It’s been about a week since I’ve seen Kikwang. I haven’t really been able to meet up with him since he’s either been busy at work, or hanging out with Joon. Either way, I really wanted to see him soon.

It annoyed me, how badly I wanted to get to know Kikwang. He seemed like most typical guys, but there was something about him that was intriguing. Since it was the weekend, I was really looking forward to spending most of it with him.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about how my mom felt about me quitting on my first day, well let’s just say that dinner was extremely awkward and quiet. She started talking to me again a few days ago, but I can tell she’s still disappointed in me. I had to find another job, but having a record of working at a small restaurant for a day isn’t the most impressive thing to have on a resume.

“Hyosung, someone is at the door for you!” my dad called. “It’s a boy. Do you want me to tell him to go away?”

“Yah, don’t be so protective,” I grunted, running down the stairs. I was so excited to finally start hanging out with Kikwang.

“Hey, Hyosung.”

“Oh...Hi Joon,” I greeted. I tried forcing a smile, but for some reason I couldn’t get it look as bright as usual. “What brings you here?”

“Umm...I wanted to ask you if...umm...never mind,” he mumbled, turning around.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Well, I don’t know if you would be up for it,” he shrugged.

“Up for what?” I asked.

“Do you want to go to the mall with me today?” he asked, scratching his head shyly.

“M-Me?” I stuttered. “Wait, what about your girlfriend?”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about her,” he smiled. Did that mean he broke up with her? I was really scared about going with him, because for all I knew, he could still be going out with her. I couldn’t just ask him directly though. What if they really broke up, and I would just add gas to the fire by reminding him more of the break up? Or what if they were still going out and he thought that I assumed he was asking me out on a date? That would be as awkward as hell.

“Hyosung, I need you to run an errand for me. I need you to buy some food, shampoo, and tampons,” my mom interrupted. That was the deal-breaker. There was no way I was going shopping for my mom, so I decided to go to the mall with Joon.

“I can’t,” I said abruptly. “I’m going to the mall with Joon.”

“Oh...okay. Well, have fun,” my mom looked at me with a huge smile on her face. You could easily tell she was desperate for me to get a boyfriend.

“Thank you,” Joon smiled. He took my hand and said, “Let’s go.”

On our way back to his house, he was still holding my hand. It felt a lot colder than when I was holding onto Kikwang or when I grabbed his arm. It didn’t feel as comfortable for some strange reason, and I was starting to miss Kikwang.

“So, what are we going to the mall for?” I asked.

“Nothing in particular,” he shrugged. “Just for fun, I guess.”

“Umm...where’s Kikwang?” I asked, hoping he would invite Kikwang to come along too.

“I asked him if he wanted to come and hang out with us, but he said he didn’t feel like it,” he replied. He didn’t feel like coming? Was he trying to avoid me?

“Oh...he didn’t want to hang out with me?” I mumbled.

“What? No, no, no, don’t take it personally,” Joon assured me. “I doubt you’re the reason why he didn’t want to come. He might be tired from work or something. Don’t worry. We’ll have a lot of fun today!”

We got on the motorcycle, and I gently placed my hands on his shoulders. I guess I felt more conscious about giving his girlfriend the wrong impression if she happened to see us.

“You can hold on to my waist, you know,” Joon chuckled. “I won’t bite.”

“That’s okay,” I assured him.

“Are you nervous or something? You don’t have to be,” he replied. I shook my head and assured him that I was totally fine. He shrugged and started driving us to the mall.

I didn’t really know what to expect when we got there. I mean, I barely knew him, and not knowing whether he still had a girlfriend or not would make it a lot harder to fully enjoy myself.

“So...what are we going to do?” I asked as we hopped off the motorcycle.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “You decide what we do first.” I was already starting to get bored. I knew he didn’t have a specific plan to do anything, but I at least hoped he had something in mind, instead of just waiting for me to decide what to do at the mall.

“We could go to the arcade,” I suggested. “I’m not really big on shopping.”

“Alright,” he smiled. I tried smiling back, but it didn’t feel that convincing. He took my hand again and we walked over to the arcade. I decided to just play one of the shooting games, and Joon followed me.

“Do you need some help?” he asked, trying to guide my hands and fix my aim.

“Er...Nope, I’m fine,” I replied, shrugging his hand away. It felt really awkward, like he was trying to lead me on or something. I don’t know if this is totally true, but I think Kikwang’s advice at the restaurant somehow stuck in my mind. It was like the whole time, I was trying to avoid getting close to Joon.

“Should we tag-team?” Joon suggested, picking up the other controller.

“Hmm? Oh, sure,” I muttered. I guess it would be better than him trying to guide my hands the whole time. As we started playing, I realized something: this guy at video games. We were playing an easy zombie-killing game, and he kept dying, so we had to start the game over continuously. I was starting to get really bored of playing with him, but I didn’t want to be rude or anything.

“Should we play another game?” he asked.

“Um...if you want,” I replied. “Maybe something that’s not a shooting game.”

“Yeah, I’m not exactly the best at those games,” he chuckled nervously.

“Actually, I’m feeling kind of hungry right now. Should we go have lunch?” I suggested. He just smiled again, and we walked to the food court. I just really wasn’t in the mood by this point, and I didn’t really feel like talking much.

“So...” Joon began, “...how have you been lately?” Great. Small talk.

“Okay, I guess,” I shrugged. “My mom’s been pushing me into getting another job after I quit working at the restaurant.”

“I thought you already got a job offer at another place?” he asked, raising his brow. Oh...crap, I forgot about what Kikwang said a few days ago.

“Oh, right,” I nodded. “Well the truth is, I never got a job offer. Kikwang was just trying to cover for me because he thought you wouldn’t want to hang out with someone who quits so easily.”

“That’s a silly reason not to hang out with someone,” he chuckled. “I think you’re a really cool person.”

“But you just met me,” I said, almost too bluntly. I think I was making the conversation more and more awkward by the second.

“Yeah, but...um...” he mumbled. “A guy can always assume that a girl is pretty cool.”

“I’ve always had this theory that when you ‘assume,’ you make and ‘’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me,’” I replied, hoping he would understand my joke.

“...I don’t get it,” he replied. So I guess he didn’t get my joke.

“Oh...” I muttered. “See, because I used the letters of the word ‘assume’ to...never mind.” I figured our conversation was already going downhill at this point, so there was no point in trying again.

“Look, I know I may seem like a really lame guy to hang out with, but-”

“What? No, it’s not your fault, I’m just feeling out of it today,” I interrupted, trying to lighten up the mood a bit.

“No, it is my fault,” he replied. “I’m usually not like this – I think I’m just a little more nervous than usual.”

“Nervous?” I repeated. “What are you nervous about?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Something just feels different today.” I was starting to get a little more interested in what he was thinking. Maybe he did break up with his girlfriend. Would that mean he sort of likes me? I still felt like it wasn’t a safe topic to talk about, but it was really bugging me.

“Hey, it’s okay, we all get nerves,” I smiled. I decided to try and give today another chance, whether it was a date or not. “Let’s just try and have fun with whatever time we have left today.”

The rest of the day was actually pretty fun, especially since we avoided playing shooting games at the arcade. It turned out that we had a lot of things in common, and Joon was a really easy person to talk to once he got more comfortable with himself. In fact, every assumption I had of Joon earlier today suddenly faded – I guess assuming stuff can really make an out of you. All of the older feelings of shyness and – I guess, infatuation – were back.

“So, I guess today actually turned out pretty well,” Joon said, taking a sip of his bubble tea.

“Yeah, I had a lot of fun,” I smiled.

“Oh, before we go, do you mind if we go to the jewellery store?” he asked.

“Sure, what do you need to buy?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” he smiled, grabbing my hand. He led me around the store, pointing at different necklaces.

“Ooh, this looks pretty,” I said, showing him a pink floral necklace.

“Miss, I’d like to have a closer look at that one,” Joon said to the salesclerk. He took the necklace and walked behind me. I felt my hair being lifted, and the necklace sliding around my neck.

“Wow, it’s pretty,” I said in awe, watching the gems twinkle under the lights.

“It looks perfect,” he grinned. “I’m definitely buying this one.” I couldn’t believe it. Was he really going to buy this necklace for me?

“It looks really expensive. You don’t really have to buy it,” I said.

“Are you kidding? My girlfriend would love it!” he chirped. His girlfriend? I guess I saw this coming. I mean, this isn’t some perfect fairytale, and I think I was just over-thinking things.

“Thanks again for hanging out with me today,” he smiled. “My girlfriend had a dance competition today, so I didn’t really have anyone to hang out with, or help me pick out a present for her.”

“Oh...no problem,” I mumbled. I felt like at the moment.

“Well, should we head home?” he asked, after buying the necklace.

“I think I’m just going to walk home,” I replied. “I feel really full from lunch – I have to burn off those calories.”

“Alright, suit yourself,” he shrugged. “See you.” I waved goodbye before he drove off. I kicked the ground in frustration and sighed – I felt used.

When I arrived home, I opened the door to find Kikwang lying on my couch.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” I yelled in shock. “W-What are you doing here?”

“I came over to see you, but you weren’t home, so you’re mom just told me to wait,” he replied.

“Why did you come here in the first place though?” I asked.

“I wanted to know how your ‘date’ went,” he winked. “But I saw Joon come home alone, so I got worried.”

“You got worried?” I repeated.

“Yeah...Well, we’re friends after all, right?” he replied.

“Heh, yeah...” I chuckled. “Wait. What did you mean by ‘date’? Did you purposely make me go to the mall alone with Joon?”

“You’re welcome,” he grinned. I glared at him and punched his arm. “YAH! THAT HURT!”

“You ,” I grunted. “He still has a girlfriend.”

“Don’t you like him though?” he asked. “I thought I was helping you.”

“I’m not a home-wrecker, Kikwang,” I frowned. “Even if I do like him, which I don’t, I wouldn’t go on a date with him if I knew he had a girlfriend.”

“I was just trying to help you with something you wanted,” he shrugged.

“What I really wanted was to hang out with you this weekend,” I replied.

“Me?” he repeated with a shocked expression.

“Well obviously,” I replied. “How am I supposed to get to know you better if I never get to spend time with you?”

“What if it takes months to really get to know me?” he asked. “You’re going to get really bored, and eventually grow frustrated with me. I’m really not that special.”

“I’m willing to do the work,” I smirked.

“I don’t know, Hyosung,” Kikwang sighed. “I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Yah, I didn’t run in the middle of a major intersection for you to back out on your promise,” I frowned.

“But you could find so many more interesting things to do in your spare time,” he whined.

“Look, I want to get to know you before I die, and that day is coming very soon,” I replied.

“...What?”

“Er, nothing!” I stuttered. I quickly took his hand and led him towards the doorway. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“I don’t think I can-”

“We’re hanging out tomorrow,” I demanded. “I know you don’t have work tomorrow, so don’t try excusing your way out of this.”

“Fine, but since you’re going to be finding out more about me tomorrow, you can expect a bunch of questions from me as well,” he scowled.

“I wouldn’t see it any other way.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Okee dokee, so I managed to update this week~! *throws confetti* 

AND I GOT MORE READERS OMFG *faints* ..so next week is my exams week, so I doubt I'll be able to update throughout the next few days D: Don't worry though, I have ideas in my head for the next chapter, so it shouldn't be too long before my next update. I'll try squeezing in an update sometime this week if I have time, but yeah...blame my school LOL