There was nothing fancy about the restaurant she had chosen. It wasn’t really that extravagant, but it wasn’t that shabby either. There was a small candle on each table that was set in a charming yet modest way, and there was a soft music playing in the background. But the atmosphere was bright, and unlike many western restaurants, this one somehow gave off a vibe of being more open and laidback.

Woohyun arrived fifteen minutes early. He picked a spot right at the corner alongside the window, and while humming to a nostalgic old song that reminded him of a cherished memory of his, he waited for her to arrive, at the same time wondering why this particular restaurant appealed to her.

: :

There was nothing fancy about the restaurant she had chosen. It wasn’t really that extravagant, but it wasn’t that shabby either. There were tiny bells on the door that would ring whenever a customer comes in, and the employees would invite you in with a bright “Welcome!” and a wide smile on their face.

There was nothing fancy about the restaurant she had chosen, but there was something special about the place that made Chorong questioned her decision. And when she entered and saw the guy with jet black hair wearing the same outfit from their meeting that morning at one corner slightly secluded from the rest, her heart swelled up at the small resemblance between him and the only person she used to come her with.

: :

“Over here!” Woohyun called a little too loudly, waving his hand around giddily with his trademark grin plastered across his face.

Flustered, Chorong glanced around, and after making sure that nobody was looking, she quickly made her way over. She took a seat facing him and murmured a soft “thanks” at him for helping with the chair. “Did you wait long?” she asked.

He cocked his head slightly. “Quite a while,” he replied, then added, “But then I came early.”

She nodded in response. Just in time, a waitress came with a smile and handed them the menus. Chorong made her decision at once, followed by Woohyun who requested for the same thing she was having. After the waitress left, they fell into a silence, only the mellow music playing inside the restaurant accompanying them. She didn’t even realize that he was humming along to the song until he cleared his throat a while later.

“It’s a nice place,” he remarked, his eyes not really meeting her. “Do you always come here?”

“Not always. Every once in a while, maybe.”

“I see.” He said nothing further, and the silence resumed and lingered between them as they both stared out at the passersby. The waitress returned fifteen minutes later with their orders. Woohyun eyed his plate with curiosity and smiled as he inhaled the fragrance. When he glanced up, she was looking at him, one hand cupping her chin. “Aren’t you eating?”

She shook her head a little. “I’ll wait for your feedback first. Whether or not you’re satisfied with my recommendation.”

“In that case, I’ll dig in.” he said. He picked up the fork and took a large bite of the macaroni. His face lit up and his eyes widened as he chewed on the food. “It’s good―very good, actually,” he commented with his mouth full.

“That’s a relief,” Chorong replied.

“But then again, I should’ve said otherwise,” he added later while wiping the corners of his lips that were smeared by the cheese with the napkin. “I should’ve said I don’t like it.”

“Why so?”

“Because,” he began, his signature mischievous smirk appearing on his face. “I could’ve used that to make you bring me to another place. In other words, another date with you.”

She scoffed and looked away for a second before returning her gaze at him. “You haven’t given up on that?”

“I don’t see any reason to.”

“That’s too bad. You’ll only be wasting a lot of your energy.” she said, picking up her cutlery and finally started eating.

“That’s alright,” he simply smiled. “I have plenty of them.”

She laughed again hearing that. Somehow somewhere in her heart she looked forward to see what he has in store for her.

: :

“So, thanks for the food,” he said as they exited the restaurant. “It was delicious, really.”

“I’m glad you like it,” she replied, and with a grin, she added, “really.”

He chuckled, then shoved his hands into the pocket of his pants, fished out his cigarette pack along with a zippo and placed a piece between his lips before proceeding to nurse the flame onto the joint. Chorong watched as his cheeks hollowed in and exhaled a gush of greyish white smoke from his mouth. When he noticed her eyes on him, he removed the joint and held it in between his fingers. “You’ll create a hole through my skull if you keep staring at me like that, you know.”

There was a short pause where he casted his gaze away while kicking the asphalt beneath his feet, and she at last broke the silence. “You smoke a lot,” she pointed out.

“You mind?”

“Just saying.” She shrugged. “My dad used to smoke a lot.”

“Used to?”

“He died.”

“Oh.”

“But not because of that. Accident, on his way back from work, just a week after he finally decided to quit smoking,” she explained. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

He looked at her for a second longer, dropped the cigarette and stepped on the stub until the smoke ceased down. “I’m not doing this for you,” he murmured when he saw her face. “I promised someone I’d quit, anyway.”

“But if you were to get caught in an accident, don’t come back as a ghost and haunt me okay?”

Woohyun laughed. “I can’t promise that,” he shrugged, then added slyly. “Unless you promise me something.”

“What, another date?” She raised her brows.

“I was going to say lunch.”

She scoffed again. “Has anyone ever pointed out how shameless you can be?”

“Usually they use the adjective ‘bold’ or ‘brave’ to describe me, but that one is fine, too, coming from you especially.” He grinned, revealing the two small dimples down the corners of his mouth.

She rolled her eyes and adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “I’m gonna go now,” she told him. “And since you keep popping up almost everywhere I go, see you around, I guess?”

“You won’t.”

“Sorry?”

He stuffed his hands back in his pockets. “My shift at work changes starting tomorrow so I won’t be taking the same train again.”

“I see,” she mumbled.

“Disappointed?”

She flicked her eyes at him and flashed a smug smile. “Dream on.”

“Will do,” he returned, laughing. He his heels and started to walk away. And the soon his figure dissolved into the mass of people, Chorong’s phone rang.

“Hey, can you talk?” the voice asked the moment she pressed the phone to her ear.

“Yeah.”

Over the line, she heard Hoya exhaled a long sigh. “Do you want to hear the good news first or the bad one?”