.  Beckoning the customers standing behind us with her hand, she asked, “Would you please decide what you want to watch and come back?”


  ‘Um, yes…’ Replying that way, I tried to step back, but that was when I heard some whispers around my ears. As soon I grasped their conversation, I blushed to the roots of my hair, wondering, ‘WHAT?’


  “Geez, that couple is causing a lot of trouble.”


  “If they feel happy no matter what they see, why don’t they just go to a café and watch each other’s faces? Why does it have to be the movies, gosh?!”


  Couple… A COUPLE??!!!

  Besides, we would feel happy no matter what we were gonna see? No, you were getting it wrong! We were just two people who had some problems with decision making…


  Blushing in embarrassment, I quickly snatched Yeo Dan oppa’s arm and got out of the queue. This reaction would, of course, make us look more like a couple; however, getting away from this place was the number one priority for now. As if he didn’t hear the whispers about us, Yeo Dan oppa just followed me quietly.

  The girls, who were standing behind us, with school uniforms on, tried to scowl at us, but once they saw Yeo Dan oppa’s face, they froze on the spot. They soon whispered again, “Isn’t that person… from Nam Gye High School…?”


  “Holy cow! Oh, my god! I saw him in the photos but never in real life.”


  ‘Anyway, Yeo Dan seems to be a famous figure in this neighborhood, for real,’ thinking that way, I barely pulled him to the corner of the movies and heaved a deep sigh. Hand fanning my nape to cool myself down, I uttered, “Yeo Dan oppa, let’s just choose ASAP. I really don’t mind watching anything.” After a moment of hesitation, I continued, “We became a couple who were causing a lot of trouble. That’s why they had whispered at us.”


  Even though I was telling him what others had said, I couldn’t stop blushing.

  “Oh…”


  I brought those words to finalize our decision as soon as possible, but Yeo Dan oppa was unresponsive while just rubbing his lips.

  ‘I mean, don’t you really care even when others treat us as a couple right now?’ Having that thought in mind, I blushed again. ‘Gosh, you’ve been making my heart sink since we were in the alley!’


  Thankfully, Yeo Dan oppa, who was lost in thought for a second, soon chose a movie. Since he picked a late, monster adventure film, I was sure that he remembered and reflected my taste on his choice, but anyway, he made a decision, at last, so I reserved our tickets immediately.

  We still had some time left until the screening, so we tried to hit the arcade beside the movies, then…


  “URGH, oppa!!! I don’t want to play any games all of a sudden. Let’s just go.”


  … I decided not to, once I found someone familiar in that direction. Yelling that way, I pulled Yeo Dan oppa’s arm. Thank god, he didn’t look that interested in playing games in the arcade. ‘Really? Okay, then,” with that nonchalant response, he turned around to return to the movies.

  ‘Whoa, I was so surprised!’ Sweeping down my pounding chest, I glanced at the arcade and wondered, ‘Why are they here!’


  The boy, who was taking up the two DDR machines and showing his fancy moves, attracted too much attention to avert my eyes from him.

  ‘Yoon Jung In, we never encountered each other in the streets until now! Why on earth are you suddenly here? Why does it have to be today, right now, at this place?!’ Shouting those words only to myself, I touched the ribbon around my blouse.

  If he got to catch me wearing this outfit and with a guy in the movies, he would definitely call me tomorrow and ask a lot of questions. Besides, he seemed to be here with Shin Suh Hyun and also a few other boys in Class 1-8.

  ‘Please… please don’t let me run into anyone I know today!’ Looking for all the gods in the world, I uttered a desperate prayer, which I didn’t make even when I had an exam. As if it worked, thankfully, none of them came to this side until the movie began. When it was time to go inside, I pulled Yeo Dan oppa to enter the space and quickly walked down to our reserved seats.

  There were some ads and previews before the actual screening. During that short break, we chatted about the poster we brought just now. Pointing at the people running away from the beast, I asked, “Are these people all gonna die?”


  Looking down in that direction, Yeo Dan oppa replied nonchalantly, “Looking at their faces, I think they will.”


  “Eh? How do you know that?”


  “They all look scared. Usually, the one who loses the peace of mind dies first.”


  “Ah, that makes sense.”


  ‘Yeo Dan oppa, you’re sharp,’ thinking that way, I nodded but soon turned my head when I suddenly felt some piercing gaze on my cheek. Since it was the weekend, there were couples beside us.

  The girl from the couple threw a glance at Yeo Dan oppa and me as if she was asking us why we were having that kind of conversation. When our eyes met, she quickly turned her head and spoke to the guy sitting beside her.

  “Oppa, how many people would get killed? I really hate it when people die.”


  “Don’t worry, it’s just a movie. Don’t take it too personally.”


  Listening to their heartwarming conversation, I realized why she had been staring at me that way. Perhaps the conversation I had with Yeo Dan oppa just now wouldn’t sound like a dialogue between a couple.

  Besides, both of us didn’t enjoy eating something during a movie, so we didn’t even have popcorn between us. That was why we looked utterly different from the sight of other couples sharing a popcorn so chummily. We would, of course, not have any plot developments taking place between us such as bumping into each other’s hands while having popcorn.

  However, I just laughed instead of feeling upset. There wasn’t such a thing as romance in my desolate life. I was just here to watch a movie with my neighbor.

  The entire space was in the darkness just in time. It seemed that the movie was about to begin. Watching the projector light flashing on the screen, I turned my head to look aside out of the blue. It was now very quiet that I couldn’t distinguish if the sound of breathing was from Yeo Dan oppa or the person beside me.

  Looking at his side face that dimly appeared through the dark, I flaunted a grin since it looked very familiar and old at the same time as if it was a face I suddenly found from a film roll.

  Turning my head back to the front, I murmured to myself, ‘This is how it feels when watching a movie alone with Yeo Dan oppa.’


  Although this time could be meaningless between us, it was such a wonderful thing to encounter a moment that I wanted to remember for a long time.

  * * *

  The movie was very interesting, although as Yeo Dan oppa predicted earlier, the Smiths, who became the leading roles of the movie, all died without any survivor…


  On our way out of the movies, he asked, “Was it good?”


  “Uh-huh, what about you?”


  “Me, too. It was nice.”


  “Everyone died, just as you said.”


  Speaking that way, I giggled. The couple earlier went past behind us. The girl from that couple sent me a gaze as if she was looking at the beast in the movie just now.

  Feeling embarrassed for a moment, I soon grumbled, ‘What do you want me to do when I didn’t feel scared at all…’ Then I realized something… that I missed the chance to grab Yeo Dan oppa’s hand, at least, once in my lifetime.

  ‘Geez, you idiot! It’s my first time to come to the movies only with him, and I could have grabbed his hand while acting scared!’ I regretted the situation with my head in my hands. Yeo Dan oppa came closer to me and asked, “What’s wrong?”


  “Uh, nothing.”


  He would, of course, immediately lend his hand to me if I asked him for doing it, but that was just meaningless.