl, eh?" Bobby said roughly.

 

"I really hate it when when other guys try to get it on with my woman." Bobby continued and stared at him intensely with a smirk formed in his lips.

 

 

The ice cream guy gulped and bowed to apologize to Bobby. He was indeed scared at the man staring at him, if looks could kill, he's probably dead by now.

 

"Let's go." Bobby said to Yunhyeong and Dani as he took the plastic filled with tubs of icecream. 

 

"Don't do that again, alright?" Bobby finally said to the guy at the counter and closed the door behind him, leaving the guy sighed with relief as the bell rang on the top of the door, indicating Bobby had already left. 

 

**

 

"So where do you stay?" Yunhyeong asked Dani whilst walking beside her.

 

"About two blocks away? It's really not that far from here. I live near Suhyun's place." Dani softly smiled whilst holding unto the plastic bag which was suddenly taken away by no other than..

 

"Yah! Bobby!" 

 

"Is that the proper way to call me, princess?" 

 

"Ugh. My name is Dani, not princess. Therefore, you should call me Dani."

 

Bobby didn't answer, he just continued walking ahead of them. Dani sprinted toward Bobby and grabbed the plastic bag from him but too bad, Bobby's grip on the bag was much tighter than she expected. 

 

"Look, I'm not stealing this from you. It was my job as a man to carry all the heavy stuff you shouldn't." Bobby said blankly. 

 

His figure was towering over her and Dani was glaring up to him. They were standing a few inches apart, having their unproclaimed staring contest. They heard Yunhyeong's phone rang which they obviously ignored. 

 

"Hello? Hanbin-ah!" Yunhyeong answered, turning away from the two.

 

Bobby could feel Dani breathing slowly, he doesn't even know what has gotten into him and why he's letting a girl be so near to him. But with Dani, something's different. Like, he doesn't want her to leave his side. He could feel his heart beat getting fast as he stares at her unique features. Her eyes were glaring but it looks like she was thinking deeply, her lips were pursed, showing her dimple. 

 

Bobby thought he was going crazy. He hasn't felt this strong of a connection before. Heck, he didn't even let any girl talk nor approach him in such way. This was actually the first time he actually wanted to look into a woman's pair of eyes. Inside the few days she's been here, Dani's been stealing his attention for quite some time. Her looks, the vibe she gives, her way of talking, her aura... everything. Everything was just unique. 

 

It was like she was something for him to look forward to. She was really something. And to think that she's been here for only a few days. That's really something.

 

What's with this girl?   Bobby thought.

 

"Yeah! We're about to go back. We're just dropping Dani home and we'll be right back." Yunhyeong said, trying to calm the angry Hanbin on the other side of the line.

 

On the other hand, the boys were busy bickering about which movie they should watch. Jinhwan was insisting to watch The Split whilst Donghyuk tries to oppose since he was scared of watching thriller and horror movies. Hanbin was sitting on the couch, watching the two of them argue. Chanwoo was quietly sitting on the floor, earphones on and watching a baseball game. Sitting beside Hanbin was Junhoe. Who seems to be lost in his thoughts, he couldn't get Dani off his mind. 

 

"Dani? What's Dani doing with you idiots?" 

 

Dani?

 

Junhoe's eyes lifted up and went closer to Hanbin. 

 

"Did he say they were with Dani?" Junhoe curiously asked Hanbin.

 

Getting more irritated, Hanbin nodded repeatedly and shooed the younger one away. 

 

"Hey! Tell Dani—" Junhoe wasn't able to continue his sentence when the other boys heard him say Dani's name.

 

"Dani?"

"Are they with Dani?"

"Dani, hi!"

 

The boys started to crowd around Hanbin which pushed Junhoe to the back. 

 

"Aish!" Junhoe exasperated and entered Hanbin's guest room. 

 

"Dani-ah! The guys are looking for you!" Yunhyeong called their attention.

 

Dani quickly snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Yunhyeong, making her way towards him.

 

"Hi guys! I bumped into them when I was buying some ice cream." Dani talked over the phone as Yunhyeong turned the loudspeaker on.

 

Bobby's eyes followed her and smiled inwardly to himself. He finds her cute in some way. 

 

"Yah! Dani-ssi! Be careful okay? Don't trust those two guys with you!" Hanbin said over the phone. 

 

Dani giggled at their cuteness and answered 'okay'. 

 

"Okay, that's enough. Bye!" Yunhyeong quickly pressed the end call button and shoved his phone inside his pocket.

 

After a quick walk, they finally reached Dani's apartment. She saw both of the boys staring up the building. Bobby still had his blank face and Yunhyeong looked like his jaw was about to fall off.

 

"I'm not picking up your jaw if it ever falls off." Dani said to Yunhyeong and took the plastic bag from Bobby.

 

Bobby's eyes were fixed on her as she forced a sarcastic smile at him and bowed at the both of them.

 

"Thank you for walking me home and bringing my ice cream. I appreciate it." Dani said.

 

"Damn, Dani!"  Yunhyeong suddenly shouted, making Dani stare at him with shock.

 

Bobby saw how flustered Dani when Yunhyeong shouted and her reaction was priceless. He wanted to laugh but he didn't want to mess up his image. He tried to prevent his laughter but ended up unleashing an obvious noise. Dani rolled her eyes at Bobby which made him smirk.

 

"You live here?! Do you know how expensive each flat costs here?" Yunhyeong said, still mesmerized

 

To think about it, Dani didn't really ask her brother how much all of these costs. It was because she was afraid she would sound ungrateful or stingy if she would ask about the price of everything. And knowing Seunghyun, he wouldn't tell her even if she kneel and beg infront of him. 

 

She didn't want any further questioning so Dani being Dani, she quickly thought of a way to get rid of these two guys.

 

"Hey! Our ice cream's almost completely melted. You guys should hurry back to Hanbin's house!" She said, acting worried.

 

"Oh yeah right! Thanks for reminding me. Bye Dani!" Yunhyeong said and quickly ran away.

 

Leaving Bobby standing infront of her. Dani stared at him blankly.

 

"You should go with Yunhyeong." she said whilst looking into his eyes.

 

Bobby turned his head to Dani's direction.

 

"No, you should go inside first." 

 

Dani groaned. Is he really this stubborn? Bobby looked like he wasn't giving into her conditions any time soon so in the end, Dani nodded.

 

"Okay. Goodnight, Bobby. Thank you for carrying this for me. I appreciate it." Dani softly said and went inside. 

 

 

Bobby watched her enter the elevator and saw the elevator stop at the 3rd floor.

 

 

"Goodnight, Dani." he whispered to himself and followed Yu