A/N:  I didn't think about this before I planned on updating this chapter.  I made myself hungry revising it and finding images though, so you might want to at least grab a snack before reading this.  

Keep in mind, I personally have never had any of the foods mentioned here nor have I been outside of the United States at all so I am basing all of the facts on research I have done from my own computer chair.  The place he ends up taking her does exist though btw.  :) 

3794 words

When we get in the back of the vehicle I lean toward Jimin and whisper to him. "So, I realize I should know this already. But, can you tell me the name of our security guards? Of course I recognize them, but there are so many that I just can't seem to keep them straight."

He smiles at me for a second, where his dark eyes were twinkling with veiled laughter at my expense. But, I know he isn't truly laughing at me. He only finds my predicament mildly amusing. If he were truly laughing his eyes would be crescents, and he'd probably be falling against the back of his seat or disappearing by folding himself in half. I mentally picture him falling into the floorboard for a moment before I realize that wouldn't happen due to his seatbelt. He points out first the manager who had stayed in the SUV while the security team went inside. "That's Manager Jigaemae." Then he points out each security guard in turn. Youngmi, who is probably the one I recognize the most because he helped with the photo situation at the zoo, is sitting in the passenger seat. The two in the captain seats in front of us, who I really hope either don't understand English or at least didn't hear us, are Minjae and Sang Hee.

"Our road trip is going to take a little bit since we live so far from the main part of Seoul now. And while we are close already I figured we could do something to get to know each other even better."

I nod. "Sounds good. What did you have in mind?"

"Um. So, don't laugh. But, I haven't been on too many dates. I kind of looked up ideas on the internet." He shyly admits.

I quickly reassure him. "I don't see anything wrong with that. I probably could have done the same, only it didn't occur to me." I pause for a second. "This isn't really my first date either. But the other dates didn't even remotely matter. I'm not even sure why I wasted my time on them to be honest. Maybe just some level of social acceptance I guess." I shrug and pause for a second to let him absorb the information I told him. Sure, they all know I'm a virgin, but I never really mentioned that I had dated before at all. He doesn't seem fazed by the information so I continue. "So, what did you settle on regarding the internet?"

"A game off this or that. I ask a question with two possible answers, and we both will answer the question with which we prefer." He pulls out his phone to look up a list of questions he has either found on the internet or wrote himself. "Cat or Dog?"

I shrug. "I've never really had pets growing up outside of a goldfish I won at the county fair. My grandparents had both because they lived on a farm. The cats tended to be more on the feral side although I was able to tame a couple. The puppies I would verbally claim as mine, even though they actually weren't. To answer the question though. I would cheat and say bunny." I stick my tongue out at him.

He laughs for a second. "I should have expected that. I had a dog growing up named Ddosun. I didn't have another pet myself after he passed. I was pretty young and it kind of broke my heart a bit." I reach out to comfort him for a moment since despite the time that has passed I can see how it still makes him sad talking about his beloved pet. "As for now? I am not sure which I would choose either. I love them both. I'm not sure I would get a pet with our lifestyle though, at least not right now. We are on the road so much, and those of us that do have pets have to leave them behind with their parents."

"You sort of have a dog." I mention with a grin on my face.

"I do?" He looks adorable baffled.

"Yes, you have Chimmy." I grin widely when his eyes form the crescents that I adore because of my silly verbalized perspective.

Briefly talking about their pets gets my mind thinking about the other members' pets. I momentarily wonder if/when I will see them. I imagine that they will bring them around sometime in the near future. Truthfully though I have only really seen Tannie before now. Perhaps, I should do some more research into my soulmates, at least regarding their pets. I move away from thinking about that though. This time is for Jimin, and I have been trying hard to only focus on the member I am currently with when we have any one on one moments.

"Movies or television series?"

I shrug. "I like them both. I mean I love movies in general, but sometimes the story doesn't feel finished in that short span of time. But, at the same time when it comes to a television series, sometimes I feel like they add too much drama to the storylines just to try to keep things interesting. I can't really decide on the answer to that honestly. Perhaps I should cheat again and say books." I chuckle.

He shakes his head. "I don't have a lot of time for television series so I would probably say movies. But, I do like your perspective on them both. I also love to read so maybe we can select something together sometime and read it side by side."

"It might depend upon the types of books you read. I like a lot of books, but I tend to either read fantasy or romance. If those aren't your preferred genres I'm not sure I would be able to do a couple reading group like that." I smile warmly at him so he doesn't think I am even remotely against the idea.

He doesn't really elaborate on what genre he reads, but I figure if he comes across something that looks interesting in the future he will probably bring it up with me then. Instead of continuing the conversation about books he averts his eyes to his phone. I imagine he is looking at the list again to come up with a new question. Because he's scrolling, I'm pretty sure that it is a website. "Amusement park or a day at the beach?"

"Day at the beach. I don't like too many amusement rides. I think it would probably be a waste of money to take me to one. However, I do like playing the games some of them have." Those games though aren't free which has me frowning. "Again probably a waste of money to play those too."

"Agreed. I like some rides. But, not many. I'm a little upset that I slept in that morning in Brazil that you, Jk, and Tae went to see the sunrise. I saw the photos, and I know I missed an opportunity there."

Something suddenly occurs to me that sort of applies to the same concept. "However, I would totally go to a childhood playground and play there. As childish as that sounds."

He shakes his head. "I've done that. Not very recently though."

I smile up at him. "We should all do something to let our inner child come out and play once in a while."

He glances at the list again. "Some of these just aren't fitting for us. I feel like I either know the answer already, or they are just poor 'this or that' questions in general."

"Hmm." I consider some questions myself. "Anime or manga?"

His eyes grow wide for a moment, and he seems at a loss for words. I must have surprised him. "Manga, but mostly because some manga just hasn't been reproduced as anime."

"I'd say anime but only because I get confused trying to read manga in the proper order. If someone were to transfer a manga to more of a novel form I would probably say that over both though."

"What are some anime you like?" He asks me, and I can tell he is extremely curious because this is most definitely not a topic we have discussed before.

I should have expanded my answer for Yoongi last night, but I know he will learn more regarding my appreciation for anime in time despite my previous evasiveness. "Well I mean I grew up with Pokemon. So, of course I love Pokemon. But outside of that I tend to prefer romantic anime, so more shojo like themes. I tend to shy away from mainstream animes, trying to find more obscure hidden gems. But, I do love Fruits Basket, Ouran HighSchool Host Club, and Kamisama Kiss to name a few. Outside of romantic based ones I do love Noragami and Fairy Tail."

I hadn't noticed at the time but apparently Jimin had been searching the titles I mentioned on his phone. I'm surprised when suddenly he is rolling with laughter, literally. Despite his seatbelt he somehow manages to nearly curl himself in a ball on his seat. His head practically in my lap. "All the romantic anime you mentioned are reverse harems, Daisy!"

I pause for a second and realize he's right. Oh my god! Was my anime preference a symbol that this was the lifestyle I would end up living?

I glance outside just for a second to try to hide the blush staining my cheeks. We are pulling into some kind of parking garage so I'm guessing we have arrived at our destination. "Before we get out Youngmi is going to scope out the area first. I chose Thursday because I figured it would be less populated, but if I had really been thinking this through I would have chosen to do this at lunch time instead. There might be some students lingering in the area after they get out of school, although it's possible they won't stay long because high school students will probably be getting ready to go to an academy and continue studying."

After he voices his concern my butterflies begin to do battle in my stomach again. I know that the security members will still do their best to do their jobs. But, that doesn't make me any less worried about being out in public like this.

When Youngmi comes back and relays something to Jimin in Korean I find myself relaxing with the smile that grows on his face. "He said it's not too busy right now. We will still probably get recognized and our pictures taken, but we will be careful." We both pull on masks and I pull up the hood on my jacket before we get out of the vehicle.

Youngmi leads the way and we follow. Jigaemae stays beside us while Minjae and Sang Hee follow a few steps behind. I don't know what I am expecting when we get out of the parking garage. I just know that I am most definitely surprised to find myself in a bustling outdoor market of street vendors. Although it isn't that busy right now, only a handful of people are scattered here and there. "I love street food, and I thought one of the best ways to introduce you to that would be for you to get a chance to look around and decide what sounds good. We'll take a moment to look at each stand. Then we'll find somewhere secluded to sit and eat while Jigaemae goes and gets what we ordered."

"How are we going to find somewhere secluded around here?" I glance around to illustrate my point.

He shrugs, but I can tell it's one of avoidance not concern or confusion. He exhales dejectedly before responding. "I actually already have where we will be eating arranged." I arch an eyebrow at him but don't pester him vocally about it.

"After our talk I would also consider finding a nearby playground, but it would probably be busy this time of day." I nod in agreement.

He grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together, and we walk side by side through the stalls. I hear a couple girls occasionally shout, "Jimin oppa." He turns his head at the shouted greeting once in a while and acknowledges it with a smile that crinkles his eyes and a nod. I even hear, "Daisy eonni," a couple times and I immediately respond similarly to Jimin. Although my reaction is definitely not as practiced or as smooth as his. He still squeezes my hand in encouragement

Jimin patiently describes each food we pass, and I find I'm excessively curious. "I think I am going to have trouble editing myself choice wise. So much sounds interesting to me. The only thing I am emphatically against I think is the kimbap." I turn to Jimin. "But, I'm sure you already expected that."

He nods with a bright smile. "I did."

I pause to try to pronounce the Korean egg muffins he described to me. "Gyeranppang is probably on my no list too. I know you love eggs, but I am a bit hit or miss on how they are prepared."

He smirks. "I'm still making Jigaemae get me some regardless." He whispers to me which I immediately laugh at. "Which ones really stood out to you?"

"Hmm. I'm really interested in trying the rice cakes, so tteokbokki sounds good. But, I did see a couple of skewers with the rice cakes on them too. Pajeon sounds really good too. Although, what was it? Haemul pajeon?" Jimin nods encouragingly. "Yeah, aside from the prawns that one isn't for me."

We talk it out a bit more and Jimin is quick to decipher what we should and shouldn't get. I have a feeling it's going to be a lot of food, and when Jigaemae scouts Minjae to help him out I'm pretty sure I am correct. We didn't get to the parking garage until just at 5pm, and it took us about an hour to mingle and peruse the street wares before we even started discussing possible choices. I'm not sure where we are heading, but when we stop at a movie cinema I am most definitely confused. "Um, we were finding a place to eat. Why are we at a movie theater, Jimin?"

Before answering me he turns to Youngmi and utters something in Korean. The security guard nods and heads to the person manning the ticket box. I notice that the female attendant nods and grabs a house phone. Then Youngmi is bowing and escorting us to an elevator. When we go inside and he punches in the number 8, the highest number listed I find myself growing even more confused. It isn't until the doors open up on a rooftop setting that I begin to understand what is going on.

The space is empty save for a few staff mingling in a small cafe nearby. If it weren't for the spectacular view I would take a moment to be worried by the fact that we are bringing in outside food. But the view truly has me captivated, and I know now that this is why he brought me up here. "Sorry, Daisy. There doesn't seem to be such a thing as a rooftop daisy garden. I thought the Sky Rose Garden on top of Daehan Cinema would have to do."

I turn to look at him and shake my head. "They may be my namesake, but daisies aren't the only flower I like. This place is truly breathtaking."

He grins widely at me. No words have to be uttered before we are strolling among the planter boxes of roses. Even if I knew all the names for each type of rose I would have a hard time remembering them in this moment.

I don't know how long we wander amongst the flowers before the elevator chimes again and Jigaemae and Minjae walk out. I frown when I see how many bags the two are trying to carry over to a table near closest to the roof's railing. I walk over to them, dragging Jimin in tow, not only to prepare to eat but to apologize and thank them for doing this for us. I try my hand at doing so in Korean, taking a second to think over the words that Tae introduced me to. "Chwayseonghamnia. Kamsahamnida, uh, Jal meokkesseumnida."

They each glance at each other then smile. "Manhee deuseyo." Which I know is them telling me to have a great meal. But then they start rattling off more Korean so I have to check with Jimin.

"They said you don't have to apologize. They are actually thankful, because they know whatever we don't eat will go to them. Not to mention they did order some extra for themselves anyway."

Our chaperones take a table a few away from us. I realize then that this date was obviously heavily planned out. Not just coming up here to see the flowers, but we are the only ones up here. When Youngmi was talking to the staff member earlier he must have been letting them know we had arrived and to make arrangements to keep other patrons from entering, and insisting others exit due to a private event before our elevator arrived.

I glance at all the dishes that are being placed before us, and I am literally flabbergasted. "I really don't know where to start."

"Here." Jimin hands me a bowl of what looks like reddish orange coated oversized penne pasta. "This is the tteokbokki you mentioned. It's spicy so starting here you should be able to balance out the spice with other dishes." He then looks around and frowns. "Wait on that for a second. We forgot drinks." Despite the distance Jigaemae realizes the problem since they also tried to start eating without having a beverage to wash it down with.

I'm definitely thankful for the rooftop cafe making the oversight not a major one, and easily resolved. He brings me back a Dr. Pepper along with a Coke for Jimin. He is right that the tteokbokki is spicy, but it isn't terribly overwhelming in heat. Just enough that I do definitely require a couple drinks between bites though. The next thing Jimin points out is something referred to as twigim. "I figured with your love of veggies you would like to try our version of how we fry them."

"So, this is basically Korean tempura?" I ask him. 

He repeats the word back to me only I hear an n sound there instead of an m. We both look it up on our phones when we realize that we are just confusing each other and work out that we are both correct. It's just that the Japanese pronunciation of the word has an n sound, where the Latin pronunciation of the word has an m.

"Here, try this." He holds out a skewer to me which I immediately bite into without further prompting.

"Mmm. What's this?"

"Odeng. It's a fishcake."

"It's good. All of the foods have been good thus far." I look at our table and realize while we did have a lot of food it is slowly starting to disappear. "We still have so much to try here, but I fear I am starting to get full."

He looks at the rest of the dishes. "You should at least try this one also before giving in." He holds up a roundish looking fried pastry of sorts. "This is hotteok. It is similar to a doughnut."

Ooh. Yes, ending with sweet is a good idea, and while I could just take it from his hands he insists on feeding me my first bite. It's so sweet. Cinnamon and sugary goodness flavored filling in the middle of the fried dough. "The flavor kind of reminds me of a churro, or an elephant ear."

"Now you see why we like churros so much. Wait, an elephant ear?!?"

He looks a complete mixture of confused and concerned which I don't mean to, but I can't help but laugh at. "I'm going to do a horrible job explaining it so let me pull up an image for you. But, I assure you it's not a real elephant ear. It's just what they are called. Hmm. I wonder why they are called that even." I ponder aloud. "I imagine it's because of the ear like shape of them."

We sit there for a few minutes to digest our food. But, of course we have a lot of leftovers. Some we plan on taking back with us for the others. The rest ends up on the other table, where the security guards and Jigaemae end up devouring it. I really don't know where they put all of it.

Jimin grabs my hand and escorts me closer to the railing. I notice the sun is beginning to set, and I realize that this was also part of his elaborate date idea. In fact this was the part that was probably the surprise. "I may have not been able to be there for that sunrise. But this is definitely a memorable sunset we can share together." He pulls out his phone. "Selca?"

I smile and immediately nod. "Send it to me so I can have my own copy?" I ask him.

"Of course." He nods. After a few strokes on his phone and the photo has been sent he takes me into his arms. "So, how did I do?"

"If I had any expectations then you far exceeded them, Jimin. You set the bar pretty high actually."

He grins. "Good. Because this is the setting I wanted to use. The setting where I wanted to tell you how much you mean to me, Daisy." He sighs for a second. "I love you so much. I'm not even sure there are enough words to describe how much you mean to me."

Even if I could keep myself from throwing myself in his arms I wouldn't. Before I seal our lips together I pause to reply. "I love you, too."

I forget for those brief moments our lips touch that we aren't alone and drown in the emotions elicited from not only our words but our actions. I never want to forget the way his plush lips mold to my own, or the heated sighs we share when for a moment we pull away only to fuse our lips together again. It's at that moment I realize I don't want tonight with Jimin to end. It's at that moment I start making a plan of my own. 

Update 1/20/21 I made a grievous error regarding Tempura so I fixed that.  I don't know why I didn't double check myself and make sure that it was an actual English word.  Turns out that Tenpura is Japanese and Tempora is Latin.  So perhaps I just got my wires crossed because of that.  

@Soja-bottle Thank you for making me aware of this mistake.

Edit 6/11/21 - I have had Tteokbbokki since writing this chapter, and I have to say I definitely love the dish. Unfortunately, I can't technically eat it due to the high sodium content and my low sodium diet.