Her Image (NAMJOON FIC)

Teachers that have no virtues

Before 

Earlier that week, Gia had set up a date with a guy from Tinder who worked as a preschool teacher. They planned to get coffee at a spot recommended by a friend, even though it was a thirty-minute detour from her way home from work, only because it was much closer to him. She had been waiting for thirty minutes, and no show.

"This is so embarrassing, I think he ditched me," Gia told Nicole over the phone. 

Nicole, who had become almost like her godmother-in-dating, did not feel confident in cheering her friend up.

"Maybe he had something come up, or traffic," she tried to excuse. In reality, she knew from experience just how bad guys their age could be at dating. 

Gia did not dabble in the dating scene in college at all, but Nicole had been around and it was one of the main reasons why she had stuck by Jin. She dreaded the thought of being single again and going on endless amounts of pointless coffee dates with guys whose hobbies included gaslighting women and claiming they were into feminism to get into her pants.

"I don't know, maybe," Gia agreed, but from her tone it was obvious she was not sure. She was convinced she had exceptionally bad luck in dating, because no matter how much she lowered her standards, not a single one would stick around. Her grandmother was growing impatient, and the cousins were probably spreading rumors about her being gay.

"Look, just get yourself a drink and something nice to eat- I don't care how much it costs, just let me know how much it is and I will pay for you. My treat. Consider it me taking you on a date, even though I can't right now," Nicole said, hoping to cheer her friend up at least a bit.

She had told Gia she would be busy with work that week. Nicole worked as a severely underpaid and overworked editor at a publishing company not far from their apartment. After getting a degree in Sociology, she hoped to publish her own book at some point, but for the time being, she had to make ends meet and sell her soul and body to the local editing company. She expressed wanting to quit at least once weekly, but Gia was always quick to remind her that working as a waitress paid even less than her hellish editing job.

"Really?" Gia's eyes lit up. She was a simple girl: free food would never fail to brighten her day. On the flip side, the offer was making it increasingly harder to stick to her diet.

She walked up to the counter and looked at the menu carefully- she decided on an iced caramel latte and red velvet cake, two of her guilty pleasures. She would happily eat her meal, and hopefully feel better about herself. After she walked away from the restaurant, she was determined, it was time to delete all dating apps and find a new focus in life. 

***

After Nicole hung up the phone, she let out a sigh of relief. She had expressly told Gia she would be busy because she did not want any distractions or anyone finding out what she was doing. She had made sure to drive out one hour away from the city to meet at an old run-down diner her parents had always loved. The burgers were cheap, large and tasty enough to drown any feelings of guilt she might be having for lying to her entire friend group about her whereabouts. 

"So she got ditched?" Namjoon, who was sitting in front of her and stuffing his face with ribs, said. 

"Yeah, poor girl," Nicole replied, putting her phone away, "she was really looking forward to this one."

"Hm."

Nicole stared at the barely-nibbled-on burger on her plate. She really had no appetite, but she felt bad about wasting food. She felt even worse about lying to her friends.