56 54: The Third Date

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The rising sun shone a warm light on a human and a dog...

They were on a bench, an enormous bird flying around their location.

"Thaddeus..." a young man called out.

| "Yes, Master Shinji?" | the teen heard in his mind.

"I have something to ask of you."

| "Hm? What is it?" | the dog tilted its head.

'Actually, can't you just read my mind to know?' Shinji said inwardly.

| "I must apologize, Master. I can only hear your current thoughts. I cannot delve, deep inside your mind. Even if I was given the ability to, it would be wrong to do so."| Thaddeus told him.

'Well, that answers some of my questions... But, ugh, you're just making this harder...' the raven-haired teen thought.

[A/N: If anyone ever wondered whether Thaddeus knew about his reincarnation, there's your answer.]

Seeing the dog's confused tilted head, he continued, "Would you be willing to stay with Jiyoung for a few days? At least until her brother comes back from the Academy. You can reje-"

| "Of course, Master Shinji. I would do anything for you, and I am quite sure that Sir Scotus would do the same. If being with Miss Jiyoung will make you happy, then I would gladly be there with her." | Thaddeus barked.

"God, you're such a good dog." Shinji smiled seeing his wagging tail. He then added, "You can just call me Shinji, Thaddeus."

| "Understood, Sir Shinji." |

"No, I- You know what? You do you, Thaddeus." the teen said, his smile never leaving his face.

...

It was late in the afternoon, as indicated by the visible moon in the dark sky.

A young man came out of a mansion wearing a cerulean-blue long-sleeved polo, matched with a dark brown suit.

He fixed his dark brown tie as he approached his car. Opening the car, a bluish-black bird landed on it, chirping at the young man.

["Are you going on your date now, Papa?"]

"Yep. How do I look?" he asked with a pose.

["You look... fancy."] Scotus cheeped in amusement.

"Eh, I'll take that. See you later, Scy," he said, going in the car.

Shinji drove his car, speeding through the streets. He wasn't headed to Shinhwa's building, but to Jiyoung's own house.

But before he went there, he took a slight detour...

...

After a few more minutes of driving, he arrived in front of a two-story house. Getting out of the car, the young man knocked at the door.

A few moments later, a beautiful woman opened the door. Her navy-blue long dress highlighted her rosy cheeks.

'Wow...' the young man thought before quickly composing himself.

"You look gorgeous, Jiyoung... Here," he commented, handing her a bouquet of black pansies.

"Thank you, you look great as well," she said before voicing out, puzzled, "Pansies?"

"I was going to get roses, but well, the pansies reminded me of you," he said.

[A/N: I'm not sure if pansy flowers even grow in Korea, but I say it does! (in this Fanfic...)]

"... Thank you," she said with a slight smile.

"Are you ready to go?" Shinji asked with a smile.

"Yes, just give me a moment."

She locked the house, turned off all the lights, and then approached the car. In true gentleman fashion, Shinji held her car door open before he got in himself.

He drove to a fancy, romantic restaurant. After ordering...

"So, how was your day?" he started.

"Hm... It was... different," she replied.

Shinji sighed, smiling, "Well, I could see how that would be the case.", he said. He then looked into her eyes, continuing, "Inhyuk wasn't there because he's chaperoning the boys. Plus, Jisuk is going to Korea's Awakened Academy, so he wasn't there to cause trouble."

"That's... That's true," she said.

"I hope he doesn't cause trouble there," she added, a smile beginning to form on her face.

But, despite the small smile on her face, Shinji could tell that she was feeling lonely without them. He could see it from her eyes.

"Hah! It's my little sister you need to worry about. I bet that she's causing trouble as we speak!" he told her with a grin and a small giggle left Jiyoung's mouth.

Their night continued, until after they ate dessert. Shinji paid for their dinner, despite Jiyoung's protests.

His reasoning was, "I asked you out, so I'm paying."

Entering the vehicle, Shinji started driving to his mansion.

"Huh?" Jiyoung voiced out, noticing that this wasn't the way to her house.

"Don't worry, I just need to take a slight detour. I have a surprise waiting for you there," he told her with a smile.

Arriving on the enormous lot, he whistled. Not long after that, a dog came running toward them, while a massive bird swooped down.

"Hey, Scy. Can you give us a minute?" the young man conversed as he ruffled Scotus' feathers.

The bird gave him a squawk before flying off, gaining Jiyoung's interest.

"Hey, buddy," Shinji spoke, scratching the dog's neck.

'This is Jiyoung Yoo, Thaddeus. She's the girl I was telling you about.' he informed inwardly so that only Thaddeus could hear.

| 'I see, Sir Shinji. Do not worry, I will keep her safe.' | the dog barked.

"So, I brought you here to introduce you to Thaddeus."

"Oh... Hi, Thaddeus." she greeted, receiving a woof.

"He's going to keep you company for a little while. Just until Jisuk and Inhyuk come back from the Academy, maybe for longer," he told her.

"Huh?..."

Shinji explained to her his revised reasoning, telling her that if she wants to, Thaddeus will guard her house, among other things. She only smiled at that, thinking that the Chairwoman of the Shinhwa doesn't need a dog to guard her house.

...

"Thaddeus is really smart, so you don't need to worry about him peeing in your house or something. He'll eat anything, so long as it's-"

He didn't get to finish, as he was abruptly hugged by Jiyoung. He smiled gently, hugging her back, with the car headlights illuminating the both of them.

"Thank you for the surprise, Shinji." she spoke.

The dog in question just looked on with a smile, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, and his tail wagging rapidly.

*****

What did you think about the chapter?

Was it cheesy or something?

Also, a small time skip will be happening, and shortly after that, someone that appears later in Eleceed will come.