Jun Pyo stared at Ga Eul with amazement, as she on her ice cream cone nonchalantly. He had booked the most expensive table at the riverside restaurant for his date. Although he had not shown much enthusiasm in front of his F4 friends, he had left no stone unturned to make the evening as lavish as possible. And here she was, her blind date for the evening, paying least interest at the décor or the menu, for that matter.

She was quite cute, he thought, even without the layers of make up or designer clothes like most of the girls in his school. And she was not even swooning at his feet, like those girls. How was that even possible?

While walking out of the carnival he had told her about the restaurant he wanted them to spend the evening. It was only about 10 minutes’ walk, yet he had offered her a ride in his luxurious car. His offer was responded with two big brown eyes full of shock and disbelief.

“No, I would rather walk this short distance,” was her straight answer.

On their way, she had picked up a cone of ice cream from a road side vendor.

“Would you like to have one?” she had asked him.

This time it was Jun Pyo’s turn to look at her in horror, and by vehemently shaking his head, he had made her understand that it was ‘absolutely deplorable’ for him.

Ga Eul cringed from within at the sheer opulence around her. She tried to keep her mind focused on the ice cream, so that her anxiety would not be conspicuous. Her date was a very handsome namja, no wonder. Every inch of his clothes, his demeanor and his choices screamed of infinite wealth. Any girl in her place would be dancing with joy at such a windfall. But all she could feel was like being a fish out of water.

Jun Pyo cleared his throat, bringing Ga Eul out of her reverie.

“Nice dress, the one you are wearing,” spoke Jun Pyo in an attempt to make a conversation.

“Your suit is also very nice,” replied Ga Eul tentatively, not finding anything more to respond.

His face glowed with smugness.

“Oh yes, this Oscar De La Renta piece was selected by my valet for the evening. He knows what looks best on me.”

“Valet? You have someone to pick up your daily clothes from your wardrobe?” gasped Ga Eul.

Jun Pyo looked at her bewildered.

“Do you have to dress yourself on your own every day? How do you do that?”

Ga Eul could not possibly find a single reply to that.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

Yi Jung smirked at the way his blind date was voraciously gobbling down a big slice of pizza. Dating was commonplace for him, and with his track record, he had never had a date where the girl was not already clinging on to him by the first fifteen minutes. Yet, surprisingly his date tonight was more interested in everything else but him. It was her idea to walk in the first food stall they spotted in the carnival, which was a pizzeria. He did not protest, as food was always the least priority for him in any date.

Jan Di was very confused. Her date tonight was a charming man. He moved with finesse, he spoke with elegance, and he looked absolutely gorgeous. Yet, this overdose of charm was too much to take for her. His words seemed to be sugar-coated, whereas his eyes spoke of the amusement caused by her unpolished ways. And on top of that, she was starving. Jae Kyung had not let her eat properly for two days, in the name of ‘fitting in the perfect dress for the date’. So, the best way she could think was to stuff with the first food that came in her view.

“So, what are your hobbies? What do you like to do in your pastime?” asked Yi Jung to start a conversation.

Jan Di gulped down the last big bite.

“I love swimming. I go to the community pool to practice.”

“Aah, swimming. That’s nice. We have a huge Olympic standard swimming pool at our school. Why don’t you come over someday, and we can spend some time together, playing pool games?” he suggested, with a smirk and a wink.

Jan Di looked at him pointedly, with a deep frown on her forehead.

“I also practice taekwondo, I am a red belt holder,” she spat.

Yi Jung stealthily pulled back his arm from the back of Jan Di’s seat to his side. He had no wish to go back with a black eye, or two, tonight.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

Ha Jin looked at her date skeptically. He was too handsome for his own good. They had strolled to the end of the carnival premise to a quieter spot. Woo Bin was the one talking mostly, with few brief responses from her in between. ‘Never give your details to a stranger’ was the dictum from her parents, so she tried to remain as elusive as possible.

“Hmm. So, is this your first date ever?” he asked with a broad smile.

Although that was the fact, Ha Jin refused to admit it to him.

“Why? What makes you think like that?” she counterquestioned him, placing her little palms on her hip.

He laughed hard at her cute, supposed denial.

“Nothing. I was just asking,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

She eyed him with a frown when a shrill female voice startled them both.

“Look who’s here. My Song Prince.”

Ha Jin saw a woman, wearing an expensive short dress with heavy makeup, scurrying towards them. As soon as she came closer, she literally hurled herself over Woo Bin, embracing him tightly with a sound kiss on his lips.

“Where have you been all these months? I missed you and your sweet little things, naughty boy,” she declared with a wink, still holding him firmly.

Ha Jin’s jaw was almost about to drop to the ground at this sudden turn of event. The other woman looked to be in her late thirties, at least, and the way she was clinging on to him, left no doubt about what kind of ‘sweet little things’ she was speaking of.

Woo Bin gently wiggled himself out of her clutch with an uneasy smile.

“I was a bit busy, Mrs. Park,” he murmured and stepped back.

“Aaah, did I interrupt your date? Silly me,” quipped Mrs. Park and turned to Ha Jin with a sly smile. “Give me a call when are free, arasso?”

Only when the older woman was out of their sight, Woo Bin dared to look at Ha Jin. It took a moment more for him to realise that her shivering body, her deep red face and the gagging sound coming out of her covered mouth were only her utmost attempt at stopping herself from bursting out in laughter.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

“… and then I caught him by his collar, and dragged him out of the club. For the next five minutes, all he heard was the sound of my slaps and punches,” ranted Jae Kyung haughtily.

Ji Hoo kept his gaze steady on a ferris wheel, far away at the other end of the carnival. Because his response, or the lack of it, was not to be appreciated in any way.

It was true that Ji Hoo was most reluctant to come to this stupid blind date marathon. Only because of his friends’ insistence and pestering, to be more precise, had he accompanied them. As a result, once he came to know who his blind date for the evening was, he had just raised both of his hands in surrender, figuratively, and let Jae Kyung take the lead.

And what a big mistake it was.

It was a fact that she was a nonstop prattle machine. She could talk at length on anything and everything in this universe, without even caring for his response. She was asking questions, and then answering herself on his behalf, even before he could try to open his mouth in reply. In a way, he was happy that he did not need to put any effort in making anything out of their date, but after a while her chatter did start getting on his nerves.

Should have brought a pair of ear plugs as well, he regretted.

“Oh wow! We are going to the dancefloor. They are playing my favourite music,” Jae Kyung declared all of a sudden and dragged him along, before he could refuse.

Ji Hoo found himself on a makeshift dancefloor at the centre of the carnival. It was flooded by flickering beams of light, too dazzling for his eyes, and extremely loud high-beat music, too much to deafen him by the end of the evening. His big eyes were rounded even more at the Brownian motion of the numerous young people on the floor, pulling and shoving each other constantly in the name of dance.

“Why are you standing like a statue? Move your limbs,” shouted Jae Kyung over the din of the dancefloor, while shaking him vigorously.

Startled by her shrilly voice and a not-so-gentle nudge, Ji Hoo missed a step and stumbled on another girl dancing with her boyfriend.

“Hey you, how dare you touch my girl?” growled that guy, who looked well-endowed with muscles.

“I-I am sorry, I did not mean to…” stuttered Ji Hoo with embarrassment.

“And how dare you shout at my date? You jerk,” shrieked Jae Kyung and pushed the muscular guy with full force.

The next moment he found himself flat on the floor, with a tuft of his hair at the risk of being pulled out of his scalp by Jae Kyung. Everyone around gawked at the scene, still unable to believe what happened in a blink of an eye.

“Say sorry, right now!” she screamed like a banshee.

Bringing himself out of the stupor, Ji Hoo pulled Jae Kyung back from her incapacitated prey with great difficulty.

“Leave him, that’s enough!” Ji Hoo snapped, as Jae Kyung was still in the mood to resume her action scene.

For once, during the whole evening, he seemed to have her attention.

Without any more word, both of them stepped out of the dancefloor. After walking aimlessly for few minutes more, Ji Hoo stopped and turned to Jae Kyung.

“Can we call it a night, then?” he muttered.

Disbelief, followed by rage flashed through her eyes.

“Yes, why not,” retorted Jae Kyung and turning on her heels she marched away.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

The text messages of Jae Kyung and Ha Jin reached the other girls almost at the same time. It had just been an hour since the beginning of their blind date. So, alarmed and relieved at the same time, both Ga Eul and Jan Di made some flimsy excuses and left their respective date in a minute. Rushing to their meeting point, they found Jae Kyung and Ha Jin waiting for them. They assured their friends that nothing untoward had happened, just that their dates had been nothing less of a debacle. Although not as drastic, Jan Di and Ga Eul too confirmed that they were thankful to have been ‘rescued’ from their dates.

“Aishhh. What a waste of a beautiful evening,” complained Jan Di.

“Exactly. And I thought it would be such a wonderful birthday for me,” pouted Ha Jin.

“Aww. Don’t worry, Ha Jin-ah. I am sure your next date would be far more wonderful,” commented Ga Eul.

“And less eventful,” added Jae Kyung with a roll of her eyes.

“How would you describe your date in one sentence though?” asked Jae Kyung.

“A compulsive flirt with a sarcastic tongue,” blurted Jan Di, scrunching her nose.

“Oooohhh,” came a collective response from her friends.

“A dangerous charmer, preyed upon by older women,” commented Ha Jin, earning a boisterous laugh from her friends.

“A filthy rich spoilt brat, with an entourage of servants to choose his underwear,” spat Ga Eul.

“Boooo,” disapproved her friends with thumbs down.

“And last but not the least, a Greek statue with a deadpan face that can bore you to death,” vented out Jae Kyung.

“Aishhhh,” exclaimed her friends.

“Just that they did not seem to be creepy, thankfully,” remarked Ga Eul.

And to that all her friends agreed.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

The boys were roaming aimlessly around the carnival. They were too shocked to even recount the tales of their blind date.

“Like, seriously! I can’t believe that my date ended like that. She just stood up, mumbled something and left. Just like that!” blurted Yi Jung, after sometime.

“Yes, mine too. She just finished her ice cream cone or whatever it was and then left. Without even caring to look at the smoked salmon hors d'œuvre for once!” exclaimed Jun Pyo, throwing his arms up in the air.

Ji Hoo just rolled his eyes and grunted.

“At least your dates did not pick up a fight with a stranger.”

The boys looked at him horrified. Ji Hoo raised his eyebrows with a slight tilt of his head, indicating how weird it truly was.

“What’s up, Don Juan? You seem too silent,” quipped Yi Jung.

“Mine was going all well, until…” spoke Woo Bin hesitantly.

“Until?”

“Until Mrs. Park barged in and ruined it all,” he mumbled.

“Mrs. Park? Your father’s business associate’s wife?” asked Jun Pyo with a shocked face.

Woo Bin nodded his head.

And his friends erupted in a rowdy laughter, imagining the implication.

“How would you describe your dates in two words?” asked Yi Jung, as his fit of laughter came to an end.

“Judgmental and unappreciative,” blurted Jun Pyo.

“Stubborn and prudish,” commented Woo Bin.

“Garrulous and belligerent,” uttered Ji Hoo.

“Headstrong and tacky,” concluded Yi Jung.

“Aishhh. What a waste of a perfect evening,” complained Jun Pyo with a scowl.

“Don’t be sad my boys, come inside my world of magic and I will make everything wonderful for you again.”

All the four boys startled at the female voice coming from their back and turned around.

They saw an elderly lady, wearing vibrant clothes and ornaments, with tattoos drawn on every inch of her exposed skin. She held out her hand once again and ushered them inside her stall. It looked like a fortune teller’s corner, with a crystal ball and several exotic decorations.

“Thanks, madam, but we do not have time for such mumbo jumbos,” muttered Woo Bin and tried to walk away with his friends.

“Oh, don’t worry. I will not charge you money for coming to my stall. Just come in and sit for a while. You all look quite worn out. Why not try this drink?” she asked, raising two glasses of a strange looking liquid.

Unexpectedly, Jun Pyo took one glass from her and gulped down half of the content.

“Umm, very nice. Try this,” he spoke and handed over the half-filled glass to a startled Woo Bin who was standing behind him.

“Should I bring more?” asked the elderly lady enthusiastically.

“No need, we will share,” replied Yi Jung and took the other glass from her hand. He shared half of the drink with Ji Hoo.

They could not explain what came over their mind that they accepted that strange but tasty drink from a complete stranger, but somehow it made them feel really light and refreshed.

“I hope there was no drugs in it,” commented Yi Jung as they walked out of the stall.

“Even if there was, you will come to know soon,” quipped Ji Hoo with a smirk.

Once they were gone, the elderly lady stood at the entrance of her stall, rubbing her palms conspiratorially.

“Hahahaha. Let the magic begin.”

……………………………………………………………………………………….