Kailey's POV
I'm staring at my phone for about 5 minutes, thinking if I should answer Jin's call or not. Damn! Why am I getting nervous just because he's calling me?!
"Sis, are you not planning to answer your phone? It's been ringing for a while now." I looked at my sister, who's busy fixing her hair in front of my mirror, then glanced back at my phone, still ringing non-stop. Claine has been in my room for about an hour now for an unknown reason. Maybe she just wants to hang out or something like that.
"I don't know? Should I answer it?" Damn! Why did I ask her that question when I don't even know the answer myself?!
"I don't know? Why are you asking me? Who is it anyway?" She picks up my phone from the table. "Oh, it's Jin! Why don't you answer it? It might be important," she says, placing my phone back on the table.
I stare at it for another three minutes, debating whether I should really answer it or not... Sigh What am I even doing?! What if it really is important and he needs help?!
"Fine, damn it! I'll answer it!" I pick up my phone and am about to answer the call, but he cancels it before I can. Damn it! I should've answered earlier! Sigh Why am I always fighting with myself?! I should really see a psychiatrist soon.
Just as I was about to put my phone back on the table, I received a message from him. I quickly opened it and read his message. The moment I finished reading, I felt my cheeks burn, and my hands trembled with nervousness!
From Jin:
Are you available today? Would you like to come with me to the mall?
I-I-Is h-he asking m-me o-out on a d-da-date?! Damn!! My cheeks are burning, and my heart is beating faster than ever, like I just finished a hundred-meter dash! It's confirmed... I have a crush on that guy...
I was still in the middle of blushing when Claine said something that immediately ruined the mood.
"Sis, did you get Jin's text too? He's asking us to go to the mall." So he texted everyone the same thing, huh? FUCK YOU, JIN!!!! Damn it! I got my hopes up for nothing! Damn that bastard! I just nod at Claine as an answer. "Do you want to go? I'm feeling lazy, and Sis Briana is busy studying, while Ryu and the others are taking their license exams," she asks again.
I have nothing else to do anyway, but I'm still pissed as hell! I know it's my fault for getting my hopes up, but still! Fuck it!
"You should go with Jin, Sis. You're just wasting time here at home anyway, so you might as well go to the mall." I just give her a bored look in response to her statement. My sister really has a foul mouth, huh? But she has a point, though.
"You know what, Claine? Even though you're dumb, sometimes you actually say something that makes sense." I pick out some nice clothes from my wardrobe.
"You're so rude, Sis! I gave you a good suggestion! Hmph!" she whines, then helps me choose what to wear. "I like this one, Sis. It suits you. You should wear this." She holds up a red and black checkered dress. It looks nice! I guess I'll trust her this time. She's more into fashion than I am.
"Yeah, sure, I'll leave it up to you," I say before heading into the shower room inside my room.
While taking a shower, I can't help but smile and imagine what will happen during our date later—wait... It's not a date! He just asked for company, that's all! But if it's just the two of us, I can consider that a date, right? But we're not dating, so it doesn't count! Sigh Why am I fighting with myself again? I should consider seeing a Psychiatrist.
I glance at my reflection in the mirror hanging in my shower room, and it's so creepy, I swear... I step closer and examine myself properly before letting out a deep sigh. Why am I smiling like this? It's not like we're going on a date. We're just going to the mall together, right?
"What am I even saying?" I mumble to myself, quickly finishing my shower so I can leave already.
After my shower, I wrap a towel around myself and step out of the bathroom.
"You know what, Sis? I'm just curious. How do you have such a nice body even though you don't diet or exercise?" Claine says. Her words make me self-conscious, so I immediately look down at myself. My body is just normal, though.
"You know what,Claine? Why don't you just go to the gym? Your boyfriend goes to the gym, right? Why don't you go with him and fix your own figure?" I say while putting on the clothes she chose for me.
"I always go to the gym, Sis, but I still can't achieve a body like yours! Sigh Life is so unfair," she whines, rolling all over my bed like a little kid.
"Yep, and it always will be. I'll be back at seven." I say before leaving her alone in my room.
As I leave the house, I'm debating whether to drive or commute. I guess I'll commute this time—it's been ages since I last did that.
After a few minutes of travel, I arrive at the mall and try to find Jin. I already texted him that I'm here. I decide to check the parking lot, thinking he might be there, and send him another text. Just as I expected, I spot him—along with another guy. As I get closer, I realize who it is.
"Hi, Jin," I greet him before my eyes widen in shock. "Ken?! What the heck are you doing here?!"
Jin quickly explains that Ken isn't here to fight; they just happened to run into each other. Since it's Jin saying this, I believe him. But before we can continue talking, a group of random guys suddenly surrounds and attacks us. We have no choice but to fight back. After exchanging punches and kicks, we finally manage to beat them. Jin asks if we recognize them, but Ken and I both shake our heads. With that, Jin excuses us from Ken, grabs my hand, and leads me into the mall.
"What do you want to do, Kai?" he asks.
"I guess let's eat first. I haven't had lunch yet," I reply. He smiles at me and takes me to a nearby Japanese restaurant, finding us a seat.
"May I take your order, sir?" one of the waiters asks.
"I'll have chicken karaage and beef gyudon. How about you, Kai?" Jin asks.
Hmmm... What should I order? I don't often eat at Japanese restaurants, so my knowledge of the menu is pretty limited.
"I guess I'll just have spicy tempura and tonkatsu ramen."
"Right away, ma'am, sir," the waiter says before walking away.
"You know, Kai? This is my first date! Just sharing," Jin suddenly says while laughing a bit.
Ohhhh, so this is his first date! Wait—what? Did he just say date?! He considers this a date?! Man... I can feel my cheeks burning again!
"Y-yeah, hahaha... This is my first too, but this isn't a date anyway," I say, trying to hide my blushing face. This is so humiliating!
"Huh? This is a date, hahahaha! We're here together, sitting and eating, so it's a date! Well based on my dictionary, that is." Jin teases.
Jin... Please stop that! You're making me blush even more, you bastard!!! Okay, Kailey, try to act normal... Don't let him get to you... Just stay calm...
"Uhhh... Technically speaking, we're not dating, so this isn't a date," I argue weakly, hoping he'll drop it.
"Logically speaking, Kai, this is still a date. End of conversation."
You know what? I give up. I can't win against this guy! If I say anything else, I might end up confessing to him or doing something embarrassing!
I just wait for our food to arrive so I can eat in peace. Once it does, I focus on eating quietly while the super handsome guy in front of me keeps talking non-stop! I just answer with nods, yeses, or whatever minimal response I can manage.
After we finish eating, we decide to go to the arcade for some fun. Jin is ridiculously good at this—I haven't won a single round in our eight games of Tekken! He's seriously destroying me!
We stay in the arcade for almost three hours until he decides we should go shopping. Honestly, I'm not the type who enjoys shopping. When I come to the mall, all I want to do is eat, eat, and eat some more. Oh, did I mention eat? Yeah, that's right, I just ate the entire time.
"Kai, let's go there! You might find something you like," he says, pointing at a boutique. Before I can protest, he grabs my hand and pulls me inside.
He's been looking at hats for almost 15 minutes now! How can it take so long to choose a freaking hat?! If it were me, I'd just pick the first one I grabbed. Maybe that's why Claine always says I have no sense of fashion.
"Come here, Kai. Check this out; see if it suits you," he says, motioning me over. He places a summer hat on my head, and to my surprise, I actually like it. He has a better fashion sense than me, I'll admit that much.
"It looks good on you, Kai. You look prettier," he says with a smile, making my cheeks burn and my heart race. Damn you, Jin! Don't say things like that!
"Fine, I'll take it. But I'm taking it because I like it! It's not like I'm getting it because you said it suits me or anything!" I exclaim, quickly covering my face with the hat to hide my embarrassment. Damn! I sound like a total tsundere straight out of a romance anime!
"Yeah, yeah, if you say so. But this one's on me, hahahaha! My treat for the trouble," he says before grabbing my hand and leading me to another stall.
My heart is pounding so fast it feels like it's going to explode just from holding his hand! I feel so uneasy... But I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it.
"Here, Kai. Let's see what shoes will suit you—oh! Your face is so red! Hahahaha, you're so cute!" he teases again, ruffling my hair.
Someone... Please kill me now... I can't take this anymore!!!
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Jin's pov
I'm really enjoying this date with Kai—even though she insists it's not a date since we're not together, but for me, it still is. Why? Because she's fun to be with! No matter where I take her, she never complains. Hahahaha!
Right now, we're at a shoe store because I feel like buying her a pair. The shoes here aren't too expensive, and the summer hat I got her earlier was only 500 pesos. I could just use my credit card, right?
As I scan the shelves, I spot a pair of white sneakers that I think would suit Kai perfectly. Without hesitation, I grab them.
"Kai, come on, try these on," I say, leading her to a seat so she can put them on.
"Wait, I can put them on myself," she protests, but I ignore her and kneel down to help her wear them anyway.
"Nah, I insist," I reply, and before she can argue further, I slip the sneakers onto her feet. And wow! They look amazing on her! Kai is already really fair-skinned, and these white sneakers just complement her look so well. Plus, they match her outfit today. Perfect fit! I'm the man!
After buying a few more things, we decide to have dinner at a restaurant. Kai insists on paying this time since I always do, but I can't let that happen. I mean, I'm the guy here—it just doesn't feel right! So yeah, I paid again.
Once we finish eating, we decide to head home since it's already 7:15 PM. She commuted here earlier, so I insist on taking her home. At first, she refuses, saying she doesn't want to bother me, but she eventually agrees since it's late and not safe to travel alone at night.
The whole ride, we just talk about random things. I swear, I had so much fun today—this has got to be one of the best days ever!
When we arrive at her house, Claine is the first to greet us. She even invites me to stay for a while, but I politely decline. It's getting late, and my sister is probably looking for me already. If I go home any later, she'll definitely scold me again.
As I drive back, I can't help but smile while recalling everything that happened today! This is definitely one of the best days of my life.
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Kailey's pov
"What happened on your date, Sis? Come on, tell me everything!" Claine exclaims, her excitement bubbling over as she clings to my arm. I can't help but smile at her enthusiasm.
One of the best days of my life—if I had to sum it up, that's how I'd describe it. That so-called date—though I keep insisting it wasn't one since we're not even together, but he refused to listen and called it a date anyway—was amazing. I had so much fun.
I find myself smiling again, just recalling how happy Jin looked today, the way his smile never seemed to fade. It was heartwarming.
"Come inside, Claine. I'll tell you everything," I say with a soft laugh as I step into the house.
My heart still races as I replay the day's events in my mind. No matter how much I try to suppress it, I can't deny it anymore—I really like him. But I didn't expect my feelings for him to be this deep. This is new. This is unfamiliar.
I let out a deep breath and clutch the small pendant hanging around my neck. A delicate heart-shaped charm that he bought for me today. It wasn't anything extravagant, but the moment he placed it around my neck, I knew it would become something special—something I'd treasure.
Jin... I wonder, will you ever notice my feelings for you? Will there ever come a day when I can tell you how I truly feel?
But for now, all I can do is keep it to myself, secretly cherishing every moment we spend together, silently loving you from a distance.