Jiwoo felt like absolute crap. She twirled the water in her glass mindlessly as she tried hard to not focus on the other patrons in the vicinity that stared at her from the side. She was embarrassed enough as is without all the unwarranted attention.

She knew she shouldn't have accepted Sooyoung's proposal of setting her up on a blind date, but she didn't have any right to cry when this was all her fault in the first place.

It was Jiwoo's fault she wasn't paying attention and instead had her entire mind set on binge-reading all the chapters of What Does the Fox Say in three days when the older woman suggested it. She hadn't left her house in forty-six hours and still counting when Sooyoung said:

"I know this co-worker who's extremely handsome, a real gentleman, and who recently broke up with his girlfriend. She cheated on him or something and has been looking a bit down. I think you two could benefit from meeting each other."

Like an idiot she replied an empty 'yes' when the whole time she was focusing and Sumin and Sungji (the two main characters from the manhwa) getting together already. So then lo and behold, she couldn't get out of the arrangement and here she was by herself. Her date completely MIA.

Checking her phone for the... fifteenth time? Six...teenth? Hell, Jiwoo had lost count of how many times she had checked the time on her phone already. She came here a little earlier than seven and it was already 8:12.

The first few minutes Jiwoo didn't mind. He was probably stuck in traffic or maybe some kind of emergency came up (or at least that's what she wanted to make herself believe to make herself feel better). She held back from ordering food and made do with the free water the waitress kept coming back to refill for her. All she could do now was wait so she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The waitress kept coming back asking if she was ready to order and she knew it was part of her job. Jiwoo wasn't stupid to not notice how every time she asked the young waitress looked like she wanted to evaporate for making her feel bad. But Jiwoo could see the manager on her and from a distance, she was able to catch the words of "if she's not going to order anything then tell her to leave."

Jiwoo didn't want to get her in trouble but she kept asking for a little more time, in case the guy did turn up. She always tried to be positive and not think of the worst possible scenario. She was one to always give people the benefit of the doubt. 

One more time the waitress came to ask if she was ready to order, and Jiwoo promised herself this would be the last time she asked for more time and then she would leave. She didn't miss the look of pity the server gave her when those words left her lips once more just like she had been doing all night.

In all honesty, Jiwoo doesn't even know why she's giving this guy she doesn't even know so many chances. She didn't even want to be here. Jiwoo would much rather stay home with a bunch of junk food on her lap while she binge-watched some terrible series on Netflix.

But maybe that was the same reason why she came and was so intent on wanting this blind date to go well. Because she was tired of spending every night alone in her apartment with no one to share the family size chips with as she watched Jane the for the third time.

Even a blind man could see that she'd been stood up. And by a guy that Sooyoung claimed was "a complete gentleman and the reincarnation of Prince Charming."

Jiwoo sent a quick text to Sooyoung that the dude never showed up and was ready to up and leave then and there.

"Prince Charming my ," Jiwoo grumbled under her breath.

She checked her phone one last time, 8:36. She had done enough waiting. She shoved her phone in her purse and fought back tears because she felt like such an idiot. She tried so hard and for what?

She dressed up in her best dress. Worried whether her make-up was too heavy or too light. Stressed over how her hair looked and even went as far as making an appointment at the salon earlier today, all for nothing. Plus the apologetic looks everyone around the establishment kept throwing her way were not making her feel better, because it's obvious they knew.

The waitress in charge of her table knew.

The other servers knew.

Hell, even the paintings on the wall knew.

As she tossed her purse strap over her shoulder and got up, a random stranger appeared in front of her. Jiwoo was taken aback by the abrupt appearance, the person huffing and almost knocking down the arrangements on the table.

Now, Jiwoo might not be the next Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew, but she didn't have to be to know for a fact that this was not her intended date for one simple reason... this was a girl (a very pretty girl) who looked to be about her age.

Her hair long and a pretty hazelnut color, eyes big and expressive, and her lips perfectly defined sporting the most confident red Jiwoo has ever seen. She was wearing a two-piece red suit with a black shirt inside but instead of dress pants, she had short trousers on showing off her toned legs. Jiwoo was lucky the table was between them otherwise her staring would've been too obvious. 

And said girl just plopped down in front of her, subconsciously making Jiwoo copy her. 

With an apologetic tone– and excessively loud voice– she said, "I'm so sorry I'm late, love! Traffic was crazy. Everyone was waiting for a turtle to cross the street safely and you can imagine how long that took."

Jiwoo was looking at her like she was crazy but the next thing she whispered clarified everything.

Leaning in close the brunette told her, "Just go with it, alright? Whoever stood you up is an idiot."

And maybe it was because Jiwoo had already wasted enough time and put in a lot of effort for tonight (or maybe it was because the girl was really cute and she was so sweet for trying to save her like this) but she decided to go along with it.

And why not? She had nothing to lose at this point. The worse that could happen was that the girl would make her pay and even that outcome wouldn't be the end of the world.

So then Jiwoo smiled at her and introduced herself. She might as well get to know her for real. "I'm Kim Jiwoo. And you are?"

"Jungeun. Kim Jungeun," she extended her hand for a handshake. "Pleasured to meet a beautiful girl on this beautiful evening." She showed off a dazzling smile and Jiwoo could feel herself swoon automatically.

She didn't know if Jungeun was just saying that because she was taking the role of her date too seriously or if the compliment was sincere. Nevertheless, she accepted the praise and returned the praise. "Likewise. I'm very lucky to share this gorgeous evening with someone just as gorgeous." 

The two shared a laugh and found it surprising how neither cringed at the game they were playing. It was like they were just having fun but didn't take offense in the role of being a real couple. 

The waitress that had been checking up on Jiwoo the whole night came back with a big smile, most certainly relieved for her. (The manager didn't seem to be on a bad mood anymore either so that was a bonus).

"Are you ready to order or do you need more time?" She asked.

Jungeun quickly opened the menu, scanned the options in mere seconds and just picked at random. "Yeah, can I have this one?" She pointed. "And water is fine, thank you."

Jotting down the order the server then turned to Jiwoo. "And for you Miss?"

Jiwoo had p