passive-aggressive | hvc

tres

As much as Elle dreaded this day, it had inevitably come. Today was the day Hansol arranged for his new girlfriend to meet his friends. With Elle being a rather important one, she was forced to join in the festivities.

She stands in front of her dresser, obviously perplexed. Minghao is laying on her bed with countless articles of her clothing thrown all over him.

Elle paces around her room, wondering what to wear. Minghao sits up at the sight of this. He looks, for the most part, bored.

"Babe."

"What?"

"You look great in anything. Now before you chew me out about that not being helpful. May I direct you to that cute little black number you wore to my birthday party last year?"

She brightens up at the suggestion. Pulling out the black dress from her closet, she puts it in front of her, examining her reflection in the mirror. She musters a small smile.

"Trying but not trying?", she asks.

Minghao grins.

"Nailed it."

———————————————————————————

The two arrive late at the restaurant. Minghao opens the door for Elle, offering his hand to help her out. She was always bewildered by his gentlemanly tendencies.

"Really, Hao. You don't have to be like this around me."

"I'm only like this when I'm with you."

She scoffed, earning a smirk from the tall gentleman.

"Want me to hold your hand on the way in? You can squeeze as hard as you'd like upon seeing her face."

He's smiling, and she tries not to. She doesn't answer but softly squeezes the hand he previously held out for her.

They walk hand-in-hand into the restaurant. The girl next to Hansol is, as expected, breathtaking. She has short blonde hair. She's as skinny as Wonwoo and just as drop dead gorgeous.

Without realizing, Elle squeezes Minghao's hand, resulting in a sudden intake of breath from him.

"Shit, Elle. That's a little too harsh."

She quietly apologizes as they near the table.

Junhui is the first to greet them.

"What's up with the hands? Are you guys the real couple we're being introduced to today?"

Unbeknownst to everybody else, Hansol's posture stiffens at the sound of that.

Elle and Minghao laugh it off.

"Just being a gentleman. Something the likes of you wouldn't know anything about.", Minghao teases.

He pulls out a chair for Elle and takes a seat next to her. Hansol clears his throat.

"Elle, Hyung. This is Ruby. Ruby, Elle and Myungho."

Smiles and handshakes are exchanged. The dinner proceeds, and every time Hansol stops time to stare at Ruby to share a smile disheartens Elle's will go continue with the outing.

It was about the fifth time the guys were ordering entrees when Ruby excuses herself to use the restroom. Hansol wraps his leg around Elle's, pinning it down. She's alarmed, but soon realizes it's because he wants to consult with them about their impressions of this girl he was so smitten with.

Elle kicks him off once Ruby's out of sight.

"Geez, Sol. A little rough, eh? You're wearing dress shoes with heels, jerk."

"I'm sorry! But I really need to know. What do you guys think about her?"

Hansol has never exhibited this much care into any girl before. There's desperation in his voice, fear his beloved friends won't see what he does.

The guys are just as surprised as Elle is at Hansol's question. She's the first to answer, considering it was taking the guys too long to answer.

"She's seems like a great gal, Sol."

He sighs and smiles, relieved.

"Yeah, dude. She's hot.", says Mingyu.

Seungkwan agrees. "Yeah, way out of your league."

A muse of related statements follows until Ruby comes back. Elle hates to admit it, but the influx of compliments hurts her pride, as if her friends were only to compliment her.

She can't take anymore and fakes a phone call.

"Oh, excuse me."

She stands up to take the supposed call outside.

Minghao notices her phone never rang and follows her out. She's outside of the restaurant with her hands on her hips, breathing heavily.

She brings her hands up to her face, pressing them against her eyes.

"Are you crying?"

She's startled by his presence and sniffles, wiping the evidence away.

"Never. What're you doing out here?"

His heart squeezes as he walks toward her defeated figure against the backdrop of the wall of flowers adorned with string lights.

"I wanted to know if this beautiful tragic woman before me would like to go out for something like coffee. I'm not in the mood for a decadent dessert. What do you say?"

She laughs as he pulls her in for a hug.

"Apart from calling me tragic, that's a sweet offer. I don't want to pull you away from them, though. You barely have the chance to get together like this. You should enjoy it. I'll call a cab."

He pulls away.

"Are you sure?"

She nods and smiles, almost melting his heart. Minghao lets her go and stays with her until they manage to hail down a cab.

He walks back into the restaurant. His brothers are laughing, having a nice dinner together. Then there was Hansol, being utterly in love with a woman who wasn't Elle.

Minghao tried not to be annoyed at the fact that although Hansol was no longer an option for Elle, he stayed not being a viable option, either.

He takes his seat. Jeonghan asks where Elle went.

"She said she had to go. Something about work. She wanted me to tell Ruby she enjoyed meeting her."

Ruby smiles. She seems like a genuinely nice girl, but Minghao's eyes stay locked on her hands grasping Hansol's watch. The other one is placed on his lap. She's wearing a necklace he saw Hansol pick out the other day.

They could just be gifts from a boyfriend to his girlfriend. That could be all there is. Right?