Author's Note: Hello, my pretties! I hope you're having a good week so far :-D

My week started off ok and got crap yesterday after I got into a fight with my mom. And days before my birthday too, so I'm not in the best mood :'-S But I figured I'd cheer myself up by posting this new chapter for all of you :-)

Thank you for the lovely comments as well as the new subscribers and upvotes for this story! You guys are too good to me, you make me feel like a newly minted coin :-P 

And now, onto Seulrene's Friday night dateu! 

Seulgi eventually got out of bed, half expecting the surreal conversation she’d just had with a woman named Juhyun to be an extension of the dream she was clearly still having.

But Juhyun was still in her apartment, and she was definitely awake…right?

Seulgi had the fastest shower ever (4 minutes and 20 seconds, but who’s counting?) before dragging herself back to her bedroom to get dressed for the evening.

She didn’t bother with makeup and threw on her favourite pair of light blue skinny jeans, a baggy white blouse with a cute pink floral design and wedges. It felt pretty nice when Juhyun openly complimented her appearance with nothing but her eyes; those long eyelashes dragged appreciatively over her whole body as she bent to grab her purse on the coffee table. It was a bit disconcerting though when Juhyun slapped her denim cheek and told her and her ‘cute biscuits to move it, I’m starving!’ a moment later.

Seulgi was faintly annoyed when Juhyun walked to the driver’s side of her metallic blue Hyundai Veloster and insisted on driving her car (on account of her pesky tennis elbow). But she didn’t protest too hard and Juhyun seemed to be a fairly conscientious driver.

She only braked like crazy once - and that was to let a group of fat pigeons stroll languidly over a speed bump in the road. How anyone managed to see right in front of them, much less look out for kamikaze birds, was a mystery in itself…

In truth, Seulgi was secretly relieved. As much as she loved driving, she didn’t relish the stiffness in her elbow that always followed her gripping the steering wheel far too tight with both hands. It felt nice to admit that she needed a break from her independent lifestyle sometimes.

They drove for 10 minutes across Banpo Bridge with its breath-taking view of the Han River below as they headed to Gangnam for the evening. There was something soothing to Seulgi about driving over the famous bridge, gazing at water gushing out in shimmering streams on either side. It made her feel that as much as things had changed dramatically in the last 3 years, some things like the oldest structures in the city still remained the same after all this time.

As usual, the traffic coming into Gangnam was thick, cars of every size and colour crawling painstakingly over aged asphalt. Seulgi even spotted a familiar sea green Kia Soul with roof racks on top which passed her car. It made her impulsively want to call her dad on the phone, but she suddenly had trouble remembering his number.

Soon, Juhyun led a confused Seulgi into an upmarket Italian restaurant near the subway. Normally, Seulgi wouldn’t have been caught dead driving (and parallel parking) on such a kamikaze thoroughfare with its higgledy-piggledy high-rise buildings and jay-walking pedestrians at every turn.

Luckily, Juhyun did the parallel parking across from the restaurant, and only in two turns as well.

She drives well and parks my car without hitting fire hydrants. She’s the whole package…

Seulgi had to admit, the restaurant was pretty nice though.

She didn’t love the dim lighting and the challenges it presented with seeing your food or your date. But it was a large space with the tables and booths well spread apart so you could actually hear the scintillating conversation you were having with said date. The regal, light grey arches decorating the four walls reminded Seulgi of what the Coliseum must’ve looked like in its heyday.

Juhyun called ‘dibs’ on the squishy maroon couch in their private booth which Seulgi felt decidedly grumpy about (she wanted her to be cushy too!). Still, she took her seat across from her girlfriend with a semi-gracious air. At least the greige table linens (when had it become acceptable to mesh ‘beige’ and ‘grey’ into a new word that sounded like a skin rash?) were aesthetically appealing with their soft, silken elegance.

Juhyun eyed their surroundings with a dreamy smile on her face. “It’s great not being cooped up in my apartment tonight.”

“That’s because you were in my apartment.” Seulgi said without thinking, her eyes glued to the menu.

Juhyun scoffed and folded her arms. “Wow, someone’s crunchy like gim after their nap.”

Seulgi’s cheeks felt too hot to be natural. “I just meant that…it also for you to be cooped up in my apartment…with me.”

“Nice save,” Juhyun quipped before snatching the menu out of Seulgi’s hands.

If looks could kill, I’d be a stone statue right about now. How does Juhyun have mega Medusa energy right now? And why is it such a turn-on for me???

To Seulgi’s relief, a waiter sidled up to their table and asked them what they’d like to order.

“We’ll have two glasses of Rosé and a lobster ravioli for me.” Juhyun told their waiter with an air of sophistication.

At least that was one thing that Seulgi remembered: she loved a good Rosé. The sweeter, the better.

“I’ll have the carbonara gnocchi and some bread sticks for the table, please.”

The waiter smiled and took their menus. “Molto bene, le signore.”

Cool use of Italian, but I know for sure the only Italian thing this guy knows about is pizza – with kimchi.

Despite her jibe from a moment ago, Juhyun seemed perfectly at ease, which made Seulgi feel guilty when they were alone again.

“Hey, I’m sorry for that quip about you being in my apartment earlier. You’re right, I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

Juhyun’s cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink that Seulgi had ever seen while she stared determinedly down at the tablecloth. “Kwenchana. I’m used to you acting like a bear fresh out of hibernation after one of your naps.”

Despite the obvious snark, Seulgi couldn’t help appreciating Juhyun’s witty comeback. She decided then and there to try and be on her best behaviour for the rest of the night.

Between the two of them, Seulgi and Juhyun demolished the breadsticks before the wine even arrived. Considering what a great body she had, Seulgi was pleased that Juhyun wasn’t one of those women who dined on salads or vegan-only entrées alone at expensive restaurants.

Juhyun giggled when Seulgi screwed one eye shut and braced herself while opening the wine bottle.

“Oh my gosh, you’re so tense right now.”

“I hate the loud pop of the cork!”

“It’s not going to pop!”

“Yes, it is, ssibal - oh, it’s not so bad.” Seulgi finished off when the cork barely hissed, much less popped.

Juhyun rolled her eyes and chuckled at her girlfriend’s idiosyncrasies. She reached for the bottle and poured Rosé into two glasses and handed one of them to Seulgi.

She raised her own wine glass with a twinkle in her eye. “Geonbae. Cheers to us.”

“To us,” Seulgi concurred, even though she was still very much in the dark on the ‘us’ part of hers and Juhyun’s relationship.

“Omo, this is sooooooo good…” Juhyun crooned lovingly through a mouthful of lobster ravioli.

Uwau, she suuuuuure loves food. Maybe they’re the ones who are actually in a long-term relationship…?

Juhyun noticed Seulgi staring at her, and she blushed hard in response. “Aish, I’m having another ‘mukbang moment’, huh?”

Dorky but cute? Which Narnian cupboard did this goddess fall out of?

“No, you’re good. The lobster ravioli is incredible here.” Seulgi offered in earnest.

Without warning, Juhyun reached across the tiny table, intertwining hers and Seulgi’s fingers. “I’ve missed this lately…”

Seulgi felt tingly in all the right places just from this strange woman touching her. “Me too?”

Juhyun giggled and despite knowing nothing else, Seulgi at least knew that she loved this much about her. “Gwiyeowo.”

Seulgi scrunched her nose in confusion, which made her even cuter in Juhyun’s eyes. “And you’re…beautiful. Why are you with me again?”

Juhyun gave her girlfriend a wicked smile. “I love picking up strays.”

“Very funny.” Still, there wasn’t much bite to Seulgi’s words, especially when it gave her another chance to hear Juhyun laugh again.

“It’s so good to get out and just relax together. I love my babies, but they wear me out.”

Seulgi choked on her wine. “You have children???”

I’m dating a hot single mom.

Dae. Bak.

“Only the ones I give back to their parents after Science class.”

“You’re a teacher!” Seulgi declared in understanding. Something about that sentence felt annoyingly familiar, but she couldn’t think why at that precise moment.

Juhyun grinned in amusement. “Chukahae. Are you just getting this after a year of dating?”

“We’ve been dating for a year?!”

A year?! That’s how long blue whales are pregnant for!!! Seriously, why is this woman dating me??? It’s gotta be Stockholm Syndrome…

Juhyun glanced uneasily at the other restaurant patrons staring quizzically at them. “Seulgi-ah, use your inside voice…”

Seulgi lowered her head and spoke behind her half-empty wine glass. “We’ve seriously been dating for a year?” She whispered theatrically.

“Jeongmal. My friends ask me why constantly…”

Seulgi sank back in her chair in a state of disbelief. “Heol.”

“So, you really don’t remember? Or are you just messing with me - like that time you pretended to be in a coma?”

“No, I’m not messing - a coma??? Why did I pretend to be in a coma???”

“You wanted to surprise me for our 6-month anniversary with a weekend away on Jeju Island.”

“Uwau, that’s disturbing and…romantic.”

“I thought so too,” Juhyun agreed while spearing some ravioli on her fork.

“What other crazy stuff have I done in our relationship besides faking a coma? Don’t tell me we also adopted a Vietnamese baby together.”

“Actually…”

“MWUH!!!”

Juhyun burst out laughing, which turned a few heads in the restaurant. “Actually, we didn’t. But your face right now is giving me life.”

Seulgi clutched her chest and heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Don’t scare me like that. I’m too young and immature to have a baby.”

“Don’t forget ‘too neurotic’,” Juhyun added through a mouthful of lobster.

It was strange to Seulgi how well the conversation flowed between them throughout their meal. Hardly any awkward pauses and whenever they appeared, Juhyun deftly switched to another easy and interesting topic of discussion, even while ordering desserts.

Let’s go through the ‘Girlfriend Checklist’.

Pretty - check.

Good conversationalist - check.

Funny - check.

Confident - double check.

Sweet - every check ever invented.

Juhyun interrupted her train of thought by trailing her finger over the rim of her hot chocolate mug. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“Um…I like this hot chocolate?” Seulgi proved her point by taking an unnecessary sip of her drink, creating a poop brown circle around her lips.

Juhyun rolled her eyes and chuckled before sitting on Seulgi’s lap and casually wiping with a clean serviette.

Best. Date. Ever.

When the bill came a little while later, Seulgi played it cool on the outside. But on the inside…

Nearly ₩200,000 for an entire meal??? This is outrageous! Was it even worth it???

Seulgi glanced briefly at Juhyun over the rim of the leather booklet containing their bill. The ambient lighting caught her at just the right angle, illuminating the soft shades of red in her dress and adding lovely golden flecks to her dark brown eyes.

Ne, totally worth it.

Seulgi smiled politely at Kimchi Pizza the waiter while inwardly cursing him and the Italian restaurant for contributing to national inflation. As they got up to leave, a middle-aged woman accidentally bumped shoulders with Juhyun.

“Aigoo, sillyehamnida!”

Juhyun grinned genially while bowing low to the older woman. “It’s no problem, Ma’am.”

The woman, whose skin colouring was tanned like Seulgi’s, eyed the two of them for a brief moment. Seulgi tensed visibly as that same woman’s eyes slid slowly down towards hers and Juhyun’s joined hands.

To her intense surprise, the woman smiled warmly at both of them. “You must enjoy the rest of your evening, my dears.”

While bowing politely and murmuring their goodbyes, Seulgi heard the woman say to her male companion ‘Such a pretty couple,’ as they headed towards the exit.

From a young age, Seulgi had only ever heard people of her parents’ generation (particularly women) view homouality as synonymous with Devil worship.

It seemed like things were changing for the better in South Korea on all accounts.

Finally, it was time to take Juhyun home. She had her own car, but decided to save on petrol by taking a taxi to Seulgi’s place earlier in the evening.

Seulgi had been surprised when her girlfriend opted to go back to her own place - a group of old-fashioned square apartments near Seoul Central Station with a view of the rustic railway tracks a short stroll away. In Juhyun’s own words, they usually did ‘tons of y sleepovers’ at Seulgi’s place. Still, it was probably for the best.

Seulgi could barely contain her impatience to finally have a moment alone to herself. So much had happened that day, and there’d hardly been time to contemplate the meaning of it all.

She gaped in awe when the security guard greeted both her and Juhyun while lifting the traffic boom bar to let them pass.

Juhyun fiddled distractedly with her seat belt. “Walk me to my door?” She asked unexpectedly.

Seulgi gulped nervously but nodded in assent as she got out of her car.

She hoped this wasn’t a ploy for Juhyun to get her inside her place. Though, if she were being perfectly honest, Seulgi knew deep down that she wouldn’t fight terribly hard to refuse.

Yah, don’t give me those judgey eyes, inner me. Juhyun is on legs!

It was a nice walkway leading to Juhyun’s apartment on the first floor: smooth stones embedded in the hard granite fringed with azalea bushes on either side.

At least Juhyun seems safe living in a place like this, considering there’s a train station right on her doorstep. Wait, what am I saying??? Why should I care whether she’s safe here or anywhere else? I don’t know her!

Juhyun jerked her thumb towards her front door, cutting into Seulgi’s whacky inner dialogue. “This is me.”

“Yip…” Seulgi rocked on the balls of her heels to give herself something to do.

She received a pleasant surprise when Juhyun stood on her tiptoes and kissed her sweetly. “Thanks for taking me to dinner. I had a great time.”

Despite her confusion, Seulgi couldn’t help grinning impishly. “Yeah, me too.”

Juhyun bit her bottom lip. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” The evident hesitation in her voice was strangely endearing to Seulgi.

Seulgi impulsively reached for Juhyun’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, see you then.”

Juhyun smiled and unlocked her door. “Well, goodnight. Anjeonhage jib-e gada.”

“Jal jayo.”

Seulgi made sure she heard Juhyun lock her front door. And when she got in her car and cleared the main entrance to the complex, she finally gunned it, making her tiny Hyundai shriek and smoke up in the process as she raced home at F1 Grand Prix velocity down the now empty road.

She threw her front door open minutes later and raced to find a pen and a book - any book. She soon found what she was looking for on one of the bookcases in her apartment.

She made herself comfortable lying on her stomach on the couch. Then she turned to a blank page and began writing in quick spurts.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this Seulrene date night which revealed more about their relationship :-) In keeping with tradition, I'll quickly translate the various Korean words and phrases (and random Italian, lol) I used throughout this chapter:

1) 'Gim' is seaweed, which is often dried and combined with rice, eggs and other side-dishes in a typical Korean meal. 

2) 'Molto bene, le signore' is Italian for 'very good, ladies'. 

3) 'Geonbae' is Korean for 'cheers' when making a toast. 

4) 'Uwau' is an informal way of saying 'wow' in Korean. 

5) 'Mukbang' is a type of live-streamed Korean video where viewers watch people eat A LOT of food on-screen. 

6) 'Gwiyeowo' is Korean for 'you're cute'. 

7) 'Chukahae' is an informal way of saying 'congratulations' in Korean. 

8) 'Jeongmal' is Korean for 'serious' or 'seriously'.

9) 'Heol' is Korean for 'what the' when someone is in shock or disbelief. 

10) 'Ne' is Korean for 'yes'. 

11) 'sillyehamnida' is a formal way of saying 'excuse me' in Korean as a form of apology. 

12) 'Anjeonhage jib-e gada' is Korean for 'get home safely'. 

13) 'Jal jayo' is Korean for 'sleep well' or 'sweet dreams'. 

Haha, that was a lot of Korean in one chapter ;-) I'll be back next week with another update to this story. Time for me to play some iPad games before bed and low-key fantasise about Irene because, let's face it - she is on legs. Thanks for reading, stay safe <3