Almost perfect (or so I thought)

Chapter three: He's Behind Me, Isn't He?

Stopping dead in her tracks, she spun around, shut her eyes tight and blurted out, "Stop following me or I swear I will scream right now! I'm not afraid to!"

She slowly opened one eye — and gasped in horror. It was Minjae.

Before she could even think of what to say, he looked at her calmly and spoke.

"This is the way I go home," he said, hands still tucked into his pockets. "I'm not following you."

——

Minjae walked right past her while Mirae was still frozen in shock. She scrambled to come up with a way to apologize — without sounding too desperate for his forgiveness.

"I mean — you walk really quietly! That's low-key scary for someone walking home after just moving to Jeonju," she said, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Not that you're scary. Just... really quiet? In a normal way."

A small smirk tugged at Minjae's lips, but before Mirae could look up, he wiped it right off.

Minjae sighed and kept walking, only glancing at her briefly. "You don't have to apologize."

Mirae was surprised—he looked like the type of guy who wouldn't let anything slide, yet here he was, letting her off the hook.

Somehow, it made her feel better. Maybe even... proud? Like she'd just accomplished something. She grinned to herself, even though he didn't see it.

"You know, you really aren't the type to pay attention to people like me," she muttered.

Still no response. But for a second, she swore she saw his ears go a little red.

He cleared his throat. "No girl has ever talked to me that way."

After that, Minjae grew quiet again, and the rest of the walk passed in silence — until they stopped in front of Mirae's apartment, where her grandma lived.

"This is my stop." Mirae paused and turned to look at Minjae.

"Minjae-yah... bye bye!" She gave him a little wave just as her grandma stepped outside to walk her in.

Minjae didn't wave back. He just gave a small nod and walked away.

But from a distance, Mirae could see it — he was slightly smiling to himself.

"He's so cute," she squealed under her breath. "He was flustered the whole time!"

Mirae was proud of herself. She thought she wouldn't be able to survive another second walking home with Minjae, but it was a breeze for both of them. For now..

——

The next morning passed quickly. It was already the weekend. Mirae woke up early, prepared her bed and went to meet her grandma in the living room. Her grandma was young, only 68, yet she took good care of her.

"Mimi, my lovely granddaughter." Her grandma caressed her cheeks gently as she gestured for her to sit down. "Come have breakfast, hm?"

Mirae sat down, ready to dig in—until her grandma asked, "Have you made any friends here yet? And who was that boy?"

She playfully smirked at Mirae just as she began choking on her food.

"Halmoni.. He's just a friend!" Mirae quickly gulped down a glass of water.

*Halmoni  is the standard term used to address your grandmother respectfully <3

Her grandma leaned in closer, as if sharing a secret.

"I saw you smiling uncontrollably when you walked in," she smirked. "It's like you were flirting or something."

Mirae started choking again, disbelief written all over her face.

"Halmoni! We were not flirting." She crossed her arms. "And how do you even know how people our age flirt?"

Her grandma chuckled. "Ha! I've watched enough dramas to know that."

They both laugh as her grandma continues sharing more secrets. Joy fills the room. Mirae had never been as close to her grandma until that very moment.

Later, while Mirae was doing her homework, she heard a knock at the apartment door.

"Mimi! You have some friends here waiting for you," her grandma called out.

"Friends?" Mirae blinked. "Isn't Minmin the only one who knows where I live...?"

She gasped excitedly and sprinted downstairs in her My Little Pony PJ set — completely forgetting what she was wearing.

As soon as she opened the door, she was met with the sight of Minjae, Nari, Taeyang, and Jiho standing outside.

"Annyeong!" Nari greeted cheerfully, waving. The others followed her lead — except Minjae, who, as usual, stood with his hands in his pockets.

*Annyeong  is the standard way to say hi to close friends or people of the same age

Minjae's eyes dropped to her pants, then to her shirt. He tried so hard not to laugh, clearing his throat a few times—until the others finally noticed her outfit too.

Then Mirae noticed... and instantly turned red.

"Were you... not ready?" Taeyang smirked, nudging Jiho playfully.

"Well, this was... unexpected," Mirae said with a nervous laugh as all of them tried to hold in their laughter.

"It's okay," Jiho said gently. "Take your time — we'll wait for you outside."

The group shuffled back out, leaving Mirae in the doorway, face red and heart racing.

Mirae slumped to the ground, mortified at how much of a fool she had just made herself look.

"My Little Pony?! Really?" she groaned, planting a palm to her forehead. "You're freaking crazy, Mirae."

But little did she know — this was the perfect opportunity to pick out an outfit that really turned heads. Especially one particular head.

She slipped into a pair of light blue straight-leg jeans, a white babydoll top tied with a cute bow in front, and flat white Converse.

Then, with determination, she packed her silky brown hair into two pigtail braids and took a deep breath.

As Mirae stepped outside, Nari immediately began showering her with compliments.

"Wow! Your hair is so cute." She gently lifted one of Mirae's braids. "How do you make your braids not look like a mess, like mine?"

Mirae giggled nonstop at Nari's praise, twirling playfully as she soaked it all in. The boys, however, didn't seem to react much — especially Minjae. Or at least that's what she thought. In fact, Minjae did have something to say. But the words stayed trapped in his throat, as if he didn't know how to say it, so he said nothing.

That weekend, the group sat and chatted about everything — from upcoming tests to their favorite teachers. A particular topic had everyone ready with opinions.

Mirae, building up some courage, turned to Minjae.

"Minjae-yah, which is better? Strawberry or banana milk?"

They all leaned in, waiting for his answer.

"I've already said it — banana milk is better. Right, hyung?" Taeyang blurted before Minjae could speak.

"Shut up! Strawberry milk is obviously the best," Nari snapped back. "What do you even know?"

As the two bickered, Minjae finally spoke up — softly.

"...I like plain vanilla."

Silence.

The group stared at him in utter disappointment.

"Boringgg," Taeyang groaned in a dramatic tone. "Hyung, that's such a basic answer."

Mirae started giggling — then everyone else followed.

When Minjae noticed her reaction, a tiny smile tugged at his lips. No one else seemed to catch it... except Mirae.

"Minmin is so cute," she thought, heart fluttering. "Can he get even cuter?"

Mirae cleared her throat and looked at Minjae.

"Minjae-yah, I think it's totally fine that you like plain vanilla!" she said, flashing him a big, encouraging smile. "Actually, my favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla too."

The group nodded in support as Jiho chimed in.

"My favorite cake flavor is vanilla," he added casually.

"Actually, I like vanilla yogurt..." Nari said, then turned to Taeyang.

Taeyang glanced at everyone before finally speaking. "I guess I like vanilla milkshakes... But don't call me boring just because of that!"

Then Minjae added the final touch. "I like all of those," he said with a brief smile.

Everyone shared a few more laughs as Minjae unknowingly added the cherry on top.

——

As Minjae and Mirae walked home, Mirae finally asked him something.

"Can I... call you Minmin?" she asked nervously, eyes searching for his response.

Minjae nodded, saying nothing — but a slight blush appeared at his ears.

"So I wasn't imagining it... he really was blushing that day," Mirae thought, smiling for the millionth time today.

**END OF CHAPTER THREE**