“Ah, thank you, ahjusshi.” I bowed deeply to the wrinkly fruit seller, gifting him with my brilliant smile reserved for polite company. Next to me, the apples, Woohyun snickered. I grimaced with my face still turned downwards and elbowed him in the stomach.

As soon as we had moved away the rickety display of fruits, we began to argue as the presence of the ahjusshi had prevented us from fully tearing into each others’ throats. “Why couldn’t you be polite for a few moments?” I snapped at the wide-eyed Woohyun.

“I am always polite, except when it comes to you, dearie.” He smirked caustically.

“Aish, don’t call me that, Woohyun!” I berated complainingly. Terms of endearment from Woohyun were the equivalent of a grenade for Christmas; one couldn’t decide whether to take it as a bit of goodwill or read what was actually meant. “Or should I start to call you oppa?” I murmured quietly, turning over the reddish-gold mango I had bought like a crystal ball.

“Why not, baby?” Woohyun quipped, testing my patience with a much more intimate term.

“Fine, oppa.” I shoved him away from me, irritated. I fled to the next market stand to examine its wares and escape from the irksome Woohyun.

The warm ahjumma at this stand smiled pitifully at me; she seemed like the typical unnamed cupid-in-disguise that counseled female leads through relationships. Too bad I was there to buy her vegetables, not discuss my relationship status.

My eyes flitted over her variety of vegetables, judging each immediately by their appearance. Some celery caught my attention, neon lime, firm, and healthy. I picked each stalk up, trying to decide which to get when the clearing of a throat stole my focus.

“Ahjasshi,” the ahjumma beamed sweetly upon me.

"Ah, yes, ahjumma?” I tried not to raise my eyebrows disbelievingly at the venerable figure and fought to keep a neutral, receptive look on my face.

“Are you and your boyfriend going through a hard time? Because if you are, just let it out. It’s best to talk about this kind of stuff, you know.” Her face dissolved into a sickly romantic stew of features, and I clapped a hand over my mouth to hide my upturned mouth at her suggestion that Woohyun and I were a couple, no, even knew each other.

Taking a deep breath to control myself, I attempted to explain the situation. “No, no, ahjumma, we are not in a relationship. He’s a jerk, and I rightfully hate him. I don’t even like admitting that we live in the same building.” I shook my head civilly, trying not to appear too disgusted.

“Oh,” she giggled. (The ahjumma giggled? Proof that she was delusional.) “He’s very handsome. You ought to give him a chance.” My eyebrows furrowed at this.

“Look here, woman,” I started sharply, “Didn’t I just say I hated Woohyun? Is that not enough for you? And you think that because he’s handsome, I should consider being an intimate relationship with him? That’s ludicrous! Are you high?” I gave her a final twisted stare before marching off to another stand.

***

“I can’t believe this marketplace,” I groaned as yet another stand owner asked about my relationship with Woohyun. “I’m not going to do business with druggies.”

“Miyoung!” came a frantic call and panting Woohyun along with it. He dashed up to me, trembling from something that had happened. “You won’t believe this place!” he yelped. “I tried to buy a trinket from a normal-looking ahjusshi, and you won’t believe what he asked me!” He opened and shut his mouth like a shocked fish for a few moments before speaking again. “He asked me if it was for my girlfriend”

“Yeah, that is unbelievable. You could never get a girlfriend, Woohyun!” I guffawed loudly, slapping my free hand against my thigh in amusement.

“No,” he stated firmly, the mass of the ahjusshi’s question weighing so heavily upon him that he ignored my jab at him. “He thought you were my girlfriend! Argh!” He buried his head in his hands in anguish. “If I’m associated with scruffy people like you, I won’t ever get someone that is actually at my level,” he mourned.

“O-kay, I’m ignoring that whiny statement and being generous because something like that happened to me! Four times actually! I was trying to buy some celery. and out of nowhere, the ahjumma asks me what was wrong with our ‘relationship’. I can’t believe what she said.” I facepalmed in memory of the stupidity that I had encountered.

“Ugh, let’s leave this area.” Woohyun straightened up and grabbed my wrist. “Who knows what other kinds of messed up people we’ll meet here?”

I nodded eagerly. “Let’s go!” And we both broke into a run from the nightmare marketplace.

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A/N: *huff puff* I'm finally catching up. Why AFF?! Why you delete my chapters?!