Minhyuk furrowed his eyebrows and slid his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose, just so he could take a good look at wherever the hell he was. "Where... are we?"

The one time he actually trusted Kihyun, he was taken to some bougie restaurant, where people wore cheap dresses and clip-on ties, pretending to be high-class socialites. He could only see so much from the outside, but he could assume all of that just by the excessive gold light fixtures and weird dim lighting.

Actually, on second thought, this seem exactly the place for Kihyun, but he didn't know why he had to come here, too. He just figured he'd get a pint of beer after a very rough day of schoolwork nonsense. This, however, just seemed like even more nonsense. 

You looked at the restaurant for yourself -- sort of classy-looking actually (at least by your cheap college student standard -- but the main issue was you were sort of, or really, underdressed for the occasion, but so was Minhyuk, and he seemed to be more preoccupied with other details. You looked over at Kihyun and gave him a dry look. "You know, a moment ago you were kicking and screaming about going to this date, so this is all coming as a surprise. We'll stick out like sore thumbs dressed like this."

Seriously. You were wearing an oversized sweatshirt and leggings (so basically home clothes), Minhyuk was wearing a hoodie under a parka that looked generations old and generations overdue for incineration, and Kihyun... well, he at least styled his hair, but the same effort couldn't be said about the rest of him: a t-shirt and jeans. People in that restaurant wore shirts with buttons, at least.

"I'm just as surprised," Kihyun said, raising his hands in defense. "Wonho just gave me the directions. I don't even think he knew where they led, since he obviously never goes on dates. I'm actually kind of flattered my date put this much thought into this, even if I still don't want to be here."

"Wait, what?" Minhyuk blurted, nearly choking. "I thought this was just us three! I thought you didn't do dates. I thought dates didn't include bringing your friends along."

"I bet you also thought I wasn't smart enough to trick you into coming here," Kihyun replied, giving a sly grin, holding a finger up to hold onto what was left of Minhyuk's patience. "So the master becomes the student."

"I'm just going to leave," Minhyuk mumbled in a huff as he pushed his sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose and stuck a hand out to hail a cab. He didn't like hanging out with new people, especially if he was being forced into some lame restaurant, and furthermore on some cloak of a "date." He wasn't stubborn or difficult; he simply exercised his right to not do things he didn't want to do.

You tugged him back before he could get far, and kept him firmly at your side. "If I have to be put through this, then so will you," you countered. You were irritated, both at Kihyun, but it was a shame you had to turn on each other so quickly.

"That's it," Kihyun said encouragingly. "Teamwork. This is good."

"Get off," Minhyuk huffed as he wrestled his jacket out of your grip and straightened his collar. "Has it ever occurred to you that we can both leave? Kihyun's a grown man. He doesn't need a chaperone."

You paused and gave an enlightened look. "Actually... that's a great idea," you admitted. Why hadn't you thought of that? You were just caught up in the drama of it all. It seemed Kihyun had rubbed off that much on you. 

"Oh, come on," Kihyun replied, his optimistic grin quickly deteriorating into one of desperation. "I have literally never asked anything of you two ever in my entire existence living on this planet. This is the perfect solution for a very big problem, and neither of you are going to ruin it for me.

Dramatic.

Minhyuk grimaced, his face pulling in a completely new way, like he was disturbed, angry, and very uncomfortable all at once, which he was. Minhyuk always grimaced or glared, but each time he did, he somehow managed to make it look completely unique. It was a talent, really. 

"The perfect solution?" Minhyuk repeated with a squint. "Have you ever heard of 'thanks, but no thanks'? You don't need a solution, you just don't show up."

"Hey, that's rude," you interrupted. "You don't just stand up someone."

Minhyuk sighed and gave you a darkened look. "I'm trying to get the both of us out of this, so please just don't."

You raised your hands in defense and stepped away. "Fine. By all means..."

"Stop ganging up on me," Kihyun blurted, his jaw hanging open. "I thought we were best friends."

He picked back his jaw when he caught your glares, and held his hands up to diffuse the drama (the drama he created but that was beside the point). "Fine, if it makes you two feel better, I'll pay for whatever you order, but that's my highest offer."

Minhyuk pressed his lips in and shook his head. It was easy to say he was the most emotionally detached (aside from the times he got angry) but he also knew that if he left, it'd be too much of a bother with Kihyun complaining for the next week and a half. Also, he hadn't had a good meal in ages, so there was that. He cleared his throat. "Fine, but if your date is irritating, don't expect me to not tell her."

He had to throw that in just so Kihyun wouldn't get greedy with the kindness. God knew there was no shortage of softies in the group, and Minhyuk refused to be converted.

"Oh, go at it," Kihyun encouraged, feeling grateful for that. It was a perfect good cop bad cop scenario. "The sooner this is over with, the better."

Minhyuk rolled his eyes. 

Kihyun looked over at you and threw an arm around your neck, pressing his cheek to the top of your head. He hadn't forgotten about you. It was just his protocol to save best for last. "You know you want to," Kihyun said in a sigh. 

"I thought you didn't do affection," you said, peeling yourself off of him. You squinted, looking him up and down. "So this is what you're like when you hit rock bottom."

"What are you talking about?" Kihyun scoffed defensively. "I do this with all of my friends."

"The only reason I'm still your friend is because you don't," Minhyuk commented as he straightened his jacket and gave Kihyun a disgusted look. 

"You know, studying all the time makes you meaner," Kihyun replied, giving Minhyuk a dry look. "You should think about giving it up completely."

Minhyuk deadpanned. "You can't be serious."

"Kihyun?" a voice said from over your shoulders, and you all turned around to find a girl looking at all of you curiously. She was pretty, the kind of glamorous pretty that made you feel very plain and unfeminine. She seemed like the type of girl who'd spend an outrageous amount of money on mascara, but who were you to judge? She looked like a decent person so far. That was just what she seemed like. 

"Yup, that's me," Kihyun replied with a charming, classically Kihyun grin. Sure he hated the situation, but it was the basic instinct when encountering a hot girl. He didn't know if he would be able to enjoy a whole hour with her, especially since it wasn't implied they'd be sleeping together. It seemed all he could do was turn up the charm and hope for the best.

"Hi, I'm Sena," the girl replied (there was no way Kihyun was going to remember that but he appreciated her effort). She looked at all of you with a smile, even Minhyuk who couldn't be bothered to even make his glare less threatening. She gave Kihyun a curious look. "I didn't realize you brought friends along, but the more the merrier right?"

You smiled. She had a pleasant air to her, the type people naturally gravitated towards. You were probably the exact opposite. In any case, she was definitely different from the girls who usually came over to the apartment for Kihyun, so you had no complaints so far. You nudged Kihyun, and mumbled through your smile. "She seems nice. You probably don't deserve her."

Kihyun cleared his throat and replied to Sera -- Seha? It'd come to him. "These are my friends, _____ and Minhyuk. They're also on a date, so I hope you don't mind turning this into a double-date. Minhyuk's kind of dry, so it'll keep his date from falling asleep on him."

Sena? Sena! Yeah, that girl, she laughed shortly. "How nice of you." 

Kihyun thought she looked like a model, but not the kind you saw at fashion week or anything. Probably the kind that did TV advertisements for teeth whitener. Her teeth were so white, they couldn't be natural like that. They probably glowed in the dark. 

You scratched your head. You couldn't figure out if Sena was being sarcastic, but if she was, then you liked her so far. Sarcasm was the only way to survive among the three of you. If not, then she was just encouraging Kihyun's antics, and that was the easiest way to get annihilated by Minhyuk. You looked back to Minhyuk, who finally decided to acknowledge Kihyun's comments. "I'm not dry," he huffed.

You smiled painfully in mock affection at Minhyuk and patted his chest. "It's okay. Even the Earth needs deserts, right?"

Minhyuk squinted at you and laughed dryly. "Very funny."

"How cute," Sena laughed, looking at you and Minhyuk. "You two seem perfect for each other."

Kihyun grinned proudly as he looked at you and Minhyuk. "They are, aren't they? You know, I made this happen, just now. This is their first date. Usually, she's attached to me, but I think she's gripped onto the reality of life."

"I'm not counting this as a first date because it's not one," Minhyuk corrected as he pressed his tongue to his cheek and stuck his fists in his parka pockets. 

You elbowed Kihyun in the stomach for that last comment and he doubled over, not losing his smile somehow. He wagged a finger and choked out a laugh. "See, even when she's mad at me, she needs to have her hands on me somehow."

You rolled your eyes and looked at Sena. "He's full of it."

Sena laughed... again... as she looked down at Kihyun who was still regaining his breath (he really underestimated you; he wouldn't be surprised if you and Minhyuk were somehow related because your attacks were scarily similar [quick, effortless, and lethal]). "Well, I'm all for confidence, even more if it's funny," Sena replied. "You're funny, Kihyun."

Kihyun pressed in a weak smile before puffing his cheeks. "Appreciate it."

He was about to tell you that attack sort of -- or really -- turned him on, but he thought... eh, maybe this wasn't a good moment. 

Minhyuk gave Sena a bleak look. "You seem like a decent person, but at the moment, I don't like you. You're just going to encourage him. He's already terrible as it is."

Sena's smile vanished and she