Saturday Afternoon, Winter Break

The supermarket.

It was the second to last day of winter break and as the boys had not yet hosted their first house party in the new apartment, Eunkwang insisted that they celebrate the back to school spirit with a late house warming.

Of course this meant that they needed to go shopping. And so Eunkwang took Bomi and Chorong to the supermarket to pick up the goods (namely junk food and drinks).

"Isn't it exciting?! We're gonna have two party houses now!" Eunkwang exclaimed with giddy enthusiasm as he bounced down the snack aisle of the supermarket.

"Pshh why would we need to go back to Ilhoon's when we can do it at your place?" Said Bomi. "It's bigger anyways and I'm not so sure Naeunie will be wanting to go to his house for a while."

She began plucking some of her favorite snacks from the shelf then piled them carefully into the cart which Chorong was pushing.

"Unnie do you think that'll be enough for everyone?" Bomi asked, eyeing the cart skeptically.

"For you by yourself maybe." Chorong replied.

"Unnie…" Bomi protested. "Stop making me sound like such a fatty in front of my boyfriend."

"Who said what now?" Eunkwang asked brightly.

"Nothing oppa just grab me another bag of the honey butter chips."

"Coming right up sweetie. Watch this."

Eunkwang pulled one of the yellow bags from the shelf and attempted to shoot a basket from the other end of the aisle. He whooped as the chips landed with a crackle on top of the other snacks in the cart.

"Score!"

"Wow. Legendary. Guinness world record. Oppa you should totally try for the NBA." Bomi joked.

"I'd be shortest guy in the league."

"With the shortest career."

"Hey! Not everything about me is short!"

"Oh I wish oppa." 

"Yah!"

The couple continued their playful banter down the aisle towards the alcohol section as Chorong observed them from behind the cart. If there were such things as soulmates then Bomi and Eunkwang were just that, and it was the ordinary moments like these that made Chorong question her sister's warning about saving one's self from the emotional pain of relationships. Surely it had to be worth it for a couple like them.

"But is it worth it for me?"

After her near fight with Changsub the answer felt even more unclear.

By this point Chorong was so busy with her thoughts that she hadn't noticed where she was going until the cart collided with somebody in front of her.

"Omo! I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going oh…"

Chorong's eyes widened when she saw who it was she had just bumped into.

"Noona?"

It was Sungjae.

"Sungjae-ya you work here?" Chorong asked.

Sungjae brushed the front of his supermarket uniform with both hands as he stood up.

"I just started here last month." He explained with an anxious grin.

"That's great." Said Chorong encouragingly.

Sungjae chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head.

"It's alright I guess."

His eyes fell on the contents of Chorong's shopping cart.

"That's a lot of snacks." He pointed out. "Those aren't all for you are they noona?"

Chorong laughed

"Of course not Sungjae-ya we're having a party."

"A party?"

A sort of lonely look appeared in Sungjae's eyes.

"I've never been to a college party…" He said absently.

Chorong's heart broke slightly for the poor kid. With his social awkwardness it made sense that he hadn't had many opportunities to go to house parties. But then again he was "friends" with Peniel who definitely seemed like the type to get invited to all the socials since he was so well connected at school. To think how left out Sungjae must feel all the time…

"I suppose I could invite him over. He is my department hoobae after all."

"You should come. If you have time after your shift."

Sungjae's eyes lit up momentarily but he quickly shook his hands.

"I couldn't..." He said with a gloomy look. "It'll just ruin the mood."

Chorong smiled kindly.

"It's okay you'll be fine. You've got me and Changsub and Eunji to talk to and I'm sure you can make friends with some of the others too."

Sungjae still looked somewhat unsure.

"I don't think Eunji sunbae likes me very much." He said doubtfully.

"Well neither did Changsub until he got to know you better." Chorong pointed out.

"I guess…"

There was a timid hopefulness about the way Sungjae answered this time as he looked up from twiddling his oversized hands.

"Is that a yes then?" Chorong asked.

Sungjae seemed to have difficulty resisting the urge to grin as he nodded his head eagerly and Chorong was suddenly filled with a sense of pride. Perhaps there was hope for Sungjae to start turning around the social rejection which had been so unfairly upon him.

"Text me when you're finished. I'll send you the address." Chorong said.

"O-okay." Sungjae replied. "Thanks noona."

He looked around to make sure there were no other workers around then gave Chorong a quick hug around the middle. It was rather awkward, but Chorong was quite used to Sungjae's habits of affection by now.

"You should probably get back to work." She said, patting his back.

At that moment there was a shout from the end of the aisle.

"Unnie! What the heck are you still doing here? You were supposed to be following us." Called Bomi as she and Eunkwang approached with several cases and bottles of assorted alcohol.

Sungjae instantly let go of Chorong and retreated with a bow before hurrying off.

"Was that Sungjae?" Bomi asked once he was gone.

Chorong nodded.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind. I kind of invited him to join us later for the party…"

"You did what??" Burst out Bomi.

Eunkwang however seemed delighted.

"Perfect! He's Peniel's friend right? I was just messaging Peniel yesterday! He said he might be able to make it too."

"Oh…great."

Chorong tried to smile without giving away the fact that she was concerned by this new information. There was no telling what Sungjae might do or say if he got drunk in front of Peniel. Did Sungjae even know how to drink? She realized then that she had no idea.  

"Peniel's really been a lifesaver. I couldn't have passed English this semester without him." Eunkwang continued as the three made their way towards the checkout lines.

Bomi leaned over to whisper loudly to Chorong, "Can you believe this oppa cried when he got his exam results. Not even joking."

"Bomi-yaaa don't tell her that." Eunkwang whined. "I was really scared I'd have to stay another semester if I failed…"

Bomi giggled.

"I know oppa. I'm just teasing." She said, taking his hand. "But I wouldn't mind you staying back with me."

Chorong sensed a hint of something unspoken being passed between Bomi and Eunkwang in that moment which was a bit different from the dynamic they usually showed when they were around other people. Chorong had almost forgotten. Bomi had another year left which meant Eunkwang would be graduating without her.

"They must've talked about it already." Chorong thought as she helped the pair move the drinks and snacks from the cart onto the conveyor belt.

They paid for their items, then headed out into the supermarket parking lot to load up the car before driving back to the apartment to prepare for the party.

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A/N When I realized that Korean universities start spring semester in March...but I'm so used to starting in mid-late January where I live lol. Oops. We're gonna pretend like it starts in January since I already made the out-of-province kids come back to Suwon. 

How do we feel about third wheel Chorong haha...? Actually the way I imagine Bomi and Eunkwang in this story they're like one of those rare couples where you can third wheel and it's not weird.