Sungyeol looked at his reflection in the mirror for the umpteenth time within the hour, turning to stare at himself at different angles. He paused as he came to a certain angle, staring over his shoulder into the mirror. The more he looked at himself, the less he liked the outfit he had chosen. With a click of his tongue he discarded the pair of pants he was wearing and threw that on to the growing pile of clothes on the floor. He moved across his room to rummage through his closet once again, pulling out some more pants. He went back in front of the mirror, holding the pants in front of him, debating on which ones to wear. He finally settled on a pair of light jeans that he thought made his legs look nicer.

After choosing his pants, it took another while to pick his shirt. He shrugged off his too faded shirt, his arms wrapping around his bare chest to fight the chill as he stared at his closet. After a couple of minutes he pushed his hands into his jean pockets, shifting his weight back and forth as he mulled over his options. He started with a crisp white button up, it looked nice on him and made him look professional. He immediately pulled it off his body; professional wasn’t the adjective he was going for. Next was a light blue t-shirt, the material soft against his skin and undeniably comfy. But when he looked at it paired with his light jeans, it all came across as very casual. The t-shirt joined the button up on the floor. He tried a red v-neck, which showed off a little too much collarbone for his tastes, then a beige baggy top, which was just all around unflattering on his body.

“I wish Jiseon was here,” he murmured to himself. Even though his five year old daughter probably wouldn’t have much advice concerning blind dates, just her presence enough would be reassuring. She would be peppy and supportive, and with Sungyeol’s nervous heart and bustling mind, that was exactly what he needed.

His fingers travelled over the hangers, pulling out options only to set them right back, until he stopped on a sweater. It was black, which was normally a color he didn’t like to wear much - he preferred brighter things - but considering the occasion, it could make him seem a bit more mature. He slid the fabric off the hanger, pulling it over his head to give it a try. The sweater was a nice length, long enough to cover his belt and the sleeves stopped just after his wrists. It was form fitting, tight enough to show off his lean physique, but nowhere near a second skin; it had just the right amount of breathing room to make it appear comfortable. Paired with the jeans it looked casual but well thought out. It was classy, but not overly so. He looked like the type of man who took care of himself and put effort into his appearance, but it didn’t seem overdone. He actually felt the tendrils of happiness start within him, he actually felt like he looked good, and he could only hope that his date felt the same.

Now that the outfit was settled, he left the tragic mess that was his bedroom to move onto the bathroom. He ended up staring at himself in front of his bathroom mirror, contemplating on how to style his hair in an appealing way for a blind date. He didn’t really know what to do or how to look - even if Dongwoo had been pestering him for years to go on a date, he had never accepted. Of course the one day that he does, Dongwoo isn’t around to make these kind of decisions for him.

He groaned to himself, thinking that his hair was obviously too plain to leave as it was. He raked a comb through it reluctantly, wondering if his date liked people with their hair up or down. He liked the way he looked with his hair up, but maybe the look would come across the wrong way; he was going to dinner, not a club. Perhaps he could slick it up and comb it back? No, that would come across as too fancy and they were going to Olive Garden, not a high class restaurant.

By this point he wanted to pull his hair out in general, each one of his new ideas seemingly worse than the last. He contemplated using some mousse to give his hair some waves, he was afraid that would make it look like he was heading to the beach instead of going on a date. But he couldn’t just leave his hair like this, the long brown locks seeming normal and plain from every angle in his unforgiving mirror.

He wished he could call Dongwoo; his best friend would probably know exactly how to style his hair to make him look handsome and he’d probably even throw some make up on him for good measure. But alas, Dongwoo was not here and Sungyeol was on his own; which wasn’t really working out for the best at the moment.

He decided to keep his bangs down, spreading some gel in his hands before running his fingers through his hair, giving the light brown locks a sort of wet look. He fluffed it at the roots, giving it just a bit of volume. He put a little extra gel on his bangs, swooping them to the side with a flourish to show off his eyes. Dongwoo had told him time and time again how they were one of his best features, so he thought it best not to hide them.

With an anxious sigh, he wrung his hands as he walked down his hall. When was the last time he had actually been on a real date? He couldn’t even remember. He knew he hadn’t been on a date ever since Jiseon had been born, and before that? He shook his head, he was painfully out of the loop when it came to relationships in general. He wasn’t sure what to say or how to present himself, and now he was about to go to a dinner date with someone he had never met before. It was exhilarating and nerve wracking all at once, and he could feel his pulse quickening at just the thought of having a chance to be dating again.

Sungyeol quickly slid on his shoes and grabbed his keys, heading towards the door. He kept telling himself in his head - be likeable, be interesting, be friendly - but the jitters still did not leave him. He rushed towards the door and twisted the knob. Glancing to the side, he noticed his clock and realized he still had about twenty minutes until he actually needed to leave. With a sigh he retracted his hand from the door and went to sit down on the couch.

He his television only to turn it back off. No matter how he sat he just wasn't comfortable enough. He didn’t want to leave now and show up too early - it would make him look too eager. And he was afraid that it would also make him look desperate. He was much too nervous for this date, and he knew it. He needed something, or rather someone, to calm him down.

His hand reached down to his cell phone and he brought it out, staring at it for a few seconds. He contemplated on who to call to help him get rid of the nervous shaking in his heart. His finger hovered over Dongwoo’s contact before deciding against it, deducing that he was probably working on something important at the station. After all, if he was called in on his day off then he must’ve been busy. His eyes flickered over to Hoya’s number before deciding against that as well. Hoya probably would be busy also, especially if he got called into the hospital. He bit his bottom lip - he didn’t really have anyone else to call.

He shoved his phone back into his pocket. He didn’t have to call somebody that badly. He could do without it, right? He was an adult, he was confident in himself, and he would be perfectly fine without some moral support. He nodded to himself, muttering that he could just go on this date and be perfectly fine.

Not even a second later, he had pulled out his phone again and dialed a number, holding the phone to his ear. He shook his leg as the other line rang a couple times. After a few seconds, they finally picked up and he let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding.

“Hello?”

“Sir?” Sungyeol said, keeping his voice low. “Um, I don’t mean to bother you, but would you mind if I spoke to Jiseon?”

There was a deep low chuckle over the line before he spoke again. “Of course you can. I’ll hand the phone to her right now.”

“Thank you,” he replied, waiting anxiously as there was a slight scuffle over the phone.

“Daddy?” a high voice sounded.

“Jiseon,” Sungyeol said, almost sighing in relief. “Hi, princess,” he breathed. “How’s my baby girl?”

Her voice immediately perked up. “I’m great, Daddy! I’m having a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa! They took me to the movies today after you left!”

He laughed softly, the sound of her energetic voice soothing his rushing heart at once. “Is that right? I’m really glad that you’re having fun, princess.”

He could almost hear her nodding over the phone. “Grandma also made me my favorites! They tasted really good, Daddy,” she said excitedly.

“That’s amazing, sweetie. Daddy is really happy.”

“How are you, Daddy?” she asked sweetly. “Is home still okay?”

“Everything is perfect now,” he said, a smile of his own growing on his face. “Everything is great.”

“So why is Daddy calling me? We already said bye this morning and I’m doing a good job being a big girl.”

Sungyeol almost wanted to laugh at the irony of him needing his daughter before she needed him. “I know you have been. Daddy just wanted to hear your voice, princess,” he said. He felt more reassure and relaxed now, even if it was just from her voice. He could imagine her constantly happy face, and that was enough for him.

“Why?” she asked innocently.

“Because I miss you.”

She giggled on the other line. “Daddy misses me already?”

Sungyeol grinned, feeling his body loosening the more he spoke to his daughter. “Daddy misses you a lot! I want you to come home!”

“I can’t come home! My trip with Grandma and Grandpa just started today!”

Sungyeol pouted even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “I want my princess back home!”

She giggled sweetly. “Daddy, I’m going to be home soon!”

“Ah, I wish time would pass by quicker,” he said, sighing dramatically. “Daddy doesn’t want to be all by himself anymore!’

“Do you want me to come home sooner?” she asked genuinely. She was too sweet, Sungyeol couldn’t even understand how she could be so caring. “I’ll come home sooner for Daddy.”

Sungyeol laughed. “No, it’s okay, princess. You can stay at Grandma and Grandpa’s as long as you want, okay? I’ll come back to get you when you’re done.”

“Okay! Don’t miss me too much, okay, Daddy? I promise I’ll come back soon, so don’t worry!”

“Alright, Daddy believes you,” he said, smiling softly. “I’ll see you then, okay?”

“‘Kay, Daddy! I love you!” Sungyeol’s heart warmed at the simple statement and he knew he’d be okay. He would perfectly fine on his date.

“Daddy loves you too, princess.” He kissed into the phone loudly, eliciting a flurry of giggles from Jiseon. “Bye, baby. I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Bye, Daddy!” She blew a kiss into the phone also before another giggle sounded and the call ended.

With a gentle and relaxed sigh he turned off his own phone and slipped back into his pocket. His baby girl’s voice was always a surefire way to lift his mood. With another glance at the clock, he decided that now would be an ideal time to leave. With a newer air of confidence surrounding him, he left his apartment.

By the time he had arrived at the Italian eatery, he was pleased to find out that he was only two minutes early - not too early and not too late. He was satisfied with that. He parked his car in the restaurant’s parking lot and checked his hair one last time in the mirror in the visor before stepping out.

The soft breeze rustled through his sleeves, cooling off the nervous heat from his body. He thought of Jiseon’s face in his mind, picturing her bright eyes and innocent grin. With his confidence boosted he headed into the restaurant. When he entered, it was only slightly busy - a few waitresses were scampering around but other than that, it was a little low key. There were many families eating dinner there and it only reminded him of Jiseon.

He walked up to the hostess stand where a young looking girl greeted him. “Hello,” she greeted kindly. “Table for one?”

Sungyeol shook his head politely. “No, I’m here under a reservation for Sungyeol at seven...?” It sounded more like a question than a statement and he hated how unsure it made him sound.

The hostess checked a little book on the podium in front of her. She searched the page with her eyes, smiling when she found his name. “Yes, you are right on time! I’ll lead you to your table. If you’ll follow me please.”

Sungyeol followed her quietly as she maneuvered through the tables and around other waiters. He was led to a table near the corner that wasn’t exactly isolated, but was not in a crowded area either. She gestured for him to take a seat and he smiled as he did so.

“Eating alone?” she asked, trying to start up some small conversation.

He shook his head. “No, I’m waiting for someone.”

“A special someone?” she asked, setting up some things on the table.

He let out an anxious breath and twiddled his fingers. “I hope so.”

She smiled at him warmly before leaving him sitting there on his own. He could feel the nervous butterflies making his stomach flutter again. Despite coming to terms with his uality, Sungyeol had never been on a date with another guy before. It made his stomach churn in anxiety and the thought of his daughter could only soothe him so much. He twiddled with his fingers nervously and wondered if he had arrived too early after all. His date had not arrived yet.

As if on a cue, the waitress came back in his direction with another boy behind her. He was a handsome guy with large dark eyes and a straight nose. His body looked defined underneath his fitted clothing as he came to Sungyeol’s table.

“Here is your table sir,” the waitress told him as he sat down across from Sungyeol.

He nodded his thanks to her as he took the seat. The waitress gave them their menus and came back seconds later to set a basket of breadsticks on the table along with two glasses of water. “I’ll be right back to take your orders,” she said, the permanent smile still on her face.

As soon as she disappeared, Sungyeol turned to smile at his date for the evening. His date gave him a dazzling smile of his own, stretching out his hand for Sungyeol to take. “You must be Sungyeol,” he said kindly, shaking his hand. “My name is Kiseop.”

“Kiseop,” Sungyeol repeated, letting the name roll off his tongue. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re a friend of Dongwoo’s also, I assume?”

Kiseop grinned. “Yeah, I am. We go to the same gym and we met each other there. Played on an intramural basketball team together last summer.”

“Oh that’s right! I forgot he used to be a part of that league before he got promoted to senior detective.” Sungyeol responded. “Who knows, I might have seen you at one of the games and I just didn’t realize it.”

“Well, I couldn’t attend all the games, sometimes work got in the way. And I’m sure I would have noticed someone as cute as you in the crowd.”

Sungyeol tried to hide his blush, taking a sip of his water with a smile. “So are you good friends with Dongwoo still?”

“We talk here and there,” he responded. “He usually speaks to me a lot more if he’s by himself at the gym, not so much if he has company. His husband seems to be the possessive type.”

Sungyeol chuckled lightly. “He’s not, he just cares about his family. And Dongwoo is his only family, so it makes sense that he puts all his energy into Dongwoo.”

The other man raised an eyebrow as he took a drink from his own glass. “To each his own.” Kiseop stared at Sungyeol then, a certain glint in his eyes. “But I have to admit, I’m very pleased that Dongwoo contacted me for this, though.”

Sungyeol felt his face flush and he picked up a breadstick and began nibbling at the end to chase away the nerves. Kiseop sat across from him, a half smirk on his face. “Shall we order?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Sungyeol replied, picking up his menu. He continued munching away on breadsticks as his eyes grazed over the food selection. After a few moments, he realized that Kiseop hadn’t eaten anything yet. “Kiseop?” he asked. He gestured to the breadsticks. “Would you like one?”

Kiseop glanced at the basket for a brief second before diverting his eyes. “No, thanks. I’d prefer not to.”

Sungyeol looked at him in pure curiosity. “Why not?” he asked. “They taste great.”

“Oh, I’m sure they do,” he said with a light chuckle. “I’m just not very fond of the calories.” He pat his flat stomach. “Calories aren’t good for him. And since he is such a staple in my job, I can’t risk it.”

“He?” Sungyeol asked, an eyebrow raised. “You mean your stomach?”

“Not stomach,” he said, “but abdominal muscles. It’s not always easy keeping my body in tip top condition, but it’s necessary. I have to keep my agent happy.”

Sungyeol almost choked on his breadsticks. He almost wanted to correct Kiseop that if he was referring to muscles as in plural he should use they, but he forced himself to reel it in. “An agent? Does that mean you are an athlete of sorts?” he asked.

“I do play a lot of different sports, basketball as you know, and I also enjoy more contact sports like football and soccer. But I don’t play professionally.” He grinned, flashing gleaming white teeth at me. “Rather, I’m a male model.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Sungyeol responded, genuinely curious. “Is that why you’re at the gym often?”

“Yeah, but not as often as I’d like,” he replied. “I’m traveling so much, I can barely fit in time to work out when I’m home.”

“You travel? To what kinds of places?”

“Oh, nowhere too extreme,” he said, leaning back into his chair. “I’ve been to Italy, Greece, Brazil - just to name a few.”

Sungyeol nodded, smiling. “I’ve always wanted to travel - not too far, though. I feel like I’d miss home too much. But there are a lot of nice places I could go that are close to California. Maybe the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone.” He looked sheepishly down at his menu. “I don’t know, I guess I’ve always been into the outdoors.”

“Nature isn’t really my style, and you aren’t missing out on too much. Traveling loses it’s glamour once you’ve done it for such a long time.” Kiseop picked up his menu, glancing at the options. “What are you thinking of ordering?” he asked.

Sungyeol averted his eyes back to the menu, debating the choices in his mind. He found himself reaching for another breadstick - as he felt the need to do something with his hands - chewing on the end as he read the options over. “I don’t really know if I can finish a full adult meal,” he voiced out. “The portion sizes are really big here, and that’s not counting the salad and breadsticks. Maybe I’ll just stick to an appetizer.”

Kiseop nodded and just kept sipping his water. He hummed in acknowledgement as his eyes strayed from the menu and to younger man’s face. “Sungyeol, tell me,” he said suddenly. “How much work do you put into taking care of your face.”

Sungyeol was surprised for a second, pulled out of his slight trance. “Excuse me?” he asked.

“Your face is extremely pretty,” Kiseop said, leaning forward. Sungyeol might have leaned the other direction as a response. “I can only get my complexion to look like yours in pictures after nights of facial creams and some digital airbrushing.”

“Oh,” Sungyeol replied, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. “I-I don’t necessarily have time to take meticulous care of my, um, complexion.”

Kiseop made a face of astonishment, almost as if he didn’t believe him. “You don’t use face masks or anything?”

“No…?” It sounded more like a question than an answer. “I don’t really use products.” Sungyeol didn’t really have the time for moisturizers and facial creams when he was so busy running the cafe and raising his daughter.

Kiseop’s eyes widened more. “So your skin is just naturally like that? That’s impeccable.”

Sungyeol touched his cheeks apprehensively, feeling a bit awkward. “Um, thank you, I guess.”

The waitress came back at that moment, holding two salads in her hands. She set them down in front of the two of them and whipped out her notepad. “Are we ready to order?”

“Yes, we are,” Kiseop said, straightening up.

“Lovely,” the waitress responded, smiling. “What would you like to order?”

Sungyeol began, “I’ll have-”

“He’ll have the shrimp carbonara and I’ll go with the herb grilled salmon. Oh, and please, hold the butter.” He smiled up at the waitress as she wrote down the order and grabbed their menus. Kiseop shook his head after she disappeared, completely ignoring Sungyeol troubled face. “Did you see her lipstick? It was so garish that I barely was able to look away from !” he laughed. “That bright red is clearly not the shade for her.”

Despite wanting to scold him slightly for his rude comment about the waitress, he was more concerned with the fact that Kiseop had ordered for him. Not only that, but he ordered a full meal instead of an appetizer like Sungyeol had mentioned. It almost made him feel belittled, as if Kiseop thought he couldn’t order for himself.

“What was that?” he asked, feeling offended.

“What was what?” Kiseop asked.

“You just ordered for me. I don’t mean to be rude, but I didn’t ask you to do that for me.”

Kiseop tilted his head, as if he was confused to why Sungyeol seemed distraught. “You ate nearly half the bread basket so I figured with your propensity the carbs, you’d appreciate the pasta selection.”

Sungyeol frowned, grabbing the fabric on his stomach unconsciously. Was that how he looked to Kiseop? “Still,” he said, “I could’ve ordered for myself perfectly fine.”

“Just consider it as a favor,” Kiseop said, a smile on his face. “And don’t worry about it - it wasn’t a hindrance or anything for me to order for you.”

Sungyeol fought the urge to roll his eyes. He pursed his lips as he poked around at his salad. The leafy greens didn’t look that appetizing anymore. He sighed to himself. The next part of the date was filled by the sound of Kiseop’s voice, chattering on about various facts about himself, hardly stopping to ask anything about Sungyeol himself. He played the part, making impressed noises at designer labels Kiseop had walked the runway for and nodding along to overzealous retellings of photoshoots in exotic locales.

“You know,” Kiseop said suddenly. Sungyeol looked up from the lettuce he was absentmindedly twirling on his plate, not surprised in the slightest at the fact that Kiseop hadn’t touched his salad at all. Apparently there was too much dressing which was loaded with calories also - shocker. “Your lips make one of the prettiest pouts I’ve ever seen. They are full and a natural shade of pink. It’s really quite attractive.”

Sungyeol really fought the urge to roll his eyes. The only reason he was pouting was because Kiseop was annoying him. But he didn’t want to snap at him for giving him a compliment. So instead he just muttered a thanks.

It was awkwardly silent for a few moments before the cry of a toddler pierced the air. The two of them looked over to a family sitting a few tables away. The mother was trying to soothe her child. Sungyeol sympathized with her, knowing that calming a child could be such a difficult task.

Kiseop, however, winced and rolled his eyes. “Kids,” he muttered. “There should be some sort of rule against loud children in a restaurant. Some people are actually trying to enjoy their meals without all the background noise.”

Sungyeol shot him a look of disbelief. “Kiseop, this is a family restaurant.”

“Hmph. I don’t spend much time with children, so I should probably stay away from family restaurants. Especially if kids these days are this loud and incapable of behaving themselves in public,” he said, hinting to the wailing child.

Sungyeol’s frown deepened. “You don’t want kids?”

“Well, not at this age, at least. I’m sure I’ll want some eventually, but not now. I’m at the peak of my career and I’m not going to stop my streak to take care of some kid. I’ll probably have one when I’m older and need something to live for again.”

“Oh,” Sungyeol muttered. “So, you wouldn’t have any interest in being around kids now?”

Kiseop let out a chuckle. “Sungyeol, I know you’re probably eager - and I can understand why - but we just met. Kids are way out of the picture.”

Even though it probably wasn’t Kiseop’s intention, the words rubbed Sungyeol the wrong way. He didn’t like the fact that Kiseop just cast away the idea of kids like that. That he referred to them as way out of the picture. Sungyeol didn’t want Jiseon way out of the picture. She was his everything and if that was what Kiseop thought of children at this age, then Sungyeol didn’t really want him being around his daughter.

Sungyeol picked at his salad a little lazily, turning leaf over leaf. It didn’t make him feel any better. He ate it bit by bit, not feeling appetized at all. Kiseop kept on talking though, and Sungyeol just let him. Kiseop continued to talk on and on about himself and his modeling job. In fact, he kept asking Sungyeol on how to achieve his complexion, since he said he wanted magazines to airbrush his face less when they were editing - but they didn’t have to enhance his cheekbones or jaw, he was blessed with perfect bone structure, in Kiseop’s own humble opinion.

Twenty minutes later, the waitress came back with their meals. Just as Sungyeol figured, the portion size was too much for him to finish. He had only eaten half of his salad, but he knew that there was no way that he was going to be able to eat the entire plate of pasta. Plus, he was still quite annoyed over the fact that Kiseop had ordered for him without his consent. If he were rude, he probably would’ve gotten up and left already, but he stayed for the sake of the date - and so Dongwoo couldn’t accuse him of not trying enough. He figured he could be polite enough to stay till the end.

“So, Sungyeol what do you do for a living?”

He almost raised an eyebrow in surprise. Sungyeol didn’t think the model would take a second to actually ask him a question instead of himself. “I own a small cafe,” he said proudly.

Kiseop poked his salmon with his fork, looking a bit disinterested. “Oh, you have your own business?” He smiled. “That’s nice. What cafe do you own?”

“Sarang’s,” Sungyeol responded, using his fork to push the shrimp around his plate. “It’s a cute little place downtown. I get most of my business serving coffee, specialty drinks, things of that nature to the college crowd and people that work in the business district. But I personally enjoy making the pastries and desserts, I find baking to be kind of therapeutic.”

“Ah,” Kiseop said, nodding. “I’ve never heard of it. Me and my friends usually frequent more of the fancy places, where they charge way too much for coffee.” He laughed, although Sungyeol didn’t find his comments to be all that amusing.

Sungyeol bristled in his seat. “Well, it’s a relatively small business. I pride myself on trying to serve a good product for a great price.”

Kiseop nodded again. “Interesting. I guess I should probably drop by sometime.”

This time, Sungyeol really did roll his eyes. Kiseop didn’t notice though. “I don’t know,” He stabbed his pasta a little too roughly. “I wouldn’t want to force you to come to my cafe.” Sungyeol almost wanted to add that such a fancy world class model couldn’t be seen in his lowly cafe in a sarcastic way, but he bit his tongue.

Kiseop shrugged his shoulders as he cut off another piece of his dinner. “It’s just that most cafe drinks these days are loaded up with unnecessary things like chocolate chips and caramel. It’s supposed to be coffee but all you get are calories from too much sweets.” He shook his head in distaste. “It’s better to stay away from it.”

“Ah, yes, that’s true. You are very right.” Apparently Kiseop didn’t understand the concept of indulgence when it came to coffee. He was actually very proud of the frappes and cappuccinos he had dreamed up for Sarang’s, but he didn’t bother to explain because he knew his date wouldn’t appreciate it anyway.

Sungyeol shook his head. ‘I could probably get him to stop breathing if I told him that oxygen was chock full of calories,’ he thought.

“Well, either way - I’ll try to donate to your cafe after my next photoshoot. I’m sure you’ll need all the money you can get.”

Sungyeol stared up at him in disbelief, completely taken back. “I’m not running a charity,” he said. “I don’t need any donations. You probably need the money also.”

Kiseop smiled, brushing away the statement with a wave of his hand. “Oh, no, I assure you that I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Another bland half hour passed by as Sungyeol ate his food and Kiseop jabbered on about

how he loved donating to good causes and bragged about how he was sponsoring some movement to save some endangered species that he became passionate about after posing with some exotic animal in some gorgeous foreign local that the cafe owner would never visit. Sungyeol simply ended up tuning him out and trying to finish at least half of his pasta dish. He was still very unsurprised that Kiseop had barely touched his food. Did being a model mean that your appetite just conveniently disappeared?

When the waitress finally came back around Sungyeol had already deemed the evening a failure. He reminded himself to scold Dongwoo later on his choice of potential mates for him. He should probably add models to his list of people he wouldn’t go on a blind date with. Arrogant models, to be more specific. And he would definitely be exact with his requirements if he ever was crazy enough to let his best friend set him up on a date again.

“Are we ready for dessert?” the waitress asked.

Sungyeol wanted to object since he knew that Kiseop probably wouldn’t even eat it. “Oh, I don’t think-” But of course, Kiseop didn’t let him finish his sentence.

“I believe we are,” Kiseop cut him off smoothly, smiling up at her. “We’d like to order your white chocolate raspberry cheesecake.”

Sungyeol really wanted to interrupt with ‘No, we wouldn’t’ but he obviously wouldn’t be getting a word in any time soon.

“That’s great,” the waitress replied, writing the order down. “Would you like anything?” she asked, turning to Sungyeol.

“No, we’ll be sharing,” Kiseop responded for the both of them… again. The waitress gave them a reassuring nod, leaving Sungyeol and Kiseop on their own again. Still, Sungyeol felt it was his duty to at least try being friendly.

“So,” he started, “do you like sweets?” He was halfway convinced that the model didn’t like food at all, but he was stuck at the table for the time being, so he might as well make conversation.

Kiseop tilted his head. “Well, I guess. It’s a lovely dessert from time to time. What about you - are you fan of cheesecake?”

Sungyeol nodded brightly. “Yeah - Dongwoo and I snack on them all the time! I sell a good amount at my cafe actually.” He laughed to himself, memories of Dongwoo and his ever present sweet tooth invading his mind.

Kiseop also laughed, which surprised Sungyeol to a certain extent. He surprised Sungyeol even further by reaching across the table and placing a hand on his soft cheeks. “Well,” he said, chuckling, “these cheeks must have come from somewhere.”

A frown suddenly appeared on Sungyeol’s face as he leaned away from Kiseop’s hand. “Excuse me?” he said.

“Those kind of dumpling cheeks don’t just appear out of nowhere,” he chuckled, sitting back into his seat.

Dumpling cheeks?! It took all of Sungyeol’s being not to just stand up and storm out. He wasn’t enjoying this date anymore at all, and at this point he was sitting there just to be polite. He hated good looking faces with such shallow personalities. Kiseop was a pretty package with nothing substantial inside. He crossed his arms and slumped back in his seat, frowning to himself as Kiseop went on and on about how to get rid of baby fat to achieve a sharp profile such as his.

“It’s such a shame,” Kiseop said, “for your cheeks to ruin your stellar complexion.”

Sungyeol scoffed under his breath, wishing for time to go faster as the waitress came back with their plate of dessert. He almost glowered at the cake, wanting to force it down Kiseop’s throat and watch him cry over the calorie count. The model had barely touched any of the courses that evening, there was no way that he would be able to eat a piece of cheesecake without his guilt forcing him to fall to the floor to do some crunches or sit-ups to compensate.

“Ah, here we are,” Kiseop said, smiling. He gestured to the cake. “I assume you’d like some?”

Begrudgingly, Sungyeol picked up his fork and took a piece from the cake, placing it in his mouth. Maybe if he weren’t in such an off put mood, he might have appreciated how good the dessert really tasted. He was actually quite surprised when Kiseop also picked up his fork to take some miniscule pieces from the cake.

He placed them on his tongue carefully, as if this cheesecake was a rare delicacy. “What an exquisite taste,” he said thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling as if the taste was something complex and extraordinary.

“It’s cheesecake,” Sungyeol said, unimpressed. “That’s how cheesecake tastes.”

“Is it?” Kiseop asked, pondering the statement. “Of course, I wouldn’t know - I don’t really eat cheesecake that much. I usually have much richer desserts - that is, if I allow myself to eat desserts.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Sungyeol muttered under his breath, shoving another fork of cheesecake into his mouth.

After about three more mouse-sized bites, Kiseop put his fork down. “That’s enough,” he said. “I only allow myself a little bit, after all.”

“Of course you do,” he replied. Perhaps he was being a bit rude, but Kiseop had been rude to him also.

“And you,” Kiseop continued. “Do you like the cheesecake?”

Sungyeol sat with the fork in his mouth and shrugged. “It’s fine. Not the best thing ever, but definitely tastes really good.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it,” Kiseop told him, smiling. The smile was dazzling the first time, but now it had lost its luster.

After another moment or so, Sungyeol put down his fork also. “I can’t finish the rest of it,” he said. “I’m still so full from the other plates.”

“Quite understandable,” Kiseop said. “They did serve rather large portions. I’ll call the waitress over for the check.”

As Kiseop got the attention of the waitress, Sungyeol scoffed. What would Kiseop know about being full - he had barely eaten anything!

When the check had been delivered to their table, Sungyeol reached for it, but Kiseop stopped his hand. “Oh, don’t worry,” he said with a smile, “I’ll pay for the dinner tonight.” Sungyeol already knew it was just to flaunt his riches some more, not because it was the gentlemanly thing to do.

Kiseop placed the money in the little book with a flourish of his hands, putting it back down on the table with a self-satisfied smile. Sungyeol tried at a smile, but could barely bring the corners of his mouth up.

Kiseop smiled at him. “You don’t need to worry about the cost, Sungyeol - I will pay for everything.” Kiseop sighed happily, standing up from his seat. “Now if you’d excuse me, I’ll be in the men’s room.” He excused himself from the table, making his way to the restrooms with a certain waltz in his step.

Sungyeol pouted to himself, leaning forward as he rested his chin in his hands. He sneered down at the check, wondering how much their dinner cost for Kiseop to act like he had spent some sort of fortune on him. Feeling curious, he dragged the checkbook across the table with his finger. He looked up and it didn’t look like Kiseop would be coming back anytime soon. He mentally scoffed - what did that model eat for him to need to use the men’s room for so long?

He brought the checkbook closer and slid it into his lap. It wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong, have of the dinner had been his anyway, so he was entitled to see the cost. He debated it in his mind for a moment before ultimately deciding to open the checkbook. And what he saw in the presence of money was horrifying.

It was a coupon.

There, bedded on a small pile of bills, was a coupon for free dessert. And Sungyeol also noticed that the coupon stated that a free dessert was given so long as two adult meals were bought.

That explained a lot.

Sungyeol slammed the checkbook closed, placing it back to its original position. Just finding the coupon left a bitter taste in his mouth. After throwing his weight around all evening about how rich he was and donating to his cafe, Kiseop had used a coupon for a free dessert that he didn’t even bother eating. Even Sungyeol - who had been forced to learn to be frugal over the years - would never even think to use a coupon on a date!

Kiseop came back, looking much too pleased with himself than what Sungyeol would’ve expected. The man had used a coupon for goodness sakes - what was there to be proud of? It wasn’t the least bit surprising that Kiseop sat back down with an arrogant sway. The waitress came back to collect the check and he handed it to her with a proud glow in his eyes, stating a bit too loudly that he didn’t need the change.

Sungyeol had to force himself not to run from the restaurant.

“So,” Kiseop said, turning back to face Sungyeol as they walked to their cars in the parking lot, “do you’d think I’d be able to grace you with another date anytime soon?”

“Thanks for the offer,” Sungyeol replied, unlocking the door to his SUV. He stepped into his car, looking back at Kiseop from his front seat. “But no thanks.”

He closed the door with a firm pull, not giving the model anymore chances to waste his time. He had done enough of that during dinner.

A/N: I FINALLY FCKING FINISHED THE CHAPTER. you would not believe what kind of feels i had to go through while creating this.
but yay - here we have yeol’s blind date! kiseop the (arrogant) model! Plus it's much longer than the normal updates, so that's awesome too!
Yeol really did not enjoy himself during this one. But that just meets he will enjoy and appreciate a nice date later on, right ;D

Comment and let us know what you think!
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