2

I straightened my blouse as I walked into the restaurant, not nervous, but…

"Hello, I'm here for a reservation for two under the name Lee Min Woo."

"Yes, right this way, ma'am."

"Thank you." I walked behind the waiter. After a while, he stopped.

"That way, ma'am. I'll return after the other member in your party arrives to take your order."

"Thank you." I sat down. Min Woo and I sat at this table for the beautiful view. This got me thinking again. Min Woo wouldn't do something like this, so why did he? I thought back to years before, in elementary school, when we had met.

"Leave me alone!"

"Why should I?" a boy, about a head taller than I was, pushed me again. He laughed.

"Stop it!"

"Don't you know that boys should be nice to girls?" A voice behind him called out. The boy turned around.

"Lay off of her." The boy, a bit taller than I was, stuck his chin out.

"Why should you care?"

"Because she's my friend. Now lay off." The boy said, without a tremble in his voice or stance. The bully hit me again. The boy dashed at the bully, and began to punch him. The bully slowly began to back off, then turned around and ran off. The boy ran towards me, then kneeled down to look at me when he got near.

"Are you all right? Nelson can be a bully."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"I'm Min Woo."

"I'm Jeong Mi."

I was in the third grade, and he was in the fourth grade; so we had to endure the ever- teasing children: "Min Woo and Jeong Mi, sitting in a tree; K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" But it was all right; we had each other.

Before long, the waiter walked up with a young man behind him.

"I'll return to take your orders in a bit." The young man thanked the waiter and sat down, and while he did, I examined him a bit.

He was tall, with slightly broad shoulders and a dancer's lithe body and long legs, more pronounced by the suit he wore- ironed pants, a well- cut suit jacket, and a neat white shirt, with a button undone at the top. He had long hair, to the tip of his chin. It was brown, with highlights. He looked at me, and I saw his eyes. They were clear, so that his eyes practically shone with a brilliance of their own.

"Hi."

"Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Jeong Mi."

"I'm Park Jun Jin. The pleasure is all mine." He smiled, and his eyes shone even more brilliantly.

"I'm sorry, Min Woo didn't tell me much about you." I smiled back.

"It's all right. Come to think of it, I don't know much about you, either."

"Well, I'm a student in college. I play soccer, I love music, I adore books, and movies get me hooked."

"I'm also a student in college," he challenged, "And I also play soccer. I also love music, adore books, and get hooked on movies."

"I'm a sophomore now. I dance, I sing, but I'm not very sure about my skills in either."

"I'm a junior, same as Min Woo, and I also dance and sing. I'm good at dance, but different people say different things about my singing." I laughed.

"As you might notice, my sense of humor is easily enticed, and humor is really my Achilles' heel. That, and sappy, romantic stuff. That's my secret."

"I'm not very romantic. Not on purpose, at least." I raised my eyebrow. "My secret is that I like smart girls that are also understanding, and have their roots in the old traditions." He stared into my eyes.

"Well, unfortunately, I'm smart… and I was brought up the old- fashioned way. But I'm not very understanding, and I'm very arrogant." I stared right back.

"I could make an exception." He smiled, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"May I take your order?" the waiter had come back.

"Sorry. Could you just give us another moment or two? Thank you." He turned to me. "We should probably order now."

"Yeah," I smiled. "We should." I ordered without glancing at the menu.

"I'll take the fettuccini alfredo with chicken."

"And you, sir?" Jun Jin was patiently waiting. He also ordered without looking at the menu.

"I'll take spaghetti with meatballs."

"And to drink?"

"I'll take iced tea." I said.

"For me as well." The waiter bowed and left.

We sat in silence for a while, then Jun Jin spoke up.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this…" I looked up. "But my real name isn't Jun Jin at all."

"Then what is it?" I smiled.

"It's… Park Choong Jae."

"You look like a Choong Jae." This brought a laugh, genuine and light. "Why'd you change it?"

"I guess… I just liked the sound of Jun Jin better." It was my turn to laugh.

"Well, I'll call you whatever you want."

"I don't know… it's just that I've spent so much time being Jun Jin that I've forgotten how to be Choong Jae." He smiled, his eyes not seeing anything. Then he suddenly looked up again, smiling.

"You know, I know more about you than I let you think, and you know a little about me, too."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, the rest of the group always called you 'Min Woo's friend' or 'that girl'; we didn't know your name."

"How'd you know about me, anyways?"

"We always saw you with Min Woo. Me and the other boys, you see." he explained. "We always thought you were Min Woo's girlfriend."

"Is that what he told you?"

"No. He was actually pretty secretive about you. I mean, he didn't explain too much in detail about your relationship. That's why we'd assumed you were Min Woo's girlfriend, because he never had any girls around him, and he refused to tell us about you."

"No, Min Woo and I grew up together. We've been really close ever since we were very young."

"Like boyfriend- girlfriend close?"

"No, not exactly… It's just… ever since we met, he's been there for me whenever I turned around. I've never actually had a boyfriend." I confessed.

"So you never did anything? Like go out on a date together, kiss, or, you know…" he hesitated. "Sleep together?" He paused, then said, "Never mind. I don't mean to put you on the spot like that. It was too personal, anyways."

"It's fine. There are some things I'd like to clear up anyways. Min Woo and I aren't in a relationship. I mean, we've been out to eat together or watch a movie or whatever. We usually sleep over at each others' houses. We practically spend the whole day together."

"What else?" He seemed genuinely interested, and leaned forward.

"We've kissed, but it was never anything more- only once or twice on the lips, and we've known each other for… ten years." I paused. "We've slept together, but we… haven't slept together. You know what I mean?"

"I'm not quite sure."

"I mean, we've slept in the same bed and all, but not… slept together."

"Ahh. I see." He smiled and sat back in his chair. "You guys must be really close."

"But we're not in a relationship like that. If we were, I wouldn't be here now." He laughed. "Now, it's your turn." I said.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"One. We met in high school, and she was the daughter of my parents' friends. We had met through our parents, and her parents practically thought of me as a son. She was all right. She was pretty, but not the brightest bulb in the box. She devoted herself to me, always over at my house, buying me stuff, you know…" He trailed off. "But she was really too… hormone driven. Do you know what I mean?"

"Ah. Well, did you…?"

"No. I never have." He said shortly. Anyways, I cut myself off from her after that, and when her parents found out what I had done… well, let's just say that it wasn't pretty. I haven't seen her since nor made any effort to see her. Well, I still have another question to ask you, if it's not too personal."

"What is it?"

"Well, you said that you've never had a boyfriend; what's the closest you've ever gotten to one?"

"There was a an acquaintance but I didn't really know him. I mean, he was in tae kwon do with me," I said, and Jun Jin's eyebrows went up. "But he was a lower belt than me. Then my parents and I went to buy some rice cakes for something when I was in the ninth grade, and when we walked into the store, it turns out that his parents owned it. His parents wanted to set me up on an arranged date with him. I went ahead and went out on a couple of dates just to please his parents; they had always been really good to me. My parents soon stopped me anyways. 'The daughter of a dentist does not belong with the son of a rice cake seller. Rice cake sticks to teeth and makes it messy to treat,' my father said." Jun Jin laughed at the last bit.

"Well, I'm glad it didn't work out with you and him." He paused. "Say, do you want to go to a movie after this?"

"Sure. But I'm paying." I said.

"Then I'm paying for dinner." The food came then. "Let's eat."

As we were eating, we talked a little about our schools (his school and mine were horrid rivals) and our courses of study.

"Let me see your hands," I said. He held out his hand. I held it in mine. His hands were a bit on the small side for his size, with long fingers, but they were strong and full of delicate power.

"Here… it says here that you have talent for things you do with your hands, and that you'll be successful at it." I looked up. He was staring at me amusedly. "I do a little palm reading," I explained.

"What else does it say?"

"It also says that there will be times when it will be hard for you to maintain your focus, but if you do, then you'll become great."

After we ate, Jun Jin did pay for dinner, and we went out to the parking lot.

"Did you bring your car?" he asked.

"No, actually, Min Woo drove me."

"Good, we can go in my car." We got into his car, a silver Audi, and he drove smoothly out of the parking lot. He turned to me. "You don't mind if I turn on some music, do you?"

"No, go ahead."

"What sort of music do you enjoy?"

"It isn't my car, so just listen to whatever music you enjoy. Plus, this way, I can get to know about you a little more, too." He turned on a soft ballad.

"I love this song," he said.

I smiled. "So do I."

We rode the rest of the way in silence. When we got to the theater, he bought the tickets and snacks before I could say anything. We watched a thriller, where I found his hand on mine. I looked up at him, and he pretended not to notice.

After the movies, we drove down to the beach to watch the sunset. As we stood there watching the beauty of the sun sink into the ocean to reveal a different kind of beauty, he turned to me.

"Jeong Mi, I want you to tell me the truth."

"What is it, Jun Jin?"

"I want you to tell me how you feel about me. I mean…" he faltered. "I know it's only the first date, and it's really too early to know anything, but I think I really like you. And it would be great if we could do this again sometime, but I'd first like to know what you think of me. If you feel the same way."

"Jun Jin…" I paused.

"If you didn't feel anything towards me today, I understand."

"Jun Jin," I looked up into his eyes. "I like you too, and I think it would be great if we could do this again." His face broke out into a huge smile.

We drove to my house, where I invited him in for a cup of tea.

"No, it's all right. I have to be going, but thank you." he said.

"Then get home safely, okay?"

"Would it be all right if I asked for your number?"

"Sure," I said after a moment's hesitation. I gave him my number, and he gave me his- "I don't want to keep you waiting if something happens to me, but I'll probably call. Unless I'm dead. Which won't happen in the next couple of hours." He grinned, then paused. "Another question."

"Yeah?"

"Can I give you a hug, or is it too soon?"

"Sure." He embraced me, putting his arms around my waist. I put my arms around his neck, and when he pulled away, he gave me a smile and left without a word.

I watched him drive off into the darkness, and walked into my house. Min Woo sat on the couch, waiting for me.

"I take it the date went well?"

"Yeah, actually, it did. Jun Jin's really nice."

"Oh, really?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I gave him my number." He stood up slowly and smiled, pulling close to me and looking deeply into my eyes.

"Well, I guess you're happy now that I set you guys up, huh?" I stared back into his eyes, then put my hand on his cheek. I kissed him on his other cheek, then turned away. "All right, I'll go home now. I'll leave you to your many contemplations about Jun Jin." I started to protest, but he shushed me, his finger on my lips. "Now, don't be lazy. You have to find out more about Jun Jin on your own." He picked up his coat, his keys, and left.

I spent the next four days alone, for Min Woo did not come over. I spent the time to study a bit, but my mind continued to wander back to Jun Jin every now and again. I woke up to a text message every morning from him, with a different quote about various things, always ending with a warm, "Good morning, Jeong Mi.". He had sent flowers to my house every evening after our date.

On the fifth day, Min Woo was in my room when I woke up.

"Good morning, sunshine."

"How'd you get in today?"

"Opened the door." He held up a key.

"That's amazing. You still have that old spare, even after I gave it to you… what, two years ago?" He laughed.

He had made me breakfast, and he sat across from me as I ate, staring at me. I pretended not to notice his stares. At length, I couldn't take it anymore, and steadily looked up. "What is it?"

"Nothing. It's just… You are happy that I set you up with Jun Jin, right? I mean, I thought you guys would get along, but if he isn't, I can go kick him somewhere that will be really painful for him." I giggled.

"No, Jun Jin's great. Thank you. I get to buy you lunch today. Where do you want to go?"

"Let's go to our favorite restaurant, then take a trip to the park. But let's make it dinner."

"All right." He went home then, telling me that "he had to get cleaned up."

He picked me up at my house, and I bought him dinner. I ordered the fettuccini alfredo again, my thoughts wandering back to Jun Jin. We then went for a light stroll in the park in the moonlight. By the time we got home, it was late, and he finally sat down with me.

"Tell me about your date." So I explained some things, leaving out others, to punish him for not asking me sooner. He still seemed to know what happened, though- he smiled every time I left something out. At length, I got up, and told him that I needed to wash up and get to bed. I had stayed up studying the night before and was utterly exhausted. I got up, and told him, "You can show yourself out, right?" I turned towards my bedroom.

"Jeong Mi…" I turned around. He kissed me on my lips, as he had done several times before, but this time was different. It felt different. I can't explain now, nor could I then, but… I pulled away gently. He let me go and stared at me again, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Can I sleep over tonight?"

"Sure." I said, after a moment's hesitation.

"I'm going to go take a shower."

"You know the way."

After we had both taken a shower, we sat together on my bed, watching a movie. He had his arm around my shoulder.

"Jeong Mi?"

"Yeah, Min Woo? Something wrong?"

"No, it's just… you know how we've been friends forever?"

"Yeah?" I stared into his eyes, steady and unwavering.

"I don't ever want that to end."

I smiled. "Me neither, Min Woo."

We fell asleep with the movie still on, lying under the covers with his arm still around my shoulder.