'Noona'

You examine the mirror a final time, unsure of your own reflection. “I don’t know. Are you sure I look okay?”

“Of course you do,” Miyeon reassures you, planting a kiss on your cheek. “You look very handsome.”

“These glasses make me look like a nerd.”

“A handsome nerd.” She gathers her purse, heading towards the front door. “Now hurry up, hun. We’re gonna be late.”

You’re getting promoted to the manager of a bowling alley—hardly a means for celebration. Yet, Miyeon always makes a big deal out of these kinds of things, no matter how big or small. Despite your reluctance, she insisted on setting up a picnic with all of your friends to celebrate your new promotion.

Well, her friends at least. Social interaction never came easy to you like it does for Miyeon. Where you would prefer to keep to yourself, she’s the type to go out of her way to make friends with strangers. A sort of black cat and golden retriever dynamic, she never shies away from showering you with affection. It can be a bit troublesome at times, but at the very least, life is much, much more interesting having her as your girlfriend.

“...And then she had the audacity to just walk off like nothing happened!” Miyeon exclaims, complaining about an interaction she had earlier today while on the drive to the park. “Ugh, the nerve of some people!”

“That sucks, baby.” Judging by her story, it seems like she’s the one in the wrong here, but you would never admit that to her.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna talk about it anymore, just thinking about it is pissing me off,” she sighs. The frown on her face instantly fades, replaced by her pretty smile as she turns to look at you. “God, I can’t believe you thought you looked ugly in those glasses. You look so cute.”

You chuckle softly. “You’re just saying that because you bought them for me.”

“I’m saying that because it’s true.” She waits until you stop in front of the red light before grabbing your chin and turning your head towards her. “I picked well though, didn’t I? You’re giving ‘sexy nerd’ vibes, like you’ll explain the Pythragoran theorem to me before taking me to the bedroom and f—”

“OKAY!” you exclaim, cutting her off before she goes into anymore detail. “First of all, it’s pronounced ‘Pythagorean’ theorem—”

“—So hot—”

“Second of all,” you stifle a chuckle at her overexaggerated lip bite, “Are your friends already at the park?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She leans back in her seat to check her phone, the sunlight through the window dancing on her flawless skin. “Yup, they’re all there. Just waiting for us.”

You breathe deeply, trying your best to calm your nerves. Miyeon, sensing something wrong, places a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

“Are you alright?” she asks.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just a little nervous, I guess.”

With how often she talks about them, you basically know everything about Miyeon’s friends, maybe more than you should know. However, you’ve never actually met them in person. You know they’re good people (Miyeon wouldn’t constantly sing their praises otherwise), but the thought of making a good first impression still fills your mind with worry. 

“You have nothing to worry about, honey,” she says. “I talk about you so much, they basically like you already.”

“Oh really?” The corner of your lip lifts with curiosity. “What did you tell them about me?”

“Well…” That sly grin growing on her face tells you more than enough about the kind of ramblings that go on in her group chat.

“Christ, Miyeon!” you groan, heat rising to your cheeks. “I don’t need them knowing all about… that!”

She simply shrugs, chuckling at your reaction. “It’s a girl thing, I don’t expect you to understand. Besides, I tell them other things about you too, like how sweet and hardworking and attentive you are…” She leans in close until you can feel her breath tickling your earlobe. “...and how you like to me call ‘noona’ in bed—”

You come to a grinding halt pulling into a parking spot. Your entire face becomes enveloped in a burning heat, while Miyeon breaks down laughing in the passenger seat. If there weren’t so many people around, you would’ve already been pounding your face against the horn until your skin became one with the steering wheel.

“I’m just joking, honey!” she exclaims, clutching her stomach as she comes down from her hysterical high. 

Knowing Miyeon, the possibility that she did tell them is still non-zero. All you can do is hope that none of them mention this damning piece of information during the picnic, otherwise you fall victim to awkward future encounters at worst or a lifetime of teasing at best. In hindsight, maybe it would’ve been easier if you didn’t get the promotion in the first place.

⋆˚☆˖°⋆｡° ✮˖ ࣪ ⊹⋆.˚⋆˚☆˖°⋆｡° ✮˖ ࣪ ⊹⋆.˚✩࿐

The golden sun hangs overhead, complimenting the aquamarine of the clear skies. A cooling breeze offsets the heat emitting from above to a perfect point. It’s a great day for a picnic, all things considered. Somehow, these kinds of things always work out when Miyeon plans them. Perhaps she’s secretly a goddess, bending the universe at her will whenever she wants, even for something as small and inconsequential as a picnic. Or perhaps you just don't pay enough attention to the weather app these days.

Miyeon skips ahead of you, the grass dancing in the wake of her every step as she makes her way towards the five girls sitting on the picnic blanket in the shade of a large tree. You purposefully slow down, making a small show of the cooler you’re dragging getting stuck on a rock, just so you can control your breathing before meeting them. It doesn’t help that you’re still all hot and bothered from Miyeon’s previous teasing. The least you can do is not make a complete fool of yourself from the get go.

“Girls, this is my man, I’m sure you know all about him at this point.” Miyeon clings to your arm, shooting a sneaky wink that does little to calm your nerves.

“Hello,” you say, giving them a polite bow.

The rest of them exchange greetings with you, quickly putting you at ease as you fall into pleasant conversation. Most of your time is spent listening to another one of Miyeon’s rants (They all agree that she was in the wrong, but of course, you take her side anyways), but every once in a while, the others will tell stories about their own personal lives. 

You learn about Soyeon’s budding rap career and Shuhua’s inability to hold a stable job for more than a month at a time (You figure you could mention that your place is hiring, but quietly decide against it after hearing about her work ethic). Minnie tells you about her visit to Thailand last month to see her family, showing the group her many pictures of her adventures, while Soojin and Yuqi vent about the different kinds of customers they meet at the bar they work at. They’re such an eclectic group of interesting people, you almost feel embarrassed that they’re all assembled here to celebrate your promotion at a dingy bowling alley

“Congrats on your promotion!” Soyeon exclaims. “It must be fun working at a bowling alley.”

“Eh, it’s alright,” you say, scratching the back of your head. “Mainly just cleaning and general customer service, I would hardly call it interesting.”

“I think it’s pretty cool,” Miyeon chimes in. “Tell them about what happened last week, with the drunk guy and all that.”

The rest of the group lean in with intrigue, putting a spotlight on you. “Um, it wasn’t anything really—”

“C’mon, tell us!” Shuhua screams. “Don’t be a wuss!”

“Hey, don’t be rude.” Soojin slaps her on the shoulder, scolding her. “But yes, we would like to know what happened.”

“Alright, well…” You take a quick breath, trying to recount everything that happened. “There was this big group of guys that came in, I think it was for some guy’s birthday party or a bachelor party or something. They ordered a bunch of alcohol and started terrorizing the other lanes, just being really rowdy and stuff. My coworker told them to chill out, and one of them started getting physical with her, so I, uh…” You pause, suddenly feeling self conscious about all the attention you’re getting. Miyeon rubs your back, looking at them with a knowing smirk.

“...I slip—”

“He knocked him out!” She exclaims, finishing your sentence.

The girls erupt into a chorus of cheers, patting you on the back and singing your praises about how “cool” you are. In reality, you only knocked the guy out after slipping and accidentally headbutting him in the nose, but it’s already too late to correct them. So you settle for keeping quiet, letting them believe in the facade that Miyeon presented them.

“Wah, that’s so cool!” Yuqi cheers. “No wonder you got promoted to manager!”

“Remind me to hire you as my bodyguard the next time I visit home,” Minnie teases.

In the midst of all the commotion, Miyeon pulls you to the side, gently cupping your chin. “See, I told you they would like you,” she whispers, kissing your cheek.

“They like the lie that you told.”

“I didn’t lie, you did technically knock him out.”

“Yeah, on accident—”