Sometimes he’s jealous of Mark. Someone so popular, good-looking, humble… How could Jinyoung not let it get to him? He’s been living in Mark’s shadow since he was five, after all. What annoys Jinyoung the most is the popularity. In high school, Mark never had to worry about finding a date, or having no friends in a class. Meanwhile, Jinyoung worries about bumping into someone he knows on the subway each day.

Mark is a bachelor. So is Jinyoung. The problem is, Mark doesn’t have to be a bachelor. He could walk up to any attractive, single stranger and get their number in a heartbeat. Jinyoung just uses ‘bachelor’ as a synonym for ‘chronically single’.

But he’s done being single. Jinyoung has been lonely for far too many years. He had the idea on impulse, to sign up for a dating website (Although Mark does take credit for making his profile as approachable as possible). While he’s good-looking, Jinyoung is no model. That’s why he made sure the website specializes in blind dates.

Jinyoung started chatting with Jackson a week ago. They have similar interests, are both desperate, and are both single. What better candidate for his first blind date? He’d tried to picture what Jackson looks like—Imaginary Jackson is tall, with dark hair and a mysterious glint in his eyes. Just Jinyoung’s type. If their friendly chats are anything to go by, Jinyoung is sure he and Jackson will have nothing to worry about on their first date.

But what if something does go wrong? Jinyoung always prepares for the worst possible situation. Which is precisely why he’s dragging Mark along. Not as a third wheel—Jinyoung’s not that cruel—but as a double blind date. Now everything will go off without a hitch and there will be no lull in the conversation, with four people at the table rather than two. While Mark had made up everything on Jinyoung’s dating profile, Jinyoung did the same for him. Mark got less attention than Jinyoung, but that was only because the younger man had written his profile and there was no photo attached. Even the things Jinyoung writes are unpopular. Mark selected one at random; he’s just along for the ride, after all.

And now Jinyoung’s sitting in the passenger seat of Mark’s car, on the way to their double date, nervous without any good reason. Jinyoung asks, “So, who’s the lucky man?”

“Some guy, I dunno,” Mark shrugs, “I’m only doing this so you’re not awkward with Johnson or whatever. But who knows, he could be my soul mate.”

Jinyoung scoffs. It might be a bad idea, to have Mark come along. He’s too quiet. Jinyoung will end up doing all the talking for him. But he’s not about to go singlehandedly.

They’re walking up to the restaurant (nowhere particularly nice, just a shopping-outlet Italian place; Jinyoung doesn’t want to give the false impression that he’s rich) when Mark says, “, I left my wallet in the car. You go without me, I’ll be there in a minute.”

Jinyoung doesn’t like this. Because now he has to step alone onto the metaphorical battlefield and not only meet Jackson, but Mark’s date as well. He goes in anyway, though, debating between scanning for someone who might fit Imaginary Jackson and just grabbing a table himself. As soon as he enters the dining area, however, he notices two men sitting at a table, both looking for his respective date while one talks the other’s ear off.

He rushes over, trying not to look too excited, and both men stand upon noticing him. One of them is Mark’s date and the other one is Jackson, and Jinyoung has no idea who’s who. But he hopes the beautiful one is Jackson.

The man on the left is short, blond, and is wearing clothes much too casual for any kind of public appearance, much less a date. The man on the right, however… That’s Imaginary Jackson. Tall, mysterious, polished—Jinyoung checks off his mental list.

The blond one speaks first: “Are you Jinyoung?” Oh, no. Jinyoung nods and almost gulps when the man breaks into a relieved smile, “Sweet! I’m Jackson.” His heart drops. Jackson’s not ugly, but Jinyoung glances 45 degrees to his left and is reminded that he could do better. “It’s nice to meet you. When you walked in, I was like, ‘That’s either Jinyoung or Mack—’”

“Mark.”

“—Sorry, Mark, but I’m glad you’re here! I didn’t want to wait any longer.” He talks a lot.

Jinyoung gives him a handshake and a smile. “Sorry I’m late. Mark forgot something in the car, but he’ll be here soon.” He’s sure they’ll make a beautiful couple, Mark and Imaginary Jackson. In five years they’ll probably have a nice kitchen and a dog and secure jobs and lots of money.

He sits across from Jackson and stares down at the table for a moment in thought. It doesn’t last long. “I’m Jaebum, by the way.” He even has Imaginary Jackson’s voice. Jinyoung shakes his hand, too. It’s warmer than Real Jackson’s.

There’s a basket of garlic bread on the table, Jinyoung notices. He wants to eat one, but nobody else does, so he decides not to. He wishes Mark would hurry up and rescue him from Jackson’s incessant story-telling, comprehended somewhere in the back of Jinyoung’s mind.

It’s sad that he’s not how Jinyoung wants him to be. But that’s life. Jaebum—he’s a perfect ten, if Jinyoung’s being honest. Mark is also a perfect ten. So Jinyoung tells himself to not let his expectations get too high, when he could never get a perfect ten in the first place. He should settle for someone less than a ten, because Jinyoung doesn’t even consider himself an eight. So Jackson should do nicely.

Jackson is trying to include Jaebum in the already one-sided conversation when Mark returns. They don’t notice him until he sits down with a sigh and says, “Hi, sorry about tha—” He stops talking. And he’s not the only one.

Mark isn’t looking at Jaebum or even Jinyoung, but at Jackson, whose hand is buried in the basket of garlic bread. And Jackson is staring right back with a stupid grin on his face and tiny explosions detonating in his eyes. Well.

It’s uncomfortable, Jinyoung thinks, to watch two people fall in love. Especially when one is your date and the other is your best friend. Mark had never struck Jinyoung as a 'love-at-first-sight' kind of guy. So Jinyoung coughs as loudly and naturally as possible, and the two seem to snap out of their trance. At least Jackson is quiet now. “I’m Mark Tuan.” Mark leans across the table and Jinyoung to give Jackson a handshake that is far too long and intimate in Jinyoung’s opinion.

“Jackson.” The blond’s expression is a cross between guilty and love-struck as his eyes flit between Jinyoung and Mark. “Wang.”

He spends the next few minutes trying to quietly separate Jackson’s pupils from Mark’s face. Even though Jackson’s not his ideal date, he’s still Jinyoung’s date. And right now Jinyoung’s getting more attention from the garlic bread than Jackson. There’s also Jaebum, who Mark hasn’t said one word to the entire time, checking his phone or his watch and running his fingers through dark hair (which Jinyoung thinks he should stop doing).

It’s sometime after their low-budget wine arrives that Mark says, “I have to use the restroom.”

Jinyoung has known Mark for long enough to tell when he’s lying. It takes a while for Jackson to pick up on it, but after Mark prompts him with his eyebrows, Jackson stands up so fast he almost falls down. “Oh! Me too, actually.”

So it’s just him and Jaebum. Jinyoung doesn’t know what to do. He decides to eat a piece of garlic bread. “It’s a nice night, isn’t it?” Jinyoung looks up at the sound of Jaebum’s voice, his cheeks unfortunately stuffed with food. “The perfect night for a date, I think. If my date didn’t just run off with yours, that is.” And Jinyoung probably looks like a mess, because really, he feels like a mess.

The reason why? It’s not the first time. Jinyoung can name at least two other occasions on which Mark had stolen Jinyoung’s date. The actual first time had been a middle school dance. He’d really liked the girl who sat next to him in algebra. She said yes when he asked her, too. The problem was that Mark Tuan existed. The pretty foreign boy. The quiet-type. The one all the girls wanted. Unfortunately, this included the girl who sat next to him in algebra.

The second time was after Jinyoung realized sometime in high school that he liked guys, too. Which , because Mark exclusively likes guys. And guess who Jinyoung’s first boyfriend dumped him for?

And now this. His first time meeting Jackson (who he had genuinely liked over messaging but was underwhelming in person), where Mark was essentially the chaperone, ruined because Mark was too perfect. Even Jinyoung’s date couldn’t resist Mark.

“Don’t look so down. Jinyoung, was it?” Jinyoung nods and hurries to chew his bread before he has to say anything, “I must admit, I’m a bit disappointed, too. I thought Mark and I would hit it off. Reading his profile, he seemed so genuine and mature.”

Jinyoung laughs at that. “Mark, mature?” He moves to the chair across from Jaebum. Mark probably won’t mind. “He’d like to think so. He’s really a troublemaker, without even trying.” Jinyoung remembers something: “Mark didn’t write that profile, anyway. I did.”

Jaebum blinks. “And did he write your profile, and Jackson contacted you?”

Oh.

The man across from Jinyoung is probably too good for him. Probably too put-together and too stable. Jinyoung needs something like that, though. He takes his glass full of cheap wine and clinks it against Jaebum’s. And he forgets, for half a moment, that Mark and Jackson are still in the bathroom. “I guess it is the perfect night for a date.”

So it’s not the first time Mark steals Jinyoung’s date. But hopefully it’s the last.