Playdate

It was the day of the 'date'.

Yeo Ri wore her best dress and combed her hair to perfection. She placed a hairpin in her hair for the final touch. She checked her reflection in the mirror, then smiled.

Yeo Ri picked up a tote bag before heading out. Since it was a secret deal, she didn't tell anyone about it, especially her two brothers. Putting Hyuk aside, even Gun would flip if he knew.

"Where are you going?" A voice suddenly asked, startling her. She knew from the gentleness in his tone that the voice belonged to her second brother, Gun.

"I-I'm going grocery shopping. We're out of soy sauce, right? I heard there was a sale on eggs at the mart, too," Yeo Ri made up an excuse with a fake smile. Hopefully, he wouldn't notice anything strange.

"Grocery shopping?" Gun muttered suspiciously. "You look a little overdressed, don't you think?" Gun commented. He scanned her from head to toe. The dress she was wearing was something she didn't wear frequently unless there was a special event. Furthermore, she even had a hairpin on. If they had more money, he was sure she would slap on some makeup as well. Usually, she'd just go out wearing a casual dress or t-shirt.

Yeo Ri flushed at his words. "C-can't a girl dress up every once in a while?! Oppa, you're so mean!" Yeo Ri said, purposely raising her voice to mask her fluster.

Gun's expression changed. Panic flashed in his eyes as he had thought that he had offended her, "N-no, that's not what I mean, Yeo Ri-ah—" His eyes shook as if he was really clueless on what to do. He also felt bad since Yeo Ri didn't have as many accessories and clothes as other girls her age. Not wanting to make her angrier, he changed the subject, "A-anyways! Do you want me to come with you? I—"

Yeo Ri's eyes widened as her heart thumped. She couldn't let Gun follow her or the deal will bust. She hurriedly cut off his words, "Forget it! I'll go by myself!"

"O-okay. Be safe," Gun looked at her apologetically.

Yeo Ri felt that his gaze stung so she immediately avoided eye contact. Gun mistook it as rejection but Yeo Ri really didn't want to face him after lying to him, so she ran away.

She rode the bus alone to her destination. Her luck seemed to be good since no one came up to her and bothered her, so when she got off at her stop, she had a small smile on her face.

Searching for In Guk was not that hard. After all, if two good-looking guys were standing together, they were bound to catch some eyes.

Wait, two...?

Yeo Ri stopped her footsteps some ways away from them, wondering if she had the right date. It would be too shameful if she went over and he says something like, 'the date isn't today, it's tomorrow,' or something insidious like, 'it was a prank. Did you think I was serious?'

She shuddered just thinking about the possibilities.

Yeo Ri observed the two for a while longer. It seemed like they were whispering something to each other. The unknown young man with Joo In Guk was frowning, looking disgruntled. She was too far from them so she could not hear what they were saying to each other.

"Seriously, In Guk? I can't believe you talked me into this. Way to make things awkward!" the guy hissed.

"What? I panicked, okay?! I'm too scared to go alone, so just this once, please, Jin Goo? I'll owe you one," In Guk begged, rubbing his hands together with puppy-dog eyes. "Jin Goo, aren't you my friend?" He added.

"Ugh, you b*t—" Jin Goo clicked his tongue, his hair rising from the cringe In Guk gave him. A pun using his name was making things even worse, alright? He had half a mind to leave the idiot there alone. Who told him to let his mouth run wild? In Guk's biggest flaw was his tendency to blurt out his thoughts senselessly and today, the consequences had finally came knocking. Jin Goo had thought him pitiful so he went along with the idiot's pathetic request.

Today, on the date a certain girl had agreed to go with a certain idiot, a third wheel had been added.

Hesitantly, Yeo Ri approached In Guk. She had thought it over for some time, and when the two stopped interacting with each other, she took the chance to come close.

"Um..." Yeo Ri started, grabbing the two's attention. "S-sunbaenim?"

In Guk, noticing Yeo Ri, almost jumped up in surprise. His heart started to palpitate irregularly. Putting on a faux smile, he greeted her, "Oh, Miss Lee Yeo Ri! You made it! Was it hard to find me?"

Seeing his somewhat normal act, Yeo Ri relaxed slightly. She returned his smile, "It wasn't hard. I'm sorry, was I late, sunbaenim?"

"No, no! Not at all," In Guk shook his head furiously. "It was us who were too early. There's still a few minutes left before the promised time. Ah, by the way, this is my friend, Heo Jin Goo."

Yeo Ri changed her gaze to the other man and politely bowed. "Hello, sunbaenim."

"Hello," Jin Goo returned her greeting with a quirk of his lips. He gave a nod to In Guk in his mind, finally understanding why In Guk had completely fallen for the girl. Thankfully, Jin Goo was more astute than In Guk so he didn't drool over the cute girl like his best friend. Smirking silently, Jin Goo leaned in to In Guk's ear, whispering, "And here I was wondering why you wanted to flirt with the little sister even though you kept saying that the brother was a real crook."

In Guk reddened, "That was—!" He shouted, but hurriedly pursed his mouth. The girl was right there and he did not want to embarrass himself in front of her. He lowered his voice, replying, "That was because I was really pissed back then. He's not that bad, I think."

Jin Goo snorted in response. When he came to visit In Guk at the hospital the day after he woke up, the guy had cursed up a storm, scolding this 'Lee Hyuk' guy all the way to his seventh ancestor.

"Sure, whatever you say," Jin Goo muttered in amusement. Then, he glanced at Yeo Ri who was skittishly standing by the side. The sight made her resemble a baby fawn, looking around with both alertness and curiosity.

"So... what should we do now?" Jin Goo said, prodding the idiot for his plans for the date-but-not-really-a-date.

"Ah..." In Guk tensed and his eyes swam. He had been planning this date since the day he met her, but for some reason, his mind was drawing a blank. "Uh..."

Then, his eyes spotted a particularly eye-catching shop decorated with colourful colours.

"Should we go get some ice cream?" He suggested.

Yeo Ri's eyes shone at the mention of 'ice cream'. "Really? Can we?" she squealed excitedly. But, remembering her tight budget, she deflated, "Ah, on second thought, maybe not..."

Noticing her distress, Jin Goo patted her back reassuringly, "Don't worry, In Guk will pay for everything. It's a date, after all. Right, In Guk-ah?" He glanced at In Guk, motioning for him to catch his signal.

In Guk nodded firmly, "Yeah! I'm the one who invited you, after all. Guys should pay for the dates."

"But..." Yeo Ri glanced at the older boy worriedly. "You've already done so much..." Yeo Ri mumbled. She was grateful enough that he was considering letting Hyuk off the hook. If she owed him any more, then it would make her feel awful. She already felt like she was taking advantage of his kindness.

"Really, don't worry!" In Guk puffed his chest, smiling confidently to offset some of her worries. "In return... can you call me 'Oppa'?"

"Hack—!" Cough cough!

Jin Goo's limbs felt like curling after hearing In Guk's cheesy words.

Uwa—!

In Guk's smile froze on his face as his face reddened, feeling the full brunt of his embarrassment.