Things were going well (?) with Soohyun and Seohyun. It’s been two months since the first date. She still finds him boring, but in her eagerness to drive Yonghwa out of her life, she decided to set aside her complaints and just go with the flow.

In all fairness to the guy, he is really trying to make things work. He’d come by and fetch her during her lunch break (he even insisted to pick her up after office hours but she refused).

“But you know I don’t want to eat outside! I prefer to stay in my office!” she’d whine but Yonghwa would scold her and say,

“Just give him a chance. He’s making an effort by driving all the way here!”

“Argh! Fine!”

Yonghwa would still be present during her dates and would constantly nag her behavior whenever she tends to slip back to her usual self. However, there are just some efforts she couldn’t appreciate no matter what. For instance, it would normal to receive a bouquet of flowers; she’d even consider that gesture romantic and sweet no matter how cliché it is. But what did Kim Soohyun get her? A cactus.

“He got me a freaking cactus!” Seohyun gritted through her teeth while Soohyun was busy talking with some producers on the phone. Yonghwa would fire back,

“At least he’s being unique. Roses are so mainstream. Just accept it Hy~un!”

The following week it was a Bonsai tree. Again, she accepted it out of politeness. Kim Soohyun must’ve taken this the wrong way because for the next 7 days, he sent her every hybrid of an indoor plant known to mankind. Ok, maybe that was an exaggeration on her part, but her annoyance grew even more as her officemates (led by her Jihyo unnie) would to just convert her office space into a garden.

“That’s it! I will tell him to quit sending me these plants and there’s nothing you can do about it!!! It’s like a jungle in here!” she screamed in frustration as she held a small pot of aloe vera. She was poised to smash it or throw it out the window, but Yonghwa caught it just in time and pester her by saying,

“Why should this plant suffer from the cruelty of your hands? Spare it from your anger, oh mighty Seo Joohyun!”

“YOU! You’re a lousy god! Instead of following me around the whole day, why don’t you go over to manhwa boy and tell him to quit with the botanical obsession!!! This is the last time I am accepting these stupid plants!”
           

“Hey! You’re hurting their (the plants) feelings! How can you call them stupid?” Yonghwa was being in his ‘choding’ mode but he quickly took back what he said upon seeing Seohyun’s flaring nose and ice cold glares.

“Alright. I’ll go over and see what I can do.”

“Don’t just see. Make sure that this is the last of it! If another plant is delivered to my office tomorrow, then I am so done with this incorrigible mission of yours!”

The plant gifts stopped, much to her relief, but not much can be said about the progress in her relationship with her ‘alleged true love.’ She’s beginning to doubt whether Yong Cupid is doing his job right because so far, the ‘soulmate prospect’ he picked out for her has managed to do every single thing she disliked.

On one of their usual lunch dates, he brought her to a restaurant that specializes in every junk food and unhealthy snack she has sworn off – all types of hamburgers, chips, sodas, etc! She felt relieved when he ordered pizza (at least it was the “lesser of all junk food evils”) only to frown when said pizza is covered in pineapples and olives.

“I heard this was your favorite that’s why I chose it. Shall we?” if he didn’t look so proud and smiled like a child, she would’ve snapped at him that she hated this place so much.

She was ecstatic when he said he got her a book as a gift, however, the excitement died down as soon as she saw that the “book” in question, was a manhwa. She wanted to roll her eyes and snort about the irony of the situation. If he got her a novel of any genre, it would’ve been fine, but a manhwa? How juvenile.

Kim Soohyun has never failed to show her that he has a lot of cash to waste as he kept buying her more and more gifts. The price tag never mattered to her. A simple something would do, but so far, he again bought her things she liked the least.

He got her a bunch of luxury handbags. That would’ve been acceptable if only he didn’t pick the colors she hates – orange, red, hot pink, very very bright yellow, and more. He bought her expensive killer heels with the most ridiculous color combination too. The clothes he got for her are either way too provocative or just downright ugly. She still accepted it out of politeness although all of it ended up being shoved in the far end of her closet.

“I’m never going to be caught dead wearing these rags! I don’t care how expensive it is! How can this piece of cloth even be considered decent?! I would never humiliate myself by wearing these things in public!”

He kept laughing and teasing her that she was just making excuses not to wear it because she’s “too fat” to fit in it even if the truth was far from that. Deep in his thoughts, he had this sudden urge of ‘overprotectiveness’ and the selfish idea that he should be the only one who’d see her wear those provocative outfits. Again, he’d shake off that feeling and just proceed with whatever antics he has in store for the ‘couple.’

The final draw was when he visited her early in the morning. If there was one of the many routines she has that she hates being disrupted, that would be her morning rituals.

“I have had it with this boring manhwa boy you picked, Yong Choding!!!! I don’t care if he’s rich, handsome, or considered as one of the most eligible bachelors in the country! He has done nothing but to frustrate me!! Are you really sure you’re Cupid?! Because damn! Your matchmaking skills are horrible!!! If you don’t fix this or anything, then I am so done with you and this stupid true love bulls**t!”

Yonghwa figured it was time to put an end to his childish schemes. He was the one who kept sending Kim Soohyun all those anonymous ‘tips’ that drove Seo Joohyun crazy. He knew he should’ve been helping the guy get the girl but every time he plans on doing so, his unexplained ‘jealousy’ would kick in. He would rationalize his actions by telling himself,

“You’re not jealous. You just want to have fun and add some spice to their ‘love story.’ Yes, that’s exactly why you’re doing this. For fun and nothing more. Jealousy? Psh! Why would I