"I'm terrible at dating."
Key's friend sighed as they enjoyed a picnic together in the sun.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the last date I went on was so awkward that I found an excuse to leave after 15 minutes. It's always like that: I never know what to say and it's so awkward that we both want to leave."
Key laughed. "That does sound terrible."
"Don't laugh!" She shoved him, pretending to be angry, but soon chuckled too.
"You know, I could help you with that."
"You?" She looked him up and down.
"Yah, don't look at me like that! I can help!"
"Alright then, how so?"
He straightened himself up. "I can practice with you so you know what to say. And," he looked at her faded jeans, "I can help you pick out an outfit."
"What's wrong with the way I dress?"
"What do you wear on a date?"
"I don't know, jeans and a shirt?"
"My point exactly." He raised an eyebrow at her and she had to admit he was right.
"Fine," she gave in, "but I hope you can help me soon because I have a blind date next week."
"I actually have one too." He thought for a bit. "How about tomorrow? I don't have anything on."
"Sure, let's meet up in town."
And so that's what they did. Key met his friend at a clothes shop to help her pick out some outfits. He certainly had his work cut out for him.
"Why don't we start with some dresses?"
Key went through the store and picked out several.
"Do I have to wear a dress?"
"We can pick out some other things too."
He loaded her arms with clothes and pushed her towards the changing rooms, where she put the first dress on. It was shorter than what she'd usually wear, so she hesitated a little before stepping out.
"What do you think?"
Key looked her up and down. "Not this one."
She tried several others on before one finally found favour in his eyes, a light blue dress.
"How about this one?"
Key didn't say anything for a while, just staring at her as she became increasingly nervous.
"Is it that bad?"
"N-no, it's nice actually."
Truth be told, he was taken aback by how good she looked. The dress emphasised all the right things, and showed off her long legs which he couldn't take his eyes off of.
"You have to take this one."
"Are you sure?" She shuffled uncomfortably.
"Yes. It looks good on you. You don't think so?"
She shrugged. "I guess so. I'm not used to showing off this much."
"Trust me, you look beautiful. You'll knock the guy dead."
She blushed at his words and hurried back into the changing rooms.
As Key helped her pick other options, he couldn't chase the image of his friend in that dress from his mind. Who knew she could look so beautiful?
"I think we have more than enough now," she said after an hour. "Let's go get these."
They walked to the counter with the mountain of clothes Key had chosen for her.
"I don't think I can get all of these Kibum," she started, but he waved her off.
"I'll get it."
"What? You don't have to do that."
"I want to." He smiled.
He paid for it before she could protest further and they went to a beauty store.
"Do you wear makeup?"
"Honestly, barely. I'm not very good at it."
"You should probably do what you usually do then. But you should get a nice perfume."
He grabbed her wrist and sprayed one on it, making her blush a little.
"This one's nice." He lifted her wrist to his face to smell it.
"It's okay. I just want one that smells as nice as you."
"You think I smell nice?" Key smirked.
"Of course." She turned her face away so he wouldn't see her blush. Why was she telling him that?
"I'll get you a similar one then."
He insisted on paying for that too, and then they decided to have lunch at a restaurant.
"So, what do you usually say to a guy on a date?"
"Hello?"
Key burst out laughing. "I meant beyond that."
"I don't know, I tell him what I do for work?"
"With topics like those, I'm not surprised you haven't found love yet."
"Fine then smartass, what would you have me say?"
"Just ask him a bunch of questions about himself. Men love talking about themselves."
"I'm surprised you'd admit that." She raised an eyebrow at him.
"It's the truth." He shrugged. "Just make sure he asks you some too."
"And that's it?"
"Should be, yes. Just don't say anything too awkward and you'll be fine."
"So don't be myself then." She laughed.
He laughed too. "You should always be yourself."
She sipped her drink and looked at him.
"What if that's not enough?"
"What do you mean?" He frowned.
"I don't know if I can perform as well with others as I can with you."
He leaned forward and looked into her eyes. "Don't ever say you're not enough. You are. If the guy can't see that, then he's not worth it."
They looked at each other for a moment before he leaned back in his seat, looking away.
She didn't know what to say in response so she just focused on eating her food. It would all be so much easier if the guy she met was just like Kibum: funny, kind, cute...
She interrupted her own thoughts by shaking her head, making Key look at her, amused.
"Thanks for everything today, by the way. I feel a lot more prepared now."
"You're welcome. You can come to me anytime."
Key smiled, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that their time together was almost over. He'd had a lot of fun with his friend and seen sides of her he'd never seen before. It seemed a shame for it to end now.
"So, are you ready for your date?"
Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "My date? Oh yeah."
He'd completely forgotten about it seeing as he was so focused on her.
"You'll be great, I'm sure." She smiled at him.
"Thanks." He smiled back. He certainly hoped his date would be as entertaining as his friend, because the last couple of dates he'd been on had been pretty dry.
"Well, I think I should head off home." She stood up after they paid. "Thanks again, Kibum."
"Wait, don't you want to go to the cinema?"
He'd blurted that out without thinking and she gave him a confused look.
"The cinema?"
"Yeah, I heard they have some good movies on."
"I mean okay, but how will that help me on a date?"
"It's not for the date, we're just hanging out."
"Oh, okay then."
He gave her his arm and they went to the cinema together, selecting a movie they both could enjoy. As the movie went on, Key found himself looking at his friend and wondering why he didn't want the day to end.
Was it because he'd had fun?
As he watched the light from the screen reflect on her face, it suddenly hit him that he didn't want her to go on a date with some random guy. He wanted her to go on a date with him.
As soon as he'd had that thought she turned her head and gave him a quizzical look, breaking out into a smile. His heart fluttered and he had to look away to calm himself.
Why was he feeling like this now that he'd helped her get ready to date another man? He knew how excited she was about the date, and he didn't want to get in the way of that. After all, all that mattered was her happiness.
On her side, she felt more prepared for the date, but she really hoped the guy would be similar to Key. After all, he was pretty ideal, and she got on well with him.
"I had a really good time." She smiled when they left the cinema. "Thanks to you, I'm ready."
"Good!" He smiled back. "Let me know how it goes, okay?"
"Okay." She smiled and gave him a hug. "You're a good friend, Kibum."
Her words warmed his heart, but also stung a little.
____
The fateful day soon arrived, and Key's friend put on the things he'd picked out for her before heading to the café she would meet her blind date at.
A friend of hers had set this up and told her absolutely nothing about the guy except that he'd have a red scarf on so she could recognise him.
As she entered the café, she looked around at all of the tables until she did a double take.
"Kibum? What are you doing here?"
She approached him and he looked up, equally surprised.
"Waiting for my date."
"I'm just looking for mine actually."
"You can wait with me if you want." He gestured to the seat opposite him and she sat, looking around. She was right on time, so he shouldn't take long, should he?
Key looked around too, and as she looked back at him, she noticed something about him.
He was wearing a red scarf.
"Out of curiosity, how do you know who your date is?" she asked.
"Supposedly she's gonna wear a golden hair clip."
"My date should be wearing a red scarf."
Key looked down at his scarf and back at her, his eyes going to her hair. "You're my date?" His face broke out into a smile.
"I guess so." She played with her fingers, suddenly feeling awkward. "I hope you're not disappointed."
"Of course not!" He put his hand over hers on the table. "Truth is, this is the best way things could have gone. When we went shopping last week, I realised that I didn't want you to go on a date with someone else, I wanted you to go with me."
He gave her a soft look. "I really like you."
She could barely believe her ears.
"I really like you too." She beamed, and he locked her fingers with his.
Leaning over the table, he gave her a gentle kiss which slowly turned more passionate.
"I could get used to that." She smiled when she pulled away.
"I'll make sure of it." He smiled back as he leaned in for another.
They'd both have to remember to thank their mutual friend later.
____
Happy new year! I hope the year ahead is filled with good things for all of you ❤️