Chapter 18 - Date at Night

Taeyeon’s Apartment - 7:14PM

The three girls were seated around the living room, all occupied with their own tasks. Seohyun was situated on the armchair by the side in her silken white gown, reading a book intensely. She had a little writing pad beside her as she jotted down notes - most likely to incorporate into her own writing. Taeyeon was opposite of the youngest girl, sitting on the floor beside the coffee table, with a cushion for comfort. Her long sky blue sleeves of her pyjamas were hanging loose off her elbows as her arms were bent towards her to hold her phone. Her incessant tapping indicated she was playing games on again. Tiffany was situated between the two, seated on the sofa. She was in the centre, holding a pillow tightly against her red shirt as she was once again absorbed into the drama currently on the television. Her left hand reached out towards the table in front of her, to dawdle her fingers in front of the glass jar of peanuts.

“Pay more attention,” chided Taeyeon, dropping her gaze from her phone to push the snack towards her focused friend. “There’s more to life outside the television box you know.”

“Someone's not in a good mood,” mused Tiffany, finally managing to find her way to the snack jar. “What's bugging you?”

“Nothing,” Taeyeon responded curtly, returning her attention to her phone.

“You seem to be unhappy with something unnie,” commented Seohyun, looking up from the book she was reading. “You've been like this since last night.”

“I told you it's nothing,” repeated Taeyeon coldly. She was actually annoyed at the man that was supposedly her boyfriend. Despite her wishes he had decided to go visit her parents together - and parade their big fat lie in front of her family. She gritted her teeth in anger as she tried to push for thought out of her mind again

As if just on cue, her phone vibrated again for the umpteenth time tonight. It was him again - and she responded the same way she usually did, with a swipe of the busy button to decline the call.

“You can't keep avoiding him,” Tiffany said, watching the annoyed woman amusedly. “You're going to have to answer one of his calls sooner or later.”

“No I don't,” Taeyeon childishly denied.

“Who is it anyway?” asked Tiffany. “Is it Jiyong?”

Taeyeon remained silent - confirming her friend’s suspicion.

“He's been calling so much today,” Seohyun recalled. “You should at least hear him out.”

The youngest was once again right - Taeyeon already knew her anger was irrational and she should probably give him a chance to explain himself. He had already sent some apologetic texts to her although none of them directly addressed the issue so she refused to accept them.

“Alright alright,” conceded Taeyeon to the surprising wisdom of Seohyun. “Next time he calls I'll take it.”

Her two roommates gave her a warm smile - hoping the issue would resolve itself soon after the two talked about it.

Knock knock.

“Hello?”

Taeyeon jumped upon hearing the surprise visitor - the deep voice was unmistakable.

“Unnie, I think he’s here to see you,” stated Seohyun, motioning Taeyeon to go to answer the door as she also recognized the voice.

Taeyeon meekly complied and opened the door to the apartment, revealing the lightly dressed man in a red jumper and black slacks.

“Hey,” he greeted. “You haven’t answered my calls since last night.” His eyes flickered as they rested on the person before him. Her long blue sleeves were draped by her sides as they overtook her hands, only leaving her slender fingers uncovered.

“Why did you come here?” asked Taeyeon crudely, ignoring his comment.

“I wanted to take you out on a date,” explained Jiyong, watching her carefully. Her eyes rolled at the suggestion, clearly unhappy. “Come on - I have something good planned. You’ll enjoy it.”

“No I won’t,” refused Taeyeon. “I don’t-”

“She’ll go,” interrupted Tiffany, quickly running up to greet the new visitor and pulling Taeyeon to the side. After a brief bickering between the two, Seohyun helped out as she dragged the reluctant Taeyeon to her bedroom to get ready. Tiffany returned to Jiyong and gave him a bright smile. “She’ll be out soon.”

“Thank you,” grinned Jiyong happily. He rubbed the back of his hand sheepishly as he tried to find the words to convey his gratefulness.

“So, what’s your plan tonight?” questioned Tiffany, with her eyebrows raised. Her small smile was still present as she continued. “You’ll make sure that you two will sort out your differences right?”

“I will,” reassured Jiyong, returning the smile to the woman. “I have something great planned tonight”

*

Dolce Vita Seoul Hotel - 7:51PM

“Here we are,” announced Jiyong, stepping out of the parked car.

Taeyeon followed behind him, dressed in a cream-coloured jumper and her blue winter cloak. She looked in front of her to find herself before a tall building, where the brightly lit sign was clearly read as Dolce Vita Seoul Hotel.

“You’re bringing me to one of your hotels?” asked Taeyeon, confused at the destination - what could be so special about going to one of his buildings?

“Yeah,” answered Jiyong, with a smile plastered across his face. He turned around to offer his hand to the perplexed woman, which Taeyeon took after some consideration. The two walked hand in hand until they reached the reception counter.

“Good evening Mr Kwon,” greeted the receptionist, bowing to her employer.

“Hello Hari,” greeted Jiyong, smiling at the woman and motioning her to come up from her bow. “Have you prepared what I asked for this afternoon?”

Taeyeon simply watched the two - the receptionist appeared to be unexpectedly overjoyed at her boss’ arrival. He also had appeared to had planned something for tonight - she wondered what it could be.  

“Yes of course!” she answered gleefully. “Everything is set up as you asked sir.”

“Don’t worry about the sir,” chuckled Jiyong. He then gave her a quick bow. “Thank you for your hard work.”

The two went to go enter the elevator where they heard the receptionist shouting one last time.

“Enjoy your evening Mr Kwon!”

*

They exited on the 51st floor of the building. Taeyeon looked around - only to find a mullitude of hotel rooms.

“You’re not just taking me to a room are you?” asked Taeyeon suspiciously. “I’m not that kind of girl.”