“No.”

“You can’t say no. You owe me.”

“Well, think up something else because there is no way I’m going to go on a date with you.”

Myungsoo shook his head childishly “No, a promise is a promise. Are you going to break your promise?”

Soojin started wavering. She indeed promised that she would pay back her debt to him, but in no way did she expect him to make such an absurd request.

“Well, couldn’t you postpone this ‘date’ to another? I’m not really comfortable going so suddenly, so…”

“No. We’re going today and right now.”

Soojin felt awkward going with such a spontaneous demand. She wasn’t the sort of person who would suddenly make plans and then execute them. No, instead if she was going to make plans, she had to make sure she knew them beforehand, at least a day before. She was the friend who arrived on time. She was the person you knew would show up when you asked her to. She hated when people suddenly changed his or her mind at the last minute; it unnerved her.

So when Myungsoo arbitrarily decided to go on a date, she felt uneasy. Uneasy because it went against her core of beliefs and the fact that he even asked her on a date.

She shook her head and frowned, “I’m sorry. I can’t. Besides the fact that this is so sudden, I also don’t believe in going a date with someone that I don’t even like or even dating.”

Myungsoo frowned at her comment. “Well, if you think like that, then don’t think it as a date.” He thought for a while then brightened up, “I know! Think it as a couple of friends who decided to hang out.”

Soojin was still unconvinced. “I never knew we were friends.”

He laughed, “With so many fated meetings…” He paused as he saw the look on Soojin’s face. “I mean, ‘coincidental’ meetings, I think we’re past the point of strangers and acquaintances.”

Soojin sighed, "Look, this is going nowhere. Just give me time to absorb this, and I'll probably go next time. Just make sure you tell me beforehand. I..."

A sudden growl was heard, and Soojin automatically put her hand to her stomach. She scowled and looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment. She looked at her watch which read that the time was close to 1 in the afternoon. She cursed in her head at her friend who she was supposed to eat lunch after the movie.

She continued to curse in head when she missed what Myungsoo had said.

"What?"

He chuckled, "I said, I'll treat you to lunch."

She frowned. She hated owing anbody and that included someone paying for her, but she had a weakness for free food. Plus, she might as well get his debt out of the way.

"Ok," she murmured. And Myungsoo smiled happily.

He guided to her through the streets and in front of a dark alley. She stopped and looked at him with wary eyes.

He noticed her hesitation and glanced at her.

He smirked, “What? You think I’m going to harass you or something?”

Soojin looked in surprise, “N-no! I’m just suspicious of such an ominous place. And… and…yes.”

“What?” he asked in surprise.

“Yes. I do think you’ll do something. Not harass me, more along the lines of brainwashing me or sending me into a den of rabid dogs.”

Myungsoo stared at her and chuckled, amused and happily surprised at her honesty.

“Don’t worry. I’ve been here plenty of times, and I assure you that there are no rabid dogs here.”

He grabbed her hand and started to lead her through the alley.

Surprised at first, Soojin was about to resist but thought better of it. She knew from previous experience that she wouldn’t be able to escape his grasp.

“Sure. Because your word actually means something to me,” she muttered under her breath.

Myungsoo heard her and grinned.

As he led her through several turns, they finally stopped in front of a small restaurant hidden at the end of the street.

“Come on,” he said, pulling her into the restaurant. “This is my favorite place to eat.”

As they entered, Soojin took a look around. It was a pleasantly nice place, with a cozy air and delicious and aromatic smells surrounding it. It had an almost earthy feel, with wooden chairs and dark green walls painted across the room. There weren’t many people in, a few scattered here and there, but they seem happily comfortable and relaxed.

Myungsoo let go her hand and approached the counter where an older lady, perhaps in her late fifties or early sixties, who was crossing off her list she had wrote.

“Hi Mrs. Moon,” he said cheerfully.

She looked up in surprised and smiled. “Myungsoo! Well isn’t this a surprise.”

She walked around the counter to envelop Myungsoo in a hug. "I was beginning to worry that you forgot about me and this place.”

Myungsoo gave the older woman a look, “Eh, you know that this place is like a second home for me. There’s no way I would forget this place.”

She started to laugh, “I know, boy. I was just teasing you.”

She noticed Soojin who was standing awkwardly a little behind Myungsoo.

“What do we have here? Myungsoo! You even brought your girlfriend! You never told me you got one.”

Soojin was flabbergasted that yet another person managed to think that Myungsoo and her were going out. “I’m not his girlfriend,” she managed to say.

The older lady seemed not to listen as she looked at Soojin carefully, so much that Soojin thought she was going to die of embarrassment.

Mrs. Moon gave a nod of approval and said, “I like her. Good job, Myungsoo.”

Myungsoo gave her a smile and shook his head. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

Mrs. Moon looked surprised, “No? Well that’s a shame. You two would look lovely together.”

“She’s the one I was talking about last time I came by. Remember? About this?” he asked as he stuck out his pinky.

Soojin started to blink rapidly because as soon as he did that because it was as if the string started to brighten. She had managed to successfully forget about the string because even though she knew it was there, she never felt it and somehow the string was always out of focus when she looked at it. But as soon as Myungsoo showed his pinky, Soojin could see it. She could see it connect him to her in all its red glory. A silent reminder that she couldn’t forget. She couldn’t forget that she was connected by fate with him, even if she wouldn’t believe it. 

“Oh! I remember!” Mrs. Moon shouted which broke Soojin out of her stupor.

She grinned mischievously at the two of them. “Well then. It’ll only be a matter of time before it happens.”

“Mrs. Moon whole-heartily believes in fate and destiny,” he said to Soojin.

Soojin frowned and looked away, and Myungsoo smiled wistfully.

Mrs. Moon smiled contently at them, laughing internally how they were acting like a couple already, and pulled out two menus.

“I suppose you two are here to eat, not to gossip.”

She led them to a table near the window and set the menus and some utensils down.

Soojin plopped down into her seat and sighed. She looked through her menu, deciding on what she wanted to eat.

Myungsoo followed suit, already knowing what he wanted.

They quickly ordered, and Soojin ended up staring out the window with a hand on her cheek. Myungsoo ended up alternating between staring at her and out the window.

Not being able to stand the silence, Myungsoo spoke first.

“Look at them. They’re adorable.”

Soojin turned her head to look at what Myungsoo was talking and scoffed. A couple was sitting in the corner of the restaurant murmuring sweet nothings into each other’s ears. The girl would giggle, and the boy would place small kisses on her cheek.

“Adorable? Kittens are adorable. That? Now that, that’s just cringe-worthy.”

Soojin sighed and closed her eyes, wondering what in the world she was doing, wondering why she even agreed in the first place.

This went against everything she believed him. And the boy sitting across her had made her do things she never expected she would ever do.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Myungsoo spoke again.

“I always thought that girls were the one who liked the romantic and cheesy love.”

“Apparently you haven’t met enough girls because that’s just a stupid generalization. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not one who particularly likes that.”

He smiled, “Oh, I noticed.” He paused, “Then what do you like? What’s your idea of a perfect date?”

She looked at him in surprise, confused at the fact that he was trying to get to know her better besides all the hostility she’s been giving him.

She hesitated, “Perfect is the wrong word to use. There is no such thing as a perfect, well, anything.” She paused, “But prefer my dates not to be so extravagant. I guess it’d be nice if there was a homemade dinner. He could cook or I could, or even both of us. But the most important thing is we would just talk.”

“Talk,” Myungsoo stated with an eyebrow raised.

She chuckled, more to herself than anyone as she looked down at the table. “Yeah, talk. Because when you talk, you can learn things that you didn’t know. People aren’t mind readers; you have to verbalize your thoughts. But then again that’s the hardest part. So yeah, if we talk, I would feel more connected to him. I’d feel like I can learn something new every time.”

She paused and realized that she told him more than she wanted to. She glanced at him, wondering what he thought.

He was staring thoughtfully at her. He finally said, “I never thought about it like that. I’m more of an action person. I’m rather impulsive person. I always thought that action spoke louder than words, and I’ve lived by that principle for the longest time.”

Soojin blinked a few times. “But to me you seem like you know how to talk. Like with our professor and the owner of this restaurant.”

He smiled sadly with a whisper, “That’s only now.”

He clapped his hands and smiled, “Look! And our food’s here. Trust me when I say this, but this place makes the best comfort food ever.”

Mrs. Moon, who was approaching the table, heard Myungsoo’s comment and smiled. “You always know how to flatter someone, Myungsoo. Thank you and enjoy.”

She set down the plates of food and left.

Myungsoo wasted no time into eating, motioning Soojin to do the same. The food smelt tantalizing, and watered.

She began to eat and to her surprise, Myungsoo was right. It was delicious. No words were passed between them because both were focusing on consuming the food.

However, Soojin couldn’t help and glance at the boy sitting across from and think that he had more secrets than he let on. And for some odd reason, she wanted to know more.

A/N: The first part of their “date”. You sort of learn more of their personalities, but of course personalities are more complex than that.

Hope you enjoyed! And thanks for reading!