The walk to the restaurant was only a mere 5 minutes away, but because of the awkwardness, the trip seemed longer.
Even after they were both seated and even after they placed their order, they were silent for a while, until Dae-hyun spoke up.
"So I heard you're married to Shinhwa." he stated nonchalantly.
Jan Di scoffed. "Excuse me, I'm married to Gu Jun-pyo." she corrected him.
"How much did you pay him?" Dae-hyun asked almost immediately, in a rather mean but subtly teasing way.
Jan Di was about to stand up to protest but just in time, their orders arrived.
As they were eating, they shot a few hard glances at each other from time to time, and then Jan Di sighed, "I can't believe the director wanted me to bond with you."
Dae-hyun kept a calm expression. "Well it could be worse."
"Huh, how." Jan Di replied in a more statement than a question.
"You could be me, who's being forced to spend time with you."
Jan Di stared at him with furrowed brows.
'One more crack up then I'm leaving..' she thought aggravatingly to herself, as she continued to roughly chew her food.
After a period of more silence, Dae-hyun started, almost softly this time, "But do you know what I don't understand?"
Jan Di looked up at him.
"It's the fact that many many years ago, we were close, in fact, we were pretty much best friends. But now, we hate each other."
Jan Di pondered about it for few seconds. "I guess," her voice softening. "When did we start acting this way?"
Dae-hyun shook his head. "I don't know, it's all a blur, but I think it was around the 6th grade when..." he cut himself midway and suddenly looked really embarrassed.
Jan Di stared at him curiously. "When...?"
Dae-hyun feverishly shook his head, his face becoming red.
Jan Di raised an eyebrow, but he kept looking down, avoiding her stare.
When they were close to finishing their meal and after they gave their coupons to the waitress, they both stood up, at the same time, to leave.
They stared at each other, 'How do we do that?' both thought, referring to how they do things at the exact same time.
As they left the restaurant, Jan Di started, "Well I guess I'll see you tomorr-"
"Jan Di." Dae-hyun interrupted her. She looked at him.
He didn't say anything for a few minutes until Jan Di sighed and turned to leave,
"..when... I started falling for you..." he confessed quietly, as if speaking to himself. Still maintaining eye contact with the cement below, he then turned to leave, assuming she didn't hear him.
But Jan Di clearly heard what he said, her expression changing from a serious one to a dumbfounded one. "Wait.." she started, stopping him.
He looked almost sadly at her, as if regretting what he said.
"Did you just say, 'when I started falling for you'?" Jan Di asked him, slowly.
He nodded, now fully regretting his silent confession.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it, I'll leave now..." he apologized, words sputtering out in a rush.
"So you liked me?" Jan Di interrupted him.
He sighed, his mind going crazy. "What do you think, Jan Di, what do you think." he loved her, but sometimes she could be so slow.
Jan Di, looking almost guilty, slowly confessed,
"I liked you too..."
It was that moment when Dae-hyun's heart suddenly started beating uncontrollably fast. He pounded his chest and cleared his throat nervously.
"Wh-what did you say?"