Make me his... girlfriend?

    Those four words repeat through my head as I continue to stare at Mystery Guy with my brown eyes.  I’ve never thought of any other guy, besides Junho, who would want to date me.  I mean, I’m nothing special―just a simple girl who lives in the city, trying to make it big as a photographer.  “I think I should tell you my name.  Kwon Ji Yong, nice to meet you,” Ji Yong childishly tells me, sticking his hand out as well.

    He reminds me of a little kid.  “Park Soyeon,” I respond, shaking his hand with a little grin on my face.

    “Since we have our names out of the way, why don’t I start my plan?”

    “N-now?” I frown.  It’s about eleven p.m. and Ji Yong wants to start his plan to soothe my heart right now?  Normally, I would be sleeping at this time; not having a conversation with a man that I just met.

    Ji Yong nods his head, grinning at me as he pulls me up from the bench and starts to tug me towards a random direction.  Since my hand is imprisoned by his, I have no choice but to follow the redhead in front of me.  “Do you like street food?” he asks me, looking at me from over his shoulder.

    “I’ve never had any before,” I admit sheepishly.  It’s not my fault that I’ve been a little too busy to try some street food.  To be honest, street food doesn’t look all that appetizing to me.

   Ji Yong stops in his tracks, turning around to gasp dramatically as he puts his hands on my shoulders.  “You’ve never had street food before?” he asks and I shake my head.  “I guess my plan is going to work even better.” He grins before he grabs my hand once again, pulling me towards the busy sidewalks.  His hand holding mine sends sparks through my body―something that Junho used to do to me when we first started dating.  Now that I think about it, I barely felt any sparks running though my body when Junho would hold my hand.  I would feel the butterflies, but that’s about it.  “Ahjumma!” I hear Ji Yong exclaim and I look up, noticing that we’re at a street vendor.

    The ahjumma looks up, a smile plastered on her lips when she sees Ji Yong.  Her smile widens even more when she looks down at our entertained hands.  “Ji Yong-ah, is this your girlfriend?”

    “Hopefully,” Ji Yong replies and I bite my bottom lip nervously as those butterflies flutter around in my stomach again.  “Ahjumma, I need you to make me the best dukbokki.  Can you believe that she’s never had dukbokki before?”

    “Really?” the ahjumma asks me as she starts to prepare the dukbokki.  I nod my head and she chuckles, shaking her head.  “You’ve lived in Seoul and you’ve never tasted dukbokki before?  Wow, that’s amazing,” she jokes and I laugh.

    When ahjumma is finished making the dukbokki, Ji Yong leads me over to one of the empty tables by the street vendors.  I sit across from Ji Yong, looking at the dukbokki with a puzzled look on my face.  I wonder how I’m supposed to eat this... “Ahjumma makes the best dukbokki in Seoul,” Ji Yong speaks up and I nod my head, watching as he takes a bite of his dukbokki.  The child in him takes over as he starts to devour his side of the food.  It seems like it tastes good, so maybe I should try it.

    I sigh before I slowly bring the dukbokki up to my lips, taking a small bite of the food before my eyes widen.  “Ohmygod,” I mumble.  How come I’ve never ate this before?

    Ji Yong chuckles.  “Told you ahjumma makes the best dukbokki,” he teases as I start to devour my side of the food as well.  It’s funny how I don’t feel pressured to be like a lady.  When I was around Junho, half of the time I was pressured into being someone I wasn’t.  Maybe that’s another reason why he decided cheating on me was something he should do.  The slight pain in my chest comes back and I sigh quietly.  “Are you thinking about your ex again?” Ji Yong asks me and I look up at him, nodding my head and he presses his lips together.  “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your pain goes away,” he says quietly, almost sounding like a whisper.

    “Why do you care so much?”

    “Because I went through the same pain and it hurt like hell.” I wasn’t expecting to hear that. Why would someone want to cheat on him?  I mean, even though I’ve known him for almost an hour, Ji Yong doesn’t seem like a bad person.  “I don’t want you to go through that, Soyeon.”

“Which one’s your apartment?” Ji Yong asks me as we reach my apartment complex.  I point up to the third floor and towards the first window.  “I’ll remember that,” he murmurs.

    “I guess I’ll be going now,” I tell him awkwardly before I turn around, ready to head up the stairs and into my apartment when I am stopped by Ji Yong’s hand on my arm.  I gulp, turning around, hoping that he can’t hear the sound of my heart beating faster than normal.

    “Shouldn’t I get a goodnight kiss?  I mean, I did buy you food,” Ji Yong teases and I snort.

    “You offered.”

    “I still bought you food.”

    I sigh, shaking my head as Ji Yong puckers up his lips, making him look like a fish.  It’s only a goodnight kiss.  It’s not as if it’s our last kiss or something intimate.  Reaching up, I press my lips against his cheek before I pull away.  “There’s your goodnight kiss, now you can leave.” I smirk, turning back around as I jog up the steps to my apartment.  Once I reach the inside of my house, I lock the door leaning my back against the wall as I suddenly remember something.  “Oh...”

    I still have Ji Yong’s jacket.