"That was awesome wasn't it?"
Minsu asked as we were leaving the venue.
"Yeah, thanks for inviting me"
I was genuinely grateful for the experience. This kind of meet-the-fans event was something that I always wanted to attend but I never managed to actually turn that wish into reality, just like so many things I wanted to do but was either too lazy to do or was afraid to do for some reason.
"No problem, it was way more fun than when I used to go to these events alone"
"You came really prepared for it, heh"
"Haha... I hope that wasn't too lame"
Minsu looked a little embarrassed recalling the moment when he took out the otaku sticks from his bag and handed me an extra pair of them he brought for me when Yamura started to sing. To be honest I indeed thought "lol, seriously?" when I first saw them, but I also thought it was very nice and thoughtful of him to bring the extra pair for me as well. Just like how he managed to free me from my own inhibitions when he sang the Mamoha theme song in the karaoke the first time we met, after receiving the otaku sticks I was swinging them in sync with everyone else.
"No, not at all. Thank you for being considerate and bringing a pair for me as well"
"No problem. It was fun, right?"
"Yeah"
"Do you wanna go grab some drinks or something?"
"Good idea. I'm so thirsty after all that"
"Mango Seven or Hongcha?"
"I don't mind either way"
"Bubble tea?"
"Sure"
"Then let's go to Hongcha"
"Yeah"
I realized that Minsu has this friendly way of leading people. He will ask you what you want, but when you say 'anything' or 'I don't mind', he does not press you to pick something. He will just take your word for it and pick an option for you, and I appreciated that because the old me always got so nervous and uncomfortable when I was put on the spot to make a choice, even if it was something simple like just having to choose what to drink.
We then entered Hongcha, a popular franchise selling tea-based drinks. You could find a branch of it in pretty much any hot spot you go to in the city.
Minsu asked me to go grab a table while he ordered the drinks, but I insisted that this time I would pay for the drinks so shooed him away from queuing at the counter. Again, it made an impression on me that he offered to get the drinks first, but when I said that I wanted to treat him he did not make a big fuss by refusing and insisting on his ways, rather, he just gratefully accepted and went over to get a seat as he was told.
All these were small details but I realized that they all combined to make him someone that I genuinely felt comfortable to be with.
My old doubts and insecurities kicked in again though like the old habits I couldn't escape. As I was waiting for my turn to order, my happy thoughts of 'Minsu is a nice guy' turned into 'If only I had a friend like him before, things might not have been so bad at school during those difficult times', and then inevitably it ended with the question 'Hang on, if I wasn't this pretty girl Jenn, would he still have been this nice?'
It must have shown on my face that there was something bothering me in my mind as I brought our drinks over to the table that Minsu managed to get.
"Are you alright, Jenn?"
What am I supposed to say? I couldn't really share what I was thinking.
"What?! Is that you?"
I was startled and got yanked out of my thoughts as someone exclaimed. I looked up and saw that it was... fack... Soojin with her two sidekicks, Sunmi and Yuji.
"What the hell is she wearing? Haha", Soojin said to her friends while pointing at me and laughing.
"Gross. And so lame", Yuji sneered.
"Woo~, she's with a boy. Who is this geek?", Sunmi took things further.
"Are they on a date or something? Man, this is wild", Yuji was talking to Soojin who was now looking at me with an expression that looked both amused and ill-intentioned.
Minsu, who had been pretty cool and relaxed throughout the whole time we were together this afternoon now looked visibly shaken and at a loss as to how he should react, but I think he did realize quickly that for me to be seen with him here was something potentially embarrassing for me. I didn't want him to think that of course, but I could tell from his expression that this was what he was thinking and he spoke up as expected.
"Er... I suppose you are Jenn's friends? Nice to meet you, but just to clarify, we are not having a date"
"Who asked you? You stupid freak", Soojin shot back and Minsu looked even more unsettled now that he was facing a sudden and explicit aggression from girls that he didn't even know.
"Look, I just..."
The way Minsu was now fumbling with his words and losing confidence in his speech made me feel a sudden pang in my heart. It was heartbreaking to see the cheerful and good-natured Minsu crumble and lose himself, and this sad feeling quickly became a burst of anger as something snapped in my mind.
"So what if we were dating?", I shot up from my seat, took a step to get closer to Soojin, and said this straight to her face.
"Are you for real? Hahaha", but Soojin wasn't really getting my anger and all I could see was that she just thought the whole situation was hilarious.
"Jenn-, you don't have to-", Minsu tried to stop me.
"At least I have someone to date while you are wagging your tail to Hechan and getting ignored"
"YOU FUCKING BI-"
:BUMP!:
My body was reacting to the incoming bitch slap from Soojin but all of a sudden Soojin fell to the ground as someone shoulder bumped her hard from behind.
"Oops. I'm sorry"
It was Hana.
Shit, this could escalate quickly.
"Hey, watch where you are going!", Yuji and Sunmi walked up to Hana and squared up to her.
"And I'm sorry about this too"
Hana just ignored them and poured the bubble tea in her hand down on Soojin, who was still sitting on her ass on the floor rubbing her back after getting bumped by Hana.
"What the fu-"
Yuji, ever so hot-headed, made the foolish decision of trying to shove Hana in the chest.
"Arggggggh!"
Hana still had her one arm in a cast, but she effortlessly used her free hand to grab a finger from one of Yuji's incoming hands. I didn't quite get what happened but Yuji immediately stopped, fell to her knees, and started whimpering in pain holding the finger that Hana seemed to have twisted in that short time.
"What-, huh, are you okay? Yuji? Soojin?", Sunmi was completely lost and confused.
"Here, take this"
Hana fished out a folded banknote from the inside pocket of her jacket and gave it to Sunmi, who was the only one still standing.
"This is the laundry cost for your friend. I'm sorry I spilled drinks on her"
Sunmi grabbed the banknote but still looked confused as to what was going on. Hana didn't pause for a second though and fished out another banknote and handed it over to Sunmi again.
"And this is for your other friend. Her index finger is dislocated. A doctor should be able to fix it easily. But if you are in a hurry, I can click it back for her right now too"
"No-, no, don't let her touch me", Yuji was waving her hand to tell Sunmi to, well, not take Hana's stupid offer.
"Who the hell are you?", Sunmi asked Hana in bewilderment.
"Just some clumsy girl passing by. Now, scram"
Sunmi helped Yuji and Soojin to get up and they started to walk out of the shop, but Soojin turned around to glare at me once before she left through the door.
"Ma'am, thank you for protecting Jenn"
Ironically, Minsu seemed to have gained composure only after all this chaos and thanked Hana, presumably for stopping Soojin from slapping me.
"Th-, thank you Ma'am...", I wasn't gonna let Minsu know that I knew Hana so I pretended I was thanking a good samaritan who helped us.
"No need for that. Enjoy your date"
Hana beamed a smile and a wink and left the shop.