Min-Jae:

"I don't know...should I just directly ask her?" I asked Jessica for her opinion on how I should ask Hae-Ri to the masquerade ball. 

She wasn't listening. In fact, during our entire conversation, she'd barely said a word at all.

"Jess?" I said, louder.

"Eoh? Uhm...sure, sounds great!" she exclaimed. (Yeah?)

"Jinjja? You think I should do that? Arasseo, I guess you know her the best. Gomawo, I'll catch you later!" I said gratefully, and hurriedly made my way to our tech lab. (Really?, Okay, thanks)

I was about to step in, when I heard someone inside, say...

"I really wanna ask her. We've been hanging out lately, but I don't have much time. Hae-Ri and I are heading home for the weekend, so that gives me two days," the masculine voice uttered. 

The mention of Hae-Ri's name tempted me to peek inside. It was her brother, Ho-Jin. I almost went in, but another voice answered...

"Hyung, don't worry. Jessica seems like a nice person, and I'm sure that no-one can resist your charm!" they said.

At that point, I was damn confused. Jessica and Ho-Jin? I had never even given it a thought, but...okay, it didn't seem too bad. I walked straight in, not caring about my two seniors' presence. After all, they didn't even notice me until I dropped my fanny pack, which made a soft thudding sound on the matted floor.

"Yah! Min-Jae? We talked a few weeks ago, right?" Ho-Jin asked me.

"Nae. That's me. What's up?" I said confidently. (Yes)

"I need your help, as I know that you're friends with Jessica Myres. I need to ask her out for the masquerade ball, so could you tell her to meet me at the back garden at 10, tonight?" he requested.

"Right. Keurae, but what will I get in return?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. (Sure)

"What do you want?" he questioned.

"Well, I would love it if you could talk your Hae-Ri out of liking a certain guy friend of yours...?" I suggested, realising that that was probably the wrong thing to say.

"Not happening. I can't do that to my own sister, and what kind of a guy are you to say that? Forget it, I'll talk to Jessica myself," he grumbled.

"Aniyo! Joesonghabnida, I'll tell Jessica, and I don't need anything from you," I said dramatically. (No! Sorry)

Hae-Ri:

I was feeling extremely dull. The moment I heard Omma say the word, 'divorce', it felt like my soul had evaporated. How could this possibly happen to my parents? What really shook me was that Ho-Jin had known that this was going to happen, yet he didn't bother to let me know. Jessica was the only person who I had told about my parents' divorce that was going to happen, and I wasn't planning on telling Min-Jae, even though he was my closest friend after Jess. The weird thing was that something in me wanted to vent to Hae-Jun. My heart said yes, but my brain said otherwise. 

Hae-Jun had asked me to meet him at Cafe Tape, which was famous for its space-themed deserts and food. Obviously, I agreed, but I knew that this was the time where I'd have to rely on my acting skills the most, in order to keep myself from breaking down.

...

"Annyeong, Hae-Ri!", he excitedly greeted me at the door.

"Eoh, annyeong!", I exclaimed, trying my best to sound cheer, which wasn't hard as we were standing in the bustling streets of Itaewon.

"Yeppuda! You look really pretty today!" Hae-Jun complemented. (Pretty!)

"G-gomawo!" I blushed, looking down at my clothes. I had worn a short grey skirt and a full-sleeved white top, along with a chestnut-brown coat. On my feet, I was wearing a pair of white heels. As for my hair, I had slightly straightened my naturally wavy, black locks. (T-thanks!)

"Khaja!" he said, ushering me inside. (Let's go!)

The refreshing ambience lifted my spirits. The tall white-and-grey walls made me feel like there was going to be a new beginning, but i didn't understand what exactly that notion had meant. The cafe gave off a very futuristic vibe, with the lush green plants that hung from the pots that were hooked to the walls, to the tall tables and chairs. It would seem completely ordinary to any other person, but somehow it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

I gladly followed him to one of the tables; happy that the place wasn't too crowded, but was lively at the same time. I was surprised a how much of a gentleman Hae-Jun was being that day, to the point that he pulled out the chair for me!

"What do you feel like eating?" he asked, looking at me with his angelic eyes with the glossy menu in his firm grip.

For a moment, my heart started to race, just staring at his face, but then I came back to my senses and realised that he was waiting for me to answer.

"Uhm well, I'm craving a cream cheese cake to be honest. This one looks good!" I said, pointing to a desert on the menu that was called, "Round Cake". The description said that it was a strawberry cream cheese cake, which was perfect. 

"Great! I'll have the regular Galaxy Cake then, please," Hae-Jun said to the waitress, who was a short, pretty girl who looked like she was 15, "Also, a melon-ade would be great. Do you want one too, Hae-Ri Ya?"

"Melon-ade? Do you mean lemonade?", I asked foolishly, having not heard of it.

Hae-Jun laughed in a teasing but friendly manner, "Aniya! But I think you'll like it, you should try." (Nope!)

I blushed at my own stupidity, "Arasseo,". (Alright)

I expected him to just order another Melon-ade for me, but instead, he asked for two straws in his own drink, which left me positively stunned.

The food arrived in a few minutes, and it tasted heavenly! We devoured our deserts quickly, and Hae-Jun motioned for me to try the Melon-ade. As soon as I took the straw in my mouth, he leaned in and did the same. Once again, our faces were barely an inch apart, and because I had the worst luck in the world, I started chocking on the drink. I started aggressively coughing, and he rushed over to me and started patting my back. When I finally calmed down, I realised that I was fiercely holding onto his arm, and immediately let go, looking away.

When we were done, Hae-Jun paid for our meal, even though I told him multiple times that we should split it. Before we could leave, the waiteress from earlier came to us, requesting for a photo with Hae-Jun!

"Please could we, if you don't mind? You're so good-looking!" she asked sweetly. I knew that Hae-Jun didn't like to interact with people unless it was absolutely necessary, but to my surprise, he agreed!

"Keurae, but only if Hae-Ri can join in, too," he said, and smiled at me.  (Sure)

I returned a quick grin of gratitude, but I could tell that the girl seemed to be bummed-out, which was a bit embarassing. I didn't take it to heart, as it was true that Hae-Jun was really handsome, so it was natural for a young schoolgirl to want to take a picture with him.

By the time we left Cafe Tape it was already 9 pm, so I had assumed that we would be heading back to the University then. But apparently, Hae-Jun had already thought of something else.

Hae-Jun:

"I wanna take you somewhere," I said. Careful not to show my nervousness, I tucked my hands into the pockets of my black trousers.

"Keurae, but I need to be back at Uni by 10," she said. (Sure)

"Eoh," I acknowledged. (Okay)

We grabbed the taxi, and headed to our next destination.

"Where are we going?" Hae-Ri asked curiously.

"Somewhere special," I said mysteriously.

"Araaseo, I guess I'll have to wait and see," she grinned. (Fine)

"Nae!" I laughed. (Yes!)

...

We got down, and I led her to the garden-park.

"This is where you wanted to come?" she asked, "It's pretty..."

It indeed was pretty, and the yellow lights on the green bushes made it even more delightful.

"My Omma and I used to come here when I was a child...I have a lot of memories here, and I wanted to share them with you," I said, now face to face with her, as we were sitting on a bench.

She didn't say anything, but gave me a comforting smile. She definitely didn't expect me to do what i did next.

"Hae-Ri Ya, I was wondering...do you wanna go to the masquerade ball with me?" I finally asked.

Her eyes widened, and her jaw slightly dropped. I grew anxious.

"I can tell that you must be flustered, and I understand if you don't-", I was gonna say more, but she suddenly hugged me, and I gradually did the same. 

"Of course I'll go with you!" she squeeled.

...

We entered the University from the back enterence, and through the garden gates, when suddenly I caught a glimpse of Ho-Jin and talking to a girl. I couldn't tell who it was as her back was turned, but it looked a lot like someone I knew.

"Oh! That's my brother, I wonder what he's doing talking to Jessica..." Hae-Ri said, and I stopped in my tracks.

"Ho-Jin is your brother?! Mweo?! He's one of my close friends! Eoh, jinjja, he never even told me!", I gasped. (What!? Oh, seriously!)

"Omo, jinjja? Wa, he didn't tell me either!", she giggled. (Oh my god, really?)

We parted ways, before I could even start thinking about why Ho-Jin was meeting Jessica alone at such an hour.