“Seriously, Daniel? You should’ve told me earlier!” you gasped, staring wide-eyed at your boyfriend who had an indifferent smile on, and zero clue of the impact of his words earlier on you. The bubble of excitement floating above your head gradually deflated as you tried to digest the sudden announcement Daniel had made, wishing that you’d misheard him or this was another one of his silly pranks. When Daniel confirmed your date with a text telling you to anticipate a surprise, you did not expect for him to drop a huge bomb in your face an hour later, as he announced that you would be meeting his sister, Ailee. It would be your first official meeting with his sister since you’d started going out with him, and there was absolutely no room for error this time, you had to show a good imgae to make up for the possibly bad first impression Ailee might have had on you for mistaking her as Daniel’s so-called girlfriend.

He casually sat sideways on his sports bike, “I told you that we’re going out,” Daniel simply replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“Yes, but not to meet your sister!” You shrieked in horror, hurriedly checking your appearance in the small oval-shaped mirror of his bike and groaning a second later for not being able to get a full view of yourself. You glanced down at your outfit of the day –a white printed short-sleeved t-shirt, a pair of skinny jeans with a red plaid shirt tied around your waist and a pair of black converse– and frowned, regretting your decision to dress comfortably and casually before you left home that morning. You’d contemplated to wear a nice dress for your date, but decided otherwise since it was impossible to be wearing a skirt if you’d be riding on a two-wheeled vehicle, “I’m not prepared, I’m not even dressed properly. I have to go back and change!” you started to grow frantic.

Daniel did a simple scan of his girlfriend from head to toe, concluding that he couldn’t find anything that was out of place or that he didn’t like from your outfit. He rather liked the similar colours of your clothes that matches his, giving off a coupled look. He stopped you mid-sentence with a remark, “You look cute. I like your outfit today,” he smiled up at you, giving you one of his signature sparkly puppy eyes, “and Ailee noona is going to like you for who you are, just as I did,” he added, giving your hand a reassuring squeeze.

“That still doesn’t make me feel any better,” you pouted at his attempt, and he replied by raising one of his eyebrows, seeing very clearly how your cheeks flushed pink at his comment earlier, “Okay maybe just slightly. Does she know about my… misunderstanding?” you asked, pointing out a second concern.

“Yes,”

“Daniel!”

Daniel shifted his hands and laced his fingers with yours as he pulled you closer, “She’s the one who pointed it out to me. Don’t worry too much Jooyeon, she’ll love you. I’m sure of it. Ailee noona is pretty easygoing, you’d be surprised,” he comforted, noticing that you were still fidgeting with your clothes and probably still thinking of going back home to change to a nice dress. He stood up, reached over behind your head and removed the hair tie, releasing your hair which was in a pony tail, “You look pretty with your hair down,” Daniel gently brushed your hair with his fingers in an attempt to style it, “There, happy?”

You took another look at yourself in the mirror and nodded softly, agreeing that you look more presentable this way, “That’s my girl,” he smiled, satisfied.

********************************

Once you’ve greeted Ailee with a polite bow and shake of your hand, all of three of you proceeded to order your food promptly. Ten minutes have passed since the waiter left with your orders and you had been sitting next to Daniel in silence, smiling now and then when you occasionally met eyes with his sister. Aside from her name, you had no prior information about Ailee that could help you alleviate the ever growing uneasiness inside of you, “Daniel mentioned that you are a member of the publication team,” Ailee decided to break the ice, offering a piece of information she knew about you.

“Ah, yes. I’m actually just a junior photographer there,” You nodded shyly, confirming her statement.

“Jooyeon’s just being modest. Her work helped to promote the boxing club. She was the one who made us famous,” Daniel showered you with compliments, taking hold of your hand under the table and giving it an encouraging squeeze, “She takes amazing pictures, especially those with me in them,” he grinned widely.

Ailee simply rolled her eyes at how love-struck his brother sounded like, “Yes, Daniel I’ve seen those pictures in the magazine,” she quickly dismissed him before he starts babbling away and turned to you, “He’s obsessed with them. He’ll actually look through the magazine every night before going to sleep,” she revealed in a whisper tone.

You giggled, imagining Daniel tucked in his blankets and flipping through his pictures as you nodded in understanding, “You should’ve seen him at the gaming convention, he was craving for attention to even photo-bombing all of my shots,” you returned the favour by telling Ailee an amusing fact of your own.

“Hey, I’m sitting right here!” Daniel whined, waving his hands in the air to emphasize his presence to the two females who were clearly gossiping about him. Both of them started to laugh excitedly as they shared a knowing look. You felt as if a strong wind had blown away the tensed air earlier, replacing it with a light and comfortable atmosphere. Daniel was definitely right about his sister being easygoing and you were actually glad you get to meet her so soon. Despite unwillingly been made into the topic of their discussion, Daniel felt relieved that the two of them were finally getting along just as he initially hoped. A smile automatically appeared on his face as he watched the two of them exchanging conversations and sharing laughter.

“But really Jooyeon, Daniel talks about you almost everyday,” Ailee added while munching on their food that just arrived, earning a bewildered look from Daniel as he started to get anxious, worried for more embarrassing secret of his to be revealed. Instead, he was rather surprised when she continued, “I’m glad that you guys are dating. Daniel needs someone like you who brings out the best in him, yet still able to point out his flaws without feeling like that you have to impress him all the time,”

You were taken aback at the sudden compliment slash advice coming from Ailee as you nodded sheepishly, “W-well, I… Daniel has been a great support for me too,” you stated.

“I can see that he cares for you very much,” She continued while Daniel rubbed the back of his ears shyly when you glanced at him, as if his sister just revealed his feelings unexpectedly. Ailee lightly slapped his upper arm, “Take good care of Jooyeon, it’s not easy to find a girl like her,” she reminded him in a lighthearted tone.

“I know noona. I’m really lucky,” Daniel agreed, pulling you into his arms for a brief hug which you gladly returned.

After having a hearty lunch, sharing more laughter and exchanging contacts, Ailee bid the two of you goodbye as she left to settle some personal errands. You and Daniel walked hand in hand, strolling the streets on a sunny afternoon in comfortable silence, “I’ve finally figured it out Jooyeon,” Daniel suddenly declared, his smile full of giddiness and excitement.

“What?” You couldn’t help but to smile along despite not knowing the reason. His beautiful smile was one of Daniel’s charms that instantly became your favourite. You couldn’t properly explain it in words, but his smile held a strong effect that it could lift your spirits and warm your heart at the same time, you’d never grow tired of it. In simpler words, his smile is you daily energy boost.

“Your favourite colour,”

“And what is it exactly?”

He stopped walking and rummaged inside his backpack, pulling out a single purple coloured rose. He grinned widely with it before handing it to you with both hands, “Wow, thanks Daniel. Purple roses are very rare,” Your gratitude instantly confirmed that his answer was correct, as he proudly watched you admire the flower and its scent.

“Yeah, that’s why this is an artificial rose,” he calmly replied as you looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, “Couldn’t find a real one. Besides, since it’s plastic it’ll last very long. Hey, it’s the thought that counts right?” he explained carefully to justify himself.

You tiptoed to give a soft peck on his cheek, “Thank you. I love it,” you stated with a smile.

Daniel wanted to say something more, but later decided against it and chose to return your smile as he s his arms around you in a comforting embrace. He figured that there would plenty of chances for him to let you know of the interesting fact he discovered about this specific shade of rose, one that he felt conveyed his feelings for you quite accurately.

***********************************

“She’s late,” Daniel muttered to himself, checking the time on the screen of his phone for the fifth time while sipping on his Americano.

He was leaning against the coffee pick-up counter, trying to pass the time by playing some games on his phone. Daniel had given up in finding a table at the usually crowded coffee shop near the university and had grown accustomed to leaning against the counter to wait for his order.

It was a mystery whether he was purposely ignoring or just purely oblivious of the stares given by more than half of the female population in the room, the barista included. To the numerous pairs of eyes in the coffee shop, Daniel was a sight for sore eyes especially when he gave off a perfect boyfriend vibes, with his casual attire. He left early after his usual boxing practice and was sporting a half-black look from his favourite pair of Adidas training pants and trainers aside from his red hoodie. Maybe he was not the least bit concerned or bothered because based on experience (and he didn’t mean to brag), seventy percent of the stares were harmless as he was merely treated as an eye-candy, while the other thirty percent evolved into actual efforts of starting a short conversation with him or bold attempts to get his number. He could even swore to have received a pick-up line once.

Daniel was interrupted mid-gaming by a tap on his shoulder, simultaneously killing off his game character after letting it fall into a cliff with only one life left. He let out a soft grumble before looking up, “Excuse me, you can take our table. We’re leaving now,” a girl offered shyly, pointing towards an empty table where her friend stood by guarding it.

“That’s fine. I’m not planning to stay,” he replied, trying not to sound rude and at the same time not too friendly.

The girl’s gaze on him wavered for a while before she composed herself, “Well, can I at least have your number? Maybe we can grab a coffee together next time,” she came forward with her true intention, holding out her phone with the ‘new contacts’ page opened and ready to be filled.

Right then, his order of caramel macchiato was ready and he swiftly picked it up from the counter with his free hand, “Sorry, but my girlfriend is here now,” he nodded briefly, walking away towards a figure who just entered the café with hurried footsteps, “Babe, finally you’re here! I missed you!” Daniel exclaimed, hugging you tight with two cups of coffee in both hands.

You were staggering from the sudden weight of his body and the unexpected hug, as you awkwardly placed your hands around him and patted his back softly, puzzled over his action, “Daniel, I was only five minutes late,” you let out a muffled reply, “Besides, we saw each other yesterday,” you reasoned.

He pulled away from the hug and leaned in, “You’re just in time. Thanks for saving me,” he whispered and kissed your cheek softly, “Here’s your favourite,” Daniel placed the caramel macchiato in your hands.

Watching you the couple from afar, the girl earlier shoved her phone back into her purse before marching out the door in embarrassment with her friend following from behind. She shot the couple a look of disappointment before disappearing from your view. Those who witnessed the whole scene unfolding before them had started to whisper among themselves, some pitied the girl while others questioned the truth behind Daniel’s new girlfriend and her identity. The incident didn’t go unnoticed by you, “Daniel, what just happened?” you questioned your boyfriend who was calmly sipping on his drink.

“Nothing. Let’s go, we’re gonna be late,” he gave you a bright smile and laced his fingers to yours, pulling you out of the café.

Your head was occupied on thoughts regarding what happened as you both walked hand in hand to where Daniel parked his motorcycle. You’ve speculated that the matter might’ve involved Daniel rejecting the girl who showed interest in him because as far as you were concerned, his so-called ‘fanclub’ were still unaware that he’d recently changed his status from ‘single’ to ‘dating’. Truthfully, you also fell into a difficult situation recently as a result from his fans. You contemplated whether to discuss the issue at that moment in time, afraid that it might make him feel uncomfortable and ruin his day. After seeing that he was in a good mood, you pushed the thought to the back of your mind and chose to discuss with him at a more suitable time.

An update after taking a (unintentional) break of 1 month T_T I apologise for the long wait, I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter eventhough it's slightly shorter than other chapters. I need to get my muse back, to better express the feelings and thoughts of each character T-T Heads up, I will possibly be busy again starting May with a new job and all, but this time I'll try my best to keep up with the weekly updates, especially since my other Daniel story (Instant Boyfriend Material) has already completed.

Let me know your thoughts on this new chapter in the comments below. Thanks for reading!