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“I won’t kiss anyone!” Euiwoong yelled.
“But Euiwoong! The fair will start in an hour. We can’t risk this,” Haknyeon reasoned, patiently. The two boys walking towards the student council room and everyone student in the hallway is staring at them. Euiwoong eyed everyone on their way and they immediately turn their gazes to anything but Euiwoong.
“You heard me once, hyung. I won’t do it! Now, contact Jihoon and Woojin hyung. We are running out of time.”
Euiwoong immediately went on his table to fix things last minute - if the certificates were already printed, tokens and gifts, and if all the booths were set up and ready for operation. Arguing with Haknyeon about the student’s council’s kissing booth, their booth, is clearly not on his list.
“I told you I cannot contact them right now. And you know I cannot substitute for them. Since I will be the emcee for the whole program. Yena and Yuri have their own jobs too.” Haknyeon reasoned again, silently hoping that Euiwoong finally agrees. “Woong, please?”
“I’m the head of this event, hyung. I can’t afford to be stuck on that booth for God knows how many hours. I need to check everything and keep things running.”
“Yena and Yuri can split your work. We just need to finish this day, okay?”
“Why are we even arguing about this damn kissing booth when we can just cancel it!” Euiwoong bursted.
Haknyeon stood stiffly. He feels so sorry for Euiwoong and cancelling the kissing booth sounds like a plan but they can’t afford it. Not when they need to raise a lot of money for the council’s preparation for the school’s foundation day and everyone was anticipating the booth.
“We can’t just refund the pre-sold tickets, Woong. Please?” Haknyeon silently prayed and look at Euiwoong with pleading eyes.
Euiwoong fished his phone from his pocket and dialed Jihoon’s number. It was out of reach. He switched to contacting Woojin but it’s also out of reach.
Euiwoong rolled his eyes and sighed.
A loud cheer from a crowd of students can be heard. Haknyeon is already at the stage announcing the start of the fair. Yena and Yuri were already running around the school’s oval to make sure everything is in order. Jihoon and Woojin are still nowhere to be seen.
The makeshift booth was small, about the size of a portable toilet. It was not stuffy inside despite the warm spring air. The only thing that Euiwoong is thankful for.
He’s been inside the booth, the kissing booth, for a good twenty minutes and he can already hear soft giggles from the outside. Girls and boys are probably anticipating Woojin and Jihoon.
Euiwoong knew it was going to be bad the moment Jihoon filed his candidacy to run for treasurer and tagging his best friend Woojin to run for auditor. Euiwoong knew that it was going to be a popularity battle and he was right.
Jihoon and Woojin are one of the most popular boys in their school and running for a position in the student council means a sure win. For the three months he’s been working with the two boys, admittedly, he sees no problem. The two were doing their job just fine until they suggested a kissing booth as the student council’s fund raising activity for the upcoming fair.
Euiwoong immediately rejected the idea. Unfortunately, the other members of the student council agreed. It was a landslide and even though Euiwoong is the president, he was outnumbered and his democratic principles were used against him.
Honestly, it was a good idea. Kissing booth with two of the most popular boys in the school with lots of admirers? A blockbuster. The student council will surely raise a lot of money for the school’s foundation day.
Not until they decided to ditch the kissing booth, leaving Euiwoong no choice but to take over.
“Are you ready?” Yena asked, nudging the booth. For a heartbeat, Euiwoong got scared as the booth might fall off.
“What if I say no?” Euiwoong answered grumpily.
“He’s ready!” Yena yelled. The giggles and murmurs get louder. “Everyone please fall in line orderly. I’m opening the booth in 3… 2… 1!”
A bright light flashed on the inside of the booth and Euiwoong went blind for a good second. When he opened his eyes, he immediately looked for Yena, hoping for salvation but Yena was already running towards the other booths, where her assigned work is.
The customers of the booth went silent. Everyone was eyeing Euiwoong with curiosity, some with disappointment.
“You’re clearly not Woojin nor Jihoon.” Someone pointed out.
“Bingo.” Euiwoong snorted and rolled his eyes to the first person in line.
Euiwoong spied a few people left the line. Euiwoong wished for more people to leave but the others remain on the line.
“Where is Woojin?” the first person in line asked. Euiwoong spared a glance at the person in front of him. He knew that person because it was Woojin and Jihoon and the rest of the student council’s classmate. And as the student council’s president, you ought to know the people from the extreme categories. Ahn Hyeongseop being one of the great dancers in the dance club and one of the low ranking students in terms of academics, Euiwoong is familiar with him.
“Honestly, I don’t know either.” Euiwoong shrugged his shoulders. “Woojin hyung and Jihoon hyung ran off together leaving me in this unfortunate situation.”
“Sucks for me,” Hyeongseop whispered.
“Excuse me? I’m the one who was forced into this situation!”
“The heavens are really against me.” Hyeongseop pouts and kicked some dirt on the ground.
Euiwoong looked at him curiously. “What did you say?”
Hyeongseop’s attention went back to Euiwoong. He sighed and leaned towards Euiwoong, “Can you keep a secret?”
Euiwoong nodded. He is sure he will forgot about what will Hyeongseop say since he has no interest with school gossip unless it deals with students’ welfare.
“I find Woojin attractive.” Hyeongseop confesses.
“That’s why you’re here?” Euiwoong asks.
“Yes, Captain Obvious. You think I will spend 3,000 won for nothing?”
“Sorry to disappoint Woojin hyung’s not here. Just me.” Euiwoong taps his fingers on the walls of the booth, waiting for this to be over. But with Hyeongseop chatting nonsense, it will probably take time.
“Why? Won’t you kiss me?” Hyeongseop asked.
Euiwoong stopped tapping and raised his right brow. “Ha! Do I look like Woojin-hyung to you?”
“I need to get my money’s worth. Woojin and Jihoon said there’s no refund so hurry up and be done with it.” Hyeongseop says impatiently. He leaned towards Euiwoong and puckers his lips.
Euiwoong leaned a little forward, hesitantly. “I’m not really sure about this.”
“Neither do I but let us just finish this so the line can move.”
Without any warning, Hyeongseop placed his lips on Euiwoong and remove it immediately. Euiwoong barely felt the light pressure on his lips. It is as light and soft as a feather’s touch.
“I think that’s it? Good luck on the student council”, Hyeongseop says. He handed Euiwoong the pre-sold kissing booth ticket and walked away.
Euiwoong might not admit it but he’s still at dazed. What was that? Clearly, a kiss. As if he hasn't kissed a couple of people before and as if he won’t be kissing a lot after. But there he is, standing in a cramped, makeshift booth and looking a little lost.
“That’s why he’s early on the line? To kiss you on the lips?”
Euiwoong look at the person next in line. If he’s not mistaken, it was Lee Chaeyeon from Woojin and Jihoon’s class. Just like Hyeongseop.
“He thought it would be Woojin not me.” Euiwoong explained.
“No refund, alright. But he can just kiss your hand or cheeks.” Chaeyeon stood straight and extends her hand towards Euiwoong.
Euiwoong absentmindedly held Chaeyeon’s hand and planted a kiss.
“I am surprised that the student council president is not as smart as I thought. Here’s the ticket,” Chaeyeon handed the ticket to Euiwoong. “I gave you a tip so don’t you dare kiss Kkura-chan anywhere but her hand, clear?”
Chaeyeon looked behind her and smiled. Sakura, the Japanese student, smiled back. When she noticed Euiwoong’s stare, she politely waved her hand.
Euiwoong thinks he has kissed half of the school’s population. It has been a couple of hour and the line for the kissing booth has cleared out.
Everyone on the line expressed their pity to their student council president. Some even handing Euiwoong the pre-sold ticket and wishing the student council a good luck. Maybe Woojin and Jihoon’s betrayal was written all over his face. And the fact that it was only Ahn Hyeongseop kissed him on the lips heightens his annoyance.
“Stupid kissing booth.” Euiwoong muttered under his breath as he exits the booth. “Jihoon and Woojin, I swear you’ll be punished-”
“Wait!” A familiar voice yelled.
Euiwoong stopped whispering to himself and looked at the direction of the voice. To his dismay, it is Hyeongseop running towards him. He immediately pretend that he did not see the other boy and started walking away.
But Hyeongseop ran fast. He grabbed Euiwoong’s uniform sleeve and stopped, almost crashing them both to the ground.
“Ahn Hyeongseop-ssi, are you aware that we do not tolerate that kind of actions here?” Euiwoong taunted Hyeongseop, his voice full of authority
Hyeongseop is breathing heavily, sweat running down his forehead. “But that’s normal for friends here in our school!”
“We are not friends. We barely know each other!” Euiwoong yelled at Hyeongseop. Hyeongseop looked scared but he immediately recovered and went back to his usual carefree expression. Even Euiwoong was surprised at his self. He’s usually composed but the stress for the past few days plus Woojin and Jihoon’s stunt take its toll.
“Whatever you say, Mr. President.” Hyeongseop says. He get something from his coat pocket - a strawberry milk and handed it to Euiwoong. “I’m actually here to say sorry for acting like a brat earlier and for kissing you on your lips. I heard your favorite is strawberry.”
Euiwoong doesn’t have the energy to argue with Hyeongseop anymore so he just accepted the strawberry milk. Plus his conscience is already scolding him for yelling at Hyeongseop earlier.
“I saw some people let you kiss them on their cheeks then it hit me that it’s a kissing booth and not kiss-me-on-my-lips booth. I was worried I took your first-”
Euiwoong cut Hyeongseop off. “It’s not my first kiss. I kissed a couple of people before.”
“Oh! Our president has a girlfriend? A boyfriend perhaps?” Hyeongseop’s face lightened up upon hearing a potential gossip.
Euiwoong glared at Hyeongseop. “None.”
“Well that’s my first kiss.” Hyeongseop tells Euiwoong.
Euiwoong’s eyes widened upon Hyeongseop’s confession. Maybe Hyeongseop was planning it all along? To make Woojin his first kiss? Was Woojin’s disappearance related to this?
Hyeongseop waved his hand. “Don’t bother, Mr. President. It’s fine and we can just pretend it did not happen at all. But I’m glad it was you.”
Before Euiwoong can react, Hyeongseop took his hand and placed three more pre-sold tickets on his hand. “See you around, Mr. President!”
Hyeongseop started running away and Euiwoong’s president reflexes told him to stop Hyeongseop from running around the school. But he’s frozen on the spot. His brain short circuiting from everything that had happened since this morning.