“Kim Yerim, I’m gonna kill you.” Joohyun mutters under her breath as she fidgets with the collar of her blouse.

 

“What?” Yeri feigns ignorance. “I didn’t do anything.”

 

“I swear to God, Yeri.” Joohyun glares at her younger friend. “If this blind date’s another disaster..”

 

“Look.” Yeri says impatiently. “What’s the point of being finally single if you’re not gonna go on dates?”

 

“But you always set me up with weirdos!”

 

Yeri tuts as she wags a small finger at Joohyun’s face. “Not this time, my friend.”

 

Joohyun looks at her quizzically.

 

 After Joohyun broke up with her longtime boyfriend several months ago, Yeri wasted no time trying to set her up on dates with men that, to be honest, either creeped her out or bored her out of her mind.

 

It was always the same story that Joohyun already had it broken down into ten guaranteed steps:

 

1. Guy gets mesmerized by her beauty.
2. Guy cannot stop staring at her.
3. Guy stutters whenever he talks to her.
4. Guy tries (and fails) to impress her with his job, or his skills, or his social status.
5. Guy makes a fool of himself trying to get her to smile.
6. Guy obnoxiously offers to pay for the meal.
7. Guy offers his coat (even though she’s not cold).
8. Guy attempts to hold her hand.
9. Guy tries to kiss her by the end of the date.
10. Guy asks if they could meet again.

 

Each time, her answer had been no. And at the end of each date, Joohyun always felt empty. Because guys only seemed to care about how pretty she was so they didn’t even bother to really try to get to know her.

 

When Joohyun suddenly blurted that she was maybe into girls because she thought their neighbor looked cute in a sundress about a week ago, Yeri’s eyes got so big that for a second, Joohyun was worried that they’d fall out of their sockets.

 

“Well, why didn’t you tell me you were into girls??” Yeri almost shouted.

 

“I didn’t know, okay?” Irene replied with her hands up. “And I don’t know if I’m really into girls, I just thought Jennie looked cute that day!”

 

Irene is snapped back to the present when she hears Yeri’s cackle as she talks to someone on the phone.

 

“All right, I’ll see you soon!” Yeri hangs up.

 

“Seriously, Yeri.” Joohyun sighs. “If this guy’s another dud, I’ll lock you out of the apartment.”

 

“Just trust me on this.” Yeri winks and Joohyun’s level of distrust skyrockets.

 

“I really don’t.”

 

“Tell you what,” Yeri tucks her phone back to her bag. “Let’s make a bet. I’ll give you a hundred if you don’t kiss your date by the end of the night.”

 

“Deal.” Joohyun snorts. “That’s the easiest hundred I’ll ever make.”

 

“We’ll see about that.” Yeri waves at someone behind Joohyun.

 

She turns around to sees two girls standing several feet behind her.

 

“Wendy!” Yeri excitedly calls out.

 

The smaller of the two girls steps forward and engulfs Yeri in a brief hug. “You look great, Yerim!”

 

“Me?” Yeri squeals. “Look at you! You’re blonde now! It really suits you.”

 

Wendy laughs and she drags the taller girl closer.

 

Joohyun notices her for the first time and she looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here.

 

Same. 

 

“This is Seulgi.” Wendy presents. Yeri and the girl shake hands.

 

“This is my roommate.” Yeri gestures to Joohyun and she also exchanges pleasantries with Wendy.

 

Yeri turns to Joohyun and points to Seulgi.

 

“So.. this is your date.” She suppresses a laugh as Joohyun’s face contorts to an indignant surprise.

 

“Now, play nice.” Wendy pushes her friend down the chair that Yeri recently vacated. “I’ll see you later, Seul. Please stay out until around 10 pm.”

 

“I hate you.” Joohyun hears her whisper angrily but Wendy is just smiling innocently.

 

“I’ll see you later, roomie!” Yeri throws one last wicked smile at Joohyun’s direction and the latter’s fingers twitch as she itches to strangle her friend.

 

Seulgi crosses her arms and her haughty expression makes Joohyun uneasy. This is the first time she’s had a blind date with a girl and certainly the first time that someone looks apparently unhappy in her company.

 

Joohyun clears . Her date is determinedly looking at anywhere except her.

 

“Do you want to order something?” Joohyun offers. To be honest, she’s quite annoyed that she’s the one who is doing all the talking, since she’s used to being entertained by men hopelessly pining after her.

 

“Fine.” Seulgi grabs the menu and she casually swings one leg over the other. Joohyun follows the action and she slowly scans her date from head to toe.

 

Joohyun would be lying if she said she didn’t find Seulgi attractive. The leather jacket paired with the white shirt.. Joohyun already finds herself staring for far too long.

 

Aside from the clothes, Seulgi’s dismissive attitude towards her really piques Joohyun’s interest. She has never experienced being ignored like this and it makes her quite annoyed but at the same time, Joohyun is curious to know more about the sulky person in front of her.

 

“I’ll have the steak.” Seulgi closes the menu with a snap.

 

“You sure are hungry, aren’t you?” Joohyun smirks.

 

“You’ll probably get the salad, won’t you?” Seulgi raises one eyebrow and it catches Joohyun off guard.

 

She shakes her head internally. Focus, Joohyun.

 

"So what if I will?"

 

Seulgi just grunts.

 

Joohyun goes back to her foolproof 10-step guide.

 

“Aren’t you going to ask my name?” Joohyun positions herself at an angle that knocked the wind off her dates in the past.

 

“It’s Joohyun, right?” Seulgi stares at her straight in the eye and Joohyun is suddenly struck by Seulgi’s chocolate brown eyes.

 

1. Guy gets mesmerized by her beauty.

 

“H-how did you know?”

 

“My roommate told me.” She shrugged.

 

“I actually prefer to be called Irene.” Joohyun tries to regain control. "Only people close to me call me Joohyun."

 

“If you say so.”

 

Joohyun impatiently drums her fingers on the table.

 

“I hope you don’t mind that Seungwan told me.” Seulgi says. “Your small friend, Yeri? She gave us some details about you.”

 

Joohyun showers Yeri with profanity in her mind. “Seungwan is..?” She tilts her head to the side.

 

“Wendy.” Seulgi slightly rolls her eyes. “I really don’t get the reason why people use English names.”

 

“So you’re a traditional Korean, then?” Joohyun asks.

 

“Look at me.” Seulgi snorts and gestures at herself. “Do I look traditional to you?”

 

Joohyun does what she’s told and she regrets it almost instantly.

 

2. Guy cannot stop staring at her.

 

“Here’s your meal.” The server comes laden with food and Joohyun is grateful for the distraction.

 

Seulgi looks up at the server and she smiles widely. “Thank you. Wow, this smells so good.”

 

Seulgi suddenly radiates this intoxicating energy now that Joohyun has seen her smile. She quickly shakes the thought away.

 

The server blushes and bows slightly, taken aback by the compliment. “I’ll be back with your drinks.”

 

“Sure. Take your time, miss.”

 

“Do you always flirt with servers?” Joohyun asks skeptically. She’s seen this before, when guys pretended to be nice to their waiters for the sake of coming off as magnanimous but Joohyun always saw right through it.

 

“What?” Seulgi seems genuinely surprised. “I wasn’t flirting.”

 

Seulgi picks up her plate and fans it to Joohyun’s direction. “Can’t you smell how delicious this is?”

 

Joohyun takes a small whiff and frowns. It does smell delicious. She notes how she feels slightly relieved that Seulgi isn't faking; she's just being nice.

 

The server is back with their drinks and Joohyun instantly regrets her meal choice. The steak really does look and smell delicious and her meager salad looks sad next to it.

 

Seulgi notices this and she smiles slightly. Then she takes her knife and proceeds to cut up half of her meat.

 

“Excuse me,” Seulgi calls the attention of the server. “Can I have another plate, please?”

 

Once the server is back with her request, Seulgi transfers half of the steak onto the plate and slides it across the table.

 

“What are you doing?” Joohyun asks.

 

“You were salivating at my meal.” Seulgi smiles crookedly and Joohyun’s heart makes a slight ba-dump. “I don’t mind sharing my food.”

 

Before Joohyun could protest, Seulgi takes her salad and puts half of the contents of the plate on her own.

 

“There.” Seulgi places Joohyun’s plate back carefully. “Now, can we eat?”

 

They eat in silence and Joohyun bites her lip as she tries to think of conversation topics. She’s getting really annoyed now because usually, she’s the one giving answers rather than struggling to come up with questions.

 

She is snapped out of her reverie when she sees Seulgi slowly taking off her jacket.

 

“It’s getting hot.” Seulgi explains and Joohyun just nods. She tries to stop herself from looking at Seulgi but it’s impossible because the girl is clearly well-built the way her shirt clings to her body.

 

Joohyun briefly wonders what it would feel like to grab on to Seulgi’s biceps and she chokes on her food as she realizes what she’s thinking.

 

“You okay?” Seulgi’s face is masked with concern.

 

“Y-yes.” Joohyun sputters.

 

“Okay.” She’s back to looking pensive.

 

Halfway through their meal, Seulgi suddenly stops eating. She props up one of her elbows on the table and leans on her hand as she stares at Joohyun.

 

“W-what are you looking at?” Joohyun becomes conscious of how she eats.

 

“Are you nervous?” Seulgi says.

 

“What? I’m not.” Joohyun grabs a tissue to wipe a nonexistent crumb of food.

 

“You look tense.” Seulgi observes. “Your shoulders are way up.”

 

“Oh. I—I hadn’t noticed.” Joohyun stutters.

 

3. Guy stutters whenever he talks to her.

 

 

“So what do you do?” Joohyun finally asks to get Seulgi to stop observing her.

 

“What do you do?” Seulgi returns the question.

 

“I asked first.”

 

“I don’t want to tell you.” Joohyun wonders why Seulgi’s features suddenly softened slightly.

 

“Fine.” Joohyun concedes. “I’m a lawyer.”

 

I pity the person who has to argue against you. They’d never win against that beautiful face. Joohyun’s eyes are ready to roll since this was all she heard whenever the guys she dated learned about her profession.

 

“You fighting for the good guys?” Seulgi asks and again, Joohyun is completely caught off guard.

 

“Yes.” Joohyun smiles earnestly. “I’m an environmental lawyer, and we represent the little guys suing big corporations.”

 

“That’s good.” Seulgi smiles for a brief second and Joohyun suddenly finds herself craving for more.

 

“Now will you please tell me what you do for a living?”

 

Seulgi gets serious again. “I.. I work three jobs to try to sustain my art career.”

 

Joohyun feels her heart warming up. She looks so shy talking about her passion. “Oh.”

 

“It’s stupid, I know.” Seulgi says in a small voice. “But I really want to be a painter.”

                                        

“It’s not stupid.” Joohyun says softly. Her respect for Seulgi suddenly goes up and she’s really curious to see her date’s works of art.

 

4. Guy tries (and fails) to impress her with his job, or his skills, or his social status.

 

“But it doesn’t pay the bills.” Seulgi smiles crookedly again. And again, Joohyun blushes.

 

“You work three jobs? How do you do that?” Joohyun presses on.

 

“Let’s see.” Seulgi looks up, deep in thought. “I’m an English tutor on the weekends, I freelance as a choreographer, and I got some lame corporate job during the day.”

 

“Ohhhh.” Joohyun nods in amazement. It seems like Seulgi can do it all. “So that’s why you’re so toned.”

 

“Excuse me?” Seulgi looks at her questioningly.

 

WHAT THE DAMN HELL DID I JUST SAY?

 

“I mean,” Joohyun scratches her head nervously. “I.. uh---”

 

Then Seulgi laughs heartily. Joohyun finds herself laughing with the other girl despite having embarrassed herself moments ago.

 

5. Guy makes a fool of himself trying to get her to smile.

 

“You’re funny, Irene.” Seulgi smiles widely. Joohyun’s name sounds so delightful coming from Seulgi’s mouth. “You’re so weird.”

 

“You know,” Joohyun pouts. “You’re actually cuter when you smile.”

 

“So you thought I was already cute?” Seulgi raises one eyebrow again and she went from cute to insanely alluring. Joohyun feels her knees getting weak.

 

“N-no.”

 

The server comes near again to hand them the check and Joohyun is eternally grateful for the interruption.

 

“Why don’t we split the bill?” Seulgi inspects the check. “Since we already split our meals. Does that seem fair to you?”

 

6. Guy obnoxiously offers to pay for the meal.

 

“Absolutely.”

 

“So, where do we go next?” Seulgi says as she drapes her coat over her jacket. “You want to grab a drink?”

 

Joohyun is surprised to hear herself say yes immediately. She’s usually feigning exhaustion by this time of the night just so she can get away from her date. But right now, she enjoys Seulgi’s company and she’s craving to get to know her more.

 

They settle on a bar near the restaurant and Joohyun orders a beer while Seulgi opts for a whisky. Usually, Joohyun would order a glass of champagne, just to keep up with appearances.

 

Drinking beer is so unlady-like. Her ex-boyfriend used to say.

 

As Joohyun sipped on her drink, she cautiously peeks at Seulgi, wondering how she’d react.

 

“So you like beer,” Seulgi grins. “Cool. Seungwan likes to drink wine, so I don’t get to drink beer as much as I used to.”

 

“You and Wendy seem so close.” Joohyun observes.

 

“Yeah. She’s my best friend.” Seulgi replies. “We met in college and I used to hate her because we were crushing on the same girl.”

 

“Who won?” Joohyun pictures how Seulgi looked like as a college girl.

 

“Neither of us.” Seulgi laughs. “She was straight.”

 

“That’s unfortunate.” Joohyun chuckles. “You always pine after the same girl?”

 

“No.” Seulgi takes a sip of her drink. “Seungwan and I have different types. That one girl was just the exception.”

 

“So what’s your type?” Joohyun asks innocently.

 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Seulgi smirks and Joohyun blushes.

 

“Whatever.” She tries to come off as indifferent. “I was just making conversation.”

 

“All right.” Seulgi chuckles. “I was just teasing.”

 

Then she absentmindedly her cheek. “I like a girl who’s kind and smart.”

 

I’m kind and smart. Joohyun thinks despite herself.

 

“That’s it?” Joohyun says after Seulgi has been quiet for several minutes.

 

“What about you?” Seulgi points to her. “What’s your type?”

 

“Someone who keeps me on my toes.” Joohyun answers simply.

 

Someone like you.

 

“That’s it?” Seulgi repeats her line.

 

“Don’t you like someone pretty, Seulgi?” Joohyun asks.

 

“Of course I do.” Seulgi answers. “But more than that, I want someone who has principles. Someone who’s not superficial. Someone..”

 

Seulgi trails off and Joohyun peers at her curiously.

 

“Someone who’s going to support my dreams.”

 

Joohyun senses Seulgi’s walls have come down but a moment passes and she’s back to wearing that guarded expression.

 

“Anyway, let’s talk about you.” She stares at Joohyun intensely and the latter could only grip her beer tightly as she tries to return the gaze.

 

“Were you always this fidgety on first dates?” Seulgi’s eyes narrow but a smile forms on her lips.

 

Joohyun really wants to be offended but the way Seulgi’s leaning close to her really throws her off.

 

“I’m not!” Joohyun retaliates.

 

It’s true. She always has control over the people she meets. Always has the upper hand. But now, Joohyun feels herself squirming as Seulgi grazes her arm with the tips of her fingers.

 

“It’s just that..” Joohyun trails off. “It’s my first time having a date with a girl.”

 

Seulgi leans back. “Really?”

 

“Yes.” Joohyun bites her lip, embarrassed at her confession.

 

“Don’t do that.”

 

Joohyun looks up and Seulgi’s eyes are several shades darker. “Don’t do what?”

 

“Bite your lip.” Seulgi’s voice is hoarse and she cups Joohyun’s chin, staring at her lips intensely. “You did it earlier too. It’s distracting.”

 

“Is it?” Joohyun moves closer and Seulgi closes the distance slowly.

 

Joohyun closes her eyes just as their lips are mere centimeters apart. And then---

 

“Seulgi!”

 

Joohyun jumps as a hand slams down on the table, in the space directly between them. They move away from each other and Seulgi looks up at the owner of the hand.

 

“Sooyoung?” She says.

 

“Where the hell have you been?” The tall girl called Sooyoung says loudly. “I’ve been looking for you all night!”

 

“Is this your girlfriend?” Joohyun looks positively aghast as she gathers her things to leave.

 

“No, no—”

 

“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” Sooyoung interjects.

 

Joohyun stands up to leave.

 

I knew she was too good to be true.

 

“Wait, Irene!” Seulgi calls after her.

 

Joohyun briskly walks outside, shivering from the cold.

 

“Stupid! Stupid!” Joohyun curses under her breath. “I knew it, this is the last time I’m gonna go on blind dates. Kim Yerim you are so dea—”

 

“Hold up, please.” Seulgi grabs her arm and Joohyun jumps back, letting out a small shriek. “Wow, you scare easily.”

 

“You’ve got some nerve, Seulgi!” Joohyun seethes. “Saying you like someone who has principles, when you’re a ing cheater?”

 

Joohyun is again caught off guard when Seulgi laughs.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Seulgi says in between chuckles. “But you look so adorable shouting in this cold. Your ears are poking out of your hair and you look like a little rabb--”

 

With a murderous glare, Joohyun closes her fist and rams it hard against Seulgi’s stomach. She tries to ignore how rock hard they feel as Seulgi keels over in pain.

 

“What.. the.. .” Seulgi chokes out.

 

“You deserve that!” Joohyun shouts.

 

“Sooyoung—” Seulgi says in between coughs.

 

“Save it.” Joohyun turns around and starts walking. “I’m leaving.”

 

“Wait..” Seulgi says feebly, still doubled over. “Sooyoung is not..”

 

“What?”

 

“Seungwan’s..”

 

“What?” Joohyun slowly walks back to Seulgi, who is still in a coughing fit.

 

“What about her?” Joohyun says impatiently.

 

Once Seulgi’s recovered, she smiles crookedly again. “You pack quite a punch.”

 

Joohyun makes a fist again and Seulgi cowers. “No, please stop! I’m sorry.”

 

“Now explain!” Joohyun commands.

 

“Sooyoung is Seungwan’s girlfriend!” Seulgi says hurriedly. “All right?”

 

“What?” Joohyun shivers again. “Then why was she so mad when she saw us?”

 

“Because she got locked out of the apartment.” Seulgi answers. “You see, Seungwan wanted her out of the house so she can set up the surprise.”

 

“What surprise?” Joohyun says, bewildered.

 

“It’s their anniversary.” Seulgi smiles. “And Seungwan has been avoiding her all day because she doesn’t think she’d be able to keep the surprise a secret.”

 

Seulgi pouts. “Then Seungwan kicked me out so she can prepare the apartment, that’s why she set me up on this blind date. Sooyoung has been calling me all night, I don’t know how she found me though. Must have scoured every bar nearby.”

 

Joohyun stares at the ground, suddenly becoming very red in the face.

 

“So you’re..”

 

“I’m not a cheater.” Seulgi says. “I’m single. Yeah.”

 

“And I just—”

 

“Kicked the crap out me,” Seulgi laughs and her eyes disappear into crescents. “Yeah.”

 

Joohyun wishes the ground could open up and swallow her whole.

 

“I’m really sorry!” Joohyun bows at a stiff 45 degree angle.

 

Seulgi just laughs harder and she closes the distance between them. “Come on, get up. It’s all right.”

 

“No, it’s not!” Joohyun wails. “I punched your stomach! What kind of date does that?!”

 

“It’s okay.” Seulgi shrugs out of her coat and gently places it over Joohyun. “Now let’s get out of this cold. Your bunny ears are getting red.”

 

7. Guy offers his coat (even though she’s not cold).

 

They settle on a small café and Seulgi orders a large cup of coffee for sharing.

 

“I don’t drink coffee.” Joohyun says apologetically.

 

“Oh, sorry about that. Hang on.” Seulgi gets up to order tea.

 

They both sit across each other, sipping their drinks.

 

“Who taught you to punch like that?” Seulgi asks.

 

“My dad.” Joohyun says shyly. “He said there were a lot of creeps out there and I should be more careful since I had a pretty face.”

 

“You say that like it’s your fault.” Seulgi says before she takes a sip.

 

“Sometimes, I feel like it is.” Joohyun says in a small voice.

 

“But you know it’s not, right?” Seulgi moves closer.

 

“I feel like that’s all people see, you know?” Joohyun doesn’t even know why she’s telling Seulgi all this.

 

“You can’t be serious?” Seulgi places her chin on her hands, head tilting sideways. “I mean, yes, you are incredibly beautiful but you’re so much more than that!”

 

It’s the first time in a long time that Joohyun blushes after being called beautiful.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah.” Seulgi smiles widely. “I mean, I just met you, but you’re cool, intelligent, kind, sassy, with integrity, and you’re strong, even when you’re tiny, Irene.”

 

“You’re so sweet.” Joohyun holds Seulgi's hand and squeezes. "And please call me Joohyun."

 

8. Guy attempts to hold her hand.

 

“I’m telling the truth.” Seulgi smiles crookedly. "You're amazing, Joohyun."

 

Joohyun feels like she could just melt.

 

“You just described your ideal type, though.” Joohyun teases.

 

“Did I?” There’s a glint in Seulgi’s eyes and Joohyun feels her knees getting weak again.

 

They walk hand in hand back to Seulgi’s car, talking about their lives, their favorite things, even the current events. On the ride back to Joohyun and Yeri’s place, they never run out of things to talk about.

 

Much to Joohyun’s disappointment, they’re now in front of her apartment complex in no time at all.

 

Seulgi unbuckles her seatbelt and she jogs to the other side to open Joohyun’s door.

 

“I’ll walk you to the lobby.” Seulgi smiles and Joohyun contemplates if she should invite her up.

 

Even as they walk as slowly as possible, they reach the entrance before Joohyun has made up her mind.

 

“So,” Seulgi scratches her cheek shyly. “I had fun tonight.”

 

“Me too.” Joohyun replies.

 

“Sorry if I seemed a little off the first time we talked.” Seulgi says sheepishly.

 

“Sorry I punched you real hard.” Joohyun smiles and her eyebrow arches slightly as she bites her lip unconsciously.

 

“I told you, don’t do that.” Seulgi says softly. She shuffles closer to Joohyun. "It's so distracting, Joohyun. It makes me want to do things to you."

 

“I’m sorry..” Joohyun trails off as she moves an inch closer and now their bodies are pressed up against each other.

 

Once again, their faces meet halfway and just when Joohyun is about to close her eyes—

 

“What are you doing?” Joohyun asks incredulously because Seulgi suddenly looks wildly around.

 

“Looking for Sooyoung. That brat better not me again—”

 

Laughing, Joohyun grabs Seulgi by the collar.

 

“Just shut up and kiss me, Seulgi.”

 

9. Guy tries to kiss her by the end of the date.

 

Joohyun forgoes the elevator, choosing to take the stairs. She skips happily and opens the door loudly, humming.

 

Her phone rings and her heart skips a beat as she sees Seulgi’s name.

 

“Shouldn’t you wait three days to call me?” Joohyun teases as soon as she picks up the call.

 

“I’m just calling to remind you that you still have my coat.”

 

Joohyun looks down at what she’s wearing and smiles fondly. She puts a hand up to her nose to sniff the collar.

 

She smells so good.

 

“Bold of you to assume I’m gonna give it back.”

 

Seulgi laughs and Joohyun joins her.

 

“What’s to stop me from thinking this was your plan to get me to see you again?” Joohyun feels Seulgi’s crooked smile through the phone.

 

“Well.. will you?” Joohyun bites her lip.

 

“Will I what?”

 

“Go out with me again?” Joohyun asks.

 

10. Guy asks if they could meet again.

 

“So…” Yeri smiles knowingly as she walks out of her room to see Joohyun sniffing Seulgi’s collar again. “How did it go?”

 

Joohyun rummages through her bag and fishes out her wallet. Then she takes out a hundred and wordlessly puts it in Yeri’s unsuspecting hand before waltzing in her bedroom and shutting the door gently.