Nails were tapping on the table in front of him. In some part of his mind, Jonghyun registered them, but not enough to emerge from his thoughts.

“Jong-hyun!” a voice insisted.

Jonghyun blinked and looked up at his sister, eyebrows raised.

“Where were you? You seemed a thousand miles away.”

“Oh, sorry,” he smiled. “I was just thinking.”

Sodam poured two cups of tea and placed one in front of her brother. “Yes, I got that, Jonghyun. About what?” She pulled out a chair and took a seat opposite him, curious to hear what had him so absorbed.

“Blind dates.”

“Blind dates?”

“Yeah, it came up on Blue Night today. Got me thinking about it...that it might be nice.”

Sodam took a sip of tea. “How are you going to go on a blind date? Everyone knows you.”

“Not everyone knows me.”

“EVERYONE knows you.”

“OK, yes, if used my real pic and name, maybe they would,” he nodded. “But what if I could do it kind of anonymously?” He began twirling his finger in circles along the top of his cup.

“Jonghyun, you would shrivel up and die like a flower without sunlight if you weren’t getting attention from being an idol. You can’t be serious.”

Jonghyun laughed. “Well, OK, you’re right, but...I think I might be.”

“You could date any number of idols, and you have lots of fanboys too. Just snap your fingers.”

“I don’t know, Sodam. I just thought it would be nice if I could date someone, not as SHINee’s Jonghyun but as Kim Jonghyun, just some guy, you know? Just chat about normal stuff. He could tell me about his work and his hobbies...” A smile curled the corner of his lips and he began to glaze over again.

“Sounds weird, little brother,” she answered, getting up. “But I’m sure you’ll do it anyway.” Sodam grabbed her cup and patted his shoulder on the way out of the kitchen.

********

“What’s Jonghyun so immersed in?”

Onew looked up from his book. “Searching through the classified personals,” he answered, matter-of-factly.

“Get out.”

“No, really. Go look.”

Taemin wandered beside Jonghyun and leaned over his shoulder to get a closer look at Jonghyun’s phone. Onew wasn’t wrong. Jonghyun was scrolling through the local paper’s classified ads. “Feeling lonely, Jonghyun?” he pestered.

“Go away, Taemin.”

“No, seriously,” began Taemin, ignoring his request and sitting on the couch beside him, “what gives?”

“You ever wonder what it would be like to be just an ordinary guy, Taemin? Like, just for a day?”

“No.”

“Well, I do. Sometimes...just every now and then.”

Taemin reached over and stole some potato chips from the bag beside Jonghyun. “Ordinary guy, huh?”

“Yeah. Don’t you ever wonder if people hang out with you because they want to be seen with the great Lee Taemin?”

“Hmm.” Taemin began crunching noisily. “Nope.” He giggled and reached for more chips. Jonghyun smacked his hand away. With his phone in one hand and his chips in the other, he headed to the door. “Going to find somewhere quiet, Onew,” he called out. Grinning, Taemin flashed Jonghyun a heart sign as he backed the door open. Jonghyun stuck his tongue out and exited the room, Taemin’s chortles chasing after him.

It was only after Jonghyun had left that Taemin actually considered the matter with any seriousness. “Hey, Onew?”

Onew put his thumb between the pages as a bookmark and waited for Taemin to continue.

“What do you think of that?”

Onew shrugged. “I think Jonghyun will do what makes Jonghyun happy.”

“Well, yeah, but I mean, do you think he’s onto something? Have you ever wanted to do that?”

“I go on a blind date every weekend.”

“You do not.”

“OK.”

“Wait...do you?”

“Yep.”

“No, you don’t.”

“OK.”

Taemin furrowed his brow. Damn, he could never tell with Onew.

Onew chuckled to himself and buried his face in his book again.

********

“Noona, I think I found him.” Her bedroom door was ajar, and he pushed it open far enough to stick his face in.

“Come in, I’m just doing my nails. What do you think of this colour?” Sodam reached her hand out toward him.

“Ooh, pretty,” he replied, taking a seat on her bed. “It brings out those mauve fibres woven into your sweater.”

Sodam curled her hand toward herself and nodded approvingly. “Found who?”

“My blind date.”

Sodam smiled at the excitement evident in his voice. “Tell me.”

“OK, listen to this: ‘msm. I’m Korean born. I grew up in Switzerland and just recently moved back (fluent in Korean and English). I’m into extreme sports. I’d like to meet a fun-loving man in his 20s, for friendship, maybe more. Email me if interested.’”

“Doesn’t sound like you. You don’t like extreme anything,” she added, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I don’t,” he conceded. “But you’re missing the important part. He hasn’t lived here. He’s probably never heard of me. I’m not looking for a soulmate, Sodam. I just want one night as a normal person. I think it could be fun.” Jonghyun was beaming.

“You look like a kid at Christmas,” Sodam . “So you’re going to write to him?”

“Yeah, I think I am,” he smiled, biting his lip. “Shoot,” he put a hand over his heart. “I’m really nervous. Stupid, huh?”

“It’s not stupid, Jonghyun. Anybody would be. What are you going to tell him about yourself?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking, I want to tell the truth, sort of...I’ll just leave out bits. I think I’ll say I work for a radio station.”

“That’s a good start. Come on, open your email. I’ll help you.” She rolled over onto her stomach beside him, so that she could see his phone better.

“Great,” Jonghyun exhaled, “my hands are shaking. You type it.” He held out his phone.

“Oh, I can’t,” his sister replied, waggling her fingers in the air. “My nails. I’ll help you figure out what to write, though.”

The two spent more than an hour sprawled out on her bed, fussing over what amounted to a very short email, before Jonghyun finally screwed up the courage to hit the send button.

********

“So, I did it too.”

For the first time since Taemin started talking, Minho paused his game and Key stopped “fixing” his already perfect hair.

“Did what?” Minho inquired.

“Put an ad in the classifieds. I’m going on my blind date tonight.” He rubbed his hands together in glee.

Key snorted and turned his attention back to his hair.

“Taemin! You’re going out with some guy you’ve never even met?!”

“That’s how a blind date works, Minho.”

“But, how do you know he’s not a lunatic?” Minho protested.

“He emailed me. He sounds nice,” Taemin stated, as if that were the most solid proof in the world.

“Taemin, everyone sounds nice over the Net. There are a lot of weirdos out there.”

“Enh, it’ll be fine. Gotta run, I’m supposed to be there soon.” He ran his fingers through Key’s hair on the way to the door.

“Damnit, Taemin! Now I’ve got to start over.”

Taemin winked mischievously at Minho on his way out.

Minho put his controller on the table. “Maybe we should follow along and keep an eye on him.”

“What for?”

“Aren’t you worried about him?”

“Not at all.”

“But he’s so…you know, he’s naive.”

Key put down his mirror. “Minho, Taemin’s been screwing guys—strangers and otherwise—for years. He just doesn’t tell you because he knows you’ll get all ‘protective older brother’ on him.”

Minho’s jaw dropped. “But...I thought...I mean, I know he’s been on dates, but I thought it was just a few...”

“Sorry, detective.”

“So...” Minho rubbed his forehead, still processing this information. “So, you don’t think we need to follow him?”

“Nope. Can’t anyway. I’ve got another date with Minzy tonight.” Key wandered to his bedroom to finish getting ready.

“Minzy?” Minho said to himself. “No one tells me anything.” Now alone in the room, he slouched into the couch. “Minzy.”

********

“So, where are you meeting him?”

Jonghyun pulled two sweaters out of his closet and held them up one at a time.

“The blue one,” his sister suggested.

He hung one back up, and began taking the blue one of its hanger. “There’s this diner that Taemin likes to go to when he goes out with Kai and Ravi. It’s kind of out of the way, and they never get bothered there.” He pulled the blue sweater on over his t-shirt and smoothed it out.

“Even though they’ve been there before?”

“Yeah, they’ve been there lots of times. Taemin’s not sure if the owner doesn’t recognize them or just respects their privacy; but either way, there are never any crowds or fans there.”

“Sounds perfect.” Sodam stepped forward and smoothed his hair. “You look very handsome.”

“Thanks, noona.” He took a deep breath. “I think my hands are trembling.”

“You’ll be fine once you’re there,” Sodam assured him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. “Text me if you get a chance! I’m dying to know how it goes.”

“Will do!”

After he exited the bedroom, Sodam realized she’d forgotten to ask something. She ran after him and leaned over the stairwell. “Hey, Jonghyun! How will you know who he is?”

Jonghyun opened the front door. “Well, I’m not expecting there to be many people there. Also, he said he would wear a black long-sleeved shirt. I’ll text you when I get a chance!” he called out, closing the door behind him.

********

Jonghyun hustled his way from the city parking lot to the diner. He was a few minutes early, but he couldn’t get there fast enough. As he reached the diner, he saw a silhouette walking under the streetlights that looked familiar. Unable to tell for sure, he pulled the door handle and entered. He found a seat facing the door and waited. Sure enough, within a minute, Taemin strolled through the entrance.

“Hey, Taemin,” he greeted. Taemin spotted him and waved on his way over.

“Hi Jonghyun. What are you doing here?”

“I’m on my blind date,” he half-whispered, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed them. “How about you? Are you meeting up with Kai and Ravi tonight?”

“Nope. I’m on a blind date too.” Taemin was beaming.

“What? You laughed at me.”

“I know. Sorry. But you sold me on it.” Taemin picked up a spoon to check his reflection. “How do I look? Did my hair get messed up on the way?”

“No, it’s fine. You look great. I especially like your shirt. Is it n—”

And then the penny dropped.

Here was Taemin, on his blind date, at the same diner…wearing a long-sleeved black shirt. Suddenly Jonghyun had an image in his mind’s eye of Taemin in Switzerland, jumping out of a plane...

“Oh geez,” he muttered, flopping his head into his hands.

“What’s the matter? What’s wrong with my shirt?” Taemin pulled the bottom out in front of him and examined it to see if he had gotten something on it.

Jonghyun shook his head and groaned.

“Jonghyun?”

“You see what we’ve done here, don’t you?”

“No?”

“Taemin...you’re my date.”

Taemin’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”

“Yes. Here, you may as well have a seat.” Jonghyun pushed on the chair legs opposite him, moving the chair back from the table. Taemin accepted the invitation.

At that time, the waitress slogged her way over to their table. Her hair was yanked back into a ponytail, wisps falling messily by her ears. She pursed her lips and dragged her notepad from her apron pocket. “You two ready to order?” Her apparent lack of interest seemed to indicate she might be nearing the end of her shift.

“I’ll just have tea.”

“Me too.”

She rolled her eyes and put away the notepad without writing on it. As she left, they could hear her muttering something about a small tip.

“You’re paying.”

“Why do I have to pay?”

“Because this was my idea and you screwed it up.”

“Well, I didn’t exactly spend last night dreaming about having tea with you, you know.”

Busy arguing, neither man noticed someone new enter the diner. The man was tall and well built, lean but muscular. He paused and looked around the establishment. His dimples flashed when he spotted a guy sitting alone in the corner. He walked directly over, and two spoke and shook hands before he took a seat.

The waitress returned to Jonghyun’s table without a word and plunked two teas down on the table, the liquid spilling over the rims. The two drank in silence for a while, until something suddenly occurred to Taemin. “Jonghyun, why did you say you were tall? Didn’t you think I’d notice you’re tiny?”

“What? I didn’t say I was tall. And I think tiny might be an overstatement. Why did you say you grew up in Switzerland?”

Taemin frowned. “I said I was a dance teacher in Seoul.”

Jonghyun thought for moment before putting his cup down. He wheeled around in his chair, looking left and right. In the corner, he saw two men chatting quietly. And the one facing the door was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt.

He pushed his tea aside and flopped his head on the table. He’d been so distracted by the possible Taemin sighting that he hadn’t even looked around properly when he’d arrived.

Taemin looked where Jonghyun’s gaze had been. “Oh. Are those our dates?”

Jonghyun lifted his head and nodded.

“Which one do you think is which?”

“Mine is Black Shirt. Yours is Dimples.”

“Nooo, really? Damn, I love dimples. God, look how gorgeous he is. Jonghyun, look at him.” Taemin gestured to get Jonghyun to check them out again.

At the table in the corner, Dimples had said something funny that made Black Shirt laugh shyly and begin fiddling with his cutlery.

“Oh, and look how cute and shy yours is! Man, you could have just talked his ears off all night, and he would have been grateful for it.”

Jonghyun sighed and rested his chin on his hands while he gazed at the two men.

“Do you think we should tell them?” Taemin asked.

“Nah, look how well they seem to be getting along. They might actually have something there,” Jonghyun replied, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Taemin looked back and forth between the couple and Jonghyun. “You know, I’m not such a bad date,” he piped up cheerily. “Some might even say I’m a catch. I mean, just look at me. I’m beautiful.” Taemin smoothed the back of his hand down his cheek and along his chin.

“You certainly are, Taemin,” Jonghyun smiled. “Come on, let’s get out of here and leave those two alone.”

Jonghyun left some money on their table. As they got up to leave, he threw an arm around Taemin’s shoulders.

“I’m also a cheap drunk,” grinned Taemin. “Why don’t you take me home and ply me with beer. Maybe I’ll let you a .”

“Ha! Were you going to say that to him?” Jonghyun asked, gesturing back at the diner as the door creaked shut behind them.

“Are you kidding? That was my opening line.”