Wrong Number

Chapter 28

"Mark," Mina narrowed her eyes. The name was all too familiar. She was in the middle of giving him a once over when it clicked. She knew him, or at least she knew of him. 

"You graduated a year before me," he confirmed. "I was in your statistics class. You look well, except for the foot of course." He moved forward to take the bag from Mrs. Kim. "I can take that, you really shouldn't have to carry it up the stairs by yourself." 

Mina watched her mother start gushing. She tuned out the way she was practically fawning over the guy. "I can probably manage it on my own actually. I'm just going up to put away my things before dinner." 

The room was suddenly a lot quieter. "About that," her father began. 

"You didn't tell us you were coming home so early. We already ate," her mother finished. 

She blinked. "You already ate. Alright. I can just make something myself," she said. It was a simple enough solution. 

"You set the kitchen on fire last time. You will not be going anywhere near my stove. Setting off the fire alarm will disturb the guests," her mother's hands were on her hip by the time she finished speaking. She was making the stern mother face. 

Mina's mouth began to slip into a pout when Mark spoke up. "I'm actually a bit hungry myself. You can go with me to get food if you'd like. It'd be great to hear about the university in Seoul since I'm thinking of applying." 

She had every intention of saying no. She wasn't interested in going back out to get food, especially not with someone she didn't really know. Having one class together two years prior did not equate to them being best friends. Her mother had other ideas though. 

"She would love to! It's the least she can do for you offering to take her bag up for her. Mina is very appreciative," she said with a look towards Mina. "Right?" 

The look her mother was giving was a strong argument against saying no. Realizing she would look rude if she declined, Mina bowed her head. Her stomach started to rumble. "Right," she said. 

"You can unpack when you get back. Mark, if you'll be so kind, her room is one next to yours," Mrs. Kim said. 

Mina pursed her lips but said nothing as he took her bag and jogged up the stairs. She could hear her bedroom door open and shut. There were only six rooms in the house. Her parents and younger brother had the two on the bottom floor, which meant Mina shared the top floor with three guest rooms. Fortunately for her, it had two bathrooms, one of which she mostly had to herself since they rarely booked all three rooms at once. 

"I have my keys," Mark announced on his way back the stairs. 

Sunny offered an overly friendly smile and whispered for Mina to have fun. She winked and practically ran out the door. 

Mark stayed close behind Mina as she made her way back outside. His excuse was making sure that she didn't fall but something wasn't sitting right with her. Sunny had never wished her luck with a guy, much less encouraged her. There was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on, but she felt like it wasn't good. He opened the door to his car for her and closed it behind her.

"Does a burger sound good to you?" 

"I'm fine with whatever," she replied. 

He turned the radio down as soon as he turned the key in the ignition. The sun had already started to set. Had she taken the bus, she probably would have been there hours earlier but Sunny had kept stalling. She had to have her makeup just right. She hadn't packed until their class had let out. It had been frustrating. Mina rolled her eyes at the recollection. Sunny's car was still in the parking lot. She could see her sitting there on her phone. They made eye contact as Mark pulled out. Sunny lifted her hand in a brief wave. There was that smile again. She resisted the urge to make an obscene gesture. 

Mark picked a restaurant only a few minutes away from the Inn. One of the reasons her parents had chosen it was the location. It wasn't that large by any means, but it was inside the city and close to plenty of places to eat. That was apparently something tourists liked. He chose a parking spot and killed the car. 

Mina was already opening her door when he rushed around to offer her his hand. "Let me help," he smiled down at her. 

She didn't have a reason to say no. Perhaps he was just trying to be nice. He helped her to stand and even held the door for her inside the restaurant. 

... 

"Just up here on the left." The blue light of Jimin's phone lit up his face. He was sitting in the backseat but leaned forward so that half his upper body was between the two seats in the front. 

"Kim's Inn?" Jungkook asked. He craned his neck to get a better look. It wasn't much but it was cute. The expectation of seeing Mina had his turning signal on half a mile before he should have signaled. 

Tae snorted from the passenger seat. It was the only Inn on the street. They were next door to a pharmacy. "Unless her parents run a bed and breakfast with a side of Tylenol, I would say yeah."

Had the situation been different, they would have been exchanging jabs at each other. As it were, Jungkook let him have it. He took the turn cautiously and pulled in next to a silver car. He took a second look at the blonde sitting behind the wheel. That wasn't a good sign. 

"What the hell is she doing here?" Jimin frowned. Sunny looked over from her phone and grinned at them. The window of her car slid down as Jungkook pushed the button to lower his own. 

"Where's Mina?" he asked. There was no point in exchanging pleasantries with someone so vile. 

Sunny sneered back at him. "On a date actually." 

His face dropped along with his stomach. He felt as though he was going to be sick. Bile was rising in the back of his throat.  "She's what?" 

Clearly Sunny was enjoying the obviously discomfort written all over him. "On a date. With a high school friend. You just missed her." 

It was like watching a cat play with a mouse. Taehyung had enough. He leaned over Jungkook and batted his eyelashes mockingly. "Where?" 

Sunny's sneer dropped as Jimin lowered the back window as well. "Today would be great. We have places to be." 

She glanced down at the phone in her hand. "The Graduate," she replied finally. 

Jimin was already typing the name into his GPS app. "Toodles," Tae wiggled his fingers at her with a smirk. Jungkook put the car in reverse without looking back at her again. The uneasy feeling in his stomach was unsettling. Was he really about to interrupt a supposed date? Yes. Yes, he was. 

They were unusually quiet as Jimin gave the brief directions. It was one turn and barely a mile down the road. It didn't leave them much time to address the issue in a casual manner. The headlights from the company car reflected in the restaurant windows as they parked. 

The dinner had been uneventful, to say the least. Mark had asked a few questions about the university but that had been it. Most of the conversation had been about him, his year off from school that he was taking and how much he planned to travel in the spring. It was boring. There was no banter. Every question she asked about school he deflected and changed the subject. Mina ate quickly to get back home as soon as possible. It was barely ten minutes before she had finished her food. For someone who hadn't eaten, she found it odd that he only ordered fries. 

He moved like he was going to open the car door for her. Mina took a step back to give him room when her crutch caught his foot sending her forward. Mark moved forward smoothly and pulled her body upright between him and his car. Her back was pressed against the door. A small wave of panic started to build in her chest. She was vaguely aware of the headlights from the other vehicle on them like a spotlight.  

It seemed like a cue that he was waiting for. Mark dipped his head forward. Mina frowned up at him. She was about to ask just what he thought he was doing when a car door slamming caused her to jump. She pushed against Mark's chest to move him away from her. Standing behind him with his mouth gaped open was Jungkook. 

"Mina," he sounded like someone had punched him in the gut. 

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I've tried to keep these chapters pretty consistent with at least 1K works. So far so good!