Hyejeong says: The best match for you is the one I arrange.

Just as Hyejeong approached, an elderly gentleman stepped up to the pot and inserted a folded bill. “Thank you and Merry Christmas,” Seolhyun told him cheerfully. “No, thank you,” the old man returned. “You see, my father would tell me stories about how he was on a troop train in World War II and your organization met them at the station as they disembarked and handed out doughnuts and coffee. That small kindness meant the world to those going off to war. He's never forgotten it.”

Seolhyun didn't know what to say.

“A lot of people didn’t come home from the war, but I’ll bet you those who did will always remember the friendly smiles and support given to them. I’m an old man now and I don’t have many more years left.” He grew teary-eyed as he spoke. “Merry Christmas, young lady,” he whispered, gently squeezing her hand, “and thank you again for the sacrifice you’re making on behalf of others.”

Now it was Seolhyun who had tears in her eyes. She brushed them aside as Hyejeong came closer. The old man had disappeared inside the mall by the time he arrived. “How was it?” she asked.

Seolhyun tried to swallow the lump in . “My great grandfather was in the Second World War, too.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“That elderly gentleman,” she said, sniffling, “the one who was just here. He told me about something that happened when his father went off to war and thanked me as if I was the one who’d been kind to him.”

“I didn’t see any old man.”

“You didn’t? He was here a minute ago and was…just wonderful.” She didn’t understand how Hyejeong could have missed him. It was unlikely that Hyejeong would have eyes only for her.

“What happened to your coat?” Hyejeong asked, apparently not interested in hearing about the man who had touched her so deeply.

“Oh, that,” she said, glancing down. “That was a lucky break. Well, to be honest, it didn’t seem like it at the time, but I collected a lot of pity donations as a result.”

Hyejeong didn’t ask her to elaborate. “Your shift is over. You can leave now.”

“What about my substitute?” Seolhyun wasn’t about to be lured away from her duty station until the next person was firmly in place.

“That would be me,” a cheerful middle-aged woman said from behind Hyejeong, the supervisor at her side. Seolhyun handed over the bell, and the supervisor took her full kettle and replaced it with an empty one.

“Good luck,” Seolhyun told the new bell ringer and meant every word. She nearly added that the woman was going to need it.

“You didn’t tell me how your morning went,” Hyejeong said. They walked into the mall together.

Seolhyun stood just inside the sliding glass doors for a moment, soaking in the blast of warm air. Until now she hadn’t fully realized how utterly cold she’d been. Four hours had felt like forever. “You don’t want to know,” she said. Her teeth had only now stopped chattering.

“I don’t ask questions if I don’t want an answer.”

“Okay, fine. I lost a glove, and my nose lost feeling in the first half hour.” She looked at the matchmaker and muttered, “It’s still there, isn’t it? My nose, I mean.”

“Yes.” Hyejeong's mouth twitched, but she didn’t admit she was amused.

“My feet feel like blocks of ice. A jealous girlfriend threw coffee on me and some sweet old lady slipped a fifty-dollar bill into my coat pocket because she felt sorry for me. I threw it in the pot,” she added righteously.

Hyejeong arched her brows. That apparently was her only comment.

“Furthermore, I recognized your spy.”

“My…spy?”

“The man you sent. Okay, so I made that remark about saying hello to Tiny Tim. Oh, and about seeing a shrink. I probably shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help it. He was obnoxious. Did you pay him extra for being rude?” she asked.

That sounded like something Hyejeong would do.

Hyejeong eyed her speculatively, but didn’t respond one way or the other. “He told you, didn’t he?” Seolhyun could easily picture Scrooge running to Hyejeong to tattle on her. As they walked past a Starbucks, Seolhyun stopped abruptly. “I would kill for a latte,” she said and veered back into the store.

Hyejeong followed, and they stood in line together. When they reached the counter, Seolhyun ordered her vanilla latte, along with two cookies. It was after two, and she hadn’t had lunch yet. Hyejeong ordered a large black coffee and paid their bill.

Although the small area was crowded, a couple left just then and they were able to secure a table. Seolhyun sank gratefully into the chair. She crossed her legs, and removed one boot so she could rub feeling back into her toes, pausing occasionally to sip her latte. It tasted like heaven.

“About this, uh, spy you mentioned.”

“Oh, him. Not to worry, I caught on fast enough. Well, maybe not as fast as I should have, but it was obvious that you sent him. He didn’t try very hard to hide it, either.”

“Not that obvious,” Hyejeong said mildly. “Because I didn’t send anyone.”

“Oh, come on. There’s no need to carry on this charade.”

Hyejeong smirked at her. “I am not in the habit of lying.”

Seolhyun studied the other