Act normally, Heejin. Just act like nothing happened and it’ll be less awkward.

Everybody else had probably no idea as to what was going on but the awkward yet nerve-wracking tension was quickly rising. And I was sure Seunghyun was going through the same thing too judging from his minimal eye contact and the lack of conversation with the rest.

It was annoying. I came here thinking I would only have to deal with Jae alone but lately the universe has been conspiring in my favor. However, the dinner was unpredictably bearable, or so I thought, until my stupid cousin decided to ruin it all. I guess this is the reason why people say that when girls fall in love, they tend to become really dumb.

“Jin! How was the party yesterday night? Hope you didn’t get completely wasted with your new bo-” Oh hell no.

“JAE.WASHROOM. I need your help in the washroom, come with me?” I cut her off and dragged her out of her seat to the washroom before she even dared to speak some more.  I sneaked a glance at Seunghyun but he was burying himself with the dumplings and I prayed that he wasn’t paying attention.

Jae shot me a puzzled look when I locked the both of us in a cubicle. For a moment I felt relieved to be free from the awkward atmosphere I had to go through the past 40 minutes.

“Ok now fess up, what did you do this time?” Jae questioned seriously. Of course she knew I was up to no good considering we shared the strongest bond among our relatives.

I breathed out, knowing that I had to provide a valid explanation for my rather odd behaviour during dinner. “I... I just don’t have boyfriends anymore, okay? I’m completely over that dating every single guy phase, Jae. Seriously.” Sure.

She raised an eyebrow, doubting my words. “So now are you telling me you’re trying to hit on one of those four guys outside?” With her arms crossed, she stared into my eyes, trying to look for any slight movement to justify how truthful I was.

“What no what the hell I mean why would I do that yeah sure I guess they are good looking but they’re completely not my type I don’t think I would date an-“

“You’re rambling. I can tell when you’re lying, you know?”

“Pfft, Jae. I thought you knew me well. I’m completely heartbroken right now.” I rolled my eyes, trying to avoid any further interrogation.

“Whatever you say, Heejin. Come on, it’s getting hot let’s just get out of here.”

I looked into the mirror one last time while giving more color to my lips. “And Jae, try not to ruin my reputation in front of them again, yeah? Afterall, they are still really hot, you know?” She snickered at my remark and pushed me out of the washroom, this time dragging me to the table.

Everybody continued eating and catching up, and I realized it felt nice to hang out with the boys again since it was forever since we last did this. Suddenly I felt bad for cursing Jiyong for inviting the boys over when he clearly knew it was supposed to be my date alone with my cousin. We stayed there for almost two hours before deciding to head home because Jae was tired and I didn’t want to continue staying with the boys.

“Alright, I see you guys soon, yeah?” I waved before quickly walking to the opposite direction. There was a sudden gush of hot air on my right and before I knew it, he was standing in front of me with his gaze so deadly albeit mesmerizing. “Do you wanna explain?”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry I didn’t turn up it wasn’t my intention to I just overslept and I felt sick and the next thing I know it was already six and I’m sorry I didn’t return your calls I was rushing here to meet Jae and-“

“Why are you rambling?” Seunghyun laughed lowly and tore my eyes away from the ground to look into his. “It’s okay, let’s just arrange another date then.” My eyebrows furrowed more deeply and I was stunned for a second because I didn’t expect him to ask me out again. He wasn’t even mad about it nor was he worried that I might stand him up for the second time.

“Tomorrow evening for coffee? My treat. And I promise I’ll show up.”

Seunghyun's POV

The moment I laid my eyes on her I could only stand there frozen. I couldn’t believe she was there. Just earlier today I waited almost two hours for her and not only did she not turn up, she didn’t even have the decency to call me back. And lo and behold, there she was having dinner with the two pretending as though we didn’t make any plans for this afternoon. And that just pissed the out of me.

Throughout the whole dinner I was trying to calm myself by gobbling up all the food. And they didn’t even taste that good. Daesung and Seungri were throwing random questions at me but all I could do was nod and stuff more food into my mouth. I didn’t want to speak to anyone because I was obviously mad at the situation but at the same time I didn’t want to appear like I was and suddenly I was overwhelmed with emotions.

“Jin! How was the party yesterday night? Hope you didn’t get completely wasted with your new bo-”

Don’t look up. Don’t look up. Pretend like you didn’t hear anything. Don’t look up. Stuff that dumpling in your mouth. Don’t look up.

But I obviously heard all of it. Sure my eyes were attached to the food but my ears were wide open to hear every single conversation they were having. And it seemed like Jae was asking Heejin about her new boyfriend. Heejin has a boyfriend. I clenched my fist underneath the table, trying not to let my emotions take control. So she has a boyfriend. And this was why she stood me up today? The fact that I was losing to another person made me angrier but this only made me want her more.

Two hours into dinner and everyone was starting to leave. When I saw her going to the opposite direction, I told the boys to head back first and hastened my pace towards her.

“Do you wanna explain?” My eyes were throwing daggers and she kept going on and on about how apologetic she was. She was rambling. Was she nervous? I laughed at her little antics. “It’s okay, let’s just arrange another date then.” I was still mad but I had to show her that I was fine being stood up, right?

“Tomorrow evening for coffee? My treat. And I promise I’ll show up.” A coffee. Okay. I waited what felt like the entire day for her and all I was going to get is coffee. But I wasn’t complaining. She didn’t reject the date so this only means she wasn’t seeing anyone else. I hope. I smiled, and told her to call me tomorrow before walking back to the direction I was supposed to head to.

I spent the entire walk home pondering over her. And her supposedly boyfriend. And what she was trying to do to me. And why I was so curious about her. And why all of a sudden she has this huge effect on me.

And wondered if she has the same thoughts too.