25 Days With Mr. Arrogant

CHAPTER 16

I'd expected Wonwoo to bombard me with questions as to what his idiotic brother had done that had caused me to come crumbling in tears at his feet after my eyes had dried. I'd anticipated an onslaught of demands as to what Seungcheol had said, what Seungcheol had done, what had transpired. But they never came and he didn't ask. After I mumbled a humiliating apology, wiping at my damp face with the back of my hand and avoiding looking at his moist t-shirt where my face had been pressed moments prior, he simply smiled, stood to his feet, and offered me a hand.

"Come on," he pulled me up with him, rubbing my shoulder in a gentle, affectionate manner. "Let's get some breakfast."

Even when we'd arrived at a small café near their loft and sat down at a table in a fairly isolated corner , he never once mentioned his brother or the incident that had occurred hours ago. He hummed to himself lightly, flipping his menu over to scan his options behind an oversized pair of sunglasses. He wore a zip-up hoodie over his tee, and the hood of the sweatshirt was pulled up, concealing his eccentric dark hair and part of his face.

"Embarrassed to be seen with me?" I teased wryly, glancing at his camouflaged attire.

He shook his head, still humming as he scanned through the breakfast items. "The sunlight bothers me," he smiled sheepishly. "I can't burn this perfect complexion of mine, you know."

I cast a confused glance out the window at the streets around us. "But it's cloudy outsi- "

"I think I'll have the banana pancakes," he interrupted with an affirmative nod, setting his menu down, ignoring my observation. He leaned forward on two bony elbows, cradling his chin in his hands. "What're you going to get?"

My eyebrows furrowed as I studied his face for a long moment, confused as to why he'd so abruptly dropped the topic of his efforts to conceal part of his countenance, but eventually let my eyes fall back down to my own menu.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I'm not very hungry."

"You should eat something," he suggested gently, extending a long finger to point at an item on my menu. "The pecan waffles are pretty good."

"I'm allergic to nuts."

He frowned slightly. "Are you? Huh." He chewed his lower lip, his head bowed down to glance at his menu again. "Well ... what are you in the mood for? Something sweet, something fruity?"

I glanced down at my menu. "The chocolate chip pancakes look good."

Wonwoo grimaced.

I sighed heavily, "Don't tell me you hate chocolate too."

"I detest it," he scowled, his nose wrinkling. "It's too sweet. Hurts my teeth."

I cocked an eyebrow playfully, leaning forward on my own two elbows. "And Skittles don't?"

He grinned then, exposing his brilliant smile, and opened his mouth to retaliate. The waitress interrupted him, however, and approached our table to take our orders. I wasn't surprised when she ogled Wonwoo - he was beautiful, the epitome of near-perfection with his flawless skin and angular, symmetrical features. But the apprehensive look she gave me was bothersome, and the quick little glances she kept shooting at the seemingly oblivious Wonwoo made me feel uneasy. Nevertheless, she took our orders and was off, glancing over her shoulder one last time at Wonwoo's lanky, slender form sitting before me.

Wonwoo hummed to himself and reached for a roll in the basket between us, peeling back a pad of butter and retrieving his knife to smear the substance along the fleshy inside of the bread. I watched him quietly, and in that moment, as a brief dim ray of the sun cast in our window and illuminated his form, he appeared almost angelic. It was in that instant that I realized that Wonwoo was a security blanket to me - someone I could confide in and a trustworthy friend, and the decision to tell him was difficult.