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| February 20th, Saturday, 2021 |

Let's say the first part of their date was a complete failure.

Well, maybe not "complete" failure since it earned them a few laughs.

The couple tried to follow the studio's owner's suggestion and make a fragrance putting together their individual preferences, but it turns out wood and berries don't blend together very well.

"I've never seen one, but I feel like this is what a mulberry tree smells like."

Annie scrunched her nose a little.

"You can keep it, I have lots of colognes at home."

Minho pushed the small glass towards his girlfriend, who forced a smile.

"I just bought some perfume, you should take it."

She slid it back.

Meanwhile, the owner watched them from the balcony.

"You're not the first couple to fail, don't worry."

They looked at each other and scoffed.

"We didn't fail! This smells amazing. Let's go and show what we made to our managers."

Minho got up and grabbed Annie's hand.

"We need to go, thank you for your service."

He glanced at the lady.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you for coming, I hope to see you again."

She smiled as they went through the door.

"Well, since you said it smells amazing, I'll let you keep it."

Annie gave him the small package with a grin.

"I'm gonna give this to Chan, he wouldn't be able to say no if I say we made this ourselves."

The two laughed.

"Should I text Yujin? Or do we just go down?"

Minho only stared at her, a smirk slowly forming on his face.

"What?"

"I have a better idea."

She studied his expressions, trying to figure out what was going on inside his mind.

"Are your shoes comfortable?"

"Yeah, why-"

"Awesome!"

He held her hand more firmly and jogged down the stairs.

Once they reached the main street, his eyes met with his manager's and, before he could stop him, Minho ran the other way.

"Lee Minho! Come back here!"

The guy yelled, but didn't move - he had hopes the idol would come back.

"Sorry! Your date course is too boring! I'll text you later!"

Minho stopped for a second and looked back to reply.

"We're going to get in trouble!"

Annie commented, despite running with him.

"It's their fault. I'm pretty sure that old dude from the marketing team that's always wearing a full suit planned this date."

He reasoned, stopping once they turned a corner.

"You could've ran away after the food, I'm hungry. And the meal would be free."

She pouted.

Yes, Annie also wasn't a fan of the date planned - sitting down for an hour learning the chemistry behind the making of perfumes isn't really her thing -, but she appreciated the free food and gifts.

"I have something better, trust me."

He typed something on his phone and, a minute later, a smile appeared on his face.

"Great! Let's go."

She sighed before hugging his arm, letting him lead the way.

"Is it too far?"

Annie questioned two minutes after they began walking.

"We're almost there. Should I piggyback you?"

She glared at him.

"Okay, okay!"

The couple kept on walking for a little less than ten minutes, with Annie commenting on the things she saw through the shop windows.

"Oh my, is that like an arcade but with a bunch of claw machines?"

She looked at the other side of the street.

"It's called a claw arcade. We can go there after we eat."

Minho smiled softly at the girl whose eyes shone looking at all the toys.

"There it is!"

He pointed at the huge building a few metres away.

"Lotte mall? That was the better option?"

Annie blinked a few times, sceptical.

"You're going to regret acting like that after we arrive."

"You're the one bringing my expectations higher."

He let out a light chuckle before crossing the street and, therefore, finally entering the building.

"Look."

The basement floor didn't have many things, but one place caught her attention.

It had a thin glass door, which made it possible for the inside to be seen: two lines of small balconies and a lot of microwaves on shelves close to the wall. The other side also had a few tables and cabinets, but Annie couldn't really tell what they were for.

"Cooking studio?"

She read the lettering.

"Come on, I made a reservation."

Minho jogged in front of her, talking with the guy at the door as soon as he reached the entrance.

Are we having a cooking class?

Those don't usually let you eat much, though.

Is there a special chef present?

The girl looked around while following her boyfriend.

"Welcome, Ahn Haerim!"

She looked surprised at him.

"Oh, hello."

Maybe he put my name on the reservation.

"Don't forget to turn all the lights off before you leave. I'll make you pay the bill if you don't."

He elbowed Minho lightly and Annie became even more confused.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks, you can go now."

Minho shooed him away.

"The keys. And don't break anything!"

The guy waved to them and left the studio.

Annie stared at her boyfriend.

"He's my friend. This is his studio, so I asked to use it for a few hours."

The frown on her forehead slowly disappeared.

"You mean we have this huge space for ourselves? To do everything we want?"

"Not everything, those are transparent walls."

He suppressed a smile.

"You can't stay a day without making those jokes, can you?"

She sighed in disappointment.

"My bad. What should I cook for my favourite person?"

Annie's face turned red and she averted her gaze.

"Hm?"

Minho walked to her, putting a strand of hair behind her ear, and used his left thumb to caress her cheeks.

"What should I make, love?"

"Uh, what ingredients do we have?"

The girl nearly ran from him, going straight to the fridge.

He laughed quietly.

"Oh! Rice cakes! I've been craving tteokbokki, we could make some."

"Anything else?"

She opened the freezer.

"Fish! You like fish! I don't know what this is, though."

Minho came closer, taking the bag from her hands and placing it on the sink.

"Mackerel! If we grill it, it would be a great combination. Very easy to make, too."

"Okay! Where are the aprons?"

Annie asked, but found her way before getting an answer.

"You know how to make tteokbokki?"

"If I know how to make tteokbokki?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, offended.

"Alright, Annie Ramsey. Ask me if you need anything."

He put an apron on and went back to the sink to take care of the fish.

Annie laughed and also began the preparation for her dish.

"Where are we going after this?"

"Movies! I heard the Charlotte movie theatre here is one of the best in the city. Something about reclining chairs and high sides for privacy."

She nodded, interested.

"By the way..."

He started, making the girl look back.

"...my mum asked me to bring you home for the next holiday."

"Huh?!"

"You don't need to prepare anything! She just wants to meet you outside the screens."

He attempted to calm her down.

"'Outside the screens'? Min, what did you show her?"

She smiled, a smile that meant his next words would decide whether he would be slapped or not.

"Nothing! I just share your fancams and vlogs! And a few of the videos we recorded together at the dorms."

"Th- Why would you show her my fancams?!"

Annie whined and he couldn't help but to laugh at her cute frustration.

"She liked every single one of them, love. She's a fan now!"

She let out a deep breath.

"You shouldn't have told me that, I'd rather for you to just kidnap me and take me to Gimpo one day."

Minho raised both eyebrows.

"May I?"

She looked at him for a few seconds to think, then shrugged.

"Good to know."

He smiled to himself, soon going back to making the food.

Since both dishes were pretty simple to cook, it didn't take them very long to finish. Annie was done first, so she took the initiative to set the table and grab some drinks from the fridge.

"This looks delicious."

Annie looked at her own work.

"Yep, you're right."

Minho commented, eyes on her.

"Let's eat!"

She sat down and so did he, taking the chair beside hers.

"Woah?"

His eyes sparkled after tasting the tteokbokki.

"You're not the only one who cooks well here!"

"We could open a restaurant in 10 years."

Minho commented after eating another rice cake.

"So you plan on being with me for the next ten years?"

Annie teased, taking a bite of the grilled mackerel.

"For the rest of our lives."

She smiled.

"I love you so much."

He softly pecked her lips.

"The feeling is mutual, babe."

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THE END.

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It's over yall 😭

This was a very long book, so I want to thank everyone who not only took interest in this story, but stayed until the end! I appreciate you so much :((❣️

To think that this book was born because I had one idea in the middle of a sleepless night...and now we're here 😭😭😭

This was my first published book and, being someone who liked writing ever since I was a little kid I feel so accomplished lol

And it definitely won't be the last! The Han FF will be up sometime this week and I'll write another book too (non ff so it may not be published here). Also, I have a few unfinished/ unpublished works, so I may "fix" them a little during vacation and post heh

Okay! I'm done with the talking (truth is I don't want to say goodbye to this book)

Thank you for enjoying Fallen

Your author,

pterhan