Why can I not stop blushing…

The girls in Jin's presence struck fear in his heart from the time he had feasted his wandering eyes upon them.

There were two girls.

One of these girls was perceptibly older than the other. The older one possessed long pink hair that was supposedly dyed, long pointy ears, and nose piercings. She wore a dark purple hoodie, a black neck-choker, and grey yoga pants.

She gazed up at Jin, and said, "Heyyy…"

Jin waved when he was literally right in front of her while she sat on the bench. He then turned his head to look at the other girl who was sitting on this said bench as well.

The other girl wore exactly the same black hoodie as him!

What's more, Jin found her more attractive than the older one despite their age gaps not being too large.

She had long, black hair that reached her breasts, and greyish eyes that almost passed for white. Her facial features were eye-grabbing, and her radiating quietude seemed to appear as alluring to Jin.

He had no idea if she was trying to be coy with him—he had no idea. All he knew was that whatever she was doing; it was working on him.

She glanced at Jin, "Got a problem, guy? What are you staring at?"

Quickly Jin tossed his head away, and tinged with embarrassment, "Nothing! I just..realized that…we're wearing the same hoodie…"

Flint smiled at him, "Inexperienced with ladies much?"

He peered at Flint, "Hey, I have some experience…"

Hogwash.

Jin had no experience with ladies. The only exception that stood clear to him was none other than his very own grandmother.

Explains why he was still a die-hard Virgin.

"Actually, yeah," he put both his hands on his waists, "I have a lot of experience…"

The older girl coquettishly winked at him, "Any in bed?"

Her tone was at the pinnacle of seduction.

"Oooo," uttered Flint, a smug taking its course on his countenance.

Crimonsed, Jin quickly gawked at the ground; not looking up at her at all. He couldn't maintain eye-contact.

'Why can I not stop blushing?'

Flint then introduced the girls, "Jin—Alura, and Sylvia. Alura and Sylvia—Jin."

"Alura's the girl in the purple. Sylvia is the girl wearing the same hoodie as you…"

"Hey, Jin," Alura winked at him again.

Upon seeing this, he quickly looked away once more.

"Where do you guys wanna go?" asked Flint, looking at them.

"Anywhere other than a wet bench," responded Sylvia, standing up from her seat.

Mischievousness took Flint's face, "You girls think Jin's ready for us to show him that special place of ours…"

"Yeah, of course," opined Alura, "But it's best we get something to eat first. We have to fill up our Jin before we take him there…"

"Alright," Flint said, rubbing his hands together, "Let's go eat at a restaurant!"

***

They all sat down at the same table in a fast food restaurant. Jin was sitting next to Alura, since she had insisted she'd sit next to him. Flint was sitting next to Sylvia.

Jin decided to go with two burgers, and some French fries as his order. Alura went with the same thing. Sylvia didn't want anything to eat; she bought a smoothie. And lastly, Flint, the one who paid for everyone's orders, got himself some pizza.

Jin took a bite from his burger, "Thanks for the free food, Flint."

"No problem. I've got you, bro."

Alura gawked at Jin, "The burger's great, isn't it?"

Jin glimpsed at her, "Yeah," he looked back down at his food, "It's great…I guess…"

"The fries are just a little too salty," she grimaced, "No biggie though," she munched on a handful of fries all of which she had shoved into her mouth.

Conspicuously riled, Flint gave her a warning look, clearing his throat. He promptly seized everyone's attention. She peered at him in confusion, but then she realized just what he was silently chiding her for.

"Ohh, I'm sorry guys," she tittered, "I'm eating like a pig right now. It's just that I'm really hungry; that's all. And I'm the one who suggested coming here, remember?"

Jin looked at her, "It's okay. You should see me when I'm outright hungry. Sometimes I wonder if super eating's my Ability or something."

She smiled softly at him, "Jin?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever seen Abilities in action? I know boys love those kinds of stuff," Alura narrowed in, decreasing the space between Jin and herself.

"Yeah. Like yesterday for instance," Jin looked at her, "A pharmacist literally cloned a box of medication."

"Cool."

"Yeah," he looked down at the table again, "it's some cool stuff. All the more reason why people want to get into careers of the middle class."

She inched closer to him.

Then, he nervously gazed at her again, "Uhm…have y-you seen the Abilities in action, Alura?"

"Yeah, of course. All the time," she scoffed, "Pfft, like literally all the time."

"How come?"

She gently stroked a hand along his right shoulder, "You'll understand soon enough."

Flint added, "Yeah, Jin. You'll understand soon. When we're finished eating—we're gonna take you somewhere sick…our little block."

Jin looked at him, "Uhhh…okay…"

'A block? A block as in something related to a gang? Where could they be taking me? And how's it related to experience with Abilities? I guess I'll just have to see.'

Remotely apprehensive, Jin slowed his eating; taking his time to chew and swallow now. Because he had no idea where they were going next.

What's more, he felt like he wouldn't be able to succumb to their prodding, and would only relentlessly follow them to this 'block' of theirs.

And so, he knew he was going to go there either way.

Alura moved closer to him, acting as a catalyst for the manifestation of his rubescent, tinged face. He could not stop blushing for nothing.

Constantly, he would shoot glimpses at her, only to be even more fervent. Girls at his school always liked him, but he didn't dare to try wooing even one of them.

In truth, he was just far too shy. And regardless of how pretty they were, he couldn't stop getting sweaty palms, and a racing heart he would try so hard to slow but just never could.

"Jin, Flint told me about some tattoo below your right eye," she cooed, "Can I see it?"

Jin looked at Flint, "Why would you tell them about something as insignificant as this?"

Flint shrugged his shoulders, keeping them tense, "What? I just couldn't help it, man."

Alura peered at Jin, repeating "Can I see it, Jin?"

Jin looked directly at her, allowing her to see his whole face. Slowly, she placed a hand on his cheek, and her mouth remained partially opened even though she wasn't speaking.

Jin's face quickly reddened again like a rose in the sunset as she peered into his eyes while caressing his face. He had no idea when she was going to move her hand, and so, he grew quite uncomfortable.

Flint cleared his throat, putting a balled fist in front of his mouth, "Ahem. Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Jin looked at her, "I don't know, Flint. Alura, is he interrupting something?"

She didn't utter a single word in response. She simply continued to peer at Jin, as if she had fallen mesmerized by him.

"Alura?"

She moved her hand, "No, you're not interrupting anything, Flint."

Flint raised his brows, looking at her, "Okay," he said in a high-pitched, mock-shock tone.

"Jin, that tattoo. Where'd you get it?" asked Alura, looking at him.

Sylvia then peered at him as well, "Yeah, Jin. Tell us…"

Jin started to sweat right there and then on the spot. He swallowed the saliva in his mouth loudly, as they all awaited his answer; attentively gawking at him.

'Fuck. What should I say?'

Sylvia raised a brow, "Well?"

He started nervously rocking a foot, "I uh..I—was in a little gang with some boys from my school. They got me to do some stupid things I still regret today."

"Like that tattoo?" asked Sylvia, now sipping on her smoothie from the white straw.

"Yeah, like this tattoo. There are other things too. But I regret this one the most," he lied, "Grandma blistered my behind when she saw it…"

Flint snorted in laughter.

Alura looked over at the opposite of the table, "Flint, you should get a tattoo like this. Just make sure yours is the number '620'."

"Yeah, it'll act like you and Jin's engagement ring," drawled Sylvia.

Flint raised a middle finger at her.

Alura then looked at Jin, "Really sick tattoo, you've got there, Jin. But why go with that number?"

"I uh…"

[One of your active skills strengthens]

[+1 Exp]

[Exp: 9/15 | Level 2]

'Grandma…'

"Jin?"

"Ohh, sorry…where was I again? Ohh you asked why I decided to go with the number '619'."

"Well, I went with this number because it was my username in a game called GRIM."

Alura grimaced, "GRIM?"

"Yeah, it's a MMORPG."

Sylvia knotted her brows, "So your username was 619? Isn't that too short for a username?"

"No…uh…my username was 'Jin_619'."

Flint peered at him, "So your gang forced you into getting a tattoo with the number from your username?"

"No, they didn't. They all got tattoos as well. I just chose this as mine."

Alura nudged her shoulders, "Okay…"

It became quiet for a while. Everyone just continued eating their food given that it was getting cold and they hadn't finished it yet.

Then, Alura started gawking at Jin again. She sat there next to him, not taking her eyes off the prize.

"Alura?" he asked, peering at her.

"Jin?"

"Yeah?"

She stroked a few strands of her hair with a finger, putting some behind an ear, and she smiled.

"Alura? You were going to say something?"

"Yeah…"

"And that is?"

She put her hands on her lap, and looked him straight in the eyes. Then, she confessed. "I like you, Jin…"