(Discovery)

"Wow! Soojung, you look gorgeous!"

Soojung smiled and turned to the mirror to check her reflection once more. She had gone back to her dark colored hair and was ready to leave the house for a dinner date with Jongin.

"Do you really think so?" She asked her best friend. "Don't I look a bit too professional?"

"Sooj', I am telling you, Kai is not ready for what's coming for him." Shinhye replied.

"Alright, best friend and best hype woman!" Soojung joked.

She grabbed her phone and car keys.

"Thank you, Shishi." She added as she hugged her best friend good-bye.

"Should I wait for you or...?"

"Come on, now. I'm not going to spend the night out."

"Just wanted to make sure!"

Soojung laughed and shook her head as she exited the apartment.

After two weeks of talking and texting, she had finally accepted Jongin's invitation to dinner. He had insisted to pick her up and all that jazz, but she declined the offer. She liked driving herself to places, date or not.

While driving to the restaurant, she had some time to collect her thoughts. Her stomach was in knots and all she wanted to do was get there and see what happens.

She hadn't felt butterflies as such in so long that it took her a whole week to realize that she might actually be a bit attracted to the guy. It had been so long that her heart had forgotten all about feeling this light.

"Hi, I am Jung Krystal"

She said as soon as she got to the counter of LaMenthe, the newest chic restaurant in town. The young receptionist immediately recognized the name from her VIP list and lead her to a comfortable space.

"This is the VIP waiting area. We will come get you as soon as the other party arrives." Soojung was told.

"Alright"

"Would you like some refreshments in the meantime?" The waitress asked again.

"Just some water, please." Soojung replied.

"Coming right up. It will not take long, but you can call me if you need anything else."

Soojung smiled and almost immediately grabbed her phone to check her e-mails. She had just received some of the photos from Gongmyung and was excited to take a look at them.

As she was going through them, she felt a gaze on her and turned around to verify her sentiment. Jongin was walking towards her, a proud smile on his face. 

The gentleman was internally giving himself props for scoring a date with such a beautiful woman. He was more than happy about it.

She sat there, innocently unaware of what was going through the boy's mind. She was a vision.

She had minimal to no makeup on and was wearing simple black clothing, but there was just something about this girl, Jongin thought.

"Hey, Krystal." He said, closing the distance between them.

She stood up and smiled, preparing herself to greet him. Jongin naturally hugged her, leaving her a bit surprised at first, but she managed to adapt quickly. She didn't know they had gotten close enough yet to hug it out, but she was not complaining whatsoever.

"It's so good to see you." He said as they were lead to their table.

"It's good to see you. Thank you for the invitation." She replied.

"Thank you for saying yes. I really appreciate it."

"It's no big deal."

"Let's sit." He said.

They each chose a seat at the table facing the window. It was a gorgeous place with a wonderful view, just like Soojung loved. She was certain that this was not a coincidence and wondered how he got that piece of information about her.

"It's beautiful" She said.

Jongin looked at her face before replying.

"It sure is."

Soojung acted as though she had not heard him and intensely stared at the view. After a short while, the waitress from earlier came to get their orders.

This night was going to be very interesting, Soojung could feel. And she couldn't wait to confirm it.

July 2015

The girls made their way back to the Park's residence for a lunch organized by Mrs. Park. She wanted to thank her close friends and family members for traveling from so far just to attend the memorial.

The girls were there for Chanyeol despite of all the things he said the night before.

Shinhye finally saw Yeonseok at the memorial, but only for a short moment. They both helped take care of the planning, so there was no time to have a real conversation.

Yeonseok was hoping to change that during lunch.

"Hey, Sooj'" He said, walking up to the girl.

He hadn't seen her since last year, but they talked every once in a while. He never touched on the subject of his brother, not knowing all the details of their breakup.

He didn't want to meddle into anyone's life, even more so knowing for a fact that his brother was to blame in this particular situation.

"Hey, Yeonseok. Do you need anything?" She asked, briefly looking at him.

She was helping in the kitchen and was already so busy.

"Well, yes actually. I know this will sound weird considering the time, but could you please let me sit next to Shinhye for lunch?"

"Huh?!"

"I helped Mrs. Park do the sitting charts, so I know that you two are sitting together. And since I want to sit next to her, it's either you that I ask or one of Chanyeol's uncles."

"I see... Mmm... Well, I don't really mind. Okay." Soojung replied.

Yeonseok smiled and kissed the young girl on the cheek to show his gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Soojung! You're the best!"

"Wait! Who am I sitting next to, then?" She asked.

Yeonseok quickly checked his charts to make sure he was giving her the right information.

"Gongmyung. Is that fine?" He asked.

"Perfect, actually. Thank you!"

She was reassured to know that Gongmyung would be keeping her company during that long lunch. She always had a hard time relaxing with so many elders around.

After clearing everything and welcoming the last guests, it was finally time for lunch.

"Come on, let's go find our seats." Shinhye said, pulling Soojung with her.

Soojung smiled to herself, anticipating her friend's reaction to their new sitting arrangements. Shinhye started looking around for her name but only managed to find Soojung's.

"Ah, thanks for finding my seat!" Soojung said, sitting down.

Shinhye stared at her, looking terribly confused.

"Why isn't my name next to yours?"

"Well, I don't really know, but there's a free seat next to Yeonseok's... My guess is that your name is over there." Soojung replied, cheekily.

Shinhye finally understood the situation.

"You!" She exclaimed, unintentionally getting people's attention.

"Excuse her, she is just so excited about lunch" Soojung added to the already awkward moment.

After everyone settled and forgot about her, Shinhye turned to her best friend.

"Soojung... You're the best" She said.

"So I've been told!" Soojung joked.

Shinhye hugged her friend and went to sit next to Yeonseok. In a matter of seconds she was already laughing her heart out at whatever he was saying.

"Wow... I thought Jung Soojung was irreplaceable." Gongmyung said, sitting down next to her.

"I thought so too... I guess I'm not that memorable..." She continued, sighing to add on to the drama.

The two friends went into fits of laughter at their own stupidity.

"I'm actually glad you're sitting here, though" He said.

"I'll let you on on a secret... Me too.