Sehun

The phone rang several times before Sehun hung up and threw his phone on the couch next to him. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tipped his head back. Why, for the life of him, couldn't he just call Eunji? Why was this so hard?

You're in love with her. 

Luhan's words passed through Sehun's mind like an angry hornet refusing to be ignored. 

"If he hadn't said that, this would be much easier," Sehun complained. Although, if Luhan hadn't said that, Sehun wouldn't be calling Eunji anyway. He would have just gone along awkwardly flirting with her and taking different girls to her shop with him. Perhaps he would have eventually come to the conclusion on his own, but that was highly unlikely. Even now, Sehun refused to believe that he was in love. This was just some weird infatuation that sprung because this girl was different than any of the girls he had hooked up with.

"Took you long enough," a voice said on the other side of the line. Sehun flinched, in his thought he hadn't realized that he had called Eunji.

"What do you mean?" He asked, trying to sound confident.

"You called like seven times, but hung up after two or three rings," Eunji explained. 

"The signal keeps dropping out in my apartment," Sehun lied, unsure of why he did. 

"Understandable," Eunji seemed to have accepted his lie easily.

"Are you available in twenty minutes?" Sehun asked, not realized that he had begun to knaw at his lower lip.

"In twenty minutes I will be locking up the shop and be on my way home to take a shower," Eunji said, "but in about forty-five minutes, I will be available and not smell like a hot mess." 

"Then I'll pick you up for dinner at your place," Sehun said firmly.

"Okie dokie!" Eunji replied. "I'll text you my address."

And with that, the call disconnected. In forty-five minutes, Sehun would be going on his first real date with a girl ever. He would take her to a restaurant and talk about her life; he would order wine and pay for her meal. He would laugh at her jokes and tell her about himself for a change. That part was particularly frightening to Sehun. Telling Eunji about himself gave her a power over him. He never told any of his dates about himself because it made him more human to them. He didn't want them to look at him like he was just another guy, he was above them and he wanted them to feel that way. But Sehun didn't feel above Eunji. In fact, he felt that Eunji was always ahead of him. Perhaps that's what intruiged him about her. 

As Sehun's mind wandered about what to do on this date, his phone screen lit up with a text from Eunji with her address. In forty-five minutes, he would be picking up his first date. 

Sehun arrived at Eunji's apartment building a few minutes early. He texted her to let her know, and sat on a couch in the lobby area. He soaked in his surroundings, feeling almost alien. It was a clean place that looked big and expensive with modern furniture and abstract sculptures. The elevator dinged, and Sehun perked up to see Eunji stepping out of it. She looked around for a moment before seeing Sehun and waving with a smile.

"Hey!" She called out, walking over to him with a bounce in her step. 

She looked stunning. Sehun had never seen her outside of the shop where she was always wearing an apron over a t-shirt and jeans. Here, she was wearing a navy blue romper that just looked perfect on her. She was so flawless when working, and she was even more so in her date attire.

"Anybody home?" Eunji cocked her head, adjusting the long strap of her purse on her shoulder as it slid down.

"Sorry," Sehun shook his head, "I've just never seen you outside the shop. You look so different with your hair down."

Sehun reached out to grab a lock of her hair without thinking and tucked it behind her ear. It was much longer that he had thought, and smoother than satin beneath his fingers. He had never thought of anyone by these terms. Suhun always saw his dates as hot and disposable. Eunji, on the other hand, was ethereal and definitely not disposable. 

"Where are we going?" She asked with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. 

"There's this really good Chinese restaurant I found recently," Sehun said, "they have dumplings to die for."

"Well, I'm excited," Eunji smiled. She had this look in her eyes as if she saw this date as an adventure. In fact, she looked at everything with this sense of adventure as if hoping the world would take her to places she's never been. 

They walked in relative silence the few blocks to the place. Sehun wanted to save all his conversation starters that he had thought up for dinner so they didn't run out of things to say while they were eating. He hadn't thought of what to do while they were on their way there, however. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry long, for they arrived at the restaurant in no time. They were seated quickly, and Sehun silently prayed that this date