“Finally! I don’t know how much longer I would’ve made it,” Daye said as she took a big bite of the food on her lunch try.

“I know what you mean,” I laughed, then looked down at my own lunch. It was filled with the ordinary food set from set from the cafeteria. In truth, none of it really looked appetizing. This was the first time I had ever actually used the cafeteria for anything else but a place to sit. Usually, our family butler would pack my lunch, but gone were the days of hired help for me. I had meant to pack my own lunch the night before, but with all of the unpacking I had to do it had slipped my mind.

The cafeteria felt extra cramped today. Or maybe that was just because of everything going on in my mind. Voices bounced off the walls aimed straight for where I sat. I really hated places like this, loud and chaotic. I sighed as I tried not to focus on whatever it was that happened to be on my tray. It was surprisingly easy to eat food without tasting it. Just chew and swallow, but never taste.

“Hey Myeongji?” Daye’s voices brought me back to reality.

*Ugh, ,* it took me a moment to swallow before answering.

“Yeah,” I shifted in my chair, trying in vain to find a comfortable position, “What is it?”

“What was up with that Lee Byunghun guy from earlier?” she watched my face closely. It was like she already knew. Who was I kidding? She always knew. Wasn’t there even a good answer to something like that question? Words swirled around in my mind, but I couldn’t think of any logical way to lock them together.

“Well, um…,”why was this so hard, “we’ve met each other a couple of times before.” I finally managed to stutter. I tried my best not to look her in the eye. Even from the corner of my eye I could see that Daye didn’t look very convinced. An awkward silence hung between us for what felt like an eternity. We both sat frozen across from each other. I could feel her eyes on my face. I should tell her. I should just tell her. But I can’t just blurt it out in a room full of people.

“Are you two dating?” she asked in a firm voice. She sounded like a mother scolding her child. I felt like I was being scolded by my father. I was about to brush it off when I remembered that of the time being, that was the best answer I could give her.

“We’ll just tell them that we’re dating.”

“Yes… I was going to tell you but there were so many people around and I didn’t want anyone else to know about it,” I looked down at the lunch table,” I want to keep it quiet for now.” There was no doubt she’d be upset. She didn’t like not being told things. Especially things as important as this. I could just imaine the wrathe I would be facing when she found out that I had actually gotten married to him. I heard her draw in a long sigh and braced myself for whatever would happen next.

“It’s okay, I understand. You’re secret’s safe with me…,”

After a moment she added, “Are you sure about him? He seems a little…,” she trailed off, searching for the right word.

“Rude? Self-centered? Egotistical?” the words spilled out of my mouth easily.

“Exactly!” she snapped her fingers.

“He’s not really as bad as he seems,” I made myself say. The words were surprisingly easy to say. Mostly because I wanted to believe it.

“If you say so… But if he ever hurts you in any way I’ll be forced to do something about it,” Daye said in a playfully threatening voice.

“I’ll be sure to let him know that,” I couldn’t help but laugh. Daye always had a way of making me smile.