“No, not that one. Try the almond colored one.”

Joohyun was so close to cancelling the date or simply showing up in sweats. She was on an already hour-long call with Seulgi and she was pretty sure they had come up with every possible combination of clothes for an outfit. How was she supposed to find something comfortable and still look good enough for the date?

“I give up. I’m wearing sweats.” Joohyun muttered bitterly. Glaring at the heap of clothes on her bed, she turned to glare at Seulgi. 

“I thought you were good at choosing clothes,” Joohyun whined. Seulgi dressed well, and Joohyun was hoping that she could gain some inspiration for her. Unfortunately, the style that Joohyun had was different from Seulgi and she didn’t think she could pull the outfits Seulgi wanted her to wear.

Ending the call with Seulgi after finally settling on a loose crop top with black skinny jeans, Joohyun sat down in front of her mirror to apply light makeup. Releasing her hair from the low bun, she stared at her reflection.

“This’ll do… it’s not even an official date.” Nodding at her thought process, she was finishing applying her lip gloss when she heard knocks at the door. Running down to open the door before her other family members got to it, she slipped on her shoes.

“I’ll be back before it’s too late!” Joohyun yelled over her shoulder and opened the door. 

“Hey.” Minho greeted, combing back his hair. Joohyun did a quick sweep of his outfit. She swore it was illegal to look that good in casual clothing. 

“Huh?” Minho asked, chuckling at what she said. He didn’t expect her to compliment him, much less say it like that. Minho had regretted saying come in comfortable clothing because the spectrum ranged from sweats to jeans and a button up. What was he supposed to wear? It took him an hour to find an outfit and another 30 minutes just to accessorize. He didn’t know if the white crew neck and black jeans were too underdressed until he saw Joohyun. Minho tried to hide his reaction to her looks but failed in stopping his widening eyes. 

He didn’t think it was possible for a girl to look that beautiful in a simple crop top and black skinny jeans. His eyes widened even more when he realized that he just thought Joohyun was beautiful. Not just beautiful as in complimenting a stranger, but beautiful like she was glowing and settling down in his heart. He wasn’t underdressed but it felt like his outfit was really lacking when he compared it to hers. He was taking her in when she blurted out the statement. 

“Huh?” Minho asked, letting out a chuckle. He didn’t think she thought he looked good in his simple outfit. His eyes flickered up to her face to see if she really meant what she said when he saw that she was really nothing. She muttered something that he couldn’t hear and walked off.

“Uhh.. Joohyun we needa go in the other direction.” Minho said with the straightest face he could muster at that moment. He couldn’t help but burst out in laughter when he saw Joohyun still and turn around abruptly to head the other direction.

Joohyun wanted to smack herself and crawl back in her house. She was too into checking Minho out that she didn’t realize she even said it out loud. She wanted to really open the door to her house again when she headed in the wrong direction. Deciding that it was probably in her favor to keep closed, Joohyun walked alongside Minho.

“Let’s go grab ice cream and walk around.” Minho broke the silence, still slightly smiling at her earlier remark and actions.

Arriving at the ice cream parlor, Minho watched Joohyun scrunch up her nose while she looked at the available flavors. She looked like a small bunny trying to find her favorite flavor. He watched, distracted, until she turned around and smiled, pointing at her favorite flavor. 

“Imma get this one. What about you?” Shaking his head, Minho walked up to the cashier. 

“Can I get a scoop of black cherry in a cup with a cone on the side and a scoop of mocha almond in another?” Minho ordered while pulling out his wallet. Joohyun, who realized what he was trying to do, attempted to push him to the side while simultaneously taking out her own wallet. Unfortunately for Joohyun, who was on the petite side, Minho was unbudgeable and ended up buying her the ice cream.

“I asked you on the date Joohyun. I’m not gonna let you pay today.” Minho smiled and walked out of the ice cream parlor. They realized that the sun was already setting when they saw the pink sky with the sunlight fading. Minho kept walking until he found the park and sat down on the bench with Joohyun.

“Is the ice cream good?” Joohyun asked first, curious if the mocha almond was good. Minho nodded and stuck out his hand, offering her a bite. She stuck her spoon into his ice cream and nodded in approval.

“Maybe next time I’ll grab the mocha almond” Joohyun whispered, making Minho laugh. 

By the time they finished their ice cream, the sun was already gone and the streetlights were starting to turn on. 

“I have something to show you.” Minho led Joohyun away from the park and turned right onto a smaller street and continued walking until he reached a steep hill.

Joohyun thought she knew her way around the city and all that it had to offer. After all, it had already been a few months since she moved to the city and she went out a lot with Seulgi. She knew the good restaurants and the cute local coffee shops. She knew the clothing shops that matched her style and the ones that had the recent trendy clothes. But it was her first time at the top of the hill and it was the first time she thought the city was that beautiful.

Standing at the top of the hill, she could see the entire city lay out before her eyes. The twinkling lights seemed like stars that fell from the night sky, lighting up the city. She could see the cars move at a snail-like pace from afar, the red lights contrasting with the yellow ones. The mall that was near her school was the center of the lights, with the store names standing out from the other yellow and red car lights. It seemed like the entire city was buzzing at night.

Minho didn’t spend as much time looking at the view. He had come here multiple times with his friends to hang out and by himself to think. The view never lacked in luster; he was always taken aback at how the city would come alive at night and how the lights would play with each other. But tonight, he was focused on something other than the lights. The girl standing next to him had subconsciously open in awe. He saw how her eyes took in the mall lights and flickered over the nearby intersections where the car lights moved. The slight breeze would move her hair, making it dance on her shoulder. The chilly autumn air brushed past her and he saw her shiver. 

“I didn’t know our city looked like this at night.” Joohyun gestured towards the lights. If she had known, she would’ve come here a lot more often. The cold air hit her again and she shivered without wanting to. She probably should’ve checked the weather before leaving in a crop top. 

Minho saw her shiver twice and took off the sweater he was wearing and offered it to her. 

“We need to head down soon anyways and I’ll get hot so you can just take my sweater.” Joohyun was cut off from refusing his sweater when he let her know. Not very strong against the dropping temperature, Joohyun took the sweater from him and threw it on. The sweater smelled like him, and Joohyun didn’t even realize how good he smelled until she put the sweater on. 

“Wanna head down?” Minho asked, seeing that Joohyun was fidgeting in his sweater. He didn’t want to head down. In fact, he could’ve spent another hour just looking at Joohyun in his oversized sweater. She was drowning in the fabric and looked so cuddly and comfortable at the same time. Shaking his head from the distracting thought of how she would like in his other clothes, he looked up to see her shaking his head.

“Just a few more minutes.” Joohyun said, still looking at the view. Minho nodded, and turned back to see the city for a few more minutes.