Monday, 4:05PM

The fear that seeped through me that Friday night was nowhere in existence the moment I entered the restaurant. When I saw her on her spot, I frantically held onto my heart and my metaphorical underwear. I had
no choice, because Jisoo wasn't wearing a gigantic sweatshirt. Instead, she wore a pair of ripped jeans and a black leather jacket over a white shirt. How could she dress that way and not warn me?? I might have drooled on my dress while walking toward our table because the first thing she told me was, "The washroom's right there." She was impinging her laughter when I went
back to our table.

"How can you be so handsome and beautiful
at the same time? It's unfair."

"Excuse me ?" She asked naively, "I said 'Hi.' And thank you for not ditching me." I confidently took the chair that waited for me.

"Im sure that wasn't what you said, but hi. And I promise not to do that again."

"That's nice to know."
"Is that your favorite dress?" Her lips pursed to point at my rose pink full skirt dress.

"Yes." It was actually my new favorite because bad luck has stricken the original one.
"But I wore sneakers just in case I had to run
crying back home." I jokingly rolled my eyes.
"I'm sorry I made you cry."
"It's okay. I'm over it now." I assured and I saw her sigh in relief.

"You're good-looking, Chu." I blurted, unable to choose between handsome and beautiful.

"I better be if I'm dating you." She tipped her cap up and smiled at me. Heart attack. I was making her blush but it definitely boomeranged. It was impossible to say the
right things without her saying them better. Even the smallest things Jisoo did, shot electricity to my body and it was hopeless to restrain the burst of emotions that made me giggle. I decided to just let go of the metaphorical underwear. I cannot care less if it dropped out of my life permanently. I had Jisoo in front of me, I will not need it anyway . Oh my god, I've never had thoughts like this in my life.

"Jennie?"
The ermbarrassment was endless that day. But it was the kind that I was willing to endure because it was only Jisoo seeing it and it was making her smile. I love her smile. love how ironically perfect her crooked smile was.

"I'm sorry. I just got distracted."

"Why? Did you see your reflection?" And she smiled again. 

"You're beautiful today, like you've been for the past fifty-five M-W-Fs."
I was screaming inside my head. That was it. And I've decided that I was officially hers even if she never asks me. I was hers undoubtedly. How could I not?Just how??

"Thank you. I have to be, so, you'd date me. Hmm... Do you have exams?" I asked trying to suppress the blushing. Aside from that, it was the first time I've seen her bring a book with her and she seemed to have started reading it when I stepped in
"I do. Do you mind if I read?"
"I won't mind if you read, on one condition."
But I didn't get to tell her what the condition was. She just voluntarly took off her cap We didn't talk much that afternoon but I was happy. I was happy even if we just stole glances at each other and shared random short stories here and there.
I stayed with Jisoo for as long as she read and
I've made a mental scrapbook of how she looked that day. The scrapbook was full of hearts and glitters.

Wednesday, 4:30PM
 

"Chu, has this always been here?" I asked while staring at the 'RESERVED' plastic sign on our
table, after I got bored just watching her endlessly crunch numbers.
"Yeah. I just forgot to remove it." She grabbed the sign and took it the counter.
"Do they always reserve this table for you?"
"Only at 4PM."
"Ah..." But then I noticed the bundle of paper she has been shuffling since I came. They had listings of expenses and earnings of some store. But it confused me that the papers had the restaurant's logo.

"Chu, what are you doing?
"Balancing the books. I mean, auditing."
"Auditing what?"
"The restaurant's money...?"
"This restaurant?"
"Hmm... My parents own this place." She looked up with a thin smile. "That's why they reserve the table for me at 4PM."
"Ah... I wonder why they didn't make me leave when I sat here waiting for you." l also realized why she said she didn't need money to date me and why the restaurant staff rushed to her when she was coughing out her coffee the other week. Of course, they won't let their boss' daughter choke to death
with their macchiato.
"Maybe they lost track of time and forgot to check the table."
"Why haven't you mentioned it to me, by the way?" I didn't think that my impression of her being a rich kid was true until that conversation
"I didn't think it was an interesting topic to talk about."
"Yeah, youre right. And I have a more interesting topic. Let's just talk about what I like about you." I . But she was more than willing to tease back.
"Go on. You have my ears... mind... heart... and body." With how slowly and tempting she let the words out one by one, I felt she was seducing me. How dare her.

"Oh god, can you not do that? We re in a restaurant. Your parent's restaurant." But I was lying. I wanted her to seduce me. I wanted her to tease me more, but I also had to keep my faculties intact. Because I'm sure I'd lose all rationality if she continued
charming me the way she did

"Okay, I'll try." She smiled again but she didn't remove her eyes off the paper she was analyzing. "Are you gonna tell me now?"
"But are you ready to go deaf listening to my endless list of things I adore about you?" I
replied after a few seconds because I actually
almost forgot what I was supposed to tell her.
"Don't fret... "She was looking at me again with those cute eyes that were capable of stripping me off my poise and calmness.
"...For it's the absence of your voice which is
more deafening."
That was unquestionably one of the things I love about Jisoo, the way she melted me into a big puddle of infatuated mess with her words.
"I like how you make me feel. The tingling that burns my feet. The firecrackers you set off inside my chest. The flushing that's more severe than an allergic reaction. The sore cheeks you cause when you make me smile."
"Wait. Tell me the truth. Are you one of those
who like getting hurt or something?" She
whispered.
"Chu! No! I'm not! I mean, I might enjoy you tying me down the bed poles, but please don't hurt me." I regretted every single word the very moment I said them. The regret doubled because she was
sniggering and she couldn't seem to punch
the right keys on the calculator because she
kept on pressing C.

"I think we still have some rope in the garage. I'I