The Date
We ended up spending more time at the accessory shop than I'd expected. Jeong Sua had probably planned to just buy a hairpin and leave, but I wasn't about to let that happen. I kept bringing over one bracelet after another, making her try them on.
"This bracelet really suits you."
"It seems too flashy..."
"You don't like flashy things?"
"I don't really enjoy standing out that much."
I know. If she liked standing out, she wouldn't have come out wearing those plain overalls. In my opinion, her fashion sense needed more urgent fixing than Suho's.
If she started dating me, I'd dress her up to the nines. I'd shower her with flashy accessories, and while I was at it, I'd make her get a tongue piercing too. I'd received a blowjob from a girl with one before, and the sensation had been pretty damn good.
"Don't you think you're dressing too plainly? You need to put some effort into looking nice. It's a waste of that face."
"Are you saying I'm pretty right now?"
"Don't you have a mirror at home?"
It meant anyone could tell just by looking in a mirror. My attitude, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, must have pleased her, because a small laugh slipped out of Jeong Sua.
"Do you prefer flashy women, Ijin Oppa?"
"I like flashy better than plain."
"Then why do you..."
Jeong Sua stared at me, her eyes full of doubt. Was she asking why I liked her when I preferred flashy types? Seeing her expression, I answered as if it were obvious.
"I like pretty more than flashy."
"Does that mean... you fell for my face?"
I'm not the kind of idiot who would bluntly say he fell for her based on her face alone.
"That's part of it."
"Then is there another reason?"
I met her eyes and stayed silent for a moment before gently taking her hand. Thankfully, she didn't pull away. In a quiet voice, I continued.
"At first I thought your face was pretty... but as time went on, the person you are started to look beautiful to me. At some point, I just fell for you completely."
"......"
"So I was honestly jealous of Kang Suho. He could be with the girl I fell for whenever he wanted."
"...Ijin Oppa..."
The mood turned awkward in an instant. The way Jeong Sua said my name sounded strangely wet, like she was on the verge of tears.
"I won't ever get close to Kang Suho. I won't seriously teach him about fashion, either. I'm a jealous guy, so I don't have the confidence to watch him improve and see you looking happy about it."
"But... Suho is your younger brother... Can't you at least get along with him?"
Jeong Sua still wanted to go back to the way things used to be. Me jokingly confessing, getting rejected without hard feelings, and the three of us hanging out without a care in the world.
I shook my head firmly.
"How could I get along with another guy that the girl I like has feelings for?"
"Ah..."
A sound full of regret escaped her lips.
"No matter if it's family, I can't yield the woman I love."
"......"
Jeong Sua didn't react. Good, at least she wasn't completely clueless. If she'd nodded right then, it would've hurt like hell. Her heart might still be with Kang Suho, but this wasn't the time to be tactless about it.
"You know I've decided to give up on you, right?"
"Yes..."
"Kang Suho likes you too. If you like him, confess quickly. And... let me go. I'm suffering a lot, Sua."
It was the first time I'd called her by her name instead of kid. She would definitely sense that I was truly hurting.
Jeong Sua's expression grew serious. Had her heart been thrown into chaos? Because the guy who liked her was now telling her to confess to another man? Or was guilt hitting her from seeing my pained face?
Whatever the reason, Jeong Sua suddenly looked sad and tears began spilling from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Oppa... Hic... I had no idea... That you were suffering this much... Sob."
She was crying because she felt sorry for me. As expected, she really is a good kid. This was already the second time today I'd seen her cry. The fact that she was crying definitely meant her favorability toward me had risen a lot. If I played this right, it could work.
"Ha... Why are you crying?"
I let out a long sigh and scratched my head like I was annoyed. She seemed embarrassed about crying too and wiped at her tears, but they wouldn't stop easily.
We couldn't just stand here crying forever. With no other choice, I took the hairpin she'd decided to buy, finished paying at the counter, and led her out of the shop.
After some time passed, Jeong Sua finally stopped crying. To ease the awkward atmosphere, I spoke up.
"I think I should start calling you crybaby instead of kid."
"Hic... Do you really have to tease me even now? Whose fault do you think this is..."
"Whose fault is it?"
"...Are you seriously asking because you don't know?"
"Yeah."
"You're so shameless..."
"That's my specialty."
I answered without missing a beat and shoved my hands into my pockets. Pouting, she punched me in the chest. There was actual force behind it, probably because she was embarrassed about having cried in the accessory shop.
"Whoa, you hit me pretty hard just now."
"It doesn't hurt at all anyway. Tsk... making a big deal out of one little punch."
"You're right. Here, take this."
I handed her the hairpin I'd paid for.
"Ah, I'll give you the money."
When Jeong Sua pulled out cash like a proper kid, I reached out to stop her.
"I'm the one buying it, so you don't need to pay me."
"You've already bought me food, and now this too..."
"I have a part-time job. Buying one thing like this won't hurt me. Besides, I don't want to take allowance money from a kid, so put it away."
Unlike Kang Suho, who spent every bit of his allowance on snacks, I'd been saving money steadily since I was young. I even worked part-time as a trainer at the gym whenever my instructor suggested it. The number of female members had increased a lot, so I'd been getting solid bonuses. The more money, the better.
I'd enjoyed the feeling of saving since childhood. Unlike Kang Suho, who still blew his parents' money on snacks, buying a hairpin for the girl I liked wouldn't even make a dent in my account. I wanted her to realize that Kang Suho and I were on completely different levels when it came to financial power.
"If you put it that way... I'll accept it gratefully, Oppa."
Considering the giver's feelings, Jeong Sua took off the hairpin she was wearing and replaced it with the new one right there. No matter who bought it for her, she really was a beautiful girl.
"How does it look?"
"It suits you well."
"You bought it for me, Oppa."
"I did, huh..."
"Wow, are you actually embarrassed right now? Don't turn your head, look at my face."
"What are you talking about... Forget it. Let's hurry to the toy section and buy Kang Suho's gift."
When we reached the toy corner, Jeong Sua, following my advice, bought a newly released game chip. It wasn't something she'd picked out alone; my influence was all over it. Someone might ask what the point was, but it simply put me in a good mood.
Naturally, since this was a gift from Jeong Sua to Kang Suho, she paid for it herself.
We'd bought the gift that had been the purpose of today's meeting. Now it was time to part ways.
"Now that we've bought everything, I can head home, right?"
"Yeah... that's true, but..."
Originally we'd only met to buy Kang Suho's birthday present. But her face looked incredibly reluctant. If we split up now, I'd start avoiding her again, and the reason she'd insisted on meeting me would vanish.
Of course she'd try to hold me back.
As I waited to see when she'd speak, Jeong Sua finally opened her mouth.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"You don't have anything else you need to do after this, right?"
"Nope. I was just planning to go home and rest."
"Then... do you want to watch a movie with me?"
"...A movie?"
"Yes! I heard a fun action movie just came out. Let's go see it together."
Jeong Sua had deliberately chosen an action film she thought I'd like. As far as I remembered, she wasn't particularly into action movies. She must really not want to part with me.
"Kid. Like I said before, being around a woman I can't have is pretty painful."
"......"
"I think it's best if we stop here and say goodbye."
I drew the line and coldly turned to leave. That's when her urgent voice came from behind me.
"Y-you never know."
Her voice was shaking like a leaf. Her cheeks were flushed red. I wondered what was going through her head.
"What do you mean?"
"My feelings toward you, Oppa... might have changed..."
"Are you messing with me right now?"
I glared at her with a fierce look. Of course, fireworks were exploding inside my chest, but under the circumstances I had no choice but to act like I thought she was toying with my heart.
"Kid. I didn't expect you to pull something like this on me."
"Huh?"
My sudden intense reaction seemed to leave her unaware of what she'd even said.
"Ah..."
After a moment, she finally realized I'd misunderstood and let out a dazed sound before explaining.
"I'm not teasing you... It's because my thoughts about you really are changing...!"
Yeah, she wouldn't have meant it that way. Our Sua wouldn't string me along like that. She must have truly said it because her feelings for me had changed.
"Really?"
"Yes... really..."
"......"
"......"
"...Let's go."
"Huh?"
"Let's go watch that movie."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
Jeong Sua didn't ask why I'd suddenly changed my mind, and I didn't explain. The reason was obvious to anyone. Talking about it would only make us both blush.
"Can I hold your hand?"
"Huh? Why are you suddenly asking about hands..."
"I just... want to hold hands while we walk. Is that bad?"
"Ah..."
Jeong Sua's mouth fell open slightly in confusion. She stood there blankly staring at my hand. Since I'd drawn a clear line moments ago and was now suddenly flipping my attitude to push forward, she seemed genuinely surprised.
When she hesitated, I put on a bitter expression.
"Sorry. I guess I overstepped. I must have misunderstood your feelings. Just pretend you didn't hear what I said earlier..."
"Ah, no, it's not that I don't want to... It was just too sudden. Should we... hold hands?"
"Thank you, kid."
With a dazed look on her face, her hand slowly reached out. I grabbed it firmly and gave her a wide, genuinely happy grin. Not my usual dark, sleazy smile, but a bright, cheerful one that would make anyone feel good looking at it.
"Wow..."
Jeong Sua's eyes widened in surprise.
"Why do you look so shocked?"
"It's my first time seeing you smile like that, Oppa."
"I'm a person too. I smile when I'm happy. Is it that weird?"
"Not weird, exactly... Your smile looks like Suho's, so I thought, 'As expected, they're brothers.'"
"What? You wanna die, kid?"
Sharp, isn't she? I'd deliberately smiled in a way that resembled Kang Suho. Why? Because Jeong Sua liked it. This should raise her favorability again. It was only natural to benchmark the protagonist in order to become the protagonist.