Joohyun glanced at her pouting fiancėe as she drummed her fingers (the one right next to the pinky finally adorned with a ring) impatiently on the table that they were sitting at. They had been waiting for twenty minutes past their promised meeting time, and no one had showed up yet.

            “Hyunnie, I swear to god, if she doesn’t—”

            Speak of the devil. There was Kim Yerim.

Joohyun sighed in relief and got up to scold her younger cousin, on the verge of throwing her stiletto at her for starving Seulgi, who was very punctual about feeding the black hole that existed in her torso. While Joohyun definitely thought herself to be the dominant one in the relationship (something that Seulgi also unfortunately claimed for herself), she hated starving the taller girl, because Seulgi became the most annoying child to exist on the face of earth when she was hungry. And Joohyun had to deal with Yerim while growing up. Enough said.

            “Unnies, I’m so sorry!” She didn’t look sorry. “Taeyong said there was a lot of traffic on the way to pick me up, so we’re a little late.”

            “I wouldn’t call almost half an hour, ‘a little late,’” Seulgi growled. Joohyun patted her head like one would for a complaining tiger cub. “We agreed to noon sharp, Yerim.”

            The younger girl grabbed Taeyong’s arm as she sat them down in front of the other couple. “Unnie, I said it’s Yeri now, not Yerim.”

            “Ah yes, I forgot about that life-changing moment where you decided to drop one letter from your legal name. Truly iconic.”

            Yerim face-palmed. “The fortune teller said that changing the last syllable of my name slightly would bring better marriage luck.”

            “If you’re still serial dating at twenty-nine, I’m afraid that she lied to you.”

            “Unlike you two, I’m looking to get plenty of experience before settling down.”

            Joohyun and Seulgi looked at each other bewildered. Seulgi pointed a finger at Yerim. “Why the hell did we agree to do this with her? At least I like Jennie and Lisa!”

            “Seul, you’re the one who forgot to take the list down when Yeri visited. If she hadn’t seen that, we wouldn’t be here.”

            “Yeah, but she’s two years younger than me; we don’t have to listen to her.” Seulgi glared at Joohyun. “I can’t even convince you to let me get a new gaming console with a great time in bed, flowers, a meal, and insanely expensive necklaces, but you gave into her request when she bribed you with tteokbokki.”

            “Okay, but you know that her mom’s tteokbokki is literally ic—”

            “Umm,” Yerim interrupted. “So, this is Taeyong.” The doe-eyed boy gave an awkward smile and slight wave. “We met at…” Yerim hesitated, looking at her date. “We met at the dentist.”

            Joohyun snorted. “I didn’t know the dentist was a place where you could get drunk and dance with other people.

            “Well, technically if you consume enough mouthwash—”

            “Seulgi, you’re not helping.” The older girl glanced at the clueless monolidded child. “She made that up. I’m the one who picked her up at the club when that dude called.”

            “He has a name. Repeat after me. Taeyong. Tae—”

            Seulgi waved her off. “Okay, okay.” She looked at Taeyong straight in the eyes. “Listen, dude. You seem like a great person, especially if you stuck around to look after Kim Yerim’s drunk , but this girl has never dated anyone for more than a month, and you deserve better.”

            “Hey!” Surprisingly, it was Joohyun who spoke. “Don’t tell him that.” She leaned into Seulgi’s ear to whisper the next words. “The faster we can marry Yeri off to a nice, obedient boy, the less we have to put up with her wild stories about her flings and picking her drunk up at clubs when she goes hunting.”

            Seulgi nodded, enlightened, and looked at Joohyun with an expression of determination. “You know what? You’re right.” She turned back to Taeyong. “But of course, she’s a very sweet girl, and the entire family is hoping you’ll finally be the one to tame her wild ways. We’ve only heard good things about you.”

            “You have?” Yerim looked confused, while Taeyong brightened up considerably. Joohyun held back her laughter as she called for the server. “I didn’t know she’d already told you so much about me.” Taeyong shyly glimpsed at the girl next to him. “I know it’s only been two weeks, but I’ve never met someone who made me smile this much with her antics.”

            “Aren’t you just a romantic,” Seulgi teased as Joohyun pointed at the menu. She nodded at the spaghetti aglio e olio. Joohyun and Yerim ordered while Seulgi and Taeyong continued to talk. “I would kill for this girl to be that sweet with her words. No one would know that she’s a published author with the way she talks.”

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