“Unnie, you seem a lot happier lately. Did something good happen?” Miyeon asked as she leaned in to get a good look at her manager, and friend’s, face. Amongst the girls that you spent a lot of time with during your trainee days, Miyeon and Eunbi were the two that ultimately ended up debuting in the girl group that your company was putting together. Hyewon was working as a staff member for the company’s new boy group, and a couple of the others had found jobs within the company, were still trainees, or had left to pursue other dreams. The four of you still met up from time to time when Hyewon’s schedule synced up with yours, but things were definitely different now. The four of you were no longer those starry-eyed girls from three years ago.

“Do I?” you inquired, answering the younger girl’s question with your own question. Yet all that did was get her to move a bit closer, trying to figure out if you were lying to her. When Miyeon seemed to have gotten her answer, she settled down beside you again, pushing her freshly curled locks over her shoulder.

“I don’t know… our schedules have been pretty packed lately, and you looked pretty tired at the beginning. But now you’re like, all smiles all of the time. I thought that maybe something good happened,” the younger one explained.

“Something good? Did Seongwu finally propose?” Eunbi inquired coming to join the two of you now that her makeup and hair was done. Granted, in true Eunbi fashion, she just spouted out the first thing that came to mind and that got some of the other girls to gather.

“Seongwu-oppa proposed?!” Mina asked sitting on the back of the couch when she came scrambling over with a couple of the other girls.

You threw Eunbi a glare in the process and your friend only shrugged her shoulders in response. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that the two of you were the same age and for the fact that you were close, you probably wouldn’t have put up with it. But, she had been one of the people that supported you, alongside with Seongwu, of following your want to be a manager instead of staying as a trainee. She was a good friend… but also a troublemaker. “He didn’t propose. Eunbi is just being Eunbi,” you said flatly.

“So then, why do you look so happy lately?” Miyeon asked, wanting to get a straight answer out of you. Mina also chimed in that she had noticed that you seemed happier lately, and you almost couldn’t believe it. Did you really change?

Miyeon was right, everyone, both the staff and the artist had been pretty tired lately. The girls were gaining interest from the industry and so the number of love calls trying to get them onto shows had increased. But the company wasn’t a big one, so getting enough staff members to cover everything was difficult. It meant that a lot of you had to pick up the slack in some areas, and that definitely had taken a toll on all of you.

But the girls had said that you looked happier lately…and you wondered if maybe… it was these letters from Seongwu. You had only gotten through two of them, but maybe something about his effort in putting this little gift together, and just remembering your time together, just made you feel better? It was hard to say, but you did know that he made you happy, and maybe it was just showing in other parts of your life.

So, you let the girls in on Seongwu’s little gift for you before he went overseas. You were met with a chuckle from Eunbi as she commented on how much of a cheesy romantic he was, to which you agreed. But the other girls cooed over his efforts, calling him sweet and telling you that you were extremely lucky. You supposed that was true as well. He was definitely sweet to you, and he often made you wonder how you had landed someone so incredible. He was someone that always motivated you to do better. He just… meant the world to you.

Before the girls could bombard you with any more questions, one of their other managers came in to let them know they were on standby. And just like that, the talk of your letters came to an end, and you all went back to work…

---

The day hadn’t been as bad as others. The girls finished up their recording, you and the managers took them to lunch, and now they were back in the practice room, working with their choreographer on a new routine that they would be performing to a song that would accompany their goodbye stage the next week.

You were in charge of watching over the girls today as they did what they needed to. The other managers were busy working with the company to sort out their upcoming schedules, making sure that it was feasibly something that you could all do. This, of course, meant that you had some time to yourself. There wasn’t much you could do while you were in that practice room, so you reached into your bag and gingerly pulled out one of those familiar envelopes, the current date scrolled on top of it.

When you admitted that you liked me too, I was over the moon. It felt like everything was going right. Not only did I get to spend even more time with you, but I was also able to call you mine. Thing was, I never felt like I was able to give you much when we started dating. I was working a bunch of odd jobs just to make ends meet. I didn’t feel like I could give you everything that I knew you deserved, mostly with how supportive you were of me, how much you helped me while I was a trainee at that company.

And then one day, it dawned on me that we had never really gone on a proper date. We were always so busy as trainees that we would just go down the street to the convenience store to grab dinner. But I wanted to take you to that restaurant that you really liked. It wasn’t anything expensive, but it was still a bit much for me to afford back then. I thought it was a place that we could walk to, but it turned out that I had looked up the wrong restaurant. You paid dessert… and the ride back. I felt pretty terrible that you had to do that when I was the one that planned the date, to begin with. But your actions really warmed my heart. It made me fall for my love even more…

Ah, your first date was definitely… it was a good time…

“Hey,” Seongwu said after he had plopped his head down into your lap, looking up at you while you pressed away at your phone screen. The two of you were in the practice room alone, waiting for some of the other trainees to show up so that you could start working on your routine. Now that the two of you were together, Seongwu was more outwardly expressive with his skinship, even to the point where he made some of the trainees roll their eyes at him. He didn’t care, as he knew that you enjoyed it, even if you didn’t outwardly admit it.

You hummed gently in response, sending the message you had been typing away at before you placed the phone down, looking now at your boyfriend who seemed rather comfy in his new spot. “Yes, Seongwu,” you said gently, hand gently playing with his hair.

His small smile grew now that he knew he had your attention. “I realized the other night that I’ve never taken you on an official date. Where do you want to go?” he asked.

You made a bit of a face at him. “So, basically spending this much time with each other and going to get dinner together… none of it was a real date?” you inquired, interested in your boyfriend’s logic.  You had learned in the last few months that Seongwu had some very interesting ways of thinking. You accepted him for it, but it was pretty entertaining.

“I mean, but it wasn’t an official date? Like, when we go out to eat, either the others come with or we do it because we’re starving. We already spend a lot of time together, but I’m talking about going and doing something together. Like going out and getting food at some place that isn’t that tiny convenience store owned by Mr. Lee. Come on, what do you want to do?” he insisted, gently reaching up to grasp your hand. “I want to do something nice for you.”

Seongwu’s gesture was sweet. He was always trying to take such good care of you, almost to the point where it was a little too much sometimes. Not in a bad way, just that you felt like you didn’t reciprocate all of his efforts. You felt bad. “Other than the fact that we’re pretty broke, there’s really nowhere I feel like I need to go. I like this, Seongwu. I like just spending time with you.”

He let out a light sigh as he sat up after catching sight of the clock, knowing that the other trainees would be arriving soon. He looked at you with a small pout. “Fine, but I’m going to think of something, okay?” he said, placing a gentle kiss on your forehead before getting up to do his stretches, you quickly following suit.

Seongwu dropped the conversation of your first date for a few of days, but it was no surprise to you when he declared that the two of you would be going on your first date that night. He told you that it was an opportune time because you weren’t working that night and neither was he. The two of you didn’t have any practice planned, so it was the opportune time. Now having anything you could use as an excuse, you agreed, going home right after practice to change into something a little nicer before going to meet your boyfriend at his dorm.

“So Romeo, where are you taking me on our ‘first date’?” you asked, walking down the street with Seongwu, hand in hand.

His smile grew to the point where his eyes formed crescent shapes. “I am going to treat you to a meal at that restaurant you’re always talking about. Now, before you protest, I got paid today, and it should be more than enough for us to get a nice meal. I don’t want you to worry about tonight, okay? I am going to treat my lovely girlfriend to the most amazing meal,” he announced, peppering the side of your head in kisses.

Though you enjoyed the affection, you couldn’t help but furrow your brow a bit. “I mean, we can do that if you want, but if so, we’ll have to get a ride there,” you said, which got Seongwu to stop his onslaught of kisses.

“What do you mean,” he started, looking at you with a look that was between confusion and panic. “Isn’t it the one down the street from here?”

You smiled gently, almost not having the heart to break it to him, though you knew that you had to say something. “That one has a similar name… but the one I like it actually across town? But Seongwu, we don’t have to go there, we can just eat around here,” you insisted, not wanting to make him go out of his way to make this happen.

Though Seongwu quickly shook his head in response. “No, no, if that’s the one you like, that’s the one we’ll go to,” he said firmly, leading you over to one of the busier roads where the taxi service was always available for those that needed it. He let you give the driver the address, and just like that, the two of you were off.

It didn’t take you long to get to the restaurant and to your luck, even though it was pretty packed, they had a table for two available. You were quickly seated and the two of you were pretty quick to order, though, you probably ordered a bit too much for two people. When you had brought that up to Seongwu he denied it. “Look, we aren’t going to do this often. We’ll eat more than enough today, and then go back to snacks for the next while. This is a treat for both of us.”

And as you waited for your order to come out, you talked amongst yourselves like you usually did. You told Seongwu about your friend, Jooyeon, who had just broken up with her boyfriend about a month ago and was now thinking about dating again. Seongwu had suggested that you set her up with one of his friends, and though double dates were fun, you also didn’t want to be responsible if this relationship also ended in failure. “Maybe not with Jooyeon,” you had told him, and it seemed like Seongwu got the hint.

In turn, Seongwu told you mostly about work, the random jobs that he had picked up to make some extra money. He mostly emphasized the handful of modeling gigs that he managed to pick up. Honestly, you weren’t surprised that they would want to hire Seongwu. Maybe it was your rose-colored lenses for your boyfriend, but he definitely had the look of a model. He’d fit right into whatever it was that they needed him to model.

“Don’t worry, I won’t dump you for another model,” he teased, watching as you raised you looked at him in surprise. “Oh come on, I could see it on your face when I mentioned it. Kind of cute how jealous you got.”

“I’m not… jealous,” you said slowly, though you could tell that your boyfriend didn’t seem to believe you. Lucky for you, your food came out at that moment, saving you from having to endure his endless teasing for the time being.

The meal was the most incredible thing that either of you had in a long time. It was filling, and likely too much food as the ajummas that ran the establishment had taken a liking to your boyfriend and kept giving you sides, but it was well worth it. After all, Seongwu was right. When was the next time the two of you would do this again?

When you had finished eating and found the will to stand up, you headed to the front, Seongwu paying for your meal before you left the establishment together, walking down the busy streets in hopes of digesting some of the amazing food that the two of you had just engulfed.

“I think I know why you like that place so much. They gave us so much food!” Seongwu said letting out a soft noise as you walked side by side.

You giggled softly. “They usually don’t give that much food. I think they just thought you were handsome,” you retorted, making him smirk.

“I mean, I am. You are dating a complete catch,” he said proudly, watching as you rolled your eyes at him. You looked like you were about to say something to him, to , but something seemed to catch your eye and Seongwu was quick to turn and see what it was. Just to his right was a little ice cream shop, which he soon realized was the source of the amazing vanilla smell that was in the air. “Want dessert?” he asked with a grin.

“Seongwu, we just finished eating that massive meal, we shouldn’t,” you argued, though with that look on his face that said, ‘when will we do this again,’ you knew that you were done for. You liked Seongwu a lot, but he really did cause you to make terrible decisions sometimes. And yet… you still made them. Such a terrible influence.

The two of you took a detour and walked into the small ice cream shop, the young girl behind the counter happily greeting the both of you. As you were looking at the different flavors of ice cream, you couldn’t help but notice Seongwu out of the corner of your eye. He seemed like he was deep in thought finger to his lip. But when he noticed your eyes on him, he quickly smiled and was at your side, asking you what you would be getting, picking something for himself.

When you had both picked what you’d like, you moved to the counter to pay, and as the girl gave the total, you could see that look of concern on Seongwu’s face again. You knew what was wrong, and so you decided to step in. You pulled your card out of your wallet and gave it to her, Seongwu looking at you with wide eyes.

He waited until the younger girl went to get your ice cream before he came up to you. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said gently. You could see the guilt in his eyes, but you knew that look well. You often had the same one when you weren’t sure if you’d have enough money for something. Seongwu had spent so much on the ride here and on dinner that you couldn’t let him pay for dessert too. It wasn’t right.

“I wanted to. You treated me to an amazing dinner, so let me treat you to dessert,” you said simply and with a small smile. You could tell that he still felt a bit uncomfortable, but before he could say anything about it, the girl called you both over to get your ice cream. You thanked her before you both exited the shop, continuing on your walk through the city with ice cream in hand.

The entire time that you had walked side by side, eating your ice cream, Seongwu had only been giving short answers whenever you asked him a question. Eventually, you stopped asking questions, knowing that he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Even when you were waiting for a taxi, he didn’t say much. When one did arrive, he gave the driver your address, saying that he’d drop you off first and walk the rest of the way back.

The silence was unbearable for you though. You didn’t like him like this. And so, while he sat there silently, looking out the window, you gently scooted over, wrapping your arms around his. “I had a good time tonight, Seongwu,” you said gently, your words honest.

They seemed to get him to snap out of his thoughts as he looked down at your with a faint smile. “I’m glad. I just feel bad that I wasn’t able to cover everything. You shouldn’t have had to cover dessert,” he said, finally letting his thoughts out.

“It’s really okay. I know you wanted to do everything, but sometimes, sometimes I’m going to have to help, and it’s okay. You give me more than enough love to make up for it,” you said gently, though you were also teasing him a bit. Hearing that chuckle from him let you know that he was feeling a bit better about it all. He gingerly took his arm away from your grasp and wrapped it around you, placing a kiss on the top of your head in thanks.

Now that you thought about it, that was probably the moment that the both of you realized that you could depend on each other. Yeah, it was just dinner and dessert, but you both became more open about your difficulties after that. That was also probably one of your favorite dates with Seongwu… as it gave you the wonderful lock screen that you still had on your phone after all of these years…