Burning Rose

2. Bullets And Bullies

"Taehyung!" Jeongyeon's tone was irritated.

"What?" I responded with the same annoyance, still glaring at the man. Or maybe he was a boy, I didn't know. He was young, and handsome, I had to admit. Not that it was a big deal, though. Every other person in South Korea was good-looking nowadays.

"Ignore it!" Jeongyeon was the one whisper yelling now.

"How do I ignore it?" I growled.

"See, he's not even staring anymore, is he?" she said as she took a quick look at him again. By now, he had his phone pressed against his ear as he listened to whoever the hell it was on the other side. "Poor guy has moved on from me already."

I was barely paying attention to what she was saying. My eyes were still on him, in case he perved on her again.

"Taehyung," she said. "You're the one staring at him now. Should I assume that you're gonna hunt him down and rape-"

"Shut up!" I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as my head jerked toward her.

"Then stop staring at him," she chuckled. "Just ignore him."

I sighed. "Fine."

"Okay, now," she said, resting her arms on the table and leaning forward slightly. "Tell me about this new job of yours."

"Assistant dance instructor," I grumbled.

"Okay . . . cool. What're you gonna do in it?"

"Assistant dance instructing."

"And what does that mean?"

"Assisting the dance instructor."

Jeongyeon paused for a moment, blinking at me. "Let it loose, grumpy."

I massaged my right temple, sighing.

She prodded at the glass mug in front of me. "Here, have some beer."

I loured down at it for a moment before grabbing the handle and taking a huge gulp. Once again, the alcohol induced a mellow buzz inside me, but it didn't last for long. It didn't lift my mood. I put the mug down, wiping my mouth with my sleeve.

And then I scowled when I saw him again. He was taking a seat at the table behind Jeongyeon, in my plain sight, his chair facing mine.

This guy was too much.

I clenched and unclenched my fists, shaking my head. It was strange. I never got angry so easily, and even if I did, I never let it show.

Maybe it's the alcohol, my inner voice told me.

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and forefinger before looking at Jeongyeon. "He's behind you now."

The expression that appeared on her face after that was one of extreme aggravation.

"I told you to ignore him!" she berated. I could tell she was doing her best to keep her voice low. "What is it with you today?"