Note from the author: To save confusion, everything said in ENGLISH will be in BOLD font.

Later that day you step outside your apartment wearing old clothes that are now completely covered in paint.  You pull out your lighter and watch the flame dance in the cool evening wind before lighting your cigarette.  “I got a lot done today”, you murmur as you exhale a long, thin line of smoke, “more than I had expected to”.  You look through your window to inspect your painting skills, and pat your back.

Even after your eventful morning you had still managed to arrive back at your apartment before noon.  In an effort to forget Kris’s face as you knew you were never going to see him again, you had placed your iPod in the dock and put it on shuffle, allowing your favourite songs to fill up the room.  You remember happily dancing to B2ST’s Fiction whilst changing, unloading your shopping bags and moving your furniture around, before opening the paint cans and dancing to SHINee’s Sherlock.  Everything after that was a bit of a blur, but the wall next to your bed was now sky blue, and the adjacent wall had a cherry blossom painted on the left of it next to the fridge.  

“Not much left to do” you assert to no one, “just the little additions to really make this place feel like home”.  You take another toke of your cigarette and stare into the evening sky.  *Why did I have to meet such a lovely, gorgeous guy that I will never see again?*, you whimper as you watch the smoke from your cigarette dance and drift elegantly into the distance.  Taking the final toke, you stub out your cigarette in the ash tray on the floor and head back inside.

You make yourself a cup of coffee and place it on the table before slumping into the blue beanbag that is currently positioned in the middle of your apartment.  Reaching over, you take a sip of your coffee and grab the shoebox that is sat under the table.  Next you locate the notice board and dig out a tub of push pins.  After emptying the contents of the shoe box carefully on the floor, you start to position the little pieces of paper on the notice board.  Every note and picture holds an inimitable memory for you; memories which engulf you and allow you five minutes of peace from your memory of Kris.

After five minutes you realise that you feel slightly dizzy, and have to put down the drawing of a red panda that is in your hand.  You become conscious of the strong smell of paint, *Ah, it wasn’t really that smart of me to stay indoors with the drying paint… The doors and windows are open, but I don’t think they’re doing much*.  Looking at your watch you realise it’s already nearly six, *Perfect! I can get something yummy to eat out whilst the paint dries*.  You head to your bathroom and change into the clothes you had been wearing this morning before checking the situation of your hair and make up.  Quickly, you make yourself look more presentable by running a comb through your hair and applying a new coat of lip gloss.  *There, done!* you say as you skip towards your front door, pull on your boots, grab your bag and leave the apartment.

The crisp, fresh air fills your lungs and stops you feeling dizzy as you follow the now familiar roads into the centre of the city.  You start looking for something delicious to eat: *Hm… tofu stew…rice cakes…fried chicken, haha, Onew*, you giggle to yourself, *…ramen…What do I fancy that isn’t BBQ?*  You walk past lots of restaurants and street vendors, but nothing seems appealing to you, and there is no way you can get BBQ alone.

Suddenly someone bumps into you, causing you to completely loose your balance and topple into an old woman who is carrying a bag of clementines.  To your horror the bag splits open, spilling its contents all over the floor. 

“I’m so sorry”, you bow to the woman in apology.  “Are you okay?”

She nods, and you hastily get to work retrieving all the runaway clementines.  Before long you have an armful of fruit, but realise you have nowhere to put them.  *Oh geeze! What do I do?*, you worry as you look around in search for a substitute bag.

“Here, use this”, a kind voice says as they pass you a plastic bag.

“Thanks”, you reply without looking up at your saviour.  You carefully place all the clementines in the bag and hand it to the woman with a final apology whilst you are still crouched on the floor.  She smiles sweetly at you, takes the bag and then continues on her way.  *Phew! I’m glad she wasn’t angry with me, or worse, hurt*, you sigh, *I should probably thank my saviour*.

At this thought, a pair of silver sneakers arrive in your field of vision.  You look up and are shocked to see familiar eyes piercing through you.

Before you manage to form a sentence, the owner of the eyes holds out his hand for you.

“We seem to be making a habit of this”, he chuckles as he easily pulls you to your feet, “perhaps it is destiny”.

“Th- Thanks, Kris”, you stutter.  *HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?*

“That makes it twice in one day”, he titters.

“Wh- What?”, your brain doesn’t seem to be functioning properly due to the shock of seeing his face again.

“I’ve helped you twice in one day.  We were obviously destined to cross paths”.

Your brain snaps back into action at his comment, and you start laughing.  *Still playing smooth, I see.  Can this guy get any more cheesey?*

You look up to see Kris’s confused face.  “I’m sorry”, you giggle, “but I feel like you’ve been reading too many bad chat-up line books!”

At your comment, Kris turns a light shade of amber and clears his throat.  This pulls you back to your senses and you realise that the two of you are still holding hands.  *So warm*, you think to yourself as you glance at your hand in his, *I hope he doesn’t let go anytime soon.  I don’t want him to disappear again*.

Kris says something, but you can’t hear him over your own thoughts.

“Hmm?”, you ask.

A little smirk appears on his face: “How about that coffee?”

It takes you a second to figure out what Kris is talking about, and the y expression on his face doesn’t help your brain function properly.  You are just about to reply when you stomach grumbles.  *Oh geeze! I hope he didn’t hear that! Great timing, stomach!*, you think as you subtly hold your abdomen with your free arm in an effort to muffle the sounds.  

Kris chortles, “Or perhaps we should go for dinner?”

*Arg!  This is so embarrassing!*, you whimper.  “I’m sorry, I haven’t eaten all day”.

“Couldn’t eat because you missed me, hey?”

You look up at Kris who is smiling seductively down at you, *No! I must not fall for his cheesey charm!*

“That… Or the fact that my fridge is currently empty”, you retort, trying to play it cool yourself.

Kris giggles at your reply and squeezes your hand.  You look down at your entwined hands and smile, *I don’t think I ever want to let go of his hand.  I can’t explain why, but it makes me feel safe*.

“What do you want to eat?”

His question brings you back to reality.  “Hm… BBQ!”, you give into your cravings.

Kris seems a little taken back by your assertiveness, but continues: “Then what are we standing here for?”, before leading you down the street.

It’s only when you arrive at the restaurant that Kris lets go of your hand, making your heart sink a little bit.  *Why am I so bummed? I only met him today! It’s not like we’re going out… Get a grip, Jae! Stop acting like a fool!*

“Table for two?”, a young female employee asks whilst staring at Kris.

“Please”, Kris smiles down at you with gentleness in his eyes.  The woman lets out a little huff as she turns around to lead you to your table.

*Why is my heart beating so fast? BABO! Act casual! ACT CASUAL!*, you howl at yourself as you follow Kris and the employee.

“Here you are.  Enjoy your meal.  Please don’t hesitate to ask me if you need any assistance”, the employee purrs at Kris before walking away, making him laugh.  You take off your coat, scarf and hat before seating yourself opposite him.

“So what BBQ do you want? Pork, chicken or beef?”, Kris asks.

You look around at the surrounding tables and see your favourite variety sizzling away.  Trying hard to keep your cool and not drool over the luscious meet, you turn back to Kris: “I don’t mind.  What do you want?”

Kris nods towards the table of four that is enjoying your favourite: “How about we go for spicy pork?

*YES!*, you celebrate on the inside.  “Sure”, you sweetly smile.

Soon after ordering, your food arrives.  Carefully, the two of you place the pork on the grill and watch as it starts to cook.

“I didn’t know you speak Korean”, Kris asserts.

“Mhm, but I tend to switch back to English without realising”, you prod the meat with your chopsticks.

“I’m the same, but I also speak Mandarin and Cantonese, so sometimes I speak four different languages without thinking about it”.

You look at Kris in awe as he turns the pork over on the grill.  *Four languages? That’s amazing! He must be really intelligent*.  He sees you gazing at him and smiles warmly, causing you to turn a pale shade of beetroot.

After the meat is cooked, Kris carefully places a couple of pieces of pork inside a leaf of lettuce and holds it out to you.
“Thanks”, you say as you take the parcel and place it in your mouth.  “Mmm! Delicious!”

Kris chuckles at you, “Do you not eat like this often?”

“I don’t know how to cook Korean food”, you pout at the table, causing Kris to laugh affectionately.  You smile, *I don’t know why I found him so awkward this morning, being with him is really easy*.

“How’s your wrist, by the way?”

You look at him confused, but then remember that you had jarred it earlier.  “Oh”, you say as you move your wrist in circles, “I’d completely forgotten about it.  It doesn’t hurt at all anymore”.

“That’s good.  I didn’t want you to sue me”, Kris laughs.

You pretend to gasp in shock: “So that’s what this meal is?  You were planning on bribing me with delicious food so that I’d keep my mouth shut?”

“Well, would it have worked?”

You ponder the question for a moment, then giggle: “Yup! Anything to do with food or coffee will definitely bribe me successfully!”

“I’ll keep that in mind”, Kris drones as he smirks at you.  You both curl over in laughter and continue eating your food.

Once you are both full, Kris asks for the bill.  You pull out your purse, “How much?”

“I got this”, Kris states as he leans back in his chair.

You look at him and roll your eyes, *Always so swag*.  “But you bought my lamp this morning and you saved me with that plastic bag, so it should be my treat”.

Kris blinked at you in shock, *What? Is he not used to girls paying their way?*  “Fine then, half?

Kris nods, then pulls a few crumpled notes from his wallet.  You do the same and then pull on your hat, scarf and coat, ready for the cold night air.

*I wish I’d bought gloves with me*, you sulk as you rub your hands together once outside.  Looking around, you blow into your hands in an effort to keep them warm.  Suddenly you feel warm hands envelope yours.  You look round in shock to see Kris smiling at you.  You blink at him a couple of times, not knowing what to do, nor knowing what to say.  

He lets go of your hands, but you do not move.  Reaching into the right pocket of his jacket, Kris pulls out a pair of gloves and hands you the left one.  You take the glove, grateful, but a little confused, and slip it on.  He does the same with the right glove, then entangles his gloveless hand with yours and shoves both your hands in his pocket.

“I still owe you that coffee”, he declares before pulling you along with him.

After five minutes the two of you are outside a small, cosy café.  Kris starts to lead you inside when suddenly you realise his fault.

“Kri-”, you warn, but it’s too late.

With a loud thud Kris manages to walk into the glass door of the café.  Instantly he turns the deepest shade of maroon that you’ve seen yet.  

Unable to control yourself, you collapse on the floor in laughter.  You haven’t laughed this hard in months, and your legs have completely turned to jelly.  Kris joins you in laughter and you both roll on the floor in hysterics for a couple of minutes.  People around you have started staring, but neither of you seem to care – the situation was just too priceless.  Standing up, Kris holds out his hand to you for the third time in one day.  “C’mon, lets get inside before we get sent to a mental institution”, he continues to chuckle as he readily pulls you to your feet. 

Once you’ve regained your balance and dusted off, the two of you make your way into the café.  Kris buys himself a caramel macchiato, a gingerbread latte for you and a rocky road to share.  Looking around for a place to sit, you both notice the free table in the far corner of the café and walk towards it.  

“Thanks”, you smile as you take a very welcome sip of your gingerbread latte. “Mmm! Delicious!”

Kris looks at you, “Do you find everything delicious?”

“Only the good things”, you confirm as you pick up your half of the rocky road and take a bite.  “Mmm! Delicious!”  

Kris laughs again, and shakes his head tenderly.  “You are one of a kind, Jae”.

“Is that a good thing?”, you query, slightly concerned.

“Of course.  Its been a long time since I met someone as genuine as you”.

You smile at his compliment and take another sip of heaven.

“So why are you in Korea?”

“I teach children English.  I moved here a couple of months ago”.

“Are you enjoying it?”

“Very much so.  I absolutely adore children”, you lovingly beam.

Kris takes a sip of his macchiato then looks at you, “Do you miss your family?”

“I do, and my best friends.  But I wanted to discover my Korean roots, so I took the leap and followed my heart.  It’s okay though, I talk to them all on skype a couple of times a week.  Serah is  planning on visiting me too, but unfortunately my parents can’t get the time off work and travelling during a holiday is too expensive”, you sigh.

“Yeah, my parents can’t visit me either.  But I’ve got my dorm mates; my hand picked family”.

“Oh yeah, I forgot that you live with eleven people.  That must be lively”, you chuckle, a little bit jealous.    

“It is.  Showering is a pain though, as is the mess.  But I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything”.

Kris’s compassion for others makes you smile, and you can’t help but feel like Kris would be one of those really reliable friends who you could trust with the world.

                *    *    *

Half an hour later a loud bell is rung behind the counter.  “Five minutes till closing”, the employee announces.  You look at your watch, it’s already nearly nine.

“I’ve been wondering…”, you assert as you look back up at Kris, “why have you changed your clothes?  You were wearing red this morning”.

“Paying that much attention to me?”, he smiles.  “I was at rehearsal today, so I showered and changed before going in search for dinner”.

“Rehearsal?  Are you an actor or something?”

“Or something”.

You look at him confused, yet he doesn’t say any more.  You can tell that he doesn’t want you to pry, so you quickly change the subject.

“I’d love to see the mural once you’ve all finished it”, was the first thing that came to mind.

Kris warmly smiles at you, “I’ll show it to you next time”.

The bell rings again signalling that it’s time for you all to leave.  You shove on your hat, scarf and coat before heading out the door.

“We should do this again.  I really enjoy talking to you, Jae”.

“Me too”, you smile.

Kris reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Samsung Galaxy.  He types on it for a couple of seconds and then hands it to you.  You quickly type in your own number and press save before passing it back.

“I’ll send you a text next time I’m free”, Kris affirms, holding his mobile in the air and nodding his head as he starts to leave.

“Okay, see you next time”, you chuckle and wave before making your way back to your apartment.  *Ah, I’m so tired*, you yawn as you raise your arms in the air, *but I feel like I’ve met a really great person today*.