Finest Jin

Double Date

The restaurant was a quaint little place and the balcony seating was perfect in the warm summer sun. June was done and July had come upon us with blazing sunshine and several days of air pollution warnings. The yellow dust from China often came in on the breeze, thickening up the air and forcing everyone in Korea to wear face masks. Today, however, was not one of those days. The air was clear, the temperature was not too hot. Jin and I were seated across from Cher and Jimin, waiting for our order. We knew that we were visible and recognizable but that was exactly our point. Cher was weeks away from turning 17 and, for Jimins' reputation, we still had to be guarded with them being seen together. Out with her mom was perfectly acceptable.  I had only three weeks left of school and then I would be done teaching for the foreseeable future, possibly forever. It was a strange thought. Exciting. Frightening. Thrilling.

"You look well, Jimin." I smiled at the handsome man seated across from me. His attire was a little too fancy to be casual. He had dressed up for this date.

Jimin blushed under my scrutiny. 

"Thank you, Noona. I feel well. All the dance practices for our comeback makes me feel strong again."

"You'll perform perfectly, of that I have no doubt. You always do."

Cher smiled at him. He grinned, looking down at his hands, bashfully.

"And you look handsome as well, SeokJin."

Jin was mid-sip of his ice water and both eyebrows went up when he heard me address him. The hollowed cheeks as he sucked on the straw and the lifted brows and wide eyes gave him a quizzical expression. I burst into laughter.

He set the drink down. 

"Of course. I am always handsome." 

"Still going to look so handsome when you are up all night with a crying baby?" Jimin challenged. 

Jin leaned back to allow the waiter to set down the plates of food. 

"Of course. I look my best after midnight." I just shook my head at Jins' confidence.

We dug into the food and it was all delicious. At least twice we saw passersby stop to photograph us as we dined. Three of us feigned ignorance, but Jin was more inclined to wink and pose with finger hearts and an arm around me. After his impromptu press conference at the teaching seminar, our names were pretty solidly linked in the media now. My profession and country of origin was well known but I was grateful to be a foreigner as the rest of my life was harder to dig up. Some privacy was appreciated. I was sad that my brief history with Minho painted me as an opportunist quickly moving through the idol ranks. To be associated with that wonderful man was nothing to be ashamed of, but the close timing truly looked bad on me. There was nothing I could do about it. 

"Are you excited about the comeback stage?" Cher asked Jimin.

"Yes! It has been so long since I have been performing on a stage. I really miss it."

His eyes sparkled when he spoke of being onstage. Jimin was a true entertainer at heart and I knew how he drew energy from his fans. The long drought was likely draining on his performers' heart. 

"The new dance was tough to learn." Jin spoke between bites. "I mastered it right away, of course, but Jimin really struggled." Jimin leaned back, laughing silently, his mouth covered. Jin leaned towards me. "I had to give him private lessons." This set Jimin to hysterics, his shoulders bouncing with mirth, his eyes closed into turned up crescents. We all knew that Jin was teasing and Jimin didn't even try to dispute it.

"Ah, Hyung, you really are too much!" Jimins' cheeks were pink from exertion. He had tears squeezing out at the corners of his eyes. 

"I can't keep carrying you, Jimin-ssi. You must work on your dance skills." Jin was refilling his plate, shaking his head, as though he was truly scolding the younger man.