Caramel Salt & Butter Corn ; a jinhoon story

Convincing ones self that going to see a movie alone on opening week is alright takes more emotional effort than Jinwoo had anticipated. Kingsman isn’t really the type of movie Jinwoo usually goes for, in fact he isn’t really a movie type of person at all but since watching the first Kingsman movie and being utterly amazed by it, he’d been looking forward to seeing the sequel since the announcement.

As the release date comes near, he’s been hinting about it to his friends. When Seungyoon brings it up, he tries to be subtle but he knows he wouldn’t go unless it’s that movie. “Let’s watch a movie,” Seungyoon says after sipping on his iced tea, eyes looking through the list on a local cinema site. Mino looks up from his laptop, taking one earpiece off, “yeah, I was thinking about that too. I’ve been so freaking stressed out by this essay. If I have to spend another week writing about Van Gogh, I swear to God I’m dropping out.”

“Isn’t it too late for that? You’re already a senior,” Seungyoon responds. Mino sighs and slumps down the metal chair, “I don’t care. I’ll find a way to survive. Van Gogh didn’t have an art degree.”

“You’re not Van Gogh.”

“Van Gogh didn’t go to collage?” Jinwoo asks, only partially paying attention. Mino twirls his pen, staring tiredly at his screen. “He did but he studied Theology.”

“Huh,” Jinwoo nods, shifting his attention to Seungyoon, “What about Kingsman? I saw the first one and it’s pretty good.”

Seungyoon scrolls to check the ticket pricing, “Twelve bucks next weekend. I’m cool with it tho, what about you Song?” Mino sips on his drink, “yeah, I wanted to see it too. The trailer looks real good.”

Jinwoo smiles. It’s not like it’s hard to get them to hang out but Jinwoo isn’t usually the planner in the group and to be honest, he feels like his effort in trying to quietly enforce his interest in the topic has been busted and if he talks more about it, Seungyoon and Mino would just brush it off or be too busy to be bothered. “Oh, I heard Pacific Rim is going to be shown too.”

Jinwoo frowns. Seungyoon laughs, “I know, I know, you’ve been dying to see it. I’m just joking, hyung.” Mino shakes his head, “Why are you so into that movie tho? I’ve always seen you as more of a Netflix kind of guy.”

Seungyoon smirks up at him, “it’s the Eggsy actor isn’t it?”

“No,” Jinwoo says quickly, “I’m more of a Harry kind of guy.”

Mino sputters out his drink, “Are you serious?”

Jinwoo shrugs, laughing, “What?” Mino stares hard, “I’m seeing you in a different light now, hyung. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”

A week passes by and on the day before their night out Seungyoon appears in front of his coffee shop, ordering his usual drink of choice with a guilty smile on his face. From behind the counter Jinwoo greets his as usual, detecting no anomaly from his expression. “You don’t have class today?” he asks as Seungyoon pays. He quickly retracts his hand to the back of his neck, “Um, that’s the thing hyung. My professor is changing the schedule today… We’re having class later at seven. So the movie...”

“Ah.. don’t worry about it!” Jinwoo says in response, smiling away Seungyoon’s worried expression. “I guess it’s just me and Mino tonight,” he laughs.

Seungyoon frowns, “We’re in the same class so he won’t make it either.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Jinwoo says.

Seungyoon tip toes over the counter and grabs Jinwoo’s shoulders, “I feel so bad, hyung. I’m sorry! We’ll make it up to you tomorrow, okay?”

Even as Jinwoo tries to ensure Seungyoon that it’s okay, Seungyoon keeps the troubled expression on his face. If Seungyoon’s plan is to make Jinwoo feels too bad for him to counter the disappointment of canceling boys’ night out, then it’s 100% working in his favour. He, however, isn’t going to wait for another opportunity to see Colin Firth in action. Jinwoo is going to see that movie whatever social sacrifices it takes.

And so he found himself all dolled up, walking alone to the cinema complex on a bustling night. Initially, it isn’t so bad. The traffic and crowded pavement makes him feel anything but alone. With the smell of traffic congestion on his tongue, he tries his best to not get lost for too long.

Jinwoo is well aware of his unfortunate handicap when it comes to following directions. It isn’t as bad as how his friends are claiming it to be but it is bad enough. Had it not been for the advances in modern technology that leads to the existence of Google Maps, Jinwoo might have already given up on all things that requires him to walk more than a kilometer in distance (that’s 0.62 miles for all the Americans out there, all 300 millions of you).

Pushing down any other thoughts, his focus on making sure to be in the right track takes over his thoughts. For a moment there, he even forgets where he should be going but fortunately, the posters decorating the concrete buildings are there to remind him.

He arrives at the complex within only 30 minutes, which is a great feat for him considering that he has only been there a few times before. Jinwoo basks in self pride for a few seconds; smiling to himself and mentally praising his gradually developing sense of direction, but not for long. His first worry comes when he sees the long line at the ticket counter. Suddenly taken aback by the amount of people there, Jinwoo quickly rushes to the line.

He runs. The end of the line isn’t that far from the entrance but when he sees another guy walking over to join the line, his brain flashes white and he dashes. One person might make a difference between getting a bad seat and the ticket being sold out, and Jinwoo isn’t taking chances. He’s here for one thing and one thing only.

He manage to get in front of the guy. He glares at him but he tries to ignore it. As the embarrassment sets in, his cheeks grows warm but Jinwoo tries to brush it off. A sacrifice must me made. It’s not like Jinwoo is going to ever see him again, right? Right.

The line moves faster than he expects it would. In fact, by the time he reaches the counter, not only was there a couple of good seats left, he also has a few minutes to spare to get some snack.

Jinwoo isn’t really on a friendly term with luck but it seems to be working on his side tonight. But as soon as he turns his back to the counter with a ticket in hand, he softly sighs. An action thriller movie like this isn’t really the type of movie that would attract couples and Jinwoo is thankful for that. No couple in sight means no limelight on his dry love life. But this sort of films are exactly the type of movie you bring your squad to hype with. And with every group of giggling girls and boisterous boys he passes, the more aware he is of his own lack of company.

He thinks back to Seungyoon and Mino, and suddenly misses them. He once jokingly says that he feels like a pet to them because he’s the quiet one; only speaking up when responding to them and laughing only at their jokes (Seungyoon’s the funny one in the group, he’s got a good knack for these kinds of things. Mino on the other hand is mostly funny for the questionable choices he makes daily). It’s not like he minds. That’s what friends are for, isn’t it? They fills in the gaps you have and ensure you can live another day without causing too much damage to yourself.

Jinwoo looks at his tickets. It’s for the second batch of the movie that’s starting in fifteen minutes. As the noise in the lobby starts to die down, he walks toward the counter to buy a drink for himself. He debates whether or not he should but an extra drink in hope to safe his face from seeming like a pathetic loner. Had it not been for the pricing, he probably would but his heart flutters down when he reads that a medium sized coke costs four bucks while a plain popcorn costs six bucks.

What a rip off. Now he understands why Mino always try to smuggle in his own snacks and drinks when he goes to the cinema.

Reluctantly, Jinwoo gets his wallet out of his pocket. The girl working behind the counter bats her half lidded eyes tiredly at him. She didn’t move from where she is leaning onto the counter with one hand scrolling through her phone and another one cushioning her jaw.

Right when Jinwoo’s about to order up, a guy rushes in front of him. “Excuse me,” the guy says to the cashier. As the cashier moves to tend to him, the guy glances at Jinwoo. He stares at Jinwoo sharply, thin lips turning up into a subtle smirk that goes away as soon as it has come. When the guy turns, Jinwoo can only blinks back blankly before he realise that it’s the same guy he cuts back at the ticket booth queue.  

Another guy laughs softly behind him, whispering under his breath; “My gosh, Hoon. Are you a kid?”. Jumping in surprise, Jinwoo turns to