Her laughter filled the small room, he too was smiling widely and laughing along with her as they were browsing through old photos in Niel’s phone.

The two had occupied a small private room in the restaurant’s VIP area, it was one of his favourite Japanese restaurants and he had been excited all week for this. He was trying to come up with a good timing to invite her for dinner. It had to look casual, not planned.

He had even asked around for Yeongji’s schedule for the week, discreetly of course. Thinking that it was the best timing, he tried his best to sound spontaneous when he had asked her earlier over the phone, praying that she would say ‘Yes’. Good thing she did, and it was a big relief for him since he already made reservation days prior.

Asking how he got a reservation when it was hard to get one, knowing for a fact that the restaurant was quite popular and booking for a private room to say the least, he answers her teasingly with a “Because I’m Niel” and she replies back with “Yeah right”. They end up laughing even more at how ridiculous it sounded.

“Sooo…” she started, calming down after some time, she was trying to think hard of how to put it simply, and it still felt too awkward to invite him face to face. She was totally confused with herself, why is it so hard to just invite him casually, why did she feel suddenly nervous?

Niel looked up from his drink, settling the glass down he regarded her with an expectant look. Yeongji avoided his gaze, a bit embarrassed. She sighed loudly, trying to calm herself and she laughed a little. Niel returned it with a smile, encouraging her on, whatever it is that she was going to say.

She took out some kind of envelope from her purse, it was black with scripted writing in front. The first she handed to him had ‘Teen Top’ written at the middle in lacquered gold print. “Invitation?” he guessed, judging by the previous busy days that she had, it was no question that she was preparing for the debut of her clothing line.

Yeongji nodded and shyly handed the second invitation to him. Niel’s expression changed to one of mild surprise then, the second had his own name imprinted in the middle.

“I’m thinking….Niel? Of Teen Top?” Shin-ae suggested and Yeongji’s eyes flickered in mild surprise. “I don’t think there’s even a need for that” she tried but the older shook her head.

“Aniya, I think it’s actually a good idea” Shin-ae stood her ground, when she has decided on something, you really can’t change her mind anymore.

“Besides, it’s a good way to promote the brand. Teen Top is your official endorsers so bringing him as a date only seems natural” but Yeongji wanted to disagree, “I’ll just earn haters” feeling the wrath of overly obsessed fangirls. She knew that some fans would go to extremes in situations like these.

“Nonsense, they would see that Teen Top is simply endorsing the clothes and in turn, would be the one to officially accompany the designer to her first ever showcase” Shin-ae always sounded convincing whenever she wanted to and it was hard to say ‘No’ to her.

Yeongji sighed heavily in defeat then. Shin-ae smiled and patted her back lightly to encourage her on, “Don’t worry, he seems like a nice boy” and with this Yeongji replied with a “He is” without thinking twice. Catching herself, her eyes widened and she faked a cough awkwardly. Shin-ae just smiled knowingly at her.

With growing curiosity, Niel opens the envelopes, trying to make sense of the two invitations. She peeks at him as he reads the contents, “Can I ask you to be my date for the showcase event next week?” she said all in one go, still a bit nervous, scared that he might reject her.

Niel looks up in surprise, her eyes immediately caught in his gaze. “If you don’t want to its fine, don’t worry about it, it’s not that important” she added with a rushed voice not wanting to sound too hopeful. She bit her lip, head bowed down as she wasn’t prepared for what Niel would say. She was expecting for him to say ‘No’.

“I’d love to be your date” he answered, his ever glowing smile made her stomach do a back flip all of a sudden. She looked up, surprised with his answer, “Really?”

He nods his head and added, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, and besides, it’s a very important day for you”

 A smile crept up her face, she felt touched by his sudden thoughtfulness and it gave off a tingling feeling inside.

“We should wear matching clothes” he suggested with excitement, “That’s a nice idea!” that bright expression filtered in and she felt all warm inside.

It was a relief that Niel had said ‘Yes’ to her invitation, she was really bad at facing rejection, in whatever kind it was. But it was not just relief that washed over her then, there was something more.

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TBC