.  As the noise grew louder, Ban Yeo Ryung and Ban Yeo Dan, who was sitting within the room, also opened the sliding door and peeked outside.

  When Ban Yeo Ryung saw Yi Ruda’s golden hair, she let out a scream.

  “You!”


  “What’s wrong? Do you guys know each other?”


  My dad pulled out his neck to ask abruptly; however, Ban Yeo Ryung’s thoughts captivated her sanity so much that she hardly heard what my dad said.

  She murmured to herself while staring at Yi Ruda with a half fearful, half angry pale face.

  “… Who flirted to Donnie t…… today…”


  “…”


  Unfortunately, her voice resonated around the back-to-silence space so loudly that not only my dad and Ian but also Ban Yeo Dan could hear her monologue.

  Soon they all stared at me with their eyes pleading for an explanation. As I got their attention suddenly, I felt my back moistening from my sweat.

  What do you want me to do? While I had that thought in my mind, my dad laughed broadly out of the blue then grabbed Ian’s hand with a strong handshake. He then said in a roar.

  “Oh, then you’re my future son-in-law’s father! Come, join us for a drink.”


  My dad opened the sliding door without hesitation and let Yi Ruda, who was dazed by the sudden hospitality, enter our family room. Yi Ruda then stood awkwardly between Ban Yeo Ryung and Ban Yeo Dan while blinking her blue eyes.

  While these were all happening, Ban Yeo Ryung’s dad took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and politely asked Yi Ruda’s father, Ian.

  “Excuse me, do you smoke?”


  Mr. Ian, who was blinking his blue eyes like Yi Ruda, soon replied.

  “Yes, I do.”


  “Great. Please have one.”


  Ban Yeo Ryung’s dad soon pulled out a cigarette from his pack which was surprisingly the last one he had left inside. He then crumpled the empty pack with a lighthearted gesture and threw it inside a trash can.

  Just then, my dad tapped Mr. Ian’s shoulder and whispered.

  “Wow, you got the VIP treatment.”


  “Excuse me?”


  “You know, the last cigarette left inside the pack? In Korea, we call it a ‘doddae.’ What was it in English?”


  “Mast.”


  It was Ban Yeo Ryung’s dad who replied in fluent English. “Right,” my dad mumbled and looked back at Mr. Ian. He then said with a smile.

  “In Korea, we say, ‘one does not even offer doddae to their fathers.’ He gave the thing that he wouldn’t even offer to his father though, so isn’t he treating you like a VIP?”


  “Oh, is that so?”


  Surprisingly, Mr. Ian seemed to understand all the Korean words my dad spoke in a heavy dialect. As proof, he looked at Ban Yeo Ryung’s dad with thankful eyes.

  Ban Yeo Ryung’s dad waved his hands as if to say it was not a big deal.

  Then he said, “Donnie is my daughter, too. You are her father-in-law, so I should at least offer a doddae, of course.”


  “Haha!”


  The three men had cigarettes in their mouths and went down the stairs with their arms around each other’s shoulders. It would be difficult for them to go down the narrow stairs together. I stared at them with that thought in my mind. As they finally disappeared from my sight, I turned my head back.

  In the meantime, there were Ban Yeo Dan, Ban Yeo Ryung, and Yi Ruda who were sitting beside me. Ban Yeo Dan soon took out his vibrating phone from his pocket. He then had a puzzled look on his face as he stared at us.

  He said, “Mom is out of work now. Her car is right in front of this shop, so she asks us to come downstairs.”


  “Oh, you have to participate in the mandatory self-study program after school tomorrow, right? You shouldn’t feel tired, so you should go to bed earlier tonight.”


  Yeo Ryung spoke to him in surprise. Gosh, a mandatory self-study program after school? Thinking about it made me frown. Yeo Dan oppa’s school was a prestigious boys’ high school, renowned in the neighborhood, where the after-school self-study program was mandatory for sophomores and seniors.

  When Yeo Ryung looked up at him with a concerned expression on her face, he giggled and patted her head. He then had his eyes on me and frowned as if it annoyed him to encounter something beyond his capabilities.

  “Mom is asking if you and Donnie are going with me or if both of you were coming together with our dads later…”


  He mumbled the end of his words as soon as he saw Yi Ruda. I fetched a quiet sigh after grasping what he was trying to say.

  If Yeo Ryung and I were here, what we would encounter later would be drunk men’s conversations, so normally, we would just follow Yeo Dan oppa.

  However, we had Yi Ruda here with us. If we leave her alone in this big restaurant, what would she feel?

  After deliberating what to do, I spoke at last.

  “Um, I… will go later. Oppa and Yeo Ryung should leave now. I’ll go when my dad returns…”


  “No!”


  It was Yeo Ryung who screamed out loud. Her sudden shriek was so loud that it almost made me hiccup. Yi Ruda also trembled after hearing her. Her blue eyes opened widely, looking at Yeo Ryung.

  Yeo Ryung continued her words staring at my eyes.

  “H… how can I leave you two here?!”


  “Oh, the flirt…”


  Only then did Yeo Dan oppa realize Yeo Ryung’s troubling remarks. However, I still thought Yeo Dan oppa was too caring of her sister that he wouldn’t leave her in an awkward position with an unfamiliar boy inside a restaurant at night.

  If Ban Yeo Ryung and Yi Ruda were together in the same spot, nothing dangerous would happen. I stared at Yeo Dan oppa with desperate eyes full of hope. He, however, fell short of my expectations surprisingly.

  Yeo Dan oppa was hesitant for a while but tapped Yeo Ryung’s shoulder as if he had decided. He then said with a low voice that sounded like a request.

  “Then see you later at home.”


  “Okay, oppa!”


  “Yeah, Donnie. See you later.”


  Ban Yeo Dan then came closer to me, who was standing absent-mindedly and tapped my head a few times. He went down the hallway, put his shoes on, and shoved his hands into his pocket. Then he turned back to glance at us and nodded his head before descending through the stairs.

  I watched his back disappearing from my sight in vain. Then, when I turned my head to look at my side, Ban Yeo Ryung and Yi Ruda were standing there, ready to fight.

  Ban Yeo Ryung was staring at Ruda with her pitch-dark and fiery eyes, whereas Yi Ruda was exhibiting a fuming glared directed on Yeo Ryung. They were both ready to attack each other.

  I quickly snatched their arms and said to them, “Should we ask o… our fathers when they are leaving?”


  That was how this situation occurred. I looked up to see the red stone steps with dim eyes.

  My dad, Yeo Ryung’s dad, and Mr. Ian stood side by side in front of the restaurant, chain-smoking for already half an hour. They were having great chemistry; as I looked around with that thought in mind, there I saw Ban Yeo Ryung emitting a huge hostility toward Yi Ruda. She had my hand in hers as if she would let no one take it away from her.

  Come on, I mean, why? When I was about to ask Ban Yeo Ryung, Yi Ruda, who was next to me, lurched herself out of the blue. What was she doing? As I stretched out my hand to hold her shoulder in wonder, Ruda smiled.

  “Oh, Donnie, thanks.”


  “Hey, what the hell are you doing after school?”


  Ban Yeo Ryung’s roar resounded through the streets.

  Gosh, Ban Yeo Ryung! As I put my index finger on my lips in fright, her thoughts then seemed to run off on their own. Since the KTX train passed the area, many busy crowds who were walking by threw their glances at us. There were many foreigners among them.

  The reason they were looking at us was, of course, not because of the noise we made. In fact, Ban Yeo Ryung and Yi Ruda were those who drew attention just by existing.

  Anyway, what should I do? If I left them like this, they would truly have a big fight. I, at last, took a step forward after deciding. Ban Yeo Ryung and Yi Ruda were looking at me in wonder at the same time.