Kate finagled into Juliette’s house the night of the second date, and chased her around with a hair curler and strappy heels. Juliette was quick on her feet, but it looked like pain and aesthetic improvements were imminent. Kate had her pinned down on the bed, and Juliette screamed bloody murder. But when she saw Jinki pulling up on the motorcycle down by the street, she pulled away from Kate suddenly, grabbing the ugliest sweater she could find from the chair just to spite Kate, and leaping out the window onto the fire escape. She shrugged the sweater on, stumbling and tripping down the stairs. She stuck a landing at the bottom, silently thanking dance classes, and scratched and clawed at the fabric until the sweater was successfully over her head, and one section of banana curl hair - courtesy of Kate - hung down the middle of her face. Jinki took his hand and delicately moved it to the other side of her head, and Juliette took a moment to braid it all back so it looked at least a bit like her usual appearance.
    “What is that you’re wearing, there?” he asked with a tint of sarcasm to let her know he was mimicking her from the other day.
    Juliette looked down at the wool knit sweater she had decided to don, llamas and other assorted woodland creatures prancing about embroidered on the bottom edges of the sleeves and body. She dusted it off with her fingers, as if she could also brush off the gleeful creatures, as Kate her head out of the fire escape and growled down,
    “Have fun with La Roux, Julie, you prude.”
    Jinki looked mildly offended, and Juliette took his hand and coughed to avoid giggling. He had parted his hair on either side of his head, the middle space between the parts spiked high in a slightly lopsided faux hawk. The other side of each part was brushed down the sides of his face and behind his ears. It wasn’t nearly as precarious or dramatic as the British Singer’s, but the resemblance was apparent. Jinki held her hand fast, and led her around to the bike, dismissing the comment.
    “Where are we going?” Juliette asked.
    “Lewis Wharf!” Jinki said excitedly, bouncing back to his cheerful demeanor.
    They had passed by Lewis Wharf, as well as the nearby Commercial Wharfs on the way to their first date, and it was just as pretty the second time around. Juliette was still nervous on the bike, but managed to take her face out of his back for at least a third of the ride, which she considered brag-worthy. When they reached their destination, Jinki pulled a big box off the back of the bike, and began to stroll down the pier, whistling to himself with the box under his arm. Following him, she noticed her tumble down the stairs had left her with an untied shoelace. She bent to tie it, and when she stood back up Jinki had disappeared. With the pier being completely flat and straight, there were only so many places he could have gone.  
    “Jinki?” She asked, with a bit of panic in her voice.
    “Down here!” He called.
    He was to the left of the dock, resting his box on the end of a little rowboat. It creaked and tilted and tossed, and it didn’t look like there was much room for anything beyond the box, Jinki and Juliette, but Jinki’s grin looked so confident Juliette decided not to question him and climbed in after him.
    He took a paddle in each hand, and rowed them out into the bay, between the ragged wooden poles jutting out of the water near the wharf, seagulls resting on them in the evening light. Once they were a good ways out, he opened the box. Inside was a dinner of tofu, bottled water, fruit salad and little cheesecakes. And unusual array, but none that Juliette couldn’t enjoy.
    “It’s Sundubu tofu. It’s my favorite. Back home, my friends call me ‘Dubu’ sometimes, because I love it so much.” He snared two large pieces, an impressive feat with chopsticks, and scrunched his eyes tight with happiness as he chewed.
    “Lee Jinki, you are an odd one indeed.” Juliette said, taking a piece of tofu for herself.
    “And you, Juliette Kepulette, are perfectly normal.” He said, and they struck their plastic bottles in a toast.
    The city sparkled over the water, the reflections of the silver buildings on the water wiggling with the waves. Occasionally a large boat would drift by, or a seagull would land nearby, sending a new set of ripples through the building reflections, but for the most part it was silent, empty, and beautiful. This was hands down the most romantic thing she had ever done. She began to wonder about Lee, what he thought about her. What his thought process had been when choosing her. What she had to do to keep him. She was still ogling him as he keeled over the side of the boat, blue in the face. Like when he had first appeared in the studio, it took her a bit to realize what exactly was happening. She dropped her chopsticks in the box, and leaned over him, fretting.
    “Are you okay?!” She gasped.
    “I think so-” he started, beginning to sit up, only to fling his head back over the side and start retching again.
    “Oh jeez. Food poisoning?” she asked, fear climbing her spine at the thought of her in the same condition soon enough.
    “No.” He replied weakly, sputtering. “I get very seasick.”
    Juliette stopped fretting over him. “You’re not serious. You get seasick?” She asked, her eyebrows knit, rubbing her temples.
    “Yes.”
    “Jinki, if you get seasick, why would you choose to go out on a boat?” She muttered, sighing with the realization that she had lost her appetite the moment Jinki had lost his dinner.
    “Well I…” He coughed. “I’ve only ever been on big boats before. I thought a little one might not have the same effect. Plus, this is the idea of my dream date setting. Guess it wasn’t very smart a decision.”
    He hung his arms over the side and spit into the water. He felt a bit better now, but definitely shouldn’t be on the water. Game over, he thought. With Juliette disillusioned, he’d have to find something else to write a song about. Back to the drawing board. Not to mention, he had been enjoying her company. He felt another wave of nausea come over him, and tried to block out the rocking of the boat, the wind, the smell of the ocean, Juliette’s touch. Juliette’s touch?
    Juliette hugged him around the waist, pressing her face against his back as she had on the bike.
    “You’re so sweet.” she mumbled. “Don’t ever change.”
    They spent a bit like that until the second wave of nausea had passed. Then Jinki sat up, took a swig of his water, gargled, spit it over the side, and gave her a proper hug back, and they spent a while like that too, tangled up together. Then Jinki laid down and Juliette rowed them back to the pier. The finished their picnic in the Pilot House Park down the road, and laid on their backs in the grass and watched stars and the water, holding hands. And Jinki thought of song lyrics in his head, and Juliette listed the consequences of falling in love in her head, then burnt the list.