youth | chensung

11

  I waited outside Aecha's front door, the evening chill greeting me sooner than Aecha did. The ringing sound of the doorbell stayed with me as the wind blew past my ears. It was a pretty chilly night.

  Eventually, the door opened to reveal Aecha, who was wearing a simple puffy-sleeved, pink dress that came down to her mid-thigh. Her hair was tied up into a bun with a pink ribbon. She was truly a knock-out.

  "Hey, you look amazing." I breathed, forced, peeling my eyes away from her to look less desperate. Aecha giggled in response.

  "Thank you. You don't look bad yourself." Aecha turned her head away, shyly. "Come in." She cleared out of the way, coaxing me inside.

  "Thanks. Oh, and I got you these." I'd forgotten about the bouquet of flowers I'd been hiding behind my back. I handed them to her, and I watched her eyes light up in delight.

  "I didn't want to come over empty-handed, so.."

  "Thank you, they're lovely." She inhaled the sweet fragrance, smiling gratefully.

  It was Aecha's idea to have a nice dinner date. She offered to cook, as long as I came over dressed nicely, which I was in dress pants and a button-up shirt, tucked into the waistband of my pants. She claimed that her parents would be out of town until the weekend, so I was welcome to come over anytime during the week.

  She led me into her living room, which was dim with only a weakened lightbulb hanging overhead. There were also a few candles scattered around the room, along with some placed on the table that was set in the center of the room, ideal for two.

  The moment I stepped in, I smelled a strong whiff of food and it smelled incredible. I could hear faint jazz music playing from afar, and everything was perfect.

  There were rose petals around the room and on the silky, white tablecloth. It was too dark to see any other decorations, but the table was set nicely, like how a table would be set at a fancy restaurant.

  "Wow, you didn't have to do all of this." I gushed, still admiring how flawless everything was.

  "Well, of course I did." Aecha said.

  "Oh no, really. I mean..." I chuckled, sheepishly. "It's just me."

  "I like going the extra mile for people I genuinely care about." Aecha said, calmly. I smiled, unsure of how to respond.

  "Thank you." I said a little awkwardly.

  "Should we start eating? The food will get cold." Aecha gestured toward the table.

  "Yeah."

  The two of us sat and began eating, while we tried to maintain whatever conversation we could. It was honestly much easier to keep conversation with pretty much anyone else. Aecha and I just didn't have a lot in common, which limited our conversation topics by a lot. Also, the food was a little salty, but I still enjoyed it to the fullest, keeping in mind that Aecha prepared it for me.

  The food was gone sooner than I'd expected, and soon enough, our conversation died down as well.

  "Do you want to go to my room and watch a movie or something?" Aecha spoke up, and I was grateful to her for breaking the silence. I checked my phone for the time. It was half an hour to eight. In half an hour, I'd see Jisung.

  "Sure, but I have to be somewhere at eight." Aecha nodded, pushing out her chair, so I followed suit.

  "Where are you going at eight?" She asked, curiously, as she led me down a hallway with lots of doors.