"Hi. Did you have to wait for long?" I asked as I approached the table where he sat.
"Not at all, don't worry about it. I just got here" He answered, standing up.
Lee Minho, or as the guy had asked me to call him, Lee Know, was handsome. Anyone could see it from a mile away. That's why he made me curious about his decision.
"Have you ordered anything yet?"
"Nah...I was just going through the menu. What would you like to eat?" He asked, handing me the menu to go through the available items.
"Meh...I'll just take a sandwich and then coffee afterwards." I shrugged, not really hungry.
"I'll take the same then" Minho nodded to the waiter.
"How have you been?" He asked finally turning to me.
"Oh I've been well, work here and there you know...How have you been?"
"Same. I'd say I was excited for today. My parents more than me" He chuckled, scratching his neck.
"Honestly same for my parents. They were more excited." There was an awkward silence, and I sure as hell didn't know how to fill it.
"Have you gave it a thought?" Lee Know asked after a few seconds.
"I guess? I don't know honestly. I mean I don't mind it" I replied shrugging, indifferent to whatever happens.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked immediately.
"Sure" Minho replied, thanking the waiter as they put the food on our table.
"You're handsome. I won't deny it. So why are you agreeing to an arranged marriage?" I asked curiously, taking a bite of my sandwich.
"Straight to the point I see" Lee know chuckled.
I waited patiently for him to reply, as he took his time.
"I'm bisexual. More preferenced towards guys. Simply put, my parents would never agree with my choices, and I never found a girl attractive to date her. So my parents made me promise that if I don't have a girl to marry till I'm 25, then they'll arrange my marriage for me...having grandchildren and all in mind" Minho explained with a sigh, taking a sip of his coffee.
"So You're basically gay and can't marry a guy so You're settling for an arranged marriage?" I asked, shocked at his nonchalance.
"Precisely" He replied with a tight lipped smile.
"And you don't have a boyfriend right now?"
"Nope...never looked for one. Same for a girlfriend." He shrugged, waiting for my reply.
"What if after marriage you find a guy that you actually like?" I asked curiously.
"Can't do anything then can I?" Lee know laughed, and I was only glad that his laugh seemed genuine.
"Won't you feel like being tied down after marriage? I don't want to force you to marry" I stated, frowning.
"First, you won't. Marrying will be my decision. Second, you speak as if you've already made your decision about this...have you?" Minho asked back.
"Kinda...like yes I want to marry. But again, I don't want to force you. It's ok if you say no. No hard feelings?" I replied, half lying. Of course, if he said no, there's no guarantee that I'd find a guy half as handsome as him. I'd be at loss, but that will be fine.
"How are you so sure of your decision?" He asked curiously, leaning forward and interlocking his fingers, looking at me with all his attention.
"First, stop looking at me like that. Second, I never had a boyfriend and I doubt I could get one. I want to settle down and have children. Arranged marriage was the only option for me." I answered simply.
He smirked, for reasons I didn't know and shifted back in his chair. "Bullshit."
"Sorry?"
"Bullshit. How is it possible you never had a boyfriend? Your good looking and smart." Minho asked.
"Hmm...I wonder how one doesn't get a boyfriend, being good looking and smart" I said sarcastically looking him up and down. His sitting position was quiet infuriating, torso relaxed and laid back, legs occupying unnecessary space.
"Touché" He scrowled, finally sitting up in a respectful position.
"What's your reason for not getting a boyfriend then?" He asked further and I never felt the need of hitting someone as I did then.
"Relationships were never my forte. Multiple guys asked me, I rejected." I answered, smirking a bit.
"Why not reject me then?"
"Because what good will that do me? I'm not getting younger. After rejecting you there's no guarantee any other man would even want to be with me or if I would even find a man as attractive." I answered, walking around the main reason.
"So you find me attractive?" He smirked.
"Did I not just say that?" I answered back monotonously and I saw his arrogance cool down a bit.
"How many children do you want?" He changed the topic so suddenly that it made me choke on my own saliva.
"Have some water" He acted immediately, concern written over his face.
"I'm okay. Thanks." I replied accepting the water.
"Two" I answered after calming down.
"Sorry?"
"I want two children"
"Good. Same"
There was nothing else to say. The main reason i had asked for a date before giving any answer was to ask him why he was agreeing to arranged marriage. And I was sufficiently satisfied with his answer.
"Do you like to travel?" He asked suddenly.
"Yeah l love travelling" I nodded.
"There is one last question, and answer carefully because my answer depends on your reply" Minho said, face turning serious.
His look was intimidating. But it wasn't like I was in a position where his reply mattered much to me. I had nothing to lose.
"Sure go ahead." I nodded, shifting forward involuntarily.
"Cats or dogs?" He asked with all his seriousness.
I burst out laughing at his antics, and even though his face reddened, he stood his ground.
"Cats" I answered when I saw him waiting for my answer.
A smile immediately broke out on his face, grin to be exact. "Perfect"
"Why was this so serious?" I asked chuckling.
"I have two Cats. I would never marry a person who wouldn't let me keep them"
"I never explicitly agreed that I would let you keep your cats" I challenged, loving the way his expression changed so fast.
"But...but you just said you like cats" he stuttered, almost pouting, his tone accusatory.
"Chill. I'm just messing with you" I giggled
"But, there is one problem." I added, putting on a serious face.
"It will be very hard to handle three cats and two children in future, don't you think?"
"Three cats?" He asked.
"I have a cat too. I'm not letting go of her either" I replied, waiting for his reaction.
"Oh your Perfect. This is perfect. We can easily take care of our five children together." He gushed.
"Good" I grinned, unable to keep the smile off of my face at his cuteness.
"So it's a yes?" I asked after a pause.
"Yes" He nodded, now calm, a small smile visible on his face.
"Okay...yes good. Yes for me too. Pleasure doing business with you, mister Lee." I muttered awkwardly.
"Should we get going then?" Lee know chuckled, ignoring my awkward attempt at concluding our short date"
"Wait. There's one last thing. And you need to know that before telling your parents your final decision." I hesitated. It was going to be hard to explain, but I also didn't want to wrong him.
"Sure go ahead." He nodded patiently.
"I'm...aromantic. that was the real reason why I never had a boyfriend. I can't develope romantic feelings for anyone. Even if we get married, I promise to be the best wife or whatever, but I won't ever be able to love you romantically. Can you live with that?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"Why didn't you tell this at the beginning?" He asked, shocked.
"I wanted to get a good impression in before dropping the bomb. It's okay if your answer changes after getting this knowledge. I'm prepared for the rejection." I replied in a small voice.
"But...you said you wanted to have kids?" He stuttered a bit, ears turning red.
"Uh...I do? What of it?"
"But you need to...have sex for having kids?"
I laughed at his embarrassed self.
"Thank you for the knowledge" I teased, "but I'm aromantic, not asexual"
"Oh" He replied, lost in his thoughts. "It's fine...it's not like I like girls completely as well. You're compromising, I can compromise too"
"I'll make sure you won't have to compromise, Lee know" I sighed.
"I can't show you romantic feelings, it doesn't mean I'm incapable of showing affection." I smiled at him, hoping to calm his nerves.
"Okay" He nodded.
"Anything else?" He asked curiously.
"Nah, that was the biggest thing." I shook my head.
"That's settled then...how about we go on a date next..." He started, looking at his phone "Sunday? This time a proper one" He asked looking at me expectantly.
"Sunday works" I nodded slowly, taking my schedule into consideration.
"See you then...I'll pick you up 5pm?" He asked as we walked out of the cafe
"See you at 5" I smiled at him as we waved our goodbyes, having finally fixed a date.
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