Chapter 10: Simon’s POV

“Iced or regular?” Irie asked, referring to the two coffee drinks sitting in the tray in her hands.

In addition to her handbag, she was carrying a plastic bag, indicative of another food item. She always has something whenever she comes by. Last time she was here, she brought pastries. The time before that, doughnuts. Another time, wine. And the list goes on and on.

“I’ll take the regular coffee,” I replied.

Of course her hospitality is greatly appreciated – especially by the other members – but I don’t want her to feel burdened. I always remind her that she doesn’t need to bring something every time she comes by. Her company is enough for me. But she never listens.

“Also, is there still space in the freezer?” she asked as she followed me inside. “I have ice cream too. I was thinking that we could share it after dinner.”

I swear this woman refuses to show up anywhere empty handed.

“I hope so,” I chuckled. “Thanks for bringing all of this over. I’ll take those from you before you hurt yourself,” I added, reaching out for the coffee tray and bag of ice cream when I saw her trying to slip her feet out of her monstrous high heels. “I don’t know how you manage to wear those things to work every day. How do you even walk in them?”

She laughed as she put a pair of slippers on her feet. “You’re welcome. And they’re not as bad as they seem. The platform in front also helps a lot. Plus, when you’re as small as me, heels are a necessity.”

On a good day, Irie stood at 153 centimeters, but I didn’t realize that until the first time we got dinner together. During the Calvin Klein event, and even during the album release party, her height wasn’t something that I really noticed. I knew she was shorter than me, but the height difference between us wasn’t very large – she came up to around my eye level. But that was because whenever I ran into her during those events, she was sporting heels that gave her an extra 15 centimeters of height. When I met up with her at the front of the Calvin Klein store to leave for dinner, I saw that she had on a pair of flip flops to give her feet a rest from the heeled shoes I remember her running around in all night. Needless to say, when she stood up and I saw that she actually came up to about my shoulder in flat shoes, I was a bit taken aback.

“What’s up cuz!” Daniel exclaimed in English when he saw us emerging from the entryway. “What’d you bring this time?” he asked as he pointed to the plastic bag.

“Ice cream,” she replied. “I remembered to get your favorite – Crunch King.”

“You’re the best Irie,” Daniel said, grabbing her in a hug. “Don’t you think so Simon hyung?” he then added, switching into Korean, with a cheeky grin on his face.

“Yes, I do think so Daniel,” I said, rolling my eyes.

This kid, I swear. He really can’t resist teasing me about Irie, can he?

“Wait, why are there only two coffees?” Daniel then asked as he released Irie from his embrace.

Now that he mentioned it, it was kind of odd that Irie only brought two coffees with her. Normally, she would’ve brought enough for everyone to share.

“One’s for me and one’s for Simon,” she replied.

“Does this mean that you don’t love me or the other members as much as Simon?” Daniel pretended to weep.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Irie said, rolling her eyes as she elbowed him in the ribs. “You don’t even like coffee that much. Plus, Simon was the one who graciously invited me over. Not you.”

“Fair enough,” Daniel shrugged. “Thanks for the ice cream then. There is enough ice cream, right?”

“Yes, there’s enough ice cream for everyone,” Irie then laughed. “Speaking of which, it needs to go into the freezer before it melts.”

“I got it,” I said, heading to the kitchen straight away.

After shuffling a few things around for a couple of minutes, I managed to get the ice cream to fit. Shutting the freezer door behind me and grabbing the two coffees, I then headed back towards the living room, where I assumed Irie would be.

Sure enough, she was there, sitting on one of the couches. And as per usual, she had her phone pressed to her ear. I assumed she was taking another business call, until I heard her sigh loudly.

“Why are you getting upset?” she asked the person on the other end in English.

It must be Darren.

“I was just trying to do something nice. What’s the big deal?” she continued.

It’s definitely Darren.

“Oh, so now I need permission to see you?” she scoffed. “You never had a problem with me ‘ambushing’ you at work like that in the past. What makes this time so different?”

They’re always arguing. And from my observations, it always seems like he’s starting it.

“Darren. Darren,” she said. “Darren?”

She let out another sigh after the last “Darren,” which made it clear that he hung up on her.

Without saying a word, I went up to the coffee table and set her drink down in front of her before taking a seat beside her on the couch. She was upset and I had enough experience with my sisters to know that if I said the wrong thing, I ran the risk of getting something thrown at me.

“So how much did you hear?” Irie asked as she reached forward for her coffee.

“Not a lot,” I fibbed before taking a sip of my own coffee.

The coffee was cold, which shocked me since I had anticipated it to be warm. Then in an instant, things clicked. Irie didn’t buy the coffee with me in mind. They were originally for her and Darren to enjoy when Irie went to go visit him at work. Not that that is what upsets me in this situation. After all, Darren is Irie’s boyfriend. I’m just a friend. Naturally, I should come second to him.

“You’re a horrible liar,” Irie laughed dryly as she kicked off her slippers and brought her feet up on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked gently, bending down slightly to try and make eye contact with her, only to have her turn her head away from me. 

With her lips pursed and still refusing to look at me, she shook her head no in reply.

Seeing her like this made my heart hurt. It’s obvious that she loves Darren. If she didn't, then she wouldn’t be doing things like visiting him at work and bringing him coffee. If she didn’t, then she wouldn't be trying to defuse their arguments. But sadly, it’s also obvious that Darren doesn’t treat her nearly as well as she should be treated. He doesn’t put even half as much effort into their relationship as she does and gets mad at her for what seems like no reason.

That’s what makes me upset.