mmhaewonâ:
âyour lack of sympathy is astounding, oppa. absolutely stellar. no wonder half the girls at school have a crush on you.â thereâs a trickle of accusation that lacks direction (because whoâs really at fault here, his googly-eyed admirers or mister jo daehyun himself?) or the proper amount of contempt. typical haewon.
âitâs simple arithmancy. just because this-â cue vague, back-and-forth hand-flapping, âisnât a thing doesnât mean i wonât be offended if there wasnât at least a 1% possibility.â maybe heâd take her more seriously if she wasnât giving him a half-hearted squint. intimidation isnât one of her strong points.
âmaybe later! romance doesnât exactly contribute to my career goals.â or anyoneâs really. the thought hasnât exactly crossed her mind, though it sets off a pinprick of curiosityâ and an inkling of suspicion. âhave you?â a lovestruck daehyun sounds absurd. âwhy do you think iâm always doubled up on desserts? and iâm too tired today.â she fakes a yawn for emphasis and veers off course, purposely bumping into his side.Â
âi thought you were joking.â which is a fair assumption. but this is as good as the opportunity will get, shoulders perking considerably at his last comment. she shifts her feet, easily walking backwards, hands at his wrists to pull him along. âpick up the pace! i need to discuss some extremely important matters with you.â (not really.)
 âyeah, itâs almost like my looks and the chollimas buffer has nothing to do with it.â thereâs a sense of flippancy there. hint of annoyance. as if heâs ever cared about his his âpopularityâ to begin with. donât take him wrong, itâs nice to be liked. but thereâs something else about being favored only for surface level things.
âoh, okay, iâll keep that in mind next time i consider taking someone out friday night.â he speaks dryly, spares a small teasing grin at least. not that itâs ever likely, but at the end of the day they both know that.
âwhat are your career goals again?â he questions absently, parts curious. if heâs honest, there is a degree of curiosity that surfaces around people like haewon. girls that haphazardly switch from one path to anotherâseemingly. like a crackhead. âdate?â duh? his brow arches, smile slipping back into one more civil than welcoming. âwhat do you think?â as if heâd tell. âisnât it just a matter of smiling at the right person?â doesnât much budge at the bump, though he does offer a little nudge back.
âdid you see me laughing?â he eyes her carefully, head tilting. itâs far too easy to fall under a pace like haewonâs, he knows it well. would avoid it normally butâwhat was the harm here? âyou and i probably have different definitions of important.â daehyun mutters, taking a beat before he twists his wrists to grasp onto her hands once theyâre out of the exit; apparating them with ease to his usual lunch spot.
âi hope youâre okay with chinese.â again, he doesnât care though.








