Since the night of the ball, Geun Suk pursued Shin Hye relentlessly, waiting for her every morning to give her a ride to school. He was always there very early before she can escape and leave for school alone. He waited at the door of her class to walk her to her next class. At lunch break he paid for her food and serves her everything she needed. He waited for her after class to give her a ride home. And if she needed to stay late at school for practice, he patiently waited until she was done. He called her every night before she sleeps to bid her goodnight and tell her ‘I LOVE YOU!’ She can’t deny the thrill of excitement she felt every time he said the words to her.

“Good morning, my love.” Geun Suk greeted her, opening the door to the passenger side of his car.

“Good morning.” she replied, getting in the car.

“How was your night? Did you sleep well?” he asked casually.

“It was okay. Thank you for asking.” she paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “Uhhmm, Geun Suk? Please don’t wait for me later after class. You can go home ahead.”

“Why? If you need to stay late for practice I can wait for you. I can watch you practice. You know I don’t mind waiting.”

“No, it’s not that. I don’t have practice later. I have somewhere else to go.” she said, not looking at him.

“Well, I can drive you wherever you want to go. It would be my pleasure.” he insisted.

“It’s really not necessary to drive me. Someone will drive me home later.” she said, getting irritated with him.

“Oh… Are you going out with Yong Hwa? Is that why you don’t want to tell me where you’re going later?” he asked, his expression darkening.

“Yes.” she sighed. “He asked me out on a date. We haven’t spent time together often this past few days, so he wanted an alone time, okay?”

“Alright. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you later.” he said, stopping the car in an empty parking area of the school campus. “You have to promise me one thing though.”

“What?”

“Promise me you’ll go home early. You need to be home by 10 pm or else I’ll go fetch you wherever you are.” he threatened.

“Hey, Geun Suk! You don’t own me, okay? I can stay out late if I want to and you can’t stop me!” she exclaimed, aghast.

“Of course you belong to me, Shin Hye. You can deny it as much as you want but we both know you’re just delaying the inevitable. You can stay out late as long as you’re with me. And I will stop you and Yong Hwa if you go against my wishes.” he grinned at her, giving her a devilish smile.

“Ohhh… you…. you… grrr…” she growled, hands fisted and at a loss for words to throw back at him.

She climbed jerkily out of his car, slamming the door hard.

“Remember, 10 pm Shin Hye.” Geun Suk called after her. She looked back and saw him pointing to his wrist watch, that devilish smile still plastered on his face.

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Geun Suk was walking along the hallway to go to the parking lot when he heard a female voice call out his name. He was so deep in thought, planning what to do about Shin Hye and Yong Hwa’s date that he did not pay attention to his surroundings. He did not notice Uee standing a few distances from him. He’s been avoiding her since the night of their double date, he doubled his efforts to avoid her since the night of the acquaintance ball.

“Geun Suk!” Uee called again, waving and smiling at him.

His eyes widened when he saw her. He abruptly turned around, walking away rapidly.

“Hey Geun Suk! Wait!” she called, running after him.

He walked so fast to the point of running, with Uee chasing him, when he saw the door to the male comfort room. He immediately got inside, closing the door. He breathed a sigh of relief that he was able to avoid her.

He jumped back from the door when he heard a rapid succession of knocking on the door.

“Geun Suk!” he heard Uee call out. “I know you’re in there. Why are you avoiding me? Have I done something wrong? Come out here so we can talk.”

‘Haist, Geun Suk! You big coward! Why can’t you just tell her that you changed your mind about dating her?’ the saner and braver side of him asked.

‘Come on! Do you really want to go into that kind of confrontation? You know how she is when she doesn’t get her way.’ the coward side of him replied.

‘You’ll never know until you talk to her. She might actually be reasonable about it.’ his saner side defended Uee.

‘Huh! Do you really think so? Are you willing to risk a showdown with her?’ the coward side of him taunted.

Geun Suk peeked outside the door and saw Uee pacing in front of the comfort room. He closed the door before Uee saw him.

‘Haist! This girl is really persistent! Why can’t she take the hint that I’m no longer interested in her?’ he muttered.

He saw a small window at the far corner of the room next to the last stall. He peered through the window and saw that it led to the farthest portion of the parking lot. He walked back to the door to take a look if Uee was still outside, he saw that she was. He went back to the window and took the coward’s way out. Finally he was free. He ran to his car breathing hard.

He was about to start the engine when he saw Shin Hye and Yong Hwa from his periphery. They got into Yong Hwa’s car and drove away. He decided to follow them from a distance.

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“Where are we going?” Shin Hye asked Yong Hwa.

They were inside his car driving away from the school.

“Uhhmm… how about the mall? We can play at the arcade shop for a while before going to dinner. What do you think?” Yong Hwa replied.

“Sure!” she agreed, nodding her head. “That would be fun. I haven’t played at the arcade for quite a while now.”

Yong Hwa parked outside the mall and hurriedly went to open the door for Shin Hye. He held her hand to help her get out of the car. As they walked toward the entrance of the mall, Yong Hwa casually placed his arm around her shoulders. Shin Hye looked at him, wide-eyed, unable to say anything.

*********************************************************************************

From a distance, inside his car, Geun Suk saw Yong Hwa hug Shin Hye to his side. He slammed his palm sharply on the wheel causing him to wince in pain.

‘Sheeesshh! That Yong Hwa is really taking liberties with my girl. I’m going to cut off his arm if he does not let go of her in the next twenty seconds!’ he muttered angrily.

He got out of his car and followed the pair inside the mall. He saw them enter the arcade shop. He hid behind a tall plant when Shin Hye turned and looked toward his direction.

‘This is not going to work. I need to wear a disguise or else she will surely recognize me and know that I’m spying on her.’

With his mind made up, he went inside a clothing store and bought a black leather jacket and a matching black cap. With his disguise on, he trailed after them. He went inside the arcade shop and saw them playing basket ball. He lurked closely behind them trying to listen in their conversation but the room was so noisy he wasn’t able to catch a word they exchanged.

They played several more games before they left the shop. They were laughing so hard they clearly were having fun together. This observation only added to his already mounting bad mood.

He saw them enter a photo booth and came out laughing hysterically looking at their pictures. Then they bought ice cream and ate from each other’s cones looking like a real couple.

‘Hey , Shin Hye! What are you doing eating from that guy’s ice cream cone! Are you that comfortable with him already?’ Geun Suk shouted in his mind.

After walking aimlessly for one hour, getting in and out of stores, he saw them enter a restaurant. Geun Suk suddenly felt hungry and decided to get a bite himself. He chose a booth in a secluded spot away from the pair but where he can still keep an eye on them.

After they ate dinner, he watched them talking intimately close to each other, their heads nearly touching while Yong Hwa held Shin Hye’s hand. He wanted to throw the fork at Yong Hwa’s head when he saw him lift Shin Hye’s hand and kiss the back of her palm. He looked at his watch and realized what time it was.

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Shin Hye’s phone is ringing incessantly but she did not make a move to answer it.

“Aren’t you going to answer your phone?” Yong Hwa asked just as the phone stopped ringing.

“No.” Shin Hye replied shortly.

Her phone rang again.

“Why don’t you just answer the phone? It might be important.”

“Okay!” she muttered. “Hello!”

“It’s 9:45 pm already, Shin Hye! You better get your out of that chair and go home, or else…” she heard Geun Suk’s voice on the other line.

“What?” she exclaimed unbelievingly.

“I said, you better get your out of the chair and go home!” Geun Suk’s voice demanded.

**************************************************************************

Geun Suk was laughing silently at Shin Hye’s indignant expression. He was having so much fun provoking her. He watched her stand up and walk a few yards from Yong Hwa.

“Get lost Geun Suk! You have no right to dictate me on what to do!” she snarled on the phone.

“Shin Hye, you better get your out of that restaurant if you don’t want me to personally lift you out from that restaurant.” he threatened, losing patience with her.

“Alright, alright! I’m going already, you big annoying monkey!” she shot back at him on the phone, looking around trying to find him.

He saw her walk back to Yong Hwa and said something. Yong Hwa signaled the waiter to give them their bill. After he paid for their meal, he escorted her out of the restaurant.

Geun Suk followed behind a few distances from them, still in his disguise and mentally patting his back for a job well done.