In the days that followed, Sunny’s attitude shone brighter than everyone thought possible.  She was with someone she liked, someone she admired, someone she cared for.  He had captured her heart in a way few had before.  Sure, he wasn’t perfect, but he liked her and she liked him.  Wasn’t that the most important thing?  She hummed to herself as she cleaned the tables that mid-afternoon.

Everyone around her had noticed her new demeanour and knew where it stemmed from.  At the beginning, there was a lot of teasing.  Now, over one month after they had started dating, everyone was just used to Sunny slight gushing over something or other that Ryan had done.  A concert that he had taken her to and the acts they had seen.  The restaurant he had taken her to and the quality of the food.  Occasionally, she would even swoon over him as she regaled the stories.  How he had offered her his jacket or the way he held the door open.

She wasn’t forever daydreaming, though.  She hadn’t daydreamed constantly about a guy since she was in middle school.  And boy did she get in trouble with her parents for that.  At that age, it was expected for young girls to focus on their studies and not on boys.  Thankfully, there wasn’t much her parents could do to stop her; she was, after all, at an age where boys were demonstrating a larger than normal influence in a young girl’s life, and the boyfriends of her older sisters weren’t helping with the hormonal teenager.  Instead of punishing her for it, her parents sat with her and discussed the changes and made her aware of ‘the birds and the bees’ and of love and romance.  And then, when her crush laughed at her mercilessly when she confessed to him, her parents taught her how to get over heartbreak.  There was one other guy who had made longer appearances in her imagination and her daydreams, even over the last few months, but these had almost completely disappeared since she and Ryan became an item.

It was probably because Ryan did not consume her every minute that she wasn’t blind to the lack of love in some of her friend’s lives, especially Yuri.  Her last steady boyfriend had left her to travel to Malaysia a year and a half ago, leaving her with a string of short affairs since.  For the last six months, she had remained single.  Men were off limits, but it wasn’t because she wanted to be single; she just didn’t want to feel so badly about herself because some idiot had treated her badly.  She wanted a companion, she just couldn’t find someone she was completely compatible with and wasn’t prepared to give herself over to just anyone who said the right words.

Sunny watched her friend as she went about her business behind the bar.  She chatted and laughed with the customers, her friendly, life loving attitude flowing through her as naturally as oxygen through her arteries.  Sunny watched as Yuri kept up her conversation with the male customer sitting at the bar.  She would playfully and subtly flirt with him, keeping him in his seat for a little longer.  In some ways, she used her femininity to keep the customers, but she never opened herself up to unwanted attention.  She kept the topic of conversation on the customer, refrained from revealing details of her personal life to others, and even on occasion had lied about her love life to those interested in pursuing something more with her, creating a fictitious partner to ward off unwanted advances.  She never gave people a reason to think she was available, but still made sure they felt that they were the centre of attention.  ‘That’s what she needs,’ Sunny argued with herself, clearing away the remnants of her last customer.  ‘She needs someone to make her the centre of his attention.’  But how would she get that if she didn’t put herself out there?  Sunny shrugged and carried the dishes to the kitchen, musing over her friend’s situation.

“Yoona,” Sunny called as she entered the quieter heart of the diner, “you got a minute?”

“Sure!” the fry cook called, strolling over to the shorter waitress.  “What can I do for you?”

“Listen … you’re Yuri’s best friend, right?”

Yoona nodded.

“Do you think she’d mind if I tried to set her up with someone?”

“Seriously?”  Sunny nodded in response.  “I … uh … I guess she’d be ok with it,” Yoona mulled over the proposition.  “I mean, no geeks, though.”

“No ‘geeks’?” Sunny queried, confusion showing itself clearly on her face.  Yuri was quite the dork sometimes.  Granted, not anywhere near as much as she was, but still pretty out there.  Occasionally, the pair would go to conventions together and fawn over some of the stalls and consoles and games on display, or they would fangirl over the people dressed in the costumes of their favourite comic book characters.  Sometimes, they would have online gaming meetings, and they had talked about having board game nights as well.  So it came as a surprise when Yoona made that condition to a prospective date for her friend.

“Yeah,” she furrowed her brow, turning away from Sunny and walking back to the stove.  “I have an image to uphold, and the last thing I need is some speccy nerd knocking at my door.”

Sunny rolled her eyes at Yoona’s remark.  “You’re so shallow,” she teased.

“I think you mean ‘fabulous’,” Yoona smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“In what universe?” Sunny and Hyoyeon asked simultaneously before the trio broke down into laughter at the impromptu insult.  It was rare that the pair had ever come out with the same statement, but when it happened, someone was usually at the of some insult.

“So you think she’d be ok?” Sunny asked once they had calmed down.

Yoona nodded.  “Well, we trust your taste in guys more than some, so … yeah.  Why not?”

 

~~~

 

“Hey, dude,” Ryan sauntered into Nathan’s classroom.  “Got you a date.”

Nathan looked up from his marking.  “I’m sorry?”

“You know the milkshake girl?  From the diner?”

“Not really,” he admitted.  “What about her?”

“She’s single.  Sunny asked last night if I knew a guy who was in need of some ‘female loving’,” he emphasised those words in the seediest way possible.

Nathan raised his eyebrow.  "Some 'female loving'?” he asked.

Ryan rolled his eyes.  “Seriously, Nate, lighten up!”  He pulled out a chair, turned it around and sat on it backwards.  “Sunny said this Yuri girl hasn’t had a real guy for a while now.  She’s had flings before, but nothing meaningful and Sunny wondered if I knew someone we could go on a double date with.  Figured if she was looking for something big, you’d be the best person to suggest.”

“Ok … but why me?”

“Dude, you’re more ‘marriage material’ than I am.  And you’ve been single for a while now.”

Nathan sat down at his desk.  He had been single for a lengthy period; that much was true.  He had had a few dates since arriving in South Korea, but none that were worth sustaining a relationship for.  He tried to remember the girl Ryan was talking about, but he couldn’t remember her at all.  He knew there was a female bartender, but he was damned if he could picture what she looked like, or even how she acted.

“Can I think about it?” he asked.

“What’s to think about?  It’s a guaranteed date with a cute girl.”

“I know, but I’m weird,” Nathan sighed sarcastically.  “I like to know I’m going to get along with the girl and not just get it on with her.”

Ryan laughed.  “You come out with so many lines, dude.  I never know if to take you seriously.”

“Let me think about it, ok?”

Ryan mulled over the request for a few seconds.  “Ok, how about this,” he proposed.  “We’re still on for lunch, right?”  Nathan nodded.  “So, how about we go and meet the girl and then you can decide before we leave the diner?  It’s one date, not a wedding reception.”

Nathan considered the proposal and nodded in concession.  Maybe this Yuri woman would be good company.  Maybe she wouldn’t, but at least he would have a better idea if he met her.  He didn’t like the thought of being cajoled into a date with someone he hardly knew, nor did he like the idea of a girl being forced into a date with him.  “If I don’t like her,” Nathan clarified, “I don’t go, right?”

“Obviously,” Ryan looked at him perplexed.  “Just … can you help me out?”

“Depends on what you need help with.”

“Can you book the restaurant?  This Saturday night, 7 o’clock?”

Nathan laughed.  “How many dates have you been on with Sunny?”

“Dude, come on.”

“Ryan, you’ve had four dates with her.  And I’ve planned each one.”

“So I’m not into all that.  Give me a drive-thru at McDonalds and a quiet parking space and I’m fine.  Girls don’t like that, though.”

Nathan shook his head.  “I’ll find somewhere for you.  Actually, I might call in a favour from someone.”

“A favour?” Ryan asked.  “Since when do you have favours to call in?”

“I had a date that turned badly and the waiting staff at this place took pity on me,” Nathan answered, perusing his phone for the number.  “It’s a nice restaurant.  Not your seventeen-starred Michelin place, but still pretty damn nice.  I went with this girl who seemed quite sweet at first, then we sat down and she complained about everything.  The food, the service, the ‘low’ price.  Turns out she wanted the seventeen-starred place after all.  Apparently, being British means you must be insanely wealthy and close to royalty because obviously.”  He tapped at the touch screen as he found the contact and made the phone call.  “I don’t think I ever read that memo.”

Ryan looked around the classroom as Nathan made the booking.  From what he could gather in the conversation, the manager was only too accommodating.  It made Ryan wonder just how badly that date went for him.  He had experienced bad dates before, but it was nearly always something she had done.  Sure, he had done things wrong; nobody is perfect.  But he couldn’t recall a moment where he had been so much of a tool on a date that a restaurant had pitied any of his exes, and each girl he was with was never that much of a to him to result in the same thing.  He watched as Nathan booked the table for the four people, in Ryan’s name, and hung up.

“There,” he declared.  “Booked.”

“Great,” Ryan declared, checking the clock.  “How about we go early for lunch, huh?  We don’t have classes, right?”

Nathan looked at the work on his desk.  “Come on,” Ryan admonished him.  “It’s ten minutes.  What are they going to do, fire us?”

Nathan looked up at his colleague.  “Tell you what,” he proposed.  “Give me five minutes to finish this paper and I’ll go.”

“Dude …”

“Five minutes.  I’m not leaving a paper half-marked.”

Ryan sighed in defeat.  “Five minutes.  I’ll wait in the reception area.”

Nathan shrugged.  The reception was no different than his classroom.  Nor was it any different to Ryan’s own classroom.  But then, if it was no different, why would it matter where he waited?  There was a knock on the door.

“Sir?” Nari, the student president knocked, looking at Ryan.  “Can you … can you help me a second?”

“Ah … yeah, sure,” Ryan nodded.  He turned to Nathan.  “I’ll ... see you in a few, ok?”

Nathan nodded.  “Sure thing,” he smiled, not really concentrating on his colleague.  “I’ll get through these first.”

“Ah … yeah, sure,” Ryan smiled and left the classroom, following the student to his classroom.

 

~~~

 

“Table for four, please?” Ryan declared.  Nathan stood next to him, Yuri’s arm linked with his.  It hadn’t taken long for Nathan to consent to the double date, nor was Yuri unimpressed with her companion for the evening.

The quartet followed their waiter to their table, situated in the middle of the restaurant.  Sunny and Ryan led the way and sat on the closer side.  The pair took off their jackets, and the girls marked their seats with their handbags.  Yuri opted to sit opposite Ryan.  As she removed her jacket, Nathan pulled her chair out and gestured to it for her.

“Thank you …” Yuri smiled politely, hesitantly putting her coat on the back of her chair.

“It’s a really nice place,” Sunny complimented her date.

“Yeah, it is,” Ryan agreed.  “Nathan was talking about it.  It’s not bad.”

“It was your decision?” Sunny asked.

Nathan nodded, taking his seat.  “I called in a favour.  Besides, a first date should make a good impression.  It should show a guy’s best side.”

“And when he doesn’t keep it up?” Yuri asked cynically.

“Then she realises he is a total loser and throws his sorry out without as much as a ‘Let me explain’.”

Yuri laughed at his quick response.  “No, seriously.  If he shows his best only for a few dates, he will get worse and then the girl’s just wasted her time with him.”

“Yuri,” Sunny pleaded.

“No, that’s true,” Nathan conceded, “but I for one believe that women can see the difference between a guy presenting his best side and a guy just trying to fake it.  I mean, dates are kind of like job interviews.  You are looking for someone you want to spend a significant amount of time with and this person has to match a set of criteria, so you are looking for signs that the guy you’re on a date with matches enough of them to warrant a second interview where you can find more things.”

The girls looked at him, impressed with his analogy.  “I ... I never thought of it that way,” Yuri mused.

“It’s almost the same as you wearing make-up,” Nathan continued.  “You want to impress the guy, right?  You want to show him that you look after yourself.  That you can dress right.  I think there is more pressure on women to look right, and there is more pressure on men to act right.  And, you being as cynical as you were is a good thing.”

“I-i-it was?”

Nathan nodded.  “Now, if I wanted to fake it and just pretend to be this amazing guy who will sweep you off your feet and make you feel everything you’ve ever wanted to feel, I know you’re already looking for the signs that I am pretending, which makes it much harder to pretend.  Now, I have to actually be that guy, so it’s harder to fool you.”

Yuri looked at him, very impressed with how his mind had broken down such a simple thing as dating.  In honesty, she felt a little bad for turning down her last date for doing the same thing.  But that was in the past; if he really wanted to be with her, he would have accommodated her attitude.  Or confronted it, at least.

“Sir, so glad you could return here,” the manager came over and greeted the party.  “I’m still sorry your last date didn’t work out.”

Nathan waved his hand to dismiss the gesture.  “Thank you, but it’s perfectly fine.  Besides, tonight is about new beginnings.”

“Very good,” the manager smiled.  “I’ll bring over two bottles of our house wine for you.”

Nathan nodded and smiled, then turned to the group.  “Actually … are you ok with that?”

The group nodded and the manager promptly left them.  “So,” Yuri started, “you’re a teacher as well?”

“Yeah, I’ve been teaching for a while,” Nathan explained.  “I love it.  Couldn’t give it up.”

Yuri nodded and smiled.  “You seem really smart.”

“Thank you,” Nathan blushed.  “It helps that I can seriously over think things really quickly.”

“How so?”

“Well, in the length of time it took from the manager offering the wine to him leaving, my mind went through ‘I like wine’, ‘Do the girls like wine?’, ‘Do the girls like guys that drink wine?’, ‘Should I order beer?’, all the way to ‘Have I screwed up this date already?’,” he counted off each of the thoughts.

Yuri laughed nervously.  “All that in a few seconds?”

Nathan nodded.  “It’s hell inside my head,” he replied, his deadpan expression hiding his own nervousness and sarcasm.

Yuri laughed harder.  “Well … I guess it’s sweet.  At least you think about things.  A lot of guys I know don’t.”

“It helps sometimes, if I’m honest.  I mean, most guys would look and think ‘Oh, this is a nice restaurant,’ but guys with my mindset think of the wider things.  We sometimes even run through the date in our minds.”

“Seriously?” Sunny chuckled.

“Yep.  It’s both a blessing and a curse.”

“What are you thinking now?” she asked.

“That at some point I really need to stop rambling.”

The girls laughed at his cute remark and Ryan smiled, a little miffed at his lack of attention.  Luckily the attention shifted from Nathan to the arrival of the wine; one bottle of red wine and one of white, with glasses of choice poured by the restaurant’s sommelier.  The quartet accepted the glasses, toasted the forthcoming evening and drank.

“So how long have you been single?” Sunny asked Nathan.

“Uh … about three years.  I’ve had dates, but … no serious relationships.”

“When was your last date?” Yuri asked.

“Ummm … about four or five months ago, I think.”

“That’s quite a long time,” Sunny mused aloud.

“Nate’s quite choosy about who he dates,” Ryan explained.

“Really?” Yuri asked, a little hesitant and concerned.

He turned to her and smiled.  “Yeah, I am.  So anyone that I agree to date has usually done something right to capture my attention.  Even as a double date.  I don’t take the dating game lightly.”  As if to punctuate this point, he lifted his glass and took a sip of his wine.

Yuri felt this curious sense of unease as her cheeks flushed bright crimson at his words.  A fluttering in her stomach, hundreds of tiny butterflies inside of her abdomen, desperate for escape.  It was a feeling she wasn’t used to, but it had an odd sense of pride to it.  She turned to her own glass and took a sip.  He seemed pretty serious, she reasoned, and found herself wondering whether tonight would turn out as mundane as she thought it would.

“How about we order food?  I’m starved,” Ryan proposed.

“That sounds good,” Sunny countered, before turning her attention to the newer member of the group.  “And, whilst we’re waiting, we can find out a little more about you.”

Nathan nodded in acquiescence and unfolded his menu, Yuri following suit.  The foursome placed their orders with their waiter and returned to the conversation.

“So, Nathan, what do you do in your spare time?” Sunny asked.

“Well, to be honest, I’m quite the geek,” he admitted.  “I spend a lot of time on my computer, usually reading some article about some new technical development.  I used to be really into motorcycles too.”

Sunny gasped and Yuri chuckled to herself.  “Oh no,” she teased, “you went and said that word.”

“Which word?”

“Do you have a motorbike?” Sunny asked eagerly.

“Sunny loves motorbikes,” Yuri explained.  “Sometimes we walk past a motor lot with bikes outside and she just stares at them.”

“Do you have a favourite?” Nathan asked.

“I’d love a Harley,” Sunny swooned.

“Oh, wouldn’t we all.”

She giggled and blushed.

“What about that black Suzuki you keep seeing?”

Sunny almost fainted.  “It will be mine,” she lusted.  “Oh yes, it will be mine.”

Nathan laughed.  “I used to have one.  Suzuki too.  But I sold it before I came here.”

Sunny pouted, cutely exaggerating her gesture for effect.

“He’s really big on his magic tricks too,” Ryan chimed in, changing the subject.

“Really?” Yuri asked.

Nathan nodded slightly.  “I’m not big on them … but I do like magic.”

“‘Like’ it?” Ryan questioned.  “You’re always watching the tricks on YouTube.”

“Ryan,” Sunny chided him.

“What?”

“I have watched quite a few tricks from some magic shows,” he admitted.  “I often wonder how they do them.”

“Hey,” Ryan interrupted.  “Want to see him do a trick?”

“Sounds like you’re more into magic than he is,” Yuri .

“Ryan, this is a date,” Nathan reminded him.  “I don’t think the ladies would like to see me do a trick."

“I wouldn’t mind,” Sunny confessed.

“Me neither,” Yuri conceded.

“There,” Ryan exclaimed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a deck of cards, handing them to his beleaguered colleague.

“You prepared for it, huh?” Sunny asked, a little perplexed at Ryan’s excitement.

“He-he’s good.  Watch.”

Nathan begrudgingly accepted the deck and opened it, removing the cards from the holder.  “One trick, ok?” he requested.  His audience agreed, Ryan nodding more eagerly than the rest.  ‘Dates aren’t a place to perform card tricks,’ he reasoned internally, but he had an audience that at the very least were indifferent to the impromptu presentation.  He shuffled the cards and handed them to Ryan.  “Shuffle them for me, if you wouldn’t mind,” he requested.

Ryan took the cards and performed a few shuffles.  “Nathan and I play poker a lot,” Ryan explained as he performed more technical shuffles.

“You play poker a lot,” Nathan clarified.  “I only join when you need an extra body.”

“Are you any good?” Yuri asked.

“That’s the only card thing he isn’t good at,” Ryan laughed, handing the shuffled deck back to him.

“Ryan, if I didn’t know you any better, I’d say you were trying to embarrass me tonight,” he smirked.

A simple comment, quite loaded in all honesty, which Ryan took personally.  Something that Nathan was quite sure would only happen if there was any truth to it.  “Hey, why would I do that?  It’s a date!”

“Ryan,” Sunny hissed at him.  “Stop it.  He was joking.”  His outburst, however, showed his true intent, and Sunny wasn’t ignorant to that.

“It’s fine, he knows that,” Nathan quietened her.  “I guess I chose the wrong words.  I’m sorry.”

Ryan sat back and watched as Nathan gave the deck a couple more simple shuffles.  “Now,” he explained, holding the deck in the view of everyone present.  “This trick is one that I’ve learned and it works every time.  Follow the rules and anybody can do it.”

“Anybody?” Yuri asked sceptically.

“Follow the rules and even a complete novice can do it,” he assured her.  He looked at the table.  “I might need some more room, though.”

“Here,” Ryan offered, taking the plates from Yuri and Nathan, placing them on top of his.

Nathan nodded in gratitude.  “Ok, so I am going to count out some piles of cards, and they all need to count up to 13.  So I’ll show you.” He turned over the first card.  “Six of Clubs.  So I count out seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen,” he counted, placing an additional seven cards on top.  “And again,” he instructed, starting a new pile of cards, “Nine of Diamonds.  So there’s nine, and then ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen.  Three of Diamonds.  There’s three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen.  Four of Clubs.  Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen.  Two of hearts.  Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen.”  There were still a few cards in his hand.  “I’ll put these down here,” he instructed himself, placing the cards in the middle of the table.  “Now, I’ll turn around.  It doesn’t matter, but it makes sure you know it’s all above board.  I’ll turn around and each of you should choose one pile of cards and turn it over so it’s face down.  All of the other cards, place in that pile,” he commanded, pointing to the remaining cards.  The group complied, with Sunny informing him that they had completed the task.  Left on the table were four piles of cards, all face down.  Nathan picked up the largest of the four piles.

“Ok, so what I will do now is deal out ten cards for myself.  If you do this, you can dress it up however you want, but I’ll just tell you how it’s done.”  He dealt the ten cards on the table, face down.  “Now, Sunny.  Choose a pile and turn over the top card.”  Sunny scanned the three piles and turned over the Two of Hearts.  He dealt another two cards.  “Ryan?  Choose a pile.”  Ryan chose the Nine of Diamonds and Nathan dealt another nine cards.  “So that means that the card on the top of this pile will be a …” he counted the remaining cards aloud.  “One, two, three, four.  Yuri, turn over that card, please?”  She turned over the card.

Four of Clubs.

“What the …” she stared at the card in her hand in amazement, looking at her date.

“Let me see,” Sunny took the card from her friend and stared in shock at Nathan.  “How did you know?”

Nathan shrugged.  “I think it’s a numbers thing.  But as long as you follow those rules, it works.”

“Do it again,” Yuri asked.

Nathan smiled and obliged.  He handed the cards to Ryan who shuffled them.  He then handed them to Sunny and Yuri who each gave some simple shuffles.  Nathan dealt a Seven of Diamonds with six cards on top, Five of Clubs and eight additional cards, a King of Hearts that was left empty, Eight of Clubs with five more cards, Seven of Spades with six cards, Six of Diamonds with seven cards, Jack of Hearts and two more cards, and the Nine of Clubs with four more cards.  Again, Nathan put the remaining cards in the pile in the middle of the table.  He turned around and three piles were turned over, the remaining cards returned to the central pile.  Again, he dealt ten cards from the discarded pile to start, seven cards for the card Yuri turned over and another seven for the card Ryan turned over.  He counted the remaining eight cards and Sunny turned over the remaining pile.  On the top sat the Eight of Clubs.

“Let me try,” Sunny cried excitedly, taking the pile of cards from him.

Ryan sat at the table, smiling as Sunny enthusiastically followed the rules step by step, Nathan coaching her when she became confused.  Inside, however, he fumed at Nathan again being the centre of attention, the fact that this attention was solely his fault completely missed from his vision.