Sunmi’s suggestion that Seulgi should perform Heroine with her had delayed the plans a bit, but Joohyun had to admit it was the perfect way to make the actual event a bit less shocking.  It would allow the fans with a creative imagination to picture the two of them together, but without really revealing anything specific just yet.  Laying back on her bed, she took a deep breath, and realized this was all really happening.  Needing a distraction, she picked up her phone to play some mindless game when she noticed an unusual notification.

 “You have a new private message on Tinder.”  she read, briefly confused what that could be. Suddenly the memory of the match she made late that night flooded back, and she instantaneously sat up, her heart suddenly beating fast. 

“It’s not possible.. how.. “ she said to herself, clutching the phone against her chest.  She could feel herself overthinking about how this was a bad idea and not at all practical timing wise. Taking a deep breath, she was able to tell herself that it was just a message, and that all she needed to do was read it.  

“Hi, sorry it took me so long to respond to this, but I was on a hiking trip in Cambodia and my internet connection was terrible!” Joohyun read hesitantly but intrigued. “What you wrote in your profile really resonated with me, and although I usually don’t respond to people who seem to be trying to be anonymous, something about you gave me the urge to find out more. I totally understand if you find that a bit weird and leave this on read, but as they say: “‘Nothing ventured, Nothing gained”, so here’s hoping I intrigue you too.” Joohyun finished reading, her heart still beating fast, her face feeling flushed. 

“Now what do I do?”  Joohyun thought to herself, biting her lip nervously. She really was not comfortable with writing messages online, and she usually kept it really short even when the other members texted her.   Being lost for words she just typed the wide eyed blushing emoji, the smiling with forehead droplet emoji and the two eyes emoji and then hit enter,  turned off the screen and put the phone under her pillow.   Putting her blanket over her head, she wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face in her lap, instantly regretted her response choice. “What even..” she said to herself and shook her head.   A few seconds later her pillow vibrated slightly, indicating a message had arrived. Taking a deep breath, but remaining under her blanket, she grabbed her phone and read the screen hesitantly. 

“Cute… I will take that as a sign that i piqued your interest.  You seem to be a woman of few words. But I can work with that. People sometimes say I have too many.” Joohyun read with a smile, appreciating the grinning emoji at the end of the sentence. “Do you perhaps prefer using voice to communicate? If so we could either call or meet, it’s up to you.  Or we could keep texting too, I am flexible, “ Joohyun continued reading, biting her thumbnail and blushing slightly at the semi-colon and right parenthesis at the end of the sentence.   She felt herself torn about what option to choose.   Texting should be the simplest, but it just felt alien to her. She was concerned she would miss some important cues when reading that would make her embarrass herself and send something in return that would give the wrong impression.   Meeting was of course the ultimate goal, but the idea of sitting across from someone this edgy and cool right away seemed quite intimidating.  That only left calling, which was also quite scary,  but a bit less so than the other two.  Thinking for quite a while, she finally sent the thinking emoji, the gritted-teeth emoji, her phone number and the smiling blushing emoji. “Here goes nothing,” she thought to herself with a sense of unease.

It didn’t take long before she felt her phone vibrate. Clutching it against her chest, she felt her heartbeat through the vibrations for a few moments before answering the call reluctantly. “Yes, hello?” she answered hesitantly, her tone of voice betraying her anxiousness. 

“Hi, is this Yoojung? I believe we were just communicating via text, sort of! ” the voice on the other side said confidently, followed by a slight chuckle. 

“Yes.. this is she.. her.. “ Joohyun responded quietly, relieved she had picked a name that at least sounded similar to her own. 

“Oh hi! This is Hyejeong!  Don’t worry, I don’t bite, haha. But seriously, though; You sounded really cool in your profile and you must have had some reason to pick me, so I decided to give this a chance.  I was a bit worried when you just answered in emoji, but maybe you just don’t like texting; I get that.” Hyejeong said confidently. 

“Yes.. yes that’s it.. typing is.. awkward.. very much so..” Joohyun answered stutteringly, trying not to be intimidated by how confident Hyejeong sounded.

“Sorry, I ramble sometimes.  It’s chill.  I know I didn’t give you much time to prepare for this so let’s just keep it casual. So you like EDM too, eh? Any particular artists or genres?” Hyejeong asked calmly.

Joohyun took a deep breath. “Okay yes, I can do this!” she thought to herself before responding.  “Yes.. a lot of it! Trance, Deep House, Melbourne Bounce, some dubstep. As for artists:  Alan Walker, Deadmaus, New World Sound, Raiden“ she listed, feeling more confident. 

“Heh, wow,  okay, you know your EDM..  Those are cool!  Which clubs do you prefer? I love the Sound Factory myself, especially when DJ Franz is there. But I am always looking for other good spots.” Hyejeong responded excitedly.  

“Oh.. umm.. “ Joohyun answered hesitantly. “I don’t really go to clubs..  Because of my.. ummm.. work..”

“Interesting..” Hyejeong responded with a confused tone of voice. “So like, you work evenings or something?”

“Well yes and no..” Joohyun responded shyly. “Lets just say people tend to judge people in my line of work if we are out and about at clubs and such.. We have to always remain professional and act responsibly…but that’s all I can say..”  She really hoped that was enough.

“Ah I see,” Hyejeong answered confidently but bemused. “Important official work, I assume.. Say no more… we can keep it on the downlow. I can be discrete if needed.. ”   

“Thank you!” Joohyun exclaimed happily, feeling a sense of relief that she wouldn’t have to figure out how to be social in public, even though the idea did appeal to her sometimes..  with friends... In small groups...

“But..” Hyejeong continued, “That does make meeting up a bit more challenging, if you still are up for that, that is...”

“Of course!” Joohyun said excitedly, but then quickly regretting her show of emotion. “I mean.. If you still do.. I don’t want to make things complicated..”

“Nah nah, it’s cool,” Hyejeong responded reassuringly. “You really intrigue me, and I don’t give up that fast.” she added in a sly tone of voice.

Joohyun could feel herself blush and was briefly lost for words. “Okay.. cool cool,” she finally said, before instantly cringing at her word choice. 

“Actually, a friend of mine runs a restaurant that has some private dining rooms with a separate entrance.” Hyejoeng said reassuringly. “ Dating while gay here in Seoul has it challenges, and they have found a solution.  I have been there a few times with dates who weren’t out yet, so maybe that could work for you? The back entrance is from an underground parking garage and everything.” 

“Oh yes... That should work.. I think..” Joohyun said cautiously, realizing there was no turning back now. 

“Hey, it’s a date then! Or just an opportunity to meet someone cool, I am good either way!” Hyejeong said happily. “Oh and as a bonus, one of the dining rooms has a cool sound system so bring a device with your favorite EDM tracks, I can’t wait to hear them. I will bring some of mine too!”

After finding a time and day that worked for both of them, Joohyun hung up and put a pillow over her head to muffle her scream of pent up nervousness and emotion.  This was really happening.  What had she gotten herself into.  How could this possibly not be a complete disaster.   She tried to reassure herself, and was low key excited, but mostly petrified.  It took over an hour of listening to soft EXID songs while anxiously switching resting positions before sleep finally overtook her.