Do you think it’s possible to like someone you dislike?

A month ago, Lisa would absolutely never have imagined herself to be crushing on Mr. Kim from downstairs.

He was prejudiced against her from the start and stood far away from her whenever he was in the same elevator. He was a cold-hearted, taciturn, and unfriendly man. When the leaky water problem was not resolved immediately, he went straight to her nail salon and began lecturing her on the harmful effects of nail polish; this trade-building straight guy even derided her for calling herself a girl despite being close to thirty years old…

He simply was notorious for his misdeeds. There was no guy worse than him.

But he fed the stray cats and made delicious food. Whenever he reached a crosswalk with no traffic lights, he would slow down to allow pedestrians to pass first….

There was a saying by someone she could not name.  If two people revealed the best part of their personality to each other upon their first meeting, then you will increasingly discover shortcomings of the other party the more you interact with them. If two people revealed the worst part of their personality at first, then you will discover more merits of the other party the further you interact with each other.

That was truly too fucking right.

Lisa squirmed and buried her face into her pillow. She was crushing on him—what was the use in doing so? He definitely did not like her. And she, she could not determine when she would fall ill again.

She really was unsuited for dating.

Slowly, her accelerated heartbeat calmed as time passed.

In order to forget about Mr. Kim as quickly as possible, Lisa did not disturb him during mealtimes for two days. She did not seek him out, yet Mingyu actually took the initiative to seek her out.

Kim Mingyu: 「You there?」

Lisa: 「Not here :)」

Kim Mingyu: 「…」

Kim Mingyu: 「Next week is Jeon Somi’s birthday. My sister-in-law is making me pick a birthday gift in advance for her. I don’t know what I should get.」

Lisa: 「…Who is Jeon Somi? :)」

Kim Mingyu: 「You saw her last time, my blind date」

Lisa: 「Oh, then how does this concern me? :)」

Kim Mingyu: 「Didn’t you say you’ll be my good-for-nothing adviser?」

Lisa: “…”

How many flags did she insert…

Lisa: 「I am the adviser; you are the good-for-nothing. Thanks『smile』

Kim Mingyu「…」

Lisa: 「If you need me to give you advice, I can, but first I want to ask: what are you eating tonight?」

Kim Mingyu: “…”

Kim Mingyu: 「Whatever you want to eat, I’m eating that.」

Lisa couldn’t help but laugh. This trade-building straight guy was quite smooth.

Lisa: 「I want to eat sweet and sour pork and crispy fried fish.『cute』」

Kim Mingyu: 「…okay」

Lisa: 「Then we’ll meet up tonight『cute』」

After reading through the chat history again, Lisa hurriedly wiped the smile from her face. Why was she smiling?! What was there to be happy about?!

She bitterly closed the chat window with Kim Mingyu  and opened up the best friends chat.

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「I have a question; do you think it’s possible to like someone you dislike?」

Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「Have you never seen films? One day, you realize that you love the one you previously disliked. Then this affection will last for the rest of your lives『smile』」

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「……」

Invincible Little Sweetie: 「Who do you like?」

Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Who else does she dislike other than Mr. Kim from downstairs?」

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「… you’re all too suspicious. I’m just asking randomly. Going to work; can’t talk『smile』」

Afraid that they would continue to interrogate her, Lisa exited the chat a second later and muted it. That evening, in order to freeload food off of Kim Mingyu, she went downstairs early, promptly pressing on 1808’s doorbell at exactly 7PM.

With an apron on, Mingyu opened the door for her. Lisa sniffed lightly and said to him, “That smells like crispy fried fish!”

Mingyu chuckled and gave her a pair of slippers. “Come in.”

Lisa stared at the feminine slippers in front of her and froze for a moment. “This is…Jeon Somi's?”

“I bought it just this afternoon, since I felt that you might be coming over frequently to mooch off food.” Mingyu walked back to the kitchen as he spoke. Lisa’s heartbeat actually became unsteady because of his response.

She pouted at his back and put on the slippers. Tangeriney was curled into a round ball and napping on the sofa, seemingly very content. Lisa stroked it twice, causing it to lazily raise its head to meow at her.

“Tangeriney’s whiskers seem a bit longer!” Lisa  exclaimed in pleasant surprise, aiming her voice in the direction of the kitchen.

Mingyu casually replied, “Mn.”

Lisa turned her head back around to keep playing with the cat and inadvertently caught a glimpse of the flower arrangement in the living room. There weren’t a lot of flowers, and it was arranged in a very small flower basket. The flowers were very vibrant, however, and arranged elegantly. It verily warmed the heart and delighted the eye.

It was also completely incompatible with the apartment that belonged to a straight guy like Kim Mingyu.

Lisa’s eyes darkened slightly. She was no longer in the mood to play with the cat. After Mingyu served the sweet and sour pork and crispy fried fish on the table, she somewhat accusingly questioned, “Who gave you that flower arrangement? It’s not your style.”

Mingyu subconsciously glanced at the flower arrangement and replied, “Jeon Somi gave it to me. She’s learning flower arrangement; she won awards for her work.”

“Oh…as expected, the hobby of a heiress.” She recalled how Jihyo was also a ‘Ms. Perfect.’ How come she didn’t have such an elegant hobby?

“You’re not falling all over the sweet and sour pork and the crispy fried fish? Have you lost your appetite?” Mingyu saw her lips were thin; she didn’t look particularly happy.

Lisa picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of sweet and sour pork into her bowl. “How can I not have an appetite?! If this was a bowl of egg fried rice, I’ll have an even bigger appetite!”

“…Don’t be avaricious and insatiable.” Mingyu  looked down on her. “You were just playing with the cat; have you washed your hands?”

……

When Lisa returned from washing her hands, the orange cat had already bound over to her side, staring anxiously at the crispy fried fish. This plate of crispy fried fish was made for Lisa, so there were many seasonings used that a kitty could not ingest. Mingyu did not intend to give it any. “This is your dried fish.”

He carried the orange cat over to its food bowl. The orange cat sniffed curiously at the bowl of dried fish. It did not smell as delicious as the fish on the table, but it still reluctantly ate it. Mingyu went to wash his hands after he saw the cat behave. He then took a seat across from Lisa.

Lisa had already consumed several pieces of crispy fried fish. Mingyu’s crispy fried fish was very crunchy. The fishbones could be eaten as well, so she ate with no worries at all. “Oh, that’s right. You said you wanted to give Lady Jeon a gift. Do you know what she likes?”

Mingyu thought for a moment. “She likes to make flower arrangements, play the piano, and read books.”

Lisa: “……”

She did not know whether to roast Lady Jeon’s interests or to roast Kim Mingyu.

“I did not mean interests. I meant…purses, lipstick, and so on.” When she said ‘purses, lipstick,’ she suddenly felt as if these vulgar words would taint Lady Jeon…

Mingyu furrowed his brows and said, “I never heard her mention any of that.”

“You have never asked? What do you two normally talk about?”

“We have only met three times. She sometimes talks about interesting anecdotes of her life, or we talk about movies and music.”

“…Do you not talk about celebrity gossip or trending internet topics?”

Mingyu stared at her. “You normally chat with others about these types of things?”

…Yes. Sorry, I’m such a worldly person. “I think that…although Lady Jeon has received an elite education since she was young, she is still a girl. Things an ordinary girl likes, she will also surely like. Things like skirts, purses, lipstick—no girl should dislike these, right?”

“Isn’t that a bit vulgar?

Lisa smiled. “Sorry, I am a very vulgar person.”

Mingyu: “…”

Lisa ate a piece of sweet and sour pork to relax before saying, “Although, since her family circumstances are very good, she certainly doesn’t lack in these things…” Her eyes flashed slightly. Ultimately, she looked at Kim Mingyu in the eyes. “I feel that she is lacking a husband. How about you wrap yourself up as a gift to her?”

Mingyu fell silent for a moment and then asked himself aloud, “Why did I think that you could give me good advice?”

Lisa: “…”

For the sake of the sweet and sour pork and crispy fried fish, she did not get angry.

“Then what do you think?” Lisa did not intend to take charge. If she was not here in order to mooch off food, she would definitely not suffer such embarrassment. “Ai, I actually want a lot of things, but I have no boyfriend to give me them.”

Mingyu was a bit curious.  “What do you want to buy?”

“Face slimming massager and retinol serum.”

“What do you want a face slimming massager for?”

“To slim my face of course! But it’s very expensive; I don’t want to spend that much.”

“Then use your hair to hide your face…”

Lisa quirked her lips to the side. “Plus, I have dark circles, but retinol serum is also very expensive!”

“Just sleep earlier.” Mingyu spoke meaningfully as he said this. “Dancing all night will naturally give you dark circles.”

Lisa: “…”

She slammed down her chopsticks angrily and glowered at Kim Mingyu. “You straight guy, what do you know about love?!” She was going to dance when she returned home that night!

Mingyu was amused at her expression and looked like he wanted to say something—only his phone rang all of a sudden. It was Jeon Somi calling. He pondered for a moment before walking over to the window to answer. “Hello.”

Lisa pricked her ears up when she heard him speak. Mingyu’s voice had softened a bit, but she could still hear him clearly enough.

“Mn, I placed the flowers in the living room… Some other time; I have something tonight. I’ll treat them to dinner next time. Mn, okay…”

Lisa listened, and suddenly, sadness began filling up her heart. Even the sweet and sour pork and crispy fried fish could not lift her mood. She pursed her lips and picked up her bag. Softly and quietly, she left Kim Mingyu’s apartment.

When Mingyu hung up the phone, the table behind him was absolutely bereft of company. He stared blankly, brows slightly furrowed. He opened up QQ and sent Lisa a message. 「Why did you leave?」

When Lisa returned home, she flopped onto her bed. Her heart ached so unbearably that she wanted to weep. Did her monthly come or something? Why else would she be so melancholy and moody?

Her phone screen suddenly turned on. Lisa stared at Kim Mingyu’s message, lost in thought. She then replied: 「Hmph, I didn’t want you to make me stay behind and wash the dishes.『smile』」

After she replied, she tossed her phone to the side; she didn’t want to look at it anymore.

Yet, something more heartbreaking than liking someone you previously disliked…is liking someone that will absolutely never like you back.