I smiled as I journeyed home.  I went into the dorm and flopped onto the couch, happier than I’d ever been.

          “Hyung, something’s wrong with Joon hyung.  He’s acting weird.”  It was Mir talking to Seungho hyung.

          Seungho hyung came in.  “What happened to you?”

          “I met a girl.”

          “This one won’t last long.”

          I sat up and glared.  “You don’t know hyung.  It’s not like I can’t have a long, stable relationship.  Besides, this girl is way different.  You already know her, too!”

          “I do, huh?  Who is it?”

          I grinned.  “I’m not telling.”

          Mir took his phone out.  “Lizzie’s got a date tonight.”  He pouted.  “I thought I could go over and hang out with her tonight.”

          “Did she tell you who it’s with?”  I acted oblivious.

          “No, she won’t tell me.  Aish, that girl.”

          Seungho sulked.  “She’s never said yes to me.”

          “Haha, I’m better than you hyung,” I thought.  I got up.  “Is Jihoon hyung practicing right now?”

          “He should be,” Seungho sat on the couch and the tv.

          I went to the practice studio to see if hyung could help me.  I was going out with his little cousin, after all.  I knocked on the door since I didn’t hear any music playing.

          “Come in!”

          I went into the room and shut the door.  “Am I bothering you hyung?”

          “No, I was just finishing.  What’s up Joon?”

          I sat down beside him.  “What’s your cousin like?”

          “Which one?”

          “Lizzie,” I looked at him.

          “Why are you asking?”

          I my lips.  I knew how protective of Lizzie my hyung was.  “I asked her out today.”

          “You’re going out with my cousin?”

          “It’s not like she didn’t have a choice to say no.  I thought she did say no at first.”

          “She loves the color purple.”

          “And?”

          He sighed.  “Do you want to know everything?”

          “I want to be able to please her on our date.  Not in that way hyung,” I added when I saw his expression change.

          He sighed in relief.  “Ok, I’ll tell you some things.  She loves her family, hangs out with Mir and U-Kiss’s Yeo Hoonmin, has a partial lactose intolerance, and she loves going to clubs.”

          “Partial lactose intolerance?”  I looked at him, unclear on what he meant.

          “She can’t eat cheese that isn’t melted or made into sauce.  It causes her really terrible abdominal discomfort.”

          “Ohh...”

          “Need to know anything else, food wise?”

          “Is she allergic to anything?”

          “Not that I know of.  She doesn’t like fish that much, unless it’s sushi.  She loves to eat sweet stuff like ice cream.  She never adds salt to food unless it’s bland, otherwise she’ll add black pepper or something else to it.”

          “Thanks hyung.”

          “Joon?”

          “Yeah?”

          “Try not to mention parents in front of her…”

          I looked at him.  “Why?”

          He cleared his throat.  “She lost her parents about five months ago.  Just don’t mention anything about parents.  She gets pretty upset when she thinks of them.”

          “That’s why you’re so protective of her.”

          He nodded.  “I always have been, really.  You know that V.I. of Big Bang is her older brother, right?”

          “Really?”

          “Yeah, he is.  Could you not mention him either?  She gets a little upset when she thinks of him, too.  Her trust in him has dissolved and is slowly reforming.”

          “No mentioning parents or older brother,” I said.  “Got it.”  I got up to leave.  “Thanks hyung.”

          “Joon?  Don’t hurt her.  I’ll murder you if anything happens to her.”

          “I won’t, I promise.”  I left the studio and went home to get ready for my date.  I took a picture of my face and hair, sending it to Lizzie.

          Do I look ok?

          I grabbed my keys and looked at her reply.

          Very nice, Joon.

          I smiled and said goodbye to the guys.  I got in my car and went to her address.  Luckily, I knew the exact location of her address.  It only took about ten minutes to get there.  I straightened my tie and went to the door.  I knocked on it.

          The door is unlocked, if that’s you.  I’ll be out in a sec.  Sit on the couch and wait for me, please.

          I smiled and went into her house, finding the living room easily.  I sat down.  “Your date is here!”

          “I’ll be down in a sec!”

          “Take your time!”  I looked at my watch.  I was ten minutes early.  I heard the click of heels coming down the stairs.  I looked up.

          She descended the rest of the way, hand on the railing as she stepped.

          “Wow…”  Her purple dress stunned me.  It was beautiful.  I stood up.

          Lizzie smiled.  “Do I look ok?”  She turned a three sixty.

          “You look amazing.  Shall we?”

          We walked outside, and I opened the door for her.

          She took the white roses off the seat and smelled them.  “Mm, Joon, they’re so beautiful.”

          I smiled, closing the door.  “Just like you.”  I got in my seat and started the car.  I pulled away from her house.  “This is the first date I’ve been on in a while.”

          “Me too.  It’s probably been since high school since I dated anyone.”  She looked at her phone.  “Mir is texting me still.  I didn’t tell him that I was going on a date with you.”

          “I know.  Jihoon hyung knows, though.”

          “You told him?”

          “Yeah.”

          “Was he upset about it?”

          “I guess you could say that.  He did threaten me before I left the studio.”

          Lizzie giggled.  “Jihoon’s so over protective.  He’s worse than my brother is.  If I told Mir, he would be protective, too.”

          I smiled.  “I’m not scared of the maknae.  Jihoon hyung, on the other hand…”

          “Yeah, he scares everyone.”

          “Even you?”

          “Psh, he’s like a big, goofy brother to me.  He’d never scare me.  I’ve slapped him before.”

          “You?”

          “He made me mad.”

          “I think I should be scared of you, too, now that you’ve said that.”  I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant.  I got out and opened Lizzie’s door for her.

          “Thank you.”  She got out and held my arm as we walked up to the entrance.

          I smiled and opened the door for her again.  I was glad once we got seated.

          “Did Jihoon tell you this was my favorite restaurant?”

          “No.  I made reservations before I even got home, much less talked to hyung.”

          She smiled.  “Well I love this place.”  She took a sip of her drink.

          I observed her as she looked through the menu.  She was so stunning.  I was glad I could have this date with her.  I slipped her arm through mine as we left the restaurant.

          Lizzie seemed a little shy at times, but she was bold, too.  She was the most interesting woman I’d met.