That Wednesday, I came home from work early because there was a power outage in the office building, which couldn’t be fixed by the building’s handyman. Without electricity, we all couldn’t do our work. The CEO came out of his office, which was on the 7^th floor and came down to the 3^rd floor to tell us that we were dismissed until further notice. “Someone needs to fire that handyman…” He grumbled.

It was only 3PM, and I had plenty of time to kill before Hongbin comes over to pick me up. Since I skipped lunch, I made myself a small bowl of kimchi jiggae with leftover kimchi in the fridge. After that, I went upstairs to bathe and spent nearly 2 hours in my closet looking for something to wear on the date. I swear, I’ve never been so clueless as to what to wear, like ever! He never told me where he was going to take me or even give me the slightest hint. My hair was starting to dry and I was feeling a little chilly, because I was only wrapped in a bath towel. I let out a frustrated sigh as I kept browsing through my clothes.  In the end, I chose to wear a white bustier under a loose fit, tan colored, cardigan and a pair of black, gold studded shorts.

I dried my hair and let it fall past my shoulders in soft waves. My hair is naturally straight and black like most Asians, but I paid to get it made permanently wavy and dyed it a dark chestnut brown color. I put on light makeup and sprayed on my favorite Elianto L’amour perfume (A birthday gift from Miyoung). I admired my reflection in the mirror. I took a photo of myself for memory’s sake.  I was finally going on a date! And to think that people in high school actually told me that I was going to be single for life…

 -

At exactly 6PM, the doorbell rang. I was patiently waiting in my living room. I got up, stuffed my phone into my purse, put on my black mid-calf boots and answered the door. The sweet scent of Hongbin’s citrus body wash greeted me. He was dressed in a white polo tee, tan colored jeans and a pair of his favorite red converse. His black fringe a little shorter now, and I could finally see both of his dark chocolate eyes, which I admired so much. He stood there with a wide smile, his two dimples appearing. “Wow…” We both said. “You look pretty tonight…” He commented and immediately my cheeks heated up. “Thanks…” I lowered my head, trying to hide the blush, which was getting more obvious by the second.  “You don’t look half bad either…”  I spoke, I heard him chuckle as he put out his hand, gesturing for me to give him mine. As soon as I placed my right hand in his, he lifted it up and pressed his lips on to it. Immediately, the familiar cold sensation returned and the navy blue wolf’s head appeared.

“Where will we be going today?” I asked as he opened the door to the passenger side. “You’ll see…” He answered with a smile as he closed the door only to get in to his driver’s seat a few seconds later. Seeing his smile made me smile too. I watched as streetlights and passed us by in a blur of orange streaks. My mind was left to wonder as to where he was taking me.  Soon enough, we had arrived at a fancy looking restaurant in the city. “Are we seriously going to eat here?” I asked as he helped me out of the car. He nodded. I bit my lip, I wasn’t sure if I could handle eating at a place like this. “Hey, look at me…” He said and I did. “When I told you yesterday on the phone that you were going to enjoy this date, I meant it. So, just trust me and let me make your first date a memorable one…” He spoke as he gave me his smile, as if he knew that, that would make me feel better. I nodded and we both entered the restaurant.

It was a little packed but somehow a waiter had found us a table somewhere in the back, where it was a little more exclusive. The waiter had wanted to pull back the chair for me but Hongbin beat him to it. “Thanks.” I smiled as I sat down and he pushed me forward. He was being such a gentleman to me, I felt almost like a princess. The waiter left after lighting the candle on the table, without a word before I could order. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve already ordered for us.” Hongbin spoke. I raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ve planned it all out have you?” I asked with a soft chuckle. He nodded. Somehow, I just knew that he has had a lot of experience in dating. He knew exactly what to say and do, to make a girl’s heart beat race and cheeks turn pink.  It made me kind of disappointed, to think that I wasn’t his first girlfriend. I guess he could sense what I was feeling because he had a look on his face, which looked as if he was asking “What’s wrong?”.  I shook my head and smiled at him. “I’m fine…” I answered. C’mon Sujeong, think positive.

The same waiter from earlier came back with a pitcher of water. He kept an eye on me as he filled up our glasses.  He smiled at me and I smiled back not knowing what else to do. Hongbin cleared his throat, signaling for the waiter to leave. He left right after giving Hongbin a quick nod. Do they both know each other? There was something which, the waiter had that caught my eye,  it was a blood red spiral tattoo which ran from the back of his neck downwards, the collar was in the way. Was he a vampire too? “You have a good eye for detail…” Hongbin chuckled. I looked at him questioningly.

“That’s Jaehwan hyung.  He is one of the members of our little circle and also the owner of this restaurant.” He explained. I nodded as I stared at Jaehwan who was now busy handling the cash register. “You told me that only soul mates and vampires could see another’s tattoo. How is it possible that I can see his?” I asked. For a moment, he looked surprised as if he had just realized it but then he quickly composed himself. “Truthfully, I don’t know…” He answered. “Could this mean I could be a vampire too?” I asked. He stared at me for a while before nodding slowly. “Maybe you aren’t completely human, you could also be a descendant of a weak vampire bloodline…” He answered and I nodded. Wow, that means my great-great grandfather or mother could have been vampires too.

The dinner was marvelous. We had a nice Caesar salad for the appetizer, a creamy broccoli soup and a tender, juicy steak for the main course. I could barely recall having a dinner as nice as this. The one time that I did was on the night of my brother’s wedding in England. Ah, good ol’ memories~ For dessert, Jaehwan served us a sweet dessert wine which was imported from Australia and crepes drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate sauce. As we waited for the bill, Jaehwan came over to talk to Hongbin. I was checking on my e-mails on my phone as they both were chatting.  I could only make out sentences like, “She looks so much like her…” and “She’s a ‘Special’?”. Who was this ‘her’ which Jaehwan was talking about? Is he saying that I look like Hongbin’s ex?  Hongbin didn’t sound too happy after Jaehwan said that. He sounded hurt and a little sad. Jaehwan quickly apologized and left after the bill came. Hongbin paid and we left without a word spoken.

The air in the car felt a little tense as silence engulfed the two of us. I was fiddling with my fingers, wondering if I say something. Something told me that something tragic must’ve happened to his ex. “Hey Hongbin?” I spoke after nearly 15 minutes of silence in the car. “Hmm?” He hummed as he maintained his focus on the road. “Where are you taking me?” I asked. “To the movie theatre, I remember that you told me you liked watching movies but ever since you started working you never seem to have time for that….” He answered. “Oh really?” I asked excitedly. Yes,the movie theatre! I’ve been dying to watch a movie for months now! “I hope you like Legos… I bought us tickets to watch Lego: The Movie” He chuckled. “What are you 5-years old?” I asked as I laughed. “It’s either that or that new horror film called ‘Apgujeong’s Curse’” He replied. “Then Lego is fine…” I said as I felt a chill go up my spine. Why would anyone want to watch a horror film anyway?

-

The movie was fine but I really thought that it could have been better. Hongbin sent me straight home after that. He walked me up to my doorstep and asked me if I had enjoyed the date. I nodded with a smile. “Thank you Hongbin-ssi…”  He smiled and then he lifted his hand and placed it on my cheek, “Did I tell you that you look pretty tonight?” He asked softly. “Yes, you did…” I giggled. Right after that, he started to lean forward and we both closed our eyes as our lips touched. He pulled away first with a smile. “Good night Sujeong.” He said. “Night Hongbin-ssi…” I replied as I turned to unlock the door and stepped into my house. “I’ll look forward to our next date…” He said as he turned around to walk to his car. “Me too…” I said softly as I closed the door. As soon as I locked the door, I hugged myself and let out a squeal. That kiss made me feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside. 

-

Author's Note: YAY! They finally have their first date~ I hope you guys didn't think that the babysitting thing was their actual first date! :O HAHA 
And Sujeong met one of his friends~ What do you think might have happened to Hongbin's ex? How was this chapter?? DId you guys like it? Comment below and subscribe if you haven't already! :D