Jennie
Hanbin holds a very pretty bouquet of orchids and lilies in his right hand. I remember once telling him that I liked orchids, long ago, and I'm surprised that he remembers.
But now he's nearly crushed them all in his death grip. They appear to wither beneath the pressure. I keep my tone steady as I work to diffuse the situation. "Hanbin, what are you doing here?"
His gaze moves from Lisa to me. "I came to see you, obviously. But I guess I came at a bad time."
Lisa frowns and looks at the floor. What a cluster fuck this has suddenly become.
"Can I speak to you outside?" I hiss at Hanbin.
"Aren't you going to introduce us?" he says instead, and I want to fall on the floor and die at the absurdity of the question.
But Lisa looks at me expectantly and I feel outnumbered.
I glare at Hanbin. "Lisa, this is Hanbin. A friend of mine. Hanbin, Lisa."
They don't shake hands or greet each other with friendliness. They don't really acknowledge each other at all.
"Care if I put this in the refrigerator?" Hanbin holds up the wine for both of us to see, then sweeps past me before I can protest. "It really needs to be chilled. I had a long drive over so I'm sure it's kind of warm by now..."
Lisa looks uncomfortable, among other things. I'm sure my face matches the red of Hanbin's parka. "Hanbin? Outside?" I interrupt, trying again.
"I can just go," Lisa suddenly offers. Hanbin looks more than pleased at the idea.
"No, I'd rather you didn't." This time, I can't keep the hard edge out of my tone. I'm unbelievably annoyed by this. "Hanbin? Outside?"
He reluctantly nods and steps out the door. Lisa's eyes meet mine for a fraction of a second as I slide past her, but it's impossible to catch the emotion contained there.
The hallway is quiet. All I can hear is the pounding of my heart and the adrenaline coursing through my veins at this sudden confrontation. The flower wrapper crinkles as Hanbin lets his arm fall to his side.
Not wanting to disturb my neighbours, I keep my voice low.
"What in the world are you doing here?" I ask him.
Hanbin looks up at me, surprised. "I was trying to surprise you," he mumbles.
That seems pretty obvious. I think. But I'm still irritated.
"A phone call would have been nice. I have company, Hanbin." I say this with much exasperation, hoping to convey how utterly piqued I am.
His eyes flash as he looks at me. "Yeah, I heard about him."
I gasp. Holy fuck. Does he know about the bet?
My next words are low and carry a threatening edge. "What are you talking about?" If he knows about the bet, I may have to murder him right here in the hallway. And neither of us wants that.
He begins shifting around, swaying and taking small steps, unable to hold still. "I talked to Jisoo." I gasp again. Oh Holy Father, please have mercy on my friend's spirit, for she is about to die. My mind begins racing frantically. I've never felt so... betrayed. And by my best friend, no less. Telling Hae-in is one thing. Telling Hanbin is just too much.
"You did... what... I mean ... what the hell ...what did she tell you?" I can barely formulate the words at this point.
"That she's not good for you and you can do better."
It's as if my entire body sighs with the relief that floods through me. But it doesn't dissipate my other worries. Not at all.
"Why are you guys even talking about me? And flowers and wine?" I gesture at the crumpled bouquet.
He looks guiltily at the flowers. "That was Jisoo's suggestion. She said you never meet romantic guys anymore and that maybe if you were treated right for a change then you'd expect more out of people. I wanted to call first, but she said that would ruin the gesture. So I figured I'd take her advice, for once." He huffs. "Fat lot of good that did."
I can't believe my ears. I'm tempted to run inside and clean them, just so I can listen again and hopefully make sense of this situation.
"Are we forgetting something here, Hanbin? You left me! You knew I couldn't leave but that certainly didn't stop you from going." My pitch rises a bit as old memories come flooding back.
He looks exasperated. "Come on, Jennie. You know how much I needed to be by my family. And I tried to keep in touch with you..."
"Yes," I interrupt him, my words sarcastic, "because seeing you once a year would've just been lovely."
"Jennie..."
"Look, I need to go back inside," I interrupt again. "I have a date and I'm being rude."
Hanbin's disgruntled by what just transpired. So am I.
"Fine," he says with a sigh. He looks at the dejected flowers. "Do you at least want to take these?" he asks hopefully.
I stare at the bouquet impassively. Even if I wanted them, which I don't, I couldn't run inside and wave them in front of Lisa's face. This is assuming that Lisa doesn't leave as soon as this is over.
I slowly shake my head. "No."
Hanbin sighs loudly, his whole chest heaving. "Well, all right." He looks at the flowers as if he doesn't know what to do with them anymore. "Sorry I ruined your date, Jennie. I guess I'll see you later."
"Sure," I agree, hoping he can leave on a somewhat friendly note. Hanbin's a good guy - he usually has good intentions. He'd make a good friend if his feelings allowed it.
But there's too much history with Hanbin. Too much happiness and heartache and memories, all of which exist within a closed chapter of my life. A chapter I'm not keen on revisiting.
He walks off with a mumbled good-bye and I slip back inside my apartment, mentally preparing myself for the next dreaded conversation.
I spot Lisa sitting on the couch. She's obviously not relaxed - she's leaning forward, elbows on her knees, face in her hands. She's staring at the TV blankly, but looks up when I enter. I half expect her to sprint for the door, but she doesn't move as I approach. She doesn't look angry, just tense.
Uneasy.
