Key’s POV

Of all the things that I had planned for today’s date with Hae Young, having Jinki-hyung latch onto us like a leech was definitely not part of it. Somehow, it seemed as if it were appropriate for me to be punished and taught a lesson by being presented with the biggest wall of iness in the whole history of third wheelers. And it didn’t help either to know that his sangtae only made the atmosphere thick with his awkwardness.

“I thought that that traditional Korean breakfast was amazing. The way they prepared the food… It was like I was back in my halmuni’s kitchen once more.” Hae Young praised, as soon as we left the restaurant hand in hand.

Jinki-hyung followed closely behind us; I could almost feel him breathe down our necks. “My halmuni doesn’t have a kitchen.” Hae Young turned to look at him, a bit baffled, but I remained apathetic. Typical Onew, always butting in.

I pulled Hae Young closer, leaning towards her ear to whisper, “A block from now, there’s a corner in between the BSX and Banila Co. shops. When hyung’s not looking, we’ll both make a mad dash towards that street.”

Hae Young turned her head slightly to look at Jinki, who was now picking at the tiny, white pieces of lint on his jacket sleeve. “Don’t you think he’ll catch us?” She whispered.

“Let’s just hope we pass by a food cart selling chicken – he’ll definitely forget about us then.” I replied. I gripped onto her wrist, indicating that our escape route was quickly approaching. I took a quick glance at Jinki-hyung: the guy was still picking the lint off of his sleeve. I nodded at Hae Young, slowly and cautiously dragging her to the left so as to not spazz out with running – which would evidently garner unwanted attention from my hyung.  I looked back at him one last time (okay, so, apparently there must be a lot of lint on his sleeve because he was still picking at it), and with one swift move, I pulled Hae Young towards the corner to run. From there, we treaded lightly but quickly, until we were able to dissolve into the oncoming crowd.

At that moment, Hae Young had burst out laughing at our feat. “I can’t believe he didn’t see us!” She cried excitedly.

I merely shrugged. “Yeah, well, Dubu can be daft sometimes.” I turned around to double check if Jinki-hyung had really followed us or not, and when the coast was clear, I interlocked Hae Young’s fingers within mine. I pressed them against my lips, kissing her fingertips gently. “I guess it’s just us now.”

In my whole nineteen years of life, I’ve seen plenty of beautiful women. I’ve seen girls, young and old, who’ve portrayed beauty in so many shapes and form.  But in an oddly unique way, I found out that the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen was the one who blushes indiscreetly at the touch of my hand and brush of my lips. The one that laughs uncontrollably and yet still manages to look like a model. The one that cries when she’s truly, truly hurt. And the one that knows she can win over a whole crowd with her charm. Honestly, it was oddly unique of me to note that this ‘average’ girl from Seoul would have such a stronghold on me and allow me to say that she is, impeccably, the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.

Another wave of a pinker shade had just blanketed her cheeks. “What are you staring at?”

I smiled down at her, as she tried to cover her flushed face. “Nothing. Come on, the next thing on our list is shopping.”

“Shopping?” Hae Young’s brown eyes had just grown wider.

“Of course, you silly girl. You didn’t expect me to make you walk around in those rags all day, right?”

“B-but… This is my school uniform…”

“Tch. If I were your mom, I still wouldn’t let you wear that garbage.”

Her little face contorted into a scowl. “This is my uniform, Key. You can’t expect my school to be Paris’ hottest runway.”

“Look at what I’m wearing, Hae Young!” I cried, clutching at the white cotton V-neck shirt that I had worn under my favorite navy blue cardigan (with which Jjong has a matching black one since I bought one for the both of us). My legs were surprisingly snuggled by the skin tight, acid wash jeans a noona-fan had given me at one of our recent fanmeetings. All in all, I was looking presumably fashionable, while Hae Young was draped in a lousy excuse of a school uniform. Though, I have to note that she did look kinda hot in her plaid skirt that was temptingly short and her white button down blouse in which she ed the first two buttons display a smooth expanse of milky white skin. Alright, I admit. Her uniform wasn’t all that bad. “You wearing that uniform and me wearing this only makes it look like you’re some innocent schoolgirl and I’m your iac boyfriend.”

She bit her bottom lip contemplatively. “Well… you do have some traits of ia…”

“Whatever,” I sighed, rolling my eyes with disinterest. “We’re going to SPAO.”

Not wanting to hear another protest from her, I took hold of Hae Young and deliberately dragged her to the clothing store that was conveniently near us. Once inside, I could hear Hae Young bitterly mutter, “Just because SME endorses it, doesn’t mean we have to buy from here.”

I simply clucked my tongue at her comment and brought her towards the women’s section on the second floor, immediately grabbing the first attractive blouse I saw. “Here, try this on. And this. And this. Oh, and this, too.”

Hae Young looked like a lost puppy with the pile of clothing that was suddenly in her arms. “Why do we have to shop here! Everything is so expensive! 30,000 won for a t-shirt?! No, thank you.”

 “Who’s holding the credit card? Me. So hush up and go to the dressing room.”

“But- ”

“Hae Young, if you don’t like the clothes here, we can always go down the street to Mango or Codes Combined,” I threatened. I knew perfectly well that Hae Young found no interest in the girly frills and ruffles of brands that were sold in boutiques like Mango or Forever 21.

“Fine…” She muttered, exasperated as she stomped her way to the dressing room in the back. I watched approvingly as she entered the dressing rooms. It took her a good five minutes before she emerged out of the dressing room stall wearing a pink shirt and khaki pants. A look of disgust was on her face. “Ew.”

“You’re right. Try the others.” I said, pushing her back inside the stall. She came back out a few minutes later with the same look. This went on for a few more times with different outfits.

“We’re just wasting our time, Key,” Hae Young pouted, as she handed back the fifth outfit she tried on that morning to the dressing room attendant.

“No we’re not. Here, try this on,” I said. I gave her a pair of dark gray short shorts, a white Girls Generation SPAO shirt, a yellow cardigan, black nylon stockings, and a pair of off-white Converses. “While you were trying on different clothes, I ran out and got the stockings and the sneakers.”

She silently took the articles of clothing and went back inside for the sixth time.

“I think we’ve found the one,” Hae Young beamed as she finally stepped out of the dressing room stall to show me.

Even if the whole outfit itself was minimal, Hae Young managed to bring out the best in it. Her legs went on for miles and I would surely be damned if I would see them in high heels and a short dress. It was amazing with how short shorts and a t-shirt could make my girlfriend look amazing.

“Are you done drooling or shall I just stand here and wait?” She spoke. I shook my head, still a bit speechless. She headed back inside the stall to change out of the clothes so I could pay for them. When she was ready, I went to the counter and purchased her new clothes for the day. Once I had paid and bought them, Hae Young changed once again into her new clothes, and we cheerily descended down the escalator to get out of the store. On our way down, unfortunately, we met what we dreaded the most that day.

Jinki-hyung was at the first floor, waiting for us. He also had a SPAO shopping bag in tow.

“Took you long,” he uttered with relief as he saw us. Hae Young looked at me, and I looked at my hyung. He continued, “I’ve been waiting here for the past forty-five minutes. Look, I even bought myself a new pair of pants and a hoodie. Isn’t it neat?” He pulled out his new purchases to show us.

“How did you know we were here? I thought we…” I didn’t continue my sentence, not wanting to let Jinki-hyung know about our diabolic plan to ditch him.

“Well, duh, you planned it out already. It was the second thing on your list,” He said matter-of-factly. Jinki-hyung pulled out a brown leather covered book from his jacket pocket. “It’s in your diary. Here, look: ‘My White Day with Hae Young. One, go to breakfast at Korean restaurant. Two, shop at SPAO. Three- ”

“YAH!! WHY DO YOU HAVE MY DIARY WITH YOU?!” I barked, snatching back my beloved and most secretive possession. “How did you get this?”

“You always hide it under your mattress at night,” Jinki-hyung shrugged. “It only started to get very interesting once you began mentioning Hae Young in your entries.”

“WHAT?! Why, you little…” I thwacked him on the top of his head with my diary.

“Ow! Yah! That’s the second time today! I don’t know how many brain cells I lost because of you already…”

Hae Young spoke up in the midst of our argument. I could tell that she was trying to stifle in her laughter. Anger boiled up inside of me; she, of all people, was not supposed to know about this. “Key-ah, Onew-oppa, it’s getting late and we’re running out of time. What’s next on the list?”

She tried to tug my diary away to take a look, but I held a strong grip on it. “We’re going sightseeing today.”

Jinki-hyung began to clap his hands like a seal. “I’m excited!”

“That’s sounds like so much fun. Where are we going?” Hae Young asked.

“Well, since you told me you’ve never been to the palaces before, I decided we start there. And then maybe we can stop by the Blue House if we’ve got time.” I told her. “Gyeong-bok Palace is quite scenic.”

I had expected Hae Young’s face to light up, but instead, she portrayed an opposite expression. “Oh.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

She shook her head and managed a little smile, though it was pretty obvious she was only trying to put up a front. “Nothing, I’m fine. Going to Gyeong-bok Palace sounds… great.”

“You know, if there’s anything bothering you, we don’t have to go. We can always do the next thing on the list.” I reassured her.

On the sides, I could hear Jinki-hyung blowing raspberries. “A stroll in the park? Boring.”

I shot him a look. “Yah! Why don’t you just go stand over there?!”

“I was just saying. I don’t think Hae Young would find it exciting to be strolling in the city park.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I would prefer that,” my girlfriend added in quickly. I took hold of her hand.

“Let’s get going then?” I asked her sweetly. She nodded diligently as we proceeded out of the SPAO store.  As we walked out of the crowded shopping and restaurant vicinity, I could see Hae Young’s pretty little face painted up with a small smile. “What’s up?”

“Oh!” She looked at me, trying to cover up her smile. “Nothing.”

I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Tell me.”

“Okay,” She gave in, removing her hand from and clasping it around mine so as to cup my hand with both of hers. “I just thought it was cute… and sort of romantic that you had this whole day planned out. I honestly didn’t expect it.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

 I turned around to glare at Jinki-hyung, who had spoken up so suddenly. Seeing my dark expression, he stepped back and decided to walk a few more paces behind us. I looked back at Hae Young. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” Hae Young shrugged good-naturedly. “I mean, ever since we were together, I was the one who always initiated the dates. But this day is different. The flowers, the breakfast, the shopping, and even the strolling we’re doing right now. It’s not something I’m used to.”

My throat began to go a little dry. “Are you saying that you d-don’t like it?”

Hae Young laughed quietly. “No, of course not. What I’m saying is that although it’s a little different, I honestly wouldn’t trade this date – or any date with you, for that matter – for anything else in the world.”

“Good,” I spoke, much more relieved. “If not, then you’re paying for everything.”

With that, I received a light slap on my shoulder as the girl next to me jokingly muttered, “Pabo…”

Despite the spontaneous change of events, the day went perfectly well for us. After our stroll at the park (which resulted in Hae Young and me having to help Jinki-hyung climb down a tree after he was supposedly chased by a dog), we had our lunch at one of my favorite seafood bistros. There, we found out that Hae Young and shellfish like shrimp were not friendly with each other. Our lunch was soon followed by a stop at a nearby ice cream shop, then a boat ride along the Han River. It seemed as if our boat ride took longer than expected (which I didn’t mind, of course) because by the time we got off, it was already nightfall.

“Oh, 7 PM! The day certainly went by quickly.” Jinki-hyung explained, taking a gander at the time on his cellphone. He rubbed his stomach lethargically. “What’s for dinner?”

I sighed. Dinner was saved to be the most intimate and sentimental part of our whole day. I certainly didn’t want a third wheel tagging along. “Hyung, I think you can go home now. Go spend some time with Taemin or Minho, or something. I want to spend these last few hours of White Day with Hae Young alone.”

“But I can’t just leave you alone,” He contested. “Photographers, nosy fans, you know?”

“We’ll be fine. We won’t be eating in a public place anymore.”

Hae Young looked up at me with curious eyes. “We won’t?”

“No, we’re going to have dinner at my parent’s place in Jamsil,” I smiled.

Jinki-hyung frowned. “I thought you wanted to spend time with her alone? Then, why are you going to have dinner with your parents?”

“I want her to finally meet my mom and dad,” I grinned proudly. “I think it’s time.”

My hyung leaned back on his heels and raised his eyebrows dubiously. “…okay, whatever you say.”

“Anyway, let’s go.” I tugged onto Hae Young gesturing at the nearest subway station. “My umma is waiting for us with a delicious dinner. Bye hyung, see you when I get back home.”

Our leader waved languidly. “Bye… Don’t… erm… do it. Stay safe! And not just in the traveling sense.”

We left Jinki-hyung as he tried to hail a taxi while we descended down the subway station.

“Jamsil-dong? I thought you said your hometown was Daegu?” Hae Young asked me. We both stood at the subway platform, waiting for our train to approach.

“It is. My halmuni lives there, but my parents moved to the city a few years ago. They wanted to be a little closer to me when I started to debut. My mother wasn’t too excited, but my dad thought it would be a win-win situation. She would be closer to me, and he could work closer with his other business associates,” I explained. A strong light appeared from the tunnel, indicating that our train was near. Hae Young and I then drew nearer while the train came to a full stop. We pushed past the arriving passengers and got seats. Luckily for us, our car was not entirely cramped and most of the other passengers were round about our age and older, so any meddlesome fans were not a worry.

“Wow, Jamsil,” Hae Young muttered as we took our seats. “It’s pretty wealthy down there. It must cost a fortune to get an apartment.”

I was nonchalant. “That’s the same thing Taemin said when I told him that, but it’s not. It’s pretty much the same as if you were to live in Itaewon or some other part of Seoul.”

“Hm. By the way, should I be nervous?”

“Nervous for what? Meeting my parents?”

“Yeah. You were sweating buckets when you met my dad. Am I going to feel the same?”

“No, don’t worry! My parents aren’t as crazy as your dad was,” I said, with a hint of smugness in my voice. “My dad isn’t a wackjob that carries a bat with him.”

A glare formed in Hae Young’s face. “Yah! My dad’s not a wackjob. You’re the one who was causing unnecessary commotion inside my room that caused my dad to be alarmed! What happened to that so called ‘grace’ you seem to always sport around? ”

“Well, your room was a mess! How could I possibly be graceful in such a dump? Your books were everywhere! That’s the reason why I fell! Why do you have so many books open and scattered around the floor? Are you actually reading them, or is that some kind of floor decoration I have yet to discover?”

“My midterms were coming soon. Those were my textbooks. I was studying from them!” She defended.

I crossed my arms. “Hmph… Next time, call me up if you can’t clean your room. I don’t understand how you sleep in such a place. Food wrappers everywhere? Blech,” I grimaced, making a gagging noise.

“If it bothers you that much, then you don’t have to be there,” Hae Young replied crossly, also folding her arms across her chest and scooting a few inches away from me in her seat. She turned her head away to avoid my gaze.

I laughed softly, causing her to look at me with a puzzled expression. “You’re cute,” I told her bluntly.

A soft pink blush tinted her cheeks, though she remained silent. I spoke, “Well, putting up with your wasteland of a room is so much better than putting up with any day without you.”

Hae Young smiled, but after a moment, she burst out laughing. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to be shy right now, or if I should start vomiting at what you said. It was either the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard, or the corniest.”

“What don’t you just shut up and be grateful I still put up with you?” I replied, moving closer to her and wrapping an arm around her waist.

She scoffed, inching a little bit away from my grasp. “Huh, speak for yourself.”

“I am grateful. Why do you think I spent all this time planning this date?” I smiled furtively at her, still attempting to get closer to her.

“I thought you just did this because you were obligated to,” she answered, pursing her lips musingly.

I laughed darkly. “You silly girl, don’t you ever listen to what Taemin says? You shouldn’t feel obligated to be in a relationship.”

The smile in her face slowly faded away. But before I could ask what was wrong, we had reached our stop.

“Annyeonghaseyo umma!” I cheerfully greeted as I swung open my parent’s front door of their Jamsil apartment. The aroma of warm kimchi stew and rice was in the air. Within a blink of an eye, I found Hae Young and myself tightly grasped inside of my mother’s warm arms.

“My baby boy! You’re finally here!” She said. As soon as she let go of the two of us, she caressed my hair. “How is my baby? Is your manager feeding you well? What about the other boys? Are they treating you well? If not, I can always go up there and scold them- ”

“Thanks, mom,” I replied irritably, gently pushing her hand away. “Yes, everything’s fine in the dorms.”

She smiled. “Good to hear that, son. Omo! Who’s this?” Her eyes peered over her glasses at Hae Young, who was standing shyly beside me.

“This is Park Hae Young,” I declared with an air of pride as I pushed her forward to meet my mother. “I brought her here so that I can formally introduce her to you two.”

Hae Young bowed politely to my mother. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“… you, too,” my mother replied hesitantly. She looked back up at me. “Son, what is this?”

“Ah! Kibum!” The deep, rolling voice of my father had imbued the foyer of my parent’s apartment. He reached over to pat me in the back. “You’re here.”

I bowed down to him. “Hello, appa. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too, also alive and well. I trust that those people at your company aren’t stressing you? You’re quite too young to be encumbered by such workload,” he stated.

“Yes, appa,” I nodded diligently. “They’re doing the best they can to keep me sane.”

“That’s good…” His eyes has soon floated over to my girlfriend. He asked the same question my mother did a few minutes ago. “Who is this?”

“Oh, appa, this is Park Hae Young. I was just about to tell umma why I brought her here.”

My father’s face was now stern as he looked over at Hae Young. She sheepishly fidgeted with her fingers, and twisted her stockinged legs nervously.

“Come.” My father motioned for the four of us to follow him into their dining area. Once there, Hae Young and I took our seats, and my father took the chair at the head of the table. My mother’s prepared meal was already set on the table, so she took a seat opposite of me next to my father. My dad folded his hands over his plate and looked at me from across the table. “Well, you may begin.”

I cleared my throat, gripping onto Hae Young’s hands that were hidden underneath the dining table. “Umma, appa, this is my girlfriend.” I looked at her, giving her a small smile, before looking back at my parents expectantly. When I mean expectantly, I meant I expected them to be all joyous at my newfound love. I received nothing near to that.

My mother remained silent as she looked up at my father for some sort of answer to this. My father gazed down at me. He had the same glint in his eye when I had broken the news to him that I was going to pursue my singing career with SM Entertainment. I gulped. This wasn’t exactly a good thing.

My father broke his gaze with me and turned to Hae Young. I could feel her tremble terribly in her seat. As an act of support, I held onto her hand tighter.

“Miss Park, what school do you attend?”

“J-jungdaenam H-high School, sir,” she stuttered softly.

My dad nodded his head broodingly. “Jungdaenam… I’ve never heard of that school. Is it new?”

“No, it’s been around for awhile,” Hae Young’s voice was remarkably timid. I had always heard her so loud and outspoken that hearing her be so frightened was a total schocker for me.

My mother’s face contorted. “Jungdaenam High? Isn’t that school a crap school for the delinquents and losers?”

I sat up quickly. “Umma!” It was the first time I had heard her speak ill of something.

“And what are your parents’ occupations?” My dad continued probing her with questions, despite the fact that it was clear that Hae Young was frozen with fear.

“My mom’s no longer alive… and my dad works for the Hanwha Corporation.”

A look of relief overcame my father and mother’s faces. I smiled, meeting their expressions. “Hanwha Corporation, now, that’s a very good company. They specialize in construction, investments, hotel and resort management, restaurant ownerships, and real estate. What department is your father in?” My dad leaned in, interested with Hae Young’s new topic.

“Department?” Her eyes widened. “Oh… erm… Transportation.”

My father leaned back in his seat. “Transportation? Oh, I see Hanwha has finally ventured out into a new type of business dynasty. Have they begun development in subway station construction? Perhaps, air travel was what they were interested in, right?”

Hae Young was beyond perplexed. She blinked several times in confusion before answering, “Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that. My father is the driver of Hanwha’s CEO, Mr. Han Seung Hyuk.”

Both of my parents looked at each other as if they heard the most terrible thing in the world. Hae Young looked down, a deep shade of red encompassing her face.

“Honey, it’s getting late. I’ll be resigning now to bed,” my dad said sternly. And as if it were a normal thing for him to abruptly leave the table, my mom nodded in agreement and helped him clear out his part of the table, taking his plate and place mat with her to the kitchen.

Hae Young sat still in her seat, her eyes fixed down at her feet. She was gripping firmly onto my hand. So firmly that I felt my blood stopped flowing towards that area, but I didn’t stop her. She had began quivering massively, and before I knew it, a hot tear had fallen onto the back of my hand. Her chair legs screeched harshly against the marble floor of the dining room. Within a second, she was out the front door, the echo of her sobs haunting down the hallway.

It was an eerie feeling, to see someone as strong and independent and beautiful as Park Hae Young all broken up and fragile. It was nothing I had ever imagined, seeing this girl who was an invincible ball of fire all curled up in the darkest corner of a deserted alleyway weeping incessantly. It was rare, yes, to see her express such a profound emotion, but it was certainly not like a precious gem. She was broken.

I approached her slowly, pulling out my handkerchief from the front pocket of my jeans. I crouched down and voluntarily wiped the tears away for her, placing soft, comforting kisses on the top of her head. She continued crying, my mouth absentmindedly letting out quiet words of consolation; words like “it’s alright”, words like “you’ll be fine”, and words like “don’t cry”. Her head trembled in accordance with her weeps and I took hold of her, placing her head against my chest; the delicate aroma of her hair filled my senses.

And that’s how we were for the next few minutes or so. Hae Young continued to cry and I continued to hold onto her. We were quiet, our ears being filled with the muffled sounds of her sobs against my chest. My shirt had become wet with her tears, but it was not something that concerned me that moment.

When she had gone quiet and still after a long moment, I looked down at her. Her eyes, red and swollen, were still open as she stared into space. Feeling my body shift to pull her in closer to lean against my body (in which I was now sitting against a wall in that dark alleyway), Hae Young finally spoke.

“I’m a nobody.”

I shook my head, kissing her forehead. “No, no you’re not.”

“I’m not rich, like you. I’m not beautiful, like the girls you work with. I don’t go to a prestigious high school or have amazing marks. I don’t have a talent. I don’t shine. I’m… nobody, nothing.”

I cupped her face with the palm of both of my hands. “Does it matter? Does it matter if you have the most money in the world? Does it matter if your beauty surpasses those of the other girls around you? Does it matter if you are the smartest girl in the world or if you have a talent? Those all die. Names, labels, statuses. Those things don’t last if you don’t have someone to back you up, to support you. To…” My voice trailed off. I looked down at my left hand pocket.

“Hae Young-ah, I’ve been meaning to save it until the end of our night, but I believe this feeling can no longer suppress itself.” I slipped my hand inside my pocket, pulling out a velvety blue jewelry box. With my free hand, I took Hae Young’s left hand, opening it up and placing the box in her palm. “I have never said this to anyone. I believe that this phrase, despite its simplicity, is a promise.” I flipped open the jewelry box in her hand.

Against the moonlight, two silver rings glittered brightly.

“Park Hae Young, I love you.”

Word Count: 5,079

WOOHOO! I finally got this chapter done. How are you all? Sorry for the long wait! I was gone to Korea for Spring Break, so I couldn’t update at all. I did however, use my Korea trip as “research” for my story. So yeah, that’s why you’ll see very specific name places in this chapter (i.e. Jamsil-dong, SPAO store [Myeong-dong branch], Gyeong-bok palace, etc.). Just a few footnotes:

1. This is an ad I saw when I went to SPAO in Myeong-dong. It’s the inspiration for Hae Young’s outfit in the chapter. So yeah, think of Jessica's shirt and cardigan as Hae Young's outfit for that date (plus the stockings, shorts, and sneakers).
2. I know that Key’s parents don’t live in Jamsil. This is only done for fictional purposes. Heck, I don’t even know where they live at all (which goes to show you that I’m no stan).
3. Jungdaenam High School is purely fictional, of course.
4. Hanwha Corp. is a real Korean company, but Mr. Han Seung Hyuk is not real. Fictional purposes, again.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! I personally love the raw emotion mixed with comedy. It was fun for me to write. Especially the chapter title. In case you didn't catch it, it's derived from one of the last paragraphs... and if you think deeper, it can also describe Hae Young. :)