Half Caramel, Half Onion

I could have simply lifted my gaze and seen what face that kid was making right then, but I didn't. I myself couldn't so much as move a muscle.

Perhaps in this moment, the one stripped bare through and through wasn't Kwon Hyun-jin at all, but me.

We had each even made a trip to the restroom, yet seating still hadn't begun. We stood idly in front of Theater 15, staring at posters for other movies with nothing better to do.

"How many minutes left until the movie starts?"

"Twenty-five."

He answered while glancing at the watch on his wrist.

Perfect. Just the right amount of time to buy popcorn. My nose had already been twitching at the smell wafting up from the floor below.

The only thing that could tame Kwon Hyun-jin's temper was carbohydrates. He'd definitely like caramel popcorn, right?

"Stay here for a second."

"……Where are you going?"

Kwon Hyun-jin peeled his back off the wall he'd been leaning against. Afraid he would chase after me on the spot, I bolted down the escalator.

"It'll just take a minute. Wait there."

Half caramel, half onion. Just the thought of reducing Kwon Hyun-jin to a dazed mess with that perfect sweet-and-salty combination already had me excited.

I rode back up the escalator with a cola and a bottle of water for myself in one hand and a massive tub of popcorn cradled in my arms.

Among the ordinary-sized crowd, the lone towering figure of Kwon Hyun-jin needed no searching for.

But an astonishing scene was unfolding right before my eyes. I hurriedly ducked behind a pillar.

"I've never done anything like this before, but you're completely my type…… Could I get your number?"

Someone was trying to get Kwon Hyun-jin's number. A tall woman with long straight hair. From behind, her figure in a body-hugging long dress matched him so well they looked like a couple.

I hid without thinking, hoping those two would hit it off so Kwon Hyun-jin would stop bothering me……

Strangely, I felt pretty lousy about it.

Waiting was agony, so I simply prayed the situation would end quickly.

What are you doing, Kwon Hyun-jin. Hurry up and give her your number.

I was just biting my lip endlessly when a peevish voice cut through.

"Why."

"Pardon?"

"Why the hell are you asking. For someone else's personal info."

It was a voice past snarky and straight into pure irritation. I hurriedly popped out from behind the pillar.

"Kwon Hyun-jin!"

The startled woman's gaze shifted from him to me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had a girlfriend……"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I should have clarified first that I wasn't his girlfriend, but the apology tumbled out on its own. Kwon Hyun-jin said nothing the whole time and only jerked his chin at me after the woman had gone far away.

"That was a scammer, right. Like voice phishing or something."

"Voice phishing my ass……!"

If I'd had a free hand, I would have smacked him across that broad back.

"But why do people ask for other people's phone numbers?"

"Because they like you, that's why they ask! To get in touch first—they get the number and all that."

The gaze that had been glaring after the vanished woman poured onto me in an instant.

"Do they do that to you too?"

"A few times…… well……"

It had happened when I was in plain clothes. I wanted to refuse but was scared, so I gave Chan-hee's number and ran.

"You must've been thrilled to hand it over, Lee Na-hee. I bet you were."

"Just…… eat this."

I handed him the cola and popcorn. At the same time, Kwon Hyun-jin's brow furrowed irritably.

"You went off alone just to buy this?"

"Yeah."

"Who said I'd eat this crap?"

"……"

I was speechless. In this flood of people he couldn't even manage a thank-you for bringing him popcorn……

"When did I ever tell you to go buy this stuff. Huh?"

Here we go again.

"If you were going, you should've come back quick. Why so slow."

"……"

"Seoul is fucking annoying. Too many goddamn people, fuck."

"You're seriously pissy as hell……"

"Strangers keep talking to me. I hate that kind of thing."

So while I was gone, it hadn't been just one person who'd hit on him. That was why he'd been seething like a viper.

"Suddenly disappearing and all that bullshit, Lee Na-hee."

Not wanting to hear any more, I picked out a piece of popcorn. One thoroughly coated in caramel, and I shoved it straight into Kwon Hyun-jin's mouth.

His eyes widened a little in surprise. He opened his mouth first without even knowing what he was eating?

"……"

I fed him caramel popcorn one after another, then abruptly switched to onion. Kwon Hyun-jin's eyebrows twitched.

See? And yet he takes it so meekly……

At last, with him quieted down, I led him toward Theater 15.

Defenders 2 was just as the rumors said. It was fun. Kwon Hyun-jin seemed to have no objections either; he voiced no complaints about the movie.

But the moment we left the theater, the tussle began between me, who wanted to send him back to the apartment, and him, who refused to go in.

"I'm hungry. Let's eat dinner and then go."

"Go home and eat……"

I was exhausted. And only after Driver Kim received word that the young master had returned safely home could he clock out for the day.

"Mr. Kim must be waiting, okay?"

"I don't want to eat alone."

"I'll cook for you. I'll stay with you until you finish eating."

"No. Eat outside."

What I had realized going in and out of the apartment was that Kwon Hyun-jin took after Chairman Kwon and was incredibly stubborn. I couldn't win against that kid anyway. Giving up quickly was the better way to save my energy.

"……Fine. Let's do that."

The moment I agreed, Kwon Hyun-jin grinned. Then words that seemed prepared flowed out.

"Korean, Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian. What do you want to eat."

"I feel like sushi."

This was pure spite on my part. Since he hated fish, I figured if I suggested sushi he would just go home.

But Kwon Hyun-jin, without a hint of fluster, immediately hailed a taxi and stated the destination.

Did he even know where Sinsa-dong was? This was the guy who hadn't even known there was a supermarket in his apartment's basement arcade……

"Didn't you not eat fish?"

"I do."

"Then why……"

"Too much of a hassle to pick out the bones."

Kwon Hyun-jin entered a certain Japanese restaurant as if he were familiar with it. Under the low lighting, a chef dressed in traditional Japanese attire bowed respectfully. Intimidated by the solemn atmosphere, I just rolled my eyes from behind Kwon Hyun-jin.

At best I was an ordinary high school girl who went out for tteokbokki with friends.

"Sashimi omakase for two, you reserved a private room, correct?"

I was about to say no, but Kwon Hyun-jin was faster.

"Yes."

At that calm answer I turned to him with wide eyes. My head spun the whole way to the guided room.

He'd reserved a Japanese course in advance? How did he know I'd want sushi……?

Only after we were alone, seated in the square room that faintly smelled of cypress wood, did I whisper the question.

"How do you know a place like this?"

"I've been a few times. With the person I work out with."

"A woman……?"

"Would it be a woman?"

Kwon Hyun-jin asked back gruffly and immediately pulled out his phone to show me a photo.

It was a man in a sleeveless top cut so deep it showed his nipples. His face already looked like a playboy's, but his body was even more eye-catching. The sign for "The Body Shape" only registered later. He seemed to be the trainer at the gym Kwon Hyun-jin went to.

"He's really handso— cool."

The screen abruptly went black. The cold gaze reflected in the pitch-black phone display was silently glaring at me.

Just then a gurgle came from my stomach. Since I'd given all the popcorn to Kwon Hyun-jin, all I'd eaten was one bottle of water.

Fortunately, a polite knock came from outside. The server brought chawanmushi in small ceramic dishes, one for each of us.

"Please start with the sushi."

"Then I'll bring the tsumami up slowly."