If it was up to him, they would be eating at the fanciest restaurant in town right about this moment.

But soon as he'd finished dressing up, he had gotten a call from Ga Eul asking if it was okay for them to eat in her house instead - which was suggested by her parents, of all people.

To say that he was surprised would have been an understatement. Not because he was invited, no - but because Ga Eul seemed adamant for him not to go.

"You don't have to say yes," she stressed, sounding harassed for some reason. "I mean- it's just their idea. They heard we're planning to have dinner together and, well- you don't have to go if you don't want to. I'm not-"

"Ga Eul," he said, swiping his keys from the table and heading out of his room. "Are you ashamed of me?"

"Of course not!" she replied immediately. Then she paused and added, "What kind of question is that, anyway?"

"I just don't get it," he said. "Your parents want us to eat there, and now that you've asked me I'm admittedly tempted to go. But it seems like you're the one telling me to say no. If you're not ashamed of me, then I can't see any reason why you don't want me to accept it."

It took her some moments to respond. Her voice was undoubtedly subdued as she said, "Isn't it obvious?"

Woo Bin remembered the day he first came to pick her up; how effusive her parents had been, how red-faced Ga Eul was the entire time, how harried she'd been to get him away from her family. He didn't remember asking why that was.

He did remember coming to the realization that she was embarrassed over this entire affair, however.

Now he said, "Your house was lovely, last time I went there. I would like to see it again." He paused, then added meaningfully, "if you'd let me."

That was more than one hour ago.

Now here he was, being led inside Ga Eul's house by her mother - who had yet to stop touching his arm. "We're so pleased you can come, Young Master Song," she said. "When Ga Eul mentioned that she was seeing you again because you were sick, well, we just got so worried. Didn't we?" She turned to her husband.

"Must be the city air," he said gravely. "Bad for your lungs."

"But now here you are, looking as handsome as ever, if just the tiny bit-" She reached up to touch his forehead with the back of her hand, taking him by surprise. "Strange, you don't seem warm. Maybe-"

"He must be feeling better, Eomma," Ga Eul said, moving to take her mother's hand off him and looking a bit chagrined while doing so. "Since he drove here by himself. Didn't you, Sunbae?"

Woo Bin nodded. "Ever since your daughter called to invite me here, I've been feeling much, much better, thank you. Hearing her voice does wonders to my body, it seems." He smiled.

Ga Eul looked at him like he had sprouted two heads.

Her mother elbowed her on the ribs.

"My daughter is a sweet child, when she puts her mind to it. She takes after me, you know," she tittered. "Anyway, it'll be good for you to come and visit us whenever you feel like it. Like my husband said, the air here is much, much better than in the city and-"

"Eomma," Ga Eul whispered, discreetly pulling her further away. "Please stop fawning over him!"

"What are you talking about? I'm just-"

"I'll certainly keep that in mind," Woo Bin said amicably, fighting the urge to chuckle outright at the unintentionally comical scene before him.

No wonder she hadn't wanted him to come!

Her father patted his arm and gestured around them. "Our house may be smaller than what you're accustomed to, Master Song, but I can assure you that you'll want for nothing here. So if the two of you are going out-"

"For dinner!" interjected Ga Eul - who abruptly colored when three pairs of eyes looked at her.

Woo Bin coughed into his hand delicately.

"For dinner," her father repeated slowly, giving his daughter an odd look before turning to Woo Bin again, "then of course we'd prefer you have it in our house than some other place."

"Especially since last time you were here, you weren't even able to get inside," her mother said, huffing. "Imagine that." She glanced at her daughter, her eyebrow raised.

Ga Eul coughed.

"You have a very lovely home," Woo Bin said - and meant it. There was something very warm about the house that he was sure he liked. "I'm pleased to be invited again. And perhaps I will take you up on your offer to visit anytime?" He then turned to Ga Eul and fairly grinned - as if silently asking her if he could.

She pursed her lips at him before marching to take his arm. "You must be hungry," she said, practically pulling him forward - away from her parents. "I heated the porridge I bought for you. I-"

"He'll eat no such thing in this house, Ga Eul!" her mother clucked after them. "Especially since I made extra batches of my mixed seafood stew and my kimchi this week. He should taste them, of course! I hope you can handle your spice well, Master Woo Bin."

"I'm fond of spicy things," Woo Bin assured her. "And please - just Woo Bin is fine."

"There's also a few side dishes we've prepared for you to enjoy," her father said, following them. "You'll find that my wife cooks better than most of the overpriced restaurants in the city, Mas- I mean, Woo Bin."

She shot her husband a fond smile before saying, "That, too, is something Ga Eul learned from me. Has she cooked anything for you yet, Woo Bin?"

"No," Woo Bin responded, glancing at her in surprise. Was Ga Eul supposed to?

"Why ever not?" her mother asked, addressing her daughter in bewilderment. "Ga Eul, why haven't you?"

"Because-!" Ga Eul replied. She blinked repeatedly, stalling for time. "Because... there's no reason for me to cook for him yet."

Yet. Such a small word, but full of meaning. Woo Bin winked at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

Once they've reached the dining area, Woo Bin found out that their table was fairly teeming with side dishes - and that it was set up for two people only.

Ga Eul voiced his inquiry to her parents: "You're not joining us?"

"Why should we?" her father asked, seemingly perplexed. "This is your dinner."

"Besides, we're going for a walk. It's such a lovely night to stay indoors." Her mother paused. "For us elderly people, anyway. And we also have to buy that lottery ticket for your father, you know."

"I feel lucky tonight," he said, rubbing his hands in anticipation. "Five million won!"

Five minutes later and the two of them have gone, leaving Woo Bin and Ga Eul alone in her house.

At least, he hoped they were.

"Let's see," Woo Bin said, looking down at the food before him and rubbing his hands together the way her father did. "They all look so good. What should I get? Any suggestions?"

Ga Eul looked at him in amusement. "How about getting some rice first?"

"-I knew that." He then scooped some into his bowl, but he must have done so messily because the next thing he knew she was standing by his side and taking his utensils from him.

"How do you even eat in your house?" she demanded.

Woo Bin was fairly certain he'd just been insulted in some subtle way. So he leaned back and replied, "Come have dinner with me there and I'll show you."

"Hmph," she said, finishing putting rice in his bowl instead of responding right away. She placed it in front of him. "You eat vegetables, don't you?"

He squinted at her. "Are you going to throw me out if I say I don't?"

"Tough luck then," she said, almost sounding vindictive as she placed a large heap of vegetables on his plate. "You should eat them, you know. They're good for your body!"

"Yes Ma'am, Miss Chu," he replied meekly.

She glanced at him and smirked. "You should try Eomma's stew, of course. She'll eat you alive if you don't."

"Will she?" Woo Bin asked. "She doesn't seem like the type who eats men. Such a sweet, gentle woman."

"That's because you don't live with her," she responded, absently taking spoonfuls of other side dishes and placing them on his plate as well. "And because she likes you."

"Well," he said bashfully, straightening himself, "please tell her that while I find her lovely, I draw the line at flirting with married women."

Ga Eul laughed, took a green pea, and threw it at his head. "That's not what I meant!"

In retaliation, he took a small slice of carrot and threw it at her. "You should've made it clearer!"

The intention to respond in kind was clearly written on her face. She visibly clamped it down, however, and chose instead to return to her side of the table. "You know, the only reason you're not wearing your stew is because no one else will clean after the mess but me."

"Such a charming, sadistic daughter," Woo Bin said, picking up his chopsticks. "A pity you don't take after your mother."

She stuck her tongue out at him again.

They ate in amicable silence, with her adding spoonfuls of food into his plate and him actually finishing them. Woo Bin found, to his astonishment, that Ga Eul's mother did cook better than most establishments he'd been to. He was particularly fond of the stew and kimchi - which he was sure was her intention all along for serving them.

They made some light conversations - about her family, about her school, about some other things under the sun. He joked. She laughed. She talked. He listened.

Several minutes later and they were done.

"My compliments to the chef," he said, after swallowing the last of his dinner. "I don't think I've ever eaten that much in my entire life, come to think of it." He patted his flat stomach and barely fought the urge to burp.

"Eomma would be ecstatic to hear you say that," Ga Eul said, smiling at him.

"I'm sure it'll make her like me more than she already does," Woo Bin said.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" she said wryly.

"It'll certainly make things easier, I must admit."

"Easier... for what?"

Instead of answering, he just grinned.

"So," Woo Bin said, watching Ga Eul take the plates they've eaten on and dumping them in the sink, "that was a wonderful dinner. But I said that already, didn't I?"

"If you want my mother to like you more, then you should say that once she's here to actually hear it," she said, glaring at him.

"The stew is particularly good," Woo Bin reiterated, moving forward to retrieve his cup to hand it to her. "But since you take after your mother, then I suppose yours is good too?"

She glanced at him and stoutly declared, "I'm not cooking for you, Sunbae."

"Yet. You said 'yet' earlier," he pointed out.

"Keep that up and that 'yet' will become 'never.'"

"I can tell," Woo Bin said, handing her the saucers next, "that you're going to be a terror when you become a teacher."

She whirled at him then, all nervous indignation. "You think so?"

He laughed and squeezed her nose. "I kid, I kid. You're going to be an amazing teacher, Ga Eul. Just- don't ask me how I know that. Call it instinct. Or good common sense."

Ga Eul swatted his hand away. "You're just saying that because I fed you."

"Are you calling me a liar?" he asked, adopting an offended air.

"No," she said softly. But she smiled at him and said, "Thank you."

Woo Bin nodded, feeling content.

While he couldn't deny that he was having fun with her like this, it seemed like they've both been purposely ignoring the reason he was here for far too long now. Woo Bin cleared his throat. "Anyway," he said, choosing to directly address what was niggling his brain, "you said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

She dropped the spoon she was drying and bent quickly to retrieve it. "Oh," she said, "that." Ga Eul turned so that she was facing the sink instead of him and added, "Yi Jung Sunbae called me yesterday." She paused. "I thought you should know."

She'd said the words so quietly he wondered if he'd just imagined them.

But Woo Bin heard. He heard.

And he loathed the ugly feelings that rose up inside him when he did.

"That's what you wanted, isn't it?" he asked her, toying with the chopsticks he'd picked up. "For him to call you?"

Her shoulders drooped. "He- he invited me to go to Sweden and see him."

His stomach flipped uncomfortably as he stared at the back of her head. It seemed like the air between them had become charged; unlike the casual, friendly atmosphere that was there before. Woo Bin wondered if he was the only one noticing it.

Then he asked, already dreading her answer before she even gave it, "Would you?"

Ga Eul glanced at him. "I- I don't know," she responded. "It's just... it's so sudden. I don't even know why he invited me. And he was acting so strangely, too. Like- like he was in a hurry, or something."

He scowled. Did this mean Yi Jung did not tell her anything about their own talk? But that was absurd. Surely if he'd wanted to put a stop to whatever this was between him and Ga Eul, he would've done so already...?

Then again, would Ga Eul have called him if she was crudely told of how he felt about her?

Woo Bin crossed his arms, hating that he couldn't read how Yi Jung handled this. "Maybe he was worried that you've found your soulmate while he was away."

She didn't say anything, which disappointed him. After all, if there was anything that would have provoked a response from her, it was bringing up her belief in soulmates - however misguided it seemed.

He tried again. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Ga Eul said. "I was too stunned by him calling and his offer. I mean- he didn't even ask how I was or what I've been doing or if I want to go. Or if I can. And- of course I can't. I can't be absent in school! I can't just go to a different country to see him. What will my family think? I don't- I'm not like Jan Di! I'm-"

She paused and took a deep breath. Then she turned to face him fully. "What do you think I should do?"

Well. This was interesting. More than a thousand women would have paid handsomely to have him in their kitchen like she did, at that moment - and yet here she was, asking if she should see another man instead of him.

It was really, really hard not to feel insulted by it all.

God, had he seriously become this pathetic?

Woo Bin placed the chopsticks on the table before stepping away from her. "You know what I think?" he asked, turning to her with a self-deprecating smirk on his face, "I think you're asking me that question because you expected me to tell you to go. I'm Yi Jung's friend, aren't I? I should be supportive of his actions. So you're making me choose for you, since a part of you hopes that I'll tell you to go to him."

She frowned at him. "That's not-" She stepped closer to him. "That's not it at all. I wanted-"

"Ga Eul. If I tell you anything other than 'don't go'," he told her quietly, "then feel free to call me a liar."

He could see her mouth tremble. "Sunbae-"

"Anything that'll take you away from-" Me. "-home is something I'm automatically against," Woo Bin said. "Keep that in mind next time Yi Jung asks you to go." He shoved his hands in his pockets and added, almost jokingly, "I bet you feel sorry now for asking me."

Ga Eul shook her head. "I wouldn't ask you if I didn't want to know what you think." She reached for his arm and squeezed. "There's no other person I'd rather talk to about it."

And wasn't that a comforting thought.