After all, she’s simply a simp.

---

She could feel Nako’s disapproving gaze follow her as she walked around the ice cream section of the convenience store twenty minutes away from their dorm. Hitomi felt like she should be more apologetic to the shorter girl, given that she literally dragged her away from watching the finale of her favorite drama show to walk to the faraway convenience store, but she was not. She had to beg their new manager just to get out of the house, but the woman was not having it. She cited reasons regarding their safety and that there was a convenience store twenty steps away from their building amongst others, Hitomi didn’t really pay attention when the manager started rambling about how a manager’s life is rough. The Japanese girl only succeeded when she went down on her knees and assured the manager that she wouldn’t go alone, which explains Nako’s grumpy presence in the store. She hated to admit it, but she missed their managers from OTR.

Nako looked at her phone to check the time, “What the hell, Hiichan? We’ve been here for ten minutes and it looks like it’s about to rain too,” Nako said with exasperationin her voice,

“Hurry up!”

Hitomi shushed her as she tried digging through the fridge to look for the tub with the specific ice cream flavor that was the reason for their trip. After moving tens of tubs to the side, she finally found what she was looking for.

“I got it! Alright Nako, I’m just going to pay for this and we’ll be on our way,” Hitomi said while holding her recently found treasure.

Nako side-eyed her and replied, “I thought you were looking for a strawberry flavored one. Why were you looking for a walnut flavored --- oh.” Hitomi ignored her and walked towards the register to pay for the ice cream.

“Hiichan, why would you do this? Just because you read it on her mail doesn’t mean---”

“Nako,” Hitomi turned to her and said, “If Chaewon wants ice cream, I am going to give her ice cream.” Her tone was stern enough to shut Nako up. The awkward silence was only broken by the sound of thunder. It had finally started raining and they didn’t bring an umbrella with them.

“Can I buy one of those umbrellas over there please?” Hitomi asked the girl manning the register, who wasn’t even fazed by the thunderstorm outside. The girl just nodded and handed her one of the umbrellas.

Nako was shocked when she saw what Hitomi was holding when they met at the store’s door. Hitomi had bought an umbrella, but not just any umbrella, it was the cheapest and smallest full-sized umbrella that the store had to offer. One look from the transparent cover that it will not withstand the winds and the rains outside.

“What the ? Did it occur to you that it’s raining so hard outside AND THAT THERE’S TWO OF US?” Nako snapped, unable to contain herself. It was a good thing they were the only ones at the store and that the girl at the register had her earphones on while she worked on her homework.

“Go buy your own then,” said Hitomi, not minding her best friend’s outburst.

“You literally dragged me here, so I forgot my wallet at the dorm!”

“Tough luck. You’re going to share this with me or you’re going to walk to the dorms like a wet penguin.”

“Buying two of these is still cheaper than the ice cream that you bought!” Nako yelled again, this time in a more animated way. “Why. Won’t. You. Just. Buy. Another. One. For. Me. Hiichan?”

Hitomi looked at her angry friend and replied with a smirk, “It’s just not worth it. We can share this anyway since I’m thin and you’re small.”

Nako took a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts. Once she finally found her calm, she asked Hitomi in a suspiciously cute voice, “If you were with Chaewon right now, would you buy two of those 25,000 won fully automatic umbrellas on the top shelf?”

Hitomi replied without hesitation, “I’d probably buy those for her and this cheap 5,000 won one for me since I don’t have enough cash on me right now.”

“OH MY GOD. YOU’RE SUCH A ING SIMP, HIICHAN!”

Nako dashed out of the store in frustration and into the torrential rain. Hitomi couldn’t help but chuckle as she saw Nako trying to waddle through the puddles with her short legs. She opens the umbrella and heads out to catch up to her best friend.

Nako’s right.

After all, she’s simply a simp.

Two days later…

“Tomi, what are you doing?” Yena asked after seeing the younger girl struggling in the kitchen. The girl was surrounded by fruits and looked utterly confused about which is which.

“Do you know which of these are plums?” Hitomi replied without raising her head to look at Yena. She was trying to examine each fruit from all angles, hoping the answer will come in the form of a label. She held up a small Styrofoam package filled with purple circular fruits. “Are these plums?”

Yena swatted the girl’s outstretched arms gently and said “First of all, those… are grapes. Second, what do you need plums for? We don’t have them right now, but we have a lot of other fruits out