CHAPTER 2: Part 3: Date???

One day, Yoochun came to school with a bouquet of roses. Girls swarmed and gossiped. Much to their immense surprise, it went to Ji Eun.

"Yellow roses stand for innocent love, you know," he said. He smiled. "Please reconsider your answer." Then he walked to class. Before he stepped into the classroom, he turned around and addressed the crowd of fangirls. "Oh yeah... please stop following me into classrooms that aren't yours. It's disturbing my learning experience."

The mob was left baffled, but even more baffled was Ji Eun, with the flowers in her arms.

"Noooooooo waaaayyyyy," she thought. "No. I can't fall for a prick like that..." She put the roses on top of a random locker.

"... Could I?"

*****
Gossip spreads faster than lightning. And lightning is pretty fast. Basically, Ji Eun became the enemy of all Yoochun fangirls.

One day, Ji Eun walked out of gym class to find her clothes missing. She had to wear her gym clothes for the rest of the day.

"Ji Eun... what happened to your clothes?" Yoochun asked when he approached her desk at lunch.

"Eh," she answered as casually as she could. "They were uncomfortable."

"That's a damn lie," he swept his hair back. "Did other girls do this to you? You'll need new clothes." He paused, but before Ji Eun could even try to deny it, he spoke again. "What are you studying after lunch?"

"Eh? Just music I think..."

"Perfect!" he grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the building. Behind her, the class bell rang.

"What the hell???" she thought.

*****
Ji Eun couldn't protest. She was being pulled too fast and couldn't think. Soon they were on a bus heading towards the center of the city.

"What brand do you like?" Yoochun's voice broke the violent string of thoughts in her mind. She realized they were sitting next to each other in the back of the empty bus.

"Uh... Pardon?"

"What store do you shop at?"

"For my uniform??"

"No, no," he shook his head. "For regular clothes! You buy Smart for your uniforms, you don't need help with that."

She frowned. "Um... the Rack I guess?"

"THAT place???" His sudden outburst surprised her, and she jumped in her seat. But his voice quickly returned to his smooth and silky texture. "I guess I'll have to bring you somewhere new then. Let's get off here."

They stepped off the bus and entered a store called MILK. Except for the displayed apparel which came in a variety of colors, everything was snow white. A tall, thin woman greeted them with an angular smile.

"Yoochun honey! What brings you here on such short notice?" Her voice was strangely controlled.

"I need clothes for my friend Ji Eun. Ji Eun, this is the main designer Madeline."

Madeline's eyes swept over her like a broom. "... Nice to meet you." She turned and flicked her wrist. "I'll see what I can do."

"I'll see what I can do for your poser foreign attitude," Ji Eun thought.

A rack full of outfits matched to Ji Eun's measurements were brought to the door of a round, white dressing stall. Yoochun now sat on a white couch in front of some full length mirrors near the stall and sipped tea. He gestured towards the rack.

"Please. See any you like?"

Ji Eun flipped through the hanging outfits. "Ummm... they're all really pretty." She flipped over a price tag on a pair of pants: $237.00. Her mouth fell into an expression of surprise. She slowly turned, and then sprinted towards the door. Both Yoochun and Madeline had to restrain her and drag her back to the dressing booth. They shut her in with the clothing.

"If you don't know which one you like," Yoochun called through the door. "Then I'll have to pick for you. Try each one of them on and show me, please!"

Ji Eun sucked air in through her teeth. "What a weirdo!"

To Ji Eun, it felt as if there were hundreds of outfits to try... millions even! Skirts, sweaters, jackets, even shoes. It became like a dream to her, all these clothes. Soon her actions became automated. Suddenly, she was awakened by Yoochun shouting.

"STOP!! STOP! DON'T GO BACK IN!" He stood up and walked around her. "Wow, it's so pretty! Turn around and look at yourself!" He placed her in front of the mirrors.

She turned and looked. The style of the shirt and skirt were not too fancy from the front, but on the back, a huge red and silver star glistened over her left shoulder blade.

"Your back is really nice, Ji Eun-ah!" she heard him say. "Tons of girls can say they have nice chests, but very few have backs that look as graceful as yours."

While Ji Eun pondered his strange compliment, Madeline snipped the tags off the clothes and a small white porcelain tray with a bill was handed to Yoochun. He quickly signed it, and Ji Eun wondered if he looked at the price at all. He got up and looked at his watch, handing a bag with containing her gym clothes to Ji Eun.

"There's only half an hour of school left. Why don't we go get something to eat?"

Ji Eun awkwardly sat across from Yoochun in a coffee shop. He was casually munching a fruit tart. Ji Eun sipped some water. Eyes from other tables, from passerby, seemed to burn into her shoulder blade. Yoochun called a waiter over.

"Would you like some coffee?" he asked her.

She bit her lip. "Well... um..." a cup did sound enticing but she thought of the $237 pants. "Only if I get to pay myself."

He laughed. "Your whole outfit cost as much as my shirt, missy. I saw what tag you looked at. Alright, alright, I'll let you pay."

Although a bit annoyed, Ji Eun was relieved. She turned to the waiter. "A latte please!"

"And you, sir?"

Yoochun thought for a second. "What's your sweetest, warm caffinated drink?"

"That would be a mocha with a shot of caramel."

"I'll have that."

The waiter scribbled down the order and left. Yoochun drummed his fingers, but then stopped when he noticed Ji Eun's strange look.

"What? Oh... the coffee. Honestly, I can't stand bitter tastes. Jae Joong hyung says I drink coffee like a girl, but your order was nothing like mine, so I guess he's wrong."

Ji Eun surpressed a burst of laughter. What kind of guy was this? On the outside, so macho and showy, but so soft on the inside. What a weirdo!

After they finished, the split the bill as negotiated before, and walked to the bus stop. Yoochun made a quick call on his cell phone. In a few minutes, a sleek black car with tinted windows pulled up. Yoochun pulled the door open.

"Where do you live?"

Ji Eun took a step towards the car. "In the southern part of the city."

Yoochun pulled the door shut from the inside, startling Ji Eun. He rolled down the window.

"Ooh.. that's out of our way. Have fun on the bus!" He signalled to the driver and started to drive away.

"H... Hey! Don't leave me like this!" she called after them.

"You're smart! You can do it! I have faith in you!" He waved out of the window. "Thanks for the date!" He blew a kiss at her.

"Wha... IT WAS NOT A DATE!! HEY!!!" She ran after the car until it reached the intersection. "Nappeun sekki (Jerk except worse)!" she breathed.

*****
"Ji Eun-ah!" her mother exclaimed, carrying an eggplant as she met her at the door. "What are you doing in your gym clothes??"

With great difficulty, Ji Eun had changed in a public restroom before reaching home. She forced a smile.

"On the way to school, I tripped and fell. My uniform was totally ruined, so I just wore these for the day. I'll have to order a new one."

"Aish, Ji Eun, you're so clumsy! What a shame."

Ji Eun entered her room and closed the door behind her. She laid her new outfit on her bed and looked at it. She started to smile, and despite herself, bounced up and down and made high pitched noises. Suddenly, her bedroom door opened. Startled, she fell over.

"Oppah! Don't do that!"

Her older brother stood at her door, trying to tame his unruly hair.

"Stop making so much noise, and go down to dinner. Sheesh! The students at the University all together don't make as much noise as you."