Another Tale Of A Nine Tailed

Chapter 4: The Snail Bride

The Snail Bride happened to be a decent restaurant, serving traditional Korean food.
The cozy atmosphere helped Yi Jeong to calm down fast and he was studying the menu, curiously.

„Pick whatever you like, it's on me, today." Woo Bin said and got a gentle kick under the table.

„Hey!" he laughed and Yi Jeong smiled at him. „Stop spoiling me. I saw the shopping bags too, you got me a present, didn't you?"

„Does it help if I say I went in with the intention to get myself a new jacket but then I saw something for you I couldn't leave behind?" Woo Bin returned the smile and Yi Jeong laughed.
He wasn't really mad at him, but Woo Bin's effort showed how much he was failing in trying to hide, that he wasn't okay recently.
Woo Bin deserved to know the truth and later, he would tell him everything.

"Did you find something for you?" Yi Jeong asked to keep his mind off the topic and Woo Bin nodded.

„Do you remember that nice leather jacket I always regretted not buying, because I never found something similar?"

„Ohhh you looked so hot in that one." Yi Jeong sighed wistfully, mourning a lost opportunity.

„Well, I found something similar." Woo Bin wiggled his eyebrows and Yi Jeong's face brightened up.

„So you bought two things for me, nice." he teased and Woo Bin laughed.

„Wrong. The sweater I got you is so soft, I couldn't let go of the fabric so that's all for selfish reasons."

Their cheerful banter got distracted by the waitress, coming to take their orders.
Both decided to try the Kimchi stew with a shared bottle of wine and the woman nodded with a friendly smile. Her eyes lasted on Yi Jeong a moment too long, before she left.

Bok Hye Ja, also known as the Snail Bride, the actual owner of the restaurant, walked away and passed a table with three other well known guests, shooting them a reproachful look.

Yi Jeong frowned and whispered: „Did she look at me in a weird way? I think she looked at me in a weird way.."

„Stop being paranoid." Woo Bin whispered back, „Do you know how often people stop and stare at you because you are so handsome?" he grinned, but Yi Jeong's eyes follwed the woman.
When she passed the table, his eyes widened.
The moment he looked at the other guests, they all hid behind their menues.

„That's her! That's the woman from the park!" Yi Jeong hissed and now Woo Bin looked over there, too.

„What's wrong with them?" he asked, „Who behaves like that?"

„How about, I ask them?" Yi Jeong said with a bitter smile and was about to jump up, but Woo Bin covered his hand with his and squeezed it softly.

„Let's just enjoy dinner... please?" he looked at Yi Jeong with huge, pleading eyes, causing him to sigh and relax. „You're right.. Hey. What if they are your fans and only use me to stalk you."

„No one knows my face. And it was you she was calling by another name." Woo Bin reminded him and Yi Jeong leaned back. He was lost in thoughts for a moment, then he frowned.

„Don't you think it's a bit weird that we had that flyer in the mail and now those weird people are in the exact same weird restaurant, acting even weirder?"

Woo Bin squinted over at the other table, than he looked at Yi Jeong and nodded, his fingers playing with a napkin.
Yi Jeong used his mobile phone to type a message. For some reason, he felt like talking wasn't safe.

‚The past few days, I thought I was going crazy... I even got my brain checked for tumors today because I had no explanation. I'll tell you everything later. Let's just pretend we're not bothered by them for now.'