vol.² ▎DIFFERENT ✓

CHAPTER 54

Am I being too greedy?

"Why should I?" Minji huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Daehwi gave her a look, "Because he's being patient with you. You should at least accept his offer, plus he's the one buying you food."

Apparently, Jihoon had just asked Minji for a friendly hang out but the girl didn't want to go, she needed to study. "What if my father sees him? Of course he's going to ask where I'm going."

He sighed, "It's right after school anyway, just tell your parents you're going to the library to study with Nari."

"You want me to lie?" Her heart raced, the girl has told some white lies to her parents but not a lie this far. She wasn't even going to the library with Nari! "Minji, you've been cooped up in that room of yours! You deserve happiness too."

"But I don't want to go, I have to study for Histo-" "I'll help you. That's what best friends are for, right?"

Minji softly smiled at the boy .

"But why do I have to go? Can't he just ask someone else?" She groaned, leaning against her cold locker. Daehwi sighed once again, he was fed up of her rambling. "Because one, he likes you. Two, he likes you and three guess what? He likes you!"

She knew that but hearing it slip past someone else's mouth felt weird.

"Have you made your decision? Can you make it today?" The girl flinched a little upon seeing Jihoon infront of her. "I'm not sure." She replied with a monotone voice, shrugging.

You can't give in now, Minji! Not when the exams haven't even started. You can't afford getting distracted this time. She thought.

Daehwi mentally face palmed.

"A-ah, okay . . I'll just head to my uh . . locker." Jihoon looked down at his feet and walked over to his locker. "Look what you did to him, you made him sad." Daehwi huffed.

Minji dryly chuckled, "What he did was worse."

>>

Minji quietly walked side by side with Jihoon along the busy streets of Seoul, she honestly didn't know how she got herself in to this. But so far, her parents didn't have any doubt of her not studying, especially her father so it was safe to say it was going well.

"Do you want to eat?" He hesitantly asked. "I'm okay if I don't eat." She shrugged.

Jihoon chuckled, "Stop being shy around me, I know you're hungry. After all, I'm your boyf-" He stopped in the midst of his after realizing what he just said. Jihoon mentally face palmed.

Damn it Jihoon, you're here for a friendly date! Remember that she's not your girlfriend. Stop going down memory lane. He thought.

Minji snorted at his sentence.

"Anyway, I'm not that hungry but I'll eat with you if you're lonely." She sarcastically smiled at him. This was another level of Minji's pettiness. The boy inwardly sighed, "Sure."

The two peacefully sat in front of each other, munching on fried chicken. Since Minji suggested that Jihoon should pick what they will eat, of course he would go with chicken.

"You didn't eat it properly!" Jihoon exclaimed as Minji set the bones aside. "I did." She furrowed her brows. The boy sighed, "You left the cartilage behind, it's a waste."

He was a little annoyed by it, how can someone waste chicken like that? "You should know by now that I hate it when people do that." "How should I know?" Minji exclaimed, shrugging. "Goodness Minji, we dated befor- I mean, we're friends! You should know." Jihoon quickly finished off his sentence before taking a long gulp of his cola.

"Whatever." She muttered.

After the two ate, they wandered around the bustling streets til Jihoon saw a very familiar place. "Look bub! It's the ice skating place we went to!" His instinct was to grab her hand and drag her to the place.

And he did.

Minji's eyes widened, the boy's hair flew in different directions as he dragged her closer to the place, jogging. She could tell that the boy was getting flashbacks, that was how much he missed Minji.

Jihoon came to an abrupt stop after realizing what he had just done. He quickly let go of her hand before facing the girl with an apologetic smile, "I-i'm sorry, it just reminded me of things when we were still toge- I mean, never mind!" He looked down at his shoes, sighing.

Stop messing up Jihoon! He thought.

"That's okay . ." Minji awkwardly spoke, stuffing her hands inside her school blazer pocket. She honestly pitied him, Minji had the urge to drag him inside and act like they were still together but she couldn't. Not when she might get distracted.

Her mind might get distracted. In fact, it already was.

This is why she didn't want to go in the first place, Minji just fell deeper in to the hole she knew she wouldn't escape, but the only way to escape was to follow her heart.

But she wasn't going to do that, not just yet.

After playing around, darkness slowly emerged in to the skies. Minji and Jihoon walked along a ghostly street, he insisted to drop her off since it was already dark. Minji had alot of thoughts in her mind, it wouldn't hurt saying one, right?

"I-i honestly had fun today." Her soft voice breaking the silence between them. "I did too." Jihoon smiled to himself.

Despite messing it up. He thought.

Before Minji could knock on the door, it swung open, making her flinch a little. Her father had opened it, Minji's heart raced as her father glanced at the boy behind her. Jihoon politely greeted him making Minji's father smile, tightly.

She could tell it was a fake one. Too fake.

"You didn't tell me Jihoon tagged along." Mr.Kim asked, venom laced along with his empty words. The girl gripped the hem of her skirt, her hands slightly shaking. Jihoon, I'm so sorry I got you in to this. This is why I didn't want to go with you in the beginning but I also didn't want to hurt your feelings. She thought.

"Y-yeah . ." Minji mumbled. Jihoon could feel the obvious tension, he was confused why the two were so tensed up and what Mr.Kim meant by 'tagging along' but moreover, it wasn't any of his business. "I-i'll get going now." He dipped his head. "See you." Jihoon whispered to Minji before hesitantly walking away.

"Get inside." Minji's father spoke, calm but laced with pure anger.

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