Chapter Text
The universe was a big circus and Rumi was its biggest clown.
How else could anyone explain why she was being forced to have dinner with the guy who was her highschool nemesis?
Jinu– The human equivalent of a group project where he did nothing and still got an A. Smug, tall, infuriatingly handsome.
Just thinking his name gave her an allergic reaction.
Yet here she is. Waiting for their first date. Cause that jerk is her future husband. Their engagement was done via video call, cause Jinu was in USA, finishing his business degree.
She was so glad they didn't meet again after graduating from highschool. She hoped for it to stay that way but alas!
Both Rumi and Jinu's family come from old wealth and to enhance their influence, they decided to unite through marriage. Rumi always knew she'd have to marry the person her family chose for her but why him?
Why that nagging asshole?
"Just one dinner," she mutters to herself. "Maybe he has changed..."
Right. And crocodiles became vegetarians overnight. She immediately dismisses the idea.
Now, seated at a glossy table in an overpriced fusion restaurant, Rumi checks her phone for the fifth time. If he stood her up, she'll personally write a thank-you letter to the heavens.
But of course, fate wouldn’t be that kind.
“Hey,” comes the voice she’d hated since age fourteen.
She looks up.
Jinu stands there in a black button-up, sleeves rolled to his elbows, the fabric clinging just enough to hint at the muscle underneath. His skin is smooth, jaw sharper than she remembers. The years have only carved him deeper, broad shoulders, lean frame, and that same maddeningly effortless charm that clings to him like expensive cologne. His dark hair falls in loose waves, slightly tousled, like he ran a hand through it on the way in. And his eyes...gosh, those eyes...dark deep honey brown. Making her flutter the same way she first saw them back in highschool.
Oh no, he’s even hotter now! Rumi screams inside her head.
But she knows better. She has learned from her mistakes.
"Watch yourself"
So arrogant and needlessly cold.
That damned line still lingers in her memories. The line that made them enemies from the very first meeting.
She's not making the same mistake of swooning over him again. She’s grown. Hardened. Sharper than him now... hopefully.
Rumi calmly averts eyes. "You're late."
"Traffic in Gangnam is very high at this hour." He says as he takes his chair. "You should have chosen a different time...or a better restaurant for our date."
"Excuse me?" Rumi can't believe her ears. Instead of apologizing for his tardiness, he's actually criticizing her?
Jerk!
But before she can unload on him, Jinu starts speaking again. His lips twitch into a half-smile, lazy and infuriating. “I'm just saying, if you wanted to impress me, you should’ve tried harder.”
Rumi lets out a breath through her nose, barely suppressing a scoff. “I wasn’t trying to impress you.”
“Then this outfit,” his gaze flicks over her silk blouse and pinned-up hair, “is just your casual Wednesday look?”
Did he just complimented her looks? But still the way he said it made her infuriated.
"My getup has nothing to do with you. I have a business meeting in one hour." She lies. Before coming here she actually spent quite a bit of time in front of her mirror to fix her look.
"Wait, does that mean I have to stay with you for a whole hour?"
Rumi wants to kill him.
"Don't act like you dislike it, Mr. Dior shirt, Cartier watch, and Prada shoes."
Rumi crosses her arms, a smug little smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "That kind of obnoxious coordination takes effort. Someone spent a quite a bit of time in front of the mirror." A bit of projection but also true.
Jinu doesn't even blink. "Don’t flatter yourself. I only come here because of my family." He glances at her, bored. "You’re not even my type.
"Oh please." She scoffs. "I'm everyone's type."
Jinu opens his mouth to retort back but the waiter comes in with a polite smile.
" Are you ready to order?"
Both are a bit taken aback and stammers a bit.
"Umm...yes... just give me the special." Rumi says without looking at the menu. Still feeling embarrassed about getting caught bickering like children.
Ugh, it's all because of that jerk!
"Same for me." Jinu also replies.
The rest of dinner thankfully goes smoothly as possible with light bickering here and there.
At one point, Zoey and Mira even texted, wanting to know if she needed to be rescued. Rumi declined, saying she could handle him.
After the dinner, they walk out side by side into the evening air.
"Well, that went surprisingly well," Jinu remarks, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "You only tried to stab me with your fork once."
"Only because I didn't want to be a widow before our marriage."
"Ah so you're looking forward to it. Not surprising. You always had a crush on me." Jinu says smugly.
Rumi snorts. "Please. I had a crush on the idea of strangling you in your sleep.”
"Romantic," Jinu deadpans. “Do I get a kiss goodnight before or after the attempted murder?" He suddenly leans closer, close enough that Rumi can feel the heat of his breath.
Rumi can feel her ears getting hot, not knowing what to say. Then she composes herself.
"Keep dreaming."
"I do. Every night." He says with mock sincerity, "You, me, white dress, me running away."
She rolls her eyes. "If only I was that lucky. I'd be the one holding the door open."
They keep bickering like an old couple, suddenly a gust of wind washes over them. Rumi shivers. Her thin clothes clearly not suitable against Seoul's unpredictable weather.
"Feeling cold?" Jinu asks, surprisingly sincere.
"A bit," she admits, too proud to shiver outright.
He eyes her for a moment, then casually shrugs off his coat.
"Odd," he murmurs, draping it over his own arm instead of offering it, "I actually feel a bit warm."
Rumi glares at him. Unbelievable.
Why did she even think for a moment, that he'd offer it to her?
Certified jerk! How was she supposed to spend the rest of her life with him when she can't even stand a single dinner?
"You're insufferable."
"And you're late for your meeting."
"What?"
"Your meeting. Didn't you say you had a business meeting?"
Rumi feels dumbfounded for a moment, than she remembers.
"Ah, Yes of course! My meeting!" She pretends to be in a hurry.
Damn she didn't expect Jinu to remember that. It was clearly a lie.
"I guess it's goodbye." She starts walking towards the parking lot.
She feels a bit sad to be honest.
What was she expecting?
Clearly not this. A small part of her hoped that he had changed. Clearly that's not what happened not.
This man doesn't know how to act civilized around her. Always getting on her nerves.
Jinu's clearly not into her. Does he like someone else?
Must be why he's acting like this. Probably a foreign girlfriend?
Ugh, why does she care?
It's not like she loves him or something. Her teenage crush doesn't count.
Rumi lost in her thought, fails to see the oncoming car until a strong arm yanks her back.
The car speeds past, horn blaring, the wind slapping her face a second time as her world tilts around.
She's too stunned to speak. Her heart is racing.
That was close!
Rumi then suddenly realizes that she's lying on the floor, more specially Jinu's lying on the floor, she's just on top of him. Her breasts snugly pressing against his face.
Cause what's Rumi's life if humiliation not persevering?
Panicking, she quickly lifts herself up, hands fumbling to push off the ground and create some much-needed space between them.
Jinu scrambles up as well, face equally flushed as Rumi's.
"I err...was just trying to..."
"Yeah...you..... I...yeah..."
Their sentences trail off into an awkward silence, both too embarrassed to finish, neither quite sure what to say next.
Luckily, the sharp honk of a car horn slices through the tension, jolting them both back to reality.
"I have to go... for my meeting...Bye." Rumi flees walks away without looking back, cheeks still burning.
"Yeah byeeee... I..errrgh." Jinu too takes his leave, while cringing the way he said goodbye.
And that, unsurprisingly, is how their first date ended.