That Saturday afternoon, Yong Hwa went to Shin Hye's house and met her parents for the first time. Shin Hye's parents instantly liked him because he was a gentleman and very refined.

"Uri Shin Hye never had a boyfriend ever since," Shin Hye's eomeonim told him. "Yong Hwa-ssi-neun (How about you)?"

"Ah.... yeojachinguga eopseumnida (I don't have a girlfriend)," Yong Hwa replied. "I never had one."

"Oooooooooooohhhhhh!!!!" Shin Hye's parents crooned.

"I will not mind even if you marry my daughter tomorrow, hahaha," Shin Hye's abeonim said.

"Abeoji!" Shin Hye retorted politely. Then, to Yong Hwa, "Mianhae..."

"Gwaenchanhseumnida," Yong Hwa embarrassedly said to them.

"Jeo~~ you and Shin Hye have some date for today?" Eomeonim asked.

"Isseumnida" "Eopseo!!!! ("Have" "Don't have")" Yong Hwa and Shin Hye replied simultaneously.

"Isseo? Eopseo?" Abeoji asked curiously.

"Isseumnida" "Eopseo!!!!" the young man and the young lady replied again simultaneously.

"Ohohoho, kyeopta, ne?" Eomeonim crooned.

Shin Hye cringed again, and Yong Hwa bowed politely so they can bid the parents goodbye.

****

The two joined the crowd and watched another indie rap/rock band performing at Hongdae. It was Shin Hye's first time to really watch the guerilla gig even if she had been passing the streets of Hongdae a lot of times. Of course, her flower shop is located at the near the vicinity. Even the students from Hongik Daehakgyo (shortened to Hongdae, Hongik University) were cheering for their classmates and friends. The vocalist of the band winked at one person from the audience, thereby causing the girls to swoon.

"Wow, they're good," Shin Hye gasped.

"Ne," Yong Hwa said. "They remind me of Epik High."

"Jinjja?" Shin Hye asked him, excited. "I love Tablo!"

"Wow, I never knew this demure botanist actually likes punk rock and alternative," Yong Hwa .

"You don't know a lot about me," Shin Hye told him.

After the presentation, Yong Hwa volunteered to play some music for the crowd. Most people recognized him as the beef restaurant owner, and they had high respects for him. They did not know that this ajusshi could play some music too.

"Yeogiyo, Sajangnim," the lead guitarist said to Yong Hwa as the younger man handed the electric guitar to the resto owner.

Yong Hwa took the guitar, and sat on the chair on the stage. The drummer asked if Yong Hwa wanted some drum accompaniment, and Yong Hwa nodded. The bassist and the lead guitarist got down the stage to make room for the ahjusshi. He started to strum the guitar, and though it had an electric feel to it, the strumming was so smooth and slow that it was soothing to the ears. Yong Hwa sang to Bread's "Diary."

 

I found her diary underneath a tree.
And started reading about me
The words she's written took me by surprise
You'd never read them in her eyes.
They said that she had found the love she waited for.
Wouldn't you know it, she wouldn't show it.

When she confronted with the writing there,
Simply pretended not to care.
I passed it off as just in keeping with
Her total disconcerting air
And though she tried to hide
The love that she denied,
Wouldn't you know it, she wouldn't show it.

And as I go through my life, I will give to her my wife
All the sweet things that I can find.

I found her diary underneath a tree.
And started reading about me.
The words began stick and tears to flow.
Her meaning now was clear to see.
The love she'd waited for was someone else not me
Wouldn't you know it, she wouldn't show it.

And as I go through my life, I will wish for her his wife
All the sweet things that she can find
All the sweet things they can find

 

Shin Hye clapped her hands like the other people in the crowd as she watched Yong Hwa sing to the audience. He was such an entertainer because he gave his attention, making eye contact to the people in the audience. She was hoping he'd look at her, and when he did, her heart felt it was going to melt.

She did not care who that girl is, the owner of the diary. It was just a song. But something was definite.

She had fallen in love with Yong Hwa.

"Does he have a diary too?" she asked herself, feeling giddy.

She was willing to read his diary, hoping that the girl he had fallen in love with was her.

"Oh, Yong Hwa...." she said breathlessly.

Yong Hwa looked back at the people in the crowd as he continued to sing. By the time he ended the song, the people clapped and dropped, not coins, but bills to the guitar case of the lead guitarist. The three young men thanked Yong Hwa for the presentation, and he told them that they keep the money.

"Ne?" the bassist asked, wiping his sweat.

"You own the equipment, so I give you all the money," Yong Hwa said. "Besides, I understand the feeling of a working student."

The three guys looked at each other, then at Yong Hwa. They bowed in unison and thanked him for his kindness. Soon, the crowd gathered in as another set of indie performers came to entertain them. This time, it was a man and a woman, the man on guitar and the woman on the drums. Shin Hye and Yong Hwa continued to watch up to three more groups.

****

The pair went to River Han to stroll under the cool evening sky. Shin Hye was feeling giddy inside because she was walking beside the guy who had managed to catch her eye.

"I have a question, if you don't mind," she asked him as they sat among the grasses.

"Shoot," he told her.

"Yoo Ara-ssineun...nuguya?" she asked him.

Yong Hwa heaved a sigh as he looked at the river. He hated talking to Shin Hye about his past, but it was best to let her know. He was rather concerned if he let her take a peek of himself and his imaginary first love.

"Ara's just my hoobae," Yong Hwa said. "She, Jong Hyun, and I had the same major in the same university."

"You seem to...not like her."

"It's not that I don't like her.... She's just... annoying," Yong Hwa said to her. "Meeting her was not special or anything. We just often met at the library. Ever since she saw me, she stayed on like a leech."

Shin Hye bit her lips and nodded.

"If there really is a way to get rid of her, I will do all I can, even if it is to go hiding in the forests of the Amazon," Yong Hwa said spitefully and seriously.

Shin Hye thought he was joking, so she laughed heartily.

"Jinjja?" she asked.

Instead of being annoyed, Yong Hwa did not say anything. He actually liked hearing her laugh. Because of his confusion, he held his chest again, and Shin Hye looked at him in worry.

"Maeumi apa (Is your chest aching)?" she asked in concern.

Of course, he was confused because he still had his non-existing first love to deal with.

"Gwaenchanha," he told her with a smile. "I don't want Shin Hye to worry about me."

"I so am," she told him. "I... I don't want you to feel bad. Shall we go to the hospital?"

"Ani... I'm fine," Yong Hwa assured her.

Both of them looked at each other, and Shin Hye suddenly realized that their faces were so near, and she could feel Yong Hwa's hot breath and intense stare. Heat crept up to her cheeks, and she looked away in an instant.

"Mianhae," Yong Hwa said. "Did I startle you?"

"You startled my heart," she whispered.

"Mworagu?" he asked because he did not hear her.

Shin Hye looked at him, and thanked the dim lights for not showing her blushes.

"Ani...uhm... it's fine...jeongmal..." she said unsurely.

Yong Hwa smiled at her own clumsiness. She was so damn cute that he could not help but feel that his own chest was beating hard. He had to admit, when their faces were so close, he felt he could just go on and kiss her.

But he had to hold back because of you-know-who.

"Shall we eat now?" Shin Hye asked to break the awkwardness.

"To my beef restaurant, then," Yong Hwa said.

"And then to Jong Hyun-ssi's sojubang?" she asked playfully.

"You drink?" he asked, amazed.

"Uhm...actually, I don't, but I have heard from my staff that the tapa at the sojubang are extremely good," she lied.

"You go to Jong Hyun's sojubang to drink, not just to eat tapa," he told her.

"But can we go? Jebal?" she begged.

Shin Hye begging was too much for him. She was still begging him demurely, but it was too cute and unpredictable.

"How can you be so comfortable around me?" Yong Hwa thought to himself with a smile. "Are you just being demure to other people? And letting your hair down with me?"

Yong Hwa stood up and held his hand. Shin Hye looked at him and took his hand, and he grabbed her gently from the ground.

"Gaja," he whispered with a wink.

As they went their way, Yong Hwa could not help but examine himself. Why was he being like this? Why did he feel unfaithful to a non-existent lover? Why was he feeling close to Shin Hye? Was he feeling lonely?

"Ani...ani...," he thought, dissecting his feelings. "I like her... a lot. I like her. She's pretty, she's smart, she's caring, she's kind... she's the girl that every guy wants! I mean, maybe Min Hyuk and the guys like her too. Is it too wrong to like her? Is it too wrong to love two girls at the same time?"

Shin Hye was busy looking at the things around her that she did not notice Yong Hwa's own distress.

"I admit, I like Shin Hye, but I cannot forget my first love..." he thought. "Aish... how can I break this to Shin Hye without hurting her? I have a feeling she really likes me... and the feeling's mutual."

The feeling was more on... half mutual.

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lyrics of "Diary" from http://www.lyrics007.com/Bread%20Lyrics/Diary%20Lyrics.html

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