reader is furious, and in retaliation, truly wants to set the bar high for the date

date activities requested: go to the movie theatre (and you tell hyuck he better be ready to buy every single snack and drink available), dinner at the most expensive restaurant in town (this shouldn't be surprising), then overpriced ice cream in the same area as the restaurant

but of course! hyuck turns it around and takes it a step up

he rents out an entire theatre to watch the movie, on top of clearing out the snack and drink section (hyuck is grateful for his friend, renjun, who is the manager of the theatre)

there's a moment when the back of your hands brush as you reach for the popcorn, but you deny your anxiety (and the obvious tension). obviously, it's only because you're the only two in this entire theatre.

afterwards, he doesn't drive you to the restaurant, but to the pier instead.

"i'm not even kidding—are you going to kill me and dump my body here?"

"i feel like if that was going to happen, you'd be doing that to me."

"then why aren't we at the restaurant?"

your brain clicks when you see it: the small cruise ship.

"you never said i couldn't bring the restaurant to you."

he isn't kidding, because he pulled strings to have one of the sous chefs from the restaurant to work tonight on his day off (you catch that his name is jaemin and that he owes hyuck a huge favour—okay, seriously? is this guy friends with everyone in town?)

and it's utterly romantic. only the two of you, besides some help and the chef.

candles light everywhere. wine and champagne, both readily available. the food is to die for.

you're warm. not from the alcohol and food. not from all the candles. not from all the smiling, laughing, and the truly, genuine good time you're having. something is blooming.

as the sun falls, especially by sea side, it becomes chillier. he offers his black bomber jacket and you accept, placing it around your shoulders.

when you finish dinner, you didn't expect to have a small cart roll up to you with several ice cream options.

"okay, i couldn't get the same brands from that store, but jaemin recommended these and they were pretty expensive."

following that, you catch yourself getting lost in his goofy smile, and after a beat, he laughs awkwardly.

"you okay? you're looking at me kind of funny."

shaking your head, you play into it. "because you do look funny."

the night ends perfectly. he drives you home, like the gentleman he is, and walks you to your door.

"i hate to say it, but i really had a good night."

"told ya."

god, that smirk.

"you're looking at me funny again," he says, but the expression on his face makes you think he knows something you don't.

you don't even compute the moment he leans in, cups your cheeks, and pulls you in for a sweet, deep kiss

the kind where it happens, you take a one-second breather, and then you dive right back into it

both of you, after making out for some time, realize you should probably stop as everyone can see.

"i'll text you later, yeah?" he says, drawing back.

you simply nod, mesmerized by him. his lips. his everything.

"for our next date, by the way," he whisper-shouts, walking backwards. "i'm calling the shots and it'll be a simple one."

"who says there'll be a second date?" you ask cheekily.

"oh yeah?" he raises an eyebrow.

you embrace for another few more minutes until a dog barks, breaking your bubble.

And all the progress with reader was so refreshing. From the get-go, I could tell there was more to it than a couple of bad relationships. Probably it was me putting my years of Psych to use, but the way you wrote a character with trauma was so realistic. I honestly liked how you pointed out that she has indeed got therapy for it, but we can tell she still needs more time healing. I get annoyed when people make a character go to therapy for a couple of sessions, and suddenly, their trauma no longer exists. We all wish it was that easy. I loved how she even fooled me for a second. When I noticed her trauma was not just some shitty ex, I tried to think about what it could be. For a moment, I thought it was her brother, but then I was like, "Oh no, she talked to Haechan about him like he's alive." And then when Johnny talked to her, I was like, "Wait, she must have lied." It just shows how high her walls were than even us don't truly know her until she could finally open up.

the way you wrote a character with trauma was so realistic SCREAMING CRYING I DID IT no but seriously, my characters always go through hell but it’s hard to describe these kinds of situations and I always fear it won’t be realistic so it makes me really happy to know I succeeded.

Yeah, she also surely needs more therapy. I also know love doesn’t fix traumas but she needed someone that supported and respected her so much, and healing is a long journey but having support from people close to her can make it less painful.

Plot twist *ta da* at first I wanted to take the conversation about her brother away but I thought it was better to leave them in because as you said it shows how closed in the pain she was. Also in my mind, it was also an indicator that she never expected them to last so she didn’t see a point in opening up about something so private with him.

As a writer myself, reading this not only excited me but also inspired me so much. I truly love to make character studies, and this is such an inspiration for what I strive for. Not only that, it's been less than an hour since I finished, but my imagination can't stop running wild thinking in the ways their relationship progress and how she learns to let herself go, how Haechan can finally love freely without the fear of losing her. Truly, I applaud you. If you ever publish your work, I hope to hold a copy of one of your works and cherish it.

This makes me so happy, never thought I’d ever inspire someone with my writing. I’m quite busy these days (hence the late reply, sorry) but I’ll try to read your work as soon as I have time. I love reading that people love character studies because building a character is my favourite thing about writing, but since I write fanfiction I always feel like I do too much, so it’s nice to know I’m not the only one that loves deep and complex characters. I think about it too, it definitely won’t be easy, and it will be a long road, but I know they will make it.