Ryujin, Yuna and I: A high-school story

Chapter 4 ("Oppa, will you go out with me?")

Chapter 4 feat Loona's Olivia Hye

Hyejoo has sent you a message, the notification read.

I opened it, seeing a well-designed flyer. I scrolled down, it was an invitation to her 18th birthday. Everyone from the 3 classes were all invited, which meant that my class, Ryujin's class and Yuna's class could all finally have a get-together where we would meet each other again.

I quickly filled in the RSVP and Hyejoo quickly accepted it

See you then, it said

Now, I figured that since Yuna's class was invited, she would probably also be going. I wanted to take out my phone and text her, when she texted me. It was as though she knew I was going to invite her. My heart got really excited as I opened up the message

Hey Oppa, can you help me with my homework, I can't do one question.

I quickly typed back a reply

Sure, 3.30 at the library. See you.

I was trying really hard not to use exclamation marks or seem too eager but I was really looking forward to seeing Yuna. There was still one more hour before we were going to meet and I spent it deciding what clothes to wear.

"Too casual, too formal, colours are too bright, doesn't go well with my body..."

When I eventually settled down on a pair of jeans and a polo t-shirt, my wardrobe was already turned upside down. And 45 minutes were already gone, I used to think that only girls would spend so much time trying to dress themselves up but today, that stereotype was broken.

I just grabbed the jeans and t-shirt and headed into the shower.

Coming out, I grabbed my phone, wallet and headed out to the library.

Fast forward to arrival at the library...

"Hey oppa, here!" Yuna raised her hand and waved at me.

I don't know why, for some strange reason, every time I'm around Yuna, I can't help but feel super nervous, like I'm still some teenage boy around his crush. "Get a grip man, you're just helping out with homework, and you and Yuna are just friends..."

I sat down beside Yuna. Taking a look at the worksheet, the questions were actually hard, I had to grab a piece of paper and ponder over it for a while. Even though I was one year older than Yuna, these questions were still hard for me, I was somewhat surprised that Yuna was able to complete all but the hardest question.

After about 15 minutes of brain-scratching and thinking with Yuna, we finally got the correct answer. Yuna picked up the stacks of foolscap paper and kept her stationery. I helped her keep her stuff, and we were about to go our separate ways when Yuna asked me,

"Oppa, hang on! I'm really thankful for your help with my homework. As a show of gratitude, can I buy you a meal? I really want to thank you for your help..." She looked up at me with pleading eyes. I agreed to her request and headed to some small, homely restaurant for an early dinner (or perhaps just a very late lunch?)

For a girl so small and skinny and cute, you would think she survives just on salads and protein shakes, but when you actually sit down and eat with her, you'd be surprised at her voracious appetite. The moment we sat down, she quickly took a glance and the menu and called the ajumma over.

"Can I have one tteokbokki (korean rice cake), one naengmyeon (cold noodles), two portions of kimchi pancake and... wait for it, this was the greatest surprise, one pot of kimchi jjigae (army stew)."

I was just fiddling on my phone but when I heard that, my head snapped up in pure surprise. I thought we were sharing the food and wanted to agree with whatever she had ordered when she interrupted me and said,

"Oppa, do you have anything you would like to order?"

I was so surprised, a girl like her could finish all that by herself! I looked at the menu and just placed an order at random.

As we were waiting for the food, we started to talk about various things from Ryujin to the upcoming party at Hyejoo's place. As the food was gradually served and we started to eat, I started to understand perhaps why Yuna could eat so much of the food, it was really really homely and good.

Then, Yuna put down her chopsticks and stopped eating completely, with a really serious expression on her face. I looked up, did I do anything wrong?

"Oppa, I have something serious to talk about."

She took in a deep breath and looked at me straight in the eye.

"Oppa, would you like to go to Hyejoo's party with me?"

I was pleasantly surprised, but I never expected this to happen to me. This was basically equivalent to Yuna asking me out on an unofficial date! I was extremely excited. I looked at Yuna, she was already blushing and trying to look away, but she still wanted to hear my response.

"Of course, Yuna, of course I'll go with you to the party."

Yuna jumped up with a squeal and put her arms around me.

"Yes Oppa, I'm so excited! I can't wait to see you at the party!"