Soo Jin bounded up cheerfully from her place at the table when she heard the knock on the door. Yoon Hee watched from the table as her daughter threw open the door and let out an excited squeal when all five members of MBLAQ filed inside. She smiled at Joon as he took his normal spot beside the bouncing Soo Jin and the other members settled down where they could find the space.

“What brings all of you here?” Yoon Hee looked at Joon just as he pulled Soo Jin into his lap. “I didn’t know you were coming by.”

After he assured himself that Soo Jin was finishing her lunch he lifted his head and beamed a smile at Yoon Hee. “Well the guys were wanting to spend the day with Soo Jin so I brought them over.”

Chopsticks clattered loudly as Soo Jin dropped them and gazed at the men surrounding her. “Really? The whole day?”

Mir chuckled. “Yes, the entire day and night if your mom doesn’t have a problem with it.”

Soo Jin turned her big brown eyes towards her mother and Yoon Hee couldn’t help but agree. “It’s fine with me if you all really don’t mind.”

Joon had a twinkle in his eyes as he answered and Yoon Hee felt a flush creep over her cheeks at the way he gazed at her. “They’re kind of doing me a favor. I wanted to have some time with you all to myself.” He looked down at the tiny face gazing up at him. “Is that alright with you Soo Jin?”

Soo Jin studied her Joonie. To her there seemed to be something different about him and the twinkle in his eyes told her it was a good something. She thought of her birthday wish and really hoped that it was going to come true and because of that she smiled and bobbed her head in agreement. “It’s okay.”

She climbed off his lap and began gathering her things in the Pororo backpack she’d been given at Christmas. When she finished she stood in front of G.O and smiled her pixie smile. “I’m ready when you are.”

That caused the others to laugh as they stood. G.O took her hand and led her to the door as the others followed suit. Seung Ho turned back to wink at Joon and Yoon Hee was curious about the gesture, but she pushed the thought aside as she stood and hugged her daughter and kissed her cheek. “You be good for them, okay? Listen and mind your manners.”

Bobbing her head in acknowledgement she hugged her mother back and skipped happily out the door hand in hand with a chuckling G.O. The other three members followed and when the door closed with a soft click Yoon Hee settled back down at table. She glanced across the table and gave Joon a nervous smile, something about the way he looked at her now seemed totally different from before and it made her heart pound.

“So…”

He chuckled at the slight tremble of nerves in her voice. “So…?”

“We’re alone.”

“I see that.”

Yoon Hee blew out a frustrated breath. At the rate their conversation was going it’d be next week before they got anywhere and she didn’t think her nerves could handle it. “Was there a specific reason you wanted to spend time alone with me?”

“There is.”

“Well, what’s the reason?”

He smiled at her, his eyes bright and sparkling. Joon knew she wanted the answer now, but he wasn’t quite ready to tell her just yet. They had the entire day and night to get around to it after all. “I don’t feel like telling you right now.”

Staring at him in shock she pouted. “And why not?”

“Because I have our date planned out and I want to enjoy it before I tell you.”

Date? They hadn’t ever had an actual date. Everything they did included Soo Jin and although Yoon Hee enjoyed the outings the three of them shared she had always wondered whether her and Joon would ever have a date, just the two of them. “What did you have in mind?” She glanced down at her clothes. “Do I need to change?”

Joon shook his head after he looked over her jean shorts, burgundy tank and black vest and deemed them fine for the date he had planned. “What you’re wearing is fine.”

She nodded her head and stood, grabbing the dishes and clearing away the lunch debris. Joon stood and helped her and in no time they had the dishes washed and stashed away and the table cleaned up. Now the two of them stood, close, but not close enough to feel the heat from the other, but still close enough that each could hear the pounding of the other’s heart. Yoon Hee shuffled her feet in the silent air and wished she knew what to say, but since she had no idea why Joon had all of a sudden called for this date she was unsure how to go about saying anything.

Wanting to reassure her that all was well Joon reached out and took her hand. He led her over to the door and they slipped their shoes on. Yoon Hee grabbed a light jacket from a peg on the wall by the door and followed Joon out, closing and locking the door behind her. She followed Joon out to the street and marveled at the sleek, black sports car parked at the curb.

“Is that yours?”

He chuckled. “I could only wish it so. No, it’s a rental. I borrowed it from my manager just for today.”

“Does your manager normally loan out his car?” Yoon Hee asked this as she eyed the beautiful car.

“Not on a normal basis, no but I told him that today was important and I really needed it. It took some begging on my part, but in the end he caved.”

Yoon Hee climbed into the passenger seat thinking that if she had a car this nice she wouldn’t want to loan it out to anyone in the case that it become a damaged heap of metal. She pushed thoughts of twisted metal aside as Joon slipped in behind the wheel and started the engine. The car roared to life and then settled into a loud purr as he eased it away from the curb and out onto the road.

Yoon Hee breathed a huge sigh of relief when Joon pulled up to the movie theater and the car became quiet as he cut the engine. She sent a minute glare in his direction before she climbed out of the black death trap and the sudden urge to kiss the ground, her heart trying to catch up to her. If she had known that Joon had a passion for speed she would have thought twice before getting in the car. With her stomach still lodged somewhere in the region of she allowed Joon to take her hand and lead herinside the theater.

The cool air hit them just inside the door and they welcomed it against the heat of the day. Joon got their tickets and then went over to the concession and bought all the movie snacks. Yoon Hee took the giant cup of soda from Joon and followed him through as they handed over their tickets and walked down a short hall before entering the room showing their film.

They took their seats just as the lights dimmed and the previews began running across the screen. Yoon Hee settled into her seat placing the soda on the low table before them. She glanced around the theater in the dim lighting and marveled at how different it looked from the theater she had gone to as a child. Instead of rows of hard, uncomfortable seats there were small, soft, red couches trimmed in white and black. Low tables offered a place to rest your feet or set your snacks and it made Yoon Hee think of a comfortable night at home, her feet propped up and a movie playing. She found that she rather liked the cozy feel of the theater and didn’t even flinch away when Joon took her hand as she settled more deeply into the softness of her seat.

They stayed like that, their hands clasped together as the movie played. Joon shifted closer when he heard Yoon Hee sniffled during a sad part and grinned to himself when she rested her head against his shoulder. He checked the urge to release her hand and instead wrap his arm around her shoulder. He didn’t want to push his luck and stayed content with what was instead of what could be. There would always be other chances to hold her, he thought to himself as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Sitting across from him at the table Yoon Hee felt out of place and under dressed even though there were other couples there dressed similar to them. Her eyes roamed the restaurant and took in the plush cream carpet and gleaming mahogany wall and matching bar nestled against the back wall. She wondered how such a casual place could look so elegant. It seemed an oxymoron to her, but she put the thought aside as she turned back to her plate and stared in shock when she found it empty.

Joon chucked at the expression as he slid the last bite of his own dinner into , closing his eyes a moment to savor the rich flavors. When he opened them he caught Yoon Hee’s eyes as she patiently waited for him to finish. He took a sip of water and cleared his throat. “You’re probably dying of curiosity by now aren’t you?”

“I have been rather curious for the most part. This is the first time we’ve had an actual date, but there seems to be more to it than that.”

He took a deep breath, then decided another sip of water would help. After he placed the glass back on the table he reached across the table and took her hand. “There was a specific reason that I wanted to be alone with you today.”

Yoon Hee waited. She could sense the nerves radiating from Joon and she knew that whatever he had to say was very important to him. Despite not knowing, not even having an inkling, of what it was Joon was going to tell her she felt her heart begin to race. The soft look in his eyes gave her warning that whatever it was that he had to say was going to most likely change her life.

Clearing his throat again Joon smiled at Yoon Hee, tried telling her with his eyes what he seemed to be having a hard time finding the words to say. He knew the moment she read the sentiment in his eyes that she understood, that she wasn’t going to pull away from him and rush out. Nonetheless he tightened his hold on her hand, smiled at her with all the emotions b in his heart and said what he felt in every part of himself.

“I love you Yoon Hee.”