------Jooli------

Jaejoong and I were sitting in his Audi R8, driving to Sunset Horizon. Neither of us was talking, so it was a very awkward silence. I was staring out of the car window, taking a look at the surroundings. I had never felt so uncomfortable in someone’s car. I knew Jaejoong was taking glances at me, but I pretended to not notice.

“I’ll play some music.” Jaejoong suddenly said. He turned the radio onto the most popular radio. Eminem’s ‘Not Afraid’ was on the radio. I loved that song. I really liked Eminem because I thought he was really talented rapper and composer. His lyrics were so deep and so emotional, unlike the regular rapping music these days. All the music was either about drugs, , or love. Nothing was very original.

“I’m not afraid…” I mumbled quietly to the chorus. I had that song on replay on my iPod.

“You like this song too?” Jaejoong turned to look at me. He must have heard me mumbling to the chorus.

“It’s been one of my favorites since it first came out. I’m a big Eminem fan.” I replied, also turning to look at him.

“I didn’t know someone like you would be interested in American music…” He focused back on driving.

“I’m interested in a lot of music. English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.” I replied.

“I see…” He mumbled back, not glancing away from the road.

For the rest of the ride, neither of us said a single word. We listened to the radio for the rest of the trip. I felt a lot more comfortable if I didn’t talk to Jaejoong. Even when he stared at me, I felt uncomfortable. He was the first person that I felt so uncomfortable around. I remembered a time when I looked into his eyes I felt an incredible shock running through my body. I remembered the color of his eyes, they were so dark, they could you right in like a black hole. They were so hypnotizing.

“Hey we’re here.” Jaejoong declared. His voice brought me back to reality. I got out of the car and looked at my surroundings. No wonder the food was so expensive, even the area was outstanding.

In front of the restaurant were multiple palm trees. All around the palm trees were some very bright and beautiful flowers. The special feature about the restaurant is that you can sit on the patio at the back and see the ocean all around you. Part of the building was built above water while most of it was on land. The design of the building was like a beach. The colors were mainly yellow, orange, brown, and gold. Those colors represented the sunset. I may not have been able to describe it in detail, but it was truly an amazing restaurant.

“Hello, do you have reservations?” A waitress asked us when we reached the front desk. The waitress looked quite pretty, a normal Hawaiian girl with a nice body, blonde hair, and a pretty face. I could totally tell that she was checking Jaejoong out. Everywhere Jaejoong goes, all the girls would take a double look at him.

“No we don’t. Do you have a table for two?” Jaejoong replied to the girl. He flashed a bright smile at her, a smile that would definitely melt your heart.

“Of course we do. Right this way Mr…” She was trying to get his name.

“Kim. Jaejoong Kim.” He replied with another 100 watt smile.

“Right this way Mr. Kim.” The waitress smiled brightly and led the two of us towards the area where we were not facing the beach. I honestly wanted to sit outside where I could see the beach and watch the sun go down. As if Jaejoong could read my mind, he spoke out.

“Actually, we would like to have a seat out on the patio.” Jaejoong suggested. I looked at him and was kind of shocked. I thought he would have rather stayed inside where there’s air condition and lots of shade.

“Of course! Right this way. It’s the best time of day to be sitting out here because you will be able to watch the sun set.” She said and led us the other way. As we walked by the tables, a lot of women were staring at Jaejoong. I didn’t know why, but I felt a bit of pain when I noticed everyone staring at Jaejoong like he was a piece of delicious meat.

The waitress finally seated us outside. Our seat was right beside the balcony which overlooked the ocean. It was an amazing scene. I was very glad I decided to come. The sun was still up, but it would be setting soon.

“You can just call me whenever you’re ready to order Mr. Kim.” The waitress said.

“Thank you.” Jaejoong smiled at her. She hesitantly left the premises. Even when I was looking at the menu, I could feel a bunch of people staring at us. I sneaked a glance at the waitress. She was standing by the side with another waitress. The two of them were looking at Jaejoong and whispering to each other with giggles. Even American girls thought Jaejoong was good looking.

“Looks like you’re getting a lot of attention around here.” I mumbled to Jaejoong. Not that I was jealous, but I didn’t like everyone looking at us while we eat.

“It’s because they’ve never seen such a handsome guy.” He laughed without looking up from the menu.

“Yeah right.” I scoffed.

“You like chicken right?” Jaejoong suddenly asked me.

“Uh… Yeah. Why?” I asked, confused. I wondered how he knew I liked chicken. Chicken was the only type of meat that I didn’t mind eating every day. I loved chicken. Jaejoong just shook his head and went back to looking at the menu. I too went back to looking at the menu. Everything was so damn expensive! Even water was 10 bucks a glass. Apparently, the water was shipped all the way from Antarctica. Even if it’s shipped from Antarctica, I didn’t want to pay 10 bucks just to drink it. I tried to look for something cheap to eat. Everything was too expensive for me to afford. Even a side dish of regular salad was 45 dollars. I wasn’t even finished looking through the menu when Jaejoong raised his hand.

“Yes Mr. Kim? Are you ready to order?” The waitress came quickly and batted her eyelashes at Jaejoong. I was always jealous of people who weren’t Asian because of their long eyelashes that curly automatically.

“Yes. I would like to start off with an order of the Almond Chicken Salad for each of us. For the main course, I would like the Champagne Shrimp Pasta and for her would be the Chicken Pesto Pasta. For dessert, I would like the Chocolate Almond Cheesecake and for her, a Peach Cobbler with mango sauce. Please bring the desserts after the main course is finished. As for the drinks, I would like the Surfer Martini and for her a Raspberry Lemonade with Vodka. That would be it. Thank you.” Jaejoong said and handed the menu back to the waitress.

“Wait! Please change the Surfer Martini to a Pina Colada and change the Raspberry Lemonade with Vodka to a Watermelon and Strawberry Smoothie with less sugar. Thank you.” I smiled at the waitress and gave the menu back.

“Yeah, sure. No problem. I will be back with your food soon.” The waitress smiled slightly at me and left the area.

“Why did you change the drinks?” Jaejoong asked me.

“You’re driving, so I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be drinking anything that consists of alcohol. As for me, I’m not much of a drinker and plus, I’m not legally allowed yet. At least not until next week.” I replied.

“Right, your birthday is next week. What are you doing?” He asked me.

“Jina and I are thinking of just having a little gathering with some friends at Club Toola. I was going to ask Yunho soon. I might as well just ask you too.” I replied. I didn’t quite want to invite Jaejoong to the gathering, but it was useless. If I were to invite Yunho, I might as well just invite Jaejoong too.

“Next week huh? I’ll have to see. I’m a busy man, you know?” He replied as if my birthday wasn’t a big matter.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I’m not making you.” I said. Maybe if he didn’t go, I would feel more comfortable.

“I said I’ll see.” He replied with the same answer. A couple seconds later, the blonde waitress came back with our appetizers. I looked at the small dish of salad. If a regular salad was already 45 dollars, I wondered how much an Almond Chicken Salad would cost.

“Enjoy.” The waitress smiled and left us so we could eat. I took my fork and took a small bite to taste the salad. I was surprised by the taste. There were many different types of lettuce and leafy vegetables. There were also bits of roasted almond, grilled chicken , shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced carrots. Spread all over the salad was a creamy Italian dressing. The ingredients were fresh and the vegetables had a sweet taste to them. It definitely was one of the best salads that I had ever had. I was smiling the entire time I was eating the salad.

“Someone’s enjoying their salad.” Jaejoong laughed. He suddenly picked up his tissue and got up from his seat. His hand reached out and he wiped away some sauce from the side of my mouth. I froze on my seat. I felt an electric shot run up from my toes to my head when Jaejoong touched me.

“I got it.” I quickly backed away and grabbed my own tissue to blot my face. I could feel a bit of warmth going to my face. I tried to play it cool.

“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. I eat like a pig right? Well, that happens if I’m eating good food, so don’t make fun of me for it.” I said and continued eating my salad. I didn’t want to look at him.

“It’s great that you love food, but you’re a girl. Shouldn’t you be worrying about your appearance?” He asked me.

“Hah! I don’t think you thought of me as a girl. You thought of me as a pig. And no, I don’t care much about my appearance. I’m not like those girls who starve themselves until they’re a size zero. Plus, I exercise, so I don’t gain weight that easily. Also, it’s not like you’re my boyfriend. I don’t get why you have to care so much about my appearance.” I replied as I happily put another fork full of salad into my mouth.

“I’m going to tell you the truth. Guys don’t like girls who eat like a pig in public. It’s just embarrassing. Look around you. We’re at a high-class restaurant and you’re here eating like a pig. I do not want to be seen with someone who eats like that.” Jaejoong exclaimed.

I looked around me and there were quite a lot of people eating around us. The women were all eating gracefully, unlike me. Jaejoong was right. I shouldn’t be eating like a pig. I should be eating normally.

“I guess you’re right.” I replied and started to eat more gracefully.

As both of us were eating our salad, the waitress came back with our drinks. My Watermelon and Strawberry Smoothie looked amazing. On the bottom half of the glass was strawberry juice and the top half was watermelon juice. There was a little tropical umbrella next to the pink straw. I took my sip and immediately fell in love with the drink. The fruits were fresh and sweet. I could even taste bits of strawberry at the bottom. It was definitely a wonderful drink. After we finished our salad, our main course came.

“Wow…” I looked at the bowl of pasta. The sauce was practically shimmering. I took my fork and tried out the taste of the pasta. The taste was definitely heavenly. It was the best pasta I had ever tried in my entire life. The chicken was nicely done and I could taste the sauce in the chicken meat. The pasta wasn’t too rubbery or too mushy. It had an elastic feel to it, just the way I liked it. I was so happy eating the pasta that I didn’t notice Jaejoong staring at me.

“What?” I asked him after I swallowed the pasta.

“Nothing.” He replied and went back to eating.

“You know what? You’re a really weird person.” I laughed. It was true.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” He asked.

“I don’t know. But what I do is that you treat me so different. At times you’re nice, but at times you’re mean to me. I don’t even know if I like you as a friend or hate you as a jerk.” I replied.

“I can be a nice guy when I feel like it. I just like making fun of people. It’s what I like to do.” He replied and took a sip of his Pina Colada.

“You should be nicer to me. After all, this is my last year here. You’re never going to see me.” I said.

“That’s great! I won’t have to see you ever again.” He smiled and laughed.

“Hey! Eat your pasta and stop talking” I exclaimed and hit his shoulder lightly. He listened and ate his pasta with a smirk on his face.

The two of us just ate our pasta in silence while watching the sun go down. The sky was orange and the sun was becoming a darker color as it set. I loved sunsets and I also loved sunrises. They were both really pretty. The sun’s image was reflected into the water, creating a dark shadow.

“It’s pretty right?” Jaejoong said as he also watched the sun set.

“Mhmm…” I mumbled back as we watched the sun set. At that time, it felt comfortable to be with Jaejoong. It felt right for us to be having dinner together and watching the sun set together. My brain didn’t agree, but my heart was definitely saying something different.

After watching the sun go down and finishing the rest of the pasta, the waitress came to give us our desserts. The Peach Cobbler looked and smelled amazing. It was still warm, which meant it was just freshly out of the oven. I took a bit and was startled by the taste. The cobbler was amazing. The taste was great and the peaches were very sweet, but with the mango sauce, the sweetness was lightened. I liked the combination very much. I glanced over at Jaejoong’s Chocolate Almond Cheesecake and was very jealous. On top of the cheesecake was dark chocolate sauce and bits of almond. It looked really mouthwatering.

“Do you want to try some?” He asked me. He probably knew I wanted to eat it.

I nodded my head and reached over with my fork. I put the piece of cheesecake into my mouth and was surprised. The dark chocolate sauce softened the cheese taste and making it less sweet. It was a really good cheesecake. I could only smile and giggle as I savored the taste. Jaejoong just laughed at me. Once we were finished with our desserts, the waitress came back with the bill. I pulled out my clutch, getting ready to get my credit card for the really expensive dinner. Before I was able to even get the credit card out, Jaejoong had already placed his own black credit card on top of the bill.

“What are you doing? I’m the one who’s paying for dinner.” I asked with a confuse expression after the waitress went away with the credit card and bill.

“Yes, you did lose, but I wouldn’t be a man if I got a girl to pay for dinner.” He replied. I was somewhat shocked. I thought Jaejoong disliked me, so I didn’t understand why he would pay for dinner.

“Thanks…” I mumbled as I looked at him. Before we could say anything else, the waitress came back with Jaejoong’s credit card and the receipt. In her other hand was a Polaroid camera.

“We have a tradition here at the restaurant. For all the couples who dine here, we take a picture for them. Would you please sit together?” The waitress smiled at us nicely.

“Wait! We’re  n--” I tried to deny, but Jaejoong had already moved his chair so he was sitting next to me. He placed his hand around my shoulder.

“Can you take two please? So each of us gets one.” Jaejoong asked.

“Of course. Please look at the camera.” She replied.

“Just smile.” Jaejoong whispered into my left ear. I shuddered at his touch and breathe.

I smiled as normal as I could as the waitress took the two pictures. Somehow, I felt comfortable with Jaejoong being so close to me.