Onew couldn’t believe he confessed so quickly, considering how little he really knew of her. He hit his head lightly on the side as his face scrunched, scolding himself for acting so impulsive. Bom must think he’s some ert or creep now! Bom released a small cough from and Onew redirected his attention to her again as she gently wiped with a napkin, pressing the soft tissue ever so softly against her lips like a pampered princess. After one deep breath, Bom sighed,

            “Mianhe, Onew oppa,” She stared into Onew’s confused expression, hoping she wouldn’t have to elaborate. Being the gentleman that Onew was, he scratched the side of head with his left hand and chuckled nervously,

            “No no; I should be sorry for confessing so suddenly. You can take your time to think it over before answering…” His voice was slightly pleading, and his nervous smile slowly turned into a frown when Bom began shaking her head.

            “I don’t like you that way,” Bom breathed, smiling at him apologetically. He was a great guy, and she always had a soft spot for the shy and nervous types but there was someone else holding her back.

            “Of course you don’t, we barely know each other,” Onew replied thoughtfully, trying to take the rejection less harshly, “Just give our friendship some time…” His voice nervously trailed off again.

            “Oppa,” Bom’s serious voice caught him off guard, “There’s someone else…” She didn’t want to hurt him like this but leading him on would make her feel worse.

            “Someone else?” Onew blurted out, clearly remembering that Nichkhun had encouraged him to go for Bom because she was single. She had to be lying! Was he such a bad guy that a woman had to lie like this? His pride completely deflated, but out of curiosity he asked,

            “Who is it?” If she would just give him a name, then he would believe her and let her go. Bom’s grip on her cell phone tightened as she felt the shaky vibrations, informing her of an incoming text message. Fighting the urge to distract herself she responded bluntly,

            “I like Nichkhun.” The shape of Bom’s lips as she spoke his name sent Onew back into his terrified high school days. History really does repeat itself, he thought. Nichkhun was truly a curse in his personal life. Was this a game? Nichkhun was the one that tried to set Onew up with Bom, but he was also the man who has a tight grip on her heart? Onew felt mad, but if he raged he would only scare Bom further.

            “I see. Mianhe Bom,” Onew said with dark eyes, abrupting rising from his seat and pulling his cell phone out of his back pocket pretending he received an important call.

            “Ne hyung, arasso,” Onew coughed into his phone’s speakers as if his boss needed to meet him right away. Bom bowed slightly to Onew who held the phone tight to his ear and winced as if his boss was angry. He gave her an apologetic wave and dashed out of the Korean barbeque restaurant, leaving Bom sitting alone across an empty seat where the once joyful and innocent Onew had sat. Bom folded her arms onto the table and slammed her forehead on top, hiding her face from everyone’s view. She should feel relieved that she wouldn’t be a burden to him anymore but why did her chest hurt like it did? Without raising her head, she slid her cell phone under the table and flipped open her phone, seeing the number one in brackets beside her inbox button. Opening the text message chain with Nichkhun she reread their whole conversation that night,

                Onew brought you to a Korean Barbeque Restaurant?

            -Nichkhun

 

            Yes, it’s really fancy here! I’m shocked.

            -Bom

 

            Are you having fun with him? He’s a really nice guy! ^ㅠ^

            -Nichkhun

           

            Yea, he is pretty sweet. What did you did today, oppa?

            -Bom

           

            Bom, he’s a really shy guy so be patient with him; okay?

            -Nichkhun

 

            Yeah of course! The food came! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

            -Bom

 

            Are you eating any chicken?

            -Nichkhun

 

So random… but yes, we ordered a lot of chicken! It tastes really good! I wish you could try some!

            -Bom

 

Haha, kwaenchanah. Onew must really admire you to let you eat chicken with him around!

-Nichkhun

 

Mwo? It’s just chicken, oppa! No big deal!

-Bom

 

Ah, Bom you will soon find out the significance of chicken.

-Nichkhun

 

Onew is really strange; I get the feeling that he’s going to confess or something…

-Bom

 

Really? What are you going to say if he does?

-Nichkhun

 

I… don’t know… ><

-Bom

 

Don’t be surprised if he does. He’s a really shy guy…

-Nichkhun

 

After reading the long history of text messages, Bom wanted to slap herself for not seeing all the clues that Nichkhun was giving her. It was obvious that Nichkhun wanted to set them up, which means that he has no feelings towards her in the first place. She pressed back to return her inbox and right when she did, her phone vibrated again. This time, the text message was not from Nichkhun, it was from Onew! She clicked open almost the exact instant it her phone screen updated and read the sentence over and over again.

            About the bill, don’t worry about it. It’s in my parent’s tab. Sorry about tonight.

            -Onew

            Bom finally moved her head back up and glanced at all the food left on the table. There were plates of fresh chicken just waiting to be devoured, but across from her were an empty seat and a full glass of ice water. She must have hurt him really bad for him to leave so abruptly and without packing all the chicken with him. Not bothering to reply Onew’s short text message, she shot up from the table and sprinted out the door of the restaurant only to enter a half empty parking lot covered in puddles of fresh rain water. Leaving the restaurant along with the left over expensive meat behind, she scanned the parking lot for Onew’s silver car occasionally brushing her wet bangs out of her face. The sky was a dark, murky aqua and the street lights were dim. After a thorough scan, she knew he had left long ago. The spot where he parked was vacant aside from the new droplets of rain water that quickly covered the light gray, dry cement.

            “Out of all the stupid things you could do, Park Bom, you had to go on and ignorantly break an innocent guy’s heart.” Bom said in a raspy voice, filled with spite toward herself. Holding her bangs back with her left hand she dialed for a taxi with the other. After hanging up, she felt the strength in her knees give away and she slowly tumbled onto the hard cement, scratching her left knee against a sharp rock that she had fallen on. She looked as pathetic as a homeless person, sitting in front of a restaurant drenched in rainwater but there was no energy left in her. Guilt overwhelmed her, and tears trickled down her face mixing in with the rain as she waited for the taxi to come get her. When the taxi came ten minutes after her phone call, she guessed that she caught a cold from being in the rain for too long without a jacket. Her violent coughs worried the taxi driver who drove five kilometers faster than the maximum allowed speed to get her home quicker. He was breaking a minor law, but in this weather he was certain no police cars would be around patrolling. He stopped in front of Bom’s apartment and graciously received a large tip from Bom as she jumped out from the back seat. He watched her limp towards the door, recalling the large cut on her left knee. After a deep sigh, he drove off.

            “Omo!!!” Dara screamed on the top of her lungs, reaching for a nearby broom and holding it as if it were a spear in her defense when she saw a hunches, dripping wet figure with long brown hair covering its’ face open the front door that Dara could have sworn she locked. She didn’t expect Bom to come back for another hour or so she was startled. Brushing the long hair out of her face, Bom screamed in response to seeing Dara holding a broom so close to her neck and she fell over, wincing at the pain of her scratched knee.    

            “Bom?!” Dara gasped, immediately dropping the broom and rushing to help Bom. She extended a hand to pull Bom back up and dragged her into the apartment, closing the door with a gentle kick.

            “Omo Unnie I thought you were the grudge or something!” Dara expressed her shocked emotions as she cleaned the blood from the small scratches for Bom who stared at the floor with an empty expression. Was she mad that Dara called her the grudge?

            “I’m just joking, unnie,” Dara added in case there was a misunderstanding. Something was off about Bom tonight. When Dara sprayed the disinfectant on the wound she expected Bom to squeal or shriek, or at least flinch like she usually would to the type of stinging pain that disinfectant gave but instead, she stayed motionless like a rock. After slapping a band-aid on, Dara poked Bom in the arm.

            “What’s wrong?” After all the years of Bom worrying and looking out for her like a good unnie, it felt like the time for Dara to be a good dongsaeng and return the favour. She threw a dry towel over Bom’s head, and Bom began drying off her long brown hair as she sighed.

            “I made a huge mistake, Dara. How should I fix it?”