The four of them spent a total of two hours at the restaurant.
Glancing at his watch, Do-Yeong suddenly announced that they should go. Before the two women could oppose, he and Jeong-Ho already went and paid the bill.
This made Su-Jin feel uncomfortable. She tried to argue, but was faced with a complete refusal from both Do-Yeong and Jeong-Ho.
With that, she was stumped.
It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the two men's good intentions. However, she disliked the feeling of owing people favors or money. And besides, for her this wasn't even a real date. She was merely a light bulb1, tagging along Mi-Suk and Do-Yeong.
But despite all her worries, there was nothing Su-Jin could do. In the face of Do-Yeong's firm refusal to be compensated for the lunch he bought, as well as Mi-Suk and Jeong-Ho's silent acquiescence, there was nothing she could do except to go along with it.
To make things even more difficult on Su-Jin's conscience, Mi-Suk appeared to be completely unaware of her friend's inner struggles. The young woman only had eyes for Do-Yeong. The man's galant behavior, and his willingness to treat the two of them to lunch, only made her good impression of him to become even better.
'So that's why people used to say that love is blind. Once you fall for someone, nothing else matters.' Su-Jin sighed dejectedly.
Her own reluctance notwithstanding, Su-Jin had to agree that Do-Yeong acted like a perfect gentleman.
His eyes were always following Mi-Suk, trying with every little gesture and word to make her feel comfortable. It was painfully obvious that every single smile and laugh were meant for Mi-Suk, like the flashy struts of a peacock, trying to impress its partner.
Ultimately, Su-Jin had to concede that she couldn't find any major faults in the man's behavior towards her friend, nor in his persona.
Overall, he looked and seemed perfect. His personality was warm and attentive, he liked to laugh and he was open with his feelings. There was also no darkness hiding in his eyes.
In terms of physical attributes, Do-Yeong was definitely a handsome person. One look at him could cause many women to swoon and sigh. A very good specimen indeed!
Even if this charming image was actually a mask, carefully created in order to hide his true self, Su-Jin had to admit that his disguise was a masterpiece.
With this thought in mind, Su-Jin ultimately had to let go of her worries.
'Oh well, I guess he works just fine. After all, Mi-Suk had liked worse guys than this one. Even if he proves to be different from how he appears now, at least I don't think he will hurt her.'
After the two men returned to their table, they all got ready to leave.
As they walked towards the door, Su-Jin suddenly got an idea.
"Since you covered lunch, then we'll buy the movie tickets." she declared confidently.
With this she hoped to pay back at least half of the lunch bill.
However, Do-Yeong's next words crushed all her hopes of becoming even.
"Ah, I already made reservations for the movie." he grinned at her.
"Oh, what movie is it?" Mi-Suk piped up from the side.
Do-Yeong didn't immediately reply. He moved his eyes between the three people, staring at them quietly. His lips were hooked up in a smile, his eyes glimmering with amusement.
Then, he brought a finger to his lips and winked.
"It's a secret. You'll see once we get there."
With this note of mystery, the group of four left the restaurant and headed for the movie theater.
Once there, Su-Jin was faced with another surprise.
"Ta-daa!" Do-Yeong exclaimed dramatically, pointing at a movie poster.
Su-Jin's eyes moved in that direction and, as soon as she saw the large poster, her face fell.
She was met with a gruesome picture of a long-haired woman trying to strangle a man. The woman's face was twisted in a horrible grimace and her skin was very white. She was wearing a bloody red dress, with red heels and painted nails.
The man in the picture had his eyes open in a look of horror and his mouth stood agape as in a silent scream.
Just like most common horror movie posters, this one too had a dark background that seemed to slowly engulf the two characters. Gastly specks of blood were scattered near the corners, giving the impression of blood being sprayed towards the viewers. The title was written in a sickening shade of red, with sharp letters that seemed to almost cut through the picture.
Just by looking at that image, there was absolutely no doubt in Su-Jin's mind about the genre of the movie. They were really going to watch a horror movie!
Despite her initial shock, though, Su-Jin had to praise the people who created that poster. It was definitely one of the most impactful ones she had ever seen.
All of a sudden her brother's warning came to mind.
'So, it really is a horror movie. If I tell Min-Jun that he was right, will I ever hear the end of it? But honestly now, what sane person takes his date to a movie like this?! What could be the purpose, to scare her half to death?!'
Su-Jin's mouth twitched, as she silently berated Do-Yeong for his poor choice.
'Shouldn't we watch a romantic movie or a comedy? At this point, even a reality show would be better than this thing!' She wailed inwardly.
For a moment, Su-Jin still clinged onto the hope that she might have been mistaken. Looking on either side of the horror movie poster, there was also an action movie and a romance. Perhaps she looked at the wrong poster earlier. After all, Do-Yeong merely pointed in a direction, he didn't actually mention the name of the movie.
"Are you sure this is the movie you picked?" Su-Jin asked blankly, pointing at the one depicting the female ghost strangling the man.
"Mhmm." Do-Yeong nodded with a grin. "I've been wanting to watch this ever since it came out. You may not know, but it's directed by a famous director. I watched all his movies and they never disappointed."
"Are they all horror movies?" Su-Jin asked with a nervous smile.
"Hm…" Do-Yeong tapped his lower lip with a finger, seemingly thinking hard. "Most of them are either psychological thrillers or horror."
Do-Yeong paused, then, as if he thought of something, he turned to look at Su-Jin in confusion.