Chapter 20 – “The First Date”

 

“Aish… she calls me out here and still has the nerve to be 20 minutes late? Girls…” Yonghwa grumbled to himself. He looked around the large food court he was waiting in, wishing he could be somewhere else at that moment. Everywhere he looked were huge crowds of people, chattering about the new and expensive things they had bought. Yonghwa wanted nothing else than to just run away from the flock of annoying teenagers and head home. It wasn’t the first time he had seen one of these places, but it was the first time he had been in one. It was exactly as he had imagined it though. If he had the assurance that Seohyun wouldn’t flip out on him for running away, he would have most definitely bolted by now.

“Yonghwa!” a cheerful voice called from a distance. Yonghwa noticed the person who the voice belonged to even amongst the mob of obnoxious and loud people. He could now point that person out from a mile away. Once the girl that was out of breath reached him, he just gave her a look from head to toe. “Yah, why are you staring at me?”

Yonghwa continued his stare at his partner from almost every class in school. How could anyone wear what she was wearing in that kind of weather? It was December 30^th so clearly, they were well into the frigid season known as winter. Yonghwa couldn’t make out what kind of top she was wearing since her large coat, that he supposed was some kind of trench coat, covered her chest. However, he did notice that her bare legs were showing a little too much skin for what the weather allowed. For some reason Yonghwa’s eyes locked onto her legs and refused to budge, leaving Seohyun a little uncomfortable.

“Are you wearing shorts in the middle of winter? You do know that it is like, I don’t know… freezing outside right?” Yonghwa asked in a sassy voice. Although he was scolding her, his eyes still hadn’t peeled themselves from the exposed skin that could be seen.

“Why? Are my legs that good looking that you want to stare at them all day?” Seohyun teased. In a quick motion she raised her coat a little bit and ran a hand ily over her bare skin. Almost immediately Yonghwa turned away and began to cough awkwardly.

“Uh, no… I’m wondering why the hell you’re wearing shorts in this kind of weather,” Yonghwa defended. “Besides, you’re late. It’s not cool for you to drag me here and then be 20 minutes late. You know how much I hate these kinds of places.”

“Oh stop being such a baby. I didn’t ‘drag’ you to the mall, you came on your own. Anyways, we’re here because you don’t have anything to wear to the party tomorrow so this is your own fault,” Seohyun mocked.

“What? Why the hell can’t I just wear whatever I have in my closet?” Yonghwa asked defiantly. Seohyun could tell he was a little uncomfortable around all those people he found annoying, but it was for his own good. Seohyun proceeded to stare at him from head to toe just as he had done to her moments ago. Yonghwa was wearing a black denim jacket over a plain black t-shirt. His shoes were of course black, simple-looking sneakers. His pants were what color? You guessed it, black. He seemed like he was wearing one big, black denim jumpsuit. Of course that was his style and she didn’t mind, but he couldn’t go to a party like Seung Ri’s dressed like that.

“I have nothing against how you dress, but have you seen what’s in your closet? Everything in there looks exactly like what you’re wearing. What you’re wearing isn’t bad for walking around a mall, but for a party like Seung Ri’s, that stuff isn’t going to fly,” Seohyun explained. Yonghwa took in a huge breath and sighed loudly. As usual, Seohyun would get her way and he would have to quietly follow as he was dragged around by the eager girl.

“Let’s get this over with. I’d rather not be here all day,” he groaned. “So what are we looking for here? Just tell me what store we should go into, buy the clothes I need, and let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Oh no, you’re not getting away that easily. We’re here for me to pick something too. Jung Yonghwa, you are going to be here for a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time and there’s nothing you can do to get out of it,” Seohyun pointed out. Yonghwa quietly took his spot next to her and began following her around.

“What a freakin drag…” Yonghwa mumbled quietly.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah this is a drag. it up mister. Oh and by the way, I take forever shopping, just a heads up,” Seohyun warned. Yonghwa rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets angrily. It would be a long day for him and he had no idea how he was going to get through it. Before they could begin the torture known as shopping, two familiar faces appeared before them.

“Seohyun ah! What a coincidence seeing you here!” squealed Yoona in a girlish voice. Beside her was the man she vowed she would never be caught next to, Ok Taecyeon. “Are you guys doing some last minute shopping for the party tomorrow?”

“More like last minute torture for the party tomorrow…” Yonghwa bitterly commented. Once he received a glare from the girl next to him, he quickly turned away and focused his attention on the new couple.

“Yeah, Mr. Sunshine here needs something to wear other than black, black, and more black, so we decided to get him some new stuff. Wanna tell me what you guys are doing here together?” Seohyun asked with a devious look on her face. Yoona became flustered at the question and avoided eye contact with her best friend.

“Yoona asked me to be her date to the party tomorrow so we’re here shopping together. For some reason she thinks matching matters at a thing like that. Ha, in the end all her clothes will be all over the floor right Yoona?” Taecyeon teased with a erted smile. Needless to say, a slap rang throughout the crowded mall walkways, but nobody seemed to notice.

“Yah Ok Taecyeon! If you’re going to be my boyfriend, then stop being such a ert!” Yoona cried. At once, Yoona slapped her hands over as if she had said the worst word one could say and blushed madly.

“You guys are going out!?” Seohyun questioned in a surprised voice. “When did this happen?” Yoona motioned for Seohyun to walk a little farther away from the boys, forcing Seohyun to follow.

“I don’t know how it happened, it sort of just did,” Yoona whispered. “Aish, I feel like such a walking around with Taecyeon. Even though I want to hate him, I want to like him even more. Ugh, I guess this is how it felt when you first started liking Yonghwa huh?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Seohyun agreed while staring at the two boys in the distance chatting. Well it was mostly Taecyeon doing the talking, but at least Yonghwa hadn’t run away.

“So how’s your first date with Yonghwa going?” Yoona teased. The blush that Yoona had just worn a few moments ago, found its way onto Seohyun’s face at the question.

“It’s not a date Yoona!” Seohyun defended. “We just happen to be together in a mall, doing stuff that people on dates do. I hardly call that a date.”

“Girl, you’re crazy. You guys are so on a date, you just don’t want to admit it. So what are your plans for the day? I know you two are going shopping but you have to have more planned. Even though you want to deny it, you have this day all planned out don’t you?” Yoona continued to tease with an all-knowing smile. Yoona knew Seohyun too well. She knew Seohyun had planned out the day as if it was a real date, complete with even the smallest of details.

“Well I was thinking we could go to the movies since we’re already here. I don’t know Yoona, this all seems like a dream come true. He’s mean and obnoxious like always, but I’m so happy to be here walking around with him. I love the way he cares about what I think, even if he doesn’t acknowledge it. I have to admit, having him on such a short leash is pretty fun,” Seohyun giggled. Yoona noticed how Seohyun stared at Yonghwa with a loving gaze and smiled.

“Seohyun you are so in love with that guy and I can’t even understand why. He’s such a jerk to you yet you want to do your best for him. You sure you want to get involved with a grouch like him?”

“Yoona you know me better than anyone so there’s no need for me to answer that question,” Seohyun responded confidently. “Well, we better get a move on if we want to get everything done for today. Try not to let Taecyeon get you under the blankets tonight. Save that for tomorrow.” With a giggle and a wink Seohyun walked away from her flustered friend to head back to their respective men.

“Well Seohyun, Yonghwa, we have to get going so we will see you tomorrow at the party. Have fun you two, I know we will,” Taecyeon happily bid farewell. The newly formed couple walked away, not before Yoona put together a chain of insults including pabo and byuntae along the way.

“Seohyun…” Yonghwa growled, getting the attention of the cheerful girl. “I let you talk me into going to that party, coming to the mall, and all sorts of other dumb stuff. What you failed to tell me is that I need a freakin date to that party. What do you suppose I do about that huh?”

“I’ll be your date!” Seohyun blurted out without thinking. Just as Yoona had done before, Seohyun’s hands slapped over to indicate she had screwed up. Yonghwa’s expression remained the same as it usually was, so it didn’t seem like he minded what she said. “I mean… I’ll find you a date. I think Hara said she didn’t want to go because she didn’t have a date. Why not go with her? The whole date thing is just for show anyways. You don’t actually have to like the person you go with.”

“Maybe I should just back out now because this is getting a little too troublesome for my taste. It’s too much trouble to be dealing with for something I don’t even want to go to. I’ll be heading home now, bye Seohyun.” Seohyun didn’t know whether he was being serious or whether he was just joking. The way he turned around and walked away indicated that he was as serious as ever.

“Yeah, like I’m going to let you leave,” Seohyun commented sarcastically. Before he could get far away enough, she linked her arm into his, effectively locking him down. “I said you were mine for today and nothing you say or do will change that. Now, let’s get a move on or else we won’t find what we’re looking for.” Yonghwa followed the girl, although uncomfortably, without any complaint. Seohyun didn’t seem to notice her arm was still locked onto his, but oddly enough he didn’t mind. Well he did, but not as much as he thought he would.

“You know… you’re kind of in my personal space. Mind backing off a bit?” Yonghwa suggested.

“So you can run away some more? I don’t think so. I’ll keep you like this for the rest of the day so you might as well get used to it now,” Seohyun answered strongly. “Now, first things first, we got to find my stuff. Boy clothes are easy to find, but for girls it’s so hard finding the perfect thing to wear.” Yonghwa found it smarter to just not say anything anymore, since he knew that there was no way to win or get out of that mess. His first mistake was to have come out in the first place and he would now suffer the consequences.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Seohyun come out already!” yelled the impatient man with his arms crossed. “You’ve been in the dressing room for almost an hour and we’ve gotten nowhere.”

“Dude, you’re out here waiting for your girlfriend too?” a young man asked from his side. Yonghwa and the other person had been waiting for roughly the same time while their respective companions were in the dressing room trying on who knows how many clothes.

“Yeah, she has been in there forever and I doubt she’s gotten anywhere. I’ll be lucky if I don’t have to wait a few more hours for her majesty to get the hell out here,” Yonghwa grumbled, ignoring the fact that he just agreed to Seohyun being his girlfriend.

“Alright, let’s go,” Seohyun commanded as she stepped out of the dressing room. Yonghwa noticed she had a huge pile of clothes in her hands, yet none of them seemed to be what she wanted. It was obvious that out of the 20 outfits, none of them had been in her taste. Yonghwa rolled his eyes and followed the girl like a dog follows its master obediently. Just before leaving he heard the young man next to him imitate a whip cracking. Yonghwa would have glared at him, but the young man was right, Yonghwa was whipped.  Much to his surprise, Seohyun bought a dress and put away all the extra clothes she had picked out.

“Wait, did you pick something out already? Does this mean we get to leave finally?” Yonghwa asked in a complaining voice. Seohyun took his arm as she had almost an hour before and dragged him towards the next store. Yonghwa was happy that they would be going into a store that didn’t smell like someone sprayed twenty thousand pounds of perfume on. He was sure that the smell of the girly stores had somehow burned a few of the cells in his nose beyond repair.

“Oh, don’t think you’re saved just yet. We still have to pick out something for you to wear. Also, you’re not picking anything, I am,” Seohyun added mischievously. Suddenly, Yonghwa’s dreams of relief were shattered. He was screwed for sure. At first glance, Seohyun didn’t seem to be a girl that would pay attention so much to the clothes she wore. However, now that he came shopping with her, he knew she was a stereotypical, picky, teenage girl. Eventually they made their way into a store filled with clothes in colors that appealed to his eyes. Brown, gray, and black were the only things in sight for miles. Finally, the all the annoying bright colors like yellow and especially pink, were nowhere in sight. “Since you seem to not like bright colors, this store will be perfect for you.”

Like the obedient puppy he was, Yonghwa followed Seohyun around as she picked up a shirt here and a jacket there. In time, he was holding a stack of pants, shirts, jackets, and even weird things like hats. “Seohyun do we really need all of this stuff? Can’t I just pick something and get out of here?”

“Look, I’ll go in the dressing room with you and dress you myself,” pointed out Seohyun shamelessly. “If you don’t want to listen to me then I’ll go do it for you. Now hurry up and get in there.” Although everyone at school believed Yonghwa loved to pick fights and arguments, that was not the case. He wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible and in order to so in this situation, he had to listen to whatever his master wanted.

Once he was behind the door of the dressing room, he felt as if he could finally breathe. No longer was the evil fashionista known as Seohyun breathing down his neck and giving him dirty looks every few seconds. He knew Seohyun was a strange person at times, but he had never seen that side of her. One by one he sorted out the clothes as Seohyun told him to and began to try them on. Even at a first glance the clothes looked uncomfortable and they were definitely not his style. Most of them looked like something rich kids in high school dramas would wear. Yonghwa felt like throwing up as the image of him wearing those clothes manifested itself in his mind.

“Seohyun, are you sure you want me to wear this stuff?” Yonghwa asked worriedly through the dressing room door. “I mean, this stuff makes me look so damn preppy and it’s disgusting.”

“If you don’t come out wearing something I’ll go in there even if you’re ready or not,” Seohyun responded. “I’ll give you two minutes.” After her threat she could hear the ruffling of Yonghwa trying on the matching clothes she had picked out for him. She was surprised he actually believed her bluffs, but as long as she got him to get dressed it didn’t matter.

“Ugh, I feel so uncomfortable in this…” Yonghwa whined as he stepped out of the small room. Seohyun thought Yonghwa was good looking, but after seeing him dressed like that she was left speechless. The grumbling boy was wearing a plain white dress shirt with a silk vest over it. Over all of that he wore a matching black blazer that looked pretty much perfect on him. In his hands he held a black hat that he hesitantly threw onto his head. His legs were clad in a pair of black pants, leading to the shiniest black dress shoes she had ever seen. Truthfully, she knew he would go for the black outfit first which is what she wanted him to wear. Seohyun knew this was torture to him so she would spare him the pain of trying on other stuff.

(For refrence since I super badly at describing clothes: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2600/4158222028_95386c41ca.jpg )

“Wow, you should dress like that more often...” Seohyun complimented in awe. She realized how she was practically drooling at the sight of him and shook the image out of her head. “Anyways, put on your clothes and let’s get out of here. I’m starving.”

“Really!? We can get out of here?” Yonghwa asked like a child that had been told they were going to Disneyworld. “Yes! Finally we can leave this piece of crap place.”

“We’re still staying here at the mall, so hold your horses. What part of ‘You’re mine for the whole day’ don’t you understand?” Seohyun sassily questioned. “Go on, get dressed.” Yonghwa’s smile faded quickly when he heard their stay at the mall would be extended. In a matter of moments, the now angry young man stepped out with the clothes in his hand and headed towards the cash register.

“Your total will be 300,000 won (roughly US$300). I hope the clothes were to your liking,” stated the polite woman at the register. Yonghwa managed to keep his eyeballs from flying out of his eyes once he heard the price. He should have known that Seohyun would bring him to a place that cost a fortune. He had no problems shelling out the cash since he had more than enough in his account. Yonghwa just felt that it was a rather big waste of money for just one night.

“Charge it to this please,” Seohyun cut in while handing a small rectangular piece of plastic to the cashier. “Don’t worry about this, I got it. I know how much you hate this kind of gesture, but I didn’t get you a Christmas or Birthday present. If you argue now, I’ll cry in front of everyone so they all talk about how much of a bad person you are.” Yonghwa had no intention of setting the ticking time bomb off, so he reluctantly agreed. Clothes in hand, the pair walked back towards the spot where they first met that morning.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“So how has the mall been?” Seohyun asked before taking in a mouthful of her salad. She absolutely detested fast food so she ordered the healthiest thing she could find. Yonghwa had insulted her for eating like a rabbit, but she paid no attention to him. His comment got her to complain about how he would be getting a heart attack from eating the greasy piece of crap known as a hamburger.

“Meh, I guess it could have been worse,” he unenthusiastically commented.

“Yonghwa can I ask you something?”

“You’re going to ask even if I say no, so just ask,” he pointed out sarcastically.

“Is there a reason you put up with me?” Seohyun asked, catching him off guard. “Remember how when we first met you really didn’t like me? Why do you still talk to me and hang out with me even though I’m so annoying to you. I mean, you always complain how much of a troublesome person I am, so shouldn’t you be avoiding me?” Yonghwa noticed how she was being rather serious about the question, but he had no idea how to answer it. He hadn’t expected her to ask something like that, so he really had no answer to that.

“Hmm, who knows? I have no idea myself. My brain keeps telling me to stay away from you, but something else tells me that it’s okay. I don’t really know what to tell you to be honest. Every time you screw something up, my intuition tells me to get as far away from you as possible. However, there’s another thing keeping me from doing so. I’m just as far in the dark as you are about this.”

“Oh,” Seohyun responded disappointedly. Truthfully she wanted to hear something along the lines of them being friends, but it was probably too early for anything like that. That didn’t stop her from prodding even further into his feelings. Her goal would be to get him to say they were friends by the end of the day. “Well, is there any reason you decided to help me in that alley? You were mad at me then weren’t you? If you were mad at me then it would have been better for you to leave me in the dark with those three guys.”

“I should have left you in there all alone huh?” Yonghwa joked, eliciting a glare from the questioning girl. “Calm down, I was kidding. Have you ever gotten that feeling where you feel like you are forced to help someone? Well, I’m not saying I felt obligated or forced to against my will. It was more of a feeling that I never felt before. When I heard you scream and saw you on the ground crying I just got really mad. I was madder at those guys for making you cry than I was at you for saying all that stuff.”

“So you got angry at them because they were hurting me?”

“Yeah, I had never been so mad in my life. I wanted to rip them apart piece by piece for doing that to you. It was weird because I didn’t even know why I was that mad. I’ve gotten into so many fights before, but I had never had such a big urge to win,” Yonghwa explained. Seohyun paid attention to his explanation with full concentration, hoping to hear something that would indicate what he felt towards her. “I felt like I had to win at all costs. Something kept telling me that even if I died I had to get rid of those guys.”

“Is that why you acted like a zombie even after they had beaten you down so hard?” Seohyun asked interestedly.

“Yeah probably. It’s pretty weird that all of that happened. All I remember is that I knocked two out then got knocked out myself. I don’t remember ever getting back up. Anyways, why did you ask?”

“Uh, no reason, I was just wondering,” Seohyun lied. His answer hadn’t been what she completely wanted, but it was close enough. “Are you done eating? If you are we are going to our next destination: The movie theater.” It had been a long day already, so Yonghwa was not even going to argue with her anymore. He knew he would lose in a fight with words so he could do nothing else but follow her lead. “Comon, let’s go.” Yonghwa shoved the last bite of food down his throat before he was dragged by his arm for the millionth time today. Strangely enough, he wasn’t feeling the least bit uncomfortable with the physical contact. Usually, he would quickly swat anyone away who touched him, but this time around it felt normal.

Yonghwa had really no interest in whatever the hell they were doing next so he paid no attention to the events that occurred before they walked into the theater. All he noticed was Seohyun bought tickets and popcorn before heading inside. Luckily they were late enough to miss all the annoying previous Seohyun hated. Yonghwa regretted coming with her into the movie rather quickly. He wasn’t really afraid of anything, so horror movies didn’t affect him in the slightest. However, every few minutes, a roar of frightened screams would be heard, including from the girl next to him. If this wasn’t the very definition of annoying, he didn’t know what was.

Yonghwa had to admit the movie about a ghost that haunted and chased after young high school students was good, but hardly scary enough to warrant that many screams. He supposed maybe his emotionless and stoic personality was to blame, so he just sat quietly and made no comments. It wasn’t until Seohyun ended up in his arms that he was brought back from his thoughts.

“Yah, what are you doing?” Yonghwa whispered to the scared girl. “You already claimed my right arm and now you’re going to get on top of me? Let me go!” Once again the ghost’s malevolent face popped out on the screen and Seohyun pressed her weight even further against the annoyed boy. It didn’t seem like she would be getting off any time soon, so he it up and let her do her own thing.

“Yonghwa, you’re not scared?” whispered Seohyun. “Oh, sorry that I jumped on you hehe.” If Seohyun had said that thirty minutes before, Yonghwa would have bothered to answer. Now he was too focused on the movie to care about Seohyun being on him. Soon enough his hand was holding the ends of her hair and them lightly. The gentle motion surprised her, but she wasn’t going to complain. Every time Seohyun jumped a little, she noticed how Yonghwa subconsciously gripped her a little tighter. Seohyun had no idea what was going on with him, but then again neither did he.

“Wow that was so lame,” Seohyun complained. “Why did they let all the people die? That ghost is still alive and he’s going to kill more people.” The movie hadn’t gone how anyone had expected it, since a plot twist in the end managed to kill the main character.

“If it was so lame, why were you all over me during the movie?” Yonghwa teased. Even he found it weird that he hadn’t minded her hugging him so tightly, but he brushed those thoughts away.

“Hey! You weren’t exactly innocent yourself. I knew you were a little byuntae after all. If you don’t like me invading your personal space so much, then why did you hug me so hard every time I got scared?” Seohyun asked in her defense. It was easy to tell that she had won the argument when Yonghwa coughed awkwardly and kept walking while looking at his feet. The pair walked arm in arm out of the movie theater just as the rest of the many couples enjoying their dates. To anyone else, the two high school students could easily be mistaken for a pair of lovebirds enjoying a movie.

“So are we going to go home anytime soon or what?” Yonghwa complained. As much ‘fun’ as he was having, he still didn’t like the fact that they were amongst so many loud people. “Earth to Seohyun… you there?” Seohyun had stopped walking a minute back and was staring at something in a store window, preventing Yonghwa from moving forward. Yonghwa turned around to see the girl staring into a store where people were building stuffed animals from scratch. He noticed the way her eyes sparkled as they moved across every cute and fluffy animal in the window.

“I forgot I have to buy something at another store really fast,” Seohyun said while peeling her eyes from the store. “It’s another girly store, so I’m sorry if you have to suffer again. Comon, let’s go.” Yonghwa saw how hard it was for Seohyun to walk away from the Teddy Bear store. It was funny to him how an 18-year-old girl could be so happy upon seeing the stuffed animals.

“Seohyun, you go on ahead. I have to go to the bathroom, but I’ll text you so I can find you alright?” Yonghwa lied. He had no intention of going to the bathroom, but he needed an excuse to shake Seohyun off of him. “I won’t run away I promise.” For the first time in a few hours, Seohyun dropped the grip on his arm and let him roam free.

“If you run away I’ll find you and kill you myself. Let’s meet here in thirty minutes. I’ll text you when I’m ready,” Seohyun suggested suspiciously. She knew she had to keep any eye on him, but she couldn’t watch him go to the bathroom.

“Alright, I’ll be ready for it,” he stated before running off towards the bathroom. Once he saw Seohyun was out of sight, he retraced his steps until he walked into the store filled with all kinds of plushies. The bright and cheery atmosphere was enough to make him throw up, but he had to endure it if he wanted to complete his goal. He felt a little bad for being so mean to Seohyun even though she was nothing but nice to him. Yonghwa’s pride was also eating him up from the inside since she had paid for all of his stuff today, so it was the least he could do.

“Hello sir, are you here to get something for your girlfriend?” a worker from the store politely asked.

“Hehe, um,not exactly, but yeah sure I guess,” Yonghwa answered nervously. He usually never got embarrassed, but even this was too much for him. All around him he noticed that he was the only person that was above the age of 12, creating an air of awkwardness around him. He was grateful to the female worker for coming over to help him since he was pretty much clueless as to what to do.

“Well, if you need help I would be happy to provide you some assistance. Now what would you like to make today? I suggest just going with a bear for now, especially for a girlfriend.” Yonghwa followed the woman and did as she suggested. Soon enough he was stuffing large balls of cotton into a mid-sized, brown bear just like all the small children in the store. If that wasn’t the most awkward thing in the world, he didn’t know what was. The woman handed him a small heart shaped piece of plastic, which he had no idea what it was for.

“This heart goes…?” Yonghwa asked stupidly. The woman laughed at his awkward attitude and explained that he should put it into the bear as a symbol of his affection, so he just followed directions. “What a drag…” he mumbled before putting it into the bear. If making the bear wasn’t awkward enough, he still had to dress it. The things he did to make that annoying girl happy…

“Do you have anything special you would like to dress the bear with?” the woman spoke up once more. “Like, if you have a doctor friend you’d dress it like a doctor. Or perhaps something she would enjoy seeing on the bear?” Yonghwa thought hard on what to dress the bear with, and he remembered how much she enjoyed the outfit he chose for the party. As if the Teddy Bear God had known he was coming, Yonghwa found the exact same outfit in the catalogue. The resemblance to his clothes was perfect, uncanny, but perfect. In a matter of minutes, he now had a ‘Yonghwa’ bear that he was sure Seohyun would love.

The bear was pretty much the definition of the word perfect in Yonghwa’s eyes. It was wearing the same clothes as he had, it had a slight frown on its face, and it even had the same hair color as Yonghwa. Seeing as how much Seohyun enjoyed his company, Yonghwa thought she would like having a bear replica of him. It was a little awkward walking around the mall with a bear in his hands, but then again, he never cared what people thought of him anyways.

- Seohyun, are you ready to head out? I am if you are. – Yonghwa

- Yeah, meet me at the place we split up at. It’s getting late and I think it’s time we went home – Seohyun.

Yonghwa didn’t have to wait too long before he saw Seohyun coming towards him with a bag from what he supposed was an accessories store. “Hey, sorry to keep you waiting Yonghwa. I just couldn’t find what I was looking for. Oh, why do you have your hands behind your back?” Seohyun questioned. She didn’t really expect what he pulled out next.

“Um, well I didn’t get you a Christmas present either, and I feel like I should have, so I got this.” Out from behind him, appeared a brown bear that could pass for Yonghwa’s twin. “I didn’t really know what to get you since I don’t know what you like.” Seohyun stared at the bear with wide open eyes and didn’t speak a single word. “If you don’t like it, I can return it.”

“Did you make this yourself?” Seohyun asked, while taking the bear from his hands.

“Yeah, I made it while you were gone,” Yonghwa answered nervously. All of a sudden he felt hot and uncomfortable. As he had never experienced such an awkward feeling, it was a little overwhelming. “Like I said, if you don’t want it we can-”

“I love it!” Seohyun squealed before forcefully crashing onto Yonghwa. He expected her to be happy, but he didn’t expect her to be that excited. The heat in his face was almost unbearable for him at that moment. If that wasn’t bad enough, he felt his chest tighten up and his heart began to beat faster as if he had just ran a few miles. Seohyun peeled herself off of him and recreated the hug with her new bear.

“What a drag…” Yonghwa’s voice complained, but it wasn’t the real Yonghwa that had said it. Seohyun hugged the bear once more and the same exact sentence came out from it.

“Did you record that onto it?” Seohyun asked while continuing to hug it, each hug forcing the identical words out of it.

“No, I didn’t do that. The lady told me to put a little plastic heart in it. I remember saying that as I put it in there, so I guess it recorded me saying it. Are you sure you want to keep the bear even though it says that?”

“Yes! Don’t return it. I would rather have him say that since it represents you more. Now that I think about it, he looks exactly like you. He’s angry, he’s wearing the clothes I picked out for you, and he even thinks I’m a drag. I wouldn’t have him any other way. Thank you~! Thank you~! Thank you~! Thank you~! Thanks so much Yonghwa, I love him,” Seohyun squealed. Hearing her happy reaction made him want to smile, but he forced it down. That day he experienced so many strange and new things, but some of them were a little too uncomfortable for him. Although he felt like smiling, he couldn’t have Seohyun think weird things about him. It was bad enough he was practically her slave. He didn’t need something else to have Seohyun annoy him about.

 

Author’s Note: So if I had a Yonghwa bear… Okay I won’t even go there. I’m a 19-year-old male so it’s too embarrassing to say… LOL who am I kidding. OMGWTF I WANT A YONGHWA BEAR!! Ahem, well then, back to the story. So I found the beginning of this chapter to be quite boring, but I feel like it worked out in the end. So what do you guys think of Yonghwa’s behavior? Weird or no? Good or bad? Shall I continue it or cut it off? Anyways, don’t know if I’ll update tomorrow since I have no idea what the weekend will bring. I’ll probably write it tomorrow, but not update it till Saturday since I probably won’t get a chance to write over the weekend. Have fun reading guys. Party time next chapter!

p.s A quick message to you female readers out there. Please spare your male friends/boyfriends/whatever you have, from the horrors of shopping. We hate it and we do not appreciate you taking ten hours to pick nothing. Lol, random message I know, but I was probably just saying what most guys think about shopping haha.

Oh and another thing to clarify. I saw a comment or two on how Yonghwa was opening up too easily. I can see where you’re coming from, but after 20 chapters, a gradual change is overdue. To explain his behavior in the last chapter: Yonghwa finally just snapped. After 19 years of rejection, having someone treat you like that will change you. I believe that Seohyun’s little event justifies Yonghwa opening up to her.

 

Last last message for real. Sorry that I didn't respond to the comments on chapter 19, aka the fluffiest chapter of all time. I'll resume my daily commenting for chapter 20 though.