The three friends had settled on a table by the corner of the cafeteria. As Mickey ate the meal he had bought with Rain's money, Michelle could not help but gawk over his appearance. She examined the desirable features he had possessed, from his fair skin and dark brows to the bridge of his slim nose.
"Mickey you're so handsome! I bet you got a girlfriend back where you're from, am I right?" Michelle said admiringly.
Taken back by Michelle's straightforwardness, he wondered if all girls thought about dating 24/7. Even till now, Mickey had never thought about having any kind of romantic interest. Mickey still had food in his mouth and could not talk at that moment. He answered her question by shaking his head, indicating that he was single.
"Awe I see, but you must have had one before, right?" Michelle eagerly asked.
Now ashamed, Mickey swallowed his food and replied in one simple word, "No.", He answered nonchalantly.
Intrigued by his answer, Hyung's interest in the conversation rosed. "You never had a girlfriend before? Why's that?" Hyung questioned.
Before Mickey could give an answer, Michelle inadvertently interrupted. "It's no big deal! I can already tell Mickey is the type of guy who is waiting for the perfect girl. He wants his first relationship to be special and meaningful. Isn't that right Mickey?" Michelle's voice was full of confidence.
Mickey was filled with relief, as he could not have explained it any better than Michelle had.
"Don't worry, I Michelle, promise to help you find a girlfriend! There are a lot of pretty girls here at this school. I'm sure there's one you're bound to like." Michelle said, giving Mickey a wink.
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The first day of class was finally over, and Mickey was waiting by the entrance of the gate. He carefully looked out for Rain within the crowds of students that walked past by. After a couple of minutes, he saw Rain walking with another girl from afar. As the two girls came closer to the gate, Rain easily caught glimpse of Mickey, immediately locking eyes with him. Her synchronized steps with the girl she had been talking to had come to a pause, as she faced her cousin.
"Who are you waiting for?" Rain asked without hesitation.
Mickey felt slightly belittled, by the brash tone in Rain's voice.
"I thought that since we're going to the same place, I should wait for you…" Mickey explained himself.
Rain snickered at him as she rested her hands around the back of her waist.
"We're not little kids anymore, Mickey. We don't always have to walk home together, and you don't have to wait for me if you don't feel like it. Besides, I'm not going home yet, my new friend is taking me shopping!" Rain stated.
Rain went to rejoin her friend, who was still waiting for her at a distance away. Despite what Rain had said, Mickey vowed to himself to always wait for her, in case she ever needed company. Just as Mickey was about to leave, a voice from the schoolyard could be heard, shouting out his name. With each time calling out louder and closer. Mickey turned around, squinting his eyes, looking to see who it was. The person was none other than Hyung. After running towards Mickey, Hyung stopped in place to catch his breath.
"Good thing you haven't left yet. If you are not busy today, do you want to hang out? I can show you around the city." Hyung said breathlessly, as he tried to slow down his panting.
Mickey had planned to help out at his family's stall, but an opportunity to spend time with Hyung alone, was an opportunity he could not pass.
Mickey quickly responded. "I got nothing important to do today, I can go hang out."
"Great! Let's go then!" Hyung roared with a cheer, pointing his finger out towards the clear blue sky.
The two teenagers then left the school grounds and headed off into the heart of the city. They walked together side by side, and Mickey unintentionally kept a fair distance from Hyung. Hyung soon walked closer towards Mickey, their shoulders barely grazing one another, as he tried to make small talk with the boy.
"Since you just moved here, I'm guessing you're not familiar with the places around the city, huh." Hyung said.
"Actually, I know my way quite well around here!" Mickey said with enthusiasm, "Every summer since I was a kid, I would come stay here to help my grandparents sell vegetables at the market. So, you can say I basically lived here my whole life as well."
Hyung could see the sparkles in Mickey's eyes as Mickey spoke of his family and their store. Mickey seemed to have more personality when given the opportunity to speak, Hyung thought to himself.
The two finally arrived at the food district. The streets were packed with buildings, occupying a variety of high- and low-end restaurants. While the sidewalks were seized by the street vendors, serving their most authentic dishes. The breeze that traveled throughout the street, carried every delicious smell it passed by, enticing Mickey and Hyung's senses. Hyung then placed both his hands onto his stomach, making the gesture that he was hungry.
"I'm starving, let's stop here and eat! I'll treat you out today, so find us a table and wait there, I'll be back!" Hyung said, while running off to go look for a stall to queue at.
After searching for a spot to eat, Mickey found a table that was nicely shaded by a tree planted next to the sidewalk. A decent amount of time had passed before Hyung came back. Once he had returned, Hyung had two plastic bags in his hands that contained an oversupply of goods. He then placed both bags onto the metal table, while searching for something within one of the bags. Hyung pulled out something wrapped in paper and handed it to Mickey, as he spoke with excitement, "Here, try this, it's my favorite! Sorry I took so long; I was trying to find you. I should of gave you my number before I left haha."
Mickey examined what Hyung had given him, to his surprise, it was a deep fried mochi ball. As Mickey bit into the crispy outer layer, his mouth was greeted by the soft sticky texture of the rice cake. Mickey thought this was just a simple street snack and wonder what made it so special, until he came across another flavor within the dessert. After biting the middle, a stream of warm bittersweet chocolate flowed out, and dripped into the corners of Mickey's mouth. Mickey now understood why Hyung liked it so much.
They began to unravel the bags and took small bites out of each dish, trying to figure out which one was their favorite. As the two teenagers ate, Mickey noticed how much food was still left, and wondered if they could finish it all. Little did Mickey know, Hyung was a big eater and could eat three times as much as him. Mickey watched Hyung consume their meal in mere minutes.
How can one still look as cool and attractive as ever, when stuffing their face? How does he stay so fit and skinny if eats that much?! Where does all that food even go to?
Mickey wondered enviously.
By now, everything was gone, and the table looked as clean as it was before. After their bellies were filled, they decided to continue walking down the streets leisurely. Hyung then popped out a question.
"What do you think about Michelle? She's pretty outgoing don't you think? She may come off as a bit nosy at times, but she's just trying to be friendly. That's just how she is. She's the kind of person who likes to keep things exciting. Hopefully, she hasn't said anything to offend you Mickey." Hyung said, in a sincere manner.
Mickey chuckled as he replied, "It's nothing to worry about. I'm glad to have met someone as spontaneous as Michelle. If she wasn't like how she was, I wouldn't have gotten to know you or her."
While strolling down a brick paved street, a group of teenage delinquents, loitering in the alleyway, had caught Mickey's attention. Mickey and Hyung were at a far distance away from them, but Mickey could make out one person within that group. It was Jiang!
This is what he's been doing all day? He skipped the first day of class just to hang out with a bunch of thugs…
Mickey sadly thought to himself.
Concern dawned on Mickey's face, realizing if Jiang was here and Rain was shopping, then there was no one helping his grandparents at the market. After passing the alleyway, Mickey stopped Hyung in his tracks, while speaking in a calm but anxious tone.
"Hyung, thanks for treating me out today. I really appreciate it, but I need to go now. I forgot I had something to do."
Somewhat puzzled Hyung replied, "Alright then. Well at least let me walk you to where you're going. Are you going home?"
"No. I'm actually going to the market district to help my grandparents. I got to get there as soon as possible, so I'm going to run there. Sorry about the sudden change of plans." Mickey clarified.
"I understand, its totally fine." Hyung gave Mickey a genuine smile, "We'll have more chances to hang out. I'll get going then. See you later!"
"Thanks for understanding, later!" Mickey said, as he waved goodbye. His slow casual pace steadily became wide strides as he ran off into the distance.