If there was one thing that Hwang Nari hated, it was commitment. She didn’t see the point of long term relationships and marriage when sooner or later, it all came to an end. All men were womanizers and all women were vengeful. She neither wanted to end up with a womanizer and become vengeful herself, so for most of her life she kept relationships more than an arm’s length away.

Growing up with parents that went through a nasty divorce would do that to any person though. Her dad two-timed her family and ultimately left to start a new family with that woman. Her mother made sure to clean him dry in the divorce but ended up projecting her fantasies of a perfect family onto her only daughter.

And that was how Nari ended up on a blind date on a Saturday night with someone her mother set her up with. It was one of her friend’s sons that had studied abroad for college and was now some financial executive at a big tech company.

At 28-years-old, Nari had only ever had one serious boyfriend that she dated throughout her college. His name was Do Kyungsoo and, if she had to admit, she probably let a good one get away. Kyungsoo was always so thoughtful and attentive but he wanted a future and a family, and Nari just couldn’t see herself there with him. They broke up at graduation when she realized that she was holding him back from finding someone that deserved his love.

Needless to say, her mother was pissed beyond belief. Thus, the blind dates started. The only reason that Nari put up with them for all these years was because her mom, despite her crazy antics, was the only family she had. She was a single child and all her extended family lived abroad so it was just her and her mother.

She would never let the same guy get past one date, however. That was her personal rule, for obvious reasons.

“, I’m late,” Nari murmured to herself as she got out of the cab and tried to fix her long, thick black hair which she stupidly decided to curl.

Nari was in a midnight green two piece with tailored pants to fit her every curve and a long-sleeved crop top that accentuated her waist. With simple gold accessories and heels, her whole outfit complimented her glowing skin. Her makeup was applied with a light hand and was just enough to bring out her natural features.

She sped walked to the entrance of the restaurant and was greeted by the host. “Reservation under… sorry hold on,” Nari had to look at her mom’s text because she forgot the guy’s name. “Kim.. Jongin.”

“Right this way miss,” the host said as he led her to a secluded part of the restaurant where the lighting was more intimate and there were less tables.

When they arrived to their destination, a male with honey skin and slicked back black hair stood up from his chair, showing off his fitted gray suit and brand name accessories. He gave her half a smile and half a smirk before he went around the table and pulled out the chair for her.

Once the chair was pulled out, he turned to her and held his hand out, “Hi, I’m Kim Jongin.” His aura screamed playboy and just like that, Nari had already written him off less than two minutes into the date.

“Hwang Nari,” Nari put the least amount of contact she could possibly achieve when returning his hand shake.

She sat down and let him push her chair in. When Jongin sat in his own seat, he gave her another smirk that made her want to vomit. “So, shall we skip the formalities? You know, our mothers already did the initial introduction for us so there is no need to bore the night with the technical stuff,” Jongin looked like he was doing them both a favor when he said that.

Nari thought the opposite though. Technical? He made it sound like her career was trivial information. She happened to be proud to be an interior designer at Seoul’s most sought-after real estate and construction firm. Nari believed that a woman could have a fulfilling career and didn’t have to depend on a man for the future. This belief carried her throughout college and allowed her to set big goals for herself.

“And here I thought you’d make me listen through you gloating about your job,” Nari said as she tried to not sound too monotone. Jongin didn’t pick up on it, however.

Jongin laughed, “There’s not much to say. I deal with money and I also make lots of it. And I like to use my earnings to spoil beautiful ladies like yourself.”

Nari made sure he saw her roll her eyes this time. “I’m perfectly capable of spoiling myself, Kim Jongin.” She made sure to keep formalities just to spite his earlier remark.

“Feisty, aren’t you?” His smirk reappeared. “I can get on board with that.”

And just like that, she knew the night was over. Standing up, she grabbed her purse and phone before turning to a confused Jongin, “I forgot, I actually had plans to go spoil myself tonight so let’s rain check on this date?”

Nari didn’t even wait for him to respond or for his reaction. She turned around and started to walk away. “!” She heard him say from afar.

And the date ended with Nari having the last smirk.

“Mr. Playboy said what?!” Nari’s best friend, Kang Seulgi, exclaimed as she took a big gulp of her beer. “Like you need a man to do anything for you.”

Her best friend was the person that understood her the best. They met in college and they even ended up working in the same company together. No matter what setting, the two were joint at the hip and people even came up with a couple name for them, Seulri. They were two single women that bonded over putting their career and personal goals over relationships.

Seulgi was an architect, and a damn good one at that. In a short amount of years, she became highly requested by big clients such as celebrities for her modern designs.

“Noona, do you need me to beat him up?” Suh Johnny, a real estate intern at their firm asked.

“Yeah, Johnny is big enough he can take this Jongin.”

Johnny, who they both met at the new intern mixer at their work the other week, quickly latched on to the duo and asked if he could be mentored. He said he wanted to learn how to look at homes and buildings through the eyes of the designers so that he could have a unique selling viewpoint. Basically, he wormed his way into their exclusive group and was determined to make the duo into a trio.

“Thank you for the offer, but buying the next round of shots is enough,” Nari said as she nodded her head towards the back of the room where the bartender was.

“I’m on it!”

After Nari’s not-so perfect date, she decided to head to a bar near her condo complex and made sure to call reinforcements in the form of Seulgi and Johnny. They had a group chat and all she had to say was ‘SOS’ before the two came running.

“Wouldn’t it have been great to have a dongsaeng like him growing up?” Nari laughed as she watched the giant that was called Johnny run to the bartender.

Seulgi rolled her eyes and took another swig of her beer, “More like annoying. I still don’t understand how he managed to weasel his way into our social lives. It’s been two weeks for crying out loud! I don’t even let some guys I’ve dated hang out with me that much.”

“I hate dating,” Nari said before getting rid of the sour taste in that her earlier date left by chugging the rest of her glass of beer. It was her fourth glass and she was definitely starting to feel tipsy as she could feel her word vomit coming. “I’m going to be single forever because there are no decent men around here.”

“Yah, that’s not true. What about me?” Johnny asked as he came back with a tray filled with tequila shots, salt, and limes.

Seulgi and Nari looked at each other before saying in unison, “Too young.”

“Hey! Age is just a number, baby!” Johnny said in his sleazy English tone before wrapping one arm each around the two girls. “Give us younger guys a chance, will you? Not all of us are dorks.”

Seulgi shoved a lime in Johnny’s mouth, “But you are definitely a dork!”

They both laughed as Johnny teared up from the sourness of the lime. After he gathered himself, all three cheered and took the tequila shots in one go. Nari was definitely buzzed at that point and she could tell her friends were both feeling the same thing.

Nari knew this night was going to end up messy, so she had to take some precaution before the rest of the night went on. “Johnny, can you carry my keys? I want to put everything in my purse, but it’s too small and my phone might get scratched with the keys jammed in there. Just remind me to get it from you later.”

“Hand them over, noona. I am very responsible!”

“On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t…” Seulgi joked.

“Yah!”

The same bar they were at had a section for a dance floor at the back of the room next to the bartender and soon the three friends found themselves joining the crowd. Nari felt the stress of the night leave her body as she moved to the beat of the music. She used to frequent bars and clubs quite often, especially when her and Seulgi were still in college, but these days because of work and her mother’s consistent pestering she has been staying home more often. She forgot what it felt to be young, free, and without worry. Her decision to go to the bar that night was definitely a good idea in her opinion.

Sometimes a girl just needed to let go and have some fun.

At first, the three of them were dancing in their own little circle. However, Nari had to give it to Johnny. Slowly and naturally, he managed to go from dancing beside Seulgi to dancing behind her. Seulgi either was to buzzed to care, or hid behind the drinks and actually wanted to dance with him as well. Nari had a feeling that Johnny had other intentions when he constantly bugged Seulgi since the mixer and tonight just confirmed it. Even though he was a new graduate at 22 years old, it did not look like there was an between him and Seulgi. That was also probably why Seulgi let it happen, because unlike some interns, he did not look like his age.

Nari nonchalantly made her way to the bar and took a seat at one of the empty stools. “Can I have a cosmo?” The bartender nodded and walked away to prepare her drink. She could feel the blood rush through her veins as she finally had a moment to stop and rest after dancing.

“Well, well, well…” A voice whispered in her ear. “Looks like you can’t stay away from me after all.”

To Nari’s horror, Kim Jongin appeared in front of her and took the vacant seat. Her blood suddenly turned cold as she realized that she did not manage to get rid of the cockroach.

“So this was what you meant by spoiling yourself? Honey, I would have gladly brought you here to help you with that.”

The bartender came back with her drink and she immediately took it and gulped it down just to avoid speaking to him for a moment longer. “Look, Jongin. I guess you need me to spell it out for you. I. Am. Not. Interested.”

“How about you let me try and change that,” Kim Jongin just smirked at her. Nari hated that smirk with a passion.

She decided to take matters in to her own hands and leave the situation. Nari stood up from the stool with every intention to leave, but she was tipsy and Jongin’s reflexes were faster than hers at the moment. He grabbed onto her arm and started to lean in.

“Come on, Nari. You know you want to give me a chan—“

“Sorry you had to wait long, baby,” a voice from behind her said. Both Jongin and Nari turned around to see a tall male, dressed in a loose, white button up and navy slacks. He was handsome with his tussled black hair and innocent smile from what Nari’s blurry vision could tell.

“Could you please let go of my girlfriend?” Nari’s eyes widened as she looked at the stranger. He raised an eyebrow at her and she suddenly understood that he was trying to save her from the current situation she landed herself in.

“Nari, do you know this guy?” Jongin looked back and forth between Nari and the stranger, a sour expression starting to form on his face.

Nari inhaled deeply before using what energy she had left to get out of Jongin’s grasp. She then walked, in a slightly slanted line, to the stranger and gave him a side embrace. “I was waiting for you. Where did you go?”

The stranger looked at her with fake worry, “Sorry, I went to the bathroom but the line was long.”

Jongin looked annoyed at the situation. “Your mom said you were single, but I guess you like to play games too.” He straightened his posture, adjusted his blazer, and directed his gaze at the stranger. “She went on a blind date with me earlier, but I bet you already knew that. If not, well… that’s your problem to deal with now.” Jongin walked away feeling triumphant as he thought he just wrecked Nari’s relationship.

The two waited until Jongin disappeared in the crowd before letting each other go.

Nari scratched her head as she tried to find the right words, “How did you know?”

The guy laughed as he took a seat at the stool that Nari was previously on and gestured to the seat next to her. “I was sitting on the other sid