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It had been a couple of days since
the dinner. Kara hadn't been able
to fully apologize for her brother's
embarrassing behavior. Yeonjun was
working, Kara was working. Life
seemed to be against them at the
moment.

Kara steps out of the bus and walks to
the 7/11 nearby. On her way, she texts
Yeonjun, about meeting up. He says he can't. She calls him. Surprisingly, he answers.

"Please tell me you're not ignoring me
right now."

"Hi."

"I'm at the 7/11 on XXX street. Please
come."

"I already told you you don't need to
apologize. I had fun, believe it or not."

"Fine. Come anyway, I haven't seen you in a while." Kara arrives at the 7/11 and grabs a chocolate milk.

"Hmm."

"Please." She hands the cashier the
money. She thanks him and heads
outside.

"Lemme guess, you bought...mint choco milk!"

"Yeonjun, stop changing the subject."

Kara sits in one of the tables outside
She places her phone between her
cheek and shoulder, attempting to
open her chocolate milk, "And it's
chocolate, I hate mint choco."

"Ohh, I forgot you hate mint choco."

"You're the one who likes mint choco."

"Right," he giggled

Kara sipped a little of her chocolate
milk, "Well?"

"Yeah, I'll come."

'I'll be waiting." She hung up. Kara
chugged her chocolate milk, finishing
it completely. And she sat there waiting for him.

Nearly half an hour had passed, and Yeonjun had yet to arrive. Kara couldn't fathom why she was still left waiting. Her anxiety only intensified with each passing minute, causing her worry to consume her. She couldn't help but question why he was taking so much time? Perhaps he had changed his mind and decided not to come?

No, she thought. He'd tell her if he
wasn't

But would he, though? He said he
would, but she began to doubt. It was
It was never good when Kara began to doubt. Kara was the definition of positive. She was bright and bubbly and full of sunshine.

Perhaps Kara had made the mistake of trusting the wrong individuals on multiple occasions, but why should that matter? Deep within her heart, Kara possessed an abundance of love that she yearned to bestow upon someone deserving. Was there really anything inherently flawed in her desire to do so? However, as doubts began to seep into Kara's mind, it became clear that something was wrong.

Thankfully, Yeonjun did show up
Thirty-two minutes. That's how long
it took him. Traffic, he blamed it on
traffic.

"I am so sorry."

"What matters is you're here," Kara
stood up, she leaned in for a kiss.
Yeonjun hugged her instead and gave
her a kiss on the cheek, and he smiled
gently at her. He explained the trouble at his work, and the nonstop traffic prevented him from coming sooner. He apologized once more.

Kara shook her head, "I told you it's
fine." She returned his kind smile.

Kara opened her purse and brought
out a mimt choco milk, "Thought you
might like it."

Once again, Yeonjun gave her his
kindly smile, "Thanks." He took it and
dranked it.

"How was that thing with your
brother?" Kara asked.

Yeonjun's younger brother, who happened to be a member of the popular band Enhypen, was one of the performers at the concert where Yeonjun and Kara crossed paths. Kara was filled with an overwhelming sense of good fortune upon realizing that she had encountered someone closely associated with her beloved Enhypen. After all, she did love them

But that was the reason why Yeonjun had to leave so early at the dinner. It was directly linked to his younger brother's commitments. There were some issues with their practice session, and Yeonjun willingly stepped in to lend a helping hand.

"Speaking of brothers, I don't think
yours likes me too much," Yeonjun
flings the empty mint choco milk
carton at the trash, just barely making
it in.

"What makes you say that?" Kara
replied. Yeonjun gave Kara a look.

"Okay, yeah, I know. He was being
difficult, but that's just how little
brothers are."

"I know, cause I have one." Yeonjun laughed.

Kara sat up straight, "Look, I know you don't want me to apologize again, but I really am sorry for his attitude. I just don't want you to feel unwelcome. I really like you."

Yeonjun sat up straight as well. His face became blank, "I know. It's okay, Kara."

"It's just, I've had really bad
experiences with guys. Some way or
another I always end up in the same
spot. Crying. Alone," Kara grabbed
Yeonjun's hand, "But I know you're
different. I told Soobin that."

Yeonjun could only smile.

        +×+         

Later that day, Yeonjun and Kara
decided to shop at the mall. They
walked into Charlotte's. It was a
dress store. It was for Yeonjun's older
brother's upcoming performance.
His brother would be performing at a
fancy event rather than some musty
concert. Meaning it was a big deal.
Kara was obviously going and needed
something to wear.

"I don't think this screams 'classy',
Kara twirled around. She was wearing this short sleeveless baby pink dress. Very sexy, not fancy.

"That's why I'm picking your outfits.
You have terrible taste." Yeonjun
looked at his black painted nails. One
had chipped, Damm.

"I can't even argue," Kara examined
the dress once more in the mirror and
surrendered, "Fine. What should I try
next?"

"The black one," he says, still focused
on his nails, not even sparing her a
glance.

Kara rolled her eyes, "Black is way too
basic!"

"Black is timeless, bold." Of course
Yeonjun would think that it's all he
ever wore.

"You're the boss," Kara grabbed the
black dress that was hanging and
stepped into the dresser.

It took a few minutes before Kara
stepped out. Yeonjun had finally taken a good look at Kara. She was as radiant as ever. The black dress was of flowy silk, its straps hung low, making her collarbone stand out. It was quite pretty. Yeonjun nodded in approval. It wasn't bad, he told her,

As Kara looked in the mirror, she said,
"You know, I was thinking. Maybe we
could invite my brother."

Yeonjun's brow creased, "Would he
even want to go?"

"Of course, he loves stuff like this."
Kara was lying. Soobin would never go to any kind of musical performance. He hated loud places.

"Well, I meant if he knew I was going to be there."

Kara laughed forcibly, "Don't be
ridiculous. He would totally, like,
wanna go. He wouldn't even mind
you."

Kara began unzipping her dress,
"Anyways, I'll uh- ask him about it,
Okay?" Kara left to her dresser.

Kara was aware that Soobin would never give his consent, but she was willing to go to great lengths to convince him. She saw this as an ideal opportunity, a chance for her brother and boyfriend to form a bond, to spend quality time together and potentially discover they had more in common than they initially thought. The only thing she needed to do was stretch the truth ever so slightly, just a minuscule amount.

Kara had it all planned. She'd tell
Soobin, she's going to this small party
no! Soobin hates parties. Instead, she'll say...club meeting. A club meeting for music-lovers, so he needs to get a tux, Would that make sense? If she said club meeting, he'd question the tux. He can't show up wearing something casual at Enhypens fancy event!

Kara confidently proclaimed that she would come up with a solution or idea at a later time. Regardless of the chosen approach, the ultimate objective remained the same - to convince or persuade Soobin to accompany them without disclosing the destination. The success of their endeavor hinged entirely on his willingness to agree and join them.

Kara stepped out of the dresser with
her regular clothes on and the black
dress hanging on her arm.

"...Soobin?" Kara was stunned. Soobin
was here.

Yeonjun and Soobin both turned to
look at Kara. It seemed they were
talking, or something like that.

"What are you doing here?" Kara
asked, still trying to wrap her mind at
how he suddenly appeared

Yeonjun gave Kara's jacket for her to
catch, "Good news, your brother said he'd go."

Kara had almost dropped it. She looked at Yeonjun in a daze, "What?"

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