It’s been a few days since you met Minji for the first time. You haven’t gotten her out of your mind and keep looking at the photo you took of her. After some thinking, you contemplate texting her, and you give it a shot, “Hey, it’s me. I want to ask you if you are free sometime this week. I want to ask you on a date, maybe lunch or dinner?” You click send and hope for her reply.
You wait for an hour, the evening, and no reply. You tell yourself, “She must be busy with her group. She’ll text me when she’s free.”
A day passes, and there is no response; you can’t help but feel a bit disappointed, but you have too many things going on yourself, so you try to keep yourself busy.
A few days pass, and you are currently at the gym with one of your friends from school. “Hey, you seem distracted, what’s up?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“You sure? You’re not yourself. Look at you; you’re running and lifting less than usual. That’s not you, bro.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ve been distracted.”
“Tell me. If it’s something I can help you with, I don’t mind giving you some free advice.”
“Haha, you know that advice should be free; you don’t charge someone for it.”
“I mean, you’re not going to pay me per se; you just need to pay for dinner.”
“Ohh, then something from the convenience store, then.
“Don’t be like that; how about some fried chicken or some meat?”
“Okay, okay, I’ll think about it.”
You tell your friend about Minji, how you met, and the text message you sent her. “Dang, bro. She’s cute. I mean, there are three options: either she’s busy, bad at texting like my girl, or ignoring you.”
“I hope she’s just busy. I think she’s cute, and I really want to get to know her better. Hopefully, I didn’t come off too strong and scare her.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it too much. If she blew you off, my girlfriend has a single friend. Maybe I should introduce you to her.”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, don’t say I never help. Let’s hope she’s busy and forgot to text you back.”
“Yeah…”
The two of you continue your workout for another hour. After finishing, you go to the shower and change into different clothes. You gather your things in a rush after noticing you’ll be late for class, “Hey, bro! You dropped your phone.” You don’t seem to hear him as you leave the changing room in a rush.
“Hmm… there’s a few messages.”
He looks at your phone and sees it’s from Minji. He runs out of the changing room and tries to catch up to you when he notices her calling your phone. He answers your phone, “Hey.”
“Sorry to call you this early, I’ve wanted to…”
“Haha, sorry. He forgot his phone at the gym. I’m trying to catch up to him; just give me a bit. Oh, I’m his friend, Jin, by the way.”
Minji can hear Jin running and panting as he runs as fast as possible to catch up to you. “Dude, wait up.”
You turn your head and see Jin running frantically towards you, “What’s up?”
“Phone… here, it’s her. Your girlfriend” passing you the phone.
“Hello, Minji?”
“Hey, sorry I haven’t replied back. I was really busy with practice.”
“Haha, it’s fine. I’ve been busy myself with class.”
“Oh… so that means you’re not free today?”
“No, I’m free. I have two classes today, but I’m free after 4 pm.”
“Oh, that works. Where do you want to meet?”
“Hmm… are you up for some Fried Chicken?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, there is a place near the company building. I’ll send you the directions and see you at 5 pm.”
“Okay, sounds good. See you then.”
After your class, you rush back to your apartment and tidy up, shower, and get changed for your date with Minji. You debate what to wear since it’s been a while since you had a date, and you really want to impress Minji. After much debate, you decide what to wear, do your hair, and go to the restaurant to meet her.
You arrive at the restaurant, find a seat, and wait for her to arrive. You text your friend and tell him how nervous you are, and he wishes you luck.
Suddenly, you hear the door chime go off and see Minji looking for you. You wave your hand, which catches her attention, and she walks toward you. You stand and pull the chair for her, “Did I make you wait long?”
“No, I just got her about five minutes ago.”
“Oh, okay, I was afraid I was going to be a bit late.”
“Haha, no. You made it just on time.”
She smiles and places her phone on the table before picking up the menu. “I come here a lot since it’s close to the company; they really have some good chicken.”
“Oh, if that’s the case, then I’ll leave the ordering to you,” giving her a smile.
“Okay, but don’t be upset if you don’t like it.”
“If you ordered, then I know it’s going to be good.”
“Haha, okay,” she blushes. She calls over the waiter and places two orders of fried chicken and two cold sodas.
“Sorry for leaving you on read; I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s okay; I assumed you were busy. I’m happy you messaged me back, though.”
“I kept looking at your message, and when the manager said that we had time off, the first thing I did was message you.”
“Oh, so that means you were thinking of me.”
Minji gets red by the way you phrased it and tries to play it off, “Haha, no, well… I didn’t want to be rude.”
“Well… you’re here, that’s all that matters. Also, you look beautiful, by the way.”
“Ehh…” Minji’s ears turn hot red, getting caught off guard by the sudden comment.”
The waiter arrives with a platter of food and drinks. “You two look like a lovely couple,” she says as she places the food on the table.
Minji is startled and says, “Oh, we’re not a couple, just friends.”
“Haha, she’s not my girlfriend yet,” she said with a smile.
“Aww, what a daring guy. I wish my boyfriend was like that when he asked me out. Took it a while.” She looked at Minji and leaned towards her, “He’s pretty hot; you two should date,” and walked away, grinning.
“Omg, that was so embarrassing. So sorry for that; she likes to tease.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I only said the truth.”
Minji bites her lip and turns her face to the side, avoiding her embarrassed expression.
You grab a piece of chicken and take a bite, “Hmmm, it’s good. You weren’t lying when you said the chicken was good.”
Relieved that you changed the conversation, she replies, “See, I told you. My members and I come here often because it’s good and the price is reasonable.”
The two of you continued with small talk on what you had been doing the past week. So far, the vibe between you two is great; she laughs at your jokes, and you listen to what she says and even give some input. You could tell that she was enjoying the date and hoped to ask her for another one. You can’t help but admire her beauty, personality, and how she makes you feel. You know that she’s the one you’ve been searching for.
“My members said that you seem like….” she stops mid-sentence when she tilts towards you, extending her arm and placing her thumb on your lip, “Sorry, you had some sauce on your face.”
You feel embarrassed and try to say something but suddenly react to the flash from the window. Four girls are standing in front of the restaurant window with their phones out. “Oppa, I’m so sorry. Those are my members; they must have followed me. Let me talk to them,” she said as she stood, making the four girls run away in laughter.
You yourself can’t help but laugh at the situation and say, “Hahaha, don’t worry about it. My friends are the same way. All they are going to do is tease; just don’t be too hard on them.”
“Watch, just wait until I get home,” frowning at the members that ran across the street.
After calming down, the two of you continue to eat and decide to grab some dessert. “Want to split the bill?”
“Actually, let me pay. I invited you on the date.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, if anything, you can spot the dessert.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
You call for the waiter, pay for the bill, and head out for a short walk before grabbing the dessert. As you two walk down the street, try to walk as close to her as possible and eye her hand. You see it swaying back and forth from the side of your eye and make a daring choice. You slowly interlock hands and see her reaction. Luckily, she doesn’t reject it and instead turns her head away from you, but she notices that her ears are turning red. The two of you walk in silence and enjoy the scene until Minji stops in front of an ice cream shop.
“Ice cream.”
“You want to get some ice cream?”
“Yes, ice cream,” and pulls you into the shop.
“Chocolate?”
“Yea…”
“Can I have two orders of chocolate?” turning your head and signaling two with your fingers.
“Can it be two scoops for both?”
The both of you enjoy your ice cream and see how much she enjoys every scoop. The way she smiles and squints her eyes makes your heart flutter.
“Cute”
“Wha? What you say?”
“I said cute.”
“Nooo, why?”
“You look cute when you eat the ice cream.”
“Nooo, stop. You’re going to make me blush again.”
“Haha. Kim Minji is cute. Cute when she eats her ice cream, just like a little teddy bear.”
She covers her face with her hands, “Haha, stop. You’re going to make me cry.”
“Okay, I’ll stop. I’ll just eat your ice cream since I’m done with mine.”
You try to grab a scoop of her ice cream when she says, “No! Mine!” Her reaction makes you burst into laughter. “Haha, haha, see, you’re only proving me right.”
“Meanie,” pouting and crossing her arms.
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop. For real this time.”
“Okay. Promise?”
“Promise.”
—————
“Thank you for inviting me out on a date; I really enjoyed it.”
“Would you be open for another date?”
“Hmm… Yeah… I’ll really like that,” with a gummy smile.
“Should I text you?”
“I’ll text you.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then.”
“Hmm, okay…” She waves you goodbye and walks towards the entrance of her building. You wave goodbye and start walking when you hear, “Oppa!” You turn around and see Minji behind you, “Hey.”
Suddenly, she walks closer to you, gets on her tippy toes, and kisses you on the cheek. “Thanks for the date” she smiles and speeds back to the entrance of the building and goes inside.
*Minji inserts the passcode to her dorm and sees her younger members on the living room couch, watching television and eating snacks. They all turn to look at Minji who is smiling from the kiss when she hears the members sing, “Minji unnie has a boyfriend, Minji has a boyfriend” in sync.
“Yah! Come here!” as she grabs her shoe and holds it up in the air, making the members run around the living room, trying to avoid being smacked by Minji.
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