Early November (Same Friday with Jaebum), Junior Year of College

“Oh my gosh! You have a date tomorrow night?”

The three roommates looked at Ahyoung, eyes widening at her announcement while having dinner together. Every Friday night, they would dedicate time to make dinner together. It was their way to ensure that their friendship would stay strong, acting like a bunch of sisters having a reunion once a week.

This time it was Korean barbeque, with a small indoor table grill set in the middle of their dining table. With cuts of beef and pork, along with many side dishes and vegetables to wrap the various ingredients in, it was a great meal for a Friday night.

As they were staring at her, Ahyoung couldn’t help but giggle at the expression each of them had. Hyeri had food stuffed in , obvious to see as was slightly opened and her cheeks puffed out. Sojin’s eyes were wider than ever while she was bringing food towards Minah to feed. And which, by the way, Minah’s head was turned towards the eldest’s direction but her eyes towards Ahyoung.

All in all, it was a pretty hilarious sight to see right in front of her.

“Yes, I actually do have a date tomorrow. We just confirmed it an hour ago. We’re going to meet at a bubble tea place and then go to some hot pot restaurant I’ve been dying to try that he’s heard of.”

Let’s back track a bit to introduce this second guy.

Yesterday, actually, in the midst of her and Jaebum planning their meet up, this second guy messaged her on Ablaze. He caught her attention with some cheesy pick-up line, and boy does she find those pick-up lines great. She immediately responded, honestly telling him how she adored the line he gave her.

And soon enough, he and her were messaging each other continuously until the following day.

On this day, when Jaebum had said his goodbyes and rushed towards his bus, Ahyoung heard a buzz on her phone. She pulled her phone out to see that it was him, the one guy who messaged her like crazy the night before.

Soohyun Shin, the nicest gentleman on Ablaze.

Miss Ahyoug? Hahaha, sounds formal to address you that way, but I wanted to get your attention somehow. Anyways, would you like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow? I’d love to meet you in person.

Ahyoung’s smile quickly grew as her fingers were tapping all over the screen, giving him the reply he probably wanted.

Yes, I’d love to! When and where shall we meet?

“So, this Soohyun guy is going to take you out? Oh my gosh, wait is he picking you up here?”

Minah quickly asked her questions before digging in, her hunger now growing for both food and information.

“No, like I said, we’ll meet at the bubble tea place. I have no intentions of bringing him up to our apartment at all.”

Ahyoung continued to eat, letting her roommates bombard her with questions and comments. Squeals were heard here and there as they got to hear more about him, along with stealing her phone to see the conversations they had.

But quickly her phone buzzed and Hyeri’s eyes fluttered, as she was the last person to hold on to her phone.

“Oh, some guy name Jaebum texted you.”

Ahyoung’s brows knitted together as she soon retrieved her phone, quickly opening the message from the mentioned male.

Hey, I’m free, let’s talk on the phone for a bit tonight?

Ahyoung hummed softly in thought, putting a piece of meat in before answering him.

Sure, but I can’t stay up too long, I have a big night tomorrow.

She soon put her phone back in her pocket and focused on eating, continuing to chat with her roommates about Soohyun. They were all excited for her, she hadn’t been on a date ever since college started for her.

The others have actually been on dates before, as studying with a guy led to them being asked for a meal. Of course, being girls that loved food too much, they agreed immediately and went out with them. However, they did politely reject each guy who would try to progress their studying relationship to more than just that.

It’s not like Ahyoung didn’t have any guys who’d ask her out or even studied with her, it’s just she didn’t find the time to fit dating in her schedule back then. She was also kind of oblivious when guys asked her to get a meal with them, as she would always invite the others who studied with them to join.

She was also crushing over Jonghyun during those years, but everyone close to her knew how that ended, with a liar crushing her heart harshly.

“Well can we see how Soohyun looks like at least?”

Minah squealed her question, and soon Ahyoung chuckled while pulling her phone out once again. Once the app was opened and Soohyun’s profile was on the screen, she handed it to the impatient girl.

“Oh! He looks like a sweet guy.”

The phone was passed to Hyeri, who made her comment, before it was handed to Sojin. The female furrowed her brows together as she studied his appearance and read his biography.

“Oh! Soohyun! I kind of know who he is. He’s a friend of my friend Jonghyun, you know the guy who plays the guitar? Yeah, heard he’s a really smart guy and in a fraternity.”

Ahyoung fluttered her eyes, soon retrieving her phone and looking at the picture of the male again.

“Then why did he decide to see me if he’s some frat guy? Frat guys don’t date dorky girls, right?”

Everyone else looked at her with disbelief, finding her statement rather odd.

“Uh, hello? Have you NOT seen yourself in the mirror, Ahyoung? Dork or not, you’re stunning and hot!”

Hyeri pointed out, hand motioning towards the mentioned female along with making the hourglass figure with her hands.

“You have the looks and a great personality. ANY guy would be lucky enough to have a date with you!”

“Yes, and along with what Hyeri said, it’s just the first date. You both get to see if you want to see each other after this first meeting.”

Ahyoung scrunched her nose, soon nodding her head to agree with them before finishing up her food. Once they were all done and cleaned up, they retired to their own rooms to do whatever they needed to do for the night. For Ahyoung, that was to call Jaebum.

After clicking his name on her contacts and hitting the call button, she sat patiently on her bed. Once the ringing stopped, she sat up straight and cleared .

“Ahyoung?”

A smile grew on her lips as she heard him call out her name, his voice was just a marvelous on the phone as when he was in her room.

“Hey, what’s up? Why did you want to talk on the phone?”

“Just bored honestly. Wondering what you were doing, wanted to see if you were good after today.”

“Ah, well I’m fine, thank you for checking on me, Jaebum.”

“No problem. So, what’s the big night tomorrow?”

“Oh, I’m going on my technically first Ablaze date. He just asked me today and I said sure.”

“Oh cool cool, you should tell me how that goes, okay?”

Ahyoung’s brows knitted together after hearing that, finding it strange how he wanted to hear about tomorrow. But regardless, she nodded her head and agreed to tell him about it. After talking for ten or fifteen minutes more, they decided to call it a night.

Once he hung up, Ahyoung quickly rushed towards the bathroom to take a shower. Knowing her desire to sleep in, she decided to get some of the major preparations done tonight. Her heart was racing with excitement. It wasn’t as much as when she was eager to meet up with Jaebum, but it was still something.

Finishing up with her shower and getting dressed, she went straight to her closet to find an outfit. Her roommates suggested something girly, as they wanted to see her all cute for this first date. She shrugged her shoulders at the thought and decided to pull out an outfit of a white sweater and black skirt, with black stockings and maybe boots to go along with it. It was practical enough for the cold weather that November brought, yet cute enough to maybe catch some eyes.

And hopefully Soohyun’s eyes.

With a bright smile, she decided to have that as her outfit for her date tomorrow and placed it on her desk chair. She dried her hair and got ready for bed, finding herself ready enough for tomorrow.

Saturday came along pretty quick, and morning and afternoon flashed before the girls’ eyes as they were busy chit-chatting and getting Ahyoung prepped for this date.

“Now, try not to make things too awkward. And try to get you out there more than your shy side. We all know how you can be when it comes to meeting someone for the first time. You’re a sweetheart and he should have the chance to see that!”

Ahyoung rolled her eyes at Sojin’s scolding, continuing to do her makeup as the rest of them were sitting on her bed.

“Don’t be on your phone, we don’t want him to think you’re rude or anything. Oh, and please smile. You are so pretty when you’re smiling. Your “at rest” face isn’t the friendliest, as you just look so sad.”

Hyeri laughed at Minah’s last words, though it was true about Ahyoung. She just always looked tired whenever she wasn’t smiling or having any expression on her face.

“Guys, I’m a grown adult. I know what it is like to act with a man.”

The girls’ eyes widened, soon leaning forward as they were staring at her back appearance. Ahyoung could see their reactions through her mirror though, and she had to try her best to ignore their funny looks as she was applying mascara on.

“Uh, hello? Your last date was your prom date. You haven’t been in the adult dating scene at all. There’s a reason why we’re telling you about this. Even I’ve been in the dating scene and I’m the youngest out of the four of us!”

Once Ahyoung was done with her makeup and listening to Hyeri, she put her things away and turned towards her roommates. A sweet smile on her lips before tilting her head.

“Guys, don’t worry too much okay? I’ll be fine, and if I’m not that comfortable with him it just means it wasn’t meant to be. And if he doesn’t accept how I’m like for this date and he just ignores me afterwards, then it really does mean he wasn’t meant for me.”

She soon got up and went to her closet, bringing her choice of outfit in and hid behind the closet door. She decided to change in there rather than kick out everyone in there. It was easier that way, plus they could still talk as she was changing.

“Well yeah, we know that. We just, you know, want it to be a great experience for you. We don’t want this date to make you turn away from any future dates with other guys.”

Quickly she got into her desired outfit and walked out, and immediately the girls squealed at her appearance.

“OH MY GOD, YOU ARE SO CUTE AHYOUNG!”

A gentle blush colored her cheeks as she went back to her desk, finding the perfect earrings to tie off her outfit.

“Where exactly is the bubble tea place again?”

Ahyoung turned towards Sojin, a bright smile growing on her lips as she was excited to reveal the location of her date.

“It’s actually close by! You know Spring? The one right off campus? That’s where we’re going to, and then the hot pot place is just a few blocks down. So I won’t be too far.”

The proud mother smile was glowing on Sojin’s face, as she was happy to hear Ahyoung playing it safe.

“Okay, well it’s almost five. I should start heading out.”

Collecting her things and slipping them into a reasonable sized purse, she walked out to go towards the front door. There she slipped her black boots on and grabbed an umbrella, as she heard it would be raining that evening.

“Have fun, alright? And if anything goes wrong, just text us the blue heart emoji. We’ll run to you right away!”

Ahyoung couldn’t help but laugh, nodding her head before leaving the apartment. Once she was out of the building, she pulled her umbrella opened and began her journey to the bubble tea shop. She hummed a soft melody as she enjoyed the sound of the rain, pattering against her umbrella and the sidewalk.

Ten minutes later, she finally arrived at Spring. Closing her umbrella and pulling the door open quickly, she rushed in to make sure she wouldn’t get too soaked. Her eyes began to wander the area, soon enough finding the sweet gentleman sitting at the first table closest to the entrance.

A shy smile grew on her lips as she soon approached Soohyun, his head turning towards her to finally notice she arrived. The corner of his lips curled upwards, and he quickly stood up to offer his hand.

“Hello, Ahyoung? It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

She took his hand and shook it, her head slowly nodding with a bright smile on her lips.

“Yes, it’s really nice to meet you too, Soohyun.”

“Do you want a drink? I didn’t order yet.”

She tilted her head before looking behind to see the menu, a soft hum escaping her lips before looking back at him.

“Just a milk tea sounds fine with me.”

“Alright, just wait here, okay? I’ll get them.”

He soon passed by her and went towards the counter to order, allowing her to take some time to compose herself and take a seat. She quickly checked her appearance through her phone, touching herself up quickly as needed. Once she felt his presence close by, she put her things away.

“It’s nice that there wasn’t a line, or else we would’ve waited for a long while.”

He placed her drink in front of her and took a seat. They both took their own straws and cracked the covering, both taking a sip of their drinks. Pleased smiles grew on their lips, and they began to just look around for a moment.

That moment was a bit longer than just a second, in fact it probably went for a minute before she parted her lips.

“So, what are you studying, Soohyun?”

“Oh, I’m a senior in the music department. I want to be a composer.”

Ahyoung nodded her head, lips pressed against the straw as she was about to take another sip.

“What about you Ahyoung?”

“Oh, I’m a double major. Both in the dance and studio art majors, and I hope after my bachelors, I continue for a master under education in order to be a teacher of any of those subjects.”

Soohyun nodded his head, taking a sip of his drink before voicing out how he thought that was a good plan. She simply nodded her head, taking a sip of her drink and her eyes wandering around.

It was quite obvious that this was a first date, as they were both completely awkward.

They continued to have their small talk here and there, allowing them to get to know the basics of the basics about each other.

Soon enough they finished their drinks, and a gentle hum escaped Ahyoung’s lips. Another moment of silence passed through, and she simply began to chew on her straw. The silence was getting to her, the awkward feeling was sitting in, and she even felt herself getting more awkward.

“Well, shall we start going to the hot pot restaurant?”

She fluttered her eyes, soon nodding her head. Both got up and threw their garbage away before leaving. He paused his steps to let her open her umbrella, and they walked down towards the restaurant they wanted to go to. He was leading her there, however his rushed steps made her walk a bit faster than she wanted to.

Well, at least she knew he wasn’t in for those romantic strolls under an umbrella in the rain.

Finally, they reached the restaurant, taking a free table that the waiter offered them to take. The two discussed that they would share a pot and what ingredients they wanted in it before ordering. After their order was taken, it was another moment of long silence.

Again, Ahyoung’s eyes began to wander around the restaurant before letting her attention settle on him again.

“So, what’s your fraternity like by the way?”

“Huh? Oh, we’re more focused on the scholarly aspects of college. Of course, we’d like to have our fun here and there, so we hold parties only on Fridays. That way we can all focus on school before hosting a gathering.”

Ahyoung nodded her head, replying how she found it nice that there was a place like that on Greek Row of their university.

“Have you ever been to a party on Greek Row before, Ahyoung?”

“Uhm, sort of? But it wasn’t really a party like ones you normally hear about. It was just a small group of people, playing typically party games with endless drinks available for everyone to take.”

Their order was soon presented in front of them, and the waiter ignited a flame underneath the pot to keep it warm. After they thanked the waiter and watched him leave, they began to put in the ingredients in the broth and allowed them to cook.

“Well you should come over to my house one day. You don’t have to come on a party day, just a relaxing day where we can just drink, you know? I kind of talk better when I’m under the influence.”

A brow rose for Ahyoung as she heard his comment. So, he wasn’t naturally confident in himself? Would that mean if they were to pursue a relationship together, they would have to drink to be comfortable?

Well, that didn’t sound like the hottest for her.

Regardless of her thoughts, she nodded her head and mentioned how she might go to his house one day. Once their food was ready, they began to eat in silence again. There were moments where they held a conversation and actually laughed, showing that they were enjoying their time together.

Those moments and time passing allowed Ahyoung to feel more herself around him, but sadly it was nearing the end of the date for her to show her bubbly personality.

Once they finished, he offered to pay which made her flustered. She felt bad, but what could she do? Wouldn’t it be rude for her to start an argument for her to pay as well? She shook off the negative feelings and followed him out of the restaurant.

“So, Ahyoung, where do you live?”

“Hm? Oh, I just live at one of the apartments north of campus.”

“Oh, then shall I walk you home? Greek Row is pretty close by, and a lady shouldn’t walk home alone.”

Ahyoung’s cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink before she nodded her head, and after opening her umbrella she began to walk off with him towards the direction of her apartment. The wind began to pick up, and so did the rain.

A soft squeak escaped her lips as she couldn’t hold on to the umbrella properly, and that’s when Soohyun grabbed the handle with one hand. The other hand, which was closest to her, soon moved so his arm would wrap around her shoulders. His hand rested on her shoulder, which brought her to walk a bit closer to him.

“Sorry, I didn’t want you to get soaked.”

Ahyoung looked over at him with a smile, and she nodded her head before simply thanking him. Small comments were made about the weather and how heavy it was, which made many moments for her to giggle happen.

This only made Soohyun smile, finding the way Ahyoung acted quite adorable.

“You know, you should smile more often. You’re pretty already, but that smile of yours just makes you stunning.”

The compliment made her speechless, as she never heard of that before from anyone. Of course, she could hear the nagging of her roommates in her mind about smiling, but their words weren’t as sweet as his. Before she could even thank him properly, they finally arrived at her apartment.

“Oh gosh, here we are. Thank you for this evening, Soohyun.”

He smiled and bowed his head, slowly pulling away from her. He slipped his hood on and nodded his head.

“Of course, thank you for this night, Ahyoung. It was nice meeting you. Have a goodnight.”

He waved at her before turning to head towards his own home, while she took quick steps to get inside the building and her apartment.

 

Current Time, Café

Jihae’s mouth was opened for a solid minute after hearing the sweet actions Soohyun presented to Ahyoung on that date.

It was quite hilarious to watch the expressions Jihae would make sometimes for Ahyoung, as her best friend was only expressive around her.

“Oh my god, he sounds like the sweetest guy ever to be around for a first date! God, I know I haven’t heard about the other guys yet, but he’s totally beating that Jaebum guy!”

Ahyoung chuckled at her best friend’s words, keeping in a few words in regards about Soohyun and Jaebum. If she said anything more, then it wouldn’t be hard for Jihae to figure out who her fiancé was.

“Alright, enough gushing. Tell me about the next guy you ended up meeting!”

Ahyoung looked down at her mug as she wanted to quench her thirst since she was talking so much. Seeing that the mug was empty made her pout, and soon she looked over to see if Minhyuk was free.

“Minhyuk? Could you please bring me a twelve-ounce iced caramel macchiato?”

Once he confirmed he would do that, Ahyoung turned back to her best friend and gave her a smile.

“Well, guy number three was pretty interesting. And I think we started talking the Wednesday that followed after my date with Soohyun….”

 

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hello loves! i decided to put this chapter up asap before school started for me again! i'm going to head back to my school's campus tomorrow as a new quarter begins for me, and due to that i don't know if i'll be able to update as much as i can when the quarter begins. so i just wanted to treat you guys with another chapter. however, i will still try to maintain the every other week update, as i do enjoy writing this story for myself and you guys. so thank you guys for supporting and being patient, as i want to give you guys the best writing i can give you with this story. i do hope you're enjoying this as much as i am!

oh, and i really can't wait for girl's day comeback! maybe that's why i'm eager to update more often than i know i can cx hehehe! anyways, have a wonderful day/evening, and i shall see you either in the comments or on the next chapter! 

love, marie ❤