Array
(
[text] =>
— Every day you get worse at the game, haven’t you thought about giving up? — Heejin said to Sooho, who grimaced, glaring at her before pointing at her with the billiard stick.
— I bet I beat your boyfriend.
And in fact, they were all there, Heejin, Sooho, Sieun and Bumseok, the pair of friends had taken them to play, with the excuse that they would study for exams, mostly Sieun, obviously, Bumseok had said yes immediately.
Sieun wondered how he was such an idiot to fall for that knowing that Sooho only slept in classes, but maybe it was because Heejin came to his door with a smile, asking him to accompany her to study, and that day he had woken up quite weak according to him, the girl had only said: “Good day Sieun, do you want to go with me to study?” A smile, and voila, that’s how he ended up locked in there, watching friends play pool.
— Yah! Hey, kitty, your girlfriend is hitting me! — Heejin threatened the taller one with a billiard ball when he said that, making him shut up immediately, although he muttered something that the girl didn’t understand but knew was about her by how he laughed and ran to the end of the table with some fear.
— Weren’t we going to study? — Heejin heard Sieun ask, she sat on an empty pool table, staring at him with some doubt, the boy really only thought about studying.
— Is weekend, Sieun. — Sooho interrupted as he moved to continue the game. — Sometimes, you have to get up from your chair to get the blood flowing to your brain and make it work as it should, right, Heejin?
The girl shrugged her shoulders, not paying much attention to her friend, she was more aware of seeing the boy sitting with a bored expression on the couch near the window, noticing that he had a fairly basic style, dark or gray sweatshirts, black or white t-shirts and jeans together with a pair of converse, which he definitely had to change now, they looked too worn.
Very simple, but it suited him very well.
— You say that because you won’t go to college, right? — Sooho complained when he saw that she couldn’t get the ball in before seeing Sieun and then Heejin, wanting to hit her with the billiard stick when he noticed how she was looking so intently at the boy.
She looks like a puberty girl looking at Justin Bieber, please, Moon Heejin.
— I don’t think you got hit hard enough in the head… Why would I want to get into that chicken coop again? No thanks, you better come and play.
Sooho complained when he saw that he didn’t get up, hitting the girl on the back, gently, so that she would react, doing so, Heejin looked at her friend with annoyance, he had pulled her out of her reverie very abruptly, not knowing what she had to do, she just raised her eyebrow at him, squinting her eyes to let him understand that he had to explain to her. — We brought him in to play, not for him to sit there. — Like a small child, Sooho complained to his friend, grimacing.
Heejin looked at Sieun, who already had his eyes on her, ignoring the nervousness she felt when she saw that action, she got up to walk towards him, taking his hand gently, made Sieun stand up, leaving Sooho indignant at seeing how easily the girl made him follow her, as if he were a puppy behind his owner.
—Do you know how to play? — Sieun looked at the table after taking his eyes off the girl, nodding after a second, Heejin raised her eyebrows, surprised that she had learned something from him, smiling she let go of his hand after a second, stretching out her arm, she pointed to the table. — Go ahead, kitten.
Heejin leaned on the billiard stick when she noticed Sieun staring at the table for a few seconds, getting into position right after, when he hit the ball, everyone’s gaze was focused on it, seeing how he finally hit Sooho’s, thus generating the point for Sieun.
Heejin’s laughter rang in Sieun’s ears, who watched with a grimace as she mocked Sooho, while the boy grabbed her by the neck with his arm to shut her up, as if making a chokehold.
They’re very close, Sieun.
That caused the boy to swallow in disgust, looking away after a few seconds. Well, his plan wasn’t to end up angry at all.
They’re friends, Sieun, stop thinking nonsense. Sieun thought, moving to his seat again, changing his score on the scoreboard before putting the stick aside and grabbing his backpack. — Come on, we have to study. — He said, his voice made the friends look at him, that was addressed to everyone, although his eyes were on Heejin.
Ah, you just want to spend time with her.
He was going to ignore his thoughts, walking to get out of the place, that was before Sooho let go of Heejin, almost pushing her to the ground to walk towards both boys who were taking their things.
— Where are you going? Two out of three, is the rule.
—There’s no such rule for billiards,— Sieun replied, his voice somewhat dry to talk to the boy.
He felt disgusted.
— It’s our rule. — Sooho said in a obvious tone, blocking his way with the same billiard stick he was carrying in his hands. Sieun watched as Heejin moved to the table where they had been playing for an hour, looking at him with a smile, he looked away from the scoreboard, swallowing hard and with a grimace, to see Sooho again.
— I think you know the result is going to be the same.
Sooho laughed indignantly before getting up and standing in front of him, looking down to show hia stance. —Do you think so? Do you think you’re going to beat me again? Okay, let’s do something, let’s bet, if I win, you’ll buy me jjajangmyeon and sweet and sour pork, if you win, I’ll let you go on a date with Heejin. Deal?
— Like I’m going to ask for your permission to go out with him anyway. — Heejin said, catching the attention of both boys, who immediately saw her with two different thoughts in their heads.
While Sooho thought that she was taking away his rudeness by saying those words, Sieun thought that the girl wasn’t joking when she said that she liked him, she had never denied it, and she could swear that if he asked her if she had feelings for him, she would answer yes right away.
That was pretty brave of her, but what impressed him more than knowing that the girl accepted that she liked him, was that he wasn’t bothered by that fact, he didn’t like her as such, but he didn’t feel uncomfortable either.
— One more round.
…
— Ah, you know I let you win, right?
The group had left the place where they played pool, Sieun had won as he had said and Sooho’s pride had come to light, come on, he beat him in the game he knows perfectly.
It was already a little late and they knew that the study had been forgotten. — No, I think you lost.
— Ah, you damned bastard, it doesn’t matter. Let’s go have some beers, my day off ends soon. — Heejin denied with a smile, accepting seconds later before a hand stopped her, making her look at that figure strangely.
— You go. — Sieun said, still holding the girl’s hand, who was perplexed by that act. Had he held her hand first? Wow that day had been strange. — It’s late.
— Fine, I’ll stop bothering you now. — Sooho said, walking up to put his arms around Bumseok’s shoulders. — Just for you to know, you were lucky today, next time I’ll crush you, kitten, come on Jinnie, let’s go get a beer.
When Sooho touched Heejin’s hand, Sieun pulled her a little towards him, moving her away from her friend’s touch. She almost stumbled, managing to take the arm of the serious boy, who continued looking at Sooho without expression, noticing how the taller one raised a eyebrow. — Hey, n-
— It’s late, you have to go home. — He clarify, Sooho smiled somewhat indignantly, nodding, looking at Heejin, knowing that that did not convince the taller one, he just sighed, speaking again. — You said that if I beat you you were going to let me go out with Heejin. — The girl tensed next to him upon hearing that, releasing him almost immediately, but in surprise, walking away from him.
— Hey… — Sooho laughed, pointing at the girl, who was fixing her hair next to Sieun, who was looking at her, reviewing every movement she made. — She… She hasn’t even had her hair done, how are you going to take her to a date like that? I bet she’s sweating now… Jinnie, tell him you’re not going to-
— We go to eat? No, I know, I have a better idea, near the apartments is an ice cream shop, let’s go get some ice cream. — She blurted out, interrupting her friend, taking Sieun’s arm again, this time, looking at him with a sweet smile.
Sieun felt an impulse to smile when he saw how the girl had silenced the boy, whom he really wanted to silence for several hours. She nodded, ignoring the taller boy, who looked at them with his mouth open, placing a hand on his chest. — Moon Heejin…
— You… Shut up and go drink your beer… — The girl pointed out, pointing in his direction so that he could leave with Bumseok.
— Fine, but you’re going to call me to come to your house and I’m going to reject you. — He said with an offended tone, turning around and taking Bumseok with him. — Come on, friend, that’ll buy me beers and won’t abandon me for someone who has never gotten a four in his life.
— Dramatic. — Heejin murmured as she watched the boy walk away with one of their new friends, both talking about something before they were out of sight, Sieun too, moving his eyes from the scene to the girl, swallowing after seeing how close she was to him, he looked to his sides, seeing couples eating and chatting, some others coming out of the same pool hall they were at.
It was a pretty popular alley for couples apparently.
Of course the boy didn’t expect to take her on a date that suddenly, but hearing Sooho propose alcohol at night made him act impulsively, keep imagining the drunk girl walking alone on the street, or with two drunk boys somewhere else.
— Hey, the ice cream thing was true, we won’t have to walk far back home… Which would be nice because… I think it’s going to rain. — The girl looked at the sky, Sieun did too, seeing gray and white clouds combined in the black of the sky, it looked like some kind of storm was about to fall, lowering his gaze after a second, he saw the girl again.
You can’t do this to her Sieun, she likes you.
— No, I…
— Did you have something else in mind? — Sieun looked away when he saw those big eyes looking at him in doubt, he didn’t know why he was getting nervous. — Or did you have nothing in mind?
The boy sighed, taking her hand before walking with the girl by his side. It was clear that he didn’t know what to do or where to go, but she seemed quite happy that he really felt a bad taste in his mouth at the thought of just going home and say goodbye to her.
Maybe he just didn’t want to see her eyes shining with disappointment, not hers.
Also, he didn’t want to explain why he hadn’t let her go with Sooho to have a beer, it would be embarrassing because not even he knew the reason.
A conversation, that was what he had read in that book he had found in the library a while ago, the problem was that Sieun didn’t know about what to talk to people, maybe because he was never interested in having an interaction, or because no one was interested in having a conversation with him first.
— Do you want to eat something? — Heejin looked at the boy next to her when she heard his voice, even though he spoke slowly and his thick voice was almost not understandable, she managed to hear him perfectly.
— Uhm… I would like that, yes. — She nodded, feeling how the boy squeezed her hand more before stopping at a corner, in front of the pedestrian crossing of the road in front of them.
— We can eat something in… — Sieun couldn’t continue before he felt a drop of water fall on his cheek, Heejin noticed this, smiling to clean it before another fell, but this time, on her hand, looking at heaven, both closed their eyes when they felt the drops fall on their faces.
The rain had started.
Heejin pouted, knowing that her time with the boy had been ruined, watching as all the people started running to protect themselves from the water. Sieun noticed how the girl’s white shirt began to become transparent due to the humidity, with a quick movement, he removed his backpack from his shoulders before removing his sweatshirt, placing it on Heejin’s shoulders, who could not say anything or react to such a gesture that made her blood run down her face, before the boy took her hand again, but this time, to pull her and make her run next to him.
Both ran for a while, while Heejin laughed after seeing how the boy almost fell to the ground when his shoe slipped in a small puddle of water, Sieun had a noticeable blush in his ears and embarrassment throughout his system, much more so when he thought what it would have been like if he had really fallen into that water mixed with dirt, however, he only stopped once they reached a gift shop at the end of a street.
The boy opened the door, letting her enter before doing it himself, watching as Heejin fixed the sweatshirt to pass it over her arms until she put it on her body correctly. He stayed still, seeing the girl’s wet hair, it was longer than what looked dry, maybe a little below her shoulders, but naturally, was longer that how it looked like dry, it looked like up to the end of her neck, and that brown color now looked darker due to the humidity.
She’s pretty cute now that I get a good look at her.
Sieun opened his eyes at that thought, looking away almost in terror before the girl looked at him smiling. — Something happens? — The girl’s voice made him look at her, denying, he looked at the hallway behind her.
— We should look for an umbrella
Both moved through the place, until they reached a hallway where the umbrellas were, the boy took a large blue one in his hands before stopping, looking to the left, Heejin followed his gaze with some surprise, noticing a girl with short hair and pink highlights who was in the place, she seemed to be looking at a lipstick. She seemed familiar to her.
— Isn’t she the girl-
Heejin remained silent when she saw how she bit the lipstick until it broke, closing the packaging and taking her bag to throw the lipstick that was in her mouth, inside the bag, the eyes of the trio met, Sieun and Heejin looked at her for a second before the boy looked straight ahead, walking towards the cashier, taking Heejin with him.
— Did she just eat that lipstick? — She asked before reaching the casher, when the woman told the price to Sieun, Heejin saw how he was going to finish paying before feeling a small push, which would lead her to fall if it weren’t for the boy at her side that took her by the waist.
The gaze of both of them went to the girl they had seen before, Heejin frowned in disgust at seeing her there, not only her presence, but also because she was holding Sieun’s arm in a rather affectionate way.
Breaking away from Sieun’s grasp, Heejin began to walk to the exit, knowing that the boy was behind her. When she left the store, she stood there, waiting for the boy to come out, and when he did, Sieun stood behind her side.
— Oh, why is it raining so hard? — Sieun simply let go of the short-haired girl’s grip, putting the change in his pocket before taking the umbrella to open it, placing it over his head and the girl’s he had entered the store with. He took Heejin’s hand again so that they both began to walk together, leaving the girl behind.
He had seen how she had left the store almost with annoyance, and he thought, trying to empathize a little, that she didn’t like seeing him with that girl. — hey!
Sieun sighed, passing his eyes to Heejin, who was looking straight ahead, he grimaced before turning back to the girl who had screamed. — I don’t have an umbrella. — She said, Heejin murmured something incomprehensible to Sieun, however, that small distraction made him not notice how the other girl was running towards him until she grabbed his arm tightly, hugging him. — Take me home.
— Why don’t you steal an umbrella and go alone? — Heejin asked with a serious voice, seeing the girl’s act, again, with some annoyance. — It can be small one so that it is not so noticeable. — Smiling at her, she finished, letting go of Sieun’s hand before running her hands through the boy’s arm and hugging him, just as she was doing, pulling him a little, making the other loosen her grip on the boy.
Well done Heejin, now scare her away.
— I’m not going to accompany you home, go and buy an umbrella…
— Yah, don’t be such a party pooper, now, I promise not to touch you so that your girlfriend doesn’t feel uncomfortable, okay?
— Your presence makes her uncomfortable, why should I let you go with us then?
Uh, well, maybe it won’t be necessary this time, Hee…
Sieun felt the umbrella being snatched from his hand, looking at Heejin, who already had a serious look on her face, and now, the object in her hands. — Okay, go home, have a nice night. — The girl said, passing the umbrella to the shorter girl before pulling Sieun to walk with her towards a convenience store that was near them.
The shorter girl looked at the scene, watching as the boy ran after the brown-haired girl before opening the door of the store for her until they were both inside, out of sight. — Wow, how strange.
Heejin let go of Sieun’s arm somewhat reluctantly before moving towards the noodle aisle. Sieun didn’t know what to say or do. She clearly looked upset and perhaps he knew that the girl’s presence had been the cause, but he didn’t know how to react to that.
Should I explain? Should I even say something to her? He didn’t know, but what he knew was that not telling her anything was also going to leave a bad taste in his mouth.
— Sieun, look, they have Pokémon ramen! — The girl called, taking the container in her hands, making him walk towards her, noticing how she read what the food contained.
— Are you going to eat that?
— Come on… — She said, taking a package of ramen, now blue, that was there. —The weather is not going to ruin this date for me, much less that girl who should change her haircut.
Our date. — No?
— No! Let’s have our date. — She smiled at him, handing the packages of ramen and other things to the boy. — Do you feel more comfortable at your house or do you want to go to mine?
— Why would I go to your house?
— I’m not going to have my first date with you in a store, better at home, I’ll prepare a great ramen, believe me, if you don’t like me now, you’re going to fall in love with me after trying my special touch on food. — The girl said, touching the boy’s nose, he looked at her with wide eyes, not believing what he had heard, yes, the girl was straight to the point, too much, so much so that it made him nervous.
Too much for your own good, Yeon…
— Do you like Coca-Cola or do you prefer water?
Sieun blinked before following the girl behind, with all the food packages, which she placed when she passed near something that caught her attention, in her hands, while she said her ideas on what to do with that specific food.
If Sooho were there, he would have already compared the couple to a grumpy and a noisy baby.
Because, to him, they were exactly that, babies.
[text_hash] => b3afc6e4
)