Love is only a feeling
Chapter 5 - Slippin' Through My Fingers
Now she's gone, I'm sleepin with the lights on
"Say, isn't Hwang supposed to be staying at your place, Mina?" Kilik put up his best tone of indifference, at the same time glancing at the girl out of the corner of his eye.
Mina decided she wasn't going to let a loose comment spoil her resolution of not mentioning Hwang on this happy day, so she feigned ignorance as she brought her friends to their rooms. That, she realized, is the best way of escaping an awkward situation. "Here is your room, guys," she motioned to the room they were standing in front of. "Xianghua bunks in with me!" she grinned.
"But, why?" Kilik's voice sounded suspiciously like a whine. "I want to bunk in with Xianghua!"
"No!" Mina, Xianghua and Maxi shouted in unison, and Kilik collapsed into a heap of guffaws. Maxi dragged Kilik by the collar into their room while the girls could only shake their heads in despair.
"How exactly," Kilik eyed his excitable friend cautiously. "Does this potion thing need to be executed for it to work?"
"Let's see. So far I only tried one method, and it works fine…" Maxi's voice faltered as Kilik bore his angry eyes into his again. "They need to take one drop of this potion in the presence of each other for as many days as it takes to make them realize they are meant for each other!" he winked smugly. "And, it works best on unsuspecting victims."
"Fine. Just do it tomorrow then." Kilik didn't look at all impressed. "I need to sleep. I'm bushed."
"Mate, we still have to figure out how to feed this to them!" Maxi swung the potion violently in front of Kilik's face. But he seemed to be more asleep rather than awake.
"Feed… don't use that word," Kilik mumbled in a stare of grogginess. "Just use the same way as you fed it to us." Maxi studied his face carefully, and was relieved to find no sign that Kilik was aware of what he was saying – or any sign that he bore a grudge against using the potion against him.
"That's not the point!" Maxi pranced around exasperatedly. "Look I'm really sorry about that time! It was fun on my part so stop harping over it already!"
"As you wish," Kilik rolled over to his side and promptly fell asleep on his bed.
"Looks like I have to brave the dangers alone…" Maxi stared at the bottle in hand, a resolute expression on his face.
Hwang knocked on the door. He could hear muffled giggles and whispers from the girls' room, and waited impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor. Things just got busier as the date of the wedding drew closer. Even with the help of Maxi, Xianghua and Kilik, things barely got done as quickly as would please his teacher.
"Yes?" a smiling Xianghua swung the door half open. "Oh, it's you." Her expression changed to one of pure amusement, giving him a knowing wink and then promptly closing the door again.
After what seemed like fifteen minutes, the door opened again. This time it was Mina, wearing a pink hanbok and a scowl. It didn't take a genius to figure out that going out with him was the last thing she wanted to do. "Have fun," Xianghua mouthed behind Mina, at the same time waving them goodbye.
Oh no, not a foul mood. Hwang sorely remembered what happened between them last week, and he was determined not to let that happen again. They had managed to avoid each other all week; she was too busy having fun and attending to her friends to care about the wedding at all. Maybe his Teacher's idea wasn't that brilliant after all. Hwang could feel the dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he thought of Mina coming back. He cast a sideward glance at her: she was – deliberately or not – looking far ahead, arms crossed and sulk in place. The setting sun cast a soft orange glow on her face, and the light bounced off the silvery material of her dress, so it shimmered like an angel's.
"Why are you staring at me?" she demanded. She narrowed her eyes and slowed down to a halt. "You better not be thinking of doing anything funny."
Yes, beautiful. But… not like this.
Hwang stifled a laugh. Facing forward so his expression wouldn't betray him, he called out behind him "I was just wondering… why you wore pink. This is a first."
He walked a few paces but there was no reply. Exasperated, he turned around.
The girl stood rooted at the same spot.
"Alright, nobody will do anything funny to you," Hwang shook his head, arms raised in defeat. "I'm not even sure if anyone wants to," he muttered under his breath.
"What did you just say?" He thought he heard a quiver in her voice.
What, she could hear him? The cocky expression was wiped from his face, replaced in a split second with a pained expression. He took a step forward, but didn't know what to say. For the next ten seconds, time seemed to go in slow motion. First, the near invisible tears made its presence known. Then, her treacherous look that stung him like a bucket of cold water sloshed over.
She didn't even say a word. Before Hwang could react any further, she turned onto her heels and ran, faster than he had ever imagined.
I lost. This time, I lost it.