It felt a bit strange walking next to Mao when he was all dressed up because everyone just stared at him, men and women alike. She felt a bit dwarfed by his charisma, if she had to be honest. As if he could feel her insecurity, he looked at her, and then intertwined their fingers for everyone to see. “You don’t have to be so nervous, I am not eating you alive,” he grinned. He leaned down to kiss her, which made her blush. “Shy?” Siyeon didn’t answer his question, just squeezed his hand really hard.

He had driven them into Shibuya with his sports car that probably has cost half an arm, so she hadn’t bothered to ask him. Even in the masses of people he stood out. There was a certain aura around him that just screamed wealth and power. Siyeon had never noticed how dazzling he was because there were so many outstanding people at the college that it leveled the playing field. But here, among normal people, he nearly seemed like another creature. “Love, I know that I am super handsome but if you keep staring at me like that you might walk into a street lamp.” She wanted to keep kick him but instead she raised the middle finger of her free hand. “ you, head.”

“Pýr’s bad habit is rubbing off on you,” Mao sighed though it didn’t seem like it bothered him that much. 
“So, what is your pre-Christmas gift? You never told me?” Siyeon had been curious since they had left the house but hasn’t told her anything up until now. Surprisingly Mao had been very silent during the whole drive, which was very much unlike him. “I thought it would be fun to take you on a date. We haven’t been on one, officially, and I’d very much like to see how you guys date.”

For a moment Siyeon was stunned. She had never asked him how many women he had dated before, nor how people of the mageíyan society dated. It just had been assumption that they would date like normal humans. So she asked him this time and he answered with a shrug. “Most of our people are not feeling comfortable being out in the open among humans so we go to designated bars and restaurants, usually high end. That deters many already, most of the time. Also, many of us have pre-designated partners, kinda like an arrangement between families. Most of the time those will be nullified though.” Right. She remembered that there was general disdain towards human in the mageíyan society, and she had experienced it personally as well. So it the dating among mageíyan people didn’t seem that much different, just very secluded.It didn’t sound very pleasant and fun at all. So, if Mao wanted a typical date, Siyeon would give him one. When she asked him if he would be okay to just give her the lead for today, he nodded with a bright grin, his eyes glittering with excitement. He nearly started to skip, and if she would have told him he would have denied it, so she didn’t. 

The first place she took him to a coffee shop she knew about. It was a secret tip she had received from Iori back when she still had dated her first boyfriend. It was located in a side street, hidden in a back alley. Most people would probably past it if they wouldn’t look for it. The front was painted in a pretty, muted blue, the door white and bright against the darker colour. There was a small sign hanging from the wall, which had the name of the name of the coffee shop written on it in a pretty cursive font. There were 2 windows next to each other next to the door, but Siyeon knew that on the other side was a large window front with a pretty view to a garden which also belonged to the coffee shop. Besides coffee, the shop obviously also sold cold drinks, cake, cookies and macarons. Their chocolate mousse cake was god like.

People’s gazes where drawn to Mao the moment they entered. He paid them no mind and signed the waitress at the counter that they were just 2 people. It took her a while to react but then she motioned to a cozy table at the back. The top had a marble look to it, standing on gold plated arches.

Mao pulled a chair out for her and she sat down graciously. “I’ve never been among so many people before,” he said only for her to hear. With people he explicitly meant humans. He just phrased it so it wouldn’t sound weird for anyone overhearing their conversation. “If it makes you uncomfortable then we can go somewhere else.” People still stared at him, even if some of them seemingly were on a date as well. Siyeon didn’t want to make Mao uncomfortable, even though he said he would go anywhere with her today. Mao demonstratively stretched his long legs while leaning back into the chair. “No. You like it here, I can see it. Also, only because my contemporaries don’t like people as much, it doesn’t mean I am like them. Besides, I am not here for them, I am here because of you, am I not?”

His words made her happy, and she didn’t hide it. The waitress came with the menu though she didn’t pay a lot of attention towards Siyeon. She looked at Mao shyly and a small pang of annoyance shot through Siyeon. She shoved it aside and took a look at the menu. They had added a couple of new items, which was a nice surprise. In the end she decided to order a big cappucino and the chocolate mousse cake. Mao decided on a normal milk coffee and a white chocolate lemon cake. “So, you have been here before. Want to tell me with whom?” It seemed like an innocent question but Mao was a very deceptive person so he probably had guessed that she hadn’t come here with a friend. She told him about her first boyfriend, and that the relationship hadn’t last long. “How was your first relationship like?”

It was a careful question, and his smile disappeared from his face. “My first relationship was not remarkable. She was the daughter of my father’s business partner but we were not compatible. We broke it off and after that I only had a couple of flings.” 

Siyeon wasn’t really sure how to answer this since they never really had talked about past relationships before. She reached out to take his hand, thumb over his skin. “Sorry. I didn’t want to evoke unpleasant memories.” 

Mao chuckled, raising her hand to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. “You could never. Also, do you think me that fragile that I would cry after someone who never wanted me?”

No. Mao was a strong person with a strong personality.

Her gaze wandered and fell on a couple who seemingly where the only people that didn’t glance at Mao now and then. They were completely focused on themselves, giggling and smiling and taking pictures. Siyeon was a bit envious of them because Mao and her didn’t have any pictures together. Then again their relationship wasn’