chapter;one

“I’ve never been on a blind date, Sooyoung. You know that.”

Hyoyeon twists her fingers together in a nervous knot, rocking back and forth on her heels as she looks into the mirror. She glances at her best friend, heavily unamused.

“You’re really making me do this?”

Sooyoung answers with an exasperated sigh, stepping forward to place both of her hands on Hyoyeon’s shoulders. She looks her dead in the eye, but the sneaky glint in her gaze is more than obvious to the other woman.

“Hyoyeon, listen to me. You need this. I set this up because I love you.”

“But you know how I am on dates! And around strangers! And—“ Hyoyeon pulls away from her ardent roommate, crossing her arms over the expensive sheath dress they’d been shopping for just an hour earlier. She huffs. “And how do you know if the guy is even my type?”

 “Oh, trust me, honey. I know your type.” Sooyoung grins, before holding both hands to her chest dramatically, sending her a mock-heartbroken glance. “Single-eyelids, exotic, sharp features, dark eyes—“

“Okay, shut up.” Hyoyeon pushes her away, muttering under her breath. She turns back to the mirror and adjusts her outfit here and there, trying to ignore the smug look on her best friend’s face. She raises her chin indifferently.

“So, you really found someone like that?”

Sooyoung snorts.

“Would you doubt my love-matching skills, Hyoyeon?”

“Yes.”

The taller girl lets out a laugh. She leans against the wall casually, crossing her arms. “Fine, fine. He’s a good friend of Changmin’s.”

At this, Hyoyeon can’t help but raise an eyebrow. “You got Changmin to help you set this up?”

“Yeah! I asked him if he had any friends that were single, and he was more than willing to help out.” Sooyoung nods enthusiastically at the thought of her boyfriend, almond shaped eyes brightening up. “You know, Min’s really not that scary, you should stop exaggerating.”

“I know, I know.” Hyoyeon rolls her eyes, smoothing down the hem of her dress before turning to the other girl. She takes a deep breath. The anxiousness is her eyes are clear. “What’s the guy’s name?”

Sooyoung simply shakes a finger at her edgy friend, a secretive smile curving into her lips. “Not telling you a thing.”

“But—“

“Nope! You’ve gotta get going now, I won’t let be late for this!” Her insistent friend interrupts her with a wide grin, guiding her outside with both hands on her back. Hyoyeon gulps, straining to get one last glance in the mirror before she was forced out of the bedroom. Not that it mattered, anyways, since she’d been staring at her reflection for the past half hour. She still wasn’t satisfied.

I know I’m going to screw this up, I know it.

Sooyoung comes to a halt at their front door, turning Hyoyeon around to give her one last look of approval. She pats down her hair, arranges the curls over her shoulders, smooth’s down her dress until she deems her appearance satisfying. She gives a short nod before looking back up to Hyoyeon’s frantic eyes.

“Okay, you know the place, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay, perfect! And good luck. Good luck, ‘cause you’ll probably need it.”

“Sooyoung,” Hyoyeon tips her head back slightly, groaning. She didn’t know if she even wanted to go through with this. She honestly would’ve rather stayed home and watched TV, curled up in a blanket on the livingroom sofa.

“You know I’m just going to embarrass myself, right?”

“Honey, its fine. It’s fine if you embarrass yourself because you’re gorgeous, and when you’re gorgeous it doesn’t matter because guys will only think it’s cute.”

“Yeah, maybe in movies!”

Sooyoung pinches the bridge of her nose comically, pretending to be troubled. She gives one more sigh before grabbing both of Hyoyeon's hands in her own, looking at her earnestly.

“Kim Hyoyeon, just trust me on this one. If you don’t like the guy, you don’t have to ever see him again. But just do it this once, pretty please, for me?”

Hyoyeon chews her lip, grimacing.

“Fine.”

Sooyoung smiles at her warmly, before giving her an encouraging shove towards the doorway. As Hyoyeon is walking out to her little Mini Cooper, she can still see her animated roommate on the front side walk, waving her off with long arms.

“Be yourself! Don’t be nervous!”

Hyoyeon can only nod lightly, sliding into the driver’s seat of her vehicle. She lets out a hesitant sigh.

I can’t be myself and not be nervous.

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