Chapter Eighteen

The Date

Sungmi surveyed the empty house and sighed.

Kai wasn't home, again, like he hadn't been for most of this week. This was no surprise, though. He was still avoiding her like the plague, and today was no different, aside from the fact that she would be gone when he got back. She hadn't seen much of Kai this morning before leaving for school, and so far, her Friday was looking pretty dreary.

After closing the door behind her and locking it, Sungmi clutched her keys and trudged towards the car that was parked in front of her house with its engine on. As she approached the passenger side, the window rolled down. 

"Sungmi, those aren't girl clothes!" Luhan cried, pointing an accusing finger at her drabby outfit. His eyebrow quirked as he took in her messy hair and undone face.

Sungmi looked down at her feet embarrassedly while picking at the corners of her top. "But I all I have are hoodies and sweats. They're comfortable," she mumbled quietly. It was true; her whole closet only consisted of plain clothes and there was nothing wrong with that. Sungmi didn't need to dress up with the way she looked anyways. 

Luhan shook his head disapprovingly. "They're too baggy for you," he said, and then slightly smiled. "Hey, but that means you're losing weight." 

Sungmi looked up at him incredulously. "I am?" That was surprising to hear; she hadn't noticed anything different about herself. 

"Come on, let's go get something more appropriate for tonight," Luhan said, motioning with his hand for her to get in. "I want you to look like a girl, at least for today." He winked slyly. 

Luhan was being a little odd, and Sungmi couldn't help but suspect his intentions for taking her out on a date. She gave him a questioning look before joining him in the car. "Where are we going?"

"The mall," Luhan answered while maneuvering the car out of her neighborhood. 

"Do we really have to?" Sungmi protested. "I think I look fine." 

"Um, no. You're going on a date with me, remember?" 

Sungmi didn't know what he meant by that, but true to his word, they both ended up at the mall ten minutes later. Luhan took her to several different stores, picking outfits for her and making her try them on. She couldn't even count how many times the store assistants gave her weird looks, all of them under the assumption that she was a male trying on women clothes to be a drag queen. Despite that, surprisingly, Sungmi had fun. Her heart was still heavy with thoughts of Kai, but Luhan's cheerful persona didn't give her much room to mope about it. 

"Here, try this on." Luhan held out a strappy blue, sequined dress. "I think it looks nice." 

"Are you kidding me?" Sungmi eyed the short piece of fabric that would no doubt make her look like a sack of potatoes. "No way I'm trying that on." 

Luhan pushed her into the changing room regardless of her protests. When she came back out with the dress on and an extra grumpy expression, Luhan's face lit up. "It looks great, Sungmi!" He insisted, circling around her. "You'll definitely steal the spotlight tonight." 

She grunted, folding her arms over her chest. "Why would I need to steal any spotlight? This makes me look like a stuffed animal," she whined. 

Luhan clucked his tongue, wagging his finger at her face. "Because you hide under your baggy clothes all the time, you're just not used to wearing dresses is all. Look, you've even gotten a lot thinner, and this dress shows it." 

"Really?" Sungmi bit her lip and twirled around in front of the mirror, studying her body shape. She tucked in her stomach and was surprised to see that it didn't protrude as much as before. Maybe Luhan was right after all; she had gone down a few sizes. "I'm still not wearing this, though," she complained. "Can I just wear my sweats?"

Luhan facepalmed himself before walking away, shaking his head in exasperation. "So freaking picky," he grumbled. He came back a minute later holding up a pair of black skinny jeans and a bright orange flowy top that could've been mistaken for a poncho. "These are pretty uni, since you keep refusing everything else."

Sungmi was seriously afraid for whoever was Luhan's future girlfriend. His style screamed...interesting. 

Taking the clothes from him, she slinked back inside the changing room. Out of all the outfits that she had tried on so far, this one seemed the most passable. When she emerged back out, Luhan merely nodded in approval and had her change immediately after paying for everything. Why he was being so insistent, Sungmi didn't know. 

Next, Luhan took her to the hair and make-up counter. Since her locks were too short to style, her bangs had simply been combed to the side and clipped back with a pink barrette. The make-up lady tried in desperation to apply eyeliner and mascara on her, only to give up because Sungmi was too overly squeamish whenever something black and sticky would come close to her eyes. It was a pity, since her long eyelashes would've looked absolutely stunning with one or two coats of mascara. In the end, the ladies had simply powdered her face and added a lip tint and gloss to her lips. 

Luhan looked up from his phone when she was done, and his eyes widened. A smile lifted the corner of his mouth. "Sungmi, you actually look like a girl now," he said incredulously. Kai will be in for the shock of his life when he sees you.

Sungmi huffed, fixing him with a teasing glare. "Thanks a lot for that compliment." Then she turned around to study herself in the mirror. She had to admit that she looked...different, and not a bad different. For once in her life, Sungmi actually felt like a girl. She just hoped that she wouldn't run into Kai tonight, wherever she was going. 

Luhan, unlike her, had already come dressed up. Faded gold denim jeans adorned his legs and he was wearing a simple black v-neck that showed off his milky collarbones. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he led Sungmi away from the store while humming a little tune. "Want to guess where we're going?" he asked. 

She shrugged. The whole 'date' thing was all Luhan's idea and it didn't really matter where they went as long as she could get her mind off of Kai, who had been in her head nonstop even if he wasn't around physically. 

The sky outside had already turned dark, and night quickly took over the city as Luhan began driving them to an unknown place. However, once she got a glimpse of their destination, Sungmi's stomach turned upside down. "You're taking me to a club?" 

She wanted to slam her head on the window. After what had happened the last time when she had gone with Kai to a similar place, Sungmi had sworn to never step foot inside a club ever again. And now, here she was, back where she began. 

Luhan parked the car and killed the engine. He looked over at her inquisitively. "Why, what's wrong with a club?"

"I--" Sungmi stopped. "Nothing. It's fine." This is Luhan, not Kai, she reminded herself. Even if someone recognizes you, Luhan already knows you're a girl. However, her self-reassurances weren't doing much to slow down her racing heartbeats. This place still gave her an uneasy feeling, no matter who she came with. 

Composing herself as best she could, Sungmi pulled herself out of the car and straightened up. Today, she was going to let go. Luhan had offered her an opportunity to have fun and breathe a little, and she wasn't going to take the chance for granted. Lately, she had been so