章 2: The One With The Lady In Blue
Lee Sung-Hoon
Kim Ha-Jun stared at Sung-Hoon in disbelief. An hour had passed since the wedding was over. The guests settled in the dining area and enjoyed the lavish, delicious feast presented in front of them. Sung-Hoon and Ha-Jun waited for the bride and the groom to wrap up their photo session so they could enjoy the meal together. Meanwhile, Song Jun-Seo swallowed every piece of meat like the world was ending the next day.
To kill time, the best friends got into a conversation, and Sung-Hoon said something that didn't sit well with his dearest best friend.
"Love? It's no magic. Love is just the result of a bunch of chemical reactions in the brain." Sung-Hoon casually said without looking up from his phone. Evidently, he was looking up some chemicals to order for research.
Kim Ha-Jun stared at Sung-Hoon in disbelief. "Now, I know why you are never invited to weddings."
"Why? What did he say?" asked Aera, as she carefully sauntered towards the men in her after-party white dress with her husband, Andrew, beside her.
Andrew covered his mouth to hide a chuckle. Aera spared him a glance before turning to her older brother for an explanation. Sung-Hoon was still busy on his phone.
"Your brother's best friend doesn't believe in love!" Ha-Jun exclaimed as he raised his hands in exasperation. "My best friend doesn't believe in the concept of love! My best friend!"
"Sung-Hoon?" Kim Aera looked at the man who was typing something on his phone now.
"Yes?" He responded without looking up.
"What exactly did you say that made my brother go all squeaky?"
"Love is no magic. It's the result of a bunch of chemical reactions in your brain."
Kim Aera rubbed her chin with her index and thumb. She seemed to ponder over the words that rolled out of Sung-Hoon's lips. Ha-Jun and Andrew looked at her expectantly. After a while, Aera laughed.
"Biologically speaking, he is correct." She concluded. Her brother and husband waited for the explanation that would back her answer up. Sung-Hoon, on the other hand, smirked at the reactions of those two.
Kim Aera cleared her throat and took the men on a brief journey of the biochemistry of love. She explained, "When two people feel attracted towards each other, high levels of dopamine and norepinephrine are released. These chemicals produce feelings of giddiness and euphoria. It can even lead to decreased appetite and insomnia. This is the feeling people experience when they are in love - they lose appetite and sleep."
The smirk on Sung-Hoon's face turned into more of a smile. He kept his phone away and nodded at his best friend's sister. It seemed like only the best friend was shocked to see his sister taking Sung-Hoon's side. Andrew, being a doctor himself, agreed with his wife's logic and explanation while being proud of her at the same time.
"I am a hopeless romantic, Aera," Ha-Jun stated. "Just because you got your happily ever after doesn't give you the right to ruin the experience for me."
The three giggled.
"Oppa," Aera started once she was done giggling at her brother. "Knowing the science behind falling in love shouldn't ruin the experience for you. It's beautiful how the chemicals in your body work to signal that you should pursue that girl you made eye contact with at a random shop in the mall!"
Sung-Hoon raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You liked someone you made eye contact with?"
"Ya! I felt a connection with her. It was mysterious. Electrifying, even! It was like love at first sight."
Sung-Hoon rolled his eyes at him and decided it was better to drop the subject than argue further. Lucky for him, Aera decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. Aera and Andrew were leaving for Maldives for their honeymoon tonight and needed someone to look after their pet dog, Lily.
"Why don't I take Lily home with me?" Ha-Jun suggested. "She won't be bored and can play with Mickey. It'll also be easier for me to take care of her while you're gone."
"Great! Sounds good. I'll tell Eomma to give you the keys to the apartment." Aera smiled and hugged her older brother. "Thank you, Oppa."
"Anything for my baby sister." Ha-Jun reciprocated the gesture. "Now, shall we go and eat? I'm starving."
"I'm gonna get myself a drink. You guys carry on." Sung-Hoon excused himself and made a beeline toward the bar.
"I'm not keeping a seat for you, you jerk!" Ha-Jun yelled.
"Wouldn't keep one if I were you!" Sung-Hoon yelled back as he chuckled.
~
"What can I get you, sir?" asked the bartender as he mixed drinks for other customers at the bar. Sung-Hoon took a seat on one of the stools in the leftmost corner so that he could enjoy the drink while watching people at the same time.
"A virgin bloody mary, please," Sung-Hoon ordered. "And if you could add olives and pickle juice, that'll be great."
The bartender smiled. "Coming right up!"
"Can't drink, so you're choosing a drink that gives you the same taste as alcohol?" Sung-Hoon turned to see a broad-shouldered man with a familiar smirk walking toward him. He donned a military jacket and a white tee underneath, a pair of black jeans, and deep brown combat boots.
"You, out of all people, should know I don't drink, Park Dae-Jung."
"But you would drink in the name of science, wouldn't you?" Dae-Jung chuckled, taking a seat beside Sung-Hoon.
"I wouldn't be opposed to the idea." Sung-Hoon calmly replied.
"So the nerd will drink. Interesting."
"What are you doing here? Kicked you out of the military already?" Sung-Hoon deadpanned.
Dae-Jung heartily laughed. "Ha-Jun was right. Any occasion without your dry humor is incomplete. And to answer your question, no. I took a day off to attend Aera and Andrew's wedding. Andrew and I were roomies in college."
Park Dae-Jung and Lee Sung-Hoon were academic rivals during their four years of high school. Their rivalry was so extreme and dramatic at times that even the teachers would sit down and watch them. They were always neck and neck in academics. Every year, Sung-Hoon and Dae-Jung would pull off pranks on each other so the other failed the exams. At first, it started off simply messing with the other's notes (providing wrong information) which then turned to missing notes, drowning books and notes in the lake and even messing with the food that could lead to food poisoning.
"Here's your virgin bloody mary, sir." The bartender slid the drink across the table. "And what can I get you?" He asked Dae-Jung.
"I'll have what he's having," Dae-Jung pointed at Sung-Hoon's drink. "Just don't add the olives and pickle juice. I like it sweet."
The bartender nodded and slid to the other side of the table to prepare the drink.
"You gonna drink that?" Dae asked with a raised eyebrow. "What if I spiked it?"
"I think I'm gonna take my chances." Sung-Hoon flashed an evil smile. "If things go according to my plan, I could save myself from this torture while also sending you to jail for spiking my drink. Two birds with one stone."
Dae-Jung's eyes widened. He knew Sung-Hoon like the back of his hand and he knew he wasn't kidding when it came to things like this. He was smart as hell and could potentially use his smartness to put Dae-Jung in trouble. He had done this before, there was no reason as to why he wouldn't do it now.
"Although," Sung-Hoon paused. "Just sending you to jail would be easy. Younger me would be so disappointed if he found out I let you go easy right after I got to see you."
"What do you mean?" The smirk was wiped off Dae-Jung's face and was replaced with an expression of horror. All the blood drained from his face, leaving him a pale, white ghost.
Sung-Hoon's smile got bigger. He was enjoying every second of seeing Dae-Jung tremble in fear. Maybe showing up to the wedding wasn't so bad after all. He was glad he didn't miss out on the wedding and could witness a trembling army officer during broad daylight.
"Why do you look like you've seen a ghost? Army officials are supposed to be brave, correct? Or have they started to assign just about anyone who's available?"
"I-I-I-" Dae-Jung stuttered before shaking his head. "Just tell me what you're planning!"
It was Sung-Hoon's turn to laugh heartily.
"Relax, Dae-Jung-ah." He stood up with his drink and patted Dae-Jung's shoulder. "Where's the fun in telling?"
He leaned in and whispered in his ear. "The bartender is an undercover agent working for the Korean Mafia. I could do so much more than simply spike your drink."
He leaned back and mouthed, "Good luck!" Then walked away with his drink. Dae-Jung stood still for a few moments, completely stunned by what just happened.
"Sir?" The bartender's voice brought him back to the real world. "Your drink?"
Dae-Jung shook his head. "You drink it. I'm better off dying of thirst than drinking your cursed drink."
With that, Dae-Jung stormed off, leaving a confused bartender behind.
~
"Watch where you're going, mister!"
Not long after Sung-Hoon messed with Dae-Jung's head and walked off, he bumped into someone. He abruptly stepped back to see a woman, around his age or maybe a couple of years younger, standing still with her blue long-coat drenched. He glanced at the glass on his hand and immediately figured out what caused the stain on her coat.
"I apologize, miss."
"Just an apology?!" The woman shouted. Everything came to a standstill and all eyes were on them. "You think just an apology will get this awful stain out of my coat? Do you have any idea how much this costs?!"
"No, but the look on your face does tell me it's a lot." Sung-Hoon calmly said. "How about I help you with the coat, get it cleaned and you stop creating a scene?"
The woman swatted his hand away when he tried to help her with the coat. "You can't get it cleaned. Alcohol stains don't get off clothes easily! Now I have to discard this coat. All. Because. Of. You."
Sung-Hoon rolled his eyes. "First of all, the drink I had was a Virgin Bloody Mary so it wasn't alcoholic. Secondly, if you let me use a little bit of hydrogen peroxide on your coat, I can get the stain out."
The woman pondered on the words before she took off her coat and pushed it against his chest.
"Fine." She then took a pen and pulled his hand towards her. She flipped his hand so that the palm faced upwards. "Here's my number. Text me when the stain's out."
She closed the cap with a sharp click and walked out with her friends hot on her trail.
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