For desperately single men and women, there’s one last measure to be rid of the “forever alone” status: ONLINE DATING. A particular man and woman never once considered this option. They’d often laugh about it and even scoff at the mere idea itself. Online dating? Who does that?!

Fine. It’s a given that technology plays a vital role in maintaining relationships, but is it really necessary to go through that lengths just to secure a life partner? No.

“When are you getting married?”

“How come you’re still single?”

“Your biological clock is ticking, honey.”

“You can’t be a bachelor forever. You’re almost thirty years old. How come you still haven’t thought of settling down?”

Or maybe yes. They’re tired of having to answer the same questions every time they meet up with their family, relatives, friends, and former school mates and colleagues. What is wrong with a 29 year old man and woman who are single? Will the world end if they chose to forego marriage? They weren’t bothered with this at all, but with the constant nagging and pressure, they started to think otherwise.

It was that time of the year again – weddings and reunions. She was on the other side of the country to fulfill her bridesmaid role in a cousin’s wedding, while he was back in his hometown to attend a high school reunion. They hated going to these events for the sole reason that their non-existent love lives have always been the number one topic of every conversation.

Can nosey people just mind their own business? Unfortunately, no. If not for one of their friends or relatives tricking them into attending these events, they would’ve skipped everything altogether. They tried to keep a low-profile as much as possible but there is always that one person who has to screw everything up. The barrage of questions would then ensue.

“Hey! How long has it been? Are you married?”

“You know, I have a friend who’s amazing and SINGLE. I think you two could maybe, try it out?”

“What’s up? You planning to be the last one to get hitched or something?”
“We’re going to have our second baby! We are so excited. Don’t you think you should start thinking about starting your own family?”

That’s it. That’s the last draw. They swore to themselves that this is the last time they are ever going to attend a gathering without their plus one. The reason why they never brought a date with them was because everyone would then remember that person and would question him/her the next time something like this occurs. If they’re going to bring in one person, then they better make sure that he/she is The One.

They tried to be as civil and polite as possible when dealing with the same questions over and over again. If only they could record their answers or type them in a long bond paper and just hand it out to everyone so they could be spared from the interrogation. As soon as the first person bid goodbye, they didn’t waste a chance to bolt out of this event and head back home.

“Hey, how was the wedding?”

Her best friend asked as soon as she got inside the apartment they lived in. She just gave out a long sigh and the other person knew better than to ask.

“Don’t worry. They’ll get over it.”

“They’ll never get over poking fun at my “single” status for as long as I show up alone in these events! Argh! It’s so frustrating! Does your family not bother you about this?!”

“Of course they do. They tried to set me up in those blind dates, remember? That’s why I purposely fill my schedule with unnecessary activities so I always have an alibi to ditch even before “the interrogation” begins.”

“You should’ve taught me that. But I swear! This is the last time I’m ever going on a solo flight in these stupid weddings!!! I cannot stand having to answer repetitive questions about my dating life!”

“Isn’t another one of your cousins getting married in 6 months’ time? I doubt you can skip on that because that one’s long been booked on your schedule. Your cousin will shave off your head, and possibly mine too, if you fail to show up on her wedding.”

She paused momentarily and remembered. Crap. 6 months. How do you find someone within that time frame?! Granted that it’s easy to just pick a random stranger, but her family and relatives would imprint that man’s face into their brains and will nag her to death until she marries him. It’s only going to be a never ending torturous cycle if she fails to marry whoever that date was, or the consequences are even worse if she shows up alone and single.

“Maybe you should try that dating mobile app,  LOL? It’s the hot trend nowadays. Haha! It says here there’s 99% success rate between the matched couples. You might want to give it a try.”

“Over my dead body. Why don’t you give it a try first?”

“Nah. I don’t have any wedding or high school reunion to attend to in the next six months. I think I’ll pass.”

“You’re such a meanie.”

“But you love me nonetheless.”

“Yeah yeah. Aigoo. I’m tired. I’ll go get a rest.”

A similar conversation happened in a different part of the city. This time, it was between two men. He was sulking as he got inside the apartment he shared with his best friend and the latter, who was watching television, couldn’t help but to laugh at him.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to go to that reunion?”

“Yeah, well, my sister tricked me into it. Said she got some emergency and the foolish me fell for it.”

“ for you man.”

“You’re lucky you don’t have to go through this.”

“Psh. I have 2 equally annoying sisters who do the same thing. The difference is, I know how to dodge those events unlike you.”

“You should’ve taught me.”

“I did. But you’re such a filial son so it’s useless.”

“This is the last time I am ever going to attend those events on my own!”

“Well, you better go get your girl because you have another college reunion scheduled in the next 6 months. You can’t skip on that. Lee Joon will kill you.”

He mentally slapped himself. Lee Joon was one of his closest and best college buddies. He owed a lot to the guy. He promised he’d attend that stupid reunion that Lee Joon organized himself (being the batch president). Great. Just great.

“Why don’t you go try and start scrutinizing some of the profiles on L.O.L? It’s this stupid dating app that my sisters tried to coax me to sign up for. Who knows? Maybe the love of your life is just one click away!”

“That’s disgusting. You’re sleep deprived. I won’t take that suggestion. I’ll go and get some rest.”

That night, that man and woman couldn’t sleep. They knew it was a silly idea but they were really really desperate. They got their phones, downloaded the app, and created an account. 99% success rate? What if they were part of the unlucky 1%? Whatever. They decided to just give it a go and try.

After two hours of searching through profiles, there was one that caught his eye. He decided to send in a message.

emotionalblue: Hi. : )

He waited five minutes for a response but there was nothing. He was considering to move on to the next profile he could find, when the app notified him that he got a reply.

            bookwormprincess:  hey. :)

And thus began the exchange of messages. This went on for the next 5 ½ months. They never really thought they’d enjoy talking to each other. They look forward to each other’s replies and though they were often tempted to have a video call, they always cowered up and ended up with just the voice calls.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you got yourself an online boyfriend. You never even set your phone down for more than 10 minutes! If you get a call, you sneak out someplace private and then come back here with you looking so high and I don’t know? In love? Girl, I’m seriously going to flip if I find out you downloaded that ridiculous app and actually bothered registering to it.”

She bit her lip and blushed. The action, which didn’t go unnoticed by her best friend.

“SHUT UP! YOU DID NOT? OH MY GOSH YOU TOTALLY DID!!!! I can’t believe it! Omo. You bad bad girl. How long have you been keeping this from me?!” her friend .

“Uh..” she tried to come up with the most reasonable sounding excuse but there was none. This girl could easily see through her lies and would immediately point out the holes in it before she could even think of a defense.

“Spit it out or I am so going to call up your parents and tell them some dude knocked you up.”
 

“Yah! Aish. 5 ½  months!” she knew it was pointless to lie to her best friend.

“5 ½  months?!  Aigoo. I didn’t know you had it in you. Hahahaha! I knew it! I knew I wasn’t dreaming when I heard someone giggling in the kitchen! It was you and this online BF of yours! So, tell me about him. What does he look like? Have you met in person? Is he cute? Why do you like him?”

“Geez. You sound like some schoolgirl eager for the latest gossip.”

She rolled her eyes and decided to tell her friend everything about the guy. How he’s so thoughtful and sweet and considerate enough not to pry her personal details (such as her real name, where she works, etc etc). How he’d sing her a song until she fell asleep. How heavenly his singing voice is, to the point that she even thought he was some idol or a singer. How despite their stark differences, they still managed to find a way to make a deeper connection.

“I know this sounds crazy, but I think this is it. What if he’s ‘The One?’” she asked her friend as she stared off and drifted to dreamland.

“It doesn’t sound crazy…”

She felt relieved to hear that but her friend continued speaking.

“It doesn’t sound crazy because IT IS! What are you thinking?! This is..this is insane! What if he was a sick old psycho ert or something?  A e..?”

“I’m 29 years old. I don’t think ia is an issue..”

“You’re not listening to me! What about the sick old psycho ert? YAH! Do you know how many posers and scams there are? Before you argue and all, have you even met the guy? Like, face-to-face?!”

“About that…”

“Please don’t tell me you never even attempted a video call to at least confirm he’s not some random sick creepy psycho or whatever…”

“We prefer voice calls..”
 

The other girl raised her hands in defeat and glared at her friend.

“You’re the one who suggested this idea in the first place!”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know you’d actually consider it!”

“I was desperate! Ok, maybe I still am..but trust me. This guy..he’s not like what you think..he’s..I know it’s unbelievable but trust me on this. I never felt so sure about anyone other than him..”

Her best friend looked at her intently and her gazed softened. She did look serious about this and obviously smitten by the guy. She sighed and gave in.

“Fine. I’ll try my best to hold judgment until such time he can prove that he is everything you say he is.”

She rushed out of her chair to give her friend a hug.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The other girl disentangled herself and arched her eyebrow. Uh oh. This is not going to be good.

“Your cousin Hyoyeon is going to get married in two weeks. If you are so sure that this online BF of yours is ‘The One,’ then don’t you think it’s about time you two meet up for real? As in face-to-face? Ask him to go to the wedding with you. As your date. No more hiding behind your internet aliases and such. Speaking of, what’s your LOL username?”

She froze and remembered that her cousin is indeed going to marry in two weeks. It’s either she takes a chance on the guy who calls himself emotionalblue or suffer another grueling weekend being interviewed about her love life. No. She can’t go through that again. She’s going to prove to everyone that true love (ewww. Sappy alert!!) does exist even amidst all the construed misconceptions that online dating provides.

Could he really be The One?

On the other side, two men were also engaged in a similar conversation.

“Isn’t your college reunion due in two weeks? Got a date yet?”

Crap. That college reunion! He was so busy this week that he forgot.

“Yeah, I have a date.” A man’s got to protect his pride.

“Uh huh. So, who’s the girl? I haven’t seen you with anyone of the female species. You sure you aren’t making things up? You know I could ask my sisters to help pick out a girl for you…or.. don’t tell me you downloaded LOL and got yourself a virtual girlfriend? Hahahaha!”

He felt blood rush to his face at the mention of the app that’s responsible for him feeling so happy and in love nowadays. His friend immediately stopped laughing.

“DUDE NO WAY! HOW COULD YOU?! WHERE’S YOUR PRIDE?! Are there really no women out there in real life worth your time? Why go through some fake accounts? YAH! You pabo! Are you that desperate?!”

“Just because we haven’t met doesn’t mean she isn’t real! She’s very much real alright. I talk to her every day. We text. I sing her a lullaby. She does the same to me..her voice..she has the voice of an angel..it’s so..heavenly..it’s such a waste that her talent is kept hidden…”

“YOU HAVEN’T MET HER IN REAL LIFE?! How can you be so sure that’s her voice and not some random pop song she just played on her iPod and pass it off as her own? Aish! You’re a pabo!”

“She’s not like that!”

He began to enumerate all the things he loves (yes, he knows in his heart that he loves her) about her and how connected he felt to her despite it all.

“This is..this is crazy! How do you know she’s not some old hag who wants to screw up some guy?”

“I could feel it..she’s…she’s ‘The One.’”

His friend pulled his hair out of frustration and tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Fine. If you’re that sure that she’s ‘The One’ then why don’t you go ahead and meet her FOR REAL and ask her to go with you to this college reunion?”

He challenged him. That reunion was seriously disturbing him. He weighed down his options: option 1, he’d prove to his best friend that he’s right about this girl and all, or option number 2: suffer another torturous weekend being quizzed about his “bachelor” lifestyle and being thrown into random blind dates. No. He can’t go through that again. Option number 1 it is.

Could she really be The One?

The night before they decided to meet up in a park, they agreed that they’d send each other’s picture.

“She’s pretty.”

“He’s handsome.”

Physical attributes aside, there was nothing to complain about. He finds her pretty. She finds him good-looking. At least, judging from the pictures they sent each other. However, before they drifted off to sleep, they couldn’t shake off the thought that there was something missing..something wrong…they decided to just let these doubts slide and get some good night rest.

The day has come for them to meet. They dragged along their best friends but without telling them the real reason why they’re going to the park. They made up ridiculous excuses. He said he needed his friend to accompany him to scout for nearby apartments in that area for his sister. She said she needed her friend to come with her and look for possible apartments for her cousin (not the one getting married).

They’ve been strolling and stalling around in the area, pretending to look for those places, until they dragged their friends to the park where they were set to meet The One. Their eyes scanned the area. Amidst the children who were laughing as they played along, amidst the couples who shamelessly showed off their affections in public, amidst all the teenagers hanging out with their friends, amidst all the vendors scattered in each corner, amidst everything else, they felt like time stopped.

Their eyes landed on the figure and there was this inexplicable feeling in their hearts. The confusing part was, their attention was directed towards the person that was accompanying their supposed “destiny” and not on the one they saw in the picture. They tried to be discreet but like two magnets drawn together, their gazes finally locked and there was that butterflies and heart-pounding, time-stopping, slow motion effect going on.

If only things worked out as in the movies, this would be the part wherein they’d come running towards each other. However, they felt guilty. How can they have these feelings towards the other person and not the one they were meant to meet? Did LOL get it wrong? Did the acronym of that app stand for LAUGH OUT LOUD (for your stupidity!) instead of LOVE ONLINE? Why is this happening?

They dragged their friends in a corner that they were sure were out of sight towards the other party.

“I want to take a picture while I stand in the middle of that bridge. Why don’t you go up there first and you can take my picture after I take yours? I want a solo shot!”

“But you’ve had your picture taken in that bridge for how many times already!”

“I want a solo shot! Please? I dressed up really prettily today and I think it suits the atmosphere. I need to change my Facebook profile picture.”

Her friend just rolled her eyes, sighed as she gave in to the request. She walked all the way up until she reached the middle of the bridge.

On the other side, he was worried as soon as he saw the girl standing in the middle of the bridge. He doesn’t want her to think that he ditched her (although that’s exactly what’s going on his mind right now). Instead, he thought of ways to get his best friend to walk up on that bridge.

“Can you wait for me over there? I’m just going to buy some drinks.”

“You mean there?! In that bridge?! Shiro! Why can’t I just wait around here?!”

“Because I’m not so sure where to buy the drinks and I’m not familiar with this place. It’s easier to spot you on that bridge. Please?”

He knew that something was going on but he also knew that he didn’t want to spend another useless hour trying to look for each other (cell phones aside, they are really horrible with directions when it comes to places they aren’t familiar with). He decided to just relent and started walking towards the bridge. He didn’t notice the girl standing there for all he could think about was how he wanted to just go home.

It’s been fifteen minutes and their best friends haven’t returned.

“I only turned around to wipe off some dust and she’s gone! Great. How could she leave me here? Take a solo picture. Psh. I knew it. She met up with that online BF of hers! Aish! Stupid me.” the girl muttered under her breath.

“Where is that pabo? I thought he said he’s going to buy some drinks? Did he get lost?! Aish! How long do I have to stand here?! He must’ve run off to meet that virtual girlfriend of his.” The guy complained.

They kept mumbling their complaints and such until they finally noticed that they weren’t alone. She looked to her right at the same time that he looked towards his left. Their gazes met and they felt something odd…like their heart beating faster and time slowing down? That crazy and sappy romcom moment wherein everyone else fades and it feels like there’s only the two of you in that place? The feeling was just too strong so they awkwardly broke off the eye contact and resulted to awkward coughs. They could feel themselves blushing as they exchanged awkward and shy smiles.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side, the ‘culprits’ responsible for this watched as the entire scene unfolded.

“I hope the two of them work out.”

They thought. They tried to sneak out without having to be caught which then resulted into crashing towards a different person. The impact was just too strong. She lost her balance and he tripped. In the end, she fell on top of him in a very awkward and compromising position.

“It’s him/her.”

As soon as that thought registered in their brains, they awkwardly stood up, tried to go in the opposite direction, but ending up bumping into each other again.

“Sorry.” They said at the same time which then led to them sharing a laugh.

The first 10 seconds were awkward but then they decided to just be rid of the guilt towards their online BF/GF and take a chance on the person that stood right in front of them.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

They smiled and they felt that feeling again. As they walked along the park (completely forgetting about the two innocent people waiting for them on the bridge), they engaged in a conversation, with random topics they could think of. As they geared towards certain subjects (such as music, work, etc), they were beginning to be suspicious of the other. They then treaded the topics and information which they were certain that only that other person knew. After going around in circles, they finally blurted out loud:

“EMOTIONALBLUE/BOOKWORMPRINCESS?!!!”

Their jaws dropped to the ground as soon as the realization started to sink in. Nice one, Fate. I have to give it to you. This “meet cute” is daebak. They let out a hearty laugh. No wonder they felt more drawn towards “the friend” and not the person they were supposed to meet. Speaking of…

“But…who’s the girl in the picture you sent last night?!” he demanded.

“My best friend. I know. I’m sorry. I just…I didn’t have the guts to face you..I..i know that’s mean but..yah! What about you?! Who’s the guy in the picture you sent me?!” she started to apologize first only to realize that he’s done exactly the same thing.

“My best friend. I’m sorry too.. I just…I know that’s rude but..mwoyah? Bookworm princess? Really?”

“I’m not a bookworm. Ugh. It’s my best friend. The princess was childish, ok, but I couldn’t think of anything else. What about you? Emotional blue? Mwoyah?”

“Emotional. That’s my best friend’s code name in this band we formed back when we were working at this café. CNBLUE. Code Name Burning, Lovely, Untouchable, Emotional. He’s the emotional one.”

“And you are..?”

“Burning.” He proudly said. He flashed that smile and so did she. She playfully hit his shoulder and he got the message. He extended his hand and finally introduced himself,

“Hi. My name’s Lee Jonghyun.”

“Kim Taeyeon.”

With that, LOL has once again successfully matched another couple. Emotionalblue and bookwormprincess.

“OMO! OUR FRIENDS! WE SHOULD GET BACK TO THEM!”

They were reminded of the people they dragged with them and they held hands as they ran back to the bridge.

“It looks like they won’t be needing our company after all.”

They smiled as they let the two enjoy their moment as they went off to go on their date.

Meanwhile…on the bridge…

“My best friend ditched me. She said she wants to take a picture but I just look away for one second and she’s gone. She must’ve met her online BF. Hmp.”

She didn’t know why she was airing her complaints to this devastatingly handsome stranger, but she had that weird intuition that she’s known him all along. Really odd. He flashed that toothy grin and she felt like any second, she’d melt into a puddle of goo, or fall off the bridge. She’s never been the sappy romcom type of girl but this situation is about to change that.

“Your best friend? Strange. My best friend did the same thing, except he said he’s going to buy us some drinks but up to now there’s no trace of him. Aish. He must’ve met with that online girlfriend of his. Had I known he’d actually download and register in that app, I never would’ve suggested it to him.”

She paused to think for a while and so did he. They looked at each other curiously and asked at the same time,

“What’s your best friend’s name?”

He answered first.

“Lee Jonghyun.”

“Does he happen to sing some unknown girl a lullaby before she goes to sleep? And say something about her voice being…”

“Heavenly.” He finished the sentence for her and they laughed.

“Aigoo. So that’s his name. The guy that my best friend, Kim Taeyeon has been so fond of these past months.”

The two of them laughed again as they recounted stories about the LOL app and how this meeting came to be.

“I’m guessing they sent our picture and since they wanted to be a good person, they sent us up here as a decoy or something.”

She said. He agreed. He took a step closer towards her. He was struck by how beautiful her eyes were. I could wake up to this for the rest of my life. He was taken aback by that sudden thought but neither did he feel that it was wrong. Everything about this moment felt so right no matter how odd or random it may seem. He didn’t have to wonder out loud because he knew that she felt the same. How? Maybe the thing about soul mates are true. Maybe Aristotle was right when he said that love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. There is no other way to explain this phenomenon, this pull, this feeling that they found their other half, other than love itself. As crazy as it may sound but it’s true.

“I’m more interested to know your name…” he .

“Only if you tell me what’s your name first.” She back as she took another step closer.

“Jung Yonghwa.”

“Seo Joohyun.”

With that simple introduction and smile, they knew that their lives would never be the same. It looks like LOL did not only bring one couple together, but two. Just as Kiera Cass said in her book, The Selection, True love is usually the most inconvenient kind, and in their case, this beautiful “inconvenience” came in the form of a mobile dating app called, LOL.

The end.

Author’s Note:

Disclaimer: there is no such thing as a LOL app and I still think online dating is a little bit…err…inconvenient? Whatever. :p

I couldn’t sleep and this idea just got into my head so I decided to just write it down. I know it might’ve been confusing to guess who was the main couple. It’s Lee Jonghyun and Kim Taeyeon. The best friends are Yongseo. In this story, they are all of the same age that’s why I omitted the hyung and unnie. Also, to maintain the suspense (?).

That’s all. I’m probably going to write an epilogue for this ..or not? Idk. Anw, thanks for reading. Hope that somehow, this could make up for my lack of update on my two ongoing fics. :p