Jisoo gets a text from Yoonoh at 3:58 AM. She pauses her anime, grumbling, and opens his message.

So…

Now that our friends are dating...

We should date.

Jisoo sits up, squeaking in surprise. One, who was on her stomach, flies off her bed with a yowl. Two hisses from her desk chair.

Nayeon comes bursting in, her hair a mess and bags under her eyes. “What's wrong?” Jisoo only whimpers, holding her phone up. Her friend sighs and turns on the lights, squinting and blindly making her way to Jisoo’s bed. “It's four AM. Were you watching Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun again?”

“It's amazing!” Jisoo protests. “But that's not the point! I'm not the only one up at this time.” She hands her phone over and Nayeon reads the message. She must be half asleep because she stares at the screen for a few minutes, eyes glazed over. “Yah, unnie.” The younger nudges her.

Nayeon starts and reads again, her eyes widening. “What is this?”

“I believe I'm being asked out,” Jisoo declares. “By Jung Yoonoh.”

“I haven't heard anything about this from Taeyong at all,” Nayeon whines. “Why wouldn't he tell me something like this?” She immediately dials Taeyong’s number on Jisoo’s phone and taps her foot, waiting for him to pick up.

He does, finally, mumbling a sleepy, “Hello?”

“Lee Taeyong!” Nayeon cries. “How could you not tell me about Yoonoh and Jisoo?”

“Babe,” Jisoo hears Taeyong sigh. “It’s four in the morning.”

“Yoonoh is up, but you're not?” Jisoo shrieks.

“Jisoo, it's four in the morning!” Taeyong snaps on the other side and they hear rustling as he gets out of bed. Doors open and close as he leaves his room. “Jung Yoonoh, what the ?”

“Hyung!” Jisoo perks up at the sound of Yoonoh’s voice. “Did you come to watch Thomas Sanders vines with me? I think I'm gay for him.”

“Is that what you've been doing since you went to bed? I can't even understand him!”

“Who, Yoonoh or Thomas Sanders?”

“Jisoo!”

“You're talking to Jisoo? Let me talk to her!” The two girls hear a few grunts and pushing and they can imagine Yoonoh making grabby hands at Taeyong’s phone while the elder tries to fight him off.

“What is going on?” Taeil roars suddenly, causing Nayeon to wince. “It's Hansol and I’s fun time and-”

“It's four in the morning!” Taeyong cries.

“Who has at four AM?” Yoonoh asks casually.

“Hey, you guys are having a party without me?” They hear Yuta whine loudly and a deep chuckle follows, which can only be Hansol.

“What a mess,” Jisoo comments, followed by a yawn. She blinks sleepily and hangs up, laying her head on Nayeon’s shoulder. “Unnie, I'm tired.”

Nayeon shoves her off gently. “Go to bed, you idiot.”

Jisoo pouts but goes back to her own room and crawls into bed, closing her eyes. She smiles when she feels One and Two curl up at her feet, falling asleep to their purring.

Minutes later, her phone lights up with a text from Yoonoh.

*(•○•)*

♡♡♡

 

-

 

Jisoo rubs her bleary eyes and yawns, resting her head on the desk in front of her. “So tired,” she mumbles to herself.

“Late night again?” Yerin asks, taking a seat next to her. “What anime was it this time?”

“Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun,” Jisoo replies. “Also, look what this guy texted me last night.” She holds out her phone to Yerin, who scans the messages and laughs.

“You didn't even say anything back!”

“What am I supposed to say?” Jisoo cries.

“Well you like him too, right?” Yerin asks and her friend nods. “So respond with hearts back.”

“But then wouldn't I come off as desperate?” Jisoo does not want to come off as desperate. At all.

Yerin shakes her head. “Not if he likes you. Which he obviously does. Jung Yoonoh, huh? Doesn't sound familiar.”

“He goes to KU,” Jisoo explains. She sighs and takes her phone back. “What should I say?”

“Say good morning.”

“Yerin,” Jisoo moans. “You are the worst.”

Her friend rolls her eyes. “I am trying to help you here but you refuse to do anything.” She quickly grabs Jisoo’s phone and unlocks it, clicking her tongue when there's no passcode. “Too easy, Park Jisoo.”

“Yerin!” Jisoo protests but Yerin cackles as she shoves her away.

“To Jung Yoonoh. Good morning, heart heart heart, kissy face,” Yerin says as she types the message and sends it.

“Yerin!”

“You'll be thanking me later,” Yerin smirks, but keeps the phone. “Until he texts back.”

“Yerin!” Jisoo moans, slamming her head on her desk. Her friend winces but doesn’t return the device. “No!”

“Now I know why you’re so dumb,” Yerin mumbles.  “Oh!” Jisoo’s phone dings in her hands. “He said ‘Morning babe, heart eyes’. Wow, you guys are pretty close.”

“Give it!” Jisoo stares down at her screen, her heart fluttering.

“You’ve got it so bad,” Yerin chuckles, patting Jisoo’s head.

Have you thought about what I said last night?

Jisoo squeaks, shoving her phone in Yerin’s face. “Oh my God, what do I say?”

“Tell the truth!” Yerin answers.

NOoooO..,.?,.,... Jisoo replies, her fingers flying across her screen in a panicked flurry.

“You lied?” Her friend shrieks, reaching for the phone. Jisoo tries to fight back and the phone ends up slipping out of their hands and falling down into the row in front of them. The girl it lands next to picks it up and turns around, blinking at the sight of Jisoo and Yerin entangled in a frozen mess, staring back at her.

“That’s mine,” Jisoo says meekly.

 

“Hello?” Jisoo answers her phone as she's sitting down with a cup of Ramen later that day, ready to watch the newest episode of My Shy Boss.

“Jisoo!” Yoonoh pipes up from the other end. “Are you decent? Do you have clothes on?”

“Uh.” Jisoo looks down at her boy shorts and dirty shirt she dug out of her hamper. “Yes.”

“That's unfortunate. Well, you can meet me outside your front door in an hour for a date.” Yoonoh pauses. “I'd prefer if you didn't have anything on.”

Jisoo laughs, nearly snorting Ramen out her nose. “An hour? That's barely enough time,” she protests lightly.

“All the better,” Yoonoh replies. “The less time you have, the less decent you’ll be.”

Jisoo rolls her eyes and confirms she’ll be ready in an hour before hanging up, turning off the TV, and calmly setting her cup Ramen onto the coffee table in front of her. She takes a deep breath and shrieks, startling her cats under the couch. “Oh my God, Jung Yoonoh just said he was taking me on a date!” She jumps off the couch and races to her room, her cats prancing after her.

Jisoo digs through her dresser drawers desperately, hoping to find something cute to wear but she comes up with nothing. It's too late to call her friends over to help and Nayeon had just left for her lecture. She holds up a short pink dress before throwing it over her shoulder with an annoyed huff.

“One! What do I wear?” Jisoo screams at her cat, who stares at her with alarmed eyes. “That's no help!” She rifles through her closet before finally coming up with a plaid skirt, white crop top t-shirt, and white hightops paired with long black socks. She changes and twirls in front of her mirror. “Is this good?” She asks her cats and Two meows in response.

Jisoo brushes her brown hair and puts on some makeup just in time when her phone buzzes with a text from Yoonoh, telling her he's out front. She waves goodbye to her cats and leaves her room before opening the front door.

Jung Yoonoh stands in front of her, smile on his angelic face, with blond hair. Jisoo feels her heart race at the sight and she can't help her blush. “You dyed your hair,” she mumbles nervously, staring at the ground.

Yoonoh chuckles, running a hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead before it falls back in place. Jisoo captures a mental picture and stores it in her brain. “Yeah, Tae told me to.” He chuckles again and Jisoo feels warm.

“Well, it looks hot.” Jisoo winks and laughs at his blush.

Yoonoh grabs her hand in his, leaning down to murmur, “You always look hot.”

Jisoo snorts and gently slaps his shoulder. “Stop,” she whines, making him grin.

“Come on.” Yoonoh grabs her hand and leads her to his car. “I have a surprise planned.”

“Surprise?” Jisoo raises an eyebrow as he buckles in and starts the car.

“It'll be fun!” Her date protests and Jisoo laughs.

“I never said it wouldn't be!” She pokes his cheek. “I always have fun when I'm with you!” Yoonoh rolls his eyes but Jisoo can see his shy smile.

 

“We're here,” Yoonoh announces, parking his car at the edge of a small public park with a set of swings and slides.

Jisoo blinks as she gets out. “Did you take me to a playground for our first date?”

“Um, nothing wrong with playgrounds! But no,” Yoonoh says, guiding her to the middle of the park. “Not exactly. Although, playing on the playground is an option after this.” He sets down a blanket and basket full of food and Jisoo grins in delight.

“A picnic? Yoonoh, this is amazing!” She giggles, sitting down on the blanket and sorts through the basket, setting everything out in front of them.

“I know I am,” Yoonoh responds smugly and Jisoo rolls her eyes.

They enjoy the food, Yoonoh making sure he gets to feed Jisoo at least a few times. He holds the pieces of tteokbokki in his chopsticks, playfully imitating train and plane noises in front of her before she eats the snack.

“How's school?” Yoonoh asks, taking a bite of kimbap.

“It's fine,” Jisoo replies. “Same as usual. You?”

“”It's good,” Yoonoh says. “My frat is having a Halloween party in later this month. You'll be coming, right?”

Jisoo smiles up at him. “Of course!” She squeaks when a raindrop suddenly lands in her eye and she blinks rapidly. “It's raining…”

Yoonoh scowls as he stares up at the grey clouds and the rain coming down. It's pouring before he knows it and Jisoo yelps as the rain starts to soak her clothes. “,” Yoonoh hisses, pulling his jacket off and holding it over Jisoo as she quickly packs their lunches up.

“Come on,” she giggles, grabbing his arm and running to the nearby pavilion, where they're sheltered from the rain. “That seriously came out of nowhere!”

Yoonoh groans. “I'm sorry, this was supposed to turn out better.”

Jisoo smiles. “I had a lot of fun while it lasted.” It's silent for a while before she speaks up again. “Let's go to my place.”

“Netflix and chill?” Yoonoh grins, winking suggestively.

“Mmm, I was thinking playing with my cats, but maybe later,” she smirks, running a finger down his chest. Just as Yoonoh is about to grab her, she skips away into the rain, laughing.

“Is cats a codename for something else?” Yoonoh calls hopefully.

“Nice try! Come on!” Jisoo yells. Yoonoh sighs and follows her, whining about how the rain is ruining his hair.

They make it to his car, quickly shoving all of their things in the back seat before driving to Jisoo’s house. It's empty, save for their pets; Nayeon is still in class. Jisoo leads Yoonoh in where they're greeted by meowing from her cats.

“Hello, babies,” Jisoo coos, kneeling down to pet them. Yoonoh kneels down and gingerly holds his hand out to one, who narrows his blue eyes and hisses. “Two!” Jisoo lectures.

Yoonoh swallows his disappointment at the rejection and holds his hand out for the other cat. He bites his finger, causing him to yelp.

Jisoo reaches and grabs her other cat back, holding him close. “I'm so sorry,” she apologizes, standing up and dragging Yoonoh to the bathroom where she washes his finger and puts a bandaid over it. “It's not like One and Two to act this way.”

Yoonoh feels his lower lip wobble as he remembers the disgust in the cats’ eyes. “It's okay,” he chokes out.

Jisoo pauses and looks up at him. “Are you about to cry?” She whispers.

“I don't cry,” Yoonoh squeaks as a tear falls.

Jisoo laughs and gathers him into a hug, petting the back of his head. “It's okay. I don't mind.” He stays there, huddled in Jisoo’s arms until Nayeon comes home and kicks him out.

 

-

 

Yoonoh squints at array of toys in front of him. Which one is the right toy?

“Hi, can I help you?” Yoonoh turns to see a worker standing behind him, smiling. Her name tag reads Seulgi, and Yoonoh realizes she goes to school with him; she's in Ten’s dance class.

“Um, yeah. A few cats don't like me and I need them to. Desperately.”

Seulgi laughs with a nod. She reaches up and grabs a few different toys off the racks, including a catnip-filled plush mouse and a plastic ball with a bell inside it. “All cats are different and may not like every toy designed but these are the most popular so try them out.”

Yoonoh gives her a thankful smile. “Thanks a lot. Really.”

Seulgi waves her hand dismissively. “It's no problem, it's my job!” She guides him to the nearest check out.

Yoonoh opens his mouth to thank her again but Seulgi is quickly whisked away by a boy. He blinks as he watches her roll her eyes and drag the boy who was pulling her to the back where she shoves him into the door marked Employees Only.

“That was weird,” he mutters but shrugs and proceeds to buy his toys.

 

-

 

“‘I'm coming over’,” Jisoo reads from her phone out loud. Her brows furrow at the text from Yoonoh and she looks up at One, who's busy cleaning his whiskers. “What's that supposed to mean? What's going on?” One only looks up and blinks. She scrambles off her bed and quickly brushes her tangled brown hair. “Two! I need my comb!” Two, of course, doesn't get Jisoo’s comb for her, so Jisoo runs to her bathroom herself, nearly slipping on the tile. She quickly combs her bangs and then rushes back to her room. This time she does slip and hits the wall with a loud thump.

Nayeon comes out of her room to see Jisoo on the floor, her two cats crawling all over her. “Yikes.”

“Come help me up,” Jisoo whines. “Please.”

Her best friend sighs and grabs her outstretched hand. “What's going on? You're going to wreck the house.”

“Yoonoh, he suddenly texted me saying he was coming over,” Jisoo answers.  “What do I do? What's he going to say? What if he wants to break up?”

“You guys aren't even dating,” Nayeon says.

“Yet,” Jisoo sniffs. “We're not dating yet.”

Nayeon rolls her eyes. “Just chill. I'm sure it's fine.”

Jisoo whimpers and sits on her bed for the next ten minutes, wondering what Yoonoh could possibly want. He finally rings the doorbell, signaling his arrival, and she leaps off her bed, making a mad dash to the door. Opening it, she peeks up at him. “Yoonoh.”

He smiles and ruffles her hair. “Hey. I have something.” He holds up the plastic bag in his hand. Jisoo nods and lets him in. “One, Two,” he calls out hopefully, taking out the toys from his bag.

Jisoo grins, her heart swelling. “Kitties,” she says, beckoning them. The two Russian Blues make their way over, eyeing Yoonoh warily from behind the bar stools. “Come here.”

Yoonoh shakes the ball with the bell and sets a few catnip-filled toys in front of him. “Here, I brought presents!”

One stalks forward to sniff the mouse and his tail twitches, showing his excitement. Two comes over as well, batting at the ball. Yoonoh holds his breath, silently screaming his own excitement at being accepted--until both cats take one look at him and hiss before bolting away.

“No!” Yoonoh wails, falling to his knees in despair. “Please, I just want you to love me!”

Nayeon walks in, arms crossed, staring at Jisoo trying to comfort Yoonoh with an unimpressed stare. “They hate you,” she states.

Jisoo glares at her. “Nayeon! That's mean!”

“But it's true,” Yoonoh says sadly, mournfully the plush mouse toy. “They hate me.”

“They'll learn to love you!” Jisoo kisses his cheek, hoping to distract him, but frowns when Yoonoh stares at the cats peeking around the corner. When they see Jisoo’s affection for him, they turn their small noses into the air and pad away.

Nayeon sighs, checking her phone. “I'm leaving. Tae’s here. Don't do anything stupid.” She glares at them both harshly before leaving out the front door.

“She's so mean,” Yoonoh squeaks, holding Jisoo’s hand tightly. “She reminds me of my mom!”

Jisoo snorts a laugh and they stand up. “Stay awhile. Let's watch a movie,” she suggests, pulling him toward the couch in the living room. “I'll make some popcorn.”

They settle on Attack On The Pin-up Boys and end up throwing popcorn at each other halfway through, making a complete mess that Jisoo knows Nayeon will freak out over. Nayeon freaks out about everything.

Jisoo snickers as she shoves a handful of the snack right in Yoonoh’s face, causing him to yell and fall off the couch. He grabs her and she follows, landing with a thump on him. He grunts and Jisoo laughs again as more popcorn crunches beneath them.

Yoonoh grins up at her and pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. “You're pretty.”

Jisoo rolls her eyes, her cheeks pink. “So are you,” she counters.

“But you're prettier,” he pushes. “Jisoo, you're like the sun.”

“A giant ball of flaming gas that'll explode one day and wipe out our solar system?”

“Stop!” Yoonoh whines, flicking her forehead gently. “I'm trying to be romantic!”

Jisoo smiles delicately. She flicks his forehead in return. “Yah, you don't have to try so hard,” she murmurs, “I like you just the way you are. Funny, dorky, and devilishly handsome.”

Yoonoh grins cheekily and gives her a peace sign. “That's me!” He reaches up and wraps a hand around her neck, bringing her closer. It's not the first time they've kissed, but Yoonoh still feels like it is. He pulls away and says, “Jisoo, I really like you.”

“I know. I like you, too,” she whispers.

“Be my girlfriend?”

“I thought I already was,” Jisoo laughs and pulls him up for another kiss.

 

-

 

Jisoo blinks. “Why am I here?” She questions.

Nayeon rolls her eyes while Momo fiddles with her shirt. “Now that you and Yoonoh are officially dating, we decided to take you on a triple date.”

“We?” Jisoo looks pointedly at Momo, who shrugs.

“Nayeon promised me food,” she replies with an innocent smile.

“So, it's going to be you and Taeyong making out the entire time, Momo and Yuta eating the entire time, and me and Yoonoh talking the entire time,” Jisoo says. “I see.” Momo nods while Nayeon sighs, exasperated.

“It's going to be fun.” Momo places a hand on Jisoo’s arm. “I want to have fun.”

The youngest smiles, feeling guilty. She shouldn't be a downer tonight; Momo was right. They should have fun. “I'm sorry, Momo. You're right, let's just have fun tonight.”

 

They meet the boys at the movie theater and decide to see The Mummy, because, while Nayeon won't admit it, she kind of has a thing for Tom Cruise.

“It looks scary,” Momo whispers, grabbing onto Yuta’s arm tightly. He grins and whispers something in her ear in Japanese, making her laugh. Yoonoh gags in mock disgust.

Meanwhile, Nayeon and Taeyong are face as Jisoo comes back from buying the tickets and she groans. “Ew.”

“Everyone here is so gross,” Yoonoh says to her as she distributes the tickets. He says it loud enough for them all to hear.

“Um, I'll have you know that you two are just as disgusting,” Nayeon retorts, glaring at them. “Should I remind you?”

“No!” Yoonoh protests and Nayeon smirks with triumph. He sighs, “Come on, let's go.”

The two couples go before him and Jisoo grabs his hand as they follow. “You're embarrassed?” She giggles.

“Well, Momo’s pretty innocent, isn't she?” Yoonoh objects, walking up to the snack counter. “One large popcorn and two medium drinks.” Turning back to Jisoo, he continues, “Someone around here should protect her from sin before Yuta manages to corrupt her.”

“I heard that!” Yuta snaps from the next line over.

 

They leave the theater a mess.

Taeyong has lipstick smeared all over his face and neck and Nayeon’s hair looks like a bird’s nest. Momo is sobbing, clutching tight to her two bags of popcorn while Yuta is just as hysterical, trying to both comfort her and bring feeling back into his right hand. Jisoo and Yoonoh barely knew what was going on in the movie; they'd been too distracted throwing popcorn and making obscene faces at Nayeon and Taeyong as well as laughing at Yuta’s pained face as Momo screamed and crushed his hand in hers.

“It wasn't that scary,” Yoonoh complains to Momo.

Momo says something in Japanese in return, making Yuta laugh. “You weren't even watching,” he translates and Jisoo has a feeling that definitely wasn't what Momo said.

“Come on, I'm hungry,” Nayeon says, tugging on Taeyong’s hand.

“Even after all you ate?” Jisoo glances at Taeyong, who blushes and wipes aggressively at his neck.

“I'm hungry, too,” Momo pipes up and then proceeds to dump the rest of her popcorn from both bags into , crumbs falling to the carpet. Yoonoh thinks it's a little weird how Yuta watches her with adoration as she does so.

“Yeah, I'm hungry,” Yuta agrees with a sly grin, pulling his girlfriend closer. He whispers something in Japanese in her ear, causing her eyes to widen and her cheeks turn red.

Jisoo grabs his arm and pulls him off Momo. “Stop defining my child!”

“I'm older than you,” Momo mumbles from the background.

Yuta rolls his eyes, shrugging Jisoo off. “I meant for jokbal!” He clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “God, get your head out of the gutter, Jisoo.” He grabs Momo and leads her towards his car.

“My head is always in the gutter!” Jisoo yells after him.

Yoonoh takes a hold of her hand and pulls her away, leading her to his own car. “Speaking of, how about we clean out the gutter tonight?” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh my God, you two are sick,” Nayeon gags from beside them as her boyfriend attempts to pull her away. “You make me want to barf.”

“You’re much worse,” Jisoo retorts, sticking her tongue out. Nayeon kicks at her and Taeyong drags her away.

“Come on,” Yoonoh laughs. “Let’s just go eat.”

 

“He’s drunk,” Jisoo says to herself, staring at her boyfriend.

“They all are,” Taeyong replies from the other side of the table.

Nayeon giggles and pulls Taeyong into a hug, rocking back and forth. “You’re such a good cuddler, TY!”

Taeyong’s nickname distracts Yuta enough to laugh at his friend before he’s back to encouraging Momo to drink shot after shot. “You go, babe! Damn, you’re so hot!” He says something else in Japanese, which Jisoo can only assume is worse. Momo grins and drinks more.

Jisoo can never look at the two of them the same. Yoonoh was wrong; Momo was already corrupted by Yuta and she didn’t seem to care at all. Well, at least drunk Momo didn’t care.

An arm wraps itself around her and Jisoo can feel Yoonoh’s hot breath on her face. She wrinkles her nose. “Yoonoh.”

“Babe,” he whines. “I’m so depressed.”

Jisoo turns, frowning in concern. “What is it?”

“If only your cats loved me as much as you do!” Yoonoh cries pitifully, causing Taeyong to roll his eyes.

“They do!” Jisoo pats Yoonoh’s head, admiring the blonde for the nth time since he got it done. Yeah, okay, so she admires it every time she looks at him but it’s not her fault her boyfriend is hot.

“Are you sure?” Yoonoh hiccups. “Because last time, I didn’t feel the love.”

“They love you, I promise.”

“Okay.” Yoonoh pauses before putting his full weight on Jisoo. She squeaks in surprise, and, unable to support his weight, moves to the side. Yoonoh falls forward and slams his face onto the table, narrowly missing one of his soju bottles.

“He’s gone,” Taeyong comments.

 

-

 

The doorbell rings and Jisoo opens the door, having been waiting for her guest. “Hi.” she leans up and greets Yoonoh with a kiss.

“Hey. One, Two,” he calls out, shaking his bag. It's going to work this time.

“Kitties,” Jisoo adds. Her cats come out at the sound of her voice and they sit in the hall across the door, eyeing Yoonoh suspiciously.

Yoonoh opens his bag and takes out a few bags and cans of cat treats and food. He opens them all and lets the smell waft over to the cats, who sniff the air appreciatively. “Come get some food,” he says hopefully. Jisoo beckons the cats over.

They cautiously approach Yoonoh and his gifts, keeping a watchful eye on him as they smell the food. Yoonoh has to stop himself from hyperventilating with excitement and anticipation.

Finally, One meows and Two sneezes before both approach Yoonoh, grey tails waving high in the air. He holds out a hand and One his finger as Two purrs, butting Yoonoh with his head.

“Yes!” Yoonoh fights back tears of joy as Jisoo squeals and claps her hands. She pushes Yoonoh onto the couch and puts in the DVD for Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun. He wraps his arms around her as she curls up next to him and grins as he feels One and Two snuggle in beside them. “Third time’s the charm,” Yoonoh murmurs with a kiss to Jisoo’s forehead.

He may have spent a lot of time and effort and money but it was all worth it.