BLIND ( WOOZI )

002.

The tension was so thick that one could already taste it. Both Hyori and Jihoon seemed to be preoccupied with their own thoughts and gave outsiders the illusion as if they didn't acknowledge each other.

There were places where Hyori would rather be, like the next library for instance. Or back at home disposing of Eunha's laptop and the Wi-Fi. Hell, even Professor Han's life lessons and sex ed instead of the initial lecture about Osamu Dazai seemed like the better option. But there were two reasons that refrained her from cowardly excusing herself because of her inability to start a conversation and her nonexistent enthusiasm to actually go on this date.

Firstly, she was already dreading Eunha's interrogation the moment she set a foot in their apartment. She could picture the scenario crystal clear: Eunha wouldn't stop pestering her until she had spilled all the beans about Jihoon and the younger one would definitely take the role of the proud mother.

Of course, Hyori could also lie and though she's quite good at concealing her feelings and lying, Eunha always managed to force the truth out of her. There hadn't been a time where she failed once. Therefore, if Hyori went through with the risk and left Jihoon all alone, Eunha would've had it figured all in a span of three minutes.

Secondly, Hyori was too polite to ditch him.

One way or another, Hyori was stuck here and the only way to escape was if Jihoon clearly showed any sort of disinterest and made it obvious through his words. From what she knew about Chan though and judging his behavior, he too wasn't here out of free will.

The past five minutes, she'd been staring at the front door and counting all pedestrians passing by. If this went on, she was positive she'd fall asleep in a matter of minutes. Taking out her phone wasn't an option as she didn't want to seem rude in front of him. Then again, Jihoon had his head lowered and if his head nicked even lower, Hyori was sure he would make unpleasant contact with his coffee.

"Um-" Hyori suddenly flinched and was woken up from her daze by Jihoon's voice. Noticing her sudden shock, Jihoon blinked once before resting his gaze on his mug clasped in both of his hands. He waited a while for her to calm down and muttered a soft sorry before clearing his throat.

"I don't know what Chan bribed or blackmailed you with to come here, but you can leave whenever you want. I want to apologize for wasting your time."

Almost.

If only Jihoon had worded it differently, Hyori would've got her way out. If he just said that he had no interest, if he hadn't mentioned Chan, she could've walked out of the cafe with no bad feelings since he was the one who suggested it after all, but Eunha would scold her and hold a five-hour complaint to why Hyori had acted so.

An excerpt of her roommate's rant would be: "He did that because you were probably being a more unsociable fuck than you usually are! I know that you've got your problems with talking but at least put some effort in this. Besides, the deal was that you'd try to get to know him on this date and then I'll ultimately stop with the tinder profiles."

Hyori frowned at the thought and pushed Eunha out of her head. She could worry about her once she arrived at home. "It's fine," she told him, both nervousness and unease were prominent as she shifted around in her seat. "To be honest, my friend dragged me here against my will."

A small but genuine chuckle escaped Jihoon's lips and the previous tension loosened, even if it was just by a little. The sound of his laugh made her crack a slight, a real smile.

"Looks like we both have the same attitude towards this setup," he sighed once he calmed down and took a sip. All Hyori could do was agree as she followed his actions and finished up her coffee.