"Jeong-Ho, when dining out with a lady you should be careful of your manners. For example, you should have paid more attention and pulled the chair for Miss Park. Haven't I already taught you that?" Do-Young chided his friend.
Despite his words sounding scolding, his tone had a certain layer of soft helplessness. No one could have suspected that he was actually very serious.
The two young women paused in their movements. They glanced at each other, seemingly thinking of the same thing.
What is going on with these two? One moment they appear as close as brothers, and the next Do-Yeong transforms into a stern chief who reprimands his subordinate.
Su-Jin was wondering if she should say something or leave it be. After all, she didn't know just how close the two actually were, so her interference might end up making things even more awkward for everyone.
The next exchange, finally provided some kind of answer to these previous concerns. Hence, Su-Jin was spared from having to say anything for the moment.
"I'm sorry, senior Gu." Jeong-Ho ducked his head.
"Senior Gu?! Who is that?" the other man exclaimed with a laugh. "Upon my word, Jeong-Ho, it's been ages since you called me that. Don't you normally use Brother Do-Yeong or even Yeong to address me? Why on earth did you bring out that archaic form of address now?"
"I..."
Jeong-Ho hesitated, biting his lower lip. His face flushed and he lowered his head even more to hide his embarrassment.
"I didn't think it was proper for me to call you like that today." Jeong-Ho finally said after a short while.
"And why do you think that?" Do-Yeong eyed the other man strangely. His lips curved into a smile that wasn't really a smile. "I may have been your senior in high school and college, but wasn't that a long time ago?"
"Just three years." Jeong-Ho muttered softly. Then, realizing the conversation wasn't going in the right direction, he looked up and added in a louder voice. "It's only been three years since we've graduated, so I still have moments like these when I feel like calling you Senior."
Jeong-Ho raised a hand to rub the back of his neck and let out a nervous laugh.
Sensing the man's distress, Su-Jin began to feel uncomfortable. This was somehow related to her as well, so she finally decided to intervene.
"Isn't it nice to be called Senior?" she grinned, shooting Mi-Suk a pointed look. "I bet Mi-Suk here wouldn't let me hear the end of it if she was older than me."
"Oh, you bet!" Mi-Suk followed along and laughed. "It's really too bad that you're one month older than me, otherwise you would be calling me Older Sister every day."
Thus, with the help of the two young women's intervention, Jeong-Ho was absolved from having to speak. Do-Yeong also dropped the subject and focused on his partner. Though, there was still a hint of disappointment lingering in his gaze.
Both the view and the atmosphere were enchanting, so the couples quickly fell into a conversation about the place. From the location, to the service, there wasn't anything that escaped their examination.
Shortly after the drinks were brought and they placed the order for food, Do-Yeong suddenly leaned forward, lightly tapping a finger against Mi-Suk's hand to catch her attention.
"My sister thanks you. She asked me to say that your help shall not be forgotten and that she will make it up to you with a meal some other day."
The words came so out of the blue, that the other three people were left speechless. However, Mi-Suk quickly recovered and was just about to say something, when Su-Jin suddenly questioned.
"Eh? What does he mean by that? Mi-Suk, you know his sister?" she asked, staring between her friend and Do-Yeong.
"Ah, that is…" Mi-Suk covered her lips with one hand and giggled. "Remember the friend I told you about? The one who needed help shopping for clothes? Well, she's his younger sister."
"Really now... Talk about a small world." Su-Jin was amazed by the coincidence.
As she struggled to wrap her head around the new information, she heard Do-Yeong speak again.
"Since my sister finally decided to go out with someone, my mother is also very pleased. So, I have to thank you for making both the women of my family happy."
"You're quite welcome. I am glad I could help. Though, catering to your sister's wild shopping behavior wasn't easy." Mi-Suk leaned forward, shooting the man a wide smile while pointing her index finger at him. "So, instead of her, I'm expecting you to make it up to me on this date."
"Of course, it would be my honor to repay you in my sister's place." Do-Yeong inclined his head.
His eyes were smiling and he suddenly seemed even more handsome than before.
To anyone else, Do-Yeong would have looked very charismatic and attractive, but Su-Jin was still hung up on the word exchange to pay any attention to the man's looks. For some reason, she began suspecting that tonight's date wasn't just a coincidence.
'Could it be that this date was arranged in order to repay Mi-Suk for helping Do-Yeong's sister? If that is so, then was it Mi-Suk who asked, or was it the sister's idea? Either way, it could explain why Mi-Suk wasn't all too surprised by the guy's appearance. His sister must have shown her a picture before.'
Su-Jin contemplated for a moment before quickly coming up with another guess.
'At the same time, considering how easy he flirts, it could very well be the brother who first brought this up. He might have either met or seen Mi-Suk's picture and liked her. So, he asked her out, while invoking his sister's matter. Hmm, I will have to ask Mi-Suk about this later.'
Due to her focus being elsewhere, Su-Jin missed the small reaction coming from the man sitting across from her.
At Mi-Suk's rather flirtatious words, Jeong-Ho flinched. He lifted his head slightly to glance at his friend.. But when he saw Do-Yeong's face and heard his answer, Jeong-Ho slowly lowered his eyes.