We decided to wait on the street where all the snack stalls were lined up.
I was munching on dakkochi, and Daegyu and Park Dong were eating beside me.
Daegyu glanced up and nudged us. "Hey, they're here."
We followed his gaze. Seolhyo's group was walking over.
Park Dong lifted a hand. "You guys are earlier than I thought."
I stepped forward, eyes naturally drawn to Seolhyo and for a second, I forgot to blink.
She wore a crisp, long-sleeved white shirt tucked neatly into a red skirt that stopped just above her knees.
A small gold heart pendant rested at her upper chest, catching the afternoon light every time she shifted.
Her red sneakers matched her skirt perfectly, the whole outfit looking clean and effortlessly put together.
Her hair short, curled slightly inward at the ends framed her face in a soft way that made her features stand out more than usual. It wasn't flashy, but it was so carefully done it was obvious she actually took her time getting ready today.
As we approached them, Park Dong narrowed his eyes at Seolhyo's hair. "Yo, what's up with your hair? A perm?"
Seolhyo scoffed. "It's a curling iron, idiot."
Park Dong blinked, genuinely impressed.
"Wow. Fuck. That's straight-up magic."
I stepped closer, fingers brushing lightly through the soft inward curls. "It suits you," I said.
Seolhyo looked up at me, a small flush creeping onto her cheeks at my sudden compliment. "Mhmm," she murmured, trying to play it cool.
I lifted my dakkochi. "You want? It's good."
She raised a brow, then nodded.
I brought the dakkochi near her lips, and she leaned in, taking a bite slow, unbothered, like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Mmm. It is good."
Then she just casually took the whole stick out of my hand and continued eating.
While this was happening, the others stared at us like we had suddenly grown antlers.
Park Dong pointed between us. "The hell since when are you two this close?"
Irina leaned in, squinting suspiciously. "You guys dating now or something?"
I laughed and shoved a dakkochi into Irina's mouth before she could interrogate further.
"Are we dating now?" I asked teasingly.
Irina chewed, still squinting between me and Seolhyo.
Seolhyo quickly looked away, pretending to focus on her food.
Jinkyung and Daegyu exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing.
Yeah… something's definitely going on between those two.
Irina suddenly lunged toward Park Dong's food. "Gimme that!"
"Hey! Fuck, didn't you just eat Seojin's dakkochi? Why are you eating mine too?!" Park Dong twisted away, lifting his arm high as Irina clung to it like a koala.
Jinkyung glanced around. "Where are the others?"
Daegyu pointed with his chin. "Bathroom. They'll be back in a sec."
Seolhyo watched them, tightening her grip on the strap of her bag.
Honestly… I'm still not feeling good about this. I know they fought Jinsu because of me… but…
Park Dong walked up to her with a stupid grin. "Yo, Minsu hyung doesn't know we're here, right? Better handle him properly."
Seolhyo blinked once, slowly. They could've told me.
They could've said something. They just made up with us, whenever they wanted. And they call themselves friends?
Her expression flattened. "Whether you get hit or not… do you really think I care?"
"H-huh?" Park Dong stiffened, looking between her and Irina who was still trying to steal his last dakkochi piece. "Did I… do something wrong?"
Seolhyo gave him a cold stare, then calmly raised her middle finger straight to his face.
Looking at Park Dong and the others, her expression softened slightly.
Humph. Since you did it for my sake... I'll forgive you guys this time.
I let out a quiet chuckle and patted her back, leaning closer to whisper, "Relax a bit. Scowling doesn't suit you."
She just hmphed and turned away from me.
Irina suddenly waved. "Oh? Suwon's here too!"
Jinkyung snickered. "Did you just take a dump before coming, Suwon? Lol."
"N-No! I just… put on hair wax!" Suwon stammered, smoothing his hair nervously.
He walked up to us wearing.
A bright purple short-sleeve polo, with a striped long-sleeve shirt underneath, and blue jeans.
Seolhyo blinked at him. "Oh, you're here too…"
Then she fully turned, stared at him for one whole second
and burst out laughing.
She covered her mouth and started smacking my arm as she bent over, laughing harder. I stared at her, confused, while her face reddened with amusement.
Park Dong frowned. "Why are you suddenly laughing? Did you finally go crazy…?"
But Seolhyo only laughed harder, bright and breathless. "This is...pffftt this is driving me crazy for real HAH! Seeing you three together!"
Irina and Jinkyung take a good look at the three of them the same way they all have swollen eyes. Suwon's left eye is swollen, Park Dong's right eye is swollen, and Jisung has swelling in both eyes.
Jinkyung and Irina took one look and instantly burst out laughing, too.
"Oh my god, you all look like you got punched in the face!"
"What is this some kind of gathering of kids who got beat up?!"
Park Dong and Jisung stiffened, embarrassed. "W-What do you mean?!"
The three of them tried to walk past, avoiding eye contact, but Seolhyo waved them off with a hand.
"Don't come near us, it's embarrassing!" she said, laughing. "If you're going to fight, at least don't get beat up!"
I couldn't hold back a chuckle myself. Slinging an arm over Daegyu's shoulder, I said with a grin,
"Good looking people can't have bruises on their faces, can we?"
Daegyu, fired up, hooked his arm over my shoulders in return and let out a booming laugh.
"Of course not! HAHAHAHA!"
The two of us laughed like we owned the world, shoulders linked, while behind us Park Dong, Suwon, and Jiseong stared daggers into our backs teeth grinding so hard you could almost hear it.
Daegyu, still smug, pointed at the three. "Me and Seojin have no bruises. That means we're all good, right?"
Seolhyo nodded. "Yup. You two come here."
Jisung jabbed a thumb at Park Dong. "Park Dong got beat up the worst though."
"Shut up, Kim Jisung!!" Park Dong exploded.
We grabbed a bite at a popular restaurant, filled our stomachs, then cooled off with dessert at a café.
After that, we ended up at the PC bang, the neon monitors painting everyone's faces in blue glow.
At one corner, Park Dong and Irina were locked in a fierce game, their keyboards clacking like machine guns.
"YESSSSS! I WON!!!" Irina shot her arms up in victory, her voice echoing across the room.
"AH, SHIT!" Park Dong slammed his mouse against the desk.
Irina leaned over with the smuggest grin imaginable. "Heh. Are you mad, loser? Lol."
Park Dong glared at her. "Hey, stop that. I'm seriously pissed off."
"Lol. You can't fight, you can't even play game properly what are you even good at?" Irina teased, her laughter stabbing his pride.
"This is bullshit! I can't take this anymore!" Park Dong suddenly lunged, wrapping his arm around her head and locking her in a rough headlock. "Got you, you brat!"
"AAAH! Lemme gooo!" Irina flailed, pounding her fists against his arm while everyone else in the PC bang turned to stare at their commotion.
Meanwhile, I sat a row away, not paying much attention to their antics.
My screen glowed with the Cyworld homepage, and I sighed to myself.
It seems the original body didn't even have a Cyworld…
Seolhyo, sitting beside me, peeked at my screen curiously.
"You don't have Cyworld?"
"Yeah," I said casually.
She blinked, then burst out laughing, covering her mouth. "Lol, what are you, a caveman?"
Before I could reply, she dragged her chair closer until her shoulder brushed against mine.
She reached over, her slender fingers brushing against my keyboard and mouse.
"Move. I'll make you one."
As she started typing, her brows furrowed in concentration, her side profile illuminated by the monitor's glow.
My eyes lingered on her on the way her short curls framed her face, the small curve of her lips when she typed too fast and had to backspace.
'I can't believe I'm dating this girl.'