The IT Girl's NERD - 《JENRINA》

3 ~ first date?

Karina was wearing a mini satin multicolored dress which exposed her pale sleeves only to be covered by a similarly colored knitted cardigan that fell of her shoulders intentionally. Her hair was tied up into a bun, her bangs sat prettily on both sides of her temples leaving open the parting middle on her forehead. A pair of white heels and a yellow clutch completed her look. And not to mention, the minimalistic accessories that brought out her innocent vibes took a bit of time in selecting.

She thought she would end up running late but little did she know that she would end up having to wait for a guy. Never did she think such day would come in her life.

A panting Jeno walks in through the library door. It was a cozy small library that Karina had selected because based on the intel she received, Jeno didn't like crowded places.

It didn't take much of skimming for him to find where she was. She stood out quite a bit.

"Sorry. I got stuck in traffic." Jeno excused himself as he sat on the wooden chair opposite her. He took off his hat and placed it on the table.

Karina casually scanned his outfit : a plain white tshirt and a pair of jeans. A zipped hoodie which now rested on the chair adjacent to him. She couldn't help but wonder if she was overdressed or that she misunderstood the meaning of innocent and pure aesthetic.

"Your laptop?" Jeno asked once he set up his on the table. "Oh." A quick glance towards her clutch led Jeno to realize that that was all she had brought along.

"Can we share?" Karina suggested with puppy eyes. "We will be working on the same thing after all."

He nodded and not sparing even a second she was already moving away his hoodie and backpack.

The speciality of the library they were in was its vibe. 90s cozy aesthetic. The dim yellow lights, the smell of coffee brewing mixed with a hint of old books all brought about a soothing effect.

Jeno was explaining the assignment and giving suggestions on what they should work on, all while Karina stared at his side profile. She had seen him before of course but it was only now that she noticed how prominent and manly his features are. His lashes long and orbs light brown illuminated by the light bulb hanging right above them due to the low ceiling.

He could totally model....

"So what do you think?" Jeno waved his hand infront of her.

"Oh! That's a nice idea. But I think..." Karina looked at the screen of the pc, and then her eyes examined the library and immediately offered a prompt. "How about an animals shelter?" Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Since the assignment is presenting how we perceive our partner through nonhuman still images.."

Jeno listened to her attentively, awaiting for her to complete her sentence. She seemed to ponder hard as she stared into the vain only to come up with, "I see a puppy in you." She turned, pointed at him and giggled. She wasn't exactly referring to his personality but rather his looks.

Jeno sighed. What was I even expecting from her...

"Well then, do you know of any animal shelters that will allow us to take pictures?"

"Leave that to me, I will send you the time and location." She showed him a thumbs up.

At least she knows what she's doing.

He nodded before turning to his computer and making changes.

"Well let's call it a day then..." he shut down his laptop and prepared to leave.

Just like that...? we didn't even order coffee yet and he didn't even look at me properly.... Karina was mentally whining about how she was utterly failing at her mission.

"Let's... " She held onto his arm sheepishly. "Let's eat dinner together, I already made reservations." She beamed.

"Uhm..." after a moment's hesitation, he gently declined the offer.

Her beaming eyes now bore a hint of dissapointment. She stood up and walked beside him. "But I made reservations for two..."

"You should call one of your friends or something..." Jeno suggests as he held the door for her to walk out.

Karina turned around sassily, "Are you perhaps a T?" The tips on the fingers of her right hand hitting the middle of her left hand palm mimicking the letter T with dissapointment evident on her face. A common joke among Korean folks.

Jeno smirked at her question before taking a quick glance at his wristwatch. "I really need to go." He bowed and walked away hastily.

What a failure of a day...

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"Kim Minjeongie, my cutie baby patootie~" Out of endearment, Karina spat all cute names hugging a cringing Winter. "What would I do without you?"

Apparently, Karina was waiting outside the restaurant as it was nearer to Winter's house. "Let's go in!" She led the way.
.
.
.

"And that's how I got stood up on the very first ever date I planned.." Karina was narrating the happenings of the day to Winter in a rather exaggerated manner.

"Son! Take this to that table.. they made reservations in advance." The smiling middle-aged lady yelled, from the counter, at someone who seemed to be in the kitchen.

Karina remembered suddenly how she had made a special request from the lady on the phone as they didnt accept reservation. The restaurant was popular for its tteokbokki, a simmered Korean rice cake. It was particularly crowded during the evenings hence Karina feared she would have to wait if she didn't make the reservation.

"Just what does he like about such a tacky place?" Karina commented. "I thought you said he didn't like crowded places?"

"How would I know? I just told you what Jaemin told me." Winter replied as she took a sip of the water placed in front of each of them. "But I bet its for the food, see that huge line waiting."

Subconsciously imitating Winter, Karina also took a sip of the water only to choke on it when the waiter appeared in front of them.

Spills of the water from her mouth splashed across his apron. He flinched a bit but otherwise looked unfazed.

"Lee Jeno?" Karina gasped.

Winter was equally surprised but her expressions remained still.

"That's right." Jeno spoke as he placed down the dishes they had ordered.   "Eat. well."

With that, he took off. Leaving a confused Karina. It wasn't like he wasn't  surprised to see Karina there, he was. It's just that, he had a little more time to let that surprise sink in than Karina did. Since he noticed them from the counter, he could play it cool as he did.

"Wait, what if he thinks am stalking him?"

"But you are..." Winter took a bite of the tteokbokki and oh it didn't disappoint. Talking of dissapointment, Jaemin really did her dirty this time after all that talk of being 'partners' and sharing all informations together. She was lying to him too but she couldn't help but get mad at him.

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Thanks for reading yall!