Miss Imperfect // L.M.H (#24)

5

SooNa

I arrived at a restaurant and looked up at the signboard confirming if I'm at the right place, it is the right place that he has told me to go to. A few hours ago, he asked me if I wanted to have lunch together with him. I said yes and I'm here now debating if I want to go in or not. There are lots of reasons why firstly he isn't my boyfriend. He is just my neighbor that I have only met less than 24 hours ago, before that I can swear that we have never met nor talked to each other before.

Secondly, I have a boyfriend that I have been dating for almost a year now and I have never really gone on any dates with him and I am going for lunch with this guy that I barely knew when I should be doing with my boyfriend instead.

My hand lingered on the handle of the door not knowing what to do and I felt a tug at the door, the door opened and a face appeared behind it. It was him, he knew that I was outside. "Why aren't you coming in?" He asked me and I looked down, blushing a little. Why did I even do that for him to know that I was there?

"I had a phone call to make." I lied. Please, your phone isn't even ringing...

"Oh, really? Then go take your call, I will wait for you inside. What would you like to drink?"

"Just plain water would do. Thanks." I pretended to hold up my phone, walking away to an alley where I would squat down and literally scream for a few minutes and people would judge me and put it on social media. After all that screaming, I would then return back to where I have to go to with a nonchalant facial expression as if nothing happened.

I entered the restaurant and immediately spotted him waiting for me at the table looking at his phone looking fine as hell, I sat down next to me and he took his eyes off the phone looking at me intently. "Your phone call was sure long." He commented. "The ice has already melted."

"Oh, is it? It's okay." I got the menu from him. "Sorry for making you wait for me for so long."

He let out a laugh. "It's okay, I'm a freelancer, I don't work all the time." He took a sip of his water and I literally stare at his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallows the water. How sexy is that even... I barely managed to finish ordering what I wanted to have with the image of him drinking water, why does he have to drink his drink in that way that he makes me stare at him for so long?

I thanked the waiter and turned my attention back to him. "I thought that you worked in a company with all the other artists, like in a team."

"I don't like to work with people, I liked working with myself. It is the best so that no one betrays you in the middle of it." He replied.

I should apologize or things would be so awkward. "Oh, sorry for making you recall the past."

"It is not like I am the one that has experienced betrayal, everyone does and they move on with life, don't they?"

I have to lift up the atmosphere. "Of course, they do. So what kinds of paintings do you normally do?"

"It depends on my theme and then I sell them to auctions, that's what I do usually." He explained. "Sometimes I just paint for fun, it is a hobby and a job at the same time." I just nodded as I totally have no experience of drawing or even painting, I know how auctions work but I don't get the point of it. My mother buys renowned paintings every year and I would just look at it not getting point of buying such expensive paintings when you can get these paintings at a discounted price online or at some cheap place where paintings are like half the price of what you get at auctions.

"How much are they even worth each time?" He raised an eyebrow and I quickly tried to explain myself. "I mean I'm just curious, I have never known anyone who is in the creative field before."

He placed his lips in a thin line. "Well, most paintings start at 1,000,000 won per painting and can go up to 500,000 won. I don't earn much though as I normally donate to welfare organizations every time I made money from these auctions."

I took another sip of my water which is almost empty. "So you're the charitable type, huh? You don't seem like that kind of a person."

"I don't, I just don't want to be seen as rich with all the money that I earned, I loved what I have now. You?"

"Me?" I pointed to myself wondering why. "What about me?"

"What kind of a person are you, Miss Gong?" I'm someone with a boyfriend and I shouldn't mess around with you, I already been taken by someone else and I'm here breaking that promise and having a date with someone that I have not met until 24 hours ago. Please tell him that so that you would feel so much better...

"MinHyuk ssi, you know that? There is something that I haven't told you yet but I should tell you about that."

"I'm listening."

"I know the purpose of this lunch that you are having with me, you are interested in me." He remained silent but I knew that he was surprised, he isn't sitting so relaxed in his seat anymore, he is being a little tense right now.

"I'm taken, Lee MinHyuk ssi. I have a boyfriend and we are just neighbors, we shouldn't cross that line, shouldn't we?" I might be hurting two people at the same time if I continue to go with my heart.