"Su Bin-ah, oh my god. I already told you that I could prepare on my own."
"Your first date with the famous idol and you don't want to doll up a little more? You're frustrating."
Flashbacks of the preparing of Su Bin's birthday came to mind, more specifically the crucial dress up process before the party. At least this time, Su Bin hadn't barged into her room without her consent, but instead just in her laptop to help prep the unready girl this Thursday night with the helpful use of skype. Ji Eun may have let it slide the last time since it was her best friend's birthday, the glitz and glamor for that day, she could understand. However, all her and Baekhyun were going to do for their date was go to a coffee shop, nothing more to it to really add on the extra fabulous.
And Ji Eun would admit, she was to blame to calling her best friend so late at night. She was clueless on what blouse to wear with her jeans and needed an opinion from an expert. But now it seemed like she was changing her whole outfit, as well as her initial hairstyle (really, it was supposed to just be her normal straight hair) and makeup (just a touch of foundation and lipgloss).
"Eunnie, c'mon, trust me. Listen to the expert," Su Bin chimed, hand to chest and a proud expression etched on her face. "Have I ever steered you wrong?" Before the short haired girl could answer, she interjected, "Wait, don't answer that."
Ji Eun rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, as she stared at the screen to her best friend. "I'm sorry, I just still... Find it a bit odd, since you know? Just having you help me like this just makes it feel like I'm stabbing you more in the back."
Su Bin's face softened. "Oh honey, really, it's okay. Your happiness comes first. I already accepted the fact that you two are crazy for each other!" The girl then began pointing over to the side, instantly confusing Ji Eun with the sudden action. "Now, try on that striped skirt, will ya? I think it'd look really cute with that navy blue blouse you have."
Who knows, being a Baekhyun stan might mean she knows his ideal style more than I do.
She went ahead and willingly obeyed her best friend and tried on the outfit combo. With Su Bin's help, the attire was completed along with thigh high socks, laced boots, and a teal coat to fight off the late night chill. The two girls bantered off for a while depending on what goes on in the head area. Begrudgingly, Ji Eun leveled up to adding some mascara a touch of eyeshadow and adding a cute headband to compliment her short locks. And she'll admit, she looked cute in her reflection.
"My work here is finished, the princess is ready to see her prince!" Su Bin quipped with a clap of her hands for a job well done. "You're cute, but now you're extra cute!"
"Yeah, yeah, now go to sleep, will ya? You have an early shift at work tomorrow."
Su Bin pouted on the screen. "I get it, I get it. I'll let you mentally prepare yourself," she sighed. "But don't you worry, just be your precious self and you're going to have fun! This is yours and Baekhyun's time so don't let the company, the fans, nor me be on your mind!" The taller girl then let out a yawn, covering it with her hand over her lips. "You're gonna have to tell me the details of the date tomorrow, alright?"
"Got it." With a final goodbye, Su Bin hung up on their skype chat. Ji Eun knew Su Bin was right when she said not to bother worrying about what others will think of her. Besides, it'd be rude and insane to be thinking about such on their very first date. Nothing was going to stop her from having a nice time out with Byun Baekhyun.
Ji Eun scrambled about her bedroom to get her belongings together; things such as money, chapstick, her keys, the necessities. Her focus then shifted over to the rectangular, black bag that sat on the middle row of her bookshelf. She plucked it from its spot and blew off the dust that accumulated on it for the past year or so. Unzipping the bag, she took out her trusty camera.
She wasn't sure when she would be able to, but it would be nice to get back into the groove of taking pictures.
Battery still high and there was space to spare for a good amount of pictures, she placed the camera back into the bag and slung the strap around her neck.
It was then she heard her phone let out a small buzz.
Ji Eun hobbled over to her window to peek out. Her bedroom actually had a good view of the streets in front of the restaurant, so if anything, she could always be able to see customers enter and exit. But under the lampposts this time before her was a sleek black car, nothing too fancy but not too cheap either. She perked up in surprise when she spotted a particular brunette man sitting in the driver's seat.
With a smile uncontrollably tugging at her lips, she hurried out of her bedroom. Out in the living room, she was instantly met with her lazing father who happened to be watching reruns of Running Man. The older man eyed his daughter suspiciously as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous habit. "I'll be out for a couple hours, appa," Ji Eun said. "We're just going to go to a late night cafe he knows of and hang out."
"How long do you think you'd take?" Mister Kang uttered, eyebrow cocked in curiosity. "It is midnight, after all."
Lips pursed, she replied, "Give or take a couple hours. Baekhyun's here, soooo I promise that we won't do anything stupid."
Her father waved her off. "Fine, just go. Have fun and don't get hurt or into any accidents." Ji Eun placed an appreciative on her father's cheek and rushed out the door.
The cool night air hit her instantly as she opened the door out of the restaurant, but it didn't matter. It wasn't like she could feel the low temperature too much, she felt heated with the shyness that suddenly smacked her once seeing Byun Baekhyun waving at her enthusiastically outside the car. She hurried over to him, an adoring expression glued to her face.
"Hi."
"Hello," Baekhyun greeted back, a grin reciprocating hers. "You look really pretty tonight."
A shy laugh came out her lips, she just couldn't help it. Baekhyun's compliments never fails to get her soaring through the clouds. "So, is this your car?" she asked instead, because she knew she'd have to take a good few minutes to recover from such an attack of words.
The idol shook his head with a sigh. "Sadly no, just a company car. I asked Sehun-ah if I could borrow his Mercedes-Benz, but the little shit refused. I swear, no camaraderie for his hyung."
"Well, it's less likely to get you noticed though," Ji Eun giggled in response. She reached over for the door handle to the passenger seat. "We should get going, shall we? Oh!--" Out of the blue, Baekhyun wrapped his arms around the girl's waist and pulled her close. He nestled his face into her shoulder, holding her and never wanting to let go. "Baek?"
"I just want a hug from my girlfriend first."
The boy may have been excited for this date, but she could sense the exhaustion with just the way his whole body slumped over her. Ji Eun snaked her arms around his neck and let the boy rest on her shoulder. Poor thing must be tired from his excruciating schedule. She couldn't help but smile at the embrace. It was nice, warm, something she would want to stay in forever. Just the scent of Baekhyun put her mind at ease, she could only hope the hug did the same to him.
After a couple minutes, Baekhyun pulled away with a satisfied sigh. "Okay, I have recharged!" He clicked open the passenger door for the girl like a true gentleman. "After you, milady."
"Thank you, kind sir." Once the two have hopped into the vehicle, they went off into the night.
The drive to Baekhyun's desired coffee place didn't take too long from Kang's Kickin Chicken. Ji Eun figured out the name to be Queen Kona's, a cafe she did pass by plenty of times before on her chicken deliveries. It was a quaint little place with a very cozy interior. Lights were bright, there were a lot of cozy chairs to sit in, and there's even a bookshelf filled with novels and magazines for customers to pick and read from. And even late into the night, there were a decent number of people sprawled about the cafe, doing their own individual thing.
Ji Eun was appalled, why hadn't she stopped by here before? This place definitely got the reputation.
They walked up to the counter, where an elderly barista with a thick mustache stood with a kind expression. "Oh, hello again, young man. I see you brought a pretty lady this time instead of your friends," he chimed, voice low but smooth and calming.
"Oh hello," Ji Eun greeted the worker with a nod to follow.
Baekhyun must've come here a lot if this man addresses him in that way.
"Ajusshi, this is my girlfriend, Kang Ji Eun," Baekhyun introduced her in a proud tone. "We're actually on our first date."
"Baekhyun, oh my god," Ji Eun murmured in embarrassment.
"Congratulations, I hope you two the best then," the man beamed, only making the young woman more flustered but thankful all the same. "So, would you like your usual, young man? And for the lady?"
"Yeah, the usual, thanks." Baekhyun glimpsed over at Ji Eun, pointing upwards at the hanging menu above them. It was a chalkboard with all its shop's specialties written in vibrant, organized lists. So many appealed to the short haired girl, some classics and some unique, but maybe she should start with a drink that's safe to try. "I promise all the drinks here are amazing, so take your pick."
"I'll have a caramel macchiato then."
"One of the usual and one caramel macchiato! Oh, and a slice of the mango sponge cake too." The old man nodded at the idol as he took the right amount of money from him. Once placing it into the cashier, he went to work to making the drinks. Ji Eun watched in awe as he worked, the smell of freshly brewed coffee already shaking her awake.
In a matter of minutes, the drinks were finished. Along with the cake, Ji Eun and Baekhyun thanked the barista and went ahead to sit at the corner of the cafe, secluded but cozy. "Here, have some of the cake, it's delicious." Baekhyun took a small piece on his fork and held it out for her.
"Yah, I can do it," Ji Eun whispered, her eyes darting around the cafe for any onlookers.
But Baekhyun shook his head, denying her request and held the fork closer to her. "I'll do it. We gotta be quick, because we're going to go somewhere else." In her bewildered state, mouth agape, the boy was able to feed her the cake. The way her face changed from shock to delight brought an uncontainable grin to the idol's face. He can probably never get enough of it. "It's delicious, right? I remember that you really like mangoes."
"It is," she uttered. She took her own fork and got another bite of the sweet, tangy cake. She hummed at the taste that melted on her tongue. "Hold on." From her bag, she took out her camera and set up the cake in such an angle that made it look like it was still a full slice. She then moved her caramel macchiato alongside it.
Adjusting the lenses and moving her body to get that perfect shot, she clicked the button of her camera. A satisfying click. She then turned it over to show the picture to Baekhyun. "Wow, you sure have a way of taking pictures. Definitely something I'd expect from a professional." He made a pose, hand to cheek, undeniably cute. "I want to have pictures taken by a pro~"
"You have photoshoots taken by actual professionals, idiot. I'm still far from being one like Haejin-unnie," Ji Eun huffed. Her gaze narrowed as she pointed her fork at the boy. "But, hey, what was that earlier about going somewhere else?"
Baekhyun pouted. "It's just how you would think. Did you really think we're only staying here? You thought I'd only plan just coming here for our first date? I'm hurt."
"But, no where too crowded, right?"
"Not a lot people around at this time of night."
A sigh left Ji Eun's lips. She did want to have Baekhyun all to herself for tonight, though. Maybe she can risk it just a little bit longer. She took a sip of her caramel macchiato. "Fine, we better finish up and go, then?"
Baekhyun nodded at her and took another piece of the cake to feed her. "Say ahh~"
"Baek..."
Just two normal people out on a late night date, right?
When Ji Eun and Baekhyun finished their coffee and cake, they went off into the night again. The girl muttered many guesses as to where the idol wanted to go to next, but he only cheekily shook his head at each one, none of which were correct. The car ride was also filled with music, each song only hyping the two to going into singing battles, lyrics shouted loud and obnoxiously. Nonetheless, despite not being at their destination, they still did whatever to keep themselves occupied.
It was then Baekhyun parked in an area unknown to Ji Eun. The girl stepped out of the car and followed after him. "Where are we?"
"Hmm, you still don't know?" He murmured to her. "Alright, it's fine, because, I still want you to be surprised. But would you be okay with a small hike?"
"Sure."
Much to both of their luck, they haven't spotted much people going to and from the hill they ascended. Their trip up the stairs that Baekhyun insisted was worth-it, took a while.
It came to a point to when Ji Eun began to feel winded down with all the walking, but didn't want to voice her complaints since the idol looked excited. She did, however, take more pictures of the scenery that surrounded them. There was an abundance of bright, yellow forsythia flowers that lined the pathway and the girl didn't fail to take as much pictures as she could (plus, this counted as her break times.)
One other shining point to this lengthy trip up the seemingly deserted stairs?
They got to hold hands most of the way.
Holding hands with no fear of being caught, that was what they both would have wanted every time. But for now, they won't worry about the consequences, each other's company enough for them to forget all concerns. Besides, Baekhyun's hand just fits so perfectly in hers. Warm and comforting from this cold night.
Eventually, they finally reached the peak of the mountain. Ji Eun gaped as she hurried over to the edge, all her tiredness gone all at once. The view of Hangang River under the night sky was absolutely gorgeous. The city sparkled brightly below them, cars zoom across the bridge. From so high above, they could only faintly hear the bustle of city life from where they stood. Ji Eun was quick to take even more pictures of the sight and of the pavilion they have reached.
"I think the sights of Eungbong Mountain are better at night," Baekhyun chimed. "I apologize for the long trip up here."
"No, no, you're right. It is worth it!" Ji Eun replied with a bright grin. She looked at the many pictures she took, grinning even wider at the beautiful shots. "With some editing, these would be nice to send to Haejin-unnie, yeah?"
"Of course. Anything you take pictures of, I'm sure she'll be impressed with. One you should definitely send to her is that one picture of the woman looking at the sunset."
"You think so?" The girl averted her attention back on the brunette male. "That is one of my favorites. One of my last pictures of my mother."
Baekhyun frowned. "Did I bring up something painful?"
"Not at all," she answered as she gripped onto his hand for reassurance. "There wasn't much we could have done with stage 4 cancer. We made her last few weeks the happiest, at least I hoped so."
"I'm sure you and Mister Kang did."
"Yeah..." She gazed up at Baekhyun and gave him a weak smile. "You know, I still don't want to believe that all of this is happening."
"You mean us?"
Ji Eun nodded. "Baekhyun, you know that I wasn't... really the happiest person in the world when you met me. I was in a dark place. Just everything that came from my mother's death to me dropping out of college and then breaking up with Jong Hoon, it was a lot to take in. I was barely hanging on. But then you came out of no where and my life has been brighter. And I don't mean it in a way because you're an idol but because you pursued me and didn't give up. I can never thank you enough for giving up time for me when you know very well that you shouldn't."
"Ji Eun-ah..."
The poor girl was close to tears.
Baekhyun placed a kiss on her forehead and then wrapped his arms around her slightly trembling body. She was trying so hard to keep it in, he knew that, so he rubbed circles on her back in hopes of comforting her. "Ah, what else could I have done, hmm? You already snatched my heart the moment we met."
Ji Eun laughed into his chest. "Ha, did my drunk state turn you on?"
"You better believe it."
And the two spent the rest of their time together sitting on a bench, wrapped in each other's arms, until the sun began to rise in the distance.
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A/n: So... I hope this chapter was fluffy enough ヽ(･ω･ゞ)