Secrets

Chapter 14: Mixed feelings

Il Jung's POV

"No"

"Please"

She sipped her coffee.

"No", she said, dragging the word.

"Pretty please with sprinkles on it", I pause, " with a cherry on top ", I add.

" Which part of 'NO' don't you understand? The 'N' or the 'O', huh? "

I sighed and pouted. The twins were right: Doing this was going to be a lot harder than I thought.

Earlier

"There's so many places to go, I don't know where to go", Taehyung groaned.

" Ne(1), Mi-na and I wrote, like, twenty places we could go to around here."

Man Bok couldn't still get over the fact that he lost the bet. Hell, even I was shocked when Talahai said Mi-na contributed to the work, that she literally took over. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it.

"What about you guys? Any troubles? "

I place the magazine I was reading on my lap and proceeded to face them.

"Actually, we have everything planned and sorted out", I replied, smug that I was ahead of them.

" See, told you he was lucky to get Hwa Sung as his partner. So where are you guys planning to go? "

I smiled my sweetest smile at him, which probably came out as fake, " We're going to Gamcheon Culture Village for a few souvenirs ".

" Really? I never thought of that. Sounds like a great idea ", Man Bok said, sounding a bit jealous.

" Yeah, we've planned transport, budget, pictures, emergencies, literally everything ", I begin to boast. I honestly didn't think Hwa Sung's nagging to prepare ahead was important 'til now. Everything is so organized. She even gave a schedule, with potty breaks.

" I've got an idea. Why don't we all go to Gamcheon Culture Village together? That way we carpool and get souvenirs while doing our project ". It's actually not a bad idea. It's about time Taehyung started getting good ideas.

" Sounds good to me. Plus we get to hangout ".

A thought occurred. " Sure, but I've got to ask Hwa Sung first "

"Yeah, she hates it when her plans get interrupted"

"But it's going to be difficult". Yeah right.

Present

So that's how I ended up here, sitting across from Hwa Sung, who is watching me with the most calm eyes and smirking at my predicament. I really wanted to wipe it off her face.

" Look, they're our friends. How'd you think they'd feel if we left them behind, and we'll make some new friends too. Pleeeeease..... ", I try my best to coax her. I even pulled out my pouting puppy dog eyes

" Arasseo(2), but remember, you owe me one"

I grin. That I definitely do.

************************************

"Uwwa(3), it's so beautiful", I exclaim, pretending to scan the few photos I took. Taehyung and So-ra looked for a split second, then turned their focus to themselves. It didn't work. This was the fifth time I tried to break the tension and I failed. Taehyung and So-ra: they are nervous around each other, stealing glances when they thought nobody was looking, but the thing was, everyone was looking; Man-Bok and Sa-na: I don't know what it's about, but they always avoid looking at each other and act all awkward. God knows what happened between them; Talahai and Mi-na: theirs is plausible . They have nothing in common and have nothing to talk about. It's no secret Mi-na is socially awkward. Speaking of which, she is fiddling with her fingers on her laps and occasionally glancing at Hwa Sung like she's a ticking time bomb -one wrong move and 'BOOM!', she's gonna explode. I'm confused. I mean, look at Hwa Sung, she isn't even that scary. I don't think she could hurt a fly.

Did you just forget she almost put Junho in a coma?

He tried to hurt Taehyung.

Did Taehyung really need the help? Plus how long was it since we ' bumped' into Hwa Sung coming out from the club?

Please, I'm sure there's a good reason for that.

And there's me and Hwa Sung: she's glued to her phone screen, not even paying attention to me. I know she doesn't like to socialize, but she should at least try. So I nudged her. Her hand slipped on the phone and I watched as her expression changed: from shock to disbelief which then morphed into anger. She glared at me and I internally gulped.

Eottoke(4)?

Apologize, you numb skull.

" I'm sorry ", I almost bow.

She ignored me. She just ignored me. Turned her head away like she didn't hear me, that's what she did. Why so mad, anyway? It's just a stupid text after all.

Hwa Sung's POV

Bored, is what I'm feeling. Kinda wished I stayed back home and rode Midnight with Soo-ahh. Everyone seems so happy. I feel so out of place. I close my eyes, trying to ignore the knots in my tummy. Talahai was talking to Mi-na, Man Bok was looking around, barely registering anything, Sa-na staring at him, Il Jung was taking photos of literally everything and Taehyung was selecting souvenirs for the sweet So-ra. I smile wistfully. Lucky them.

" Ommo(5), over there, look! Wait! You guys! ". I'm hearing stuff now, aren't I?

" Wait up! Yah(6)". Ani(7), I'm definitely not hearing things, but they're probably shouting out to someone else.

" Il Jung-shhi! Lee Taehyung! ". Okay, so maybe they are talking to us. I halt. The rest turn to lift their eyebrows at me.

Why wouldn't they respond to the person? I turned around.

Oh, that's why.

I look ahead, seeing that the rest were far ahead of me, the little pricks. I still can't believe I actually turned. I increased my pace, pretending I hadn't seen a thing and before I knew it, I was speed-walking.

" Wait up. I know you saw me. Yah(6)! Cha Hwa Sung, I'm talking to you. Stop! Wait! ". I ignored the calling and had just reached the others, but it was already too late. The b*tch caught up to us.

" Phew! I almost missed you ", she said, glaring at me.

" What did I do? ", I asked innocently. She tried to increase the intensity of her glare. Like that could scare me.

" What are you doing here? ", Taehyung asked.

" We came to see Gamcheon, you too? ", Baek Woo was the one to answer. I didn't know he was Nam Young's partner. Poor kid.

" Ne(1)", Man Bok answered. As for me, I just stood there and looked pretty. As if.

"Can we join you? ", Nam Young asked, with a face full of hope. If I didn't truly know her, I would have said 'yes' in a heartbeat.

" Sure, why not? ", Taehyung said unsure. He turned towards So-ra. She smiled at him. Is it just me or did that smile seem fake?

" Arasseo(2), kaja(8)", Man Bok looked away.

************************************

"Ommo, this looks so cute", Nam Young ran to a section for fans. Even I have to admit, the fans were beautiful. I especially liked the one with the Phoenix symbol. It looked marvelous. My eyes scanned the entire area looking for something interesting..............

Ommo, are those hanboks(9)?

I spotted a stall filled with said items and almost rushed to it.

The hanboks were so pretty. I've got to buy a few of these. I mean, look at the stitches and designs. I reached out.

The material is so soft.

It's official. I'm buying some of them and......

Ommo, is that a qipao(10)?

From the corner of my eye, I see an older woman walking towards me.

" Can I help you? ", she asked kindly.

" Ne Ahjumma(11), can I have those? ", I said excitedly, pointing to those I liked.

" You have good taste.", she complimented, " You know, it's kind of hard to find youngsters enthusiastic about traditional and old things. It's.....refreshing. Now, this one's design is one that is very difficult to make, and this", she pointed to another I chose, "isn't made here. My husband bought it a long time ago, when he went to North Korea, but now......", she sighed. She didn't have to continue her sentence. I knew what she meant.

" What're you doing? ", I jump, startled at the voice. I turned my head to find Il Jung staring at me, an amused smirk plastered on his face. How I wish I could slap it off him. How long has he been standing there?

"Don't you know it's rude to stare at people? ", I question him.

He leans so close, I could feel his breath fan my ears. It feels kind of ticklish." Not when it comes to you", he whispers.

Blood rushes to my face, but I keep it in.

"So... what are you doing? ", he repeats.

" Shopping ", I answer, the excitement beginning to bubble when I remember what I was doing here in the first place. I may not like makeup and manicures as much as most girls, I still like to shop.

" You like hanboks?", he seemed surprised.

"Hell yeah! I even have a collection back home", I recall my hanboks and other artifacts at home.

" You seem to have a collection of everything at home. Tell me, do you also have a g*n collection? "

I know he's just teasing me, but I can't help the crimson rushing to my cheeks as he's hit the nail right on its head.

His eyes widened a fraction. "You do, don't you? "

"Ne, I have the vintage collection and well, the modern", I reply. I've never felt embarrassed when someone asks me that question. In fact, I'm usually proud of it, but I don't understand why I suddenly feel this way.

" I get the vintage, but why modern? ", he ponders on it.

" I don't know. In my family, we learned how to shoot guns as a sport, so I kind of just have a collection to, you know, look at. ", my voice relatively becomes smaller than compared to when I first started.

" Aww, you two look so cute. Is that your namjagi(12)? "

I'm pretty I'm beetroot red by now.

"Ani(7), we're just chingu(13)", I turn to face her. Her face falls a bit, but she quickly regained her nice smile.

" Well, here you go", she was handing the bags over to me, when Il Jung intercepted.

"Let me", he grabs the bags, before I could.

I removed my wallet from my bag to pay, when I remembered something.

" Ahjumma!"

" Sorry, but I forgot to add that I wanted that qipao", I beam at her.

"No problem"

She hands the bag to me and just she took the money from my hand, she yanked me hard and whispered so only I could hear,

"Don't let this one go. He's a great catch"

That's it. I think tomato red has become my official colour for today.

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Footnotes:

1: means 'yes'

2: means 'ok'

3: means 'wow'

4: means 'what to do'

5: means 'oh my'

6: means 'you'

7: means 'no'

8: means 'let's go'

9: ancient Korean clothes for females

10:ancient Chinese clothes for females

11: means 'Madame'

12: means 'boyfriend'

13: means 'friends'