Eunbyul crossed her arms and she was shivering from head to toe. No, it wasn’t the chilly, misty air sweeping through her hair. Instead it was a shiver coming from within. Nervousness, you could call it.

 

She silently cursed her bestfriend who was the culprit for all of this.  bugged her to no end about tonight, everyday for two weeks. The minute she reluctantly said yes to get Yejin off her back, and the date was made.

 

A blind date! Her? What was the world coming to?

 

She considered turning back but she was only a block away from the restaurant.

 

She also didn’t want another long lecture about taking risks, going on adventures and other similar adages that she knew would go in one ear and out the other.

 

However, Eunbyul had to admit, her bestfriend was usually a good judge of character anyway so there was nothing to lose.

She shook her head. No more excessive overanalyzing of the situation, she decided.

 

Stopping in her tracks, she saw the entrance to the restaurant and more anxiety spread through her body like wild fire. A quick peek at her watch said it was 43 minutes past 7, which meant she was 13 minutes late already.

 

This was enough to send her dashing up and strolling quickly into the place.

 

The aroma of the food was enticing and deliciously strong enough to make her forget why she was there in the first place. Italian. He chose well—she had to give him that.

 

“A table for one, ma’am?” the maître d’ asked. Ooh, fancy. And also a little insulting but she let it slide.

 

She shook her head no, peeking at the tables for someone sitting alone. No sign of anyone by their lonesome. Her brain went on overdrive, already assuming he left when she didn’t arrive on time. Or worse, he never came at all.

 

Then, their eyes met.

 

He was leaning by the bar, a drink in his hand. From the looks of it, it was about his third one already. His cheeks were tinged with color, probably a reaction to the alcohol and Eunbyul had to admit she hasn’t seen anyone quite as alluring.

 

He was wearing a crisp button down, creasing in all the right places and a pair of tailored slacks pressed to perfection. Speaking of perfection, she made no move to look away.

 

As a reaction to their staring contest, he lifted his drink to her. Cheers, he said silently.

 

She narrowed her eyes in response and did a quick double take of the room again. No one else seemed to be alone except this fine fellow—emphasis on the fine.

 

He flashed her a tiny half smile when he saw her approaching.

 

She walked slowly, completely unsure but she couldn’t stop herself. He was the magnet and she was the helpless little iron pellet; the pull was much too strong to resist.

 

Eunbyul watched him take a sip of his drink before again settling his gaze upon hers.

 

“Seunghyun?” she managed to say.

 

“I’m Seunghyun,” he replied with a nod.

 

“I’m Eunbyul. Hi,” she shook his outstretched hand.

 

“Nice grip,” she noted quickly.

 

A look of amusement appeared on his face. “That’s good to know.”

 

She laughed, her nerves easing slowly in his presence. “Sorry, my father was always a fan of good handshakes and I suppose the gene got passed on to me. Never underestimate the power of a well gripped handshake he always said.”

 

“Sounds like a wise man!”

 

“You wouldn’t be saying that if I said you didn’t have a good grip,” she said, in one of those moments where her brain couldn’t catch up with .

 

To her relief, he chuckled. “Now we’ll never know. Plus I already passed the test.”

 

She smiled in return.

 

“So blind dates, huh? They’re… interesting,” she said, unable to find a more appropriate adjective. Might as well get this topic over with.

 

A flicker of an emotion passed through his face but she couldn’t quite place it. She cursed herself silently, wondering if she offended him with that comment.

 

“I suppose they are, yes. I’ve not had much experience in it,”

 

Eunbyul nodded knowingly, “Yeah, I’m sure you don’t need to go on them, seeing as you are…” Her eyes widened as soon as her reply came out. Why couldn’t her brain keep up with all the mad things wanted to say?

 

His smile turned into laughter. “Seeing as I am what?” he taunted, his crescent shaped eyes dared her to continue.

 

She looked away and bit her lip, praying she would say something remotely clever this time. Gorgeous? Dazzling? God’s gift to women?

 

“I think the looks from those two women over there,” she tilted her head in the direction of said subjects, “will finish my sentence for me.” She side glanced at the two who were gawking at him.

 

He raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised with her answer and looking like he hoped for something more concrete. But he kept his stare fixed upon her. “Would you care for a—“

 

“Eunbyul?” a new voice slapped her back to the present.

 

Their eyes turned to that direction, both their faces displaying confusion.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Hi, I’m Seunghyun. I remembered you from the picture Yejin showed me. I thought you stood me up.”

 

Her eyebrows met. “I’m sorry?”

 

“Seunghyun? Blind date? Ring any bells?” Seunghyun #2 said.

 

Seunghyun #1 was now sipping on his drink, the slight amusement on his face was hard to miss.

 

“If you’re ready for dinner, I’ve been keeping the table warm.”

 

Eunbyul forced a smile. It wasn’t that Seunghyun #2 didn’t look promising, he was actually quite a looker himself. But she was still in a questioning state.

 

“Do you mind if I follow in a bit? I just need to speak to… umm… my friend here.”

 

The two Seunghyuns looked at each other.

 

“Choi Seunghyun of Bigbang ! Wow! Nice to meet you,” ‘the date’ said, extending a hand.

 

Choi Seunghyun of Bigbang! No wonder he looked quite familiar. And here she was thinking she remembered him from memory as Yejin mentioned she’s seen Seunghyun her blind date before.

 

Bigbang's Seunghyun shook the hand offered, “Likewise, I’m sure.”

 

Blind date Seunghyun nodded before turning his attention back at Eunbyul. He touched her elbow and leaned in, “I’ll be at our table when you’re ready.”

 

She watched his retreating form before turning back to theSeunghyun in front of her.

 

He downed the last of his drink before signaling another order to the bartender.

 

“If you knew you weren’t my date, why didn’t you say anything?”

 

“I didn’t know. You asked if I was Seunghyun, I said I am Seunghyun. That wasn’t a lie.”

 

“Yes but we talked about blind dates!”

 

“I thought you were just making conversation,” he shrugged and flashed her a half-smile.

 

He got her there. She didn’t actually mention that she was supposedly on a blind date. But still!

 

She was surprised to find herself upset. The real reason as to why, she didn’t want to come to terms with just yet.

 

She swallowed a sigh. “Well then, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with Seunghyun.”

 

She turned to walk away but he took a step to the left and blocked her way.

 

Eunbyul wondered how his tiny eyes could possibly bore that deep into her.

 

“May as well be an Seunghyun, even if it’s the wrong one,” he said, smiling down at her before taking a step back to let her pass.

 

Her breathing began to go haywire, as if her body responded negatively to her walking away from him.

 

Her date, now dubbed in her head as ‘the wrong Seunghyun’, stood up once she was in view and she struggled to keep her attention on him.

 

She decided facing the other end of the bar would be wiser. Out of sight, out of mind. Or so she kept repeating to herself.

 

“I didn’t know you knew Choi Seunghyun. Are you an Bigbang fan?”

 

“We are just acquaintances,” she said, not quite surprised there was a hint of scorn in her tone. “I do like their music but I wouldn’t say I’m a fan as I barely know the members' names,” she admitted.

 

Their conversation was polite but tinged with apprehension, just as most exchanges on a blind date. She cleared every time the other Seunghyun graced her mind, which resulted to it looking like she was coming down with a bad case of sore throat. Guilty.

 

A few moments after placing their dinner orders, the server came back clutching a bottle of wine.

 

“Compliments of Mr. Choi. He wishes for you to enjoy this with your dinner,” the server said, displaying what looked like an expensive bottle in his hands.

 

Simultaneously, the said Mr. Choi chose to take a seat in the table diagonally across from them. In short, he was within her line of sight.

 

Unknowingly, a smile impressed upon her lips. Eunbyul didn’t know what game he was playing but she wanted to participate.

 

She nodded a thanks in his direction, the eye contact between them held more intensity than Seunghyun#2’s hand upon hers.

 

Not wanting to be unfair though, she zeroed in her attention on her date, ignoring the knowing smiles radiating from the other one.

 

As the night progressed, her date with Seunghyun #2 didn’t. It was neither one’s fault, the connection just wasn’t present and not one of them were into it enough to attempt and make something happen. Neither was it for lack of a trying, their strained efforts were more than enough proof.

 

She was down to her last bite of Ravioli ai Gamberi e Zucchine, her eyes wandering subtly towards his table. He was happily dining on what looked like Ossobucco.

 

When he caught her staring, she didn’t even try to look away. He raised a glass of wine towards her before taking a sip. It was completely manic but she has never been more jealous of any non-living thing before. But here she was wishing she was that darn glass of wine.

 

Embarrassed by her thoughts, she excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. Once there,Eunbyul decided it was time to take a leap of faith. He was too vivid to just push aside. And if she knew this in barely 10 minutes of actual interaction with him, she was dying of curiosity to find out what was next.

 

So she armed herself with a deep breath, one she knew would be knocked out of her once their eyes meet yet again.

 

She walked back to their table, rehearsing a few lines in her head. Before turning the corner completely, she peeked around to scan the scene.

 

Seunghyun wasn’t at his table. His glass of wine and a couple of bills for tip were abandoned.

 

Eunbyul knew disappointment was written all over her face in that instant. Guess it was more one sided than she thought.

 

She continued on to her table, her head hanging down as she tried to come to terms with what was starting to become a long night.

 

“Eunbyul?”

 

Her head snapped up quickly and she blinked a few times to see she wasn’t dreaming.

 

Sitting at her table, across her seat was none other than Mr. Choi with a smile perfectly etched in his face.

 

“I’m Eunbyul,” she replied, mimicking him from earlier.

 

“I’m Seunghyun but not your blind date Seunghyun,” he said, laughing.

 

She hesitantly took her seat, the mere sight of him turned her into a mute schoolgirl with a crush. And she was afraid to be crushed.

 

They spent a few minutes just looking at each other as if to make up for lost time.

 

“Where’s my date Seunghyun?” she suddenly asked.

 

“Right in front of you?”

 

She tried to keep a poker face but her lips couldn’t fight the smile. “You know what I mean.”

 

He mirrored her expression. “You should check your phone.”

 

She blindly searched for her phone in her purse. Tearing her eyes away from his, she checked the message.

 

I think you were on a date with the wrong Seunghyun ;) No hard feelings, it was a good dinner but neither of us were really there anyway. Now stop trying to look at men from other tables and focus on the one in front of you.

 

She smiled and silently thanked the universe for genuinely good people like Seunghyun#2.

 

“What did he say?”

 

She shook her head, “how did you end up here?”

 

“It was funny actually. He told me I was at the wrong table.”

 

“Good ole Seunghyun number two.”

 

A full on sincere smile spread across Seunghyun’s face. “Seunghyun… number two?”

 

She slapped a hand to , only realizing what she said when he repeated it. “It only means the second Seunghyun I met tonight,” she hastily explained.

 

“Lucky me, I met you first then. I don’t think I can stand knowing I wasn’t labeled as Seunghyun number one.” His fingers grazed the back of her hand and it sent a fit of flurry within her.

 

“Did you want anything else or are you ready to go?”

 

“What are we going to do?” she asked.

 

He shrugged. “Stretch our legs and enjoy the chilly air we rarely experience in this country? Hold hands?” he said, laughing when she blushed immediately. “You know, just throwing suggestions out there.”

 

She nodded. “I’m ready to go then.”

 

As expected, Eunbyul found herself laughing the rest of the night with Seunghyun following suit.

 

“My single ab will turn into a six-pack if you keep making me laugh so much.”

 

He stopped in his tracks to turn and look at her, “If I’m the funny one, that makes you the pretty one.”

 

Her only response was a blush that rose to her cheeks.

 

“Tell me what Seunghyun,” he cleared his throat for extra measure, “number two texted you.”

 

“You’re still thinking about that Seunghyun? And here I thought I was your date…” she teased.

 

He laughed. “I’m curious.”

 

“He said he has a better handshake than you do,”

 

Seunghyun laughed and began to open and close the fingers in his right hand.

 

“How about we try it again?” he said, his hand now extending into a shake.

 

She took his hand.

 

“How’s this?” he asked.

 

“Meh,” she shrugged, laughing. But the mere connection of their fingers made her insides dance.

 

He shifted his hand in hers and stepped in closer, “how about this?”

 

Eunbyul couldn’t look away from his eyes now. “Better,”

 

“Hmm…” he sounded.

 

He pulled her closer, so close that the only thing in between them were their still linked hands and the chilly night wind.

 

“Uh… we can’t shake like this,” she whispered.

 

“How about this?” he asked, leaning in and pressing his lips to her cheek.

 

“That’s not a—“ but she could no longer make any further sound as he continued to press a trail of kisses towards her lips.

 

He stopped short of one kiss and the hesitation was solidifying, she could barely catch a breath. Or think straight.

 

“I believe,” he began. He was still so close that she could feel the movement of his lips, “you should never underestimate the power of a—“

 

And she didn’t hear what he said because his mouth pressed up against hers. It felt like every single answer to every single question she’s ever asked and she collapsed into him. It set her heart on fire, each instant made the flames grow until they were both completely consumed.

 

Pulling away, smiles ensued, hands still joined.

 

“I could have been kissing a completely different Seunghyun tonight,” she teased.

 

He grinned, his eyes still dreamy and his lips aching for hers, “Too bad for him, I’m Seunghyun number one,” pulling her back into a passionate embrace.