They reached a nice restaurant and Hoseok got his plan started by opening the door for Hyojin.
 

"Ladies first." he said with a smile, making her avert her gaze with a flustered look as she mumbled a quiet thanks and stepped inside.
 

Hoseok chuckled and stepped inside after her, he quickly scanned the place and spotted a nice table by the window before gently touching her arm to get her attention.
 

"Do you want to sit over there?" he asked while gesturing at it.
 

Hyojin nodded with a small smile and both walked over to the table, where Hoseok made sure to pull the chair out for her. She looked surprised by the gesture, but smiled again as she took a seat and said a more audible thanks. Hoseok took his seat and as each looked through their menus, he brought up conversation like usual.
 

"You don't actually have a boyfriend, do you?" he asked, not letting his face or voice show how much he anticipated the answer.
 

"No..." replied Hyojin while covering most of her face with the menu, Hoseok looked up and laughed when he saw a pair of big eyes looking back at him.
 

"You're so cute!" he said while setting down his menu, not being able to see the blush on her cheeks as she hid her face completely.
 

"But that's surprising, though. I would think a sweet girl like you would have someone." said Hoseok with a soft smile, chuckling when he saw her eyes appear again as she shook her head.
 

"What about you?" asked Hyojin in a really quiet voice.
 

"I don't have a boyfriend either." joked Hoseok with a playful grin.
 

Her eyes semi-disappeared as she laughed and Hoseok had to remind himself to breathe because one, he made her laugh and two, her laugh was the cutest thing he's ever heard.
 

"I meant if you have a girlfriend." said Hyojin as she lowered her menu so her whole face was showing again.
 

Hoseok felt time stop and wondered if the smile on her face was bad for his health, but he would be okay with that as long as he could keep seeing it. It took a moment to compose himself and he smiled as he leaned forward a little.
 

"I don't." he replied with a wink, making her avert her gaze while tucking some hair behind her ear.
 

"That's good." she quietly said.
 

"And why is that?" asked Hoseok, his own voice quiet.
 

Before she could come up with a response, a waiter came up to take their orders. Hoseok let Hyojin order first before placing his own and when the waiter left, he propped his chin on the palm of his hand and looked at her with a small smile. She looked like she was still trying to come up with something to say, so he decided to just change the subject.
 

"I seem to do a lot of the talking when we're together." he started to say, "I don't mind, but it makes me feel like I'm being a nuisance." he finished with a laugh, trying to cover up just how insecure that thought made him.
 

He actually meant to say something else, but instead this came out and it's not like he could take it back. He has only talked about this with Jin and the fact that he had involuntarily opened himself up like this to the girl he just came to terms with loving made him extremely uneasy. The last thing he wanted was a pity party from her.
 

"I don't mind at all that you do most of the talking, Hoseok." said Hyojin earnestly while shaking her head, "I really like hearing you speak because you always have interesting things to say. If one of us is the nuisance, it's me." her eyes lowered with that last part and she looked as if she regretted saying that last sentence.
 

"Why would you think you're a nuisance?" asked Hoseok softly, his smile long gone as he intently looked at her, Hyojin shifted in her seat as she looked out the window with a sigh.
 

"I'm not the best communicator." she admitted, then a light frown appeared on her face, "My parents traveled a lot because of their jobs, so I was never in one place for too long. I never got a chance to make friends or hang out with kids my age, so I became sort a recluse who read all the time."
 

Hoseok's chest twinge as his gaze softened, he could only imagine how lonely she must have felt. The image of a younger Hyojin alone in an unfamiliar place made his heart ache and he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and tell her all the right things.
 

"When we came back here and I turned seventeen, I decided I wanted to move out." said Hyojin with a brighter look this time as she looked at him, "My parents weren't sure I could live on my own because I wasn't of age yet, but I wanted to stay here and go to college."
 

"We came to an agreement and when it was time for them to leave again, I stayed with my maternal grandparents. They're the most patient people ever, always coaxing me to talk and would just laugh when I wouldn't cooperate." she was saying all this with a more serene expression and a fond look in her eyes.
 

"I eventually started talking more, but only with them. When we would go out and someone approached me, I would hide behind my grandpa." said Hyojin with a laugh that made Hoseok smile, "My grandma would playfully scold me, telling me it was rude to ignore people."
 

"She's right, though, it is rude to ignore people." said Hoseok teasingly.
 

"Shut up." said Hyojin with another laugh, then gasped in surprise and her eyes widened as she clamped her hands over .
 

Hoseok knew she was thinking that she must have offended him or something by the way she was nervously looking at him and put her at ease by laughing, letting her know it was all good. She still looked at little hesitant, but she slowly lowered her hands and placed them on the table as she offered a small smile of apology.
 

"I think you're communicating just fine, Hyojin." said Hoseok with a gentle smile, "And I'm glad you didn't ignore me that day when I asked you to be my partner." he added with another laugh as he reached out his free hand to place it atop hers.
 

"My grandma made sure I broke that habbit." said Hyojin as her eyes looked at their hands.
 

"How?" asked Hoseok with a curious tilt of his head.
 

"She would get people she knew to greet me sometimes and every time I ignored them, she would pinch me." replied Hyojin with a small pout.
 

"Aw~ that's mean." cooed Hoseok with a sympathetic laugh as he absentmindedly brushed his thumb across the top of her hand and felt a pleasant spark go through him.
 

Hyojin blushed a pretty pink as she tentatively looked at him and smiled a little, making him smile back. A brief yet pleasant silence passed between them.
 

"Thank you for sharing this with me, Hyojin." said Hoseok softly while looking right into her eyes.
 

Hyojin held his gaze as her smile grew into his now favorite smile, the one that made her eyes turn to crescents. There was something beginning to bloom between them and they felt it, it was indescribable yet they understood every bit of it.
 

I just fell in love with her all over