I closed my eyes as I hummed along to the song playing on the radio. I was supposed to meet a university junior at this cafe, and I sat on my usual seat near the window, overlooking the street.

He was supposed to arrive an hour ago.

It was the perfect day to be out, so I didn’t mind waiting. The cafe didn’t have many customers so it was quiet except for the occasional murmurs, and I had a new paperback to finish. Also, the cafe’s latte was the best. How could anyone mind anything at this fine day?

I was jolted out of my reverie when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Seeing my junior’s name on the screen, I swiped the green button.

“Noona,” Jungkook’s voice pierced through the speaker. “I am so sorry, noona. Something came up at my internship so I couldn’t make it out after all. I should have called you before all this has happened, but I was so tied up...”

“It’s okay; it’s okay Kookie,” I said, laughing quietly to myself. “We can meet another time. I was enjoying my coffee anyway.”

“You stayed?!? Oh, my,” he said, sounding panicked. “Let me treat you to a meal next time, noona. I am so sorry.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say no to that,” I joked. “It’s fine. I’ll text you next time, okay?”

After reassuring him again that all was well, I hung up. To be honest, I wasn’t very surprised that he wasn’t coming when he failed to show up on time; he was the sort who wouldn’t be this irresponsible anyway.

I went back to the book I laid aside for the music, and opened it back to the marked page. I smiled slightly as the scene unfolded in my mind’s eye...

“Um, excuse me...”

Somebody beside me cleared his throat, and I looked up.

And I saw a handsome man with huge, expressive eyes looking down at me.

I tried to surreptitiously look around me to see if he really was talking to me. But I was in the window seat, and there was nobody else nearby. But then, who...?

Shaking out my stupor, I tried hard not to blush at his unwavering stare. “Can I help you?”

He continued to look at me that I was almost afraid that I did something weird or wrong with this person (although I can’t even remember seeing him before this). He didn’t speak for a full minute, before blinking slowly.

I couldn’t help but marvel at his face. He had long eyelashes over big, round eyes, a well bridged nose descending down to a pair of full red lips. He also dressed nicely; a light blue long-sleeved cotton shirt the color of the sky, folded at the elbows, over a pair of white pants, and a pair of brown loafers. His ash brown hair was the definition of a styled mess. He towered over me sitting in my small table.

I wouldn’t have forgotten that face. And he didn’t look like a crazy person.

“Well, you see...” he hesitated, biting his lip, and I willed myself not to stare at them. I decided to blink quickly to distract myself.

“I’m not really sure how to say this without probably weirding you out,” he said quickly, and gently at the same time. “But I was sitting over there since earlier,” he gestured to a booth a few tables away from mine, “And I couldn’t help but wonder if...”

He trailed off, looking awkward. His eyes were still unwavering, but for a moment I could detect a sort of fear in them. He was right; whatever he came to say, all of this was already making me feel weird.

I waited patiently for him to continue, and when he sensed that I wasn’t going to yell at him to go away, he bucked up the courage, and taking a deep breath, his words tumbled out of his mouth.

 

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

 

 

 

I stared at the folded table napkin with the numbers scribbled in, and I couldn’t help but shake my head. It was late in the evening, and my mind ran in circles over the course of the afternoon, leaving me tired but still generally confused.

“It’s got to be a stupid joke, right?” I had said to my friend over the phone earlier, still not believing what had transpired.

“A handsome guy asks you if you believe love at first sight exists, and hands you his number. You don’t ask! You call him up!” she chided.  I heard an exasperated sigh on the other line. “You said he looked mighty fine. That, my friend, is motivation enough.”

I snorted. “Aren’t we petty.” I replied sarcastically.

“Well, duh; if another guy came along and asked you the same thing, would you have taken the napkin?”

“Oh, well...no,” I admitted, blushing. “Okay, his face is obviously part of the charm. But then, what am I supposed to say? I don’t believe in love at first sight; even if it were with a guy with a face like his.”

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