Youngjae entered the restaurant and glanced around. A loud noise from the corner booth caught his attention and he held up his hand to signal his friends that he saw them. Instead of going to join them though, he made his way to a different table.
"Now what's a pretty thing like you, doing in a place like this?" he teasingly asked as he slid in to the booth.
You lifted your head and gave him a half-hearted smile. "Stop."
Frowning, he instantly knew something wasn't right. He would always get a bigger reaction than that from you. "What's wrong?"
You shrugged your shoulders and gave a pitiful shake of your head. "Nothing."
He chewed on his lip as his mind began to put the pieces together. Then he let out a heavy sigh and slumped in his seat. "What did he do this time?"
You flashed him a defensive look but it was swiftly replaced by sadness. "He said he was running twenty minutes late." you informed him and glanced at the time on your phone. "That was an hour and a half ago." You took a drink of your water and quietly added, "On our one year anniversary."
Youngjae felt anger bubbling up inside him and he quickly clenched his jaw shut so he wouldn't say anything he would regret. Not that he cared about talking about your boyfriend, just that he didn't want to do it in front of you. He always said plenty when you weren't around.
"I should just go." you declared and reached for your purse.
"Wait." he said and indicated the table with his friends. "Why don't you join me? You're already here, might as well eat. My treat."
You eyed him for a while silently, but then nodded your head while a tiny smile formed on your face. He in turn grinned broadly that you had accepted his offer. He gets to hang out with you, and cheer you up.
Standing, he waited for you to leave the booth and indicated for you to go first. He followed behind you to the other table and when you slid inwards, he moved to sit next to you. He went to introduce you but one of his friends cut in real fast.
"Quick, blink twice if he's kidnapping you."
You busted out laughing, which was music to his ears, but he hurriedly denied the accusation. "She's here willingly." Youngjae insisted.
You leaned forward rapidly blinked your eyes twice.
"Hey!" he yelled in disbelief, causing you to laugh again. Then he chuckled and shook his head.
"No, no." you said, giving in. "He was nice and asked me to join. Sorry for crashing your little get-to-together."
While his friends all said it was alright, he wrapped an arm around your shoulders and gave you a cheesy grin. "Besides, pretty girls should never eat alone."
Instantly his friends 'ooo-d' and 'aww-d' while you merely rolled your eyes.
"Stop." you groaned and shrugged his arm off.
At that moment, the server came and asked if all of you were ready to order. Youngjae turned to you and amusingly asked, "The usual?"
"How do you know what my usual is?" you questioned.
"Cause you always order the same thing."
"Do not!" you exclaimed.
He turned to the server and ordered your food precisely how you always ordered it. Then he gave his order as well before turning back to you. You didn't say anything but he could tell by the small glare you gave him that he was right. Which he of course had to gloat about by sticking his tongue out at you. You scoffed and rolled your eyes again, earning another chuckle from him.
After taking everyone's orders, the server scurried away to get the drinks. One of Youngjae's friends began talking to you, just a few polite questions to get to know you more. Which gave him the opportunity to sit back and watch you.
Watch you press your lips together as you took a second to choose your answer. Watch you shift a little nervously, awkward around people you didn't really know despite getting along pretty well with. And whenever he interjected with a joke or to tease you, watch you smile and laugh. You even reached over at one point and smacked his hand, which he only chuckled about. He resisted the urge to quickly grab your hand and hold on to it. It was still worth making the jokes though, even if he couldn't do what he wanted, cause he noticed you relaxing more and more every time.
The drinks were served and a few minutes later, so was the food. Youngjae fussed over you, making sure the food was made just right and if you needed anything else. You merely waved a dismissive hand at him while saying it was fine. It was only after asking if you needed more salt, five times in a row, that he finally got a reaction out of you.
You slammed a hand on to the table and turned to him. "Stop!" you exclaimed with a groan.
Youngjae could tell though that there was a bit of amusement in your voice at the same time. And the little smile you had on your face when you turned back to your food was further proof that you weren't actually annoyed with him. Which encouraged him to continue his little antics all throughout dinner.

When the food was gone and everyone was just picking at the crumbs, there were questions about heading out. Youngjae instantly turned to you. "Are you done?"
"Yeah." you said with a nod and took one last sip of your drink.
"You sure?" he inquired. "You want dessert?"
"No I'm stuffed." Then you gave him a conspiratorial look. "Next time."
He knew what you were hinting at. You expected him to meet up with you again and buy you dessert. A big grin formed on his face. Without any hesitation, he said, "It's a date."
You giggled while shaking your head and twisted to grab your purse.
Those words, or rather your reaction to those words, caused a slight twinge of pain in Youngjae's chest. He pushed the feeling away though and stood up. He promptly held his out for you as you slid to the end of the booth. When you noticed his hand, you smiled up at him and took his offering. He helped you stand and the thought to hold your hand crossed his mind again but he didn't entertain it for long. Not when you pulled your hand back as soon as you were on your feet.
"Don't forget, my treat." he reminded you as he led the way to the register. You opened your mouth, to protest more likely, and he hurriedly spoke before you. "Nope. Absolutely can not get out of that. You took me up on it."
He noticed you blush slightly, causing a fluttering in his heart. "Thanks.' you mumbled shyly.
"Anytime." he replied sincerely.
After paying, he indicated towards the front doors and you walked in front of him. He swiftly went past you though and which for the door first. He opened it before moving out of the way for you, earning himself another mumbling of gratitude.
Once outside, Youngjae noted how his friends had drifted away from the restaurant already but he didn't follow after them. Instead, he stayed with you as you leisurely walked down the sidewalk.
"I should head home." you commented.
"I'll take you." he quickly blurted out.
You chuckled and smiled at him. "No, it's fine. Thanks for dinner though." Then a shadow of sadness crossed your face as you glanced around the parking lot.
He knew what you were thinking without you having to say anything. You were still upset about being stood up. "Hey." he said, getting your attention. "I had a lot of fun."
You blinked at him and smiled while giving a shake of your head. "No, it was fun. Sorry, I just..." You trailed off and sighed while crossing your arms. "I should at least give him a little credit at least. He actually remembered about tonight." Then quietly she added, "Wonder if he'll remember my birthday this time."
A flash of anger coursed through him as he remembered last year. Your birthday was only a couple of weeks after you had started dating the jerk and yet he was a no show then as well. As soon as Youngjae heard about that disastrous date, he had dropped everything to buy you a cake and showed up at your doorstep. Even now a year later, he already had your present wrapped and stashed in his closet.
"Screw him." Youngjae declared and shrugged. "You and I will do something together." He remembered back to your words from earlier. "I owe you dessert so how about I take you to that little ice cream and cake shop you like?"
You pressed your lips together, clearly contemplating his offer. He held his breath, anxiously waiting to hear your response.
"Hey."
Youngjae jumped slightly in surprise and turned to see a guy walk up to the two of you. As soon as he saw who it was, his heart sunk in to his stomach.
"Hey!" you happily exclaimed and threw yourself at your boyfriend.
Youngjae watched as the two of you hugged but when you kissed him, he had to look away. He couldn't stand to see the happiness in your eyes that wasn't directed towards him. If it was anyone else, sure, but this insensitive ? It made him sick.
"What are you doing here?" you asked.
"Figured I'd check to see if you were still here."
"Hours later??? Piece of liar! You're only here to get yourself some food!" Youngjae bit his tongue, keeping those words in his head instead of shouting them out loud.
Your boyfriend slipped his arm around your shoulders. "Come on." he said and started to lead you away.
You began to follow him but stopped real fast and turned. "Thanks again. See you later."
Youngjae forced a smile on to his face, one that he was sure didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah. See ya."
And just like that, you left.
Youngjae watched your retreating back and fought against the urge to chase after you. To yank the jerk's arm away from you. To beg you to choose him instead. To give him a chance. He would do anything, anything, to be with you. But... he couldn't do that. Not when he saw how much you lit up around that jerk, despite how unhappy he made you. You had made your choice.
"I can treat you better." Youngjae whispered before turning around.
He stuffed his hands in to his pockets as he went to join his friends. When he saw the looks of pity they were giving him, he lowered his head and stared down at the ground.
"Tough break man." one said and patted his back.
Youngjae shrugged and kept walking while his friends followed. They began talking about some new game that was coming out, clearing attempting to take you off of his mind. Except he couldn't stop thinking about you, like usual. A plan formed in his mind for your birthday. He was going to make sure you enjoyed your special day no matter what. Even if it meant him doing it as your friend instead of your boyfriend.

Song Inspiration: Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes