MY lover from Daegu

Chapter 5

Three days have passed, and I haven't heard from YJ (Youngjae) since that night. I texted him and called him, but he hasn't replied. I decided to go to the convenience store. He's there, but it looks like he's extremely busy with customers. He saw me and I said that I would wait for him outside. After 30 minutes of waiting, I stood up to check if he was still busy. He's on the phone talking to someone. He was laughing and sounded like he was flirting. I went inside, grabbed a bottle of water, and went to the counter. I purposefully raised my voice and said, 

"Excuse me, can I pay?" He noticed that I sounded annoyed. He didn't hang up his phone call and told the other person on the line to hold on. He handed me my card, and I grabbed it and stormed out of the convenience store.
" What's with that? I said. Just 3 nights ago, he was so sweet, and now he barely looks at me.
" And why am I annoyed with this?

The next day, he texted me, "Are we OK? 

I replied, "You tell me."
A few more days have passed. I'm still annoyed with what happened. And he's not even calling or texting again.

I have to go to the convenience store, but I don't want to see him.
I decided to go to the one that is 7 blocks away from my apartment.
I made sure that he saw me walking past his convenience store.

On my way back, I was so tired from the walk that I didn't even notice he was waiting for me outside his convenience store. 

" What's up? 

I ignored him and walked straight past him. 

"Nessa," he called again. 

I didn't look back. I noticed he was walking right behind me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. 

" Nessa, are we OK? 

The same reply I gave him in the text. " You tell me."

" Wait, I don't get it. Are you mad at me? He asked.

" Are you playing dumb or are you clueless? I asked. A week ago, you were all so sweet, texting me and bringing me food. The next day, you didn't even bother replying to my text. I went to your workplace and waited for you so we could talk, but you were busy flirting on the phone.
(*Thinking* Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Screw him. I'm annoyed. I don't care what he thinks.)

He's still holding me by my arm, and I'm letting him. He pulled me to the side of the road, which led back to the convenience store where he works. He grabbed me by the shoulders to sit down.
"Do you need a drink? "I think you need one to cool off," he said.

" I want soju," I said

" "Are you sure?" he asked.

" Just give me the damn soju."
He handed me the soju and a shot glass.

"You're scary when you're mad, huh? He laughed. 

"This isn't mad, this is annoyed you haven't seen mad," I said. "Are you making fun of me?"

" You're so cute when annoyed."

I gulped down a quarter of soju without realizing it.

"Wait a minute, slow down." Are you that upset with me? 

I didn't answer him. I kept chugging down the soju, one shot glass after another. I just noticed that the soju bottle is almost empty and the alcohol has consumed me. I can feel my face getting hot and my body getting numb. I'm not used to drinking soju. I only have wine once in a while.

I can hear YJ talking, but I can barely understand what he's saying. Then I blurted out, 

"Youngjae, how come you never call me Noona? I'm older than you. Don't you respect me? He was surprised by my question.

" Nessa, I respect you." "

"See, you're calling me by my name again".

" Because I don't see you as Noona, I see you as Nessa. Do you get what I'm saying? He asked.

" No, not at all" I replied

" Would it be better if I called you "Babe" instead "?

I was stunned by his question. Did I understand correctly? Maybe I'm drunk and hearing things.
Aish! I said, "You're talking nonsense. Why would you call me babe? You have a girlfriend. You were flirting with her on the phone the other night. Blah, blah, blah.... non-stop talking.
He put his finger on my lips and told me to stop talking.

" I don't have a girlfriend, and I'm not flirting with anyone but you."
" Now answer my question: Can I call you babe ?"

 
I was silent for a while, trying to regroup. "What's that supposed to mean? You just don't call a friend "Babe" and mean nothing.  And I'm not in the habit of assuming things. 

"Ok, Nessa I like you. I like you a lot. Since the day I met you, I never dared to tell you that. But now I do, so don't shit on my courage right now it took me a long time to gather them. So will you answer my question? 

"Then, without hesitation, I said, "Yes.