My I ➵ Seventeen - junhui

2.5

Closed. Please come back later.

I read the sign, frowning slightly. We were standing in front of a restaurant. The shutters were pulled shut so we couldn't see the inside. There was a paper stuck to the door with tape. It looked hastily written. I pointed at it. "It's closed. What are we doing here?"

"It's not closed." Dino stood besides me. "It's reserved." He pushed open the door. "For us." He looked at my expression and laughed. "You have to get used to this, Yenling." He held the door open for me. "Ladies first."

I took a small step inside. It was a Japanese sushi restaurant. A woman stood behind the counter and smiled at us. "Seventeen, isn't it?" She was rather old, with wrinkles spreading across her face.

"Granny!" Dino said cheerfully. They clearly have met before. "We come here quite often." He informed me. "Her sushis are delicious."

"Hey granny!" The other boys poured in, all nodding in greeting. They sat themselves around a large rectangular table. I found myself seated between Dino and Woozi.

The old lady placed plates of sushi on the table, and they all dug in. I have to say, it was pretty good. Another plate of food was set onto the table. Holy Jisoos. It's sashimi. I love sashimi. I reached out with my chopsticks, but it was too far for me to reach. Woozi, on my right, picked one up with his chopsticks and dropped it in my plate. "There. Eat it while it's still fresh."

"Thanks, Jihoon. You're the best."

He lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck. "No problem."

"Hyung," Dino pointed his chopsticks at the sashimi. "Woozi Hyung, can you get one for me too?"

Woozi sighed. "No, get it yourself." But he reached out and picked one with the freshest color. He leaned over me and placed it on Dino's plate.

"Thanks." He proceeded to dip it in wasabi. No, dip wasn't an accurate description. He scooped up the wasabi with the raw fish.

I stared at him. "Dino? Maybe a little too much?"

"No, I can handle." He said with an air of confidence. He stuffed the entire thing in his mouth. He chewed for a moment. And stopped. His face went red. He swallowed quickly, and gasped.

Woozi calmly handed him a cup of water.

Dino gulped it down. Breathing heavily, he slammed the paper cup on to the table.

I coughed, trying to hide my laughter.

Woozi shrugged. "He always acts confident. I got used to it."

Dino smiled sheepishly at me. I poked his forehead, laughing out loud now. "Want some more?"

"No." He cringed, and added quickly, "Not because it's too spicy, of course. It was something wrong with the sashimi."

"But I picked out the best one." Woozi pointed out.

"So much for the tough act, Lee." I snickered,

"Let's see you try to eat it then, Wang." He challenged, dipping another sushi into the wasabi and placing it on my plate.

"Ew no." I pushed it away. "I hate wasabi."

"Amateur." Dino smirked.

"And so are you." I retorted.

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We finished dinner with me and Dino bickering like old friends. The manager rounded up the boys outside the restaurant.