“I’ll have scrambled eggs with sausage, waffles, hash browns, and orange juice, please,” I looked up at the waitress.

“Is that all for this table?” she looked confused.

“No. He hasn’t ordered yet,” I turned my attention to a slightly gaping Minseok. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken ‘being myself’ too seriously on a first date.

“I’ll have bacons and eggs, sunny side-up and coffee, thank you,” he quickly recovered.

The waitress left scratching her head. I shouldn’t have ordered so much. He looked like he was trying to figure out the best way to ask me a question.

I decided to brave it out. “I take breakfast food really seriously,” I gave him a sheepish smile. I couldn’t help it. I could eat breakfast any time of the day.

“I see that,” he laughed. “I just didn’t expect…”

“You don’t think I can finish all of that, huh?”

He shook his head. “How can someone so tiny eat so much? I mean that in the least insulting way possible.”

I laughed. “Believe me, I can swipe those plates clean. Don’t worry. I’m not a fan of wasting food.” I didn’t know where I was finding the courage to be playful with him.

“That’s good,” he smiled.

A sudden thought hit me. Crap. He’s probably thinking I’m shameless for ordering so much when he’s paying. “Just so we’re clear,” I ventured, “I’m paying for the meal, okay?”

Minseok immediately shook his head. “No! It’s on me.”

I shook my head back at him. “Remember who asked who out?” I was not planning to let him pay for my humongous meal.

He started blushing. I realized what I just said. Why can’t I hold back on the ‘being myself’ part?

“I mean, it’s only right that I pay, since I introduced the place,” I scrambled for a recovery. “What if you don’t like the food?”

“What’s not to like about bacon and eggs? I insist.” He wasn’t letting me go easily. “Besides, I agreed to go, which means I should pay for the food.”

“How does that even work?” I started laughing. “You don’t make any sense at all.” He didn’t make my blunder awkward—he just smoothed it over. How did he always manage to do that?

He sighed in exasperation. “It’s because I’m the guy!”

“Uh-uh. You’re not allowed to use that card on me. I believe in equality, Kim Minseok,” I wagged my finger at him in mock disapproval.

He held his hand up in surrender. “Okay, not that argument. But I really want to pay for the meal. I’d feel bad if I didn’t.”

I laughed again. “I’m the one eating enough food to feed a small army, yet you’d feel bad if I paid?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Fine. Let’s make a compromise. We’ll pay in alternates. Let me pay this time, and you can pay the next time.”

“Sounds good!” I stopped. Wait. Did he just ask for a next time? I looked at him, my face an ugly jumble between surprise, wonder, and happiness. Did I hear that correctly?

He probably realized what he said, but instead of blushing shyly, he smiled instead, confirming his words. “Next time, I get to choose where we go.”

-

The rest of the night was as breezy and lighthearted as its beginning. He was a paradox: he made my heart beat ten times the normal rate, yet somehow his presence calmed me down, making me comfortable in my own skin. I couldn’t decide which emotion was winning.

I learned a lot about him that night: he was a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers, which gave him a lot more free time to take care of Jiseok; he loved playing soccer; he took taekwondo as a kid; and he loved blueberry-flavored things.

“Wanna go eat ice cream?” I smacked my lips after Minseok paid for the bill.

He stared at me. “Aren’t you full at all?”

I fought to hide a blush. I should seriously start thinking before I speak. “You probably want to retract that second date now, huh? I eat like a buffalo.”

“No! It’s not that.” Minseok gave me a perplexed expression. “I’m glad you have an appetite, but I’m just really curious: how are you still so tiny?”

I laughed at him. “Well, I’ll have you know, we have something in common.”

Minseok’s ears perked up. “And what is that?”

“I play soccer on my free time,” I smiled. The more I knew about him, the more surprised I became--we were connected in the most unexpected ways.

“You do?” His eyes twinkling. “That’s so cool. We should play together with Jiseok some time.”

I felt flattered and surprised: I asked for the first date, but he was the one planning out the next. He was including me in his future.

“Yeah. We definitely should.” I tried to tone down the grin on my face as we went out of the diner. “So. Ice cream?” I looked at him.

He laughed. “Ice cream it is.”

I didn't give him the opportunity to pay this time. "It's unfair if you take this too." I stuck my tongue out at him, satisfied.

We took a seat on one of the small tucked-in tables. "If I can be an ice cream flavor, what would I be and why?" He suddenly asked, taking a bite of his blueberry ice cream.

"Hm... you’d be blueberry flavored,” I finally decided.

“Ei. You’re saying that because it’s my favorite.”

“No. It really fits your personality. You make people feel not so guilty for eating ice cream, because hey, blueberries are good for you! You’re a burst of freshness in a normally boring vanilla ice cream, and you add a wonderful color to anyone—anything—you join.” I didn’t know what I was saying—I wanted to say something more profound, but this was what came out.

He smiled at me, not minding that I was a blubbering mess. “Thank you.”

I nodded, suddenly feeling shy for being weird. After a pause, he continued. “But I think vanilla ice cream isn’t boring at all—it’s the basis of all ice cream, and it has elegance in its simplicity. It doesn’t try to be something it isn’t.”

Why did it suddenly feel like we weren’t talking about ice cream anymore?

--

I'm sorry for not updating for the past couple of days, I just didn't know what I wanted to do with this fic. :O I didn't think this far ahead, because really, I just wanted it to be a couple of shots. But now I'm forced to really analyze my characters and dig deeper: not my forte. So... kill me for giving you guys a crappy update. Arggggghhhhhh

But, on a completely different tangent, OMG please spazz with me--------- Kyungsoo's heavenly, buttery voice in f(x)'s album is just... ahhhhhhhhh. You know what's on constant replay right now. ;) OMG I'm just so proud of our squishysoo. I CANNOT.

Anyway, back to this crap of a fiction, please give me your input. I really need direction right now. I'm thinking of just ending it in the next few chapters. Argh. Frustrations running abound right now. T.T