After the Movie
After we finished watching the movie, we stopped by a café for a bit. For the record, it was Jeong Sua who suggested going to the café. I wanted to confirm her feelings for me right away, but it seemed like she was doing everything she could to put off answering. I guess I could take it as her wanting to spend more time with me. Yeah, let's go with that. Thinking of it any other way would just make me depressed.
“I'll buy the drinks. Don't you dare take out your wallet this time.”
“Do whatever you want.”
“That's when you're supposed to say thank you.”
“Tsk, acting all high and mighty over some coffee.”
“Ijin oppa…”
When I didn't do what she wanted, Jeong Sua's cheeks puffed out in a pout. Thanking people just wasn't in my nature. But since Sua liked seeing unexpected sides of me, I decided to play along this time.
“Thank you. Happy now?”
In love comedy stories, this kind of delinquent character gets a good reaction when they act tough at first then pretend to give in. It's similar to how a villain who appears in the beginning gets rehabilitated later and becomes the protagonist's ally. Personally, I believe once a villain, always a villain… but if this could raise my favorability that much, there was no reason to refuse.
“Well done, Ijin oppa. Hehe.”
“Ridiculous. You look so stupid when you smile like that.”
“Since you're the top student in our school, oppa, you have no right to call anyone stupid. What do you want to drink?”
I had expected an angry reaction from Jeong Sua, but she must have gotten used to my habitual insults by now. She smoothly changed the subject without batting an eye. Back in the day, she would flare up even if I just called her a brat, which made teasing her so much fun. I guess she's gotten used to me, but sometimes I miss those times.
“What about you? It's obviously going to be something sweet like a little kid would order.”
“Ugh…! Th-that's not true!”
Just as I said that, her eyes had been fixed on the menu with the frappuccino piled high with whipped cream, but they immediately darted somewhere else. She still loves sweet things. As far as I remembered, I'd never once seen her drink black coffee. That childish inability to handle bitter flavors was honestly kind of cute. The moment that thought crossed my mind, Sua, having chosen her drink, placed the order right away.
“One long black, please. Just a moment. Oppa, what do you want to drink?”
Long black? That was seriously bitter coffee with espresso and water in a one-to-one ratio. Caught off guard by the unexpected order, I looked at her with wide eyes. Noticing my gaze, she stared back at me with a confident expression that seemed to say, How about that? It was as if she was declaring herself an adult who could easily handle something like this. She really was acting like a total brat. This was exactly why I always called Jeong Sua a little kid.
“One chocolate frappuccino, please.”
Jeong Sua's eyes widened as she stared at me. She must have thought she'd been had. Anyway, I left the innocent little brat to finish paying and picked out a suitable seat for us.
—Tap, tap.
Soon enough, she came walking over with a pager in one hand, wearing a displeased expression, and plopped down in the seat across from me.
“What's with the attitude?”
“You're really asking that?”
“Yeah.”
“You called me a brat and teased me, but then you ordered something sweet yourself! That's not fair!”
“Why? Frappuccinos are delicious. Who told you not to order one?”
“W-well, that's not what I meant…”
She looked like she wanted to argue but couldn't find any real grounds for it, so she just mumbled awkwardly. She'd fallen for my provocation and ordered something like a long black, yet here she was getting mad at me. If the other person had been Kang Suho, he probably would've apologized to an angry Jeong Sua. Or rather, he wouldn't have provoked her in the first place, so this situation might never have happened.
“I'll get them.”
The pager started vibrating. I went to the counter and brought back two drinks along with two straws. In front of her, I set down an incredibly dark, bitter-looking liquid. In front of me, I placed a frappuccino loaded with whipped cream and chocolate chips. Her eyes wouldn't leave my drink. It was obvious to anyone that what Jeong Sua really wanted was the frappuccino.
“What's wrong? Your coffee came out. Aren't you going to drink it?”
“……”
Jeong Sua's lips puffed out in a pout. She reluctantly stuck a straw into the coffee she clearly didn't want to drink. Both her hands trembled as she tried to sip it. Anyone watching would think she was drinking poison. Did she really hate bitter things that much? She looked so pitiful that I decided to stop messing with her here. If I went any further, she might actually get upset. Teasing should only go so far.
“Honestly, all that pointless stubborn pride. Here, drink this, you brat.”
I stuck a straw in the frappuccino and calmly placed it in front of her. Only then did her pouty lips relax. Instead, a hint of guilt appeared on Jeong Sua's face.
“But this is the one you ordered…”
“What are you talking about? I don't like things this sweet. I only ordered it because it looked like you were being stubborn for no reason. You were being stubborn, weren't you?”
“Ah… well… I'm sorry… You're right, I was just being stubborn for no reason…”
“You're the one who paid, so why are you sorry? It's because I teased you, just like you said. I'm the one who should apologize for joking around. I'll enjoy this coffee.”
Just as I said, I took the coffee she'd ordered and took a big sip. It was bitter, but it had that manly coffee charm to it. She drank her frappuccino, and I drank the coffee I actually wanted. There was nothing to feel sorry about in this situation.
“Mmm…”
Jeong Sua kept making these little groaning sounds. It seemed she was embarrassed that she'd thrown a pointless tantrum after I'd handled things so maturely. Still, once she started sipping the sweet frappuccino, her mood improved with the sugary taste, and her expression quickly brightened.
“Do you like sweet things that much? I don't care for them.”
“You don't like sweets? Oppa, you've wasted half your life.”
“Disliking sweets costs you half your life? That's a bit much.”
My exaggerated reaction made Jeong Sua burst into a small laugh. Seeing her laugh so naturally in front of me now, it looked like my favorability had shot way up. Soon, a content smile bloomed on her lips.
“Do you know how strange this feels to me right now?”
“What feels strange?”
“We've known each other for a long time, but this is the first time we've hung out alone like this.”
“Well, I guess that's true.”
The days I spent with Jeong Sua had always been on a fixed schedule. It was always the days she came over to our house. And even then, she mostly came over to play with Kang Suho. I couldn't exactly say she came to play with me. Since we were all in the same house, it always felt more like we were just keeping each other company.
“Hanging out alone with you like this is more fun than I expected, oppa.”
“It's not fun for me.”
“Liar. You're having fun but you're saying that because you're embarrassed, right?”
“No.”
I wasn't playing along to keep the nice atmosphere going, so she sucked hard on her straw with a slightly hurt expression. Oh, that face is pretty hot. With a face like that, suck my cock like that later.
“Hmph… It wouldn't kill you to just say it's fun… Then why are you even doing this with me!”
“You're really asking that? You already know why I'm doing this. Want me to say it directly?”
When I looked at her with a sly grin, her cheeks flushed red. She must have been thinking something dirty. I didn't mean it that way, though.
“N-no… I think I know. …Seriously, you're such a pervert…”
“Huh? What are you talking about? I was trying to say that just spending time with you is enjoyable for me.”
“Oh… so that's what you meant… I misunderstood.”
“What did you misunderstand?”
“That is… um, well…”
Jeong Sua kept stuttering, finding it hard to say out loud. She probably thought I was hanging out with her with some perverted motive. She wasn't entirely wrong, but saying it directly would definitely lower my favorability, so I was keeping it hidden.
“More importantly, the movie! I wasn't expecting much, but it was more interesting than I thought.”
She'd just changed the subject. I really wanted to shut that sly mouth of hers with my own. I let out a small chuckle at her obvious attempt and replied.
“Which scene stuck with you? For me, the most memorable part was the ending where they finally confirm each other's feelings and confess.”
“Oppa, that scene…”
Once again, Sua's cheeks turned red. That made sense, since the very next scene was an explicit sex scene between the two actors. It seemed Jeong Sua had remembered the exact same part I had. She'd barely managed to change the subject, but my bringing up an even riskier topic left her visibly flustered.
“Oppa… you pervert…”
“Didn't you know? All men are perverts.”
“Justifying your own behavior like that is so lame.”
“So, do you hate a guy like me?”
I'd been building this up the whole time, so I wasn't about to miss the opportunity. I immediately asked her a question to confirm her feelings toward me. Our Sua wasn't completely oblivious, so she would probably realize my question wasn't just a joke. She wouldn't brush it off playfully like she used to.
“Ijin oppa…”
“I'm ready to listen. Whatever you say, I'll accept it.”
“For now… talking about something like that here is a bit… Do you want to take a walk together?”
“Sure. Let's go. I'll walk you home.”
Jeong Sua led the way out of the store, and I followed behind her. Her slightly anxious steps, the way her shoulders were hunched just a little, and her faintly flushed cheeks all revealed her determination. I had no idea what she was thinking about.