Never In My Dreams

28- The Lost Boy

[Tzuyu's POV]

     For almost this entire month, I had worked extra hours hours, ranging from the bright and early mornings until when the moon came out. Today would be different since a majority of the employees would be leaving for the holidays, which meant I could clock out early.

I had just finished my shift and had been gathering my stuff. Mingyu offered to pick me up since my work schedule had clashed with Nayeon's and she would be unable to get me on time.

Things with Mingyu and I were still quite unclear. We both made confessions, yet our relationship status was no doubt complicated or at least for me. For the past days I had promised myself not to stress too much about it, but that was until I entered the lobby.

I had seen Mingyu there, sitting down in one of the chairs talking with Rosé, who had got off around this time. She modeled for us often nowadays since Seoul Fashion Week was an upcoming event. I worked with her a few times throughout the month, but because of the schedule and hour change; Nari or Seolhyun had spent more time managing her.

As I paid attention to their interaction, I examined every move she made. When he cracked a small joke, she laughed as if it had been the funniest thing in the world. He smiled seeing her reaction. Once I seen her hand playfully hit his shoulder, I suddenly felt resentment toward her. I knew it was wrong to feel that way, but I hated how natural and easy-going they were. It made me question if I had been too awkward with him and possibly made him doubt my feelings towards him.

"You ready?" he asked, standing up from his chair. I snapped out from my thoughts and nodded while flashing him a half hearted smile.

Rosé waved to me, smiling brightly. She was stunning, considering that she was a model. From her height and to her smile- she looked perfect. In my eyes she was gorgeous and I couldn't compare. I immediately thought back to what my mother had always preached to me about.

"Boys are almost like dogs. The more attention you pay to them, the more they'll beg. For instance, looks-" my mother explained, before continuing to drink out of her wine glass. "You'll eventually learn that a wife's job is to entertain her husband and you'll know if you succeed or not."

She looked at me with a scornful grin, "if you're pretty enough, he'll only pay attention to you. However, once he finds someone better, much younger, and more attractive; you'll no longer be in his heart."

Not too long after we bid our goodbyes with her, we were in his car. The atmosphere was casual on his end since he would start up topics, but it was a bit confusing on mine since I had no idea what we were. A part of me wanted to question him about it, but I thought it was better to not rush things just like I had wanted before.

"So any plans this week?" he asks, continuing to keep his focus ahead on the road.

"I plan to do some baking for the picnic. I found some good ones online and Su-Wei had also sent me a list of recipes." I had been planning to make both Korean and Taiwanese pastries, which would be his and my favorite. I was excited to start the process and better yet- eat the results.

"Oh! Are you and the girls having a picnic?"

"No, the picnic is for Taehyung oppa! His birthday is soon and I offered to take him out while the rest finish setting up the venue," I replied. The moment I said that, I checked his reaction. His response seemed like he understood and I actually wondered if he did or not. He didn't say much after that and just kept his eyes glued to the road.

I wonder if I had said too much in my response to make him this quiet. I had always been a bad liar and I believe everyone knew that about me. I just hoped that I didn't ruin any chances of us possibly being in an official relationship.