The man blinked at her so innocently, that Su-Jin suddenly felt guilty.
How could she have accused him of having ulterior motives for choosing that particular movie? Just by looking at his excited expression one could see that he was earnestly into this genre.
Hence, Su-Jin fell into a predicament. She wasn't happy with his choice but, at the same time, she couldn't be upfront about it.
There was simply no way Su-Jin could say that she actually hated horror movies, that she absolutely despised them. Not only because they were frightening, but also because she found them very stupid.
On top of that, she also thought that people who liked this genre weren't in search of a good movie, with a strong plot or amazing actorship, but only looking for a good show instead. Just something to pass the time with.
That, or they simply wanted to make fun of those who were frightened. That way they could get a thrill out of it.
One time, she heard a college classmate talking about a horror movie and saying that watching it helped her feel something, as if going through those powerful emotions of fear and anxiety made her feel alive.
At that time Su-Jin could barely repress a shiver. She didn't need such a thing to help her feel alive. Being scared silly was definitely not her idea of having an enjoyable time!
She would much rather watch a good romance, read a good book or go out for a date with someone she liked. Now that was her idea of fun!
Since she couldn't be honest with her feelings, Su-Jin decided to remain quiet. At the same time, though, she glanced at the other two people, hoping that at least one would share her opinion.
To her surprise, Mi-Suk didn't seem worried in the slightest. On the contrary, her artistic senses had been awakened by the crafty poster. She kept looking at it, while muttering stuff like 'wow, what great artwork' or 'look at that color combination'. Ultimately, she even praised the creators for the man's realistic horrified expression.
Seeing that Mi-Suk was already a lost cause, Su-Jin shook her head. There was still one other person who might share the same worries as her. So, Su-Jin slowly turned towards Do-Yeong's friend.
To her surprise, though, Jeong-Ho was looking even more apprehensive than she was. His face had lost all color and his pupils trembled in fright. It was almost as if his soul had been hypnotized, on the verge of being sucked away. He could only helplessly stare at the image. Even if it scared him half to death, he couldn't pull his eyes away from the poster.
Su-Jin suddenly felt pity for him.
'Ah, and here I thought that I was the most scared one. Looks like there is someone who hates horror movies even more than I do.'
With the discovery of a kindred spirit, Su-Jin finally began to relax. She was just about to approach Jeong-Ho to say a few words of comfort, when Mi-Suk's voice called them from behind.
"Come on. We should go buy something to drink."
"You go on ahead." Do-Yeong said, glancing at his watch. "I'll go and get the tickets. It's almost time for the movie to start."
"But I wanted to buy them." Su-Jin hastened to interrupt.
"I've already bought them online. Now I just need to pick them up." he thought for a moment, then added with a small smile. "Since it was my selfish desire to watch a horror movie without even giving you two the opportunity to choose, it's only fair that I should buy them."
"What about Jeong-Ho?" Su-Jin peeked at the other man from the corner of her eyes.
Surely, Do-Yeong should have known that his friend wouldn't like this kind of movie. Did he really choose this without asking for the other man's opinion?
Meanwhile, Do-Yeong seemed surprised by Su-Jin's question.
"Jeong-Ho?" he asked, glancing towards his friend. "Jeong-Ho doesn't like horror movies, but he said that he'll go along with whatever I pick." Do-Yeong finished, waving a hand in dismissal.
With that, everything was settled. Jeong-Ho stayed behind with Su-Jin and Mi-Suk, while Do-Yeong went to get the tickets.
By the time the latter returned, the other three had already bought popcorn and juice for everyone to share.
Just as they stepped inside, the lights dimmed and the trailers began playing on the large screen. Luckily, it took them only a minute to find their seats. Before the room finally went dark and the movie began, they were all seated and ready to enjoy the show.
Well, they were more or less ready to enjoy themselves.
Su-Jin still had difficulty accepting the fact that she had to suffer through almost two hours of gore and loud, horrifying wails.
When she turned her head to look to the left, she saw Mi-Suk and Do-Yeong deep in conversation. They were clearly in their own little world.
Meanwhile, Jeong-Ho was looking even more wretched than earlier. He was now paler than ever. His face was whiter even than the ghost currently showing on the big screen.
Throughout the movie, Su-Jin stole furtive glances at Jeong-Ho, but the man appeared to be unexpectedly calm. Despite his gashly pale complexion he didn't seem too affected by the scenes happening in front of his eyes.
Yet, no one knew that in the darkness surrounding them, Jeong-Ho's heart beat like a frightened little bird inside a cage. The hand clutching the popcorn box trembled and shivers kept going coursing along his spine.
Unaware of any of this, Su-Jin was tricked by the man's apparent composure. Thus, she felt her own fear slowly dissipating. At least she had the comfort of knowing she wasn't alone.
If anything were to happen and she got too scared, maybe she could even find comfort in Jeong-Ho's arms, just like Mi-Suk was currently doing with Do-Yeong.