You're now unlocking your door to your dorm room. Stepping into the room with the drink tray in your hand, you glance around before setting down the drinks on the table near the door.

Taking out your phone from your purse, you text Seulgi and Sunmi to ask them to head over to your dorm.

You sit down on your bed and turn on your TV before smiling to yourself as you think about Taehyung.

It was sweet that he said hello to you and introduced himself despite the fact that he genuinely didn't need to. He had already done more than enough for you as a stranger.

As you think about him, you hear a knock on your door.

"Come in!" you say, causing Seulgi and Sunmi to burst into your room. The two have eager smiles on their faces as they stare over at you.

"So, how was your date?" Sunmi questions.

"Or... should we say 'dates?'" Seulgi questions.

"Well, first, I picked you two up some drinks." You state while pointing towards the drinks sitting on the table. The two smile before reaching for their drinks. Seulgi immediately sips on her honey tea while Sunmi grabs the drink before sitting at your desk, waiting for you to start telling the details on the speed dating event.

"So, spill. How was it?" Sunmi immediately questions before taking a sip of the drink.

"So, I ended up talking to eleven different people. I asked the lady how many guys wanted my number afterwards..." you say.

"And how many did?" Seulgi questions while arching an eyebrow over at you.

"Eight." You respond. "One of which was the adorable Changbin."

"Changbin, huh?" Sunmi questions. "What does he look like?"

"Black, wavy hair. Brown eyes. Strong jawline." You state. This causes her to nod her head.

"Sounds cute. And he can hold a conversation?" You nod.

"I could see myself actually dating him. Not just for the party, but even after the party is over and finished with." You state.

"I'm so proud." Sunmi states before nudging Seulgi. "See? This is why speed dating is way better than setting her up with a random guy on a dating app."

"To be fair, he was really hot." Seulgi says while rolling her eyes. "What else happened at the coffee shop, Y/N?"

"Oh, the funniest thing happened," you start, piquing their interest. "I actually bumped into motorcycle guy."

Seulgi's eyes widen. As do Sunmi's.

"Was he participating in this speed dating event?" Sunmi immediately questions. "Because if so, damn I'm good."

"More important question: did you get his name this time?"

"No and yes." You respond immediately. "Taehyung. He was just picking up some drinks from the coffee shop. I ended up paying for his drinks to thank him for saving me from that disaster of a date." You say before leaning back on your bed, smiling.

"Ah, so he lives in the city too?" Sunmi questions. You shrug your shoulder before taking out your purse and holding up Changbin's phone number.

"I don't know but what I do know is I need to set up a date with Changbin so I can see if he's the perfect date for the party." You state.

The two look at each other before nodding their heads.

You begin typing his number into your phone before starting to type out a text to him.

Y/N: Hi Changbin! It's Y/N from the coffee shop. I was wondering if you'd want to go out on another date? 😊

You hit send and then set your phone down. Seulgi stares over at you for a few seconds while taking a sip of her drink.

"You know, I'm really impressed that this speed dating thing worked." Seulgi states before shrugging her shoulders as she points over at Sunmi. "I genuinely thought she'd meet another dud of a date."

Sunmi smiles smugly before shaking her head.

"That's the difference between a dating app and speed dating. With an app, you just talk to them but you don't get to know shit about them. With speed dating, at least Y/N would've already known if he was a weirdo." She states before laughing.

You let out a soft laugh before shaking your head.

Your phone beeps suddenly and Seulgi immediately reaches for it, reading the text.

"Oooh, he already replied." She says before clearing her throat as she prepares to read it. "He said, and I quote: 'Hi Y/N! I was hoping you'd ask for my number. I had a great time talking to you. How about we go to a museum then get some food to eat?'" she says before looking over at you, a smirk present on her face as she arches an eyebrow.

"A museum date?" Sunmi questions before her smile widens. "He sounds really classy! I've never met a guy that would take someone on a date to a museum."

You nod your head and bite onto your lower lip.

"Exactly why I asked him on a date." You state. Seulgi immediately hands you your phone so you can type out a response.

"In that case, respond now!" she urges. You nod your head and take the phone, responding to it. As you do this, Sunmi and Seulgi give each other a knowing look.

~~~~~

"See? This piece represents how the artist is craving for a new beginning." He states while staring up at the piece of art.

Glancing to your left on the wall, you see the description of the piece that he's talking about and furrow your eyebrows.

It mentions nothing about a new beginning. It only talks about how this artist used the painting to display his depression after his husband passed away.

You glance over at Changbin and smile gently.

"Oh, I never knew that about this painting."

Maybe he's just trying to make things up to impress you.

You decide to play along for his sake.

As you two roam the museum together, Changbin continues to get the message behind every art exhibit incorrect. You know he's just trying to come off as a smart, cultured man but it's not coming across the way he wants it to.

It's coming across as more arrogant than it is impressive.

You bite onto your lower lip as the two of you stare at the last piece of art.

When you're about to ask what this painting means, you hear a male voice speaking up.

"Changbin?" you look over and see a tall man speaking towards Changbin. You watch the confusion in the stranger's face turn into anger. "I fucking knew you were dating girls behind my back."

You widen your eyes in shock as you hear this.

Glancing at Changbin, you see him freeze in his spot. His eyes are widened, jaw dropped, and he looks as if he was just caught red-handed.

The man rolls his eyes before stepping towards you. Your fight or flight instincts kick in and you freeze in your spot.

"You fucking slut, you're on a date with my boyfriend!" the man yells in your face. You gulp, avoiding eye contact and stepping away from him as he steps closer to you.

"Excuse me? Why are you talking to my girlfriend like that?" you hear a sudden voice speaking up.

One that you're a little familiar with now.

Taehyung.

You look back up at the man in front of you. He's now looking at Taehyung who's standing at the painting directly across the painting you were looking at.

"I'm sorry, what?" the man who was just yelling at Changbin speaks up.

"That's my girlfriend you're talking to. She's just hanging out with her friend. Why are you being disrespectful towards her?" he questions before stepping closer to the man. Taehyung tilts his head to the side while staring at the man. He then reaches his hand out, silently guiding for you to step further away from the aggressive man.

"She's your girlfriend?" Changbin suddenly speaks up. "Then why the fuck did you ask me to go on a date with you after that speed dating session?"

"Speed dating session?!" the random man speaks up again. "So, you are cheating on me! I can't believe you. You told me that we were getting serious!"

Taehyung silently motions for you to continue following him out of there as the other two get more invested in their argument. The two continue yelling at one another as Taehyung walks behind you, making sure you get safely out of that situation.

"Jeez, he was about to kick your ass." Taehyung states while letting out a deep laugh.

You two exit the building and you glance back at Taehyung. He stares down at you before directing you to stand to the side so that you're not blocking the doors leading into the museum.

As you two lean against the wall outside of the museum, he stares down at you while tilting his head to the side.

"So... another bad date, huh?" he teases while staring down at you. You let out a soft sigh and nod your head before letting out a frustrated groan.

"Yes." You respond, narrowing your eyes up at him. He lifts his eyebrows while staring at you before using his head to gesture towards your facial expressions.

"You know, I wouldn't be making those faces at me. I saved your ass back there." He points back towards the entrance of the museum. As you two look towards it, you see the man who was yelling at you storming out of the museum, followed by a desperate Changbin, begging for his forgiveness.

You shrug a shoulder before crossing your arms over your chest.

"Well, thanks again. You can leave me alone with my embarrassment now." You state. He merely shakes his head, letting out another deep laugh.

"Any time." He states before walking over to his motorcycle, reaching for his helmet. He then puts it on top of his head and starts buckling the strap around his chin. "And I wouldn't stay here by yourself. I'm going to wait until you can get one of your friends to pick you up, alright?" he states.

You nod before reaching for your phone, quickly dialing Sunmi's number, already knowing damn well that you don't want to deal with the shame of Seulgi picking you up and making fun of the date.

You wait as you hear the dial tone on the other side of the line.

"Y/N! How's the date going?" she eagerly questions on the other side of the line.

"Horribly. He's taken, Sunmi." You state.

"What?!" she yells from the other side of the line.

"Yep, by a guy who was seconds away from beating my ass. I'd really appreciate it if you could come pick me up to make up for this horrible date." You state before looking over at Taehyung once again.

He's chuckling to himself as he stares over at you, shaking his head.

"Oh my gosh, yes, I'm heading out of my dorm right now. I'll be there soon." She states, causing you to nod and hang up.

"She's on her way." You tell Taehyung. He nods and sits down on his motorcycle, straddling it as he stares over at you.

"Good. I'm still going to wait for her to get here. Wouldn't want that guy coming back and trying to finish what he started." He responds. You nod your head and let out a soft sigh.

"Thanks."

"Of course." He responds with a small smile on his face.

*****
Onto what's going on in the world.

I'm sure all of you have already heard about what's going on in Itaewon. There was a stampede at a Halloween event that has left 146 dead and 150 injured (and bodies are still being found and identified, so this death count keeps rising. The president of South Korea has declared a mourning period so that families can mourn for their loved ones.

Seeing as how I know some of my readers could have family there or might even be there, my thoughts are with all of you. I really hope any of my readers located there are safe and that their friends and families are safe. All I want is safety and wellness for all of my readers. This death toll rising with this stampede is heartbreaking.

That's all I've seen on the news lately so if anyone is aware of other things happening, please inform me if possible!

Be sure to stream The Astronaut for Jin, seeing as this is his last major project before he enlists. Also, this song was written for us as a temporary goodbye, so it deserves a lot of love. We want to give him all of the love and support and show him that we love him and will be here when he gets back.

I purple all of you.

Be safe out there and stay healthy.
Kim 💜