Jaebum wishes he could concentrate on his homework, but it’s hard when Mark and Jinyoung are cackling like a duo of hyenas. “What’s so funny anyway?” Jaebum questions, looking up from his text book, and instead turning to where his friends were sitting on the floor, leaning against his bed frame.

“This video of Jackson dancing.”

“Can you all keep it down? You’re so noisy.”

“Oh?? Are we bothering you??” Mark teases.

“Yeah, you are.” Jaebum laughs.

“How come you’re actually hanging out with us today, by the way?” Jinyoung questions.

“What do you mean? We hang out sometimes.”

“No, you hang out with Seulgi.”

“Not all the time.”

“Yes, all the time!” Mark corrects, “It’s not a big deal, you obviously like her a lot, so I see why you want to hang out with her. Actually, I’m surprised you haven’t ditched us yet for her.”

“What do you mean?”

“What he’s saying is, he’s surprised you haven’t been absorbed and focused on your phone and preparing to go tend to her beck and call.” Jinyoung clarifies.

“For one, we don’t have to talk all the time. Two, she’s doing a family thing right now. Yerim had a school play.” Jaebum answers, “She’s probably too busy to text me…which is fine.”

“Aww! You miss her? Don’t you?”

“So what if I do? I’m hanging out with you guys, so let’s drop the subject.”

“We don’t mean to make you feel bad. It’s just… you two have been dating for like a month, and been pretty inseparable. We got so used to you dating Nayeon, and only hanging out with her during school and at parties… and then spending a lot of time with us outside of practice, but with Seulgi, it’s like constant.”

“This might be a weird question…but… what do you two think about that?” Jaebum asks, seeing their point.

“About what?” Mark question.

“About my relationship with Seulgi, versus what I had with Nayeon.”

“They’re both cool girls, and you seem happy with them both. That being said… it does kind of seem like you have more fun with Seulgi.”

“Yeah, Mark’s right. You smile and laugh more around her, and I don’t remember you taking Nayeon to any art museums.”

“Yeah, since when do you like museums?”

“Who doesn’t like museums? Plus, there’s an exhibit on portraits, and that’s what Seulgi mainly draws, and it’ll help with inspiration for her portfolio, so she wanted to go and I figured it can’t be that bad.” Jaebum answers, not really seeing anything wrong with that.

“Well, we’re happy if you’re happy. We like Seulgi too, she’s cool to hang out with.”

“Thanks…let’s do some homework now, yeah?” Jaebum suggests, turning back to his textbook. Of course, now that he’s ready to work again, his phone buzzes with a text.

From: SseulBear

>> this is so boring

>> i’d rather be eating

>> let’s eat ramen tomorrow

Accompanying her texts is a cute picture she must have taken in the bathroom, posing with finger hearts. Jaebum’s heart sings at the photo, and he then tries to avert his eyes from the bit of her torso showing from her crop top. He types a quick reply, and then starts back on his homework.

To: SseulBear

<< my bear is so cute

<< doing hw with the boys

<< can’t wait to see you tomorrow

~~

Today’s plan was to go to the museum, have lunch, go shopping, cook, and then have dinner together with Jaebum’s mom. He gets to spend the entire day with Seulgi, and Jaebum was really looking forward to it. He was starting to develop a crush on Seulgi, but he also still had feelings for Nayeon. He was truly torn.

Part of him, wanted to abandon the thought of getting back together with Nayeon, so he could just continue on with this blossoming relationship. His mind went back to Seulgi admitting that she had a crush on him two years ago, prior to him dating Nayeon, and he can’t stop imagining what if he had received that letter earlier. What if they had dated back then? Would they have gotten along as well as they do now? Would they still be together?

The other part, reminds him that he had rejected her confession. It reminds him that her crush was two years ago, and since then she’s liked Bogeum. She might say that she’s over it, that she doesn’t want to pursue a relationship with Bogeum, but are her feelings really gone? What if she still has feelings for Bogeum? What if she finally faces her fear and talks to Bogeum, and Bogeum confesses his own feelings then her relationship with him ends?  While he was using her to get back with Nayeon, what if she’s also using him to get with Bogeum?

Jaebum doesn’t want to think these negative thoughts, he wants to live in the moment, where things are good, but it gets harder to do that. The more he spends time with Seulgi, the more natural they are around each other. The more he wants to hold her hand, hold her in his arms, admire her beauty. The more he wants to tell her how he thinks of her when he wakes, and then thinks of her again when he lies to sleep. The more he wants to kiss her, but he knows he can’t.

Seulgi clings to his arm as they walk, and it’s okay because he actually likes it. Her left hand is smooth and delicate compared to his rough and slightly calloused right one, and it’s cute how she curls into him, resting her head on his shoulder as her right hand wraps around his right bicep. She tells him everything she knows about the artists as they stop to admire each exhibit, and Jaebum listens intently. She’s excited, and it shows in her voice and how her eyes dart over each detail, explaining techniques and talking about the different layers to some of the paintings.  Jaebum could listen to her for hours.

After spending two hours at the museum, they go to the nearest convenience store, buying some cup noodles and sit on a bench, enjoying the weather. “You’ll never guess who contacted me the other day.” Seulgi says, reaching over the table to feed Jaebum some of her ramen. “Nayeon.” She answers, knowing his mouth is too full to ask. She also swipes at his lip, removing a bit of broth. “She commented on my photo of you the other day, and invited us to go to see her boyfriend’s band.”

“Do you want to go?”

“I mean... I don’t mind. It’s kind of weird, but if we go with friends, maybe that’ll make it more fun?”

“Sure.” Jaebum states, “Was it the photo you had taken after the game?”

“No, I posted another one of you since then.” Seulgi answers, “I posted one of the selcas you took on my phone and officially introduced you as my boyfriend on Instagram…”

“Really??” Jaebum’s heart jumps and he quickly reaches for his phone, launching the application and going to her profile. Sure enough, there was a photo he had taken on her phone after watching ‘Before Sunrise’ for the fourth time. She had left the room to get more snacks and he took the opportunity to take some surprise photos on her phone, he thought she would delete them instead of posting them. The caption was: ‘when your boyfriend takes photos on your phone…he probably doesn't expect you to post them… so here you go @imjbum’. “I’m glad it was a flattering photo and not one of the ugly ones. That also explains how people found my new account.”

“I’ll save the ugly ones as blackmail.” Seulgi teases.

“I guess I should post one of yours too?”

“You don’t have to.”

“No, I think I do! I can’t have people seeing this on your profile, and then wondering where my photos of you are.”

“You don’t mind do you?” Seulgi then asks, “I forgot how you deleted your account and then set up a new one…maybe I should have asked before posting about you.”

“It’s fine. Our classmates were bound to find it soon. If not you, someone from the basketball team would have done it.”

Jaebum had deleted his Instagram account after breaking up with Nayeon. She was a significant presence on the social media platform, and instead of going through all the photos and deleting them individually, he closed the entire account. If people really wanted to talk to him, they could do it over text or Snapchat. So he was without one for the rest of the summer, and when school started back, he re-downloaded the app and started fresh. He posted a photo of Seulgi that he had taken while they were at the museum, and hoped this wouldn’t come back to bite him in the later.

“Did you have fun at the museum today?” Seulgi asks as he puts his phone away.

“Yes! Did you?”

“Of course. There’s new exhibits every month, so we should go again.”

“I’d love to.”

“Should we go shopping now? What should we cook for your mom?”

“She’d eat anything, honestly… but maybe a stew?”

“You’re just saying that because that’s your favorite food.”

“You caught me there.” Jaebum confesses, picking up their trash to throw away. Seulgi follows, hooking her arm through his once his hands are free.

“I am kind of in the mood for dakbokkeumtang though.” She admits.

“Sounds good to me.”

They drive to the nearest Korean grocery store and begin shopping. It doesn’t take long to gather all the ingredients they will need, along with some of Yerim’s favorite jellies. Once they arrive to Jaebum’s home, they start cooking right away. “Do you always cook for your mom?” Seulgi asks as she washes her hands, and begins cutting onions, while Jaebum cleans the chicken. The recipe for the spicy braised chicken stew was pretty simple, so Seulgi had faith that she wouldn’t screw it up.

“Not always, but often. Usually when she’s had a long day, and if I didn’t have basketball.” Jaebum explains, “I cooked with her and my grandmother as a kid, mainly Korean food because that’s what I like to eat.”

“Did Nayeon ever cook with you?”

“Like once or twice…”

“Oh…” Seulgi grows quiet and it concerns Jaebum. Did that bother her?

They don’t talk much as they continue to cook, Jaebum instead putting on some music to fill the silence. It’s not until they’re done cooking, and setting the table does Seulgi speak up again. “Jaebum, how long do you think this will continue?” Hearing the question makes him panic slightly. Did he do something wrong? Did she want to end this already? “I was just thinking, we should probably revise the contract, if we’re going to keep this up.” Jaebum’s not sure if he should feel relieved or not.

“What kind of revisions?”

“You know, instead of just movie nights, we should probably make museum nights. And we should add cooking more to it. Then there’s that no kissing rule…”

“What about it?”

“I’m not saying we should start making out to convince people that we’re really in a relationship, but I think maybe a peck or two on the cheek here and there wouldn’t be so bad.”

“If you wanted to kiss me, Seulgi, all you had to do was say so.” Jaebum teases, voice deepening in an attempt to sound more alluring. She gives him a playful shove.

“I’m home!” Jabeum’s mom, Yeeun, calls out, and Seulgi stands with her back straight, fluffling her bangs to get them to sit a bit neater. “Oh! Hello, you must be Seulgi!”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

To Seulgi, Yeeun is beautiful. She has double-eyelids, unlike Jaebum, yet their eye smile is similar. Her hair is a rich honey blonde, that compliments the tone of her skin. When Yeeun walks over, she extends her arms for a hug. “Nice to finally meet you, too! Jaebum has told me so much about you!”

“All great things, I hope.”

“Of course!”

“He’s told me great things about you, so has my father. He said you two were undergraduates together.”

“Joonmyun right? Yes, we got along great, and were in the same study group. How’s he doing?”

“Great, he owns his own pediatric practice.”

“That’s amazing! Well, let’s all wash up and dig in. You both must have worked hard.”

Dinner goes swimmingly, Yeeun asking a lot of questions, and telling embarrassing stories. They have fruit for dessert, and Yeeun offers to clean up as Jaebum takes Seulgi home. The drive is bittersweet, Jaebum wasn’t really ready to end his time with Seulgi, but there was always tomorrow. He walks her to her front door, smiling wide as she hugs him tight. “Goodnight, Seul.”

“Goodnight, JB.” This would be the perfect moment to kiss. A great ending to a great day, but Jaebum refrains himself from doing so. So he just squeezes her back before pulling away. Her smile is bright, just like her favorite color, and damn… it does things to his heart. “Text me when you get home, so I know you arrived safely.”

“Will do, get some rest.” He waits until she’s safely behind her door before heading to his car.

That night, Jaebum lies in bed rethinking their agreement for the umpteenth time. The days are flying by, and the ski trip will probably end up sneaking up on them. He vows to himself, if they’re still an item during the trip, he’ll confess his feelings and see where it takes them.

To: SseulBear 

<< might go to the skate park with the boys

<< want to come too?

From: SseulBear

>> sure

>> it's a date