"A... A... Da-Date?"

Suho smiled and gave her a nod as reponse. “Yeah, that’s what I said. We’re going on our first date!”

Yoonmi stared at him in disbelief. How had things escalated so quickly to the point where she had no say in what her day’s activities were going to be? They continued to stare at each other as Suho inched closer and closer every few seconds. Xiumin, who was still standing next to the duo in silence, suddenly cleared his throat. His steady gaze towards Yoonmi made Suho shift uncomfortably. The way that Yoonmi seemed so calm in his presence also angered Suho in a taunting manner but he couldn't bring himself to say it out.

“Yoonmi, I will take my leave now. We'll meet again.” He quietly stated. Yoonmi shifted her stare from Suho to Xiumin. She nodded and gave him a tiny smile in acknowledgement. Xiumin glanced toward Suho before he gave him a small nod of his head and turned to the opposite direction; ready to walk off.

Annoyed by the serene aura that seemed to be emanating off the guy he just met, Suho loudly stated as he watched the lone figure walk off. “Yoonmi-ah, let’s go on the best first date ever!” As Xiumin walked off, Yoonmi turned back to Suho. His lips curled upwards in a sincere smile. He looked at her expectantly and waited for her to say something, something that would make him happy.

“Suho-sshi...” Yoonmi started, a bit hesitates before she added. “I don’t think I can accompany you to that date today.”

Suho looked at her with dissapointment, his smile quickly changed into that of a frown. “Is something wrong, Yoonmi?”

“No… It’s just that I kind of had other things planned to do after my classes today.” She quietly replied and thought about her sister who was probably waiting for her at home. She had to get home to take care of Eunmi, and that was more important than a date.

“Oh I see. I understand.” Suho sighed dejectedly.

“I’m sorry.” Yoonmi said and turned her body over and backing off; started to walk home before Suho suddenly shouted for her name.

“Wait! Yoonmi, wait!” Suho ran up to her.

“If you can’t go on a date with me today, will you please go on a date with me tomorrow?”

“But-“

“But it’s a Saturday tomorrow! You won’t have class. Please don't dissapoint me...”

Yoonmi looked up to meet Suho’s eyes. They were looking at her with a gaze that was so hopeful and she couldn’t bring herself to reject the kind person who was willing to give her the time of his day. After she took in a deep breath, Yoonmi soon found herself agreeing to go on a date with the guy she had met just so recently and had claimed to be her lover. The overjoyed reaction that came from Suho told Yoonmi that she had done something right. His eyes lit up, and that look was similar to Eunmi when they did something she enjoyed.

“Where should I pick you up? Your house?” Suho asked.

“No. That’s okay. Let’s just meet up at the café.” Yoonmi quickly said. She didn’t want Eunmi to see or know about Suho just yet. Her sister would most likely not allow her back into the house if she found out that Yoonmi was asked on a date, but rejected the offer because of her. Suho gave his okay and they agreed to meet up at eleven tomorrow. Yoonmi turned and walked away after saying her goodbye to Suho. She swung her bag over her shoulder and walked down the familiar streets. Yoonmi found herself twiddling her fingers as she tried to figure out what had just happened. She didn’t expect to find herself agreeing to go on a date with a guy she hardly knew, yet she had accepted. The walk home seemed longer than usual and when Yoonmi stepped through the door of the house. She saw her sister sitting in front of the TV and munched on what looked like a bag of chips.

“Eunmi-ah, I’m home.” Yoonmi said, and walked up to her sister and tapped her shoulder lightly

“Glad you’re back! Want to watch a movie with me?” Her sister said and jumped at the opportunity to spend some quality time with her sister.

“Maybe later? I'm going to make dinner now. And mind you, if you want to eat well tonight, I’d suggest putting that bag of chips down. Now.” Yoonmi replied almost sternly, as if Eunmi couldn’t see the concern hidden behind her twin’s words. She laughed and handed the bag of greasy chips to Yoonmi, who then proceeded to tie them up with a rubber band and put them away in the kitchen cupboard.

Eunmi watched as her sister cut the vegetables with interest.

“How was your day?”

“It was… Fine.” Yoonmi replied before she continued.

“Yours? Did you make it into the photography club?”

“I did! The people in the club are really kind...And weird, but they have quite a good sense of humor.” Eunmi stated as she thought about Suho; the person who gave her the flowery handkerchief. She also thought of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, who pulled a prank on her before she even barely made it into the club. However, she found herself mostly thinking about Suho; she saw see two different sides of that guy in a day. First, his caring side, then his annoyed, angry side. It was quite amusing when Eunmi thought about it.

'Whatever...' Eunmi mumbled in her mind and rolled her eyes in silence.

“That’s good. You’ll do well in that club. Let’s talk more when we eat.” Yoonmi smiled and brought the dishes over to the dining table. Eunmi squealed as the hot plates were placed in front of her. Her sister was naturally an amazing cook and she knew she had to savor the moments when Yoonmi had put her heart and time into cooking for her.

The two sisters ate in silence and the only sound to be heard was the clinking of silverware against the plates and content chewing. Yoonmi was still thinking about what happened before she got home, suddenly she asked her sister.

“Eunmi-ah... Uhm... Er....what is like to fall in love?”

Eunmi looked up at her twin in surprise. Yoonmi sheepishly glanced at her sister before she went back to eating. Eunmi stared, mouth. Her shy and introverted sister, was asking her what it was like to fall in love.

“Well, falling in love is like... Love is a choice between heart and mind, uhm... Well, you know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater. The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that's the key. It's like a big pie chart, and the love in a relationship has to be the biggest piece. Love can make up for a lot. Pardon me for being cheesy! Just wondering, but why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s because you’ve fallen in love and had dates before. I just thought that you would know it better than I would.” Yoonmi muttered.

“You know what? I have a history of making decisions very quickly about men. I have always fallen in love fast and without measuring risks. I have a tendency not only to see the best in everyone, but to assume that everyone is emotionally capable of reaching his highest potential. I have fallen in love more times than I care to count with the highest potential of a man, rather than with the man himself, and I have hung on to the relationship for a long time... Sometimes far too long... Waiting for the man to ascend to his own greatness. Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism.” Eunmi replied and a bitter smile formed on her face. There was silence as they both had something lingering in their mind. Only after a few seconds later, Eunmi opened .

“Hold on a second! Yoonmi-ah, are you trying to tell me that you’re in love with someone?” Eunmi exclaimed.

Yoonmi looked up in surprise as her sister clapped her hands and squealed for her. She sighed before continuing.

“Well…I don’t know really know if it is love.”

“Tell me about this guy who has captured the attention of my sister!” Eunmi giggled and ignored Yoonmi’s stare of disbelief.

“H-He’s quite outspoken. I don’t think he goes to the same university as I do, but he always insists on waiting for me after my classes.”

“What does he look like? How handsome is he?”

That question made Yoonmi stop and think. All the times that she had seen Suho, she never actually stopped to take a look at his face. Only when she focused, did she realize that he was much more handsome than she gave him credit for.

“Uhm, he has chestnut colored hair, big eyes, high cheekbones and a really well-defined… Uhm, jawline?” Yoonmi cautiously replied.

“Are you guys going on a date any time soon? He sounds familiar and a bit dreamy!” Eunmi gave Yoonmi a pat on the back.

“Actually yes. He asked me out on a date.”

“When?!”

“.Tomorrow at eleven.”

“That’s amazing!”

The rest of the evening resulted in Eunmi helping her sister pick out her outfit for her first date and sitting together in bed to talk after they both finished showering and cleaning around the house. While Eunmi told Yoonmi about what it was like to go on a date and how to become romantic, Yoonmi listened and took mental notes. She didn’t intend on making a fool of herself in front of Suho just because she had never been on a date before. Yoonmi smiled at her sister’s quirkiness. Maybe this was what it was supposed to be like between sisters. Sisters were supposed to share little secrets and have girls talk. It wasn’t so bad and Yoonmi found herself drifting off to sleep next to her twin.

The next morning, Yoonmi woke up with a pillow to the face. Her sister’s laugh resonated off the walls of the bedroom and Yoonmi groggily sat up.

“Yah! Wake up, sleepyhead! You have your first date today!” Eunmi exclaimed, practically being overjoyed for her sister.

“Eunmi-ah, its only eight in the morning! I don’t have my date until eleven.” Yoonmi replied, sitting up and stretching her limbs.

“You can’t just get up and go on a date! Hurry, go take a shower and then we’ll eat breakfast. After that, I can help you do your makeup!”

“I don’t really think all that is necessary. Besides you don’t have to do anything for me, I can handle doing those small tasks by myself.” Yoonmi said. She didn’t want her sister to do any of these things for her. It was burdensome to know that her sister would do the work while she, would just sit there and got pretty. Yoonmi her hand through her bed hair and headed for the bathroom.

“Of course this is all necessary! Yoonmi-ah, you better take that shower! If not, I’m locking you in there and I won’t let you cook breakfast today!” Eunmi playfully threatened.

Reluctantly, Yoonmi took a quick shower and then went into the dining room to prepare breakfast. When they had finished, Eunmi tried to encourage Yoonmi to allow her to do the dishes and clean up, but when her sister had refused, Eunmi sat to a side and waited. A few minutes later, Yoonmi finished washing the dishes and Eunmi immediately rushed her into a room to help her get ready.

Yoonmi walked silently down the familiar streets with her heart thumping wildly. Suho had agreed to meet her at the café and since it wasn’t a long distance to walk from her house to the small coffee shop, Yoonmi took her time. She enjoyed hearing the everyday sounds of the snowy street as she took the liberty of keeping to her own thoughts and enjoyed the tranquility in her mind. Somewhat lost in her thoughts, it took Yoonmi a while to realize that she was standing in front of the café. She took a deep breath and walked inside.

Would Suho be there? Or would he be late?

As soon as Yoonmi had closed the door of the shop behind her, she heard her name being called. Suho was sitting at a small table, a cup of coffee in each hand.

She bowed as he walked closer. “Suho-sshi.”

“Yoonmi-ah, I’m glad you made it. I honestly doubted if you were going to come.” Suho said, his smile was warm and inviting.

“I-I’m not late am I? We've agreed on eleven o’clock?” she muttered.

“No, you aren’t late. I was just a bit early." He replied. "I bought you some coffee. It’s just black coffee right now and you can add in the amount of crème and sugar that you need.”

“T-Thank you, Suho-sshi.” Yoonmi squeaked and took  the small cup of coffee and headed out the door.

“Aren’t you going to add anything, Yoonmi-ah?” Suho questioned and looked at her quizzically.

She shook her head and when he laughed and followed her out the door, she couldn’t help but ask. “You said you were here a bit early…what do you mean by early?”

“I’ve been at the café since ten.” Suho replied, leading her to his car and opening the car door for her. dropped. He had been waiting for since ten. That was an hour ago!

“Sorry for making you wait for an hour.” She muttered and seated herself inside the car and quickly buckled herself up. She didn’t need this to be one of those cheesy moments where Suho had to put the  seatbelt on for her which led to them suddenly falling in love.

He grinned and got into his car from the driver's side. “As you said, I get to decide on our date right?”

“I-I guess so. Where are we going?”

“Let’s go to the movies and then maybe we can go eat some lunch afterwards. That is, if you aren’t already full from all the popcorn and snacks.” He responded, his tone was light and cheery.

“S-Sure… Thank you, Suho-sshi.”

“Oppa.”

“Huh?”

“Suho oppa, not Suho-sshi. Can you call me that Yoonmi? I'm pretty sure that I'm older than you; two years older at least. I just want us to be closer, and I don't see the need of that 'sshi' in our relationship.” Suho whispered, his eyes still glued on the road ahead of them. Yoonmi could see that he was pouting slightly.

“Thank you… Suho... Oppa.”

His little pout disappeared and was quickly replaced by a huge beam, plastered across his face like it was meant to stick there.

“Thank you, Yoonmi. For going on a date with me, that is.”

They sat in silence. It wasn’t as if the movie theatres were extremely far away. Yoonmi found herself looking out the window for the entire duration of the car ride. Suho tried to make small talk with her and asked her about her classes and about her family. When she gave short, one word answers in reply, he took it as a hint to let her have her alone time.

Suho parked the car in the half-full lot. He turned off the engine and before Yoonmi could unbuckle her seatbelt, Suho had opened the door for her from the passenger's side and offered his hand to help her out. She smiled politely and took it, but let go as soon as she was out of the car as she was somewhat uncomfortable with being treated like a princess. They headed inside the large theatre and Suho had given her a few movie options. Yoonmi didn’t know what she wanted to watch so she allowed Suho to make the decision. Suho didn’t know what kind of movies Yoonmi liked and Yoonmi didn’t seem like one of those romantic girls who expected a date to go perfectly as they planned. It seemed like she actually wanted Suho to do the planning. Settling with a romantic comedy, they bought their tickets and chose their seats.

Suho reached into his pocket and  pulled out a few wadded up bills.

“Yoonmi-ah, you can pick the snacks and buy whatever you want. I really have to run to the bathroom.”

“I can pay for the snacks.” She pushed his hand away and politely refused his kindness.

“No, I insist Yoonmi. What kind of person would I be if I made my girlfriend pay on the first date?” Suho replied, and looked deeply into her shiny eyes. The radiance in her eyes really made Suho's heart flutter.

Upon hearing those words, Yoonmi’s pale face revealed a small blush. She nodded and hurried off to the snack bar.

“Yoonmi-ah, I’ll be right back! Wait for me when you are done. Don’t go anywhere.”

“Okay.” She said and walked off.

Yoonmi didn’t know what to buy and furthermore she didn’t know what Suho liked. The money in her hand was crinkled and she knew Suho had given her enough to buy anything. However, she didn’t want to waste his money. Should she pay? An old woman stood behind the counter and asked Yoonmi what she wanted to order. Eventually, Yoonmi ordered a large popcorn, which she would most likely not eat because of its greasiness, and also ordered two large sodas. When the woman handed her the two drinks Yoonmi accepted them gratefully.

“Dear, how are you going to carry the popcorn if your hands are full?” The woman frowned.

Yoonmi was about to respond when she heard a familiar voice right next to her ears.

“I’ll take it. Here Yoonmi, give me the drinks.”

Yoonmi turned and saw a chuckling Suho.

“Thank you, Ahjumma.”

The cashier woman smiled to his politeness. “On a date I see? Young people nowadays really do know how to make their moments special. Have fun young people.”

“Thank you ahjumma.  This is our first date together and I intend to make it our most special one ever.” Suho replied, flashing a prince-like grin.

“Oh how sweet! Such a caring young man and a beautiful young lady. Off you go now my dears, you have a movie to catch!”

Yoonmi bowed as Suho dragged her off into one of the big rooms. She opened the door for him since he was carrying the two sodas in his hands. They seated themselves in the row stated on the ticket and waited for the movie to start. Suho looked around; there weren’t many people, ten more people in the same room as them at most. He and Yoonmi would be able to enjoy the movie without the background noise being too loud.

While watching the movie, Yoonmi shifted in her seat. Again. She saw Suho poking a straw through his drink. She reached for the straw lying next to him, but was stopped when he handed her the drink in his hand.

“Here, this is for you.”

“T-Thank you.” She said and took a small sip of the drink. The fizzy cola startled her and she let out a small cough.

“Are you alright?” Suho asked as he looked at her. Yoonmi looked away in emarrassment and replied with a small“yes”. She suddenly felt a hand rubbing her back, which made small circles in a soothing motion. Suho was rubbing her back. 

She brushed his hand off unknowingly and he looked at her in concern.

“Suho sshi- Err... I mean ... Oppa, don’t worry too much. I’m fine.” Yoonmi murmured.

“Alright. If you say so.”

The movie started and Yoonmi gave her complete attention to it. There were certain parts which she found funny, but she never laughed out loud. She smiled to herself and only giggled at most. Suho found himself staring at her, her ladylike manner in which she was quiet and kept to herself. He felt his heart beating and before he knew it, he was trying to take her hand in his. She jerked in surprise when he did that, but all he did was give her a small nod. She relaxed and turned her focus back to the movie. At least she wasn’t rejecting him. Their warm hands stayed clasped together, unless it got too sweaty and they loosened the grip, for the rest of the movie and they kept it that way.

Two hours later, the movie ended with Suho cracking up and Yoonmi smiling along. When they made their way out of the movie theatres, Suho noticed how Yoonmi didn’t touch her popcorn. Their drinks were both finished and discarded and Suho decided that he wanted to take Yoonmi out for lunch. He himself didn’t exactly like popcorn either, but he didn’t say anything since Yoonmi decided to buy it. He guessed that she had only bought it because she didn’t know what other snacks there were.

“Yoonmi-ah, are you hungry?” Suho asked, when they walked in the empty parking lot.

“Not re-“ she started, only to be cut off when Suho took her hand and held it again. She cleared , unsure of whether to return the grasp or to pull away. Suho looked so happy and she didn’t want him to think of her as rude, so she allowed herself to hold his hand loosely.

“You were saying?” He said.

“I’m not really hungry.”

“I don’t really want this date to end yet. Would you mind going somewhere with me?”

“I guess... Not?”

“Great!” Suho cheered, and once again opened the car door for her. Yoonmi didn’t know why, but it seemed like the car rides were always awkward between them. It was always silent and she never made the effort to bring up a conversation. Conversation or not, Yoonmi’s mind was still wondering and wandering. Come to think of it, she knew basically nothing about the guy sitting next to her. All she knew was that his name was Suho. She knew more about Xiumin than Suho. Also, the fact that he kept calling her his girlfriend when this was clearly their first date. He hadn’t formally asked her to be his girlfriend, but it seemed like he was assuming things already. As if he wasn’t already assuming things from the start.

Suho took her to a park. A beautiful park with lush, green grass, snowy ground and tall, shady trees. Yoonmi stared at the serene sight in front of her. The fresh smell of flowers were present and there were birds flying around like a routine.

“Do you like it?” Suho asked, his voice soft.

“This place…this place is beautiful.” Yoonmi breathed. She walked towards the soft grass and Suho quickly followed behind.

“I was hoping we could just sit here and enjoy the sight.” He voiced as Yoonmi just nodded. She was completely entranced by the beauty of nature around her. They settled into a park bench and looked at their surroundings. A few people walked by from different directions, but Yoonmi’s expressions made Suho care less.

"May I know, how close you're with that guy who you claimed as you sunbae?" Suho asked all of sudden.

"Who?"

"I don't remember his name, that guy with single eye-lids; the guy that walked with you in front of the university yesterday." Suho lied, he definitely remembered his name; Xiumin. He just didn't want to sound like a guy who easily got jealous in Yoonmi's eyes.

"Xiumin Sunbaenim? I just knew him a few weeks ago." Yoonmi answered shortly as Suho nodded without any further reaction.

After what seemed like quite a long time to her, she noticed that Suho hadn’t said a word. He really meant it when he said to “sit here”. He knew of Yoonmi’s preference for quietness so he was just trying to make her comfortable though he would love to converse with her. Therefore Yoonmi decided to start the conversation.

“What are we?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“What is our relationship supposed to be at the moment?”

“We’re lovers!” Suho exclaimed boldly.

“We are?” Yoonmi asked, startled by his courage.

“Of course we are, at least to me. I can't see you with anyone but myself. I know I'm in love with you, even though I'm not sure if you're feeling the same... Even if you don't, I'll make you to fall for me. Hard. I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a ordinary man with common thoughts and flaws. However, I've loved another, which is you... With all my heart and soul and to me, this had always been enough. But now, I want you to fall in love with me, even if it's slowly... ” Suho said, inhaling his breath deeply before he continued. "You're so mean, did you know that?"

"Huh?" Yoonmi was slightly taken aback with Suho's saying. Mean? What is that supposed to mean?

"You never say that you liked me." Suho added, chuckling softly before he cherished her cheeks tenderly. Hearing that, Yoonmi looked down and felt

"Fine. I should bear with it since I like you more. Don't you think so?"

“But... How? We just met for about a month ago and I couldn't help to doubt if this is love or not...” Yoonmi questioned. She honestly didn’t think Suho would have said that and now she was expecting that he didn’t have an answer to this question either. He looked at her, as if deciding what to do and amongst their stillness was a pounding heart.

All of a sudden, he scooted next to her; his hand glided down her arm, and folded his hand over hers. His fingers laced with Yoonmi's, palms kissing. She could feel the fast thud of his heart through this single touch.

“This is how.” Suho whispered and pulled her closer toward him and he planted a quick, sweet and gentle kiss on her forehead before it slowly moved to her lips. Their lips gently touched on that cold snowy day, though neither one of them now knew that it was snowing. Suho's heart pounded in his chest as if it was not big enough to contain all the joy that it held. He opened his eyes as he kissed the star. Her hazel brown eyes stared back into his, and in her eyes he could see no parting from her.