100 — The Unveiling II

Dae Hee's POV:

A slow smile spread across his face. "How about a coffee? My treat. After your next class. As an apology."

Dae Hee's world narrowed down to his face, to the sincerity in his eyes, to the genuine apology in his voice. This was it. This was the opening she had been waiting for. The key turned in the lock.

"Okay." She heard herself say, the word barely a whisper.

"Great." Jae-il nodded, his smile widening. He took a single step closer and gently, almost feathery, squeezed her left shoulder. She tensed, a gasp jamming right in her throat. "I'll see you then." He concluded, softly.

"Hmhm...."

Dae Hee nodded, absentmindedly.

He turned and walked away, leaving her standing there, alone in the empty hallway, her heart pounding in her chest. She watched him go until he disappeared around the corner. Then her breathing turned shallow. She leaned against the cold, hard wall, her legs suddenly feeling like jelly.

Her heart was really going nuts in her chest.

A faint blush dusted her pale cheeks as she couldn't contain the smile that split her pretty face wide open. She could've laughed aloud, not just because this was a glorious victory, but mostly for the way her tummy felt, and the butterflies and that dizziness in her head, that sensation that was clouding her judgment, fogging her vision and—

"...Fuck."

This was real. This wasn't just in her imagination, in her head. Jae-il had approached her. He'd apologized, and had wanted to make things right.

What did this mean? Was this a good thing? Was it real? Was it a ruse?

It could've very well been!

As far as Dae Hee was aware, he could have seen her before, seen her looking at him, and made note of her face, or connected the dots. Yet... would he want to apologize if he thought she was nothing more than a desperate freak of nature? A nutjob? Would he ask her out to talk? No way.

"...No way, huh?" She hummed, a tiny, near maniacal giggle leaving her mouth.

Regardless, she'd put her shields up and would keep them high and wide from now on. Just until she was fully sure of his intentions. But oh, if that man was actually, maybe, kind-of into her—

Her blood pumped a little bit faster, a tiny gasp breaking past the seal of her parted lips.

She shook her head in disbelief.

In less than an hour, she would share the same space as him once more.

And this time, she would be fully prepared, mentally and physically, ready to catch any possible verbal pitfalls or subtle hints as to what his true agenda was.

Either he liked her, or didn't. Either he was honestly concerned and felt bad, or not. In the meantime, however, he did indeed seem to look sorry as hell about the whole business.

Still, Dae Hee knew, although he might seem cute and pleasant on the outside, to never underestimate the worst that a man could do. His father was the perfect example of that.

She walked back to class, a bit envious that Jae-il could simply skip and stroll out as he wanted. It was no surprise that he did, considering his circumstances. Dae Hee didn't have the privilege of escaping from the tedious parts of education. Though, perhaps she could sneak out just this once to avoid being stuck on an unnecessarily long lecture on molecular formulas in an advanced level that no one really cared about anyway, it was too tedious to listen to.

She had far more urgent things in mind to prepare for instead.

After checking herself in the toilet's mirror, she frowned, clicking her tongue. Yeah, fuck this.

She'd never win him over looking like a stereotypical librarian. She needed to take things a step further. She had to stand out. In a good, positive way, to be memorable; not as a weird, unfriendly, antisocial loner. Dae Hee, in a sudden burst of pure hooliganism, ran out of the school gates and back home. She never stopped once—a smile plastered on her face throughout—until she was face first on her bed, then leapt right into the shower like a lunatic after doing three cartwheels in a row, no joke.

Clean and warm and fresh, she strode back inside her bedroom, knowing precisely what to wear. It had to be simple yet eye-catching. Nothing too sexy or vulgar, and certainly not an 'ugly-girl-attention-seeking' kinda deal, and no way a costume. Just an outfit to bring him in for closer investigation.

She just had to be absolutely certain before engaging further, and so the clothes did exactly that.

A skirt, because her legs and thighs were her main asset in all honesty. Her flimsy white, semi see-through chiffon-made shirt that barely covered her boobs due to her unfortunate endowment in that area, tucked inside a cute brown, shiny leather skirt. Matching boot-heeled white and beige boots, which made her feet feel a bit sore as a result.

She kept the makeup rather natural, a touch of color for the eyelids and cheeks. Light and rosy. For the final touch, she wondered whether to keep her hair loose or tie it up. Eventually, she settled for a high ponytail, with a few calculated, fluffy strands framing her face on either side.

A tiny spritz of her perfume and the process was finally done.

And then she was finally out of the door, ready to face the beast with a rose clenched between her teeth.

…

Dae Hee found him right where she expected him to be. At the school's gate, sitting on a bench, waiting for her. His back was turned to her as he played with his phone. He was smiling.

It was so, so, so distracting. That stupid handsome grin. She wondered what he was laughing at and had a strong inclination that it would be some girl texting him about how he was the most gorgeous specimen in the universe.

That... pissed her off.

Alas, not now.

Her own persona had to remain stable and safe, calm and sweet, kind and innocent, above all. And then she caught her reflection in a window shop and mentally sighed to herself; she really was like a doll, her beauty somewhat childish. Yet, her expression wasn't.

"Oppa."

She said in the sweetest, cutest voice she could muster. She really sold it, considering Jae-il lifted his eyes from the screen, instantly becoming aware of her presence.

"Hey... there." He smiled at her, though the smile kind of froze when he fully took her in. Drank everything of her, top to bottom, from the high heels boots and her smooth, pretty thighs, all the way up to her midriff. "Wait, weren't you supposed to be in class?"

Dae Hee flushed, his words somehow snapping her awake from her inner thoughts. "Yeah. I asked the teacher and skipped, there was something I needed to take care of. But I still managed to take notes, don't worry, Oppa."

He smirked, somewhat mischievously. "You look amazing, Dae Hee."

The blush on her cheeks spread all the way down to her neck. "R-really? T-thanks." She coughed, extending a slender, pale hand to softly pinch his arm. "You look good too." She said with the kindest smile she could produce. Though, at this point, she didn't know if she should, perhaps, let her mask down a little. It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed something was wrong, to begin with.

It wouldn't hurt to test the waters with Jae-il. This would be a good opportunity.

"Anyway... shall we go, then?" He stood up, his movement graceful.

"Hmhm." She nodded, her ponytail swishing from side to side.

He smiled—more like a grin—and Dae Hee felt her hands clam up with sweat.

They took the route leading to downtown.

She looked at him, trying to form words. Words like 'so, tell me about yourself.'

Except... the words didn't come. They hung there, lodged in the back of her throat, impossible to dislodge. She swallowed and kept her gaze straight ahead. She bit her lip nervously, eyes darting left and right for anything that'd work as a catalyst for a conversation. 'Oh, look, that drunkard is throwing up next to the lamppost.' Maybe she should remark upon such?

Wouldn't probably make a good conversation starter.

"Oh, look, that drunkard is throwing up next to the lamppost." Except that Jae-il broke the ice first, commenting casually, an amused lilt to his tone. "How very symbolic, really."

"Heh." Dae Hee snorted lightly. Then giggled. And felt the weight of all that tension lift from her shoulders. It was such a ridiculous thing to point out. Even more ridiculous, and doubly disgusting, was the fact that Dae Hee herself was feeling like a little girl crushing hard on her idol, right at that moment.

Look at her, all of her confidence stripped bare by his words. And her dignity along with it.

Barely even able to think and talk. Seriously, what happened to the revenge-driven girl that swore she'd destroy the very same young man walking ahead of her?

But her legs functioned, at least.

Because, back then, when he briefly touched her shoulders, she really fucking felt more than butterflies in her belly. But, instead, tiny explosions all the way across her body. She also became so hot and red in the face it could've very well passed for a case of intense, untreatable, highly contagious scarlet fever.

As they walked, Dae Hee suddenly stopped and tugged at Jae-il's sleeve.

"Hm?" He turned towards her, his head tilted.

She pointed at a café, nestled between two other shops.

"Let's go there." She declared, forcing herself to stop looking so hesitant, to sound a tad more firm.

Jae-il shot a curious look at the direction she was pointing at.

"There?"

Dae Hee smiled brightly.

"I've heard that they make one mean strawberry cake."

Jae-il arched a perfectly quirked brow at her. "Well, since you've suggested, and if you really insist, then..." He shrugged and smiled, motioning with his head to get going.

Dae Hee beamed.

Then practically dragged him inside the café.

The smell of freshly roasted coffee and hot pastries greeted them. The café was small and cozy, and the staff greeted them as they passed by.

Once they sat down next to the window and took their orders, she looked at him, only to realize he'd been staring at her the whole time. He wasn't blinking, or at least hadn't seen him do so. His chin was being held up by one hand and she felt her skin heat under his scrutiny. "H-have something to say, Oppa? Stop staring already, or you'll make me anxious. " She grinned nervously.

His eyes quirked in amusement, as did his lips. "Sorry, Dae Hee. Can't blame a young man for stealing a few glances, now, can you?"

She blinked, hiding her face behind the menu. "Rude..."

"Rude? I didn't know that only you could stare at me, and for such a long period of time, yet, whenever I do it back, suddenly you can't handle it."

A high pitched sound came out of Dae Hee's closed mouth the moment she heard him snarkily tell her all of the above. "I didn't!" She raised her gaze from the menu and set a scalding look on his person, flushing as she saw a knowing smirk spread wide over his face. "Urgh..." Dae Hee sighed in defeat.

"For some reason, the last time we met... you were... so different, if that makes sense." Jae-il confessed with a faraway look, remembering her earlier timid personality and the crazy change in character. He tried to meet her eyes but she kept turning away.

"......"

He continued idly, not looking at her anymore, but outside the window. "It was as if we were interacting with entirely two different people."

"......"

So he was bringing it up. Interesting.

It was almost as if he wanted to dissect and understand the two separate natures that made up Dae Hee. What did it all mean for him? Was he afraid she could switch personas—go from cute, to insane, to cold in mere instants? Did he want to know which one was the real her?

How could she blame him, then? It was completely and utterly understandable why he'd find her current behavior very out of the blue, compared to their first meeting.

"Do you really want to know, Oppa?" She said in such a low, conspiratorial whisper, that his eyes finally snapped back on her.

She still held the menu aloft, high enough to hide everything but her forehead and eyes.

He smiled. A carefree curve of his lips.

"Lay it all on me, Dae Hee."