"But I don't want to-"

"Too late. He'll be here at 7 pm."

Chaerin sits on the couch as she glares at her unnies murderously. "I'm fine with being single! When are you guys going to realize that?"

"When you realize that not all men are ," Bom counters, hands on her hips. This is followed by a vigorous nod from Dara, who looks at Chaerin pleadingly. "Please, Rin?"

"First of all, that's easy for you guys to say. You-" she turns to Bom, who takes an involuntary step back at the glint of anger in Chaerin's eyes, "- are dating a guy who could model for Burberry, and who is a freaking doctor. A doctor, Bommie unnie. And you-" she turns to face Dara, her voice softer because hey this was Dara unnie, and Chaerin's pretty sure Bom's the mastermind behind all this, "- are dating the nicest guy who has ever walked on Earth. And I don't have half the luck you two do when it comes to dating, so I'll pass."

Bom throws her hands in the air at Chaerin's words, clearly giving up - but Dara comes to her side, and places her hand over Chaerin's. "This one's decent, Rin. He really is. He's Youngbae's best friend," the petite woman adds on, smiling earnestly - and Chaerin wants to tell her that it's not about the guy, it's her, that she has a penchant for screwing up relationships and first dates and basically anything to do with guys, and the guy would be better off if he didn't meet her, ever - but this is Dara she’s talking to, and for her Ssantokki Chaerin would do anything. So she manages a feeble smile and says weakly, “Fine.”

She jumps when she hears the doorbell ring, and glances at her watch - 7 pm. Punctual. That's good, this is a good sign, Chaerin chants to herself as she takes a deep breath, and opens the door.

By the looks of the tentative smile he gives her, this guy's as nervous as she is. So Chaerin eases into a small smile, and holds her hand out. "So you're the poor guy stuck with me for the night?"

"Looks like it," he replies jokingly, giving her hand a quick shake before releasing it. He cringes as he wipes his sweaty palm on his jeans, and glances at Chaerin, who is trying hard not to laugh, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm very nervous."

"You're doing fine," she replies with a laugh. "I'm Chaerin."

"Jiyong, Kwon Jiyong." She quirks an eyebrow at the 007 introduction, to which he lets out a groan and smacks a palm to his forehead. "I didn't- that wasn't supposed to come out all James Bond-y. I'm as far from James Bond as a guy can get."

"Let's hope you are," Chaerin says warily.

Fifteen minutes into the dinner, Chaerin begins to think (hope) that this wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She learns that Jiyong studies Ancient World Studies, and they enjoy a conversation in Greek, in which Chaerin is sure she has mispronounced at least half the words, but Jiyong gallantly compliments her anyway.

She likes the way he is genuinely interested in her field of study (ethnomusicology), and asks question after question about her modules. He surprises her when he suddenly bursts out into a few bars of Circle Of Life (yes, from Lion King – of all the songs he could have sung), and she stares at him in shock before collapsing into a fit of giggles - to which Jiyong replies in mock anger, "Are you laughing at me?"

They swap plates throughout the whole dinner, Chaerin being the first to do so when she sees Jiyong wincing at his first spoonful of spaghetti. She tells him that she makes the best decisions when it comes to food - after dessert, during which Jiyong struggles to finish his sour lemon meringue while Chaerin relishes her creme brulee, he admits begrudgingly that maybe she did know her food. "So next time, I'll order whatever you're ordering," he says nonchalantly.

Her heart flutters at the prospect of a "next time" - she's never felt this comfortable on a first date, and it's starting to ring alarm bells in her head.

On the ride home, Chaerin is surprised to find a whole pile of Jinusean albums in his compartment - but Jiyong is even more surprised when she inserts one into the player, and starts rapping Jinu's parts without breaking a sweat. He tries to join her, but it is apparent after a few lines that Jiyong can't rap to save his life - so he gives up, and enjoys the way Chaerin strings the words together. 

They stand at the door for a few seconds, waiting to see what the other would do. Chaerin has an overwhelming urge to kiss him, but she doesn't know how to go about doing so without completely shredding his masculinity - but he moves forward, and stumbles over the welcome carpet, and as Chaerin's reflexes kick in her arms reach out to steady him before he crashes into her. She ends up with her back pressed against the door anyway, with Jiyong's nose touching hers, with her forehead against his, and a small giggle escapes her lips at the ridiculousness of it all. The corners of his mouth quirk up into a smile, and his lips brush against hers in a sweet kiss that makes Chaerin's heart clench painfully.

Jiyong is about to lean in for another kiss, when they both hear a loud bump - followed by a giggle from inside the house - and Chaerin buries her blushing face in his chest as Bom's head pokes out of the living room window.

“Hi Jiyong!”

He chuckles and waves back before glancing down at a very mortified Chaerin. As she whispers her apology - I'm so sorry, Bommie unnie has this thing she does where she tries to scare off every guy I go on a date with - he grins and places a light kiss on her forehead.

"I'll call you tomorrow?" He asks hopefully, and she nods, smiling as she watches him amble to his car.

Chaerin tries her best to walk past the living room quietly - but Dara's sharp eyes catch her anyway, and her two unnies immediately leap up from the couch to accost her. She looks at Seunghyun and Youngbae pleadingly, silently asking for them to pull their crazy girlfriends/matchmakers off of her - Seunghyun simply grins at her, while Youngbae gives her two thumbs up, clearly proud of his best friend.

He calls her just as she is about to go to bed, and Chaerin answers the incoming call sleepily.

"Does this make me look too eager? I mean, I figured an hour would be enough to...you know, not make me look eager."

Her face automatically lights up at the sound of his voice. She shakes her head, and laughs as she realizes that he can't see her anyway – that was stupid, she muses out loud.

“What is?”

They stay on the phone for an hour, talking about everything they could possibly talk about, and neither wants to hang up – but all good things must come to an end, and as the clock strikes 1, she sighs – I have a lecture tomorrow. So they agree to meet up for coffee after class, and as he hangs up with a soft, “Sweet dreams, Chaerin,”, she smiles into her pillow, and Chaerin can’t help but think that maybe this time, Dara and Bom chose the right guy. 

A/N: Two stories in a day, this is a first for me. Just wanted to thank you guys for leaving all those nice comments /cries. Your comments make me smile like an idiot. I hope you enjoy reading my stories as much as I enjoy writing them!