Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The rest of the dinner went well as far as Songmin was concerned. She backed out of her space-related conversation with Chenle and Jisung as the meat and vegetables for the hot pot began arriving and instead focused on helping Eunhye and Mark pick foods to put into the hot pot, enduring teasing comments from Eunhye about her refusal to have anything to do with the spicy side of the hot pot.
People began to eat and the small side conversations merged into one large group conversation. Songmin just listened while the rest of the group talked about things such as their university classes, hobbies, and local news. She enjoyed watching the way different people acted.
There was something interesting to notice about everyone. The way Eunhye's paid heed to every little thing Mark said, how her smile widened and her cheeks were dusted with a barely noticeable dust of pink when he addressed her directly, and, more importantly, how Mark gave her the same type of attention when she spoke to him.
How Jaemin preferred to just observe and was more soft spoken in a large group setting but how every time he had something to say, Jeno would notice and make an appropriate segue for Jaemin to enter the conversation.
How Donghyuck loved throwing in little annoying and teasing comments at times to relieve tension but also paid really good attention to anyone who was speaking, maintaining eye contact with whoever was speaking.
How Chenle and Renjun would make offhand comments to each other in Chinese. Chenle had a good sense of humor, and Renjun gave him a little slap on the arm every time he cracked a mediocre joke.
How Jisung was quiet but somehow also spoke so much, occasionally backing off to note down something someone had said on his phone.
Eunhye tried a few times to get Songmin to speak up by asking her some questions, but each time Songmin simply provided a simple answer and passed the question on to someone else. After her third failed attempt, Eunhye understood that Songmin was comfortable just listening and didn't try again.
After everyone had eaten and fought over the check—Eunhye, as Songmin had expected, emerged victorious, successfully stealing the little check tray and walking it over to the cashier at the front of the restaurant to pay—the group decided to walk around the mall together for a bit, as by now the dinner rush had mostly passed and it was easier to navigate the shopping complex without getting lost within hordes of people.
While the group walked, Songmin turned to look behind her and saw Renjun walking alone a little behind the group, looking at something on his phone. Now's your chance, get it over with.
Slowing her pace, Songmin fell into step with Renjun, digging out her wallet before giving his sleeve a little tug to catch his attention.
He looked up from his phone, looking somewhat surprised to see her walking beside him. Songmin resisted the urge to wipe off the little bit of yellow paint she'd just noticed that was on his nose bridge. "What's up?"
