better

chapter 16

For their dinner date, Yuta and Jennie decided to have Korean barbeque. It would take significantly less waiting time to eat their food, and they could cook and eat whatever they pleased. After Yuta had made quick conversation with Jennie's parents, they made their way to the restaurant in his car.

"I've never got the chance to have Korean barbeque since I came to Korea," Yuta commented to break the silence in the car.

"Really? I hope you enjoy it. Lots of delicious side dishes that come with it. At this place, at least," Jennie smiled. In the inside, she was really trying to keep her stomach calm during the ride there.

"I've heard lots about it. I trust your opinion," he flashed a smile at her. If that had been when they first met, she would have felt entranced by it. Knowing what she knew now, and what they have been through, it didn't have the same effect at all.

In no time, they had arrived at the restaurant. It wasn't too busy for a weekday, and they were both delighted at the fact. Jennie had been craving this for a while. They headed inside and they were led to a booth soon after. They had ordered a combination of various meats for Yuta to try that were some of Jennie's favorites. The server turned on their grill to heat up as he went to grab the rest of their order.

Would it be best if I brought it up after we started eating? He'd be in a better mood with a fuller stomach. She thought.

After their side dishes and meats came to the table, they began to help themselves with their own tongs. Yuta tried the pork bellies, and the kalbi with his rice and kimchi. He stopped to savor the bursting flavor in his mouth. He finished chewing his bite and smiled widely.

"I take it that you like it?" Jennie chuckled, wrapping her meat in a lettuce wrap with rice. He laughed at that too, and made way to make himself another helping. They sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying the high quality meats and flavorful dipping sauces.

"I wish I had tried this a lot sooner, Jen. I want to eat this more often," he commented, before drinking his glass of water.

"It's a little too pricy to eat often," Jennie laughed, "did you look at the prices on the menu?"

"Honestly, no. I chose not to this time." he grinned.

Jennie inwardly sighed. Having a good time with Yuta at the moment made it a lot harder than it already was. For a split second, Jennie forgot why she wanted to break up with him. There could be nothing wrong with the other person, sometimes it was more than that.

"Listen, Yuta. I wanted to say something over dinner tonight... It's not going to be easy," She sighed, looking down at her plate. He looked at her with a concerned look.

"What is it, Jennie? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. The last thing I want is for things to be sour between the two of us," she looked back up into his eyes. He was now starting to look a little confused at where she was going with this conversation.

"I don't believe this is working out, like I had hoped it would. I like you so much, but I think it's more platonic than it is romantic. I think we'd be much better off as friends," Jennie managed to say, grabbing her napkin absentmindedly. Yuta paused to soak in her words, before sitting up straighter in his seat.

"Honestly, Jennie, I've been feeling the same way as well," he replied, before laughing ironically at this situation.

Jennie's eyes widened. "You have?"

"Well, of course. Maybe we should have just started off as friends first, instead of jumping into things. Although you're very beautiful, smart, and hardworking, I don't see things going very far between us."