the time at the restaurant

In two days, Yoongi and Eunmi are yet to text or call each other. They've wanted to, of course, but he remains too shy and she's always too stubborn.

That's not important though. What matters is the fact that their phones contain each other's numbers and, even better, they'll be seeing each other tonight. Like an actual planned meet-up. ( Or, as most people would call it, a date. )

Just because she's not texting Yoongi, it doesn't mean Eunmi's phone is dead. In fact, it buzzes just as she's picking up her curling wand.

Rebecca:
hey, what are you up to tonight?

Eunmi:
i got myself a date ;)

Rebecca:
OMG who?? do i know them?

Eunmi:
remember the cute guy in goal
at that hockey game?

Rebecca:
you're going out with Min??
wow have fun and tell me all
the details!

Meanwhile, Eunmi isn't the only one with friends invested in her date. In a house similar to her own, less than a kilometer away, Yoongi is in his bedroom with Bri.

"What jacket should I wear?" He asks, holding up two jackets, one leather and one denim, to his chest.

Bri tilts her head to the side, pondering.

"Leather. It gives off a sort of badass vibe and girls love a bad boy... or so I'm told."

Yoongi snorts.

"Yeah, because clearly I'm a total badass. I mean, it only took me like seven attempts to muster the courage to ask her out."

Unlike Eunmi, who at that very moment is frantically attempting to curl her hair and apply mascara simultaneously, Yoongi has to do very little to get ready. He runs a hand through his slightly damp hair, already starting to turn wavy as they dry from his shower, sprays a bit of cologne, and then he's set.

Or, at least, his appearance is ready. Of course, because this is Yoongi, his nerves are all over the place.

"What if she doesn't like me?" He says, chewing on his bottom lip.

Bri rolls her eyes and for a moment it reminds him of Eunmi, causing his stomach to somersault.

"God, Yoongi, you're so lame." She scoffs. "Obviously she likes you! Do you not remember how relieved she was when she found out we weren't actually dating?"

He laughs as Bri mimes gagging. After he's told her what Eunmi had said that time at the bar, Bri had been hysterical for about five minutes straight.

"I still can't believe she thought that!" She exclaims. "I don't even like boys, let alone you!"

Yoongi feigns offence.

"Are you saying you wouldn't want to go out with this?" He elaborates with a gesture to his body. Bri stands up from where she's sprawled on his bed and shoves his shoulder.

"You're such a dork, sometimes I wonder what someone like Eunmi sees in you." She glances at her watch. "But you better get going or you'll be late, and that's not the kind of first impression you want to be making."

As he stares out the window of the passenger side of Bri's car, Yoongi thinks about that. Because really, this isn't going to be Eunmi's first impression of him at all, not even close.

~*~

"Pick up, pick up, pick up." Eunmi murmurs under her breath.

This is her third attempt to call her sister, and if she doesn't answer this time then she might just scream.

At last, the dial tone cuts off with a "Hey!" from somebody whose voice has a heavy southern accent - definitely not her sister voice.

"Um, is my sister there?" Eunmi asks.

She's already leaving the house and the walk to the restaurant is only a few minutes; she doesn't have time for this.

"Who's calling?" The stranger replies.

"It's Eunmi."

There's a brief pause, in which Eunmi start walking down the sidewalk. She is shivering; deciding against wearing her warmer coat was a mistake. Then, she hears the person on the other end of the line and yelling away from the receiver. She catches the muffled word "sister".

There's some scuffling then:

"Hello, Eunmi?"

Eunmi exhales heavily, smiling.

"Finally!"

"Eunmi, I was waiting for you to call. But then one of my friends took my phone and-" Her words are tripping over each other and slurring together.

"Are you drunk?"

Eunmi hears laughter. Suddenly it occurs to her that her sister has her on loudspeaker, and that she's in a room full of people.

"I'm at college - what did you expect?"

She's almost reached the restaurant - a pizza place that opened recently.

"I was just going to say I've got a date, like, now. With Yoongi. But it doesn't matter, I'll tell you later."

She's now just reached the restaurant and can see Yoongi through the sleek glass doors. He looks taller than ever, talking to one of the staff and gesturing elegantly with his hands. She glances at her shoes in the sudden movement of nerves, unaware that Yoongi is currently discussing his nervousness with the waitress.

"I- I have to go." Eunmi says into the phone, ending the call and slipping it into her purse without taking her eyes off her date.

The restaurant is modern and stylish - the kind of place that middle class twenty-somethings go to drink wine and pick salads, or where old guys take their wives for an anniversary meal. In other circumstances, Eunmi might have wrinkled her nose at the place and labeled it snobbish. But when Yoongi suggested "that fancy new place I heard does really good pizza", she couldn't resist. Of course, she'd have been out for food with guys before, but they never spoiled her like this.

When the glass doors slide open automatically and Eunmi steps through, Yoongi spins around jerkily to look. When he sees her, with her heart-shaped face framed by dark, loose curls and in a white dress that brushes the floor, his heart lurches. When she sees him, properly, with nothing in the way, she smiles to herself.

"I assume this is your date?" The waitress suddenly chips in, before the pair have a chance to speak. They nod, the initial wonder-struck feeling still lingering, both feeling a small surge of glee at being referred to as each other's dates. "Well, what a beautiful couple you make." She winks, giggling, then gestures to the table by the window.

Coincidentally, as though Yoongi and Eunmi's story wasn't full of enough coincidences already, there's a grand piano next to it. The black surface shines in the streetlight streaming in through the window; even Eunmi, who can't play it, is tempted.

"Here's your menus." Says the waitress, constantly glancing between the two of them. "I'll be over in a few minutes for your orders."

Then she leaves them, rushing to another table. Yoongi looks down at Eunmi, and suddenly they're laughing. Just like that, the nerves and the awkwardness disappear. They're going to be okay.

"You look... unequivocally breathtaking." Yoongi says, voice low and sincere.

Blushing, literally blushing... what has this boy done to her? Eunmi replies:

"The same could be said about you, Yoongi."

They sit down, Yoongi realizing a moment too late that he should've pulled out her chair, and start looking at the menus. Their hearts are pounding and their minds are buzzing with possibilities of things to say, but neither would have it any other way.

~*~

"So.." Eunmi starts as she places her knife and fork together on her plate. Not that they're been used; they decided that the pizza was indeed good in fact to waste time with cutlery. So they ate it slice by slice with their hands, giggling like school kids at the strings of cheese with every bite and ignoring the startled looks from neatly diners. "Tell me about yourself."

"Bit upfront." He comments, winking at her in a way that makes her question what the hell took them so long.

"It's just... it's like I know you but at the same time, you're a stranger. I've never been on a date with a sort-of-stranger before."

Yoongi nods. Eunmi can't take her eyes off him: his eyes, his hands, his jaw, his lips. Thankfully, the not-so-sly glances have been returned just as often.

"I know what you mean; it reminds me of a line from this Taylor Swift song: the delicate beginning rush, the feeling you can know so much, without knowing anything at all." He half-sings it softly, tapping his right hand slightly against the table, and internally Eunmi feels herself falling slowly.

Externally, she raises an eyebrow and says:

"You like Taylor Swift?"

Yoongi shrugs, blushing.

"Yeah. A guilty pleasure kinda thing, only I try not to feel so secretive. I don't think you should feel guilty about liking something, just because people try to tell you it's embarrassing."

"I get that." Eunmi says. "I'm actually a bit of a One Direction fan, except I won't tell anyone - well, other than you apparently. I think it's pretty brave, to not be embarrassed."

He laughs.

"Believe me, Eunmi. I get embarrassed about plenty of things. I probably have enough embarrassment and awkwardness for the both of us."

"Well..." She giggles.

Yes, giggles. Why has she turned to mush?

"You are a bit awkward. I mean, it only took you, what, seven meetings before you got my number?"

Then, Eunmi's playful laughter shops. Yoongi panics suddenly, wondering what the hell he managed to do wrong. Until he sees that her eyes are focused on the piece of paper sticking out of the front pocket of his jacket. It must have dislodged when he reached for his phone.

When he'd just successfully asked the girl of his dreams out and he couldn't stop smiling, this seemed like the perfect idea. It was romatic, plus it's a whole lot easier to use a songwriter's words instead of his own. Now, with Eunmi eyeing him slightly warily, it seems like the stupidest idea in the world.

"What's that?" She asks, pointing curiously.

"Oh, just something, I don't know, a bit dumb." He scratches the back of his head, shrugging.

A soft smile creeps into Eunmi's lips.

"Is it for me?"

"Yeah." Yoongi says, admitting defeat as he pulls it out and passes it to her.

It's a small white envelope, with a small, simple 'E' written on the front in dark green ink. Eunmi's fingers make swift work of tearing it open, pulse thrumming in her fingertips.

She tugs out a sheet of white lined paper, covered in scrawls of looping handwriting in the same colored ink.

Fearless - Taylor Swift
One - Ed Sheeran
Ready - Kodaline

Easily - Bruno Major
Ultracheese - Arctic Monkeys
No Plan - Hoizer
Moonlight - Ariana Grande
I Like U - NIKI

Eunmi's eyes scan over the words once, twice, then after a brief glance up at her date, for a third time. His eyes are moving everywhere but her face; it's only when she says his name that he finally meets her eyes.

"You made me a playlist?" She asks quietly.

"I was going to make you a proper mixtape, you know, like in those eighties movies." Yoongi admits. "But then I realized that literally nobody has cassette players nowadays. Technology totally ruins potential romantic gestures."

Eunmi laughs.

"So, no standing outside my bedroom window holding a boombox over your head tonight?"

Referencing a movie that's over a quarter of century old is a bit of a risk; if misunderstood it could potentially kill the atmosphere. But, thankfully, Yoongi just shakes his head, one corner of his mouth quirked into a smile, and says:

"Unfortunately, I also lack young John Cusack's charm and handsome looks."

"Hey, stop being so modest." Eunmi replies, then tilts her chin up ostentatiousness. "In fact, I think your little playlist was a very romantic gesture."

After ordering desert, a large chocolate ice cream sundae, with two spoons, Eunmi nods towards the grand piano beside them.

"You know..." She says, leaning forwards with her elbows on the table. "I've actually never heard you play. Got anything up your sleeve?"

Yoongi grins, stands up and starts examining the piano, causing their waitress to rush to them, asking if everything is okay.

"May I play your piano, please?" Yoongi asks, polite in a way that makes Eunmi swoon, not that she'll admit it, of course.

The waitress lowers her voice.

"That depends on if you're any good. We've had some alcohol-fueled disasters occur at that piano. Only the very best can play, especially if the restaurant is busy like tonight."

"Well, I don't know if I'm the best." Yoongi responds, self confidence visibly dwindling.

"Yes, he is." Eunmi's voice, sharp and assertive, as always, joins the conversation.

Yoongi glances towards her and flashes a small smile, which she reciprocates. He wonders how he got so lucky.

The waitress concedes and returns to her post, but continues to eye them warily. Yoongi sits down and cracks his knuckles, making Eunmi wince.

Then, he begins to play. The music is soft then begins to build to something more hunting and ethereal. She watches with fascination as Yoongi's fingers fly across the keys, as elegant and beautiful as the melody he is creating. Yoongi himself has his eyes shut, lost in what he's doing. It's only when he reaches the chorus that she realizes the song he's woven into the seemingly improvised melody he started with.

Of course, it's Ultracheese by the Arctic Monkeys.

Something tells her that this will be one of those moment that she'll remember years into her future.

When he finishes playing and opens his eyes wide, Yoongi looks so young, innocent and gorgeous that she stands up from her seat and starts clapping. A few people in the vicinity, who'd been enjoying his music too, join in with the applause. It spreads like wildfire, until the entire restaurant is alive with the sound of it, like rain smattering against a window.

Yoongi shift his eyes from the other diners towards his date, and that's it. Eunmi moves swiftly across the small space between them and, without hesitation, reaches up to curl her fingers around his neck. Everyone else may as well be non-existent as their eyes remain locked. Yoongi gently places one of his hands in the curve of her back and the other rests on her cheek. Just like every moment together since they met, they're drawing each other closer.

The moment their lips brush, the applause in the room resonates louder. She tastes of her mint flavored chapstick and his heartbeat thumps loudly in his ears. The kiss, just like their relationship so far, is breathless and lingering - a taste of what's to come.

They separate as they grin against each other's lips, they turn to see the waitress holding their dessert and looking impossibly uncomfortable, and they dissolve into laughter.

To an onlooker, the giggling, glowing couple are unrecognizable to the detached, insouciant girl and the anxious, clueless boy who met not so long ago. It's no wonder Yoongi and Eunmi's fates we're so inextricably intertwined; they were always bound to bring out the best in each other.

The End.

to those of you who have been waiting for this final chapter, i apologize! online school is literally the worst thing ever...

anyway, i hope you liked this little story - it's been super fun writing about Yoongi and Eunmi being cute lol

thank you again for reading this Min Yoongi fanfiction <3

Dejá Vù

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