"I'd like to find a girl that doesn't fall for you," Chanyeol snickered.

Me too.

Kim Jongin is the name, makin' ladies fall in love with me is the game, but it's gotten so...  Boring.  Within a matter of minutes, I can look at a girl, figure out what type she is, and attract her.  It almost isn't a game anymore; it's practically as easy as breathing-- you don't think about it but do it all the time.  You could say that I have experience in the use of intimate skills...  But I haven't lost it.  Do I really want to, for just a quick attraction and a couple moments of pleasure?  No; I want it to have meaning, and I want there to be a firmer back-up for it other than thinking the girl is incredibly hot.  

But sometimes I wonder...  

Does love really exist?  Surely it does, right?  Why else would guys settle down and marry one woman?  I mean, marriage is a commitment, and why commit to one woman unless you really love her?  

I don't know.  I'm too young to think about it, anyways.  Maybe after I finish my first four years in college...  

"See you later," I shouted back at my friends.  

"Dude, we're going to the mall.  Don't you want to pick up some girls with us?"  Kyungsoo teased.

"Not today.  I need to grab a book for my mom.  She's visiting and she's been wanting this book for ages."

"Alright, but call us if you change your mind," Joonmyun advised.  They all waved and walked off, packed closely together.  It was amusing-- when all six of us were together, we were campus kings.  Individually, we were all kind of quiet...  In fact, I hadn't gone on a date with just me and another girl; one of the guys always brought a date and tagged along.  We went around boasting about how many girls liked us, but we were too afraid to go off into the unknown and give a girl a chance on a private date.  

I went to Barnes and Noble to buy the book for my mom.  It was some SciFi Romance novel, and I honestly didn't want to know what it was about.  I wasn't one to read; I was more of a do-whatever-I-wanted kind of guy.  I wandered aimlessly around the store and almost gave up until I saw a girl sipping away at a giant mocha frappuccino and making her way to the cash register with the book.

"Excuse me, miss, can you show me where you got that from?"  I asked.  She turned to me in what looked like...  Horror.  Not disgusted horror, but horror from genuine fear.  Innocent type?  Oh, whatever.  She'll be doing backflips for me once I talk to her.      

The girl eventually shook the fear off of her face and nodded.  She tried to smile, but it was awkward.  In order to cover up her awkwardness, she ducked down and took another sip of her mocha.  Cute.  

"Follow me," she called out, and I lightly jogged to catch up behind her.  We walked a short distance, and she initiated conversation.  "If you don't mind me asking, why do you want this book?" 

"It's for my mom.  She's coming to visit and I don't want to greet her empty handed, especially since...  Never mind.  It'll just mean something to her, that's all."  

The girl nodded and continued walking.  And this is where it all starts.  She's going to be head over heals for me in a matter of minutes.  Girls dig a family guy.  Amidst my thoughts, she spun on her heels and stopped.  She looked...  Sad, almost.  At the same time, she looked like she was ready to overcome it.

"We've got a while until we get to that aisle.  How about you just take my copy instead?"  She asked, cocking her head to the side and looking anywhere but at me.  

"But I see the SciFi sign right th--"

"I'm not even sure I want this book.  Here, just take it," she said.  She held the book out and stepped back, making the space between us grow larger.  I took it from her and grabbed her empty mocha cup.

"As a token of my gratitude, I'll throw away your trash," I joked.  For the first time, she smiled honestly and nodded.  What is it with this girl and nodding?  

"Well...  Have a good day," she said, giving me two thumbs up.  She slid into the closest aisle available and disappeared from me.  Tch, so obvious.  Maybe I should ask her on a date.  She's innocent; she won't bite.  

"Wait, I didn't catch your name..."  I peeked into the aisle that she had escaped to.  She was about to leave the aisle before she turned to respond.

"You catch fish, not names."

Maybe she does bite.  

After I'd bought the book, I was on my way out when I saw her having some distressing conversation with someone who looked to be the manager of the store.  I had no where to go, and curiosity got the best of me.  I sunk behind a large stack of fairy-tales and listened to their conversation. 

"Are you sure you don't have any more copies of Divergent?"  She pleaded.  "Absolutely positive?"

"I've already told you, Eunbi; it's sold out.  I understand how you'd think we'd have more because it's popular-- but that's just it.  It's so popular that we have no more copies left."  He frowned and stepped away while saying his apologies.  I looked down and realized that I had what she wanted-- that book.  She gave me the last copy.  Her look of horror was explained now.  She wasn't afraid of me, but afraid of losing the book.

I misjudged her.  That's a first.  I stood up and saw the manager approach her again before she exited the store.

"You can put some money down and we'll reserve you a copy for when the next ones are shipped in.  It should be about three days," he told her.  Her eyes lit up as she smiled, but a frown overcame her.  

"I'd love to...  But it's kind of a rule of mine not to spend money without getting what I need right at that moment...  Thanks, though."  She did this mixed bow and curtsy and made her way out.  

"How often does she come here?"  I asked the manager while walking around the books.  Judging by his use of her first name, they were familiar.  

"She comes every Friday evening," he hesitantly said.  "Aren't you that Kim Jongin guy?"

I smirked and nodded.

"Ah, so the legend stands before me.  I'll let you in on a little known fact," he mumbled while walking towards me.  "That girl...  She's anyone's type and no one's type.  Untouchable."

A challenge?

Challenge accepted.

After my mom's visit, I endured a long, lonely week.  I decided to keep girls away from me to better prepare myself for this "Eunbi."  The guys thought I was going crazy, but I thought it was genius.  Friday afternoon, around 4 o'clock, I went to Barnes and Noble and bought another copy of Divergent.  Assuming she would head to Starbucks first, I sat in the cafe and waited for her to appear.

"Hey, Min Ah," a familiar voice rang.  I looked up to see someone almost identical to the last time I saw her-- same converse, same jeans, and a plain, V-Neck t-shirt.  This one was an aqua color, though, while last time's was white.  She carried this gigantic bag that wasn't a purse or a back-pack; it was somewhere in between and had cartoons all over it.  She pulled out a huge wallet that was obviously pregnant with change.  "You know, the usual."  She ped a pocket of the wallet and started to dig coins out.


"You know, I'd appreciate it if you gave me actual dollar bills," the Min Ah girl laughed.

"Hey!  Coins are pretty!  Consider yourself lucky," Eunbi joked while stomping her foot on the ground.  Before she could hand in her payment, I reached out and pulled her hand down.  

"How much does your usual cost?"  I asked, putting on my suave face.  She squinched her eyebrows and looked away, embarassed.  Innocent and sarcastic?  No way. 

"It costs $2.50," Min Ah blurted.  Eunbi shot her a look of sadness and nodded her head to me.

"Thank you," she mumbled.  She honestly meant it...  But she was honestly annoyed, as well.  I followed her as she walked down the marble bar to wait for her order.  "Why..."  She gulped.  "Why did you do that?" 

"Consider it a bonus," I chuckled.

"To... What?"  

I lifted the bag with the book in it and swung it in front of her face.  

"This book is for you."  I could tell that she wanted to pounce at the bag, but she gently grabbed the handles and looked inside.  Her eyes were unreadable when she looked up at me.  Fortunately, we both spoke the same language.

"Thank you!"  She shouted.  "But how did you--"

"I'm a nosy person," I admitted.  "But I should be thanking you for giving me the last copy so I could give my mom what she wanted."  

"Mocha frappucino!"  A guy behind the counter shouted.  "Oh, Eunbi!  It's you!  Let me give you some more whipped cream," he whispered.  She chuckled.  When he gave her the mocha, whipped cream was seeping out of the straw hole.

"Thanks, Seungjo," she replied.  She grabbed a straw, opened it, and wiped the cream off the edge.  Before attacking it (as I thought she was planning to,) she held the straw up to me.  "Do you like whipped cream?"  Look, she's trying to be cute.  I guess I should take it...  Nah.  I'll play the cool guy.  

"Nope; I'm good," I said, shaking my hands.  Instead of insisting I take it, and instead of eating it, she threw the straw away.  

"It's a shame," she sighed.  "That guy is so nice to me.  I don't have the guts to tell him that I don't like excessive loads of whipped cream."  She had covered a side of her face with her hand and whispered to me.  She happily grabbed another straw and began sipping away at her frappucino.  She walked over to a table and I subconsciously followed her.  She stumbled on her way to the chair because of a brain freeze.  "It's like ice," she complained.

"Don't drink it so quickly," I laughed.  She sat up in her chair and shook her head as if the cold would fly out of her ears.

"No, no.  I'm glad it's like this.  I get to break the ice."

"What?"

"Hi, I'm Eunbi," she managed to say.  Clever.  She reached out her hand to me and gave me a firm handshake.  "And your name is?"

"Jongin.  Kim Jongin."