My Tsundere Girlfriend
A coffee shop near Seoul Station.
I arrived ten minutes before our scheduled meeting time, just like I always did.
"You're here?"
Lee Sia had arrived at our date spot even earlier than me.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"Not really. D-don't misunderstand!"
Sia brushed back her neatly styled brown hair and answered pricklily.
Judging by the way she stuttered at the end and her slightly flushed cheeks...
She's been waiting here forever.
"Here, take this."
Sia casually handed me a book.
My eyes went wide the moment I saw the title.
"Whoa... Is this the first edition of Lost Memory by the famous author Touma? Where on earth did you get this? Setting the price aside, it must've been incredibly hard to find."
It was a book I had been dying to read for ages. And it was a first edition, no less!
"A friend of mine just happened to get their hands on it. Don't worry about it."
Sia twirled a strand of hair around her finger, watching my ecstatic reaction with a prickly look on her face.
"Thanks. The coffee's on me."
"N-no way. Let's just pay for our own drinks."
Overjoyed, I clasped her hands in mine to express my gratitude, but Sia, blushing with embarrassment, immediately pulled her hands away.
"Come on. It's a hassle to pay separately anyway."
"Then I'll buy. You said your writing hasn't been going well lately."
"But you bought dinner last time too. Let me get it this time."
"I-I'd feel uncomfortable letting someone who doesn't even have money buy me a drink, okay?"
"I have enough money to buy coffee."
Just as we were bickering over who would pay...
Ring, ring! Ring, ring!
A ringtone chimed from inside Sia's pocket.
"Sorry, Hyunseong. I need to take this."
"Sure, I'll head to the restroom for a bit then."
While Sia pulled her phone out of her bag to answer the call, I stealthily made my way to the counter.
Hehe... I can't let Sia treat me again!
Lee Sia. She was my childhood friend of fifteen years.
Because of that, we had gone to the same schools all the way from elementary to high school.
She had already graduated from college and landed a job at a major corporation at a young age, whereas I had dropped out of college to write and was currently just an aspiring author.
Sia had excellent grades, stunning looks, and her personality was... Well, let's talk about that later.
"How can I help you, sir?"
Lost in thought about Sia, I had arrived at the counter, where a part-timer was waiting for my order with a bright smile.
"A small Americano, and an affogato with chocolate ice cream, please."
"Sure. That will be 8,300 won in total."
I handed the part-timer a crumpled ten-thousand-won bill along with my order.
To be honest, this was money I had borrowed from a friend.
"Please take this buzzer. You can pick up your order when it vibrates."
The part-timer handed me the receipt and the buzzer, along with my change: a one-thousand-won bill, a five-hundred-won coin, and two one-hundred-won coins.
I stuffed the change and the receipt into my pants pocket and headed back to the table where Sia was waiting.
"...I told you I'm busy. Anyway, I'm hanging up!"
Sia seemed to snap before abruptly ending the call.
"Sia. Is everything okay?"
"It's nothing. Mind your own business."
Sia turned her head away and responded coldly. It looked like that phone call had put her in a bad mood.
"Ta-da! I already paid for the coffee!"
"What...? What do you think you're doing! You don't have any money."
When I flashed a playful grin and showed her the buzzer in my right hand, Sia got furious, completely contrary to what I had hoped.
"It's fine. I have enough money to buy coffee."
"Give me your account number. I'll transfer it to you."
"I said it's fine. You can buy next time."
Sia immediately unlocked her phone and asked for my account number, but I waved my hands in refusal.
"Where would you get money? You obviously borrowed it from Jeongho, didn't you? Why do you keep borrowing money you can't even pay back...? Don't you feel bad for him?"
As she continued to lecture me angrily, my pride began to sting.
Does she really think I'm someone who can't even pay back ten thousand won? It was frustrating.
"What, do you think I'm some beggar who can't even pay back the price of coffee?"
In the end, I snapped at her.
I wanted to look good in front of her. But I didn't have any money. That was why I had practically begged my friend to lend me a single ten-thousand-won bill.
I thought she would be happy if I bought her an affogato with the chocolate ice cream she loved. I had intentionally set our date at her favorite coffee shop.
I had always been the one getting treated. I hated always being a parasite to my girlfriend. I wanted to buy things for her too. But... with the way my writing was going right now...
"Hyunseong... d-don't be mad..."
Sia began to tear up, looking at me anxiously to gauge my anger.
I had made her cry again. I had promised myself I would never make her cry again...
"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."
Tears began to pour down her face like a waterfall.
"Wow... he's making a girl cry."
"Are they a couple? She's way out of his league."
The attention of the people around us had already shifted to our table.
Despite her gorgeous looks, Sia's prickly personality had made her unpopular with boys back in school.
"I'm sorry for raising my voice."
But deep down, she was incredibly soft-hearted.
"Hyun...seong..."
Ignoring the stares of the people around us, I pulled Sia into a tight embrace. Her seemingly endless tears finally came to a stop.
"I love you, Sia."
"Mmh..."
We were childhood friends of fifteen years, and now, lovers.
It was eight years ago when Sia confessed her feelings to me. Back when we were sophomores in high school.