Chapter Twenty-Three

Minho

     I handed the menu back to the waitress. "That's all."

The waitress bowed. "I'll be right back with your drinks and food."

Gigi looked around at the expensive restaurant. She looked amazed at the decorations and fanciness of everything. Hmm. . .maybe Taemin never brought her to dinner. Or maybe he just never thought of bringing her to an expensive one. Taemin is really unexperienced, after all.

"Do you like this place?" I asked.

"Huh?" Gigi snapped out of her trance. "Um, ye. I do. I love it! This place is very clean and pretty."

"Glad you like it." I said. I still had to play the part of the fake boyfriend, after all. I can't just be the usual me. Gigi would get suspicious if I didn't act like I liked her.

We waited for our orders patiently. I went through many awkward conversations. Gigi and I did not know each other very well, so it was hard to make conversation. If Taemin were here, he'd probably be able to talk with Gigi naturally without any hesitation. Even if he was in his Taeyoon identity.

"I have something for you." I said to Gigi. I'd almost forgotten.

Gigi blinked. "Eh? Really? You shouldn't have. I'm fine with just a dinner."

I shook my head. "This is for you. I hope you like roses."

I pulled out the bag of roses from underneath the chair. Gigi smiled and took them. She smelled the flowers.

"Wow. They smell wonderful. Thank you very much, Minho. This was very nice of you."

Gigi closed her eyes and smelled the flowers again while I watched her with bewilderment. I hadn't really expected Gigi Myo to be such a polite and kind person when I first met her. She'd been clumsy and forgetful. I mean, she didn't even have enough money to pay for a book! And she was late when Taemin had first let SHINee meet her. So, on this date, I'd discovered something that I hadn't known. Which was good. It was good to know that Taemin could pick the right girl to fall in love with.

Gigi eyed me warily. "W-Why are you looking at me like that?" she said, smiling.

I stopped staring. "Oh, just enjoying the view." Of course, when I said 'view', I meant her. Girls liked compliments, after all.

Gigi smiled shyly. "I'm not looking very good today. I didn't even dress up. You should've told me that you were bringing me to such a nice restaurant."

"Nah. You look great." I reassured. Gigi was actually a pretty girl. She looked good in anything. No wonder why Jonghyun had been flirting with her at the bookstore.

After eating, I paid for everything with a credit card. Gigi had refused to let me pay for her meal, but I persuaded her by telling her how much money I made for a living. After that, she didn't say anything.

"You ready to go?" I asked. Or should I say. . .ready to go see Taemin?

Gigi nodded her head slowly. "Um. . .yeah. Of course."

I grabbed her hand and brought her back to my car. We drove back to the SHINee dorms. When I let Gigi out of the car, her face had been white as snow. She looked really nervous. Probably not nervous about seeing SHINee again. Just nervous to see Taemin.

I gave her a reassuring smile and she returned it with a slight grimace. "Okay. Let's go."

I walked up to the door and pulled out my key. Gigi grabbed my hand and stared up at my face. I squeezed her hand gently. "Are you alright?"

Gigi nodded. "Mm-hm."

Then we walked in. The living room was buzzing. They must be watching TV. I thought. And Taemin must be in his room again. Like usual.

"Welcome back!" Jonghyun shouted to Gigi. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. I gave him a glare and he released her reluctantly.

"Nice to see you again." Gigi said with a cute smile.

Jonghyun winked. "Come sit next to me and watch some TV."

"Of course not!" Key scolded. He smiled at Gigi. "It's nice to see you, honey. I made some cake for you. Would you care to try?"

"Maybe later." Gigi replied. "Minho and I just ate."

"Ooh. How romantic." Onew said, walking over.

Gigi and I blushed. I made my friends re-introduce themselves, since last time, they had to make up fake names when meeting Gigi.

"So, what's up?" I asked them.

"Nothing much." Jonghyun replied. "Just watching TV. And eating Key's delicious cake."

Gigi spoke up. "Um. . .where's Taemin?"

Everyone became silent. That is