"Qiu Hui~" Aejung sung as she sat in front of her best friend. It was lunch time at work, and with Aejing finally getting out of her meeting, she was able to spend some time with Qiu Hui -- not without one addition, though. 

"I brought Taecyeon!" Aejung announced as the man greeted both of them quietly, taking the seat beside Qiu Hui. Her smile widened as she saw the two blush a little at their close proximity. Qiu Hui was really lucky to have her match work at the same company as her. 

Aejung unfortunately didn't have the same luck. She had messaged Heaven about it, who promised that he was a good person, just busy.... But too busy to meet up for a month? Aejung couldn't help but feel something was up. Sure, he was nice while messaging and apologetic when he had to reschedule, but again, it had been a month.

We'll talk about it next week. We're still on for lunch right? Heaven had responded. Aejung replied, asking if Qiu Hui could join -- it'd be nice to talk to college friends for a while.

Before she could read Heaven's reply, her phone buzzed with a receiving phone call. 

From none other than Jay. Jay Park, who happened to be her match. What did he want?  she excused herself from her lunch table, leaving her best friend with her match as she debated on what to do. She thought that their date for this week wasn't going to happen due to an unexpected schedule he claimed to have.

She answered anyways, maybe hearing his voice would soothe her worries of him not being interested. "Hello?" 

"Hey." His voice seemed well enough, she almost caught herself smiling at it, "Are you free like, right now?"

"...I'm at lunch, why?" Aejung was curious to his plan. 

"Perfect!" He seemed pleased with her answer, "Where's the nearest coffee shop to you?" 

Aejung blanked for a second before telling him where it was. "Why?"

"I'll see you there, okay? Bye!" And with that, he hung up. Aejung's brow furrowed at the sudden plan and short call. Who was this guy?

She came back to her table, and Qiu Hui of course knew something was up, "Who was that?"

"Jay, my match." Aejung explained, "He wants to meet at the coffee shop down the street."

"When?"

"...Now."

"Are you going to go?" Taecyeon asked, genuinely curious. "Should I?" Aejung frowned, debating her options. She had a longer lunch break due to the meeting going over, so it's not like she'd be pressed for time, and the coffee shop was always fairly busy. She did promise to meet this guy in a public place at Qiu Hui's warning. 

There wasn't enough cons to really turn the offer down, so Aejung sighed and stood up, grabbing her purse. "Alright, I'll go. If I don't come back, I've been murdered. Qiu Hui, if that does happen, please bury me with my shonen anime posters and that one BTS album I have." 

Qiu Hui held back a laugh, "Are you that big of a fan now?"

"Nah, but the album was great so I bought it." Aejung shrugged, "Might entertain me if there's an afterlife." 

"I'll be sure to do that. Have fun!" 

"I'll try my best, even if it does end up in my murder." Aejung joked, waving as she headed out the building towards her destination.


The shop was pretty busy during the usual lunch hour, but not enough that Aejung couldn't find a cozy table near the window. She kept a sharp eye out, remembering what Heaven had told her and what to expect.

You said no more white boys, so he's Korean, and he's definitely different and a little out there like you asked. Have fun! It wasn't much to go off of, but she figured that she'd be able to pinpoint a 'slightly unconventional' young man out of all the business casual people who were the majority of the shop's patreons. 

"Aejung?" She froze. Oh please, She silently begged, you have to be imagining it -- 

But of course she wasn't, as she turned slightly to see none other than her ex Michael Stuart standing before her... with a pretty blonde foreigner on his arm. She really couldn't catch a break today, could she?

"Didn't expect to see you here!" Michael smiled, but Aejung could smell the arrogance and superiority complex radiating from him as he spoke, "You're usually having lunch with Gaeul."

Of course he remembers. She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I'm meeting someone here." 

Michael's surprised face and tone really ticked her off. "Really?" He raised an eyebrow, "Finally dating againg, then?" 

Aejung had to remind herself that she was in a public place and it wouldn't be appropiate to murder someone. God, what did she ever see in him? "What's it to you if I am?" She shot back, before changing the subject, "Who's this?"

Michael looked over at the blonde still attached to his arm. "Oh! This is Chelsea, we've been dating for four years now." 

Oh hell no. Aejung raised an eyebrow at him, "Four years, huh?" She asked, and when the realization that washed over Michael almost made her laugh.

What an . They had broken up a little over four years ago. So really, there was only way this could be possible. But she let him squirm. After the horror of putting her life back together after he dumped her, she deserved this.

"S-so uhm," Michael stumbled of his words, seeming desperate to find another subject. Chelsea spoke up, "So where's your friend?" Aejung didn't want to be mad at her. She seemed alright and was just trying to be nice. Whether or not she meant it wasn't her business. An effort was being put out and she could respect that.

Just then, she felt a masculine arm slung over her shoulders. She glanced up, her eyes widening as she saw a Korean man with too many tattoos to count, and... was that a nose piercing??

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, babe." The man said casually, and Aejung just hoped this was Jay or else it'd be really awkward when the actual Jay got here and saw this mess of a situation. 

Regardless, she went along with it, leaning into the man. Michael's face was worth the confusion afterwards.

"It's okay," She shrugged, "What took you so long?" 

He sighed, "The train system to get to your work is insane. Being in America, you know, it threw off my game. it won't happen again." He gave her a little squeeze.

Aejung looked up, "That's right, you were there. You don't have jet lag?" 

The man threw a charming smile her way, "Nah, I'm fine since i get to see you." 

Oh, that was a good line. Aejung smiled, looking over in Michael and Chelsea's direction. Chelsea just seemed curious, while Michael... oh his face was priceless. She'd remember that look forever.

"Oh so it was your boyfriend! How long have you been dating?" Chelsea asked, smiling widely.

"Two years." He answered for Aejung, and she smiled despite herself. He was really good at this.

"I hate to cut this conversation short," Aejung spoke up, intertwining her and the man's hands, "But I haven't seen him in weeks and I'd like to spend some time with him before I have to get back to work." 


Once the other two had left to get in line, they both let out a sigh. "Thank god for your timing -- Jay, I'm assuming?" She asked, and he smiled again.

"Sure am. Nice to finally meet you Aejung. Usually I wouldn't have stepped in in such a way, but he looked like he was being pretty annoying."

"God, yes." She sighed, sitting down at the table she had claimed before, "He's an ex of mine. Such a jerk, I don't know what I saw in him." 

"It happens." Jay shrugged, sitting down across from her. "But let's save the exes baggage for a later date. Tell me about you." He asked, and Aejung was more than happy to oblige.

To sum it up, the date went pretty well. They had a fairly good amount of common interests, and she learned that he was in music production and she told him about her job at Nu Seol Translations. 

"I have to admit," Aejung decided to be upfront and honest about her first impression, "I'm still a little shocked by the tattoos and your piercings..."

Jay laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, it's okay. I like them."

"Well, isn't that all that matters?" She offered. Aejung admired his confidence in his appearance, despite it being unconventional. 

"I think so." He grins, only to be startled when his phone started buzzing on the table. He held back a groan. "Please tell me that it's not my boss..."

He looked at the caller ID, picking up with a frown, "Yes, I'm heading back soon. Stop panicking, please, I told you I'd be out to lunch --"

"Yes, I'll be there. Bye." Jay hung up, sighing heavily. "I have to go." Aejung felt a little disappointed, did their date have to end already?

She looked at the time. ...Oh. "It's okay, I should probably start heading back too." She stood up, grabbing her purse.

"I'll call you tonight?" He offered, "We'll try and figure out a better date than this."

"I'd like that." She smiled, noticing Michael and Chelsea in the corner table by the door.

"Is white boy still there?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded, "Yeah, it's whatever though ---"

Oh. She turned bright red as she felt Jay gently kiss her forehead, grinning down at her. "Alright, see you later then." And off he went. She took a deep breath to calm herself down before leaving.

Maybe she'll get over the nose piercing if he's like this often.

Author's Note