Chapter 6

Soo Hyun walked onto the bus in a daze. Oh my God, he asked me out!, she thought. He'd asked her out! He so totally freaking asked her out! Sung Joo asked Soo Hyun out on a date! The second she sat down, she wanted to get up and do cartwheels all over the bus and stick her tongue at all the passengers because Choi Sung Joo had asked Lee Soo Hyun out on a date. He'd asked her and not them. She covered her mouth with her palm and giggled. She couldn't believe it! She was about to have a boyfriend. A boyfriend! Her first real boyfriend. A guy to have her first sober kiss with. And he wasn't some boring guy she'd have to settle with out of desperation. No! He was a friggin hot guy with a smile that could melt a glacier. He was a smoldering hot guy with the body of an Adonis and the face to match. Well, she hadn't seen his body but it only made sense. He was so fine that he could get any girl he wanted and yet, he'd chosen her. She repeated the first part of that sentence and frowned. He really could get any girl he wanted.

A light bulb went off in her head so she picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Hey," Hee Chul said the second he picked up the line. "When I saw your number I suddenly wondered if I had biology homework due tomorrow."

She laughed. "Scary flashbacks, huh?"

"Yeah. I almost ignored the call."

"Ah, so now you confess. So you really had your phone with you all those times you claimed you didn't?"

"No comment. So…?"

"I just have a favor to ask. Can you talk now or are you still at work?"

He told her he was still at work and that he'd call her back in an hour



***

Hee Chul lay on his bed and stared at his phone, just as he'd been doing for the past thirty minutes. He knew he had to call her back but what would he say?

A year earlier, he hadn't really been excited to be partnered with her for biology because he'd assumed she was dumb. How smart could someone who just followed her popular cousin around really be? But when she showed him she meant business the first time they'd met to work, he realized that she was quite book smart. In fact, he doubted he'd have received an A in that class without her.

They'd started off as polite acquaintances who only talked about their assignment but somewhere along the line, they'd become quite comfortable with one another. He wasn't quite sure when he fell for her but he remembered the moment he realized that he had.

It had been just like any other day they'd decided to meet up to do their assignment. They'd been at the school library typing up their report when she looked at him and told him some silly physics joke about jocks not having any potential. When he heard her loud laugh, his heart skipped a beat and that was it.

From that moment on, he'd had to work hard to keep his cool and pretend he felt nothing but friendship for her. He'd wanted to confess his feelings to her on so many occasions but it never felt right. So after they parted ways, he'd resigned himself to the possibility that it was never meant to be. He'd seen her in school, usually with her cousin and their friends and never had the courage to go up to her. But when he'd seen her at work earlier in the day, it seemed like fate had finally intervened.

Hee Chul bounced his phone in his palm and exhaled. Okay, so maybe his initial assessment had been right, otherwise, why would the Soo Hyun he knew be attracted to someone like Sung Joo? He'd never seen her with any guys but surely, she needed someone with more depth. Right?

He looked at his alarm clock and noted the time. If he waited any longer, it would be too late to call and he wanted to keep his promise and call her back. Plus, it had been such a long time since they'd spoken on the phone and he wanted to hear her voice.

He took a sip of water then dialed her number. "What's up?" he asked the second she picked it up.

"Nothing," she said cheerfully. "How are you? How is your life?"

He smiled. She sounded happy. He liked it when she was happy. "Everything's great. How have things been with you? We've barely spoken since last year."

She laughed. "Yeah, I know. I guess we were tired of talking about cells and oscilloscopes."

"I guess so." It was sad to hear her summarize their time together like that. "So what's up?"

"Well…" she said before hesitating.

"Well, what?" he cajoled.

"I know this is a bit weird to ask but, you were talking about girls hanging around Sung Joo?"

What? What the freaking hell? She hadn't spoken to him in months but when she did it was because she wanted to find out about some other guy?

"Hee Chul, are you still there?"

He swallowed hard. "You called me to ask about that?" He'd tried his best but he couldn't hide the edge in his voice. Even though she was unaware of his feelings, she didn't have any right to torture him like that. "Is that why you called?"

"Hey, Hee Chul ah, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have. I just thought that since we are friends, you could help me out or something."

Friends, huh? "What do you want to know?"

She laughed nervously. "Don't worry about it, okay? We'll talk some other time," she said, rushing off the phone. "Good night."

He didn't have the desire to argue nor did he want to spend the evening talking about him. "Good night."



***



So Da Hae had to admit it. When no one was around, she'd taken a quick look at www.datingtips.com for something to help her out. When she scanned the list, almost none of them applied because Jong Won hadn't even given her the chance to be sweet, or flattering, or interesting or anything else for that matter. In fact, the only thing she could be was unavailable.

She'd only had to wait for about 15 minutes before he arrived. "Hey, Oppa, ready for your close up?"

Her neighbor, Yong Ha, rolled his eyes. "Just remember you owe me big," he said before linking his arm with hers and walking into the building.



***

"It took you long enough," Dong Gun said as she approached him. He looked behind her. Were his eyes deceiving him? Who the hell was that guy she was holding?

As if she could read his mind, she said, "Hey, have you met my friend, Choi Yong Ha? Oppa, this is my friend Dong Gun. Say hello."

The very bored looking Yong Ha waved at him. "Hello."

"Did I mention that Oppa is an expert at putt putt?" she asked proudly. "I brought him here to teach you guys a thing or two about losing." She shook her shoulders. "I hope we get to play as couples." She put her hands together and stared up dreamily. Then she looked at Dong Gun. "I hope you find someone to couple with," she said as she moved close to Yong Ha then rested her head on his shoulder.

Dong Gun rolled his eyes. Did she know how retarded she looked? But who was that guy? He watched her glance over the rest of the gang then frown. After about a minute of staring at them, she turned back and moved closer to him, "Who's the girl?"

He glanced at the tall girl sitting next to Jong Won and said, "That's Yuri Noona."

"And who's Yuri? You didn't tell me he had a girlfriend. I don't believe in going after guys who already have girlfriends. I'm--"

"Hey," he interrupted. He could tell she was about to fly off the handle. "Don't give yourself hypertension – she's just a friend."

"Really?" She spun around and watched them for a few moments. "Are you sure?" she asked uncertainly.

He nodded.

"Alright, then," she said loudly. "Sweetie, let's go and show these people how it's done!"



***



About three hours later, Da Hae walked out of the building fuming. What the hell? She'd been loud enough to make him notice her. She'd hugged and kissed Oppa as if he was the most beautiful guy on the planet. She'd been particularly animated, laughing cutely whenever she made a putt. All that and not even one look from Jong Won. Not one. She growled and punched her palm. She was already sick of it. And it wasn't like he was only focusing on Yuri. Nope. He seemed to be nice and friendly to everyone but her. Heck, he'd even smiled at Yong Ha a few times.

"Where did you park? I can't remember anymore," she said, looking around the parking lot.

He pointed to his car and they started walking.

"Hey," Dong Gun yelled from behind her.

She turned around to find him running towards her. "What?"

He stopped in front of them and caught his breath. "You weren't supposed to bring anyone with you," he accused. "You should have told me you were inviting someone else."

She frowned. "How I choose to play the game is my business."

Dong Gun's eyes darted from her face to Yong Ha's then away from them. What was that look in his eye?

"Besides," she continued, "I had to make sure that you weren't lying and that he really wasn't gay." She turned to Yong Ha. "What's the verdict?"

He shook his head. "No one is 100% accurate because there are always some funny ones but I'm right 99% of the time and…," he said, shaking his head from side to side, "he's as straight as a boomerang," he finished with a flourish.

Dong Gun's jaw fell. "What?"

He burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding." He rolled his eyes. "As far as I can tell, he's straight."

"I told you," Dong Gun said with relief. "Da Hae, I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he turned to leave.

Da Hae thought about it. Jong Won wasn't gay and she didn't exist to him. Okay. But did she really have the energy for this bullsh.it? "Hey, hold up, Dong Gun."

"What?" he said, spinning back around.

"Just to be clear, all I have to do is bid on you at the auction, right?" And going from last year's auction, he wasn't exactly going to break the bank. Plus she was sure she could survive an evening with him and the ridicule he was sure to heap on her. But if that was her only option…