"The bond that should not have been made.. But since it has already been made, it will continue.."
Can a person's life turn around in the most unexpected way? Such was the case with Jinyoung, as he found himself involved in something he had never im...
She arrived earlier than the said time, and took in the view of the restaurant, as she patiently waited for him to arrive. She was wearing a decent black printed dress, and was looking beautiful in it.
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She chose a table far from the entrance, so she could see him arrive before he could approach her. She knew that he had seen her face before, so she was clearly at a disadvantage of locating him first, but still she wanted to take a chance. She was so lost in staring at the entrance that she didn't realize someone approaching her from behind. "You'll dig a hole through the glass if you'll stare for so long," and with this, the person finally decided to approach her.
She shuddered in response, as the voice was dangerously close, and it got her really scared. She spun around at once to face the person, but her action left her speechless. A second earlier, she was ready to give the person a piece of her mind, but her mind went blank and all she did was stare at the person before her. She just looked at him with wide eyes—her eyes following his movements —till he took a seat in front of her. "What's the surprised expression for? Shouldn't I be getting the nagging you've prepared?" He said with a sincere smile this time.
It broke Sana's train of thoughts, as she acknowledged everything. "Y-you.." She stuttered a bit, finding herself at the loss of words.
"Don't give me that look! You're scaring me!!" He sighed before continuing, "I'm Mark Tuan, and yes I've arrived earlier than our said time. I'm sorry to surprise you like that! I was about to greet you when I saw you arriving, but seeing you take a seat and looking intently at the entrance actually had me laughing, so I decided to surprise you! I didn't know that you would be this surprised."
"S-sorry! I was just too surprised!!" Sana bowed slightly as a sign of apology, but it resulted in a chuckle from Mark's side.
"You didn't seem the shy type, judging from all your messages," he spoke.
"And I'm clearly not! I didn't think you would be arriving so soon. To an extent, it's unfair too!"
"Unfair in what sense??"
"Both times, it was you who saw me first!"
"Hey! Isn't that a bit childish?!" Mark replied, as he suppressed his chuckle.
"Says the one who scared me just now!"
"Isn't this supposed to be a normal meeting. We seem like old enemies who encountered accidentally here!" Mark countered her, as he laughed again.
"You also didn't seem the fun-type," she stated simply.
"How am I the fun-type to be exact?"
She just simply smiled in the response, as he raised an eyebrow.
"You seemed to be avoiding the meeting. Now that I've met you, it doesn't seem that way," she finally responded. Mark was actually taken aback by her response, as he really wanted to avoid the meeting in the first place. He didn't want to socialize much, and he had other reasons for that also.
"Not convincing!" He replied with a smirk.
"W-whatever!" She said as she covered her face completely with the menu book in front of her.
Mark couldn't help the genuine smile that crept up his face. He leaned forward and grabbed the menu from Sana's hand. She was startled by the action, but before she could react, the menu was handed back to her.
"What was that for?!" She couldn't hide her surprise, but as she glanced back at the menu, she noticed that she was holding it upside-down all this time, before Mark changed the direction. Her sudden realization made her want to hide her face even more, but Mark didn't make her more uncomfortable, by choosing not to say anything.
They ordered their meal, and ate in silence. Even though there was silence for most part, it was not awkward, except for the moments where he caught her staring at him, and Sana would then cover it up by asking random questions.
After the meal, Mark asked her a question that caught her off-guard. "How are your feet now?"
"W-why are you asking t-that all of a sudden?"
"Well, I happened to see the bruises on your feet when I helped you last time."
"Oh that! They're battle scars!" She replied cheerfully this time.
"That's what the lady told me about! You know.. the one from your neighborhood who happened to be there at that time. The way she talked made it seem like your hard work is the cause of it. So here's an advice for you.. Work hard but not too hard, or you'll be having a meal with someone else after you pass out next time~" He ended his reply on a lighter note which made them both chuckle.
"Hey! I know I actually overwork myself, but don't worry! I'll take your advice, and not overwork now!!" She said as she gave him a salute as a sign of light reply from her side".
"By the way, what do you work so hard for?" He asked her casually, but she didn't seem to take it that way. He couldn't read her expressions, but she seemed to hold back something.
Before things could get awkward, she gave him a light smile before replying, "It's not important you know. Just meeting the necessities of life!"
"You just looked way older than you actually are. It doesn't seem to suit you! Work isn't everything!"
"I'll remember that," she said as she laughed in response before getting up from her seat.
They walked out of the restaurant. Sana was about to pay for the lunch when she discovered that Mark already payed for it—the time he excused himself to take a call—during their meal.
"Can I ask you a question?" She asked.
"Sure!"
"Do you believe in mermaids?"
"Where did that come from?"
Sana didn't respond. Instead she bent down to pick something up. Mark's gaze followed her movements as she picked up a handkerchief from the ground, and showed it to him. "You dropped this right now," she finally said. Mark then realized the reason behind her question. It was a silk handkerchief, adorned with beautiful embroidery representing a mermaid.
"How can a handkerchief prove my belief in mermaids?" He tried to joke about it, and Sana seemed to take it.
"As you didn't realize dropping this, can I take it as a souvenir from my savior?" She replied with a hint of sarcasm.
"It is actually really important. I'll get you something else."
"If it's important then I'll return it to you," she pouted as she extended her hand—which held the handkerchief—towards him. He also extended his hand to take it back, but she suddenly pulled her hand back. He was confused by her action, but she responded before he could say anything, "I will return it to you, on our next meeting! You already broke the rule by paying for the meal yourself when it was my treat!! Got to go for now, see you~" A smile made its way to her lips as she bid him goodbye, before walking away.
Mark stood frozen in his spot. He was not taken aback because of Sana's actions, but by his own response. Before he decided to come to the meeting, he was sure it would be the last interaction they would ever have. By choosing to stay silent, he actually agreed to the next meeting.
'It's only for the handkerchief..' He thought before walking away himself. Unknown to him, he was not alone in his journey back.
