Imperfectly Perfect 2

40 : The Party Guy

"Oh." Mina scans her cafeteria tray. "I think I forgot to get my cutleries."

"I'll get it for you." Chaeyoung was about to stand up when the council president quickly held her wrist.

"No, no. It's fine." Mina flashes a smile at her. "I'll get it myself."

Sana loudly scoffs. "You baby my best friend too much."

"Why?" The soccer ace playfully winks at the council president. "She's worth the babying."

"Ugh!" Jeongyeon immediately yells. "Get a room, you two!"

The four girls on the table burst in playful laughter. It is now the peak hours of lunch time in the university cafeteria. Having their schedules fit with each other today, Chaeyoung together with the three other council girls decided to get lunch together.

Mina walks thereafter to the corner near the food where the sanitized cutleries are neatly placed. She was about to pick a tablespoon when her small hand bumped into another manly looking hand.

"Oh." Mina quickly retracted her hand. "Sorry. You can get yours first."

"No. You go first. It's—" The tall guy with a black cap, now flatly standing beside the council president, pursed his lips right after glancing at her. He mumbled under his breath. "Myoi— Myoi Mina?"

The council president still heard him due to their close proximity. She then stared at him. Her eyes slowly widened short after, pointing a finger to him. "Aren't you... that guy who saved me at the party?"

"Sav— Saving is—" Bambam looks down to the floor, obviously looking shy. "That is kind of an exaggerated word for it."

"Oh, come on." Mina flashes a wide smile. "If it weren't for you... who knows what would've happened with the soccer captain trying to hit me with her fist. I'm really thankful for what you did for me that night."

"Then— then..." He glances at her and smiles. "You're— You're welcome."

"What happened after, by the way?" The council president pursued the topic. "I mean, when you told me to go, my priority suddenly shifted to my drunk best friend so I went ahead and left you there. Now, that I think of it. That was kind of rude of me."

"No, no, no. That's totally fine!" Bambam quickly waves his hands frantically in dismissal. He is looking like he is having a mini panic with his words. "It was totally fine! What you did was totally fine! So— sorry. I was saying a lot but I was trying to say the same thing. I— I don't think I'm making any sense at all."

The council president then chuckles at him. "It's okay. That's actually cute."

"Cu— Cu— Cu—" He looks at her in disbelief while rapidly blinking his eyes. "Cute?"

"Yeah. It was kind of adorable."

"Re— really?" Bambam is now red as a tomato.

Mina slightly tilts her head. "Do you know how you are definitely acting differently right now from when I met you at the party last night?"

"Huh? What— what do you mean? Please tell me I'm not acting the weirdest right now compared to the weirder me last night."

"No, no." The council president waves her hand in a dismissive signal. "That's not it!"

"Then— then, what? How am I different?"

"Hmm... maybe..." Mina paused for a moment to think. "You look like a shy and reserved person right now? Wherein last night, when you held Momo's arm... you looked like some kind of action star in a movie?"

"That's— Hey, don't exaggerate it!" He squints at her. "That's not me."

"Why? It's true. That's how I saw you last night."

"I— I don't think so."

"Oh, come on! Do me a favor and believe me." The council president looks at him sincerely. "You looked really cool when you said those confident words, making that drunk soccer captain back off."

Bambam looks to the ground, scratching his nape. He looks like he can't get any redder at the moment. "Tha— Thank you, Mi—"

"Minari! What's taking you so—" A stomping little tiger cub suddenly pops to Mina's side. She quickly notices the other guy standing flatly and facing their direction. She scrunches her eyebrows at him and asks in a calm but blunt tone. "Hey, who are you?"

The council president immediately cuts in and hits the smaller girl's arm. "Hey, Chaeng! That's rude." She then faces Bambam, already figuring out the soccer ace's behavior. "Please forgive her. She just gets really overprotective sometimes."

"That's fine. I'm— I'm going now." He flashes a faint smile to her, then quickly scurries away without even waiting for any reply.

"Oh." Mina mumbles with a bit of disappointment. "I wasn't even able to get his name."

Chaeyoung roughly gets a set of cutleries and glares at his retreating figure. "Who is that guy? He looks at you like he's in a daydream."

"Chaeng—"

"I don't like him."

The council president looks at her unamused. "Hey, Son Chaeyoung. You can't just go throwing daggers at random people you—"

"Oh, I remember him now!" The soccer ace points in his direction using a tablespoon like it is some kind of sword. "He's that weird hoodie guy that bumped into you when we wanted to go to the vending machines last weekend! Now, I'm really sure that I don't like him."

"Ahh. Really?" Mina nods her head a bit. "I wasn't able to remember that."

"Good."

"Huh?" The council president chuckles at her. They started walking back to their table. "What do you mean 'good'?"

Chaeyoung abruptly halted her legs, making Mina also stop. She looks at her with an oddly serious expression. "Do not ever remember him. Erase him in your memory for good."

"What—" The council president looked back at her in confusion. "What kind of—"

"Fill your mind with only me."

Mina stifles a smile. "Chaeng—"

"Only me."

Mina paused for a moment while staring back at the eyes that were intensely looking right at her. She then proceeds to faintly chuckle in her answer. "Okay, okay. I'll always think only of you. Happy?"

Chaeyoung nods energetically and flashes a wide grin. "Happy."

The council president then started walking again with Chaeyoung striding to her side. When they reached the side of their lunch table, the soccer ace was about to sit when Mina suddenly held her arm.

"Hmm?" The smaller girl smiles and looks at her. "Why, Minari?"

Mina glanced at the two council girls who are currently too busy and focused on their eating. She then flashes a grin to Chaeyoung and moves closer to the latter's ear.

The council president whispers in a soft voice, making sure that no other else hears it other than the smaller girl in front of her. "Actually... you didn't have to ask for it. Don't you know you've always been running on my mind nonstop, my baby cub?"

Mina leans back and gives a smug look to the soccer ace. She consecutively sits on the table and pays the oblivious council girls a smile, proceeding with arranging her food from the cafeteria tray.

Chaeyoung, on the other hand, is petrified and left slowly blinking, standing flat on her feet. She looks at Mina who is now talking to the other girls on the table like she just didn't make a certain soccer girl's heart skip a beat.

The soccer ace slowly mumbles under her breath while watching the council president. "Wow. My Minari is getting more and more dangerous each day. She is starting to get really bad for my heart."