Chapter 2

Ryu's week goes by in her drowning in a shit load of assignment completion. She has two units to make a report on in the history of music, Korean and global separately.

On Wednesday, she cries on her study table, tears streaming steadily down her cheeks and smearing all the ink of the paper she had just half finished. Not even the electronic cigarette helps. And she didn't even get the time to go to the salon.

On Thursday though, she takes out a full of two hours for herself, buys her average overpriced coffee and goes to the salon.

The next day she gets up earlier than her usual time and skips college to go and meet Park Minjun. Takes a two-hour-long shower with every exfoliating scrub she has ever owned and empties half of her body wash and shampoo bottles.

She spends the entire morning getting ready, to the point that Irang decides to skip class as well. Sitting on the floor in front of her full-body mirror, her makeup products spread across the floor.

"I'm gonna piss myself in front of him."

"You won't." Irang rolls her eyes, rolling on the bed.

She's had one text message from Minjun around ten in the morning that he'll call whenever the car reaches the front of her building. Ryu has neared three mental breakdowns that she barely dodged from either caffeine or nicotine but then she cut out on her poisons as well because she doesn't wanna smell like a goddamn muffin shop when she meets Minjun.

Once she's done with her make-up, she stands up and starts wearing her Dior outfit. Ryu's parents are not of the average middle class, but she's not the richest either. They can afford lavish brands once in a while, they can also afford a shared apartment in the suburbs while she studies in Seoul.

She's wearing a white and black checked dress with high boots and gold jewellery along with a white purse. This should be good enough, she put efforts into this. If this wasn't for this special lunch she wouldn't have changed out of her sweatpants for the entirety of this week because of how much work she had.

As she looks at her reflection in the mirror, her heart swells with pride and excitement. "I look fucking gorgeous. I look like the embodiment of desire–"

"There she goes again," Irang mutters, pressing her face into the mattress.

"Shut up." Ryu scolds, feeling giddy all of a sudden at what she sees in the mirror, turning her head to pay attention to her cheekbones. "God really took time on me. Aphrodite–"

Her phone rings and she immediately fishes for it. Oh God, his name on her screen feels illegal. She slides the answer button with a deep inhale and presses the phone to her ear.

"Hi." She breathes out.

"Hi," there's a mirrored, breathless response and Ryu's heart skips several beats at how his voice sounds on the call and now she's sure that it's not an imposter. She shouldn't be feeling this way. "The car's waiting downstairs, I've texted you the vehicle number."

"Okay."

"Okay. I'll meet you at the restaurant."

"Yes, okay."

There's a small chuckle from the other end and then the phone hangs up. Ryu presses her lips together to stop herself from how hard her lips are splitting into a smile and squints her eyes close.

She turns to Irang. "Lover girl." She teases and Ryu would smack her if she wasn't feeling so jittery.

"For the last time, this isn't a date," Ryu says, almost as if she's reminding herself as she goes to keep the house keys in her purse.

"Call me if anything happens, okay?" Irang says, getting out of bed and following Ryu out of the room towards the main door. "And for god's sake, get a picture with him."

"I will. I will." Ryu nods. She'll throw all the embarrassment out of the window and muster enough courage to ask him for a pic.

"Good. Now hurry! Park Minjun is waiting for you!"

Ryu shakes her head and jogs towards the elevator.

The ride in the car was borderline nauseous. Not because of the vehicle though, it was just fine, in fact, it was even too much for Ryu. She had never sat in a car that had its own bar. The air conditioner worked fine as well, it was just that Ryu was left alone with her own thoughts for too long and one thing she counted herself on was to overthink and self-destruct her hard-earned confidence.

She thinks of a hundred possibilities in the car, breaks out in cold sweat and feels her blood pressure going higher. She couldn't have been more grateful when the car halts to a stop and she finally gets out to breathe fresh air.

She's met by a building she vaguely remembers to be a business centre with a couple of restaurants on the rooftop. She reaches out for her mobile once again in her purse.

Ryu:

I've arrived.

Minjun replies almost immediately as if he was on the phone waiting for her to text.

Park Minjun??:

Me too.

Wait there I'll come to you.

Ryu:

Are you already upstairs?

Park Minjun??:

Yes.

Ryu:

Don't worry I'll come by myself :)

Park Minjun??:

Hurry~

Ryu's eyes widen at the text. This man shouldn't be playful, it feeds her delusions way more than she'd like to admit.

Her hands sweat during the ride in the elevator above, she gulps and thinks she should run away. When the lift halts and slides open on the thirteenth floor, Ryu absolutely forgets how to walk and her head feels too dizzy.

She walks inside the restaurant on the rooftop. She's only came here once and that was with thirteen people on the terms of splitting the bill because fuck, they can't afford this. When she enters the dining, her eyes wander around the place and she notices that every table is empty except for one at the very edge.

Ryu's breath hitches in her throat. Oh, he looks– he looks so breathtaking she could tear up right here. His blonde hair is slicked back and he's wearing this fancy off-white tuxedo and gold metallic specs and god– it's the way he looks ahead of the skyline.

Their eyes contact and Ryu clutches at the sling of her purse tighter. He smiles and stands up from his seat, the girl finding the courage to begin walking towards him again.

She halts beside the table and completely forgets to greet him, tranced by how unreal he looks.

"Good afternoon," Minjun half sings, chuckling as he rounds the table to pull out the high chair for her. "It's almost evening now, though."

Ryu finds it in herself to follow his chuckle with a breathless laugh. "Did I get too late?"

"No, I just arrived as well." He says as she sits down on the chair, muttering a small thank you under her breath.

Minjun goes back to sit in his own chair, fixing his coat and clearing his throat. For a moment Ryu loses herself in how the hues of orange and pink fall in his cheekbones, how they'll turn more vibrant as the sun will set.

But then she snaps out of her thoughts and looks at him in the eye, straightening her back. "Thanks so much for inviting me, sir."

At that, Minjun makes a noise in his throat, something between a whine and a groan that makes Ryu's heart flutter.

"Don't refer to me as sir, now, this is an informal meeting."

"Oh– okay." She breathes out.

What the fuck is she supposed to call him then?

She won't call him oppa for god's sake, even if he's older than her.

"You can just call me Minjun." He offers kindly, eyes disappearing into tiny slits behind those pair of round metallic spectacles as he smiles.

Oh, those eye smiles. Some out-of-body experience is going to happen to Ryu by the end of this, she can feel it. She doesn't know what's the instinct but the urge to spell out his name, to see how it rolls off her tongue right in front of him takes over her.

"Minjun." She says, almost as if she's taking the name for the first time and then nods to herself.

Minjun laughs, a very small thing. A part of her wants to believe that he's as nervous as her. He even looks so. But the rest of her knows better than to dwell on that thought. They're staring at each other in complete silence and Ryu's cheeks are heating up.

Maybe I'm making him uncomfortable by blushing so hard.

Without wanting to, she starts squirming in her seat, which catches Minjun's attention probably because he suddenly clears his throat and says,

"You– you look beautiful. Very beautiful."

"I know." She curses internally. She didn't mean to be obnoxious or cocky as everyone puts it. Since when did she start caring about being obnoxious? It's just something about Minjun that makes her rethink everything. She admires him too much.

It's in habit, to call herself beautiful, it's called self-love until people claim it to be narcissistic and self-absorption. But she has friends from the psychology faculty and they've told her the true definition of narcissism. Apparently, Ryu's just in love with herself and not selfish. She protects her peace before anyone else's.

"I mean– uh...thanks. You look beautiful too. You..." She sighs. "You always do."

Minjun snorts at the abrupt change of response. "No, I liked the first answer better. I like confidence."

Oh.

So that's what it's called.

Minjun looks down at the menu placed on the table that Ryu didn't even notice.

"Let's order something." He utters, fingers running through the menu before he looks up. "What would you like to drink? Would you like wine?"

Oh no.

No, she can't do this today.

"Uh, I'm cutting out on alcohol these days." She explains.

"Ah, I see. Is this a part of the strict diet you're following? I remember you telling that to Hyuna."

Oh, so the orange-haired woman's name was Hyuna.

"No... actually, I lied." She reveals.

Minjun raises an eyebrow in amusement, a hint of a smile still on his face.

"I'm sorry, I was just so nervous that day, I had no appetite to eat so I made it up."

Minjun laughs, actually laughs, throwing his head back and then suddenly stops with his eyes blown wide as if he's just hit with a realisation.

"You're not lying about the alcohol too, are you? You're not nervous, right?"

Nervous would be an understatement. She feels as if she's about to throw up.

"No, I'm cutting out on drinking these days."

Minjun hums and lets the silence fall between the two for a moment before he says, "From what I heard of you, you were the top student of your faculty."

"Fluctuating," Ryu adds.

"What does that mean?" Minjun asks, cocking his head to the side.

"It means that I'm not a constant, I heavily rely on motivation in order to study and that's one thing I lack due to an average University student burnout. So my grades fluctuate, I can perform though."

For a moment she feels like she's blubbered out utter rubbish in a moment of too much fucking confidence or sheer nervousness, she honestly doesn't know. This might sound so fucking childish to a global superstar that it makes heat simmer under the skin of her neck all the way up to her ears.

God, what does Park Minjun care of what goes around with a university student?

But Minjun looks like he's listening to her with keen interest.

"That's fine." He finally says. "I'm not a constant in my work too. My charts fluctuate too. I don't make music when I don't have motivation either. Doesn't change my place in this industry, just the way it doesn't change yours."

It baffles Ryu how he's connected two entirely different worlds together. The man lives a high life and has the privilege to rely on motivation because he has so much money it could feed three generations of her family for their entire lives and still might have three-fourths of the amount left with him. Whereas Ryu strives to make ends meet because of the difference between her and her parents' barely above-average income and her contradicting, retail therapy of a lifestyle.

But she doesn't speak and just nods because even if she's seen the other side of the world, he still holds a firm point that she can't ignore. He's trying to explain that her worth remains unchanging no matter her ups and downs.

"We forgot to order." Minjun interrupts her train of thought, he looks over at the corner of the restaurant and signals a waiter to come towards them.

"Why is the place empty?" Ryu asks, looking around the empty tables. She thought this was a famous place.

"I booked it for today," Minjun utters casually and the girl's eyes bulge out, heart skipping another beat. "I like privacy."

Of course.

This isn't for her. This is because Minjun is a celebrity and he'd rather he doesn't get spotted with a girl.

They give their orders and at last, Ryu settles for a mocktail, which seems childish but what option does she have? She could drink alcohol like a functioning adult but she's barely functioning so she really can't risk it in front of Park Minjun.

The man orders a dish for both of them since she had no idea what to eat, and said that it was delicious and she ought to try it. It's grilled stake with God knows what, she couldn't even pay attention.

"You're not too big on food, are you?"

Ryu presses her lips in a thin line dramatically and shakes her head. She almost anticipates a 'you should eat well in order to study hard' but it never comes.

"That's fine." Minjun shrugs. "People can have different preferences."

The girl parts her lips in surprise, Minjun looks like he didn't even realise what he just said.

The waiter brings their drinks and they clink their glasses together before taking a sip of their drinks.

"You know...it's really cool that you're studying music. I wish I had a chance to do that. I have immense respect for the people who have literary knowledge of music."

Amongst everything that Park Minjun has said until now, this catches her off guard the most. Maybe because it's something very personal to her, because she's fought for this her entire college life but Minjun saying that makes Ryu's respect for the man tenfold.

Most celebrities get into the industry at a very young age with no literary knowledge of music whatsoever but with a drive to perform and Ryu respects that, big time. Maybe Minjun had a similar brewing passion in his rookie days. But what she's always hated is celebrities and people in general belittling the ones who take up studying theoretical music because apparently, it's of no use.

"Thank you...it means a lot to me." She breathes out, hoping that the genuineness seeps enough into her words. "A lot of people don't think like that."

"I know." Minjun nods. "What made you choose this, though? When you could be performing at this age like the others? Especially when you sing so well."

"I..." Ryu gulps. No one's asked her this question, at least not on a positive note, there's no hint of insult when Minjun asks this and Ryu feels overwhelmed, to be honest. "I don't think performing is my main goal. I think my goal is to be an avid learner. I like studying music. I don't think that I fit in the category that performing attributes. I'm imaginative, I like to craft lyrics and enhance my vocals but...forgive me if I'm wrong but I think being a celebrity draws you away from the core of the music."

Minjun's lips spread in a faint smile. "It's both true and false in a way." He explains. "Becoming a celebrity layers your profession of making music with a lot of other things like promotions and fanservice and whatnot. But at the same time, you get an audience that supports you and interprets your art according to them. It's really beautiful how mere words can come of a different meaning to every individual."

Ryu feels captivated by his words for a moment. She nods then. "I like performing, I end up on recordings with artists anyway so I think it's the path for me. I think I just wanna stay with my craft alone for a little more while."

"You talk about music like it's your child."

Ryu raises her eyebrow and smirks. "I mean, I birth it. But it's more like a beloved pet."

Minjun dissolves into laughter again, falling sideways on his chair and keeping a hand in his mouth. Shortly after, the waiter comes with their dishes.

The sun is setting behind the horizon now, the sky turning a mixture of orange and red. Minjun's face basks in the hues and Ryu feels like she could stop time here for an eternity. That's how beautiful he looks. Gulping she looks at her side, she can see the entirety of Seoul from here, the little headlights of vehicles moving on the road, the buildings glimmering like stars.

Shame, nothing compares to Minjun's beauty.

"It's pretty." She mutters nonetheless.

"Yes," the man breathes out. "Very pretty."

She averts her head back to him and finds him looking at her rather than at the view they're accompanied with. She exhales a sigh, her brain going numb.

Minjun clears his throat. "Let's eat."

Ryu cuts the stake and takes a bite. The meat almost melts at how creamy it is in her mouth, she moans at the taste.

"It's delicious."

Minjun smiles around his bite. "I told you."

They eat in silence for a while before Minjun speaks. "This went better than I expected...I was really nervous about it."

Ryu frowns. "You? Nervous?"

Minjun nods and gulps his bite, taking a sip of his Martini. "It's been a while since I've taken someone out on a date...atop of that someone as pretty as you."

Ryu chokes on the mocktail that she was drinking, she looks at her side and coughs into her hand, trying not to wheeze.

"Are you alright?" Minjun panics, handing her a handkerchief. She takes it as tears form around the corner of her eyes, still finding it in her to wheeze out a thank you.

When she has calmed down, she looks at him. "This-" She points between them. "-Is a date?"

Minjun sputters in confusion. "You– you didn't know? Until now?"

"I– what–? How would I have known?"

Minjun gapes at her, trying to form words.

"But I texted you."

Oh, she could speak out all his messages word to word by how many times she read them.

"You never mentioned a date."

"I..." Minjun falters, and Ryu's heart violently thuds against her ribs. "I see my message wasn't clear. I think I said I wanted to take you out."

"I thought–" Ryu tries not to curse. "I thought you were just being kind treating me to lunch because I worked for you. How am I supposed to interpret that Park Minjun wants to take me on a date?"

Minjun's lips form a pout and he looks downwards at his dish. "So you came thinking this was only a casual lunch?"

"Well– yes."

Minjun looks up through his lashes and Ryu's stomach somersaults, they're too big and doey for her weak heart.

Minjun sighs and straightens himself up.

"Well in that case..." He starts. "Would you have agreed to go on a date with me?"

Ryu's entire world stops.

Park Minjun.

The Park Minjun.

"I–"

Is that even a question?

Who would disagree to a date with him?

"Of course."

Minjun's eyes light up and the heart-wrenching smile adorns his face once again.

"Then this doesn't count as a date." He grins. "You owe me another one. A date where you know my intentions."

Ryu's face paints crimson and she forgets how to speak. Is this man for real? He booked an entire restaurant of which her entire family heirloom can't even book a table for two hours and says this wasn't a date.

She wants to ask what intentions he's talking about. Wants to know what he means by a date. Whether she's just not making it all up in her head. But she keeps her lips pursed in fear that this could only be too good of a dream that she'll wake up from the moment she asks the forbidden.

She'll stay in this haze for a while.

She doesn't need to know everything right now. Because the urge to know is far less than the urge to be with this man. She'll accept whatever he has to offer, he's Park Minjun after all, and she'll even feed on mere crumbs if it's given by him.