If Soojung had to say honestly, Jongin was a unique kind of guy. Seriously, who takes a girl on a date to an animal shelter? Apparently Jongin did. Not that it was bad thing. In fact, Soojung had quite the fun. The cats were adorable and even the hyperactive dogs that got fur on her leggings were cute. She also found a new friend, though that word may be a stretch. Soojung didn't make "friends", since trust was just a concept she could not comprehend. The friends she did make, like Jiyong and Jinri, took her years to fully trust. Amber, however, was an open book. She didn't seem to have hidden intentions or anything; she was just a regular fun-loving girl who wore her heart on her sleeve. Henry was a bit eccentric, but didn't seem like he was a bad guy. 

It wasn't bad for a first date. 

Of course, whenever that thought crossed her mind, Soojung would shake it out of her head like an unwanted pesk. It wasn't a date, not by a long shot. She was repaying a favor, although she wasn't quite sure what it was. It was Jongin who carried her home on his own free will. But for some weird reason, she felt like she owed him something. 

The day should have been over when they left the shelter and piled into Jongin's car. He was supposed to drive her home and that would be the end of her favor towards him.

"Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006." 

So why, why, why was she sitting at the top floor of the Le Boudoir, the fanciest overpriced French restaurant in  all of Seoul and possibly the country, overlooking the city's nightlife, listening to an auburn haired woman drone on about wine choices, and sitting across from Jongin?

True to its name, Le Boudoir exhibited a sensual, private atmosphere, with dim lights, candles, y jazz, and oil paintings. Jongin chose the wine of the night and once it was poured into the glasses, Soojung reached for it eagerly. 

"Well, how is it?" Jongin asked as he watched her swirl it around in , trying to mimic those snooty wine professionals on TV. 

Soojung shrugged after swallowing. "Tastes like wine." 

Jongin scoffed a little in a joking manner. "So I could've bought a cheap chardonnay at a commoner's wine store and it would make no different to you?" 

"So long as I can get drunk off of it, I'm okay." Soojung rolled her eyes. "Fine then. Tell me, how do you properly evaluate wine?"

Jongin flashed a cheeky grin before taking a sip out of his own glass, swirling it around in his mouth before swallowing. Just as he was about to speak, Soojung stopped him. "How do I know you're not cheating or making stuff up?" 

Jongin gave her a surprised glance before he beckoned for their auburn haired server to come to their table.

"How experienced are you in wine tasting? No, no, apologies. I mean, how well do you know the wine of this establishment?" Jongin asked smoothly. 

The server smiled and said, "For your wine of choice, I know a great deal. Knowing wine is a requirement at Le Boudoir." 

"Excellent. Will you evaluate the accuracy of my wine-tasting?" Jongin asked with a charming smile, to which the girl replied with a blush, "Of course." 

Jongin tipped the glass on his bottom lip, taking a sip. He swirled the liquid around in his mouth before swallowing.

"Cabernet, 10 years old, SW slope, oak barrels, matured at eight degrees. Requires about one more year before best result." Jongin said without hesitation, setting his glass down. He looked up at the server with a cocked grin and she was flustered, nodding and spewing a string of compliments. Jongin thanked her and she left with the colour of her cheeks the same as the dark red wine. 

"That's cheating. You got a woman so that you'd have an advantage. It doesn't matter if you were right or wrong, they'd agree with you." Soojung accused with a furrow to her brows. 

"Am I really that charming?" Jongin asked, waggling his eyebrows. 

Soojung grit her teeth. She couldn't answer that question without looking like an idiot. 

"Forget it." Soojung scoffed. "I'm hungry and you're buying." she declared, opening her menu. 

"Alright, alright." Jongin chuckled. 

The auburn haired server came back and Soojung contemplated asking Jongin to switch servers. This one was bloody annoying.

"Are you ready to order?" Auburn blinked at Jongin, trying to catch his attention while Soojung could only roll her eyes. Jongin didn't seem to notice, or he was making a point not to look at her.

"Yes." Soojung said sweetly. "I will have the escargots à la bourguignonne, the veal tenderloin with duck liver terrine and the strawberry tiramisu for dessert." 

"Snails, veal and tiramisu..." Auburn listed under her breath. "The salad is usually a favourite among the ladies." she said with a snide undertone, which Soojung didn't fail to notice. Soojung wanted to laugh. Was she supposed to act all pretentious and order three dinosaur kale leaves with half a drop of balsamic oil and one pine nut like all those skinny rich es on TV? How ridiculous. If this server wanted to make her look bad in front of Jongin, she would have to try harder because Soojung wasn't going to fall for pathetic tactics like this.

"And for the gentleman?" Auburn turned towards Jongin. 

"I'll have the duck pâte foie gras, the lobster casserole with truffle-scented mushroom ragout and the herb salad, and the New York cheesecake." Jongin snapped his menu shut. "We can share our desserts." he looked over a Soojung with a grin. 

"Yes, we can." Soojung smiled sweetly. Auburn was not amused as she bowed and left. 

Soojung didn't even notice the surprised look on Jongin's face until the server was out of sight. "We're sharing?" he asked with a grin. 

"Nope. The server was being a ." Soojung replied as she reached for her wine glass again. 

"I don't understand." Jongin copied her action. 

"You seem to say that a lot." Soojung giggled. "Don't tell me you didn't notice her making googly eyes at you." 

"Seems I've gotten too used to being the centre of interest. I don't notice it anymore." Jongin ran a hand through his hair.

"You're a pompous asshat." Soojung rolled her eyes. 

"So I've been told." Jongin chuckled. "You know, I'm surprised. No woman I've ever been out with ordered the snails." 

"None?" Soojung asked incredulously, "Snails or not, they're still food. Besides, I'm poor and being picky isn't really in the cards for me." she shrugged. 

"Interesting. It's usually a 'gross' or 'ew'. I sometimes order it just to see how uncomfortable they'd get during dinner." Jongin chuckled as he drained his glass. 

"That's quite sadistic of you." Soojung raised an eyebrow at Jongin, who laughed. 

The food was soon served and Soojung couldn't help but marvel at the sight. It was exquisite and far more luxurious than Soojung could ever hope to have. Everything was served on pretty china ware and laid out with form and elegance. Soojung always laughed at the thought of those who spent hours learning table etiquette, but now she understood why. It did apparently matter which fork was used and how to properly cut meat. Jongin took everything in stride and sophistication, having been exposed to these kinds of environments since childhood. Soojung? Not so much. All she could pretty much do was copy. After her first bite, Soojung couldn't even bring herself to care. The food was far more savoury and delicious than she could have imagined and it took all her self-control not to wolf everything down like an animal. She looked up halfway through to see Jongin staring at her chestal area with curiosity and Soojung felt her dinner churn in her stomach.

"What?" she stabbed into her last piece of veal and pointed it at him, not caring about how barbaric she was acting in the classy restaurant.

Jongin jolted with surprise, leaning back as his eyes traveled to her face. He flushed. "Sorry. Your necklace. I was just trying to get a closer look." 

Soojung was confused for a moment before she realized what he meant. she smiled a bit as she reached behind her neck and after a few moments of struggle, managed to take it off.  She laid it on the table with a bittersweet feeling swelling in her heart. This necklace had been with her so long it seemed like it was part of her body. She would put it on every morning, careful to hide it under the collar of her shirt. When she worked, it would be taken off and kept securely in her purse. Jiyong had some sort of rule about jewelry, not that Soojung particularly cared. She couldn't afford to have her necklace ruined by customers anyway. The necklace itself was simple; a silver band with two small ornaments dangling from it. The first was from her mother; a small silver heart locket with a photo of her, Sooyeon and her mother. The second ornament was a silver ring with a set of initials carved on the band; hers on the outside and someone else's on the inside. 

Oh, the amount of times she's thought about getting rid of it and the equal number of failed attempts. 

"May I?" Jongin asked softly, reaching for it. 

Soojung hesitated before bobbing her head in a nod. Jongin's lithe fingers picked up the locket gently and he carefully snapped it open, looking at the picture before closing it again and moving onto the ring.