HERSHE || BBANGSAZ ||

34. Conquered

"Is the pasta good?" Minji twirled her fork into the mound of spaghetti.

"Mmm-mmm." Hanni could only nod while she chews her food.

After the fireworks display, Minji suggested the nearby Italian restaurant for dinner. Hanni agreed to it immediately, not in the mood to go home yet.

They waited for almost 30 minutes for the food to arrive. Hanni usually gets mad at things like this. But today it didn't bother her. Talking to Minji made her forget her hunger for a while.

Minji's phone rang. She took it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller ID and smiled.

"Excuse me. I need to take this." Minji stood on her feet.

Hanni's eyes followed as Minji made her way outside the veranda. There, Minji stood with one hand in her pocket while talking to whoever on the other line is, occasionally laughing and giggling. Minji found a hanging paper-cupid on the tree beside her and began playing by twirling it with her fingers.

That's when Hanni noticed the heart and cupid designs hanging all over the place. She looked around the restaurant.

'Four days to go before Valentine's Day, who's your date?'

Then it hit her: four days remaining.

She doesn't mind going out alone or staying indoors during this season but this time she seemed kind of excited about it. Her eyes jumped back to the person on the veranda who's still busy talking on her phone.

"Hmm. Should I give her a present? But what would I give her? Wouldn't it be awkward to give her something on Valentine's Day?" she told herself.

Her excitement was drained when Minji laughed heartily. Disappointed, Hanni pursed her lips.

"Who could she be talking to? Please, somebody, tell me it's not Yunjin again."

Yunjin's role in Minji's life is bugging her. Her curiosity about the real deal between the two is rising. The first and last time they met, Minji introduced Yunjin as a friend. But who knows what could have happened after that. The only thing Hanni knows is it's not impossible for Yunjin to be a fangirl too.

After a few more minutes, Minji returned. "Phew! Sorry about that. It was my aunt. She said she misses me."

"Aren't you visiting her?" asked Hanni. The sour face from the misconception earlier turned into a sweet smile.

"I'm busy. She's busy." Minji went back to her pasta. "And I don't like her giving me free food every time I visit her restaurant."

"Restaurant?"

Minji hummed. "Remember, I mentioned before how I love going to Tosokchon Samgyetang restaurant? My Aunt Victoria owns that place."

Hanni dropped her hand on the table. "No way."

"Yeah. The food there is expensive, but they are exquisitely great," said Minji, stuffing a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth. "I don't want my aunt going bankrupt just because my food is always on her whenever I go there."

"Well, you must be her favorite niece."

Minji smiled. "Of course. I'm her only niece. She's my dad's only sister, and she doesn't have kids."

Hanni couldn't be happier. They've known each other for half a year now but this is the first time she heard other things about Minji's life aside from Haerin's issues before.

"Hmm. I guess Valentine's is already in the air, huh?" said Minji, looking around at the posters in the area.

"For sure people will line up at malls again to buy flowers and chocolates," said Hanni. "Restaurants will be full again for sure."