— Next Day —
Saturday, July 14 , 2018
3:30 P.M.

I move my gaze towards the mannequins out of boredom, running out of patience for this girl who's currently on her umpteenth trial for the perfect dress."Come on, it's been an hour for fuck's sake. Why don't you just buy the one that you saw first?",I call for her attention and watch the door revealing her in a modest dress. The sleeves puffed for elegance, the neckline lies just perfectly to flatter her shoulders and the white fabric falls in a thrall, ending at her knees."How do I look? It isn't too simple, right?",She twirls for me to judge her appearance but I don't fuel her confidence for obvious reasons."It's kind of cute. Just buy it, we're spending way too much time on you. I have to buy my game console too.",I pick the shopping bags from the seat, expecting junghee to change into her clothes while I forward towards the cash counter.

"No, wait-",she tests my nerves,"I think I should try the blue one, it looks more appealing.",Sparing me no time to stop her, she rushes to pick the dress and shuts the door again. This girl is a menace."Why don't you just buy them all? It's not like mom's gonna say anything.",I tell her the truth but hear no response which vexes me even more but I'm left with no choice except to wait for her.

I put my eyes across the window, various outlets coming in my sight along with a group of girls who are here for the same purpose as my sister. They sneak a few discreet glances in my direction, initiating eye contact with me , fiddling with their fingers and fixing their hair —typical strategy to flirt with every random guy they find attractive. I don't pay even a bit of attention to them and set my gaze on the adjacent aisle, the back of a girl coming into my sight. She's wearing a button up cardigan with a plaid skirt and thigh-high socks, her dark brown hair falling on her shoulders. My neck cranes to figure her face as she switches her focus to the dresses in front of her so I smile at the co-incidence and rise from the seat to walk in her direction.

"Take all the dresses you want and wait for me. I'll be back.",I shout to junghee and head towards y/n to find her contemplating between two dresses. One is a black bodycon dress that's designed to show the proportions of a feminine body while the other is a blue satin dress that is backless until bound by a bow a little above the waist."You should take the black one.",I don't announce my presence but my voice startled her and she distances herself from me in reflex."You scared me.",she complains but considers my opinion, her lips nibbling unconsciously so I watch her eyes navigate on the seam of the dress. She couldn't possibly look bad in that because from what I have seen, she doesn't wear clothes tight to her skin which is a shame since she's got really attractive curves.

"Don't you think….",She bites her lips but looks at me,"Don't you think I'll look fat in this?",I knew she would have her doubts so I move closer to her."No, you would look just perfect. It'll be a shame if you don't wear that just because you think it'll make you look fat because you're not.",I hate it when girls find themselves unworthy of something just because of how they look and settle for whatever they're given from society."That's not true. You can't deny how everyone practically knows me from the name of the chubby girl in our grade. I just don't want to wear it if it'll open to more opinions about my body.",she worries about her appearance, my words going off the radar of her head.

Although I've heard a few boys calling her by that name which pisses the hell out of me because she's much more than that."You know, they're just jealous that they aren't as smart and talented as you so they resort to the cheapest way to degrade someone who they simply can't be. Don't tell me you believe whatever shit they talk about you because that's not true. You've got your own personality and presence that you should be proud of and as for how you'll look, let me tell you this, you'll look sexy as hell in that dress.",I lurch forth, letting her eyes dart to mine so she sucks in a breath at my abrupt compliment.

As if she paid heed to me, she blinks her pupils at me, her gaze deviating to the aisle where the dress is displayed. I don't know who made her think she looks ay less attractive but it has to be one of the dickheads that see a girl as a mere sex object to vent their sexual needs on."I'll think about it.",She settles for the time being so I poke my tongue in my cheek out of habit and straighten my back to flash a look at the trial room to keep track of my sister and realise she still hasn't come out. "Good.",My lips grin in a slow smile as she begins to scurry to another shelf to look for other options.

"Are you alone?",I follow her without any apparent reason and she looks across the glass wall of the store to shoot a glance before returning to me."No, I'm with Joonsu. He forgot his bag in another store so he's gone.",She doesn't stick her gaze at me but seals it at the pastel fabrics in front of her. A strange tension courses through my mind at his mention, I don't know how she finds her charming or worthy enough to let him be close to her but I'm not ready for the time when he ends up disappointing her.

"Right.", My voice monotone, I pocket my hands in disinterest and explore the designs on the digital screen on the ceiling."Why? Why do you always turn so gloomy and weird whenever I talk about him?",She broaches what I never paid attention to, so my head swirls in her direction to notice the frown on her face. She has paused her search and now seals her glance at me when I don't even know what to answer her. Should I tell her his past encounters with girls about how he just likes to have someone take care of her and make him like a man capable of having someone who can love him?

"It's just strange when you look at it. He's nowhere around you in school but outside the campus, he's disgustingly close to you.",I don't refrain from keeping the disliking inside me and watch her eyes flutter at me in absolute shock.

Her hands fold over her chest, pushing her bust to reveal her cleavage from the cardigan and she arches her neck to let her eyes lock with mine. My gaze glides from her parted lips to her neck, only to end up on the full skin that is forced in my sight because of her arms but I try my best to return the eye contact."Disgustingly? From what I see, it's better than having a girl breathing down your neck to lick your face in a school campus.",I didn't expect any less brazen response from her. That's what is interesting and amusing about her, she will never let anyone have the last word when something sets her on temper.

"We admit what we have between us.",I inch closer to her so that our bodies are only centimetres apart from sticking together."On and off the campus.",I speak with confidence but feel the heat between our bodies. I'm amazed she still has the strength to not tear her gaze unlike other girls who fear from such intimate contact."It's not like we're denying or hiding it.",Her face turns in opposite direction to evade me and I end up noticing awkward glances from two or three women in the store, all girls in their late teen years, wondering what relationship we share.

"I didn't say you were denying it but purposely staying away from each other in school probably means the same.",I manage to make her glare at me again, as if she knows I'm speaking the truth.I don't understand why that asshole is playing tricks with her because if I was in love with her, I'd show everyone that she's mine with pride instead of keeping her at safe distance in public."Okay, let's leave that. Tell me one thing.",I straighten my posture to make my words clear."Has he ever held your hand in school?",I already know the answer but I want her to acknowledge it, which her silence does.

Securing the shopping bags behind me on the seat, I let my hand hold hers, our skins colliding and I feel the heat radiating from her skin as she shoots me an alarming look. Her eyes switch between our intertwined hands and my eyes when she assesses my actions."Like this?",I can't help but smoothen my thumb over the back of her palm when she looks at me like that, confused and flustered."Has he ever told you how your face turns red like a field of strawberries when you are nervous?",I place our hands on her cheek so she feels how hot she is. Her chest leaves a sharp exhale upon the realisation and all I think about is capturing a photo so I can use it to tease her in future. She seems soft, adorable and nervous like hell. I don't know if I should go ahead with this but I don't cross my limits and leave her hand.

"That's what I'm talking about. If he treats you  the same sappy way that I see at bus-stop everywhere, that's okay, but if you see his behaviour changing depending on where you guys are, then you need to think about it. Atleast, a little bit.",My words are firm and she gives me a slight nod so I step away, reaching to the end of this particular conversation when I see Joonsu stepping inside the store."Your lover boy is here.",Least interested in sharing an exchange with him, I leave her at once, walking to the aisle that connects me to the trail room.

I instantly catch junghee struggling to hold the dresses that seem a lot in number so I hasten my pace to take some of them."How many?", I lead the way to the cashier to make the payment with the card that mom has given me for our expenses."8",Her giggles depict her happiness. Anyone can make her smile like this as long as she's given clothes, food and her silly little anime stickers.

I fish the card to make the payment while the employee bags the clothes but sense her tapping my arm."That's y/n, right? Why don't we take her along with us?",We watch her pointing at a sequin dress and she laughs at something the person standing with her blurts."She's with someone. We shouldn't disturb them. You can go shopping some other day. Come on.", I take the hold of the bags to exit the store, junghee following me with understanding.

— 2 Days later —
Monday, July 16 , 2018
10:30 P.M.

"My mom's not going to listen to any of those excuses, you know that.",I look at jaesung as we walk towards the history class. It's his third attempt to turn down the invitation to my parents' anniversary party and I'm not going to let this slide once more."Come on dude, I've got a date that day.",He gives me a blatant lie, he would've been going crazy if he had even a girl potentially interested in him."I don't want to see mom getting sad when even one of you doesn't show up, so don't give me that bullshit and better be present.",I don't have the patience to deal with this when donghyun plunges on my shoulder with a squeal.

"Did you hear what y/n did to seungmin?",He exclaims at us, panting but reluctant to catch his breath.",He was making a pass at her in arithmetic class, the usual sick ways like brushing his arm on her thighs, intentionally touching her and once we all stood to leave the class, he literally got behind her to stick his body and I was going to tell him to back off but then she just hit her elbow in her nuts.",His eyes stretch to widen when I have mixed emotions, rage and amusement filling my mind.

"Deserved.",I raise my eyebrows at him and chuckle in amazement. She may not have enough courage to face her own emotions but she sure as hell knows how to put limits on people and control the situation if she feels threatened. She's always been like this, since the moment we first met.

/ Flashback/

— 5 months ago —
Sunday , February 25 , 2018
8:45 P.M.

My eyes fixated on the device on my hand, I once again scroll through the subjects offered in this semester and search for areas of interest as I head towards home.  I notice an unfamiliar car parked in front of the vacant house which tells me it'll probably have the tenants or buyers occupying this space in a few days. I'm about to head home when I notice the strange marks on the car. At first, this doesn't seem serious enough to make me stop but the metal has been torn with such aggression that it ends only on the surface of the bonnet. Fucking hell. Someone has keyed this car. I step closer to take a determined look and judge the damage before calling the people inside. There's no way someone is driving this car in such conditions.

In order to take a closer look, I scoot down so my eyes sear across the metal that's separated from the car when I hear footsteps approaching."Excuse me, this ca—",My voice ends with a groan with a hard kick on my stomach that thrashes me on the ground."What the fuck.",I hold my stomach, my insides aching in extreme pain that I suppress to tolerate.

I lift my eyes to look at the person standing before me with an insolent expression on her face. She wears an oversized hoodie with leggings covering every inch of her body, her hair tied in a ponytail and her hands turned into fists in defence as I'm the perpetrator. I place the girth of my hand on the ground to lift myself and manage to stand still before gauging her height. I can't believe the sight in front of me. Should I ridicule myself for receiving a punch from a girl that doesn't seem more than 5'5 or should I swallow the rage fuming inside me?

"What did you do to the car?",She glares at me with false accusations. I follow her gaze to notice the damage done to the car and her piercing eyes that make her look like a little mad girl. I take a deep breath to understand this situation in the most polite manner but the pain surging in my stomach is not helping."I know how this is looking but trust me, I was on my way home and then I noticed these weird scratches to check.",I step closer to make her understand, the uncertainty exuding from the straight press of lips letting me know she doesn't believe me.

"Why should I trust you? You were the first person I found standing near the car. Why did you even do it?",She doesn't cease to lead on her accusations."That's the main thing. I don't even know you. Hell, I've never met a girl as annoying and impossible as you. How in the fucking world would I key your car when I don't have anything sharp with me?",My anger knows no bounds at her poor understanding of the circumstances. She doesn't say anything, digesting my words and reasoning them in her mind.

"Let me check.",Her voice comes like a whisper so I cock my eyebrow, signalling her to repeat."Let me check if you have anything sharp with you.",She gulps down a long breath, afraid that her remarks are false, her eyes no longer dare to meet mine so I motion closer to her, invading her proximity."Go ahead.",I give her permission. This is the only way I can make her believe me, not like her approval matters but I would like to see this little girl abashed at the end, only for the sake of my ego.

Her eyes blink in hesitation but I can see the sparkles in them, they twinkle for no apparent reason. After a few seconds, her hand palms on my chest to glide towards the pockets of my stomach, the small grasp of her hands making me chuckle so I lick my lips. She steps closer to inspect thoroughly, no longer nervous but her scent invades my senses. She smells like a warm coffee, a strange scent that I've never come across. Her hands roam within the boundaries of the pockets of my sweatshirt and sweatpants as her eyes are set on my clothes. I feel her hand palming the pockets of my trousers while I shift my gaze to the night sky, wondering how I even ended up in such circumstances with a stranger when her hands accidentally brush across my clothed cock, her hand drifting away with lightning speed and she steps back instantaneously.

"Satisfied?"I raise my brow at her, her cheeks flustered evidently in a red hue that is quite apparent even in darkness because of the light illuminating from the street lamp.Without giving it a second thought, I close the minimal distance between us, her lips parting in an incoherent gasp but I position myself to the level of her eyes.

"You know you should be careful when meeting a stranger, especially under such unpredictable circumstances. Most of them don't have the patience to deal with this. Get inside and tell your parents about this, mad girl.",I signal my eyes towards the car and watch her chest vibrating with heavy exhales as she's flabbergasted. She doesn't know what other people could have possibly done if they got a sick punch in their stomach for no reason, some of them would've been crazy enough to harm her but she was brazen, unknown, almost too naive to be this courageous.

I propel myself away from her and watch her gaze aligning on my figure again, taking in my words and hovering a clear sight over me."Be safe.",I feel the need to tell her before I head home, never turning back to check if she's gone because I hear hurried steps after a few seconds.

/ Flashback ends /

After few giggles on the incident, we enter the classroom, my vision catching the figure of her sitting on her usual spot, a seat ahead of me, her mouth twitched in a furious press of lips, the pencil swirling between her fingers and her pupils rise to meet mine, that's when I sense the complete awry in them.