"A date?" 

Taelyn's eyes widened in chock as she looked at the boy in front of her. 

"A date?" she repeated. "You're an idol."

"I'm aware," Taehyun said with a quick smile. "But I'd really like to go on a date with you.... So is that a yes or a no?"

Taelyn paused as she debated the pros and cons in her head.

She said quickly, "Sure. Where would you like to meet?" 

"If you don't mind the other members, then maybe we could meet up at my dorm," Taehyun said, his voice meek.

"And you're sure that you want to try to date me." Taelyn said.

"I'd like to give it a shot," Taehyun replied with a grin.

"Okay. Does 7:00 PM next Thursday sound good?" Taelyn asked.

"See you next Thursday," Taehyun said, and he disappeared into the crowd of workers.

Taelyn stood there as her mind whirled, full of thoughts and worries and secret hopes. She knew the consequences that would happen if they were caught. And she knew the things that would be said to her if it was leaked. But that couldn't stop the quiet hopes and flutters in her chest.

"Ryu Taelyn! You're up!" called the director for the third time as Taelyn finally looked up like a deer caught in headlights.

"I'll be right there," Taelyn said as she sped over to the cameras.

"...so all you have to do is make out with Mino against that wall. It'll be really easy, just relax and do your thing," wrapped up the director as he hustled Taelyn to the aformentioned wall.

For the second time in ten minutes, Taelyn's thoughts flew around inside her head. She was a model for Christ's sake, not some actress and certainly not one that could just "make out" with a guy she had just met. She cringed as she thought about the type of hate that she could get for this scene, and as she approached the wall, all of her instincts went into overdrive.

"Are you sure you guys want me to do this? I'm just a model, not some actress," she said.

"Kissing is one of the easier aspects of acting, Ms. Ryu. And this kiss doesn't even need to be emotional, just visually amazing," the director responded.

Taelyn continued to murmur her weak excuses, but the director deflected them one by one, until Taelyn was against the wall and the cameras were about to start rolling.

"As soon as I say go, you guys can grab each others hands and begin kissing," the director instructed. 

Taelyn's hands began to sweat as Mino reached out, ready to grab them. He gave her a what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and she weakly smiled back.

"And go," the director said, and the camera's red light flipped on.

Mino grabbed her hands and took a step towards her. Taelyn went into overdrive, and she struggled not to push him away. He lightly sqeezed her hand, reassuring her as he leaned in. And then, they were kissing. His lips tasted just barely of mint, and they moved gently, calming Taelyn. She moved back slowly, determined to get it done in one take, and it wasn't long until the director was calling "Cut!"

The two pulled apart, and as their eyes met, their cheeks turned a fiery red. Seunyoon and Seunghoon began whistling and teasing Mino immeadiately, and the poor boy was too flustered to come up with any sort of reply. Taelyn slipped away to get a drink of water, and she sat down, trying to get her face to turn back to its regular shade.

"Ms. Ryu, that's it. Thank you so much for agrreeing to participate in this," the director said as he walked up to her. "I know it must have been challenging for you, but you and Mino both did very well. After we finish the video, we'll send you it, and if you have any problems, contact me."

"Thak you," Taelyn said weakly, and she stood up to go. 

It was only as she was leaving that she remembered that she didn't have Taehyun's number. And so began a long search that involved Taelyn doing everything she could to get the blond boy's phone number. It was only when she had gone through all of her modeling contacts did it occur to her that some of her music contacts might have his number. She went through almost a dozen before hitting the jackpot with her younger friend, Lee Hi. Taelyn painstalkingly wrote and erased at least a hundreds versions of her first text, and she finally went through with it in the early hours of the morning.

To Taehyun:

Hello! It's Ryu Taelyn. I just realized that I don't have the address for your dorm... could you send it to me so I could meet you on Thursday?

Taelyn fell asleep, praying that he would reply.

From Taehyun:

The address is 1863 Dalbyul Street. We're on the fifth floor, apartment 7. It's on the left side.

Taelyn woke up to a ding, and she immeadiately texted back.

To Taehyun:

Thank you. I'll see you on Thursday.

**********

Thursday came all too quickly. Almost half of Taelyn's "nice" closet was lying on her floor, and the other half was lumped on the bed, waiting to be tried on. Dresses, skirts, jackets, blouses, tee shirts, pants, scarves, hoodies, sweaters, hats, and leggings had been tried on and inspected in front of the mirror. Bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings, and other jewelry was scattered on her vanity set, and thirteen colors of lipstick were uncapped and ready to be used. Taelyn's mind spun as she tried to create the perfect outfit. She sat down, trying to boil down and simplify her problems, a trick her father had taught her.

Problem 1: She wasn't sure how casual or formal to be.

Problem 2: She didn't know what they would be doing.

Problem 3: She was a model not a designer. She had been called colorblind on more than one occasion.

Problem 4: She had to get going in twenty minutes or she was going to be late to her first date in four years.

Taelyn sighed and tried to relax. She pulled herself up and stared hard at all of her clothes. After thinking for a good minute, she decided that she had to hurry up. And so she put on the nearest outfit that seemed reasonable. It happened to be a grey sweater and dark blue skinny jeans. She frantically touched up her makeup and rushed out the door, grabbing a black leather jacket along the way. She mentally sighed in relief when she checked the time and realized that she technically still had three minutes.

Taelyn had already decided that she would take a cab to the apartment building. Since there were other famous celebrities and models there, she believed that she would be safe from any malicious reporters or fans. And yet 30 minutes later, Taelyn ended up in a mass of screaming girls that were dying to catch a glimpse of the famous boygroup. She moused her way through the crowd and got into the elevator. As soon as the doors dinged shut, Taelyn scrambled to try to make herself presentable. She ran her fingers through her hair, and straightened out the creases in her clothes. 

Taelyn hesitated as her hand rested on the door, ready to knock. She knew that once she knocked, she could be pulling herslef into a situation that she would not be able to get out of. And yet, she raised her fist and brought it down on the door three crisp times.

The door swung open wildly, revealing a grinning Taehyun in a grey plaid shirt and black skinny jeans.

"Taelyn. I wasn't sure if you'd come," he said with a meek smile.

"I wouldn't miss this for anything," Taelyn replied, and she stepped into the world of Nam Taehyun.

Author's Note

Hello! This chapter happened way before the previous one, and once I finish this story, I'm planning to move around al the chapters so they are in chronological order. Please comment, subscribe, and upvote. Thank you!