“I don’t know Yeri…”

Joohyun hesitantly looks at Yeri while fiddling with the hem of her shirt. She really isn’t sure how she got talked into going on this date but here she is. Nervous, uncertain and definitely not ready for her date in a couple hours.

Work has been killing her for the past week and all she wanted to do was have a weekend of peace and quiet, without any obligations aside from the usual grocery shopping and doing some laundry of course. This Saturday started off nice but it quickly went all pear-shaped when Yeri called her and asked her what she was going to wear to her date. She completely forgot about her date and she’s been unable to do anything relaxing for the rest of the day.

Why did it have to be today? She just wanted to catch up on one of her series, cook something nice for herself, do some laundry, have some wine maybe, but Yeri just had to plan it for today. Well, Yeri also didn’t really know her week was going to be like this when she set up the date so she can’t really blame her. Just herself for having said yes to this.

“Ahh come on unnie, it will be fun!”

“For you? Yes. But I’m not good with new people. You know how awkward I can get. What if it goes badly and we have nothing in common? Then I have to find a polite way to get out of there”, she argues as she runs her fingers through her hair.

“Unnie don’t worry. I know for a fact that you guys have plenty in common.”

“You sure?”, she asks.

“100 percent. She’s really nice, don’t worry too much.”

Joohyun locks eyes with Yeri who seems to be unusually calm today. If Yeri is that confident she must be nice enough.

“Okay then. At least you set me up with a girl now”, she teases, eyes shining in amusement.

“Unnie!” Yeri groans and her cheeks quickly turn a light shade of red at the memory of her mistake from last time. Setting up Joohyun unnie with this nice guy that used to go to college with her and had a big fat crush on her unnie, was, admittedly, a big mistake.

“How was I supposed to know that you’re not into guys? You never tell me any of these things!”, Yeri exclaims, her eyes frantically shifting around looking at anything else but Joohyun, who is clearly very amused by how this is all playing out.

Joohyun laughs. “Well, you could have asked you know. I would have told you.”

“And then what?”

“Then I wouldn’t have had to go on that awful date. He was very embarrassed when I told him I don’t lean that way.”

“Yeah, well….. I thought you liked him. Maybe just a little.”

“Clearly I didn’t. Definitely not like that. We just worked on a school project together. He kept staring at me the whole time.”

“You can’t blame the guy really. You’re very -and I mean very- easy on the eyes.”

“It’s uncomfortable when they look at you like that.”

Yeri sighs and gives her a pat on the shoulder. “I promise that from now on I’ll only set you up with pretty girls. Well honestly…. I can probably retire after today, my job here is done”, she states.

Yeri plants her hands on her hips and gives Joohyun a once-over. “Now, you need to get ready.”

Before she can even register what is happening, Joohyun is being ushered into her bedroom, towards her closet and is very unceremoniously dropped on her bed while Yeri takes the liberty to go through her clothes.

“What are you going to wear?”

She gets up slowly and walks towards her closet to rummage through the piles of clothing to find the items she had in mind. “Uh… maybe this?” She holds up a pair of black skinny jeans and a black turtleneck.

“Unnie, I know you may not be ecstatic about the date but can’t you at least put in some effort?”

She huffs and rolls her eyes before picking up some other items. “This?”, she turns around to show Yeri.

“No, no, no, unnie-” Yeri scrunches up her face and shakes her head. “-a BIG NO-NO.”

“Why not? You said I looked nice in those clothes before.” Joohyun feels herself get mildly irritated by the blatant refusal of the, in her opinion, valid options for a first date. The clothes are nice and she looks great in them, according to her friends, well mostly Yeri and Joy, but most importantly she’s comfortable. She huffs in frustration, throwing her head back in the process.

“You do! Of course you do! You’d make a garbage bag look good but you’re not wearing this to your first meeting with your future wife. I’ll never hear the end of how I didn’t stop you from wearing that.”

She an eyebrow. “My wife?”

“If everything goes according to plan.” Yeri holds up both her hands and laughs nervously, walking a few steps backwards. “No pressure though.”

“I don’t know how I feel about you planning my whole love life.”

“Well, on your own I haven’t really seen you get any action—“

“Yah!” She swings her arm and hits Yeri on her upper arm. ”I’m still your unnie!”

“Ouch. Why always so violent, unnie?” Yeri rubs her arm over the spot Joohyun just hit while laughing.

“I am not. I am named after the goddess of peace after all. But you just have the talent to bring that particular side out of me.”

“Doesn’t seem very peaceful to me.”

“Tsk”, Joohyun clicks her tongue in disapproval.

“Anyway, Irene,” Yeri says pointedly. ”I think it’s time you allow Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to enter your life now. Finally, don’t you think?” Yeri finishes with a small smile directed towards her, her gaze softening.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m just… I don’t know… I haven’t met anybody yet…”

“Unnie, I know. You deserve someone special. Who will give you the world, okay? But don’t fret, I think I found you the one. She’s amazing, you’re going to love her.”

“Look at you jumping to conclusions. How are you so sure I’m going to like her?” Joohyun’s still skeptical and bites her lip to ease her upcoming nerves. She has never told Yeri about a ‘type’ she may or may not have. Or previous crushes for that matter.

“It’s Joy’s other unnie you’re meeting. Well, also my unnie.”

“I don’t know that unnie, so that’s not helpful at all”, she counters quickly.

Yeri rolls her eyes at her and tries to hide her snickering behind her hand. “That’s why it’s called a blind date. Look at it this way. Don’t you think that since the other unnie is able to handle Joy, she’s similar to you managing me right? We’re quite a hand full as you know. Especially together.”

“Truer words have never been spoken”, she mutters under her breath. “I guess she’s a bit like me then. But I need more, tell me about her.”

“No.”

“No?”

“You heard me.”

“Why not?” she asks pointedly.

“Because~ …… I don’t want to, unnie”, the younger says playfully, eyes shining with mirth.

She sends her a glare cold enough to let her know she’s not playing around. And it seems to be effective as she observes the younger swallowing nervously, her eyes betraying a little fear as they dart around the room.

“Kim Yerim, spill it. No discussion. I’m nervous as hell right now knowing I’m meeting a stranger in a few hours, who is your unnie”, she says sternly and pokes the younger’s forehead. “I trust you but I want to know what to expect, at least a little.” She lets the words hang in the air between them for a few seconds. “Help me out here, please”, she adds softly.

Yeri observes her silently before she reluctantly gives in with a sigh. How can she say no to that? “Fine. But promise me you’ll never tell unnie I told you this though, I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.”

Joohyun releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding and chuckles lightly. “Which is that you actually do think she’s great and that you are a big softie who doesn’t know how to thank her for putting up with your annoying ? I’ve been there.”

“I hate you.”

“And yet you still end up at my doorstep whenever something happens”, she teases.

“Convenience.”

“You’re not fooling anyone.”

Yeri huffs and walks back to sit on her bed. “You wanted to know about unnie? Let’s see, she is caring, sweet, warm-hearted, dorky and a whole lot of other things you will have to find out for yourself, but definitely girlfriend material. For you”, she adds that last part with extra emphasis.

“Okay go on, I’m listening”, she says, eyeing Yeri expectantly.

“From what I heard she was quite the charmer at her University. Loved and admired by many, also girl-crush and all that…”

“Hmmm so a player?” she asks, her nose scrunching in disapproval, a bit put off by that. She’s definitely not that type of person and she’s not sure they would match well.

“No, no, definitely not”, Yeri quickly corrects her before she can ponder on that thought any longer than necessary. “She’s just naturally charming and likeable but she’s oblivious to the effect she has on people. You’ll see. You literally have to spell it out for her, which is funny because being an honors student you would think she’d catch on faster.”

Joohyun feels somewhat relieved, a sense of calm coming over her knowing that the woman is just naturally that way, charming. “So, she’s a smart one, huh?” she asks the younger girl, focusing on the last part of her explanation.

“Oh yeah, honors student with straight A’s all throughout University, ironically. And although she doesn’t talk about it, I figured out that she was in the debate club and a sports clubs, I can’t remember which one, and she also sang on the side. Pretty cool. Won several prizes as well. Other than that, basically married to her books and boring as hell but still somehow a walking (wet) dream for everyone on campus.”

“Popular”, she mutters under her breath, almost a whisper. But Yeri caught it anyway.

“Not because she wanted to though. Just like you.”

Absentmindedly, Joohyun hums in acknowledgement, going over the information Yeri just told her in her mind. She had to push Yeri to tell her something but actually shared more than Joohyun expected.

“Well, she definitely seems interesting but I’d like to know more about the things you mentioned before, like the girlfriend material thing? More specifically in relation to me.”

Yeri laughs. “This is all I’m going to tell you unnie, the rest you have to figure out yourself.”

“But you just talked about how she was in school, not what she is like now”, she protests, flailing her arms to get her point across to the younger.

“You have to ask her and find out yourself. Can’t reveal everything, now can I?”

She knows Yeri is right. She didn’t expect Yeri to tell her anything in the first place so these tidbits of information are already greatly appreciated. It’s better than not knowing anything. She will get to know the woman and ask her things later. Besides, she’s always thought that getting to know someone personally is much better than making up an opinion about someone through other people.

She lets a small sigh escape. “I guess that’s all I’m getting out of you?”, she pouts. She’s feeling less nervous, but only a little. She bites the inside of her cheek.

Sensing her unnie’s apprehension, still, Yeri decides it’s time to activate plan B. She and Joy were fully prepared for this to happen. As both unnies like to be organised, prepared and in control, they figured that neither of them would be ecstatic to go on a date with someone they don’t know and have never seen before. And one arranged by the resident ‘devil’s duo’ does not directly instill a sense of calm in their minds. Rather the complete opposite. So, to prevent the women from canceling all together or have them be shy and not talk to each other during their dinner, they decided they needed a plan.

“Would a picture maybe help to ease your nerves and convince you to not blow the whole thing off?” Yeri asks her.

When they came up with the plan in their apartment, Joy and Yeri exchanged a few flattering pictures of their unnies to be shown to the other. They argued that their unnies didn’t really have to go on a ‘blind’ date. A normal date would do the trick.

At that idea, Joohyun eagerly nods her head, eyes widening a little in surprise. She didn’t expect Yeri to give her anything else. “Yes, show me please.”

As Yeri fiddles with her phone trying to find the pictures, Joohyun waits, thinking about what Yeri just told her about her date. Sweet, warm-hearted, caring but also smart and hard working. Those are definitely characteristics she likes in a person. But will they get along and have similar hobbies or like they say, opposites attract? Or are they more compatible as friends?

Her thoughts are interrupted by Yeri.

“Here…..” Yeri grins as she holds out her the phone for Joohyun to take. “Look at these 5 pictures. Just swipe to the left.”

“I know how phones work, Yeri.”

“Just checking, grandma.”

With an eyeroll, Joohyun takes the phone from the younger and takes a closer look.

The first picture shows Joy and a smaller woman, who she assumes to be the unnie she will be meeting later. Joy is playfully kissing the others cheek, eyes closed and hands wrapped around her small frame, legs slightly bent to make herself roughly the same height as the other, while the shorter woman is unbothered by Joy’s antics, she seems to be used to it as much as she is used to Yeri’s ways, and just looks straight into the camera.

A soft, warm smile plays on the beautiful woman’s lips and her dark brown, short hair frames her face. She’s wearing a simple black t-shirt with rolled up sleeves and jeans that hug her quite nicely. But the first thing that comes to Joohyun’s mind is how pretty and expressive her eyes are. Even from a distance and through the screen they have a certain sparkle. A mix of amusement and softness somehow readable in the bright, brown orbs. Mesmerizing. She’s definitely interesting, Joohyun muses. She has to resists the urge to zoom in so she quickly swipes to the next picture.

The second one is a picture of the same woman sitting at a table in a café, leaning slightly forward to the camera while holding a bubble tea and smiling brightly, showing pearly-white teeth. This time her twinkling eyes are hidden behind cute, black-rimmed round glasses that give her a professor type look. She’s wearing an off the shoulder navy blue top that shows off her collarbones and her hair is put up in a messy bun. It looks good on her, Joohyun thinks. Nothing special is really happening in the picture, just her sitting in a café and smiling but she can’t seem to look away. Something about her feels familiar. Approachable. Comfortable. Easy to talk to. All good things that Joohyun didn’t think a picture of a complete stranger could convey at first glance but in the back of her mind it makes her look forward to meet this person later.

To say she is surprised when she looks at the next picture is an understatement. She expected a similar photo from the previous ones. Not this. The woman is attractively grinning and half-hiding behind a cake she’s holding up, her eyes shining with something like amusement. Wearing a white turtle neck with a long camel coat and high waisted jeans - the woman looks expensive, chic and alluring without even doing anything. Yeri is standing next to the woman, hand on her shoulder blowing out some candles. She must’ve made it for Yeri’s birthday, she muses. Cute. Very Cute. Unconsciously, Joohyun starts to smile a little bit and as soon as she notices, she quickly goes to the next picture, bringing her face back to a neutral expression, hoping Yeri did not see her.

But her breath gets momentarily caught in when her eyes fall on a selfie where the woman’s wearing a light blue sweater and winking at the camera. Pink lips lazily stretched in a half smile and a dimple visible on her cheek, several ear piercings decorating her ear and her dangling earring shining in the sunlight and one of her beautiful brown eyes looking directly at her. She gulps and lets her eyes roam over the woman’s features. She’s pretty. Not that Joohyun thought she wasn’t attractive – no. pretty, she corrects herself -- in the other pictures but this one hits differently. This woman definitely would have made her turn her head to catch an extra glimpse if they went to the same University.

How did Yeri manage to get this picture? She needs it…. She will have to ask Yeri to send her this one. Yes, she can recognize the woman easier if she has a picture. Yeah…

After giving a quick glance to Yeri who is watching her quietly from the edge of her bed, a big smile threatening to take over, she swipes to the last picture. It’s a candid, which she assumes is taken by Joy or Yeri or another friend. In the background she can see a clear blue sky and the Han river and the woman is sitting on the grass wearing a simple t-shirt. The picture shows her mid-laugh, the tip of her tongue peeking out between her teeth, lips stained a light pink, her nose scrunched up and eyes squinted into crescent moons. It’s quite possibly the most beautiful, eye-blinding smile Joohyun has ever seen and it shakes her right through her core. The sun hiding behind her head is giving her an ethereal glow and she looks very soft and happy. Joohyun wonders what her laugh sounds like. Is it soft or boisterous? Is it infectious? What makes her laugh? Does she always look like that when she laughs? She looks so happy. No worries, just pure bliss on her face. It looks good on her. She looks good.

Meanwhile, Yeri quietly observes the way Joohyun’s expression changes throughout the pictures and she feels a little accomplished seeing her unnie’s reactions. Already. Without even meeting Seungwan unnie. How she unconsciously bites her lip or how she pauses at every picture to analyze the others face, eyes roaming over every detail before the corners of her lips tilt up slightly and she moves onto the next to repeat it. She’s never seen her like this before.

“What do you think?” Yeri asks, pulling Joohyun out of her train of thought.

Joohyun abruptly locks the phone and walks back to the younger girl to give it back. “She seems…”, she clears , “…nice.” When did get so dry?

“Unnie, don’t lie. I know you too well for that. That look tells me enough”, Yeri says, waving a hand in front of her face.

She pouts and takes a deep breath. “Okay. Well, I do-…kind of-…. maybe..- think she looks cute??”

“I knew it, you like her!”

“I’m just saying she’s--”

She gets cut off by Yeri. “You’re so into her, unnie.”

“I don’t even know her yet.” Joohyun mutters under her breath, barely audible. “We’ll see….”

Yeri squeals and fist bumps the air. She starts running out of her bedroom but quickly turns back with a sly smile on her face.

“Oh, just so you know, I expect that I can name one of your cats. As a thank you.”

Joohyun rolls her eyes and snickers thinking about Yeri overlooking a small detail. She will never have a pet. She’s scared of animals, just like Yeri, but the younger seems to have forgotten that too for a second.

“Better even, your first-born child!” Yeri seems to think about it for a hot second before making her decision. “Definitively your first child.”

“In your dreams”, she deadpans. “Now help me choose an outfit then.”

“Ohh~ now you want to look nice for your date?”

She groans. “Shut up. Are you going to help me or not?”