THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON

I was still bummed about having missed Dara yesterday. The four of us had a fun day Boogie boarding in the surf, and I was able to stop thinking about her for a little while. But now we were sitting around a table on the deck, watching people go by on the boardwalk. It felt good just sitting there in the warm late afternoon air, a cold Coke in my hand, listening to Min play guitar. But the image of Dara’s perfect face was all I could think about, and it was driving me crazy.

I was pulled out of my Dara daydream when the phone rang.

“I’ll get it,” Junsu said as he walked back into the house. Thirty seconds later he was calling my name. “Hey, Jae, phone’s for you, stud-boy.”

“For me?” I said, wondering it could be as I walked inside and picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Is this Kim Jaejoong” a man’s voice asked.

“Yes.”

“Jae, this is Se7en with KMV. I met you at the beach the other day with Lee Hyori.”

“Right,” I said. “The guy with the clipboard.”

There was a pronounced pause before Se7en said tightly, “Executive production assistant. Anyway, Jae, we want you to do a blind date tonight for the show.”

“Tonight?” I gasped. “Isn’t that kind of short notice?”

“What did you expect?” Se7en asked. “We’re only here for a week. Now, here’s your date’s address – write it down. We’ve already told her you’ll pick her up at 8:30.”

“Okay,” I said. Luckily there was a pad and pencil by the phone, and I scribbled down the address he gave me.

“Any questions?” Se7en asked when he was finished.

“Uh, yeah,” I said. “What’s her name?”

“Oh, please,” he replied. “If I told you that, it wouldn’t be a blind date, would it?”

“Well, yeah, it kind of would…,” I started to argue, but Se7en cut me off.

“Whatever you spend on the date, the show will reimburse you, up to 20,000 Won. Anything more expensive than that, and you’re on your own. Keep your receipts to turn in at taping.”

“Taping?”

“Of course. We’ll need both of you in the studio at 10 sharp tomorrow morning, so try to get some sleep tonight – if you know what I mean.”

I thought I did, but it was about the last thing on my mind right then.

“Uh, Se7en,” I said. “W-Where should I take her?”

“Wherever, Jae. That’s your problem. See you tomorrow.” Then he hung up.

“Oh, man!” I groaned, putting the receiver back on the hook. “I can’t believe it.”

“You’re doing the date tonight?” Junsu asked excitedly. Of course he and Yoochun had come inside and listened to ever word. “That’s cool, dude. What’s the big problem?”

“I don’t know,” I said. My appetite was totally gone. “I guess I’m just a little nervous about it. I mean, I don’t know where I’m taking her, or what we’ll do, or even her name. What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Take it easy, man,” Junsu advised, checking his diver’s wristwatch. “It’s four-thirty. You’ve got hours to figure that stuff out. Hey, take my convertible if you want. You guys could have dinner in that Italian Restaurant we saw yesterday.”

“Is it nice there?” I asked.

“Millions of tourists can’t be wrong,” Junsu assured me. “It’s expensive, romantic and chicks dig it. You can’t lose.”

“That sounds pretty good,” I said.

“Ah, don’t do all that corny stuff,” Yoochun put in. “You know what you ought to do? You ought to take her bungee jumping! If you’re lucky,” he added with a smirk, “she’ll be wearing a dress.”

“Like any sane girl is going to jump off a bridge in a dress, Chun!” I said. The Italian Restaurant was sounding better and better than this moron’s idea.

“Or, you know what else you…,” Yoochun began while having an evil face to match.

“Hi, guys!” interrupted a girl’s voice from the patio, just outside the open glass doors. “Can I come in?”

It was Park Bom, the waitress