Maybe I’m a bit stupid, but when I agreed to ‘start dating’ Olivia again, I didn’t think it would include typical dating activities, such as going to the movies. I don’t know if this is something I used to like doing, but seeing the price chart at the entrance of the cinema, I conclude this isn’t something the new Taemin enjoys. We’re looking at the different posters laid out on the wall, trying to decide which movie to watch. One of them catches my attention. There’s a man with a gun and a mirror effect on the image that piques my interest.

“I want to see that one,” Olivia tells me while pointing at a completely different poster. This one is mainly pink, with a blonde actress in the middle and two unrealistically handsome men on each of her sides.

“Really, a romantic comedy?” I mumble. I honestly don’t want to spend almost 15$ on a movie I already know I won’t like.

“What’s wrong with romantic movies?” she asks defensively.

“It’s just… I don’t know, boring?” I try to explain.

“Excuse me? Your taste in movies is boring. Mine is better.” I don’t even know what my taste is, but I’m almost sure this isn’t the first time we fought about this. “Last time you brought me here you forced me to watch a documentary on the moon landing. That was boring,” she says with a disgusted face.

I don’t know what movie—or documentary—she’s talking about, but that’s something I would indeed like to watch. I’m not sure what she finds boring about that.

“What do we do, then? I mean, I want to watch that one,” I say as I point my finger to that poster I saw earlier.

“Ugh, of course. You always go with the complicated movies that make no sense. We’re supposed to have a good time, you know? Not reinvent science or whatever,” she pouts and frowns. 

“Rock-paper-scissors then?” I ask to lighten the mood. But she doesn’t answer and goes to the counter. I try to follow her but she’s walking quickly. When I catch up with her, she has already bought the tickets and is waiting for me to pay.

“I don’t remember the PIN code of my card, Olivia—”

“Liv. You can pay with your phone, you don’t need your code with that pretty face of yours,” she says with a sweet tone. She’s eyeing the cashier and exchanges a smile with her.

I think paying with my phone is something I used to do a lot because my hands automatically do the right thing without me registering what is happening. The cashier gives us our tickets and I realize Olivia bought the movie she wanted to see. She completely ignored what I wanted and didn’t even try to find a middle ground that would work for both of us. I breathe out heavily and close my eyes. I hate to be ignored that way, but I take it upon myself. Maybe I wasn’t clear enough.

The movie is exactly what I thought it would be. Your typical girl next door, but a bit prettier. Two incredibly handsome guys, one of them her childhood friend secretly in love with her and the other the new bad boy in town. She has her fun with the bad boy then realizes her friend will always be there for her so she chooses him and everybody is happy. I guess my amnesia didn’t rid me of silly romantic clichés. 

I try to find something fun or interesting in this movie, but nothing comes to mind. Well, the bad guy is kind of cute, I guess. It’s not really the way he looks—because he’s as generic as they come—but more in the way he acts. The way his gaze lingers a second longer than necessary on the girl. I remember Minho looked at me like that a few weeks ago. Suddenly I feel hot and maybe, maybe, I did find something interesting in this movie. Too bad he doesn’t get the girl in the end.

When the movie finally ends, we both leave the projection room. I’m relieved this is over and we can get home and sleep.

“I’m hungry, let’s go eat something,” Olivia says and she grabs my hand. I follow her outside of the building. There’s a food truck in the park and she orders something to eat. “What do you want, Taemin?”

“Oh, nothing, thanks. I’m not hungry,” I say quietly. She seems annoyed but I won’t eat just to please her. She gestures at the cashier when he announces the price. I’m paying again. I’m not sure I like this trend.

“So, what did you think of the movie?” she asks me as she sits at a picnic table. I sit across from her. “I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you thought,” she adds. I fumble in my pocket and take out my pack of cigarettes. She frowns but I ignore it.

“Yeah, I guess the bad guy was cute,” I say absent-mindedly while lighting a cigarette up. She frowns again and I don’t understand. Did I say something wrong? “What?”

“Since when do you find boys cute?” she says with an offended tone. “That’s a really weird thing to say, Taemin. Especially since I’m your girlfriend.” She seems unhappy.

“Sorry,” I tell her, though I don’t know what I’m sorry for. “Aren’t we allowed to find other people beautiful, even if we’re in a relationship?” I ask. Maybe it’s a sensitive subject between us. I take a puff and smoke fills my lungs. I close my eyes for a few seconds and enjoy the feeling of the smoke filling my lungs.

“It’s just weird that you’d say that about a guy, that’s all,” she shrugs. I don’t see what’s weird with that but I decide to let it slide.

As she’s eating and I’m thinking ab