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“Who’s going to get married?”

 

I can feel the world stopping for Jong In and his friends as the young woman repeats her question, for no one has bothered to answer when she asked for the first time. She is petite, fragile-looking even, but her commanding presence is almost similar to that of Jong In’s mother, the Lady, except I can tell that she is sweet and kind -- not cold and and heartless.

“Hi,” I step forward to shake her hand, my tone light and amiable. “I’m Gong Minji, Jong In’s fiancee.”

Her expression changes into something I can’t exactly read, but then her face breaks into a smile as she takes my hand. “Han Jina. Nice to meet you.”

“I didn’t know you’re going to get married,” Another young man joins in our conversation, making all of us turn to look at him. He is tall, almost as lanky as Chanyeol, with dark hair and pale skin. His face carries a somber expression, making me think that he doesn’t go out that much and that he doesn’t have a lot of friends. Except maybe for weird people like Jong In their other friends I met just now.

His comment ignites a spark of life to Jong In’s frigid state. “I am not going to get married,” he says to the young man evenly. I realize that Jong In shares a different dynamic with the young man, for his voice and expression aren’t as ardent compared to other people like me, Chanyeol and Baekhyun. He is as calm as a river undisturbed, as if trying to match the young man’s personality.

“Oh. My apologies then.” The young man looks at Jina first, as if to ask for her permission to let him continue.  When Jina returns this with a blank stare, he finally looks at me, bowing slightly as he introduces himself,

“Oh Sehun, my lady.”

He looks like an angel. He really does. His existence is otherworldly and just difficult to...explain.

“Gong Minji,” I finally give my name after looking at him as if he were some Christmas ghost. “Are you one of Jong In’s friends?”

“Yes,” He replies with a gentle yet enigmatic smile. “Jong In is my best friend.”

“Really?!” I exclaim in disbelief. How can Jong In have a friend as meek as him? Sehun is nothing like Jong In; even someone who just met him for the first time can tell that without a doubt. How do they even get along?

“They’ve known each other the longest,” Baekhyun explains rather cheerfully, and both Sehun and Jong In nod at this. “They go way back.”

“Yup, even before they were born,” Chanyeol adds.

“Please don’t exaggerate,” Jong In tells him irritatedly. “You’re making it seem like we’re attached at the hip.” There seems to be a hint of disgust with the way he has said it, but Sehun only laughs at him, erasing my speculations that there is bad blood between them just hiding beneath the surface of their friendship.

“Anyway, Minji-ssi, can I ask why you were looking for Jong In?”

“Just call me Minji,” I tell Sehun and the others, making Jong In scoff, but the rest of us ignore him. “To answer your question, Sehun, I came here to find Jong In because we’re going to have a date today.”

The news makes Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Jong In gasp. Sehun and Jina on the other hand exchange glances.

“WE- WE ARE NOT GOING OUT!” Jong In spits out defensively after regaining his composure, but he is looking at Jina instead of me. “We aren’t!”

All of us look at Jina, waiting for her to speak. The others might not have seen it, but there is a flash of hurt in her eyes when she looked back at Jong In. Her disappointment affects me, and for a moment I feel like taking back what I just said, if it would make her feel better, or less uncomfortable with the situation I put her in.

“Well,” She starts carefully, her eyes never leaving Jong In’s face. “I don’t really care if you are going out with her.”

Her words hit Jong In like an avalanche, their iciness hitting him rapidly it makes his face pale. I can tell that it isn’t the answer he’s expecting to hear. The others are the same; their faces mirror shock in varying degrees, with Sehun’s face being the least surprised.

“Fine,” Jong In says scornfully, mouth trembling a little as he walks up to me and takes my hand. “If that’s what you want, I’ll go out with her.”

“Fine.” Jina says simply, looking away as if she wants to end the conversation between them.

“What are you waiting for?” Jong In growls at me when he sees that I have no intention of leaving yet. “I thought you want us to go on a date?!”  

“Aren’t you saying good-bye to your friends?”

“Look, they’re obviously waiting for us to disappear together so let’s just go!”

Giving them an awkward bow, I say my good-byes to Jina and their friends. I would have said that I would like to see them again, but Jong In drags me away from them before I can even open my mouth.

------

“Pabo, pabo, pabo.”

Jong In was in a sour mood when we left the university. I am regretting my carelessness now -- why did I even say that I was looking for him because we have a date? I could’ve just left after getting my revenge but no, I chose to stay to meet his friends and talk with them. Why am I so stupid sometimes?

“She should have said no.”

This makes me stop enjoying the iced coffee I have been drinking, the sweetness of the caramel strangely leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. “Jong In,” I begin to say in my most diplomatic tone, even though I am honestly annoyed that he is not letting me enjoy our first afternoon date together. “You could have said no to this, too. I mean, if you have been intending to please her anyway...”

“What do you know?” He snaps back, angry at me again for telling him what I think. “Just drink your coffee so we can call this a day!”

“Why are you always so mad?” I am aware that I am already raising my voice and that other customers are starting to look curiously at us, but I don’t care. “No wonder Jina doesn’t even bother trying to pacify you anymore! You’re so immature!”

“You know nothing about Jina and I!” He slams his left hand angrily on the table, making the coffee cups move to the ripple of vibration his action has caused. “Shut up for once, will you?!”

“Oh for fxck’s sakes you should be the one doing that!” I shoot back furiously, already exasperated with his constant outbursts. I can already see some people whispering, probably about us, further infuriating me -- I have never been into a public argument before and the fact that Jong In is making me look like a woman with no manners is pissing me off so much right now. “Talk again and I swear, I am going to hit you!”

“Oh you wouldn’t dare,” He sneers, eyes gleaming tauntingly at me. “Do just that and I swear --”

Small ice cubes land on his face, along with cream, caramel and bittersweet coffee.  He is rendered speechless as what was left of my drink streams down his perfect face.

“WHAT THE HELL!” Jong In bellows, and this time everyone inside the cafe is watching us in rapt attention. “YOU DID NOT!”

“Oh yes I just did,” I say sweetly as I lean back against my chair and stare at his messy self, proud of my work. “Don’t worry though, you still look hot.”

“Oh yeah?” He returns with a wicked grin, making me feel uneasy all of a sudden. “Hm, I bet you look hot with coffee on your face too!”

“KIM JONG IN!”

A splash of coffee hits my face before I could even stop him properly. I can hear him laughing cruelly at me, because obviously I look stupid as he does.

There is a collective gasp heard around us, but before Jong In and I could burn the place down, the manager is smart enough to approach us and say,

“Get out.”

----------

“Where the fxck is Taejun?!”

We are wandering around the streets of Hongdae, our faces sticky with coffee and cream. After being thrown out of the cafe, another misfortune has befallen the two of us in the form of Jong In’s driver not showing up when we needed him.

Bad luck. If I had known that spending half a day with Jong In would be this bad, I wouldn’t have gone to his university in the first place.

“Fxcking bad day,” Jong In curses to himself, angrily kicking a small rock out of our way in frustration. “Fxcking bad date.”

“Ugh. Shut up!” I hiss at him. “Do you want the police to arrest us?”

“Can you leave me alone?” He retorts, walking faster in hopes of leaving me behind. “This is all your fault, mother is crazy for choosing you to be my wife.”

“My parents are crazier for even thinking that I can live with someone like you!”

Jong In closes his eyes and breathes deeply when he notices a few people looking at us again. “Minji,” he says quietly, “Let’s not argue here.”

“Best fxcking idea you had all day.” I answer back in hushed tones. He throws dagger looks at me in displeasure, but tentatively reaches out his hand to take mine. “Come on. Let’s find some quiet place to stay.”

--------

“Sorry for yelling at you.”

“Yeah, it’s okay. Should’ve let you drink your coffee in peace.”

“Sorry for going to your university.”

“Are you not going to say sorry for biting on my ear?”

“Well, you should say sorry for...”

“Fine. Sorry for ditching you and making fun of you on the phone.”

“Apology accepted.”

“And how about...”

“Okay, Jong In. Sorry for attacking you.”

“And?”

“And for humiliating you in front of your friends.”

“And?”

“Oh, for chrissakes,” I sigh in exhaustion. The empty bench we found in a strangely deserted park has made the tension between us disappear, but his persistence to make me apologize for everything I did to him is starting to get on my nerves again. Why can’t this young man shut up?

“And?” He presses some more when he doesn’t hear me talking.

Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I finally give in and say, “Sorry for biting on your precious ear, Jong In. I won’t do it again.”

This makes him smile in satisfaction. “Good girl.”

“Unless you insult me again...”

“Fine. Sorry prin-cess. I’ll try not to.”

“TRY NOT TO?”

“Okay,” he laughs, and the lightness in it makes me look at him. When Jong In isn’t mad or yelling at others he can actually look...really nice. Suddenly the thought of being possibly stuck with him for life isn’t so bad. “I’ll try my very best, Minji.”

“Good,” I quickly look away before he catches me staring at him. “I’ll try my best too. Maybe this engagement could work, after all.”

He heaves a sigh upon hearing this, and the wave of sadness and longing that came with it makes me ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Jina.”

Jina. The young woman who looks frail and incapable of taking care of herself, but whose eyes shine so bright they can bring someone back to life. There is passion lurking beneath the innocence of her eyes, and that alone makes me understand why she matters to Jong In a lot. I needle of pain tinges me inside, but I couldn’t seem to identify where it is coming from.

“Is Jina your girlfriend?” I ask bravely, hoping that Jong In is calm enough to give me an answer.

He lets out a bitter laugh as he looks up at the blue, cloudless sky above us. “I honestly don’t know,” he answers almost wistfully. “But I do love her.”

“Oh,” I say. I look down to stare at my shoes as I prod him to tell me more, “And how about her? Does she...”

“Love me?” Jong In finishes my question for me. Another sigh escapes his lips as he continues, “I’d like to think so. Yeah, I think she does.  Oh, I desperately pray she does.”
 

“That’s...nice.”

“Yeah?” He looks at me, a small smile playing on his lips. “How about you, Minji? Do you love...someone?”

“Well, I love my parents.”

“So you never had that feeling yet,” Jong In says, but his voice this time is understanding. “I was like you not too long ago, until I met Jina. When I met her for the first time, I thought she looked so plain and uninteresting. The courage and determination to fight and survive have always been there with her however, so I guess that’s what attracted me to her. You know what people call her? Tough weed. She’s so tiny, but she is strong. Stronger than me, I think. She didn’t like me at all when we first met. She likes Sehun...but I’d like to think that the odds are at my favor recently. We just had a wonderful date three weeks ago.”

“Then the Lady hears about it, hence, our instant engagement.” I can hear the loneliness in my voice as I tell him this, but Jong In is too occupied with his story to even notice it.

“My mother,” He picks up where he left off, “My mother doesn’t approve of Jina. Jina isn’t...she isn’t one of us. You must have an idea on how scandalous that could be in our circle, it’s practically unheard of for someone like her to get accepted...it’s bxll stuff, I know, but...I knew mother wouldn’t approve -- none in our world would. I didn’t care at first because I thought my feelings for Jina are mainly due to boredom and lack of adventure in my life. But the more I spend time with her, the more I realize how much I want her to be in my life. Forever. I don’t think I can live without her.”

“I’m sorry, Jong In.”

“Hey, no worries.” Jong In smiles sadly. “Sorry for telling you all this. It must be awkward for you to sit here and listen. I mean, we’re --”

“Don’t worry,” I brush him off with a laugh. “I understand. She must be an amazing girl.”

“She is.”

Both of us say nothing after this, unsure of how to end our conversation. The day is almost officially over, so we watch the sun set before us quietly. I glance at Jong In and see tones of dark orange, purple and red cast shadows on his face, knowing somehow that he isn’t with me at the moment.

He is in the the beauty of her smile, the melody of her laugh, the beating of her heart.

He is with the girl he truly loves.