The Hideout I Need

Chapter 4: Do you wanna go eat dinner with me?

Hyeong-jun looked surprised up from his phone, "Huh?" Did he hear that right? He seemed calm and collected on the outside, but he was over the moon on the inside. He had known this boy for approximately 9-or-so hours, yet he was already head over heels. And now he's asking him to dinner? Hyeong-jun straight up felt like a movie character. Of course, he'd love to go to dinner.

"Do you wanna go eat dinner with me?" Tae-young repeated, "Since I live alone now, most of my meals are spent by myself. Some company would be nice. But I mean, if you're busy it's fine."

"No! I mean, yes!" Hyeong-jun hurriedly tried to save himself, "I mean... I do want to go have dinner with you." He laughed awkwardly at himself.

"Thanks," Tae-young chuckled, "Do you want to just go to a nearby convenience store? We could get some ramen."

"Oh, let's go to Mini-stop! I get discounts since I work for the chain," Hyeong-jun suggested happily, with a bright smile on his face.

"You work part-time?" Tae-young asked curiously.

"Oh, uh... yeah," Hyeong-jun retracted his enthusiasm. He forgot he was sitting in front of the son of a CEO.

Working part-time was a little embarrassing to admit sometimes. Working part-time wasn't exactly common among his peers so when people found out they'd often pity him. Or possibly give them some sort of superiority complex. Whenever his job was brought up the most common question was why he worked. And he hated that question because of what the answer was: because he needs to. Of course, he'd mostly just say that he worked so he could earn some extra pocket money or something like that. Still, it would be a little shameful since the people asking probably have gotten pocket money from their parents ever since they were babies. Most of the people at his school were practically born with a silver spoon in their mouths.

"That's so cool!" Tae-young smiled. Well, that wasn't what Hyeong-jun was expecting.

"What, really?" Hyeong-jun chuckled at his reaction.

"Yeah!" Tae-young exclaimed, "It's gotta give you some sort of satisfaction to earn something independently, right?"

Hyeong-jun smiled at that thought. Yeah, maybe it did. He got up from his chair with a smile, "Well then, let's go."

"Yes, wait for just a second," Tae-young smiled as he got up and packed his things into his backpack.

Very quickly they were both headed out of the library and started walking down the street to find the nearest Mini-stop convenience store. There were quite a lot, so that wasn't exactly a challenge. Pretty convenient for a convenience store.

It was a little cold, considering it was still March, so luckily the store they found had available indoor seating. As soon as they stepped into the store, the little bell above the door rang, startling Hyeong-jun. Possible sensory issues there. Hyeong-jun giggled awkwardly at himself before they went into one of the isles, searching for something to eat. They stopped in front of a bright and colorful aisle, all shining from their plastic packaging. Ah, yes. Instant noodles.

Hyeong-jun stood in front of a shelf with dozens of different ramen brands, not knowing which one to get, "Uh, do you have a favorite?"

"Oh, I normally just get what's cheapest," Tae-young smiled.

Hyeong-jun gave a light chuckle at the thought of a billionaire's son buying the cheapest ramen noodles possible. But he was relieved that Tae-young had the same ramen method as him; getting whatever costs less. Hyeong-jun's eyes landed on a little sign that said Shin Ramen had a half-off sale event, which made him smile as if he found a goldmine.