24 Dates || SOOSHU

Date Twenty-three

Place: Bridal Cake Factory

Time: February 20th, 2017 2:00 pm

Yelp: 4/5 | Date: Shu is always five stars :)

Minnie doesn't know if she's ever seen Shuhua like this. Even after receiving her first rejection Shuhua bounced back up and got back out there, but now it's been a week and there is still no bounce. She's just sad.

"Try this one," Minnie says, pushing the strawberry filled over. She figures that maybe cake shopping will help.

"This is stupid. We picked the cake three weeks ago."

Minnie frowns. She's not wrong, Miyeon had been there for that. "You need cheering up. Besides, it's not like they know," Minnie whispers before taking a bite out of another sample. "We haven't gone out just the two of us in a while."

Shuhua grumbles something that Minnie doesn't catch and tries the strawberry filled. "The marble, cherry topped, is still the best."

"Would the lovely couple like to try another flavor," the consultant asks them. Minnie wonders if he lives under a rock because he's yet to recognize Shuhua. He does seem the snooty type, though.

Shuhua groans. "She's not my--"

"Yes. We'd love to try the dark chocolate champagne."

"Of course," he says with a thin smile.

Minnie can feel Shuhua glaring, but she doesn't actually say anything. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened?"

"No."

"Are you ever going to say why you're sad?"

"Are you ever going to shut up?" Shuhua asks. It lacks the usual bite.

And Minnie's getting kind of bored with the whole sad Shuhua thing, and annoyed. She sighs, loud and over the top in order to get Shuhua to look up at her. "That wasn't really nice, Shu. And you know what happens when people aren't nice."

Shuhua's eyes widened. "I'm sorry - I - look, I-" Minnie shakes her head and continues to lean in. She flexes her hands. "We're in public!"

They are, but they aren't. The room is mostly private. Not that it would stop Minnie in the first place.

She does the only thing that will garner a real reaction from Shuhua; comes behind and squeezes. Shuhua squirms and struggles, and Minnie latches tighter.

"Minnie! Stop - St--"

"Tell me."

"Fuck off!"

"Tell me... " Minnie presses further into Shuhua until she hears the sound of a throat clearing.

"Ladies, you can't do that here. I'm going to need to ask you to leave." It's the same man from before, his oily mustache crinkles with his frown. Minnie almost laughs.

"Pre wedding jitters," she says and lets go. "We'll be leaving now."

Shuhua stands and follows Minnie out, murmuring a hushed, "I hate you," as they exit.

They walk together. Shuhua puts her sunglasses on and hitches her scarf high enough to cover her face. "Why do you keep doing that?" she asks.

"Doing what?"

"Pushing. It's nothing - I'm just staying with you and Miyeon to think."

"Oh? What about the engagement ring in your drawer?" Minnie giggles when Shuhua's head pops up.

"Stop going through my stuff!"

She wasn't, though. Not really - she was looking for batteries and hoping that Shuhua had some. It was then that she saw the little box. "Did she say no?"

Shuhua groans and leans her head back. "No, okay. She didn't. You can't say no to a question that was never asked."

"Shu," Minnie sighs, "What's going on?" Minnie sets her lips into a straight line, and her heart beats fast. Anyone who knows Shuhua would be worried.

"You aren't going to let this go, are you?"

Minnie nudges Shuhua with her elbow. "You've known me for how long?"

"Fine" Shuhua grinds her teeth together. "I asked her father for permission and he told me no."

Minnie stops dead in her tracks, chews the inside of her lip. "That's...that's all?" And Shuhua glares. It takes Minnie a second to realize of course Shuhua would want Soojin's Father's permission. "Oh"

"And, he - he made me think. What if in the end, Soojin ends up regretting it because we're too different. I'm already where I wanted to be, but it's not the same for her, right?"

"You love her?"

"Duh."

Minnie fishes through her pocket and grabs her deck of tarot cards.

"What the hell? Why do you always carry those around?"

"For the occasional epiphany." She winks and grabs a card directly from the middle of her deck, then flicks it out to Shuhua between two gloved fingers.

"You're so weird." She looks up at the card. "It's two people with a cup." Minnie smiles until she eventually gets a begrudging, "What's it mean?"

" We."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Minnie laughs and hands the card over to Shuhua. "It means we ."

"What kind of bullshit - Minnie, I-" she slumps and looks at the ground. "I don't know what to do."

Gingerly, Minnie pulls her into a hug and Shuhua is too exhausted to fight it. She feels Shuhua's face fall into the cloth of her scarf. "I love her," Shuhua says. She says it over and over and Minnie can hear the shake in her voice.

"Do what you do best," Minnie says.

Shuhua gives a wet laugh. "And what do I do best?"

"Go for what you want."