𝐆𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 (𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐙! 𝐟𝐟)

𝙲𝙷. 𝟺𝟽 ☯︎︎ 𝙳𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚃𝚠𝚘

He studies her as she was walks toward him: the way her hips sway seductively with each step, the way the dress he gave her fits her soft curves, the way her eyes look back at his with that never-ending look of grief and maturity. Stretching out his hand wordlessly so as to not ruin the peaceful stillness between them, he grabs and lifts her hand to his lips to place a gentle peck on the back of it.

"You look beautiful, Kurenai." He compliments and sees her expression clash with two distinct emotions he can't pin down.

"Thank you." She answers stiffly, keeping her eyes away from his and focusing intently on the hand that's in his. Mingi purses his lips, bringing down their hands a bit disappointedly when he hears the next comment. "Although, I bet you only say this because you chose the dress."

"Dresses can only enhance what's already there." He slyly responds to which Kurenai rolls her eyes playfully. "Shall we?" The tattooed woman nods and they sit down at the booth. Kurenai tries to keep a distance between them which Mingi picks up on but brushes it off in the same instant. "I'm sorry that I kept you waiting for so long. Hongjoong was on my ass because I failed to fill some stupid paper out that was a part of my recent mission."

"You're good." Kurenai shrugs slightly, looking back down at her lap. There's a sudden awkward tension between them, as if they were two sheltered teenagers on their first date.

"I—,"

"Hello, my name is Joshua and I'll be your waiter for today. Pardon me for any interruption, but I can take your order, or if you're not ready, then your drinks?" A tall blond kid, not a day over 17 suddenly interrupts Mingi, relieving both of them from that awkward atmosphere.

"Oh, um, I think I'm ready. I'll have a Shirley Temple and the baked ratatouille and..."

"I'll have the bouillabaisse stew with, uh... merlot," Mingi adds in his order, taking his eyes off of Kurenai only to order before looking back at her again.

"Thank you. That'll be all." Kurenai let's the young waiter know and he nods before heading off with their order.

"Well that's a surprise. How come you didn't order a wine?"

"Hah, I think it'd be best if I stayed sober." Kurenai chuckles, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "Either way, I'm surprised you ordered one."

"It was only because I know you would eventually bug me and ask for some." He replies matter-of-factly, making the tattooed woman let out a breathy laugh. The once timid air that plagued them was now gone and replaced with that natural easy that usually follows them. "I missed you a lot, Kurenai."

"I..." Kurenai drawls, looking for the right way to phrase it. "I missed our friendship, too. But enough, about me." She quickly changes topics, "I heard that you've been doing side assignments that the Meisters have assigned you."

Mingi sighs.

"Yeah, Hongjoong decided it would be best if we continued with our farce and worked as we would have before all of... this." He waves his hands around to make his point. Kurenai knows what he means by "this". As much as he might want to work his way around it the "this" always means her. If it weren't for her, her team might not be in the position they're in. Mingi would never admit that to her face and, in a way, she's grateful for that. "Either way, my workload has been increased so much that I barely have time to even model."