Shin-ae was surprised when a car stopped in front of her and the driver reveals himself as no other than Donghae. Today he picked Shin-ae up with his car instead of the Vespa which is being repaired.

“You look different today.” Donghae bluntly said as he noticed something new with Shin-ae’s appearance.

“Uhm...Thanks?” Shin-ae flattened her dress as she sat on passenger seat next to Donghae. She made sure that the flower crown headband she has on was secured tightly. Even with a car, Donghae still drove fast.

“Are you getting a promotion at work or something?” Donghae won't admit it but she looks prettier than usual.

“Actually...I'm going on a date but still drop me off at the café.” She informed Donghae. She actually found it odd to have to meet her date so near her workplace.

“You know you shouldn’t expect your date to go well after only meeting once.” Shin-ae rolled her eyes at him and tried hard not to get his snarky remarks get to her today. She needs to stay positive and have a bright aura for her date.

“You don’t wow guys. You’re not the typical ideal type.” Donghae continued to talk tactlessly as if he wasn’t subtly offending her. Is he really that dense?

“I’ve never thought that I ‘WOW’ people but I honestly think I do have my good points and feel pretty at times. Are you saying I’m not attractive?” Shin-ae put all of her focus on him now. Her gaze would leave a hole on the side of his head.

“You just don’t strike people at first glance.” Donghae looked at her for a second before returning his eyes on the road. He shrugged before continuing “You don’t really leave a good lasting impression.”

“Wow you’re one to talk.” Shin-ae raised her eyebrow at Donghae after recalling her impression of him during their first meet up.

“They have to see and know you for a while to see your charm.”

“Really? So how long should they get to know me?” She asked, playing along with his ‘theory’ as if she’s getting convinced.

“About half a year maybe.” Donghae answered back absentmindedly.

“Wait…I’ve known you for that long!” She blurted out as she turned her body to fully face him.

“Huh?” Donghae suddenly became flustered.

“Are you saying I’ve already captured you by my hidden charms?” She poked him on the arm, teasing him about her being busted by her.

“I mean…half a year on top of a decade.” Donghae added just to make his point clear.

“Ugh. You’re always playing with me.” Shin-ae hit him playfully on the shoulder.

“So why didn’t your date pick you up?” Donghae slightly changed the topic.

“Well I’ll be meeting up with some friends first to have brunch before I go for my date. It will still be in a few hours. I haven’t been on a date for so long so I think I need to have a pep talk with my friends.” Shin-ae didn’t mind telling Donghae about this ‘love’ department in her life.

“Oh I agree, you’ll need all the luck you need.” Donghae teased Shin-ae again,

“That’s why you don’t have a girlfriend. You should be more polite and nice to women.” Shin-ae retorted and shook her head at him.
“Hey, you may not know but I’m nicknamed Mr. Charismatic. I’m such a congenial man.” Donghae defended himself with a proud smile on his face.
“Yeah, right. What a lie. I bet you’d have to pay Eunhyuk to agree with that.” The two continued to bicker that way until they reached the coffee shop.

Shin-ae had a relaxing time with her friends. They encouraged her and even about her date, they were successful in making her feel less nervous.

Shin-ae retouched her make-up just a bit and made sure she presented herself at her best.

She went inside the flower shop where her mom told her to wait. She looked around the flower selection before noticing the guy paying at the cashier.

Shin-ae approached him after recognizing that it is indeed Lee Jonghyun buying flowers.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Shin-ae greeted him with a smile.

“Blind date. I’m supposed to meet the bubbly enchanting girl my mom set me up with.” Shin-ae’s jaw dropped upon hearing this.

“Oh My God…you’re my date? You’re the successful entrepreneur that my mom wanted me to meet?”

“Is that a good or bad thing?”

“Well...I'm just… very surprised. I didn’t know our mothers were friends so I didn’t expect this. I really didn’t see this one coming since I’ve known you for some time.” Shin-ae answered back after recollecting her thoughts.

“Haven’t you heard the staff talking about my blind dates? Well they’re not baseless rumors.” Jonghyun laughed it off, letting her know that he didn’t take those talks behind him seriously.

“You know that everyone talk about you?”

“Why of course, I am the boss and topic of discussion after all. I just didn’t bother with it since it is true. Now I believe these flowers are for you?” Jonghyun finally handed her the bouquet he just got made.

“Thank you. Oh I just realized now I’ll be the talk of the café too.”

“Worried?” Jonghyun asked a bit anxiously. Honestly he found Shin-ae pretty and cool to be around with so he’s glad that she turned out to be his date. He just feared she didn’t see him the same way.

“Not really. I’ll be just stressed to face with the aftermath of going on a date with my boss.”

“Please don’t see me as that for now. It’s just me, plain old Lee Jonghyun going out on a date with a Miss Choi Shin-ae.” Jonghyun almost had a pleading tone in his voice. He really didn’t want her to feel that she should follow him or be under his control because of their relationship at work.

“So you won’t fire me?” She asked with a cute expression

“Just as long as you tell everyone I didn’t bore you to death.” He joked with her which finally made her laugh and breathe easy.

“So where are we heading?”

“Since we’re always cooped up inside the coffee shop, I’m going to bring you to one of my favorite restaurants. Nice ambiance, great food and it has a terrace with a view of Namsan tower. That’s if you’d like?”

“It sounds appealing so I’m sold. Let’s go.” Shin-ae smiled warmly at him, reassuring him that she doesn’t regret having him as a date.

The restaurant really impressed Shin-ae. The view was breathtaking and the food was amazing. Jonghyun didn’t act very different from how he is when he’s running the coffee shop, which showed that he wasn’t faking anything at all. He made Shin-ae feel at ease as they got to know each other more in a different level. She didn’t feel intimidated or awkward with him, he proved to be a real gentleman.

“Now instead of just staring at the N tower, would you like to actually go there? We can go on a cable ride, maybe spend some time in the observatory deck and then go on a stroll, just take our time to enjoy the view and the breeze.”

Shin-ae simply agreed to his suggestion since it sounded good as well. It seemed like he had it all figured out so they can continue to enjoy each other’s company.

“I had a great time tonight.” Jonghyun stated after parking his car in front of Shin-ae’s house. Sad to say, their date has finally come to an end. Time seemed to have passed too fast and it was already late at night.

“Me too. I enjoyed a lot. Thanks for today.” Shin-ae replied as she removed her seatbelt.

“No, thank you for accompanying me. The best blind date I’ve been to so far.” Jonghyun genuinely expressed before stepping out of the car. Fortunately for Shin-ae he didn’t’ see her blush because of his words.

Jonghyun opened the door for her but spoke just when she put her legs out of the car. “Will you go out on a date with me again? But that next time won’t be set up by our parents.”

“I’d like that but promise me we can separate our dates from work? I don’t want it to be weird or too personal when we’re doing our jobs.” Why would she say no if she truly had a fun time with him?

“I promise to scold you if you do something wrong and I won’t give you any bonus.” Jonghyun joked again as he took her hand in his and walked her to the gate of her house.

“Thanks for dropping me home.”

“My pleasure. Good night.” Jonghyun hesitated a bit but then leaned in to kiss her on her cheek. “See you tomorrow. I won’t tolerate tardiness so don’t dream of me too much. But don’t be surprised if I come in late since I may just bereplaying our date in my mind tonight.” Jonghyun gave her one final wink before getting in his car.

Shin-ae smiled and waved goodbye as she watched him drive off before turning around to enter her place. She can see the lamp inside illuminating their living room, she guessed that her mom is still up, waiting to her hear stories. Now should she thank her mom for the splendid night she had?

I have something planned for Donghae's birthday ;)