‘Hey Chaeng, it’s Jennie. Jennie Kim? I was wondering if you were available for a date this week? Possibly lunch on Wednesday, or dinner if that suits you better? You may reach me at this number. Looking forwards to hearing from you. Jennie’

Delete.

‘Chaeng, it’s me, Jen. Sup? :)) had a great time wth u this wknd, keen on that date? Hit me up’

Delete.

‘Hi, Chaeyoung? It’s me, Kim Jennie. Are you still on for that date? I’m pretty free this week.”

Delete.

Delete, delete, delete.

UGH, how did people do this?! She let out a long groan as she threw her phone to the other side of the couch, throwing her head back in frustration. It had been three days since Chaeyoung had walked out her door with a smile on her lips, leaving behind nothing but her phone number, the lingering feeling of her lips against Jennie’s, and the sound of her s bouncing off the walls.

Three days since the promise of a date.

Three days where Jennie had tried and tried again to come up with the perfect first text message, failing miserably each and every time. Sometimes she made herself sound like an old woman, other times it sounded like she was proposing a business meeting, and yet another try was too casual for her.

She’d never done this before, she’d barely been on a date, her two previous relationships had gone straight from friendships to relationships without the awkward ‘are we or aren’t we’ phase in-between. And she’d always been the pursuee, never the pursuer, and now here she was, the only one of the two with a phone number meaning that if she wanted this to go any further, she had to make the first move. It was either that or wait around, hoping for Chaeyoung to pop into her life once again.

She most definitely wanted this to go much, much further. And with her luck, she’d never accidentally run into Chaeyoung ever again, so she really needed to send a good text message.

Giving herself a few extra minutes to sulk, she grabbed her phone from the end of the couch again, furiously typing a familiar phone number on her phone.

“I need your help.”

“Hello to you too, Jennie.”

“Chu, this is an emergency, I don’t know what to do.”

“About what exactly?”

“Remember what I told you the other day? About Chaeng? She left me her phone number, but she doesn’t have mine, meaning I have to make the first date move, but I’ve never done this before, what do I say? What do I write? I have so many questions Chu, and only you can answer them.”

“Jennie, sweetie, do I strike you as someone who makes the first move? Men and women come to me, I don’t go to them.”

“Chu!! I need you, please. You don’t know how badly I need this. How badly I want this. She’s gorgeous, funny, witty, clever, brilliant in bed, and most importantly; she wants to go out with me. This first message will set the tone for our entire relationship. Not only that, it’ll help her decide if a relationship is even worth having with me. Jisoo, everything comes down to this one single text message and I’ve been trying for three days to come up with something. So please, for the love of god, help me.”

Jennie was having a nervous breakdown, and here she had her very best friend on the phone, laughing her heart out as if Jennie had just said the most hilarious thing in the world.

“Oh, Jendeuk, you’re so unintentionally funny. Relax, how old did you say she was again?”

“…24?”

“She’s young, carefree, she probably doesn’t give a what you text, you could probably post a 15-letter abbreviation consisting of random letters, and she’d still somehow understand it because apparently that’s what millennials do.”

“What? Are you talking about those long strings of nonsense that kids these days seem to love?”

“Mhm. I’m serious babe, she’s into you, she won’t overanalyze your message the way you currently are, just hit her up and I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Swear?”

“Guarantee it. Just tone down yourself a tiny bit, make yourself seem less formal and more casual.”

“I feel like you’re asking for a lot.”

“Trust me. Now go text her right away, before she thinks you see her as nothing more than a one-night stand.”

“Oh god, no, okay, bye thank you, love you!” She heard Jisoo let out a giggling ‘bye’ before hanging up.

Biting her lip, she fiddled her thumbs as she stared at her screen, trying to decide what to write.

“C’mon Jen, what would Chu do…? Here goes nothing.”

‘Hi Chaeng, it’s Jen. You still up for that date?’ Tapping send, she let out a nervous squeal and threw her phone back to the end of the couch, hiding her face in her arms. Her phone vibrated, indicating she had a new notification, making her peak between her fingers, as if the phone would suddenly scream the message at her like a Howler from Harry Potter.

‘And here I was, wondering if I’d ever hear from you again ;) Ofc I’m down for a date, when and where?’

Ahhhhh!! Was all that went through Jennie’s mind, trying to keep calm as she quickly typed a response. ‘I’m pretty open, so whenever works for you? And you seem to be way more familiar with this town than I am, so surprise me ;)’

‘Hmm, I think I’ll be able to find something you’ll like, Miss Kim. I’ll pick you up on Wednesday, 7 pm.’

***

Her hair was in simple waves over her shoulder, her outfit smart, Jisoo would probably tell her it was a bit too formal, but she didn’t care. It made her feel like herself, and she thought that was important for her very first date with a complete stranger. If she wasn’t comfortable with her outfit, how could she feel comfortable with herself and have a good time at the date?

The short answer was that she couldn’t.

So here she was, in a pencil skirt, a smart top, and some classy black heels. She almost looked like she’d just gotten out of the office, but with a few too many buttons open, showing off her cleavage.

Pacing around the apartment, she checked her watch continuously, as if it would make the time go any faster. At 6:58pm, she pulled on a thin jacket in case the evening would get chilly, and bounced down the stairs, the classic Chanel purse her mother had given her once she completed her Ph.D. hanging over her shoulder. Jennie was never late for anything, she’d rather wait downstairs for Chaeng to come to her, rather than make Chaeng wait for her.

Which went against everything Jisoo had told her the night before.