Mir woke to the sound of his buzzing alarm clock. Joon stirred in his bed at the opposite side of the room, so Mir quickly clicked it off.

He threw his blanket off his body and jumped out of bed.

He felt like he had just drunk around five Monsters. His heart beat at the thought of his plans to confess tonight, and he wanted to parade around the dorm, declaring his love for his Noona at the top of his lungs. Screw Seungho Hyung and Joonie Hyung. Imma get my girl.

He showered thoroughly, washing every nook and cranny well with his best bar of soap, lathering his hair well with G.O.’s prized shampoo and conditioner, imported from Spain, and scrubing his face to a shiny clean with Joon’s expensive, only-for-special-occassions face wash (with pomegranate extract).

A good thirty minutes later, Mir stepped out of the shower, sparkling clean.

Next, he brushed his teeth vigorously for exactly three minutes, rinsed with mouthwash for a tidy thirty seconds, and flossed until his gums were a bright red.

He clipped his fignernails and toenails, filing each nail to a refined curve.

He applied a fresh-scented lotion all over his body, and finished off with lip balm.

Mir was ready.

It’s too bad he planned to take Minji out to dinner and a romantic stroll in the park…he still had around ten hours before he’d see her.

Mir suddenly remembered to text Minji about the date, and fired a quick message:

Noona! Let’s eat dinner together tonight, okay? Is 6:30 a good time for you? \(^.^)/

Giddy, Mir skipped to the kitchen to cook for his hyungs.

In a matter on minutes, eggs and bacon were frying on the pan, and Mir was happily pouring orange juice into individual cups.

Seungho woke up to the fire alarm going off. He ran out of his room to the kitchen, where a shocked Mir stood with a pitcher of water, ready to put out the fire.

Only, there was no fire…just a lot of smoke.

Coughing, Seungho blindly opened the windows, fanning the smoke out.

“Next time you try to cook, try opening the windows first,” Seungho advised, and inspected Mir’s work.

Eggs were neatly placed onto plates, bacon stacked high on its own plate, bread toasted to a golden crisp.

“Not bad,” Seungho said, patting Mir on the back.

Mir grinned. “Really? Thanks, Hyung-nim.”

He heard his phone beep on the counter, and dashed to check his messages.

Sounds fun! 6:30 is great…are you coming to pick me up?

Mir madly typed in a response.

Yup yup! Noona I can’t wait!

Mir was euphoric the whole day, nearly bouncing off the walls, to the amusement of his hyungs. So, despite the day’s recordings, dance practices, and meetings, he was still as upbeat as the morning.

Joon muttered to G.O., “He must have found your Red Bull stash…”

Alarmed, G.O. cautiously approached Mir, “Mireu-ah, what have you been eating today?”

Mir smiled widely as he listed, “Two eggs, three pieces of bacon, a glass of orange juice, two pieces of toast, a bottle of iced tea, a foot long sub, some water, and a lollipop.” He bounded off to link arms with Chundoong.

“Unbelievable,” G.O. scoffed. “If only I had his energy.”

5:30 rolled around, so Mir repeated his early morning washing routine, using the same care and thoroughness. Fresh scented, Mir picked out his clothes, “borrowing” a nice shirt from Joon and a cool belt from Chundoong. He picked up the necklace off the nightstand and stowed it away in his pocket.

“Hyung! I’m going out!” he called.

Seungho appeared in the hallway. “Where?”

“Dinner!” Mir said.

Seungho had an ominous feeling about this, but seeing Mir’s estatic expression, he reluctantly said, “Have fun,” and watched Mir leave the dorm.

At precisely 6:30, Mir rang Minji’s doorbell, greeting her with a bear hug and a “Noona!!!!!!!!!”

Minji laughed and followed him out.

“Where are we going?” Minji asked.

“Um…what kind of food do you want to eat?”

“Ooh, I get to pick?” Minji considered her choices. “I want Korean BBQ.”

So they found themselves sitting cross from each other, at an old fashioned Korean BBQ house.

They sat cross legged at the low table as waitresses brought out plates of kimchi and other side dishes, as well as meat and vegetables.

They lit the cooking top, giving instructions on how to cook the meat, and left the room.

Mir cooked the meat while Minji watched him deftly cook it just enough on both sides. Mir may be bad in the modern day kitchen, but growing up on a farm sure had its benefits. Mir smirked to himself as he felt Minji’s eyes on him.

“Noona! This piece is done!” He put a smoked piece of meat onto Minji’s plate. She poked at it with her chopsticks, then dipped it carefully into some sauce, and popped it into . Surprisingly delicious, Minji gave Mir a thumbs up to show her approval.

After dinner, the two decided on a nice walk in the park. Oddly, they all felt drawn to Pyongmaeng Park, despite the not-always-good memories they had there. Mir and Minji walked past a fountain, our fountain, Minji thought, as she recalled the night she and Seungho fell into that fountain when they…well…yeah…

They stood on the beach of a vast lake. (Pyongmaeng Park was known for being super big). They admired the round moon, which cast a glinting reflection on the ripples of the water, outlining the otherwise dark swans floating on its surface. The reeds swayed gently in the breeze, and the calling of a nightingale could be heard in the distance.

Mir could just make out the hazy features of Minji’s face, when the lamps suddenly , flooding the two in light, as if  spotlight was directed at the leads in a play.

Mir touched the necklace in his pocket, preparing himself for his grand gesture.

“Noona! I have a present for you!” Mir said, bubbling over with cuteness.

Minji smiled and held out her hands. “Gimme.”

Mir took her shoulders and positioned her so she was standing directly in front of him, facing the other way.

He covered her eyes with his hands. “You have to close your eyes, okay?”

Minji nodded, and closed them.

After ducking in front of her to check if her eyes were closed, Mir carefully pulled out the necklace and draped it over her neck.

Minji felt the icy chain brush up against her neck, and she had an urge to push it away, though she ignored that out of courtesy to Mir.

Mir deftly hooked the necklace, and presented it proudly. “Ja-jjang!” he said. “Do you like it?”

Minji turned around and the jade.

“It’s pretty,” she murmured.

Mir grabbed her in a hug. “Noona! I really like you! Won’t you like me too?”

Minji didn’t respond, and just rest her head against his chest, listening to his strong heart beat.

Mir felt her cheek pressing against his chest, so he didn’t press her, and let her rest her head there. He hugged her tightly, when he hear her say, “Mireu-ah, I’m sorry.”

Mir took her chin and raised her head to look at him. “Noona…”

Minji felt tears well up in her eyes, and stared glassily at him. “I…I can’t accept this,” she said, the necklace.

“It’s yours,” Mir whispered. “Can’t you see my heart?”

She smiled sadly, “It’s not mine to take.”

“Noona…” Mir said again.

She reached behind her neck to take off the chain. “Give this to a girl you really like,” she said, dropping the necklace into his palm. Mir gripped it tightly, feeling the chain make little indents in his skin.

“I genuinely like you, Noona,” Mir said, a tear pushing out of the corner of his eye. “With all my heart. Noona, can’t you like me too?”

Minji broke eye contact and looked out over the lake. “I’m sorry.”

“Joonie Hyung has always caused pain for Noona, and I don’t want to see you hurt again! Noona, I’ve always been here for you, so why can’t you see my feelings?” Mir cried.

Minji felt tears fall out of her eyes as well, and turned back to face him. “I’m so sorry.”

“Haven’t you seen all the things I’ve done for you? I carried you on my back when you were sick, I made a care package for you, I’ve made you laugh, and I gave you this special necklace to show you my heart. Noona, I like you so much. Can’t you like me too?” He wiped the tears away angrily.

“Mireu-ah,” Minji said. “I…I just…can’t.”

“It’s Seungho Hyung, isn’t it?” he said through his teeth. “Do you really like Seungho Hyung?”

Minji nodded slowly.

Mir gave her one last look of sadness, then dropped the necklace to the cement, before turning on his heel, and running off into the night.