Chapter 17: first date

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I sat tensely on our couch in the living room as the little hand on the clock pointed to 4. Only two more hours... I nervously bobbed my legs up and down.

"Uhm mom!", I called towards the kitchen. "I completely forgot to tell you that I won't be at home for dinner tonight.".

For once, my mom wasn't behind the counter today doing her favorite thing, cooking, but had her reading glasses pushed down on her nose while she puzzled over her Sudoku.

"You either?". She asked surprised.

I frowned. "What do you mean, either? What about Sunghoon?".

"He's out tonight too.". She sighed. "You know, I'm starting to think I'm just cooking for myself. We hardly see each other anyway, and when I'm home, you guys are flying around somewhere.".

The corners of my mouth dropped instantly. She was right. I gradually began to feel bad. She was often on call due to her job as a doctor, and of course the late and night shifts contributed to the fact that we saw each other very rarely.

"I'm really sorry. You know I rarely go out in the evening, and it's just this one time...",

"... it's not a problem. It's not really about you. But your brother has become really exhausting lately. I hope he gets out of this phase soon.".

I am really relieved that I am not the only one who feels this way about my brother's behavior. Him slutting around really makes me uncomfortable, and I feel ashamed to be his sister in some way.

"Who are you seeing today?". My mother took a sip from her teacup. "A boy?".

I delayed a bit because of the unexpected question. "Uhm Jungwon.", I scratched the back of my head. "As usual.".

"Really?", she pushed her glasses up a little more and eyed me suspiciously. "His mother told me they are going to visit their grandparent's house in Iksan for the weekend.".

Dumbfounded, I flopped back onto the couch. "Okay, maybe not Jungwon then.". I exhaled as I realized that my excuse no longer made sense.

"Is it a boy?". She repeated wide-eyed.

"You don't know him, mom.",

"Ah ah, too bad. You can bring him home sometime. Maybe your brother will calm down a bit, if you introduce him to someone he doesn't know.".

First of all, I'm screwed. And secondly, who says that just because my mother doesn't know a person, my brother doesn't know them either. Is she forgetting that her son is probably the IT boy of the city, with contacts that reach halfway around the world?

At half past four, I went back upstairs to my room. I had to prepare myself both mentally and physically for what lay ahead of me in 90 minutes. "What if Hee just messed with me?" I stopped to apply the concealer to my skin. "Because I'm gullible...".

Nahhh. He's not that kind of person.

Or is he??

I tried to push the thought out of my head, because it took away all the anticipation and excitement. I just hoped for the best, and if it didn't turn out that way, at least I knew.

"Long thick clothes?", with a questioning face, I stood in front of my open closet and stared helplessly inside.

How warm?

Like 10 degrees cold, 0 degrees cold? Should I take a thick jacket?

I had no idea.

There were just too many thoughts flying around in my head, and was unable to process that I actually would go on a date with Heeseung in a few minutes.

Finally, I decided to go for leggings with an oversized wool turtleneck pullover. With sneakers and a winter jacket. Probably that was completely exaggerated, because the thermometer at the moment indicated over 25 degrees outside.

One last check in my mirror before I quietly went back downstairs to the living room.

"Wow, you look stunning," my mom gushed at the sight of me.

"Is it too much?", I asked insecurely as I looked at my reflection in the glass of the black cabinet.

But she just quickly shook her head. "Nonsense! I'm sure he will be impressed. Just a little warm, don't you think?" she placed my wavy hair neatly over my shoulders.

A smile escaped my lips. „I think I'm gonna go now.". I shoved past my mom and reached for my winter jacket on the coat rack earning a even more confused face from her.

Hesitantly, I walked along the street. Each step made my legs turn more into jelly. How should I ever be able to reach the end if the road like that? Like my feet are walking straight ahead, but all my head wanted to do at that moment was to grab my legs and run home.

The closer I got to our meeting point, the more I questioned my life decision. No matter how this evening will turn out, in the end it's still an impossibility to date Heeseung. It would ruin the friendship between him and my brother and would bring awkwardness into their whole group of friends.

I do kind of like Heeseung.

But was it really the right decision to agree for this meeting?

But as soon as I reached the end of the road, and spotted his black Mercedes, all of my thoughts disappeared into air.

It honestly wasn't a joke.

Should I get closer?

Is he about to step out?

I slowly approached his car, my heart beating like crazy. In all likelihood, I would stumble and completely blame myself at any moment.

My hands clenched into the fabric of my black jacket.

What the fuck. You need to calm down, Hyeona.

Looking through the windshield, I noticed him nodding toward the passenger door. A little hesitantly, I opened the door.

No turning back now.

I lowered myself onto the seat, while pressing the jacket close to my body.

„Hey", he greeted me with a slight smile.

„Hi", I answered, but couldn't bring myself to properly look at him because I felt my face flush with everything passing second.

Omg. What if I'm stinking? I'm sweating too much right now. Especially with those warm clothes.

„How are you doing", he asked, probably noticing that I'm tense as hell.

„Great!". I answered quickly. „Yeah...Uhm... I'm doing great.".

„Well, that's not what you look like.".

Hell what? I started fidgeting my fingers. „Well...I do feel...like, it's a little bit awkward.". I admitted.

I mean, could you blame me? If someone had told me three years ago that I would go on a serious date with Lee Heeseung, I would have laughed at that person and thought they have lost their mind.

„Yeah. It's kind of weird.", he agreed in a chuckle, making my tension loosen a bit. I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling like this.

„So, uhm, where do you wanna go?", I asked him.

„I'm not gonna tell you yet.". He smirked. „It's something I haven't done for a very long time and I really wanted to try if I'm still able to do it.".

My brain started working hard on his notes, trying to find out what building or activity was close to the road we drove along.

Most of the time we didn't speak a word. As I said, it's still very awkward and I'm not good at starting conversations.

The car finally came to a stop next to a large hall that I knew by heart. I have been a visitor for about hundreds of competitions.

„Ice skating?", I marveled as I surveyed the large hall before my eyes.

"I thought it would be a good idea.", Heeseung slammed his trunk shut, a pair of black skates dangling in his hand. "The last time I've been skating was actually 6 years ago, or something.".

I smiled softly as we made our way to the entrance. "You'll be surprised when I tell you that I've only been ice skating once. I laughed. "I was maybe 5 then.".

"Are you kidding me?". He stopped in his tracks and looked at me in disbelief. "You are Sunghoon's sister.... I thought maybe you were the professional and I looked like a complete idiot".

"I guess we'll have to get the penguin for me.". I laughed awkwardly.

But it's not a joke. All these years, skating was Sunghoon's thing. I was more into ball sports, like handball, basketball. But over the years, I've lost more and more interest and withdrawn from the teams, so like now, I live pretty isolated from the rest of the world.

We stood in the shop for a few minutes to buy our tickets and rent skates for me. The ice was getting fuller almost by the minute, and already some people were milling around on the area.

"I will probably suck.". I laughed while tying my skates, but Heeseung shook his head in a laugh. "I won't be better, though. The last time I stood on the ice with my ice hockey team was when I was 15. God, that was a long time ago.".

"You played ice-hockey?", I asked him surprised, while stumbling towards the entrance area.

He nodded. "Only one or two years. So nothing special.".

When I was standing in front of the surface and the ice was only a few centimeters away from me, I grabbed the rail and used it to shimmy onto the ice.

I had really imagined it would be easier to at least stay on my feet, but it felt as if the ground would be pulled out from under me at any moment as soon as I loosened my grip and the metal bar even a little.

Wow Hyeona. This will be one of the biggest embarrassments of your life.

"Do you need any help?". He approached me from the side and stopped briefly next to me. Why did it look so simple for him?

"U-Uhm well, I kind of imagined it to be a little easier." I admitted and shimmied further ahead. My feet were moving forward and backward, but I was only really making progress because I was pulling myself with the strength from my arms.

"Wait." He grabbed my hands on the rail and held them tightly in his. Instantly, thousands of butterflies shot into my stomach as he slowly moved backwards and pulled me along with him.

"I'll drive, and you hold on," he explained, and I nodded slightly, my eyes down at my feet. There was no way I could stand to look him in the eyes right now with my flushed head.

So we glided a few meters close to the rail at a slow pace. The only thing I was doing, was trying not to fall down and keep my body up.

„No wonder everyone calls you ace.", I chuckled.

„Calls me what?", he asked surprised, as if he couldn't understand it.

„Everyone calls you ace.", I repeated. „Because you are good at everything.".

Heeseung stated, laughing as well. „I'm not good at everything.".

„Then list one thing you suck at," I asked him with a wry grin. It was the first time I dared to look up at him.

„Well, uhm...I probably suck at physics or leading a team or...". He suddenly broke off in the middle of his sentence, stopping in his tracks, and pulled me jerky close to him.

In the next second, three people collided right behind me and one after another fell on the hard ground.

Did Heeseung just save me?

I awkwardly waddled back a few centimeters because I felt our upper bodies touching, that's how close we were to each other. But he never let go one of both my hands.

„Oh, thank you.", I saw pityingly to the people behind me who were picking themselves up from the floor one by one.

„Come on.", Heeseung laughed and started pulling me along with him once again. But this time only with one hand.

I tried to move forward by myself with slow slides, my left arm waddling in the air for balance.

„I think the Penguin would have been better. That's so awkward.". I laughed.

But in the next second, my smile dropped lower than into the ground.

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