Chapter Text
It was hard for Rosé to hate anything.
But Valentine's Day... she definitely hated that day with all her might.
Single for about 3 years after leaving a relationship with Joy, Rosé firmly believed that, as dramatically as she liked to say, she would die alone.
Not that she had anything against her last ex-girlfriend, she actually didn't. After all, they were extremely close these days, but she couldn't deny that their relationship had been a failed one.
And Valentine's Day, in particular, made her quite sad. She usually joined Jennie, her best friend, and they ate ice cream - vanilla, her favorite - all day while crying and watching romance movies.
A pretty depressing scenario as she liked to say.
"I want to do something different this year," Rosé said, turning her face to look at Jennie. "I need to innovate a bit, get out of this house. I don't know what yet."
Jennie wrinkled her nose for a moment, thinking of a response.
"What kind of innovation do you propose? I'm open to suggestions, Park."
Rosé silently shook her head.
"I already said I don't know yet," that came out a bit more rude than it should have. "Sorry, I just can't stand lamenting alone at home anymore, it's really depressing," Rosé said, sighing. She hated that pathetic scenario she found herself in every Valentine's Day.
Jennie blinked a few times in surprise. Her brain refusing to process that information coming from Rosé's lips. Then she smiled in relief, glad that she was willing to do something. Maybe it really was time to give things a new direction.
As much as she loved Rosé with all her heart and as her best friend, she couldn't stand hearing that melancholic speech every year coming from the blonde. She and her best friend deserved more. Kim knew that.
Of course, spending time with her best friend was great, but if she herself wanted innovation, it didn't hurt to suggest something different.
Jennie then remembered something and hurried to grab her phone from the kitchen table.
It might seem crazy, but maybe with a little persuasion, she could convince her friend. Anyway, it wouldn't hurt to try, right?
What did she have to lose? Nothing.
"I think I have an idea of what you can do," Jennie said excitedly to Rosé. "There's been a buzz about an app in recent days. I think maybe you've heard of it. Unlikely that you haven't, actually."
Rosé looked confused at the phone screen, reading each letter carefully. The name of the app "Valentine's Day" with a pastel-colored interface and the pink icon with a heart in the middle looked like one of the thousands of dating apps.
But to Jennie's surprise, she really hadn't heard of the app. Maybe she had been too out of touch with what was being talked about on social media lately.
There was nothing innovative about it at first thought. Rosé wasn't the biggest fan of dating apps because nowadays people only used them to get laid and that was it.
Okay, thinking like that could be a bit puritanical. But far from it, Rosé wasn't a puritan. Quite the opposite, actually. She just wasn't up for just sex, although she really couldn't remember the last time she had sex. But that didn't matter.
Rosé blinked, being thrown out of her own thoughts.
"Is this like Tinder? Jennie, for God's sake..." Rosé said, looking at her friend in disbelief. Jennie rolled her eyes, a little impatient. "Hey, I'm serious. I'm not using a dating app, Jennie. I'm not that desperate."
Of course, the best friend would make an assumption right away, Kim thought. Jennie knew her best friend like the back of her hand. She wasn't impressed that she thought that way. She just needed some time to get her friend to agree to her crazy idea.
"I haven't even said anything yet so calm down there, I'm going to explain it to you better," Kim said, wetting her lips and then clearing her throat, as if about to start a beautiful speech. Rosé wanted to laugh because her friend seemed so serious. But Jennie gave her a deathly look, and then she shrugged. "It's not Tinder, I've seen this app being promoted for weeks. Basically, it only works in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day. Only on that date."
"Then it's a Tinder," the blonde said, leaning back on the couch.
"Rosé, didn't you hear anything I said? Jesus!"
Rosé laughed.
"Relax, I was just kidding. Geez, you're so grumpy today, you know?"
The two exchanged laughs for a moment, but then Rosé frowned thinking about how an app that only had one function could be a good thing. Nevertheless, she decided to lean back on the couch and listen to what Jennie had to say.
Jennie, glad that her friend was paying attention, continued speaking.
"Basically, the app promises dates for Valentine's Day. It selects someone to spend the day with you based on your likes. Since you're an extremely picky person, this is great for you," Jennie said, explaining how the app works. Rosé then ran her index finger along the corner of her lips. "It has great positive reviews, and it's very reliable. After all, the app's proposal is for you to meet someone very similar and willing to spend Valentine's Day with you and then poof, the person disappears."
Park pondered on that. She didn't know if she was ready for relationships after being single for so long and it might even be crazy to consider it, but it didn't seem like such a bad option after all.
The experience of meeting someone new and then never seeing that person again intrigued her. It seemed more than perfect considering she just wanted a distraction for that day she hated so much.
But at the same time, feeling like it seemed too good to be true and wondering what the catch was.
"I don't know, Jennie... This all seems kind of... dubious."
Jennie knew she wouldn't accept so easily.
"I understand what you mean, but it's just one night. Think about how much fun it could be."
"It could be dangerous," argued the blonde.
"The reviews are great, Rosé. There hasn't been any accidents. I wouldn't recommend it if it were dangerous."
Rosé knew Jennie would never put her in a tight spot. But still...
"What if I'm the first case? You know how many psychopaths are out there roaming free? And what if-"
"Jesus, Rosé! Stop being paranoid!" Jennie interrupted her, a little agitated.
"It's not being paranoid, damn it."
"Why are you cursing, you bitch?"
Rosé laughed and fell silent for a moment.
"It's interesting," Rosé finally conceded in a thin voice. Jennie's eyes gleamed, pleased that her best friend hadn't rejected her idea. "Are you happy because you won't spend another Valentine's Day with me, huh?"
Jennie laughed, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder and then kissing her cheek.
"You know I love you and wouldn't mind spending this day with you. However..." Jennie paused. "You'll definitely enjoy
this."
"Do you think so?" Rosé raised her eyebrows, resting her head on Jennie's lap. "I just hope it's not a frustrating experience. Although, Valentine's Day itself is pretty shitty. I'd say it can't get worse, but every time someone says that, the situation gets even shittier."
Jennie laughed at her friend's comment and then decided to help Rosé set up her profile on the app. It shouldn't be difficult to choose a few photos and create a cute biography.
It might be naive of the black-haired woman, but she felt that unlike Tinder, people really paid attention to these things on this app. After all, Valentine's Day was special, it was about spending time with someone pleasant.
No one would want to spend time with someone with horrible tastes or weird habits, right? Jennie felt that people would be picky at least once in their lives.
"You're lucky there are still a few days left, they take a while to approve the profile. They need to make sure you're a trustworthy person," Kim said, running her hand through one of Rosé's hair strands. Her friend's hair was so silky, if she didn't know Park, she could easily say that she could pass for someone who was born blonde.
And she knew Rosé would love to hear that, especially after spending so much time at the salon touching up the color and avoiding the roots from growing out.
"I understand," Rosé said with a gentle smile, looking at Jennie, who seemed to have more expectations than she did.
She tried to focus on the thought that it could really be fun. That she would spend her day with someone nice, not with a possible psychopath. Of course, she couldn't avoid death, but she would hate to die on the very day of the year she hated the most. No one deserves that, right?
After about two hours, a little faster than expected, Park received an email confirmation of her profile.
"It looks like your profile is ready," Jennie said, handing the phone back to her best friend. "Now it's basically just seeing the options the app selected for you."
That part would be complicated. A big part of the reason for her singledom was that she was extremely picky. Not in a toxic sense, but she needed a lot for someone to interest her.
Rosé liked women, and only women. That already excluded many options, but the problem was that she was selective, so she wouldn't go out with just any woman. And it wasn't about looks, it was about personality.
She could be the most beautiful woman in the world, but if she seemed clueless, Rosé couldn't get involved.
"What do you think of this one?" Jennie said, showing the phone to Rosé, who shook her head, the woman was indeed very beautiful. But she didn't find her interesting enough.
"She's pretty but doesn't seem like my type," Rosé said, resting her elbows on her knee while looking at Jennie. "Besides, she seems like the type who doesn't like animals."
"But you don't even know her."
Jennie laughed.
"I just know... from her face. Anyway, can we move on to the next one?"
Jennie nodded.
"Alright, Miss Picky. Let's see the other options," Jennie said with a hopeful smile. She knew Rosé wouldn't like anyone right away. "And this one?"
Rosé analyzed the profile for a few minutes and then shook her head again. This one didn't please her either.
"You're a difficult woman," Jennie said, making Rosé laugh. "Why do you think you're single? I can't think of anything."
"Smart mouth. Why don't we sign you up for this app then? Valentine's Day will have arrived and you won't have chosen anyone," Rosé teased.
"This isn't about me!" Kim stuck out her tongue, getting into the joke.
Rosé thought for a moment.
"But seriously, why don't you join the app too? Is there something I don't know about?" Park was suspicious, she and Jennie knew everything about each other. But lately, they had been so busy that maybe she could have missed something.
"I'm seeing someone," Jennie commented, Rosé opened her lips surprised, her orbs bright and full of curiosity. "I knew you'd look at me like that!"
"But of course! That's great, I noticed a certain sparkle in your eyes lately. Who is she?" Rosé asked intrigued.
"I'm not going to tell you yet. Don't get me wrong, but do you know that saying?"
Rosé frowned.
"Which one?"
"What nobody knows won't hurt them," Jennie laughed.
"Silly." Rosé rolled her eyes.
"Now seriously, can we proceed?"
With a light tap on her shoulder, Rosé asked her friend to continue.
"Is this Joy?" Jennie asked, showing the phone to Rosé, who laughed, definitely wouldn't spend Valentine's Day with her ex-girlfriend.
She didn't have any problem with Joy; the issue was that it just didn't make sense. But when she stopped to think, she couldn't remember them ever spending Valentine's Day together. They were always busy with something. Sometimes there was a photo shoot for Rosé, or Joy was busy sorting something out at the company she worked for.
Thinking about it... Wow, that's depressing, Rosé thought. But it wasn't always like that. But it didn't matter; it was in the past, and Rosé had turned that page a while ago.
"I'm going to tease her so much about this," Park said. Jennie then raised her eyebrow, staring at her friend. "Okay, okay. What are the next options? There has to be someone decent."
After fifteen minutes of watching Rosé reject every possible option, Jennie sighed.
"We can continue tomorrow if you want," Rosé suggested, seeing that her friend was starting to get impatient.
Jennie was already giving up and starting to wonder if it had really been a good idea. Because it was humanly impossible for no one in the entire Seoul to please her best friend.
"No! Wait. I think I found the right one," Kim said excitedly, Rosé, not very hopeful, looked at the cell phone screen.
She was amazed. Her eyes scrolled through the profile of the twenty-six-year-old woman, with brown hair and orbs, who had a beautiful smile and many common interests with her.
She glanced at the cell phone screen for a while longer, scrolling to see the photos better. She was always smiling in all of them and had a great aura, in one of them she seemed to be petting a stray puppy. Another seemed to be attending an NGO. This warmed Rosé's soft heart, of course, they were just photos and it could all be a lie from her, but it seemed authentic.
Suzy seemed like a nice person. And that was exactly what Rosé was looking for when she accepted the craziness of entering this app.
"Wow..." Rosé said, letting out all her breath. She was almost breathless. She was so beautiful. Her eyes so expressive, her mouth perfectly shaped. "Suzy, wow. She's so beautiful."
"Looks like it's her, then?" Jennie said with a proud smile for finally having succeeded. Rosé looked at her with her lips parted as if she was about to say something.
"You don't know if she'll like me back. She's like, really wow," Rosé said, fascinated once again by the woman she was staring at the photos. She couldn't believe that someone like that could be real.
Not that she was belittling herself, Rosé didn't have low self-esteem or anything, in fact, she loved herself very much. But you know that saying? Suzy seemed like too much for her.
"You're wow too, Rosé," Jennie said, complimenting her friend. Rosé smiled.
Park felt nervous. She hadn't pressed the heart button yet. She was processing how someone like that could exist. Someone so fascinating. Her eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"What are you waiting for to press it?" Kim said, watching her friend's nervousness.
"I... I." Rosé took a deep breath. Gathering courage for that. Okay, she had decided she was going to try. If it didn't work out, that's okay. Right?
Rosé then pressed the heart button, feeling her heart skip a beat. Everything seemed to pass in slow motion, and each second became more agonizing. Wondering what would happen next, perhaps?
And what if she wasn't good enough? Pretty enough? Pleasant enough? And if her interests weren't enough for Suzy? She had been single for so long because she kept waiting for love to suddenly knock on her door, but what if her charm had faded away? And if she really was going to die alone? And if?
There were so many doubts. And the delay only increased her nervousness.
But all those insecurities faded away when suddenly the sight of her screen changed, the word "match" appearing in red on top of Suzy's photo.
"Congratulations, Rosé. You have a match," Jennie said with a smile on her lips. "Looks like someone has a Valentine's Day date."