“Annyeong haseyo, I’m SNSD’s Kim Heesun,” Heesun introduced herself calmly, still clad in the clothes she wore on her first date with G-Dragon.[1]

 

“Can I say something before I answer questions?” she asked the interviewer who had opened his mouth to start the interview. Though a bit fazed by the interruption, he gave her a nod. “Kim Taeyeon, Choi Sooyoung, living with me has only just begun. That was a warning. As for Seohyun, I dislike being angry with you so I won’t torture you but we are having a long talk when I get home, Child.”[2]

 

“So, what was your question again?” she asked the interviewer, smiling as though she did not just threaten to make her bandmates miserable.

 

 

 

Heesun stared at the logo, her eyes incredibly wide.

 

“Omoooooo!” she whined as she let her body drop to a crouch. She held her head in both frustration and embarrassment as G-Dragon stared at her in worry.

 

 

 

“That time I thought, ‘Did she hate the idea of being married to me that much?’” he divulged, laughing slightly.

 

 

 

“A-Are you okay?” G-Dragon asked, climbing out of the limousine and approaching Heesun. She looked up at him, her face still in disbelief and her body still in a crouching position.

 

“We’re in that show? WGM?” she asked exasperatedly.

 

“Well... yeah. Weren’t you informed?” G-Dragon joked.

 

“I wasn’t,” Heesun groaned, reburying her face into her knees.

 

“Are you serious?” G-Dragon suddenly panicked, finally understanding the situation.

 

“That’s why those guys have been following me...” Heesun mumbled in realization, glaring at the cameraman who was filming them.

 

“This couple is pretty new, huh? Normally, the participants at least know the situation even if they didn’t sign themselves up for it,” Nayoung observed.

 

“They’re an experimental couple,” Miseon concluded.

 

“Wait, how do we even know that they’re going to last more than one episode?” Hyungsoo asked with a nervous chuckle.

 

“We’re fine even if they don’t,” Hwisoon told his dongsaeng.

“Let’s cast Heesun-sshi for panel instead!” Jungmin suggested, earning rowdy agreement from the men.

 

“Aish, these people,” Miseon rolled her eyes at them.

 

“So... well, what do we do?” G-Dragon asked as he pulled Heesun up.

 

“Well, we both technically came for a blind date so... let’s do that?” Heesun suggested with an apologetic smile. 

 

“I... guess we can,” G-Dragon replied, returning her smile with one of his own. 

 

And that’s how they remained for the next few seconds. Smiling and standing.

 

“So... our date is here? If so, I must say you have very interesting tastes,” Heesun teased, maintaining her smile.

 

“Oh, right,” G-Dragon laughed nervously, moving aside to let Heesun into the limousine whose door he had left open.

 

They both entered the vehicle and settled onto their seats. After some shuffling around, the two were comfortable with their position but obviously uncomfortable with the silence that surrounded them.

 

“So... do you know me?” Heesun asked her date, trying to be friendly.

 

“Of course! You’re from Girl’s Generation, Kim Heesun,” G-Dragon said.

 

“‘So...’,” Hyungsoo imitated them.

 

“They’re really awkward,” Miseon laughed along but held a slightly sad tone in her voice for the couple’s situation.

 

“You’re brother is Kim Heechul of Super Junior, right?”[3]

 

The moment the question got out of his mouth, Heesun’s face immediately turned sour, a complete opposite of her previous expression which seemed to attempt amicability. Now, her face was borderline hostile and it was no secret to the viewers that it made G-Dragon nervous.

 

 

 

“He’s talking to me but he’s asking about my brother. What’s up with that?” Heesun complained.

 

“Aren’t the Kim siblings known for always fighting with each other?” Hyungsoo asked, his lips twisted into a half smile, half frown.

 

“Aigoooooo~”  the MCs moaned in disapproval. 

 

“I guess we’ll be watching only three couples next week,” Jungmin said whimsically.

 

 

 

“Yeah,” was Heesun’s reply which she coupled with an annoyed sigh. G-Dragon fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably, knowing well that he was the reason behind her annoyance as his date didn’t even bother hiding this.

 

“Um... how about me? Do you know me?” he asked.

 

“Big Bang’s G-Dragon, right?” Heesun asked, still not as friendly as she had been earlier and, instead of looking at her date, was even looking out the window.

 

“Yeah....”

 

“Ooooh, what to do? What to do?” Nayoung asked, worried with the way the date was turning out.

 

G-Dragon looked around the limo, as though in search for answers that would help him ease the tension. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and anyone could just see the imaginary lightbulb lighting up above his head. He stole a glance at Heesun before looking down at his fidgeting fingers.

 

“Actually... no.”

 

“What?” Heesun asked, finally turning away from the window to regard G-Dragon with an annoyed expression, as though daring him to tell her she’s wrong.

 

“Not... Big Bang’s G-Dragon but Kwon Jiyong... I want to be known as Kwon Jiyong to the woman I’m going to marry,” he told her, his voice determined with the exception of a few nervous pauses he hoped his date would consider dramatic. His face, on the other hand, was very determined but it was difficult for him to benefit from it as he could not get himself to direct the aforementioned determined face to his date’s confused one. Instead, his burning resolution was directed towards his still-fidgeting fingers.

 

Heesun was shocked to silence. Jiyong, embarrassed and wanting to take what he said back, moved to do exactly that only to be cut off by Heesun.

 

“You...” she began, seemingly at a loss for words. “... You’re really not smooth with your words, are you?”

 

The keyword in the previous statement, obviously, was “seemingly”.

 

Heesun broke out into laughter after finally getting her opinion out of her chest, earning a deep blush from her date.

 

“If you want to say something dramatic like that, say it immediately after I guessed ‘Big Bang’s G-Dragon’! You let a lot of time pass and even agreed before saying that so it came out funny instead of manly!” Heesun continued to scold/laugh at him, obviously enjoying her date’s embarrassment. “And look at me when you say that! The way your doing it makes it look like your asking your own hand to marry you!”

 

G-Dragon looked up with an embarrassed smile[4] and was about to tell Heesun off until he found her giggling to herself. The sight immediately turned his smile tender.

 

“Heesun-sshi’s a bit bipolar, isn’t she?” Miseon observed, slightly grimacing as the idol guffawed in a manner which was very unlady-like but very happy. “Even idols can laugh like that too, I suppose.”

 

“Her fans think she has a very cute laugh and are happy as long as she’s happy,” Jungmin defended Heesun.

 

“Oh? Jungmin-sshi, are you a SONE[5]?” Miseon asked.

 

“I... think SNSD is very cute!” Jungmin replied, managing to express his confession as a manly roar.

 

“It’s really weird when ahjussis[6] like Jungmin-sshi admits to liking young girls like SNSD,” Nayoung said, grimacing at her co-MC.

 

“It makes him sound like a ert,” Miseon agreed.

 

“Isn’t she AB[7] like her brother?” Hwisoon asked, still stuck on the previous topic.

 

“Oh really? So that’s why,” Miseon replied.

 

“They’re AB siblings,” Hyungsoo nodded to himself.

 

“I’m sorry for upsetting you earlier,” Jiyong spoke quietly to the still-giggling Heesun.

 

“Just don’t ever compare me to my brother unless you want to die,” Heesun told him dismissively. Jiyong laughed nervously.

 

“So... when were you born?” Heesun suddenly asked before their silence went on too long.

 

“Oh! There it is again!” Nayoung laughed.

 

“So....~” Hwisoon imitated Heesun jokingly.

 

“Huh? Why?” Jiyong asked, confused.

 

“So I know what to call you. Unless you really want me to call you ‘Kwon Jiyong’ for the rest of our lives,” Heesun replied jokingly.

 

“Call me ‘Oppa’,” Jiyong told her.

 

“Tell me when you were born so we can see if that’s valid or not!”

 

“You really don’t like calling me ‘Oppa’ that much?” Jiyong pouted.

 

“Yes. Now, tell me when you were born.” Heesun remained unfazed.

 

“That’s really harsh you know!”

 

“Yes, I do. Now answer.”

 

“1988. You?”

 

“1989....”

 

“See?! You’re younger than me! Call me ‘Oppa’ now!”

 

“No! I’m February 1989! We’re chingus[8]!”

 

“... I’m internationally older than you so call me Oppa!”

 

“Don’t use your international age just when it’s convenient for you.”

 

“I’m still older than you by a few months so call me Oppa.”

 

“We’re chingus. I’m not calling you Oppa.”

 

“Why not?!” Jiyong cried desperately.

 

“I don’t want to,” Heesun simply replied, looking out the window to avoid Jiyong’s pouting. 

 

The limo then stopped in front of a rather familiar restaurant.

 

“Yeolbong?” Heesun read the sign out loud.

 

“Have you eaten here before?” Jiyong asked as they got ready to head out of the limo.

 

“Nope. I’ve only heard about it from Yoona before but I’ve never tried it myself,” Heesun informed him, her focus still at the restaurant, giving Jiyong ample time to take out the roses he had prepared for her.

 

Heesun moved to open her door, but stopped when Jiyong suddenly said, “WAIT!”

 

She looked at him questioningly.

 

“I’ll open the door for you,” he said, smiling at her handsomely. 

 

“I’m hungry already. If you don’t open it in five seconds, I’ll do it myself,” Heesun told him flatly. Jiyong blinked in surprise and simply sat there until he heard Heesun count ‘one’. He hurried out of the limo, after that.

 

“... two, three, fouuuuur,” Heesun continued to count as she reached for the handle. As she prepared to say “five”, the door swung open and she found herself with a face full of roses. Jiyong, in his haste, had shoved the bouquet right at her face.

 

“Very romantic,” Hwisoon snickered. Miseon, Nayoung, and Hyungsoo sighed at the scene.

 

“For... you...” Jiyong said in between pants.

 

“Thanks. Can I see them now? I’m sort of sick of smelling them,” Heesun told him. Jiyong realized his mistake and immediately pulled the bouquet back with an apology.

 

“I-I got these for you,” Jiyong said shyly, offering the flowers at a proper distance. Heesun laughed and accepted them, though she didn’t even spare them a look and just allowed them to fall to her side, clutching them carelessly. Jiyong noticed the action but didn’t say anything.

 

They approached the restaurant and Heesun spotted the standee of Se7en.

 

“Let’s take a picture!” she urged Jiyong as she pulled out her camera from her purse. Jiyong nodded civilly. Heesun grinned before handing the cameraman her camera.

 

“Take a picture of us, you owe me anyway,” she told the cameraman.

 

The studio exploded into laughter. “She’s threatening the cameraman!” Miseon laughed.

 

They posed, Jiyong simply standing with a smile while Heesun faked a shocked expression, pointing at the Se7en standee. A picture was taken. 

 

Jiyong looked to see what she was doing but frowned at her pose which she had not yet let go. He then slightly moved to the side, blocking the standee and making it look like he was the one Heesun was pointing at. 

 

“Aigoo~ He’s already jealous~” Miseon sang, earning giddy agreement from Nayoung.

 

“Wait, he can’t do that! This couple is only to suppose to last for one episode!” Jungmin complained but sounding as though he was scolding the couple with the volume of his voice.

 

This time, it was Heesun who decided to look at what Jiyong was doing and was surprised to see him right beside her. She gave him an opened-mouth smile, unable to close as she was still trying to digest what had happened. Jiyong turned his head towards her. She raised her eyebrows, silently asking for an explanation. The explanation she got was an equally silent grin. Another picture was taken.

 

While the couple continued to simply smile at each other, a familiar face made itself apparent over the standee’s shoulder. 

 

“Oh!” Nayoung cried at the appearance of the face.

 

The face looked over at the couple curiously, causing it to smirk.

 

Heesun was the first to spot the face when she let her eyes stray away from her date’s face. Her happy expression is exchanged for a truly shocked one at what she had seen. Jiyong blinked at this and was about to question it when a chin placed itself on his shoulder.

 

“HYUNG!” Jiyong cried in surprise as he found Se7en himself behind the standee of himself, grinning from ear to ear.

 

“Annyeong haseyo!” Heesun greeted the older idol shyly with an equally shy bow.

 

“Annyeong~!” Se7en greeted back with a friendly smile before turning to his dongsaeng with a smirk.

 

“Aigoo~ Jiyongie~ When you told me to reserve a table for you and your date, I was really surprised. Now I’m even more surprised because I never really thought you would bring SNSD’s Heesun as your date~” Se7en teased.

 

“Actually, Hyung, we’re on that program. WGM,” Jiyong supplied with a nervous smile.

 

“I know~ But I don’t think the two of you even noticed the cameras a few seconds ago~” Se7en continued earning embarrassed laughs from both Jiyong and Heesun.

 

“You saw that?” Jiyong asked nervously.

 

“But of course~” Se7en answered happily.

 

“How much did you see?”

 

“Enough~” was Se7en’s vague but embarrassing answer.

 

“Yah, Kwon Jiyong!” Se7en said, suddenly scolding and not teasing as he had been just a few seconds ago. “We’re standing here on a cold spring night and you’re here bantering with me rather than getting your date inside where its warm!”

 

After a few apologies on Jiyong’s part and a single command for him to stop from Heesun who really was getting cold, the three headed into the restaurant and were led to a secluded table. 

 

“Now remember, Heesun-sshi,” Se7en began after helping her out of her trench coat which was now draped on his arm. “If Jiyong begins to bother you, make sure to ask for me. I’ll be at the kitchen for the rest of the night so you won’t have to worry.”

 

“YAH! HYUNG!” Jiyong cried in disbelief while his date laughed and nodded.

 

“Don’t worry about us, Se7en-oppa~” Heesun reassured him sweetly. Se7en gave them one last grin before walking away.

 

“‘Se7en-oppa’?” Jiyong asked, cocking an annoyed brow.

 

“Hm?” Heesun asked.

 

“Why do you call him ‘Se7en-oppa’ when you can’t even call me ‘oppa’?” Jiyong asked, full on pouting.

 

“Because... he’s obviously older than us?” Heesun explained.

 

“I’m older than you.”

 

“Okay, before you continue with this,” Heesun interrupted Jiyong’s train of thought, an annoyed edge evident in her voice. “I will resist you for as long as I can and I can hold out for a long time. Ask SNSD if you have to. So now, your choices are: A) Let this argument rest for the rest of the night so we can enjoy peaceful conversation on other, more important, things; or B) Anger me spend the rest of our date arguing about age and labels and our virtual marriage ends with one episode.”

 

“B! CHOOSE B!” Jungmin shouted.

 

This stopped Jiyong’s upcoming rant. Heesun watched him with a slightly annoyed expression as he did not reply immediately, probably weighing his options.

 

“Your order,” a waiter announced as he laid down several dishes on their table.[9]

 

“I had Hyung prepare the chicken tester set so we could try them all, is that okay with you?” Jiyong asked as though their previous conversation had not happened. Heesun smiled.

 

“Yeah, I’m okay with that.”

 

Her eyes then spotted a particular bowl of chicken strips peppered with red, obviously spicy, spices. The corner of her lips twitched to a small frown.

 

“You should try the Chicken Teriyaki, it’s my favorite here,” Jiyong urged as he prepared his chopsticks.

 

“Actually... I’m really not good with spicy foods...” Heesun confessed, eyeing the spicy chickens warily. “I really much prefer sweet foods....”

 

Jiyong blinked at this and looked down at the side-dishes which consisted almost exclusively of different types of spicy chicken with the exception of the chicken teriyaki and the steamed chicken.

 

“It’s a good thing, I got the Chicken Teriyaki then,” Jiyong grinned, pushing the bowl of Chicken Teriyaki towards Heesun.

 

“Ah, wait!” Heesun said, her face worried. “You said that the Chicken Teriyaki was your favorite, right?”

 

“It’s fine, you can have it,” Jiyong told her as he took a bite of the spicy chicken. Heesun frowned deeper.

 

“He shouldn’t have said that the Chicken Teriyaki was his favorite,” Miseon said with a grimace.

 

“It’s a really nice gesture but it makes women guilty,” Nayoung said wisely.

 

“You like these, get some!” Heesun urged, pushing the bowl to the middle of the table.

 

“My chopsticks are not touching that dish,” Jiyong told her firmly.

 

Heesun pouted at him but he simply continued to eat his spicy chicken. And then, Heesun’s face lit up as an idea hit her and judging by the smirk she was trying to hide, it was a mischievous idea.

 

“Your chopsticks won’t touch this dish, huh?” she started, dipping her chopsticks into the bowl.

 

“Uhuh,” Jiyong replied, eating his rice with a straight, stern face.

 

“Only my chopsticks will touch this dish, right?”

 

“Uhuh.”

 

“Well then.” Heesun then raised a strip of Chicken Teriyaki to Jiyong’s lips with her chopsticks. She then positioned her other hand under the chicken she was holding up as though she were feeding a child.

 

“Aigoo~” Miseon cooed as Nayoung giggled.

 

Jiyong blinked at the gesture. And then he broke out into a fit of giggles he tried to compress by bowing his head. Heesun was also unable to maintain a straight face and started giggling herself.

 

“Hurry up and eat it! My hands are getting tired!” Heesun laughed out, attempting to sound annoyed to hide her embarrassment albeit failing miserably.

 

Jiyong stared at the Chicken Teriyaki in between his date’s chopsticks and moved to eat it. Just as his lips were about to touch the food, he broke out in another tirade of nervous giggles, causing Heesun to half groan, half laugh.

 

“Jiyong-ahhhhh!” she whined, really unable to hide the amusement behind her so-called annoyance.

 

“It’s hot!” Jiyong lied like a child. Heesun rolled her eyes, still trying to play off annoyance, but blowed the chicken cool nonetheless. She tried feeding it to Jiyong again and this time, the boy is successful in taking the piece of chicken in his mouth although there was no hiding the smile on his lips as he was doing so.

 

“OOOOOOH~!” the studio exploded with happiness.

 

“Already feeding each other after only knowing each other for a few hours?” Jungmin asked in joking disapproval.

 

“Aish, kids these days,” Hwisoon backed him up.

 

“Aish, jealous old men,” Miseon rolled her eyes at them.

 

Another burst of giggles attempted to attack Jiyong but he made sure to chew his food first. He did hide his mouth with his hand, though, just to be sure. He then watched as Heesun calmly took another piece of Chicken Teriyaki into with the same chopsticks she had used to feed him. This caused him to hide his face in his hands as the giggles won against him.

 

“Is it delicious?” Heesun asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Jiyong nodded enthusiastically.

 

“It’s the best Chicken Teriyaki I’ve ever had,” he said happily.

 

“Arasso[10], arasso,” Heesun mumbled, just as happy.

 

“You should try the steamed chicken,” Jiyong suggested.

 

“Really? Is it good?” Heesun asked, focusing on her food.

 

“Yeah, it’s really good,” Jiyong replied, holding up the steamed chicken in a similar manner to how Heesun had done to him earlier. 

 

“Aigooooo~!” Nayoung squealed.

 

“So smooth~” Miseon commented.

 

“So unoriginal,” Hwisoon imitated the women, earning a nervous laugh from Hyungsoo.

 

“So ugly,” Miseon and Nayoung grimaced at him.

 

She blinked before nervous giggling overcame her, similar to how Jiyong reacted to her.

 

“You planned this, didn’t you?!” she accused, still laughing slightly.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about~” Jiyong grinned at her. “Heesun-ahhhhh~ Hurry up and eat it~ My hands are getting tired~” he imitated Heesun though in a sweeter manner.

 

Heesun hid her eyes behind her hand shyly. She frowned cutely at her date and almost seemed as though she wasn’t going to let herself be fed. In the end, though, she ate the chicken begrudgingly and chewed on it like a pouting child. 

 

“Is it good?” Jiyong asked cutely. Heesun nodded in response although still refusing to look at him . Jiyong continued to grin at her so that when she finally decided to look at him, a smiling Jiyong was the sight that welcomed her. Infected by his happiness, she was unable to hold back her own smile although she was more shy about it compared to her date.

 

“Aish! Let’s eat, let’s eat!” she groaned, still smiling.

 

 

When Jiyong and Heesun exited the restaurant, the sight that greeted them was not the peaceful spring night they had left. Instead, they were met by a sea of fans that were either VIPs[9] or SONEs. 

 

“GD-OPPA!!!!” several girls screamed while the men cried “HEESUNIE~!!!” as Jiyong and Heesun walked through the path the WGM crowd control had provided them. 

 

“That’s a pretty quick response,” Hyungsoo said in amazement.

 

“Because they’re both Hallyu stars,” Miseon nodded to herself.

 

A young boy with a pink balloon managed to slip through the guards’s wall and approached a slightly surprised celebrity couple.

 

“Annyeong haseyo, Heesunie-noona!” he greeted happily.

 

“Oooooh~ How cuuuuuute~!” Miseon and Nayoung cried.

 

“Annyeong~” Heesun cooed to the boy, crouching to his level. Jiyong smiled at them.

 

“Heesunie-noona, I got you a balloon!” the boy told her, proudly holding up the pink balloon with the white heart.

 

“OMOOOOO~!!!” Heesun cried, looking at the balloon in pure delight. 

 

Jiyong slightly frowned at this, noting that his date had not reacted that way to his flowers. 

 

“Can you tie it to Noona’s hand?” she asked the young boy sweetly.

 

The boy nodded cutely and proceeded to tie the balloon string onto Heesun’s wrist.

 

“Thank you~ I really, really like it!” she told the boy sincerely earning a toothy grin from him. His eyes then spotted Jiyong and his expression took a complete 180 turn.

 

“Heesunie-noona, who’s he?” the boy asked, frowning at Jiyong who tried to smile in return.

 

“He’s my new husband,” Heesun introduced, returning to Jiyong’s side. “We look good together, right?”

 

“Heesunie-noona looks better alone.”

 

The smile Jiyong had tried to maintain dropped to the bottom of the earth.

 

“WAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” the MCs guffawed shamelessly.

 

“I LIKE THAT KID!” Jungmin bellowed happily.

 

Heesun laughed nervously, before bidding the young boy, and the rest of the fans, goodbye and exiting the premises with Jiyong.

 

 

The couple eventually ended up at an almost abandoned park, devoid of any fans. Heesun sneaked at look at Jiyong who was still obviously displeased by the incident that had transpired earlier.

 

“Jiyongie,” she called.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Heesun frowned but chose not to push him. Silence overcame them.

 

“You...” Jiyong began, starting to feel guilty for giving his date the cold shoulder she didn’t deserve. “You seemed to really like that balloon,” he observed, eyeing the balloon that was still tied to Heesun’s wrist.

 

“I do.”

 

“More than my flowers?”

 

Heesun, although a normally blunt and outspoken to a fault, was silent for a few minutes, carefully choosing her words.

 

“I actually don’t like flowers very much,” she confessed, smiling at her feet nervously.

 

Jiyong groaned, slapping a hand to his face.

 

“I like balloons a lot and SONE knows that. You didn’t know so it’s okay,” Heesun tried to comfort him. “It’s the thought that counts.”

 

“SONE always gives you balloons?”

 

“Well, yes. I keep my favorites in my room.”

 

Jiyong didn’t respond, hand still on his face.

 

“Jiyong-ah...” Heesun tried, guilty for even confessing.

 

All of a sudden, Jiyong’s head shot up, fire in his eyes. He looked around, spotted the place he was looking for, and started marching towards it. Heesun panicked and immediately ran after her date.

 

“Yah! Jiyong-ah!” Heesun called after him. The camera then revealed the place Jiyong was marching toward, a small bookstore.

 

The couple entered the store and Jiyong immediately marched towards a corner that held a cluster of unblown rubber balloons. It was only when Jiyong placed a long red balloon and a piece of string on the cashier’s counter that Heesun realized what he was doing.

 

“Jiyong, you really don’t have to do this!” Heesun told him. Jiyong ignored her and she could only watch as he paid for his purchase.

 

“I’ll give you a prettier balloon than what SONE gives you,” he told her determinedly before walking out of the store. 

 

The couple then settled down on a park bench before Jiyong proceeded to blowing the balloon. 

 

Anticipation built up as he heaved a great amount of air into his lungs before blow it all into the rubber balloon. And then,

 

“prrrrrrrrrrrrrt”

 

...

 

“Pfft.” Heesun, although feeling guilty, truly could not contain her laughter at Jiyong’s failure. Even the MCs could be heard exploding with laughter in the background. Jiyong pulled away from the balloon in embarrassment but tried again.

 

And again.

 

And again.

 

And again.

 

 

 

“It’s the hardest thing I ever had to do,” Jiyong decided

 

“Is it harder than composing songs?”

 

“It’s the hardest thing I ever had to do,” Jiyong repeated seriously.

 

 

“I really didn’t mean to laugh!” Heesun said defensively. 

 

“Then why did you?”

 

“Because... because he was cute....”

 

 

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Heesun tried to stop him but failed miserably when he tried to blow the balloon and once again created that squeaking farting sound that just made her lose all control on her laughter.

 

“My cheeks hurt...” Jiyong whined softly, massaging his cheeks.

 

“Stop it already, it’s really okay,” Heesun told him, concerned but still quite obviously amused. Her pleading fell on deaf ears as Jiyong tried again. This time, though, the stretched rubber finally gave way to the air and allowed its base to inflate if only a little. 

 

“Omo! Omo, omo!” the couple cried together. Even the MCs sounded excited.

 

“Seal it! Seal it!” Heesun urged quickly.

 

Thrilled at his accomplishment, Jiyong complied to Heesun’s urging and tied the end of the balloon to a knot. He tied the string right above the knot, took his date’s hand, and tied the other end of the string around the same wrist on which the young boy’s pink balloon was tied to.

 

The couple stared at the balloon hanging on her wrist as they slowly came down from their happy high.

 

“... It’s not floating,” Jiyong observed, his smile frozen on his face, as though hoping that the balloon would rise even just a little if he smiled at it long enough.

 

“You filled it with oxygen. You need helium to make it fly,” Heesun informed him with a laugh.

 

Jiyong hung his head in defeat.

 

“It’s okay, I really like it!” she told him sincerely, staring at the small balloon tenderly.

 

“It looks pathetic,” Miseon grimaced.

 

“I think he should’ve just tied it on the other wrist,” Hyungsoo nodded to himself.

 

 

 

“I really did like it,” Heesun told the interviewer, her voice nothing if not sincere. “I found it really cute.”

 

“Will you keep it in your room?”

 

“I’ll keep it next to my bed!”

 

 

 

“Next time I’ll give you a bouquet of balloons,” Jiyong promised her determinedly.

 

“More than pretty balloons, I’ll prefer it if you made them yourself,” Heesun told him, giving him a sweet smile. 

 

“I’ll learn to make pretty balloons for you, then.”

 

“They’re an unusual couple but they’re cute in they’re own way,” Miseon concluded, smiling while watching the young couple.

 

 

 

“What did you think of your wife?” the interviewer asked Jiyong.

 

“She definitely wasn’t what I imagined. But not in a bad way! I found her really cute and spontaneous. A bit pushy but I think I prefer that than her being awkward with me. I even think it’s because of her pushy personality that I was able to feel comfortable with her almost immediately,” Jiyong explained.

 

 

 

“What did you think of your husband?” the interviewer asked Heesun.

 

“He’s pretty clumsy interaction-wise which I find cute,” Heesun immediately answered.

 

“You were telling him off a lot about his clumsiness, though.”

 

“I really couldn’t help it! Actually, I was afraid that he’d be intimidated by my criticizing but he took them all like a man and moved on. Most people find it hard to approach me because they say I’m intimidating and I’m actually a bit insecure of this that’s why I’m really relieved about the way Jiyong-sshi reacted,” Heesun explained with an almost excited smile.

 

“You’re relieved even though he retaliated sometimes?”

 

“I’m very happy that he retaliates. If he didn’t it would seem like I’m bullying him.”

 

 

 

They smiled at each other, Heesun sweetly and Jiyong tiredly, before Heesun turned to her new balloon. She waved her hand around. 

 

 

 

“Would you like to continue meeting with him/her?” the interviewer asked.

 

“Yes,” both Jiyong and Heesun said without a moment of hesitation in both their interviews.

 

 

 

The couple to giggle to themselves as they watched the barely inflated rubber bob up and down.

 

“I guess this means this won’t be the last episode,” Hwisoon sighed in disappointment.

 

“You’re really annoying,” Miseon frowned at him.

 

~//~

 

I present to you: a really long Author's Notes:

1. I mentioned this because I think they conduct the interviews after shooting the dates. In Heesun’s case, because they were unable to interview her before the date, they interviewed her immediately after her date with Jiyong.
2. If you’d look back at the foreword, there were three cloaked figures. The “one on the right” was Taeyeon hence the stumbling on the “unnie” which she eventually dropped and the fearlessness to point out Heesun’s problem. Taeyon and Heesun aren’t chingus here (Heesun is older) but they act like they are. The “one on the left” was Sooyoung who was capable of answering questions but still slightly scared of what her unnie could do to her. And, the “one in the middle” was Seohyun who was in WGM before as well as the one who suggested to sign Heesun for it. She’s the maknae so she’s really scared of upsetting her unnie.
3. Yes, the OC is the fabulous Kim Heechul’s younger sister. I actually modeled Heesun after him hence her slightly mean personality. (Hope I did it right, though.) 
4. The same smile that appears on his face when Seungri reveals something about him or something like that. Hihi.
5. SONE or S❤NE is Girl’s Generation’s official fan club. 
6. Ahjussi loosely translates to “Uncle” or a way to address men in their mid 20s to 40s.
7. According to my research, in Korea, people link personalities to blood types. Type ABs are widely considered as eccentric people, being either idiots or geniuses. A famous celebrity example of a type AB is Heenim himself. I’ll be building Heesun’s personality around the description for people with blood type AB so yeah. There’s a lot on the internet on it so you can just google it if you’re interested.
8. Chingu means friend. Basically, in Korea, there’s this concept that says you can only be “chingus” with people of the same age. You can be close with older or younger people but it is expected for you to treat them differently from how you treat your “chingus”. They also have this thing that people born before March are considered “chingus” of the people born from the year before. Hence, Jiyong, who was born at August 1988, and Heesun, who was born at February 1989, are “chingus”. Taeyeon was also born on 1989 but on March so Heesun is technically her Unnie but they treat each other as equals. (Hope that made sense. If it didn’t, just ask : ) )
9. I have no idea what's inside Yeolbong's menu so yeah.
10. Arraso is something like "Alright" in Korean.

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-FunkEater