Valentine ‘s Day has never been a favourite holiday of Jung Eunji’s , she living on her own and has no reason to celebrate. While the lovers are out, painting the town red, tonight, Eunji is working.

She never expected to run into someone she had hoped to meet someday- but who had thought that today would be that day?

This wasn’t her first Valentine’s Day alone, but it almost felt like it was. She was in a new state, a new city, and in reality, she was alone in this new place. Jung Eunji came to live in the city to try her hat at singing, her true dream in life. She never imagined that she’d actually pick up and move from her little North Dakota town, but she had. With almost no money and certainly no support, she had packed up her car and driven away from her home toward the unknown.

She had somehow been lucky enough to find a waitressing job and a crappy apartment on the first day she arrived. It had been a long torturous day and she was just relieved she wasn’t forced to sleep in her car for another night. When it had been about 3 weeks at her new job, in her new “home”, V-Day popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, yet falling on the same day every single year. February 14th. The day she loathed more than anything.

She specifically asked if she could work the bar that night instead of on the floor because she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle waiting on all the loving couples holding hands and feeding each other. To say she had a bad break-up that caused her to be this way would have been an understatement. Her heart hadn’t been ripped out, but the opposite. She had done the ripping of her ex-boyfriend’s heart. She just wasn’t feeling the long haul with the guy she had been with and he felt like they were soulmates.

So it was hard to see these lovey-dovey couples when she wasn’t in one of them anymore and wasn’t sure if she even would. Without even knowing it though, that all was destined to change tonight.

The customers had been polite, the tips decent, and the drunkards steady throughout the night. It was nearing closing, early for any regular day, but not for tonight. 11:00 PM was closing time on V-Day and it was nearing 10:45. She only had 15 more exhausting minutes and she could help close up, drive home, and drink and eat until she could no more.

She nearly groaned when she heard the sound of the wind blowing from outside as the door flew open and booted footsteps were heard across the hardwood. The scraping of a barstool came next and she put a smile on her face before turning to greet the newest customer of their lovely establishment.

It was someone Eunji had seen before. Never up close, never in person, but she had seen pictures and videos. She felt like she knew him, but that was only what he showed to the media, to the fans. She didn’t really know him. Even if she hadn’t wanted anything more for the past few months, maybe even years. She’d deny it though if anyone asked her.

The curly brown hair, the dimpled smile, and the plaid shirt. It was all so much better than she had ever imagined. She couldn’t speak at first, almost felt like she wasn’t breathing. She wanted to look in a mirror, make sure her hair and make-up still looked all right after working a full shift and a half, but she couldn’t. So she continued to smile, although it turned more shy, and she walked a step closer to the bar top, placing a napkin on the counter in front of the one and only Lee Minhyuk.

“Hi, what can I get for you tonight?” Eunji said, surprised that she hadn’t stumbled on her words. She was literally looking at one of her idols, who was smiling at her and her heart was racing.

“Hey love. I’ll take a scotch on the rocks.” Eunji knew how old he was, and was weary about asking for ID. She didn’t want to come off as uncool or something, but she knew she had to abide by the restaurants rules.

“Can I see some ID?” She asked, biting her lip gently for a second before letting it go.

“You don’t know who I am?” He asked with a slight laugh.”

“Full of yourself much?” Eunji shot back.

“Now, now. I was just asking, I mean we are in Seoul. and I’m very famous.”

“Yeah, I know, Minhyuk. It’s policy to ask for ID. You know, since you’re in Seoul and all, and the drinking age here is 21, which I’m pretty sure you’re not.” Eunji didn’t know where her courage was coming from. She would never say things like this on a normal day, but then again, today wasn’t just a normal day. Not for her.

“So you do know who I am? Good to know.”

“Yeah, I do. And you’re not what I expected. Not at all.” Eunji needed to leave; she couldn’t stay here right now. She was standing in front of her idol and he was being exactly who the media portrayed him as. She took a breath before walking over to her manager.

“Hey Sulli, can I leave a little early? I know it’s almost closing, but I’m all of a sudden not feeling too great. I can stay if you need me to.” She said.

“Oh, honey. That’s okay. You can head out, I’ll take over the bar for the last few minutes and finish closing up.” Her manager replied. Eunji could never be more thankful for her manager. She was always nice and she actually considered her a friend, even in the short time she’d known her. Eunji went to the back of house to grab her stuff before coming out front again. She thanked Sulli once more before waving to the other servers still there. She left the restaurant thinking that she would never see Lee Minhyuk ever again, and she was actually kind of thankful for that.

Walking to her car, she pulled out her keys and dropped them, nearly screaming, when a hand closed around her arm and tried to spin her around.

“Sorry love, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Minhyuk’s deep voice pierced her ears. She saw him reach down and pick up her keys and hold them out for her to take. She felt frozen, yet her hand reached out to pluck the keys from his large hand anyway.

“It’s…fine. Just, fine.” She whispered before she tried to walk away from him and to her car once more.

“Did I do something back there?” He said, and she could hear his footsteps following behind her.

“Nope.” She said shortly even though it wasn’t true. She didn’t know what to think right now, as Lee Minhyuk was following her as she walked to her car. She stopped at her car and fumbled with her keys.

“Need any help?”

“No, I don’t need help.”

“Seriously, what did I say that pissed you off?” Eunji turned to face him and her face fell from the scowl that had formed to a more neutral expression.

“Why do you care, Minhyuk?”

“I didn’t mean to upset you, if I did.”

“Well, you didn’t. I just…” Eunji sighed before deciding to be fully honest. It’s not like Lee Minhyuk would remember this conversation days from now. He had his own perfect life and his own friends. “The truth…is that I’ve wanted to meet you for the longest time, and when I finally see you in person, finally get to talk to you, I realized that you’re exactly who I hoped you weren’t. The media portrays you well from what I’ve seen tonight, and I hoped you were different. I just…wanted my idol to be different.” She said before turning around and pulling her hair into a messy bun at the base of her head before finally opening her car door. She didn’t get the chance to close it though, because Minhyuk had stepped in front of it.

“I don’t know what to say, other than to start off by saying that I’m sorry. I’m really not that guy. I’m not the guy that the media thinks I am. If you can even believe that, I just put up a front to keep people out. It’s how I deal with keeping the fakers away, so they can’t mess with my head, or my wallet.”

“Why would you need to do that? You’re Lee Minhyuk, people will fall at your feet and you can just take your pick.”

“That’s not exactly how it works, but I won’t bother you anymore than I already have. I’m sorry, love. A beautiful girl like you shouldn’t have to deal with my crap.” Minhyuk smiled slightly, before turning to leave, being a gentleman and going to shut the car door for me. Eunji was flabbergasted and was shocked. Minhyuk seemed shy and almost scared talking to her about the “real him”. She opened the car door again quickly and jumped out of the car.

“Wait! Minhyuk, I’m sorry.” Eunji yelled across the parking lot. Minhyuk had gotten pretty far from her car before she had decided to jump back out. Minhyuk turns around slowly, too slowly, and Eunji finally takes in everything about him. His long, lean legs and his scuffed up boots that he had thrown away but then had risen from the dead. His long torso covered by plaid, and his curly brown hair that was wind blown by now. She noticed him taking slow, careful steps closer to her and she focused on his wide eyes, forest green in color scorching into her own green-blues.

“You don’t need to be sorry –“ Minhyuk stopped because he didn’t know her name.

“Eunji.”

“Well, Eunji. It’s been interesting meeting you.” He said with a smile. “But I’m the one that’s sorry, and I’ve said it already.”

“Can we just agree that we’re both sorry, and move on?” Eunji suggested.

“Deal.” They stood there for a few minutes, not really knowing what to do or what to say.

“Do you want to grab a drink somewhere? I know that I basically turned you away before. I mean, I know that you’re only 20, so I could’ve gotten fired for serving you.”

“It’s all right. I understand, love.”

“Is that something all Seoul guys say? I’ve always wondered.”

“Oh, no. I don’t really know. I’ve always just said it to the beautiful girls that I meet.” Minhyuk says. Eunji feels flattered, blushing slightly at Minhyuk’s words. She knew that there was something about him that made him desirable to all the girls. It was the charm and sincerity that could be seen in his eyes. She was already seeing a different side to him that the guy in the restaurant some 15 minutes ago.

“So…drinks?” Eunji says with a shy smile.

“I’d love to. Where though, since I’m not of legal drinking age yet?” Eunji thought for a second, almost wishing she weren’t about to suggest what she was thinking.

“It’s not anything fancy…it’s actually a really crappy place, but we could maybe go to my apartment? We could stop somewhere if you want, but I have some wine and some vodka at home, I think. Not sure if that’ll suffice with your scotch desires.”

“Wine and Vodka sound fine to me. Lead the way.”

“Where’s your car?” Eunji asked, wondering what it looked like so she could watch it follow behind her as she drove.

“It’s across the lot. It’s just a black range rover. I’ll follow you, obviously.” Minhyuk said with a chuckle before turning to go get his car running. Eunji took the alone time to get situated in her car, and check her appearance in the mirror. She actually looked pretty good, maybe not the highest quality that she could look, especially in front of Lee Minhyuk, but it would have to do. She wasn’t overly picky about her look, but she didn’t want to look too grungy in the presence of Minhyuk, as he always looked close to perfection. She pulled out of her spot and Minhyuk waved to show her that he was following her. She the radio and sang lightly as she drove home, making sure that Minhyuk was behind her the whole way. It wasn’t a far drive, so she didn’t have much time to freak out about Lee Minhyuk being in her apartment. She thought and couldn’t even remember the last time she cleaned it. She hoped that it would suffice for Minhyuk’s “following suit. When they got into her apartment, she sighed in relief that it was clean.

“Make yourself at home…I’ll be right back.” She said and went to her bathroom to brush her hair down, not wanting to keep it up anymore. She changed from her uniform into leggings and a t-shirt, looking at her figure in the mirror and deeming her outfit appropriate before heading back into the living room. Minhyuk was looking at the pictures on her wall and she smiled at his interest.

“You have siblings?” Minhyuk asked as she walked back in.

“Yeah, 2: a sister and brother. I’m right in the middle. I hate it.” Eunji said as she opened the cabinet to pull out wine glasses and shot glasses. She grabbed the vodka from the freezer and pulled a fresh bottle of unopened wine from the fridge before turning to look at all the stuff she needed to bring to the coffee table.

“I can help you if you need it.” Minhyuk said a lot closer than she had first been expecting.

“Oh, okay. Um, thanks.” She said, grabbing the wine bottle and glasses before walking to the couch. Minhyuk took the vodka and shot glasses before following suit. They sat side by side on the couch, only half a foot apart and Eunji asked him what he wanted.

“Whatever you’re having.” Eunji bit her lip and poured 2 glasses of red wine and then pours two shots. They drank for a bit, chatting lazily, almost like old friends.

“So what was a pretty girl like you doing working on a night like tonight? Shouldn’t you be spending a magical evening with your loving boyfriend?” Minhyuk asked curiously.

“Um, no. Valentine’s Day isn’t such a great holiday for me. I just…I’m not really into it. And I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“You don’t? Why not?”

“Bad break-up a while back. To put it lightly, I broke some guy’s heart and I just haven’t really been up to trying that again.”

“I’m sorry. I mean break-ups can be hard no matter who does the breaking and who gets broken.”

“Yeah, you’re right. So what about you? Why were in a nice restaurant right before closing, alone? I’m sure you have plenty of girls to entertain. I hear Kendall and you are hitting it off, yeah?” I say with a smile, partially smirking because I want to hear if the whole Woori thing is true or not.

“Son of a – I cannot believe people are believing the media’s rumors. I am not dating Kendall Jenner. Wouldn’t want to either.” Minhyuk says exasperated.

“Sorry, I wanted to hear it from you. I didn’t believe it personally. I thought that you were too good for her…” Eunji finishes in a whisper, slightly embarrassed by her words. “I’m sorry, that’s – I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s fine, Eunji. Completely fine. I agree though, that’s why I didn’t date her. She’s an all right friend, but I wouldn’t want her to be my girlfriend. You on the other hand –“ He cuts himself off with a smile in my direction, scooting closer to Eunji on the couch. Her breathing speeds up because this can’t be real, can it? This is just a dream that she’s wanted for a long time, but isn’t actually happening?

“Me? Wh – What about me?” Eunji stutters. Minhyuk smiles, setting his glass down on the table before grasping my hand with his own. His skin is warm and smooth, just like I imagined. My palms are sweating and I’m embarrassed to have my hand in his, wanting to pull away and wipe my hand down my leggings, but Minhyuk won’t let me. I give up trying to pull away and settle for locking my hand tightly with his.

“You, Eunji, are something different. I almost didn’t come into that restaurant tonight, but if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have met you. I wouldn’t be here with you. But I saw you and put up that front that I do when I don’t want to get hurt. I didn’t want you to hurt me because I was – am attracted to you. I think you are beautiful, but also hot – especially in those leggings and t-shirt. I’ve never met someone like you and I want to get to know you more. I know I’m famous, and you…well, you’re just Eunji. You’re someone that I don’t know at all, but I want to get to know you. So, what do you say?” Eunji is shocked at first and doesn’t know how to respond, but she feels Minhyuk squeeze her hand and she’s pulled back to reality – at least she thinks it’s reality.

“Can you pinch me, please?” Eunji asks, looking into Minhyuk’s soft green eyes.

“What?” He says confused.

“Pinch me, so I can know that this is actually happening. This has to be a dream. I mean, Lee Minhyuk from BTOB is in my living room, on my couch, holding my sweaty hand, and I can’t…I don’t believe it.” Eunji says.

“I’m not going to pinch you. But I am going to kiss you. If that’s all right, that is.” Minhyuk says, asking permission with his eyes.

“That’s all right.” Eunji responds and then waits. Minhyuk brings his free hand up to cup her face, rubbing a warm thumb over her reddened cheek from her blushing.

“You are gorgeous when you blush.” Minhyuk says, leaning forward and brushing their lips together. Eunji presses into the kiss and it’s short and sweet, just like she’d always imagined. It was something that she never thought would actually happen, but she was kissing Lee Minhyuk. She couldn’t stop saying that in her head.

“Wow.” She said when they pulled away. “That was…” She squeezed his hand in her own. “…Perfect.”

“It was.” He agreed. They kissed once more before pulling back and smiling at each other. They knew that tonight was a night they wouldn’t ever forget. Even if they weren’t together for the rest of “their lives, seeing as they just met, they wouldn’t care, because they had tonight; a perfect night although somewhat out of the ordinary.

“So, would you say that Valentine’s Day still isn’t your holiday?” Minhyuk asks.

“I would say that I think I’m starting to turn around to the idea of it. That’s for sure.”

“Well then,” Minhyuk picks up both of their wine glasses and hands Eunji hers. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Eunji.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Minhyuk.” With one last kiss, Eunji starts to really believe that Valentine’s Day could be a magical day, at least with the right person. Maybe Minhyuk was her “right” person. Who knew that working on Valentine’s Day could end with such a sweet and unexpected surprise.”