5 The Date

"I hope you don't mind something quick. Though I did ask you to come out and eat, I have a meeting in a bit..." Kim asked Kirin as they drove down the street. Well, as they were driven. Though Kim could drive and had his license, he rarely ever did so. He was usually chauffeured.

Edric, his assistant, sat up front with the driver. Kirin couldn't help but blush and smile shyly each time she saw the man, he was just too gorgeous.

"Yeah, that's fine," she replied, glancing out the passenger window. She didn't want Kim to see the disappointment in her eyes, though there were traces of it in her reply. Hopefully he hadn't noticed. "You'll just have to make up for it, later, okay?"

"Of course! When have I ever let you down?" Kim asked. He wanted to change the stiff air because he had caught the slight disappointment in her words. Why was she disappointed? They had been friends since childhood, so if she wanted to go eat all she had to do was text him. Though he wanted to ask, he wouldn't.

His driver glanced at him through the rear-view mirrow, and he gave him a quick nod. With an acknowledging nod of his own, he turn left down a side street.

Ten minutes later, after many turns, the car pulled up to a small café. Front the street view, there appeared to be no one around.

"Come, Kirin, I want you to try this place," Kim said as he waited for his driver to open the door for them. Kirin sighed, then turned and smiled at Him.

"Don't disappoint me, Mr. Park," she said. Then, without waiting for the driver, she opened the door and hopped out, taking two steps forward and shutting the door in Kim's face. Her smile had disappeared once more, replaced with a slightly solemn look as she looked to the small café.

Without waiting for him, she headed inside. She glanced about, noting that there was no one inside. No patrons or workers. At least, no employees that she could see. It was evident that people did work there since the tables were clean and the floor had been swept, there was a lovely aroma in the air from food being cooked, as well as the soft gurgling sound of a roaster roasting coffee. But aside from this, there was no one around. 'Maybe they're just using the restroom,' she thought. It was a logical conclusion given the circumstances.

She made her way to a table and sat down. A minute later, Kim came in and joined her.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

That question irked her. But then she asked herself why. Why did it bother her? Her friend was asking if she was okay, so why did his concern irritate her? 'Because you're an idiot, Kim,' was her mental response.

"Yes, Mr. Park."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm quite sure. I'm simply hungry, that's all."

"Alright, if you say so..."

Kim made a motion to Edric, and Edric walked toward the kitchen. A few minutes later, a young man came rushing out, a look of concern on his face. He apologized to them for making them wait. Kim smiled politely and told him not to worry, they hadn't been there long, so there was no reason to feel bad. After a few more apologies, the man went into work mode, becoming serious and attentive. He took their orders, bringing his skills as a waiter and host too %100.

They ate in silence once their food was brought. Kirin had ordered a simple deli sandwich with a pickle slice and green tea, while Kim had a yogurt and fruit parfait with a glass of water.

It was simple, yet enjoyable.

She kept her gaze down, but could tell that Kim was watching her. She could feel his gaze on her. She refused to look at him, though. She would look everywhere except at him.

The air around them was a little chilly. Whether it was due to her or because the café door had been left open had yet to be determined. But it was definitely cold around their table.

Kim at his parfait slowly. He had been looking forward to eating lunch with his friend. He was gonna enjoy talking to her and hanging with her. Because of work, finding time to hang out with friends was near impossible, so he always enjoyed the times he did get to see them. And considering she was his closest friend, he enjoyed his time with her the most. But from the time he told her that he would have to keep their lunch date short due to business, she had suddenly grown cold to him.

Just thinking about her actions irritated him. She knew how much he enjoy their time together, yet she was being so moody.

He suddenly stood up, startling her, and making her look at him finally.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Seeing as how you don't wish to eat lunch with me, Miss Joon-Sang, I've decided to go ahead and leave," he replied coolly. That caught her off-guard. "I just wanted to eat with my closest friend, since I rarely ever get a chance to, but she has no desire to eat with me. Therefore, rather than stay where I'm not welcome, I'll just take my leave."

That's right, she had forgotten that fact. Kim-Lee Park was an incredibly busy man. He seldom had time to go out for leisurely enjoyment, and when he did have the time, he liked spending time with his friends. Many of those instances had been with her. Why had she forgotten such a fact?

She looked down at her plate, not bothering to stop Kim from leaving. She had just been thinking of her own desires, instead of thinking of his situation. She couldn't blame him for getting irritated at her and leaving. He was her best friend, so how could she do such a thing? She felt horrible. The anger she had from earlier dissipated. It was then replaced with guilt. She stood up and started heading out, ready to leave, but stopped and quickly turned as she had remembered to go pay for her meal. "It's already been taken care of," the waiter informed her, "the man you were eating with already paid for it."

Her guilt grew when she heard these words. Even in this situation, he still was kind. She wanted to cry. She hurt her friend all because she was feeling wronged over a meal.

She walked outside.

"Miss Kirin?"

She glanced up, startled upon hearing her name being called. Before her stood Edric, Kim's assistant. "Edric?! Why are you here? Didn't you leave with Kim?"

"He instructed me to stay behind and make sure you got back to work safely, Miss Kirin."

Another punch to her gut, and yet another action to make her guilt grow.

"The car will be here shortly, Miss Kirin."

She nodded, looking at the ground. They stood there silently for a few minutes before she looked at him. "Edric, am I bad friend?"

"What do you mean, Miss Kirin?"

"Instead of thinking about Kim's situation, I got upset because he couldn't stsy for lunch. Does that make me a bad friend?"

"I wouldn't say that makes you a bad friend, Miss Kirin."

"Thanks, Edric."

"May I speak freely, Miss?"

His question concerned her, but she nodded.

"You may not be a bad friend, but I wouldn't say you're a good friend. Forgive me, but from my perspective you just use Mr. Park for your own gain. He does everything you want to do, he got you a job in his company, he pays for you whenever you guys go out, but what do you do for him? When have you offered to pay for yourself? Or to do something he wanted to do? And just today, when he said he couldn't eat lunch with you for long, what did you do? Instead of saying it's fine, maybe next time, you demanded he make it up to you."

Edric had never been one to speak so harshly, especially to her. He knew the relationship between her and Kim, but apparently that didn't mean he didn't take notice of every detail. This had surprised her. But she couldn't refute his words, they had all been true.

Once they had been picked up, she sat in silence, thinking of the events that had just occurred. Fifteen minutes later, she walked into work, still dwelling on things, and headed up to her floor. People who had seen her leave with Kim-Lee Park earlier now paid her no attention.

With a nod to her manager, Eli, she sat down at her desk and began to finish up the reports that were left.