Mina stood in front of her father’s study, her hand going back and forth on whether to knock or not. She’d been standing there for a good 5 minutes but she couldn’t seem to make up her mind. She tried to formulate her words beforehand, rehearse them in her mind over and over, but none of them seemed right. She knew what she was wanted to say would only give her father displeasure. She thought of breaking it to her mother first, to soften the blow and possibly convince him together, but she knew that it’s not something she could ever ask her mother to do. No matter what, her mother always stayed in the sidelines, out of her father’s way. That was how their family was. Everything her father did, everyone else stood behind him and supported it whether they liked it or not.

Her nervousness was so loud that she didn’t even hear the footsteps slowly making advances from behind her. “What are you doing?” someone suddenly asked and she turned abruptly to see her father standing right before her. He glanced at the door and then at her, “Did you need something?”

“Ah, you just got home? I thought you were inside already...”

“You look like you want to say something. Make it brief; I’m a little busy.” Mina looked down and tried to get the words out of , but she remained mute. Her father continued, “Come back when you know what you’re going to say, okay?” He reached for the door and unlocked it. But before heading in, he turned to her once more, “Your friend hasn’t submitted the application yet. Tell her there’s only 2 days left. And also, you’re having lunch with the a friend of mine’s son. I’ll send you the details later.”

Mina snapped her head up, “W-what?”

“Don’t worry. He’s a nice kid. I’ll tell him what you like so he can pick a suitable place for you.” Without another word, he disappeared into his study and shut the door in front of her.

Mina’s shoulders dropped in disappointment. She wanted to burst the door open and tell him no. She wanted to refuse so bad that it hurts that she couldn’t. She felt her knees resign and her weight sent her crumbling to the ground.

~

“Blind dates?”

Jeongyeon nodded. She was hanging out in Chaeyoung’s room, eating the snacks they had bought from the convenience store. She popped another chip in and started munching on it, all the while talking, “It was one of the reasons why we got into fights so much. Her dad kept sending her on blind dates and she wouldn’t refuse. I was really upset then that I couldn’t see why she wouldn’t just tell her family we were together.”

Chaeyoung released a breath at the thought. “Wow. It’s so crazy that I can believe it. Then, do you think Mina went on dates since we got together?”

“Who knows. Maybe. You know how she is. She doesn’t usually talk about her family.”

“It doesn’t even have to be about her family. I mean, people in a relationship don’t go on blind dates.”

“Yah, do you think Mina’s dad knows that? She’s been going through his matchmaking decisions since she was a kid. Even when she was 10 he would set up playdates with his friends’ sons.” The younger one suddenly felt so irritated that she grabbed Jeongyeon’s cup from her hands and chugged all of the juice. “Y-yah! I’m really thirsty. Go downstairs and bring me another cup.”

Chaeyoung ignored her demands and slammed the cup on the floor. “I’m not even jealous at this point. Just the fact that she’s letting all this happen is making me feel upset. Just how long is she going to hide behind her dad’s shadow? She bosses people so much, she should be able to do the same with him!”

“You’ve met him, right? Do you think you’ll be able to do the same?”

The younger one opened to say she can, but then she closed it again after careful thinking. She shook her head. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about him that makes it hard to get anything through. Like,” she clenched her hands to a fist in front of her, trying to express what she wanted to explain. “Like… I don’t know. It’s like I did something wrong and I can’t make up for it so I have to make up a front and get on his good side, you know?”

Jeongyeon nodded, “I know. That’s the aura of a powerful person. He emanates it from head to toe.”

“But then... ” Chaeyoung switched her position and sat cross-legged. “Why does he send her to all these dates? Isn’t she too young for that? Naturally, when a parent does that, they think about marriage. Mina hasn’t even graduated high school yet and he’s already doing all that. Isn’t that strange?”

The older one paused and thought about it, placing her hands on her knees. “What are you trying to say?”

“It’s just that… Are you sure he doesn’t know she likes girls?”

~

Arriving 30 minutes late, showing disinterest in their conversations, showing a lack of table mannerisms that in reality she had engraved on her since she learned how to pick up a fork, were all things Mina did whenever she went on these “dates.” She figured that since she couldn’t reject these boys upfront, she’ll get them to reject her. By showing an unlady-like side of her and a personality that was turned away upon by the higher class, this tactic had worked for her so far.

Often she would pick the place where they ate, and almost without fail she would pick the same one: a high-end restaurant at the edge of the town where no one would recognize her. It was different this time, however. She felt like going for a simple ramen meal, so there she was at a cheap ramen bar almost at the next town over, slurping her noodles with gusto.

The boy, who introduced himself as Jungkook, expected a more elegant date and wore a suit to impress the girl. A cultured boy fined to perfection by his obsessed father found himself sitting amongst the clacking of dishes, yelling of customers and waiters, and the humidity of the run-down building. He pulled on his collar at his discomfort and culture shock of the place and the woman he was meeting.

Mina looked up at him with a mouthful of noodles, “Aren’t you going to eat?” His meal had arrived 5 minutes ago and remained untouched.

“O-oh yeah,” he quickly grabbed his chopsticks as if he had forgotten they were there to eat. He stared down at his bowl watching the heat rise up from the broth.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never had ramen before?”

“N-no! It’s not that. I-it’s just,” Jungkook stammered. “The place is a little new to me...”

The Japanese smiled, “It’s not poisonous, I promise you.”

Jungkook slowly lifted up some noodles with his utensils and took his first bite. His eyes widened as he chewed and nodded in approval. “It’s good.”

“Of course!”

“I didn’t expect a place like this would make such good food.”

Mina furrowed her eyebrows, “Are you the type of person who judges things based on looks? This is a diamond in the rough, I tell you. If only more people knew about it, then it will definitely receive the recognition it deserves.”

“How did you find out about it in the first place? It’s so far.”

“Hmmm… Just by pure coincidence.” She didn’t want to say she ran into the place on a failed blind date where her date practically ran away before she could even order so she had to straggle home in hunger with a few change in her pocket.

He nodded and continued to eat, showing pleasure in every bite and chewing his food ever so carefully, savoring it until the next bite. Mina admitted that Jungkook was unlike all the boys her father picked for her. Most of them were too proud, in over their heads, and all-around obnoxious. They acted like the world revolved around them and this act of self-importance annoyed her greatly. But Mina could tell the boy in front of her was different. He was reserved, shy, and somewhat adorable. Mina liked that he was modest, especially since he was handsome without a doubt. His features were simple but they complimented each other well. His jawline was impressive as it shifts every now and then when he spoke. With a face like that, she wouldn’t be surprised if he was a player who breaked women’s hearts, but his innocent eyes said otherwise.

Since sitting down with him, Mina hadn’t found him annoying or boring, which usually stemmed about 5 minutes after she sits down with her dates. Jungkook was just an all-around nice guy, which Mina found it hard to complain that they were never going to work out.

Jungkook leaned back on his chair after emptying his bowl. After watching Mina slurp the broth directly from the bowl, he decided to try it himself, and he had to admit that it was indeed more satisfying that using a spoon. He slightly felt embarrassed afterwards that he felt conscious of his surroundings all of a sudden, only to find out that everyone else around them  were doing the same thing. He sighed and smiled with satisfaction. “That was really good! There was nothing extravagant about the meal itself, but somehow, it was the best ramen I’ve ever had.”

Mina chuckled, “I’m glad you enjoyed it. So, Jungkook-ssi, how come I’ve never met you before this? Your father and mine are really good friends. I’ve met him before and I’ve met your brother. They always came to the gatherings my father organizes, but I didn’t know he had two sons.”

The boy shrugged, “He keeps me busy most of the time, so he understands that I can’t attend those. With singing and dancing lessons, soccer, and college applications, I’m having a hard time just juggling those.”

“You play soccer?”

He nodded. “I’m trying to get scouted for a scholarship.”

“A scholarship? Why would you bother for that? You know your father can afford it.”

“Just because he can afford it, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t bother. If the opportunity is there, why not take it? People in our circle seem to look down on it, because most of the time it’s the people that can’t afford tuition. But I think that’s wrong. Matter of fact, it’s admirable, don’t you think? Those people are so talented that strangers are willing to spend money on them. How it must feel for them to receive such kindness and recognition!” He smiled from ear to ear as he placed himself in the same situation. He wanted people to see his play, when he kicks the ball into the goal, the goalie just barely grazing his fingers on the shoot.

Mina looked at him with surprise. The boy had such an open-minded view that he was amazed he belonged in her father’s world, in that world she despised so much. It took her awhile to realize that Jungkook was asking her of her passions.

“Ah, I do ballet, amongst other things, but dancing is my passion… and video games...” She hesitated to say the last bit, but she felt that she could be open to this boy as well. It was a hobby of hers that she never felt obliged to reveal.

“Wow. You’re full of surprises. No offense, but I always pegged you to be this proper girl who only listened to classical music and go to theater plays and have full-course dinners and be an entirely boring person. No offense.”

The Japanese crossed her arms and leaned in, “Now, what makes you think that? Is it because of my looks? My upbringing?”

Jungkook waved his arms in front of him, “No. no, not at all. It’s just that my dad speaks about you sometimes. I guess the image he presented to me was of that, and I can see how utterly wrong he was.” Mina looked at him as if looking for an explanation, so he continued. “I mean, as for the proper girl part, that was correct. I see that. But meeting you, I can tell that you just plainly don’t want to give a , but you kind of do.”

“Did you just cuss?”

“Yes, ma’am I did.”

Mina laughed, “You gave up on first impressions, didn’t you?”

He shrugged, “That’s after I realized that we can get along well. To be honest, I kind of lied to you. I don’t go to those gatherings not just because I’m busy, but also because I’m tired of trying to be what everyone wants me to me to be, how they want me to act. I surmised that I would end up yawning in the middle of it and I just don’t want to give people that ‘embarrassment.’” He put up air quotes on the last word with his fingers.

“Does your father know that?”

“Of course not,” he scoffed. “I’ll save him the truth since he doesn’t force me anyways.”

“Lucky you. I always get dragged into those despite my reluctance.”

“Did you get dragged into this too?”

“Pretty much,” she nodded. “You’re a nice guy, you really are. But to be honest with you, this isn’t going to move forward. Because you’re such a kind person, I don’t want to get your hopes up. While I am enjoying your company, I’m just not interested.”

Instead of a show of disappointment Mina expected from him, the boy smiled. “You know, you didn’t have to say yes. If you refused, we might not even be here, since I already said no to him.”

Mina slightly tilted her head, “You said no?”

Jungkook nodded. “But because he said that were okay with it, I figured why not. My plan was to reject you because we have nothing in common, but I was wrong on that assumption. We’re more alike than I thought.”

“I feel the same way. You’re actually the first guy my dad set me up with that I didn’t want to throw water on.”

“Why, thank you for saving me the embarrassment,” he said with a hint of sarcasm.

“I’m curious though, why did you first refuse on this date?”

Jungkook wore this smile that seemed to signify longing. He was thinking about something that just makes him purely happy. He pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of a girl.

Looking upon it, Mina found the girl average in terms of looks, but she had a charm in her that she found endearing. She looked up at the boy, “Who is it?”

“My girlfriend,” he answered. Mina looked down at the picture again and then up at him. He had the eyes of a person filled with love. She could see it when he gazed upon the photo. “My dad doesn’t know about it yet, but I plan on telling him after I graduate. She doesn’t come from a wealthy family nor is she influential enough to stir him, but I want him to know that she’s someone who makes me very happy. As a father, that should matter to him the most. I want to at least convey that to him. Take my shot, you know, even if the chances are near zero.”

There was this growing admiration Mina found for the boy. She wished she could be just as brave. His conviction was so strong that it moved her. She wanted to know their story. She wanted it to work out. In this way, it would at least give her hope that her own relationship has a chance. After that day, Mina exchanged phone numbers with Jungkook, hoping to at least be friends with him and have someone who can relate to the burdens of their backgrounds and the pressure of living up to expectations.

~

The restaurant was packed as usual, phones ringing, waiters bustling about, cooks yelling in the kitchen, customers chit-chatting idly. None of those sounds reached the second floor where Mr. Myoui placed his office in soundproof walls. It was very rarely that he was called downstairs. Only if important people visited his restaurant or if there was some ruckus that needed his attention. The owner spent day and night in that little room more so than his own home.

Mr. Myoui stretched his arms up from another day’s hard work. He took longer than he usually did to finish everything that needed to be done. There was always so much in his mind, so filled that he barely had any time to think about himself. Often times, he would find himself suffering from a stomach ache only to realize that he hadn’t eaten anything for a few days. He would remain in his study for hours and see the sun rise without even realizing he had stayed up all night.

His mind was particularly more occupied as of late. The thoughts and images came back to him like a tornado. The signs he tried to forget and the truth he tried to deny came back to hit him in the back as if to scream at him that they never left. He knew, as a father, that there was something going on with his daughter. He paid attention enough to see it.

Mina had a good friend when she was younger. She would come home from school holding her friend’s hand and off they would go to some neverland they conjured up in their fantasies. He found out by accident one day when he was organizing her room. The diary Mina had kept hidden underneath her bed stuck out, and out of curiosity he opened it.

His daughter spoke about her friend like he would about his wife when he was courting her. She spoke good things about the girl and how she wanted to be with her forever. I want to hold her hand and hug her close, it said. He concluded that those writings were harmless thoughts from an 8 year old girl. Of course, what would little kids know about their feelings? But somewhere in him feared that it wasn’t the case. Somewhere in him, he was anxious. So, he set up Mina’s first ballet lessons to occupy her from any unnecessary thoughts.

It didn’t help that Mina spoke about none of the boys in her class. All those that came to their house had always been girls. When he set her to meet a boy, she was more than reluctant to go, but when a daughter of one of his friends came by, she was more than happy to spend time with her. He thought that perhaps Mina feared the male gender for unknown reasons, but that thought w