When Kwon Soonyoung had set Wonwoo up on a blind date, Wonwoo had blatantly refused. Wonwoo could only think of negative things that could come from a blind date organised by Soonyoung. Firstly, Wonwoo did not trust his friend’s judgement at all. Secondly, Wonwoo would much rather be at home on a Friday night curled up with a good book. Then how did Jeon Wonwoo end up spending his Friday night sitting in a restaurant for twenty minutes, avoiding the pitiful gazes thrown his way by the waitress?

Wonwoo sighed as he played with his sweater paws. So far he was displeased with Soonyoung’s choice of a potential partner for him. Wonwoo didn’t think he had needed any social interaction, nor did he think he needed a boyfriend. Why did Soonyoung insist on setting him up on a blind date with a guy who shows up more than 20 minutes late?

As Wonwoo was picking a thread from the sleeve of his sweater, he heard the waitress staff greet another customer. Looking up, he noticed the waitress gesture towards the table he was seated at. Wonwoo blushed when he saw the guy who had just walked into the restaurant. He was tall, had sun kissed tan skin, and the most gorgeous eyes that Wonwoo had ever seen. Maybe Soonyoung’s judgement wasn’t so bad after all. Perhaps he would thank him later if everything went well.

Wonwoo tried to hide a smile as this masterpiece of a human being began to walk towards his table. The other boy smiled back at Wonwoo as he noticed the other waiting at the table. Wonwoo thought he had died and gone to heaven three times; this boy’s smile was probably the most attractive thing about him. Wonwoo liked the way his canines stood out from the rest of his teeth.

In the midst of Wonwoo swooning over the aesthetics of the other boy, his blind date suddenly tripped over a chair leg that was in his path, falling to the ground in a tangle of long limbs. Suddenly the image Wonwoo had of the other was completely shattered and thrown out of the window.

‘Uh… are you okay?’ he asked, feeling a little embarrassed because all the eyes in the restaurant were focussed on them.

His date jumped back up, dusting off his jeans before finally reaching the table.

‘It looks like I’ve already fallen for you’ he said, laughing hard at his own cheesy joke.

Wonwoo tried to hide his smile at the lame joke. However, his face turned into a frown when he felt a pool of saliva hit his face as a product of his date’s laughter.

‘Anyway, I’m Kim Mingyu’ he introduced, sitting down across from Wonwoo.

Wonwoo took a napkin from the table and slowly wiped the spit from his face. He regretted all those things he had previously been thinking about this Kim Mingyu guy.

‘Hey, I’m sorry’ he said, noticing Wonwoo’s discomfort ‘I spray saliva a little when I’m excited’

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow, deciding to ignore the apology.

‘I’m Jeon Wonwoo’ he said, suddenly introducing himself. He thought that was what you were supposed to do on dates.

Mingyu smiled, suddenly sneezing into his hand.

‘Sorry, I think I’ve got allergies’ he apologised, sticking out his hand straight afterwards for a hand shake.

Wonwoo just stared at his date’s hand in disbelief. There was no way he was shaking this guy’s snot-covered hand anytime soon.

‘Well are you just going to sit there and stare at my hand all night?’ Mingyu asked, laughing nervously afterwards.

Wonwoo nodded ‘I’d rather do that than shake your hand right now’

A look of disappointment fell upon Mingyu’s face as he retracted his hand but Wonwoo was too disgusted with his date’s lack of hygiene to notice.

Things were going fairly well after Wonwoo had gotten over the fact that Mingyu attempted to shake Wonwoo’s hand whilst his was covered in germs. They both bonded over Hip-Hop music, and it turns out they both studied at the same university.

However, once their dinner had been served, Wonwoo was slightly disgusted by his blind date yet again. Mingyu had absolutely no concept of table manners whatsoever. He was constantly trying to strike a conversation with way too much food in his mouth; half of his food ended up on his face, clothes, and the floor.

Wonwoo could feel himself growing embarrassed as the couple at the table beside theirs kept looking their way, whispering to each other the whole time. It was obvious they were talking about Mingyu.

Wonwoo hid his head into his arms in shame; just when he thought this date was starting to look up, Mingyu had to go and eat his dinner like a five year-old.

As Wonwoo continued to lay with his head on the table, he was disturbed when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking up from his pitiful position, he noticed Mingyu’s smiling face above him; his canines prominent and a sparkle in his eyes.

Wonwoo had to admit how beautiful Mingyu looked.

‘I um…’ Mingyu started to say before trailing off, looking down at Wonwoo’s plate.

Wonwoo followed Mingyu’s gaze and noticed an extra two breads on his dinner plate.

Wonwoo looked up to Mingyu expectantly, waiting for the other to say what he had attempted to before.

‘I uhh…’ Mingyu stumbled over his words ‘You looked like you enjoyed those breads before, so I umm… thought I’d give you mine’

Wonwoo blushed slightly, he couldn’t believe someone like Mingyu could be this thoughtful.

‘I-uh, thanks’ Wonwoo thanked, eating one of the breads Mingyu had given him. These breads were even tastier than the ones he had eaten before; and it was strange because they were exactly the same.

‘So um… oh yeah, I almost forgot’ Mingyu said, suddenly digging around his bag.

Wonwoo looked up from the bread, curious as to what his date was doing.

‘Got it!’ Mingyu announced, handing the object towards Wonwoo.

Mingyu was holding out a book in his hands, it looked used but that made it even more interesting to Wonwoo.

‘Um… Yeah, Soonyoung told me you really liked books, so I got this at that old op-shop down the street’ Mingyu explained ‘I know it’s not much but…’

Wonwoo’s eyes widened in surprise. He wasn’t expecting a gift on his first blind date, but he accepted it humbly.

‘It looks interesting’ Wonwoo said, reading the back of the book ‘I think I’ll read it tonight then’

Mingyu smiled in relief, glad that his date liked the gift.

‘You probably should have given me the gift when you first arrived though; you might have won me over’ Wonwoo said, smiling a little at his own teasing ‘It may have even allowed me to look over the fact that you’re a clumsy, disgusting mess’

Mingyu gasped a little, his eyes widening. The look of sheer surprise that Mingyu gave Wonwoo was priceless.

Wonwoo caved in and let himself laugh at the other boy. It was a deep restrained laugh, but it was a laugh nonetheless. Mingyu, getting over the initial shock, joined in on the laughter.

Mingyu was glad he could make Wonwoo laugh.

Once their laughter had subsided, Wonwoo shook his head.

He really couldn’t decide whether he adored Mingyu or wanted to smack him in the face.

‘As much as you embarrassed me, I did enjoy myself now that I think about it’ Wonwoo admitted.

‘Well, you’ll just have to get used to the embarrassment’ Mingyu said, shooting a wink in Wonwoo’s direction ‘There’ll be a lot more embarrassing Mingyu next time around’

‘Who says we’ll be doing this again?’ Wonwoo asked.

‘How about the same time and same place next week?’ Mingyu offered, showing Wonwoo a hopeful expression.

Wonwoo sighed, shaking his head with a small hidden smile.

‘No’ Wonwoo answered.

Mingyu looked down at his empty plate, suddenly looking miserable.

‘No, because that’s too long of a wait. How about Saturday?’ Wonwoo said, his eyes crinkling as he smiled ‘I’m free if you are’

‘What? Yes, of course I’m free!’ Mingyu answered, not looking so upset anymore ‘Don’t do that again though Wonwoo, you really had me scared!’

Wonwoo chuckled in amusement. Maybe Mingyu wasn’t so bad, he was fun to mess around with, he was thoughtful, and sweet. Maybe Wonwoo could overlook the things about Mingyu that were previously bugging him or maybe they would grow on him; only time would tell.

‘Now let me pay the bill, and let’s get out of here’ Mingyu said, standing up and rummaging through his bag ‘Oh , where’s my wallet’

Wonwoo watched on in embarrassment yet again, as Mingyu emptied the contents of his man-bag onto the table. Once again, he felt like the whole restaurant was watching them.

‘I don’t know Wonwoo, I think I left it at home’ Mingyu eventually said, beginning to return his items into his bag.

Wonwoo sighed, shaking his head slightly.

‘I’ll pay, let’s just get out of here’ he said, helping Mingyu repack his bag.

‘Next time I’ll treat you, I promise’ Mingyu said, suddenly grabbing a fist full of Wonwoo’s as he headed over to the counter to pay for the meal.

Wonwoo mumbled some obscenities under his breath. He was definitely going to regret accepting a second date from this guy. At this point Wonwoo didn’t know whether to thank Soonyoung for setting him up with this date, or to scold him for it. Next time he saw Soonyoung, he decided he would do both.