A few days after the family lunch, Ginny and Alan met up for a date. Like always, they searched online for recommended restaurants around the area.
"Hmmm, let's try the Korean place today. Reviewers said the tofu soup was very good." Ginny leaned her head onto his shoulders as she pointed at his phone screen.
"Sure." Holding hands, the couple followed the GPS directions and reached the restaurant. The moment Ginny walked into the restaurant, she caught a familiar face eating at another table. Her smile was immediately flipped as the area between her brows deepened.
"What's wrong?" Alan noticed the abnormal silence between them. Usually, she would comment on how the restaurant looked inside or something related to her excitement for food. This time, she had a frown.
"Nothing. I see my cousin at another table." Her body trembled slightly as if she had been disrupted by the girl's presence.
Feeling her small shivering movements, he asked, "Are you alright? If you don't like seeing your cousin here, then we can change to a different place." Since they hadn't sat down yet, they could still leave.
Hearing his thoughtful suggestion, she refused with a small smile. "No need. I want to try the food here. Even if there are tens of the same cousin here, I would still sit and eat." Her stomach grumbled as she thought of the mouthwatering beef soon tofu soup she saw on the app.
"Alright, but if you don't feel good then let me know. We can leave at anytime you want." Although they are dating each other, they've never shared much about their family. Every family has their own trouble behind closed doors, so he didn't want to dwell on this topic.
After ordering their food, Alan tried throwing random topics to their conversation to ease her tension. He could tell she wasn't like her usual herself. Her expression only improved after the food that they've ordered has been served to their table.
Just when Alan thought that they could have their meal in peace, an uninvited guest decided to interrupt them. In the middle of drinking her beef soon tofu soup, her cousin spotted her and walked over.
"Hi, Ginny! What a coincidence to see you here!" The girl smiled and wiggled her fingers at Ginny. After glancing at the girl for a second, Ginny's eyes darkened. She continued drinking her soup as if she could care less about the trouble coming her way.
Seeing that Ginny didn't respond to her, the girl changed her attention to Alan. "Hi! I'm Ginny's cousin, Ashley. Nice to meet you." When she saw Ginny's face a few minutes ago, she snickered and wanted to cause some disturbances to her meal. As she approached the table, she saw Alan and decided to change her plans.
'Wow! He's pretty decent looking. Heh, are they dating? How could Ginny match with him?' Ashley mocked her inwardly as she revealed her widest fake smile.
Alan took a look at his girlfriend's expression before picking up food with his chopsticks and placing it to her plate. "I'm Alan." He responded without giving her a single glance; simply uninterested in speaking to her.
"The food is hot. Be careful when you eat it." From her expression, he could tell she did not welcome this cousin of hers. Ever since Ginny had shown the frown on her face, he has kept an eye on her and the "cousin" she talked about.
Earlier, he noticed how the cousin got up from her seat to leave. The arrogance on her face was very difficult to miss. Just her voice alone was enough for him to have a poor impression of her.
"Wow! We haven't met for a long time, and this is how you treat me. Who's this? Your boyfriend?" As if she was trying to squeeze every single drop of juice for gossip, Ashley sat down next to Alan. It was obvious how thick skinned someone has to be to sit down even after being ignored like that.
Picking up his plate and chopsticks, Alan got up and moved to the seat next to Ginny. Ginny finished her soup and started eating the meat on her plate. Suddenly, a flash came from opposite of them. Hearing the sound of the camera coming from Ashley's phone, a smirk appeared on Ginny's face.
"Ashley, if you have nothing better to do, but dig about other's relationship then how about getting yourself a friend. No need to climb to our table just to say useless things." Ginny crossed her arms and stared coldly at Ashley.
"What? We haven't seen each other for this long and I can't snap a picture of how well you're doing to show to my parents? Ginny, have you forgotten how my mom used to take care of you? You should show some respect." Ashley grinned and showed the picture she had taken to the couple in front of her.
Turning her attention to Alan, Ashley began telling him about Ginny's childhood. "Alan, right? Did you know how mean she treated my mom and me? Sheesh, my mom took care of her and once she got herself into a rich family; she forgot about her relatives. We were poor and still took her in. At the end, she didn't bother answering my mom's calls at all."
Alan held Ginny's hands and started rubbing them. While Ashley continued ranting how disrespectful Ginny was, Alan only smiled and watched his girlfriend's rare expressions. After minutes had passed, Ashley became thirsty from talking nonstop and ordered a cup of water.
At the same time, Alan pressed the service button for the bill. Once the waiter walked over, Alan handed his black credit card over to pay for the bill. The moment Ashley saw how he paid without caring to look at the receipt, her eyes widened. 'He's rich! This Ginny is quite lucky, huh?'
"You're finished with your soup already. If you're still hungry later, we can eat at another spot. The food here is spoiled already." The waiter came back with the copies of the receipt and handed him a pen to scribble his signature.
After everything was done, Alan walked out with Ginny as if Ashley wasn't there. Though she had been ignored thoroughly, Ashley didn't give up and followed the couple out.