"Wow,I know for certain it takes months to get reservations here," Wonwoo said. His gaze bounced all over the room. The floor was cleared of the usual tables, and only one sat in the middle. The lights were dimmed, and the only people there were the band, a waiter, and the chefs.
"This way, Mr. Kim," our waiter said.
"You rented out the entire place?" Wonwoo asked.
I gestured for him to sit, and we took our seats. His head turned every which way, still admiring the place. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling above our table. White pillars were wrapped in black silk and adorned with silver tulle. The beautiful sounds of the cello and violin wrapped around the room.
"When you said you would make arrangements, I didn't know you meant this."
"Do you like it?" I asked.
Wonwoo finally met my gaze as he nodded. "Yeah, no one has ever done something like this for me."
My shoulders eased, and tension seeped out of my muscles. I'd been nervous for the past few days about the date. My mind had been a mess. Would the things I enjoyed really work for Wonwoo?
He shrugged. "I would have been fine going to Chili's."
I shuddered at the thought. "Why must you ruin a good moment?"
Soft laughter bubbled out of Wonwoo. "Excuse me, not everyone can afford five-course meals. Half-price appetizers and happy hour can be romantic."
"How so? It's noisy, crowded, and not to mention the multitude of smells." There was no way it could be romantic, let alone enjoyable.
Wonwoo's head tilted as he stared at me. "Well, yeah, but it's a great discount. I'm going to take you one day. It's good to expand your horizons."
"I'd rather eat at home where we can relax."
"Well, you're cooking is freaking good, so I guess that makes sense."
The waiter sat bread at our table and made himself scarce.
"So I guess every date you go on, you've done something like this, huh? Kind of makes it hard for people to get over you if this is how you date them."
"I've never been on a date," I said.
Wonwoo stilled a piece of bread halfway to his mouth. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that? You're almost thirty!" He rubbed his ears as if they were clogged.
"Dating seemed to be a waste of time. I had far more important things to do."
Wonwoo's mouth dropped open. He stared at me as if I'd grown another head. "But it was your idea to go on a date."
I nodded. "You're the most important thing to me."
He shut his mouth, and his cheeks went red. Wonwoo stood up just as the waiter held the bottle of wine over his glass. They collided. Almost in slow motion, the bottle of wine slipped from the waiter's hands and hit the table, breaking and pouring all over Wonwoo in the process.
"I am so sorry," the waiter said. His nervous gaze moved over to me, but I stared at Wonwoo.
"It's okay. It was my fault." He groaned and stared at his clothes. His shoulders slumped forward.
Getting him cleaned up and changed was my first thought. I snapped my fingers, and a few more people came to the table. "Towels."
I got out of my seat and pulled Wonwoo out of his seat. He didn't meet my gaze. I gripped his chin and forced him to. "We can go home now—"
