"Set up a double date for me."

Sohyun looked up and stared at Niel, who was casually scrolling through his phones as if he was searching for something. At first, Sohyun thought that he was talking to someone else, but when she realized that she was the only person near him, she cleared and tried to smile.

"U-Um, what?" she asked dumbly.

"Double date," Niel said. He finally made eye-contact with her. "Let's have a double date."

"With who?"

"You and Byunghun with me and Junhee."

"You and Junhee are dating?"

"Practically, yeah," Niel said. 

Sohyun frowned. I never heard of such a thing. Wouldn't Byunghun tell me if Junhee was dating with Niel?

"I don't know," Sohyun said slowly. "I—"

"Saturday at 5? We can watch a night movie and eat dinner," Niel said.

Sohyun clenched her fingers into a fist underneath her table. "Niel, I—"

"Perfect. I'll see you then," Niel said. He flashed her a quick smile and walked back to his seat, leaving the poor girl completely dumbfounded.

Sohyun sighed desperately and quickly fished out her phone. Her fingers tapped against the screen rapidly until the teacher came into the classroom. She quickly sent Byunghun a quick message to meet her during lunch, then hid her phone back in her pocket to listen to the teacher's lecture. For a brief second, her phone vibrated, and a small smile appeared on her lips.

"A double date?" Byunghun repeated. He furrowed his eyebrows. "With who?"

"Niel and Junhee," Sohyun said.

Byunghun almost choked on the bread he was eating. "Niel and who?"

"Junhee. He said that he's dating Junhee," Sohyun said, handing Byunghun a bottled water.

"What? I never heard of such a thing! From what I know, Junhee rejected him," Byunghun said, thinking about Junhee's journal entry.

"Huh? Are you serious?"

"Yeah. If Niel thinks they're dating and if Junhee thinks they're not, then the definitely need to talk it out," he murmured.

Sohyun said and played with her chopsticks. "As much as I would like to go, I can't go Saturday."

"Why not?"

"Practice," she said simply. "We're doing it until nine."

"Nine? I thought the double date was at five."

"I know. I wanted to reject him, but I couldn't do that. He has a way with words. It's kind of hard to give him an answer that he doesn't want to hear," Sohyun explained. Byunghun carefully noted her words in the back of his head. "Anyway, even though I can't go, I feel like Junhee and Niel should meet up and talk about it. Chances are, Niel asked me to set things up to hang out with Junhee without letting her know that there's more to their relationship."

"Good point," Byunghun said, "but you can't go."

"I know," Sohyun said. She sighed. "I don't know, Byunghun. Should I just skip?"

"No!" he exclaimed. "You can't skip practice! That's going to crush your reputation, especially since the club just started." He squeezed her hand. "I'll go alone."

"Really? I don't know, Byunghun. Won't it be awkward for you?" she asked, biting her bottom lip.

He smiled and pecked her lips. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, okay?"

Sohyun blushed, but smiled. "You sure?"

"I promise," he said. "I mean, what can go wrong? I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Saturday night came by in a blink of an eye, and the moment Byunghun grouped with Junhee and Niel, he instantly regretted coming to the so-called "double date." Not only was it awkward for him, but he could clearly see that Junhee was trying her best to friend-zone Niel while the younger boy kept acting like they were on a romantic date. It was painful for him to watch both sides, mainly since he was able to empathize with Niel, but had to support Junhee who seemed like she was going to explode any minute. He was thankful that the first activity was watching a movie since everyone sat in silence and watched while snacking on pop corns and drinks, but when dinner time came, Byunghun could see disaster flashing red.

"What do you want to eat, Junhee?" Niel asked sweetly.

"I can order myself," Junhee replied, trying to smile.

"Allow me," he said.

"I can do it."

"I'm not trying to ridicule you, Junhee. I'm just trying to be a gentleman."

"Well, you can stop trying to get brownie points."

"It's not brownie points. I just really love you."

"I said I wasn't interested."

"And I said that you didn't have to reply."

Junhee was able to pounce on him out of anger until Byunghun tugged on her sleeves. She shot him a glare, giving him the look that asked, "Why the hell did you invite me?"

"A word, please?" Byunghun said to Junhee.

Junhee narrowed her eyes. "Fine."

"Actually, I'll get up," Niel said. "I need to use the bathroom. Excuse me."

He left the two alone. Once he was gone, Junhee groaned and ran her fingers through her hair in pure annoyance. She gave him a quick glare again.

"Are you serious, Byunghun?" Junhee snapped. "You said that it was a hangout, not a set up!"

"Technically it was supposed to be a double date," Byunghun murmured.

"A double what?"

"But that's not important!" he exclaimed, trying to change the subject. He paused, then let out a small sigh. "Look, this guy likes you."

"But I don't like him."

"But he really likes you."

"But I don't like him like that."

Byunghun scratched his head. "Honestly, I can sort of relate to him."

"No way."

"I can," he said slowly. "I mean, are you currently interested in anyone else?" Junhee kept quiet. She turned bright red, surprising him. "Woah, wait. You have someone else in mind? Who? Do I know him?" He scrunched his nose. "It's not Taemin, right?"

Junhee scoffed. "What? No!"

Byunghun sighed in relief, but then hitched his bread. "Wait, it's not me, right?"

"Byunghun, please. Don't think that you're all high-and-mighty," she retorted.

"Okay, but do I know him?" Byunghun asked.

"Just get to the point already," she said.

"Fine, fine." He took a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say is that I understand one-sided love."

"Go on."

"Niel and I are pretty similar. We both liked a girl from afar and want to show our best side to the girl we like."

"Isn't that for any type of love?"

"I'm saying that we want a chance," Byunghun said. "Niel wants a chance with you. Why don't you try dating him for a little bit and see how it goes? I'm not saying that your feelings are instantly going to change for him, but if you give it a little time, it might work out."

"But I don't love him," Junhee declared.

"Didn't you want to find love with someone who likes music?" Byunghun pointed out. He gestured his head to the bathroom. "From how I see it, Niel fits the criteria."

Junhee looked down at her hands, feeling a bit lost. "Okay, but it's different…"

"Different?" Byunghun repeated.

"I…have someone else I like," Junhee said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. "He's not into music like Niel, but I like him."

"I still don't see why you won't give Niel a chance. I mean, if you're just going to watch your crush from afar, then it's best to move on. Do you even know how your crush feels about you?" Byunghun asked.

Junhee sighed disappointedly. "He likes Jieun. He's been making that statement over and over again."

"Jieun? Like, our Jieun? The Hyunwoo-crazed Jieun?"

"You know, for a close friend, you're saying awful things about her."

Byunghun snickered. "Sorry, sorry. It's just that I'm surprised how there's another person who likes her."

"Taemin liked her."

"That's true. I still don't understand what made him like her. Well, he's got two other girls right on the palm of his hand," Byunghun mumbled. He looked at her. "Anyway, why don't you give Niel a chance?"

Junhee stared. "I don't know, Byunghun. It just doesn't feel right."

"Well, then you better find a way to firmly reject Niel and make your feelings clear to him," Byunghun said. "Tell him who you like."

"Won't that hurt his feelings?"

"Look, Sohyun was talking about this, too, and we both realized that Niel isn't going to accept a simple rejection. Give him a reason for him to move on," Byunghun told her.

"I don't know. It doesn't feel nice."

"Sometimes you have to be a little mean in love," Byunghun said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's just what happens."

Junhee gave him an uncomfortable glance, but stopped when she saw Niel return to the table. She kept quiet and gave Byunghun a look, who only shrugged his shoulders.

"So," Niel started as he took his seat, "what were you guys talking about?"

"Oh, nothing much," Byunghun said, waving his hand carelessly in the air. "You don't need to worry about a thing." Niel gave him a skeptical look, but Byunghun looked down at his watch. "Oh, shoot. I got to go."

Junhee dropped her jaws while Niel gave him a curious look. The two watched him get up from the table and grab his belongings.

Niel looked up. "Where are you going?"

"Yeah. It's only eight," Junhee said. "Also, I don't think leaving me alone here is a good decision…"

"I need to go," Byunghun told them.

"This early?" she asked.

Byunghun smiled at them. "Well, Sohyun is ending practice in an hour, so I thought that I should go and wait for her. I'm not going to have her walk in the dark alone."

Junhee snorted. "Wow, what a gentleman—waiting for a girl and walking her home at night."

Byunghun chuckled and left the two alone back in the diner while he went off to pick up Sohyun from practice.