06:30 P.M.

"Oh my god! This is good!" exclaimed Hayi while wiping the sauce from her lips.

"Told you so. I usually ordered that or this one that I am eating now."

"Yes sir, I trust you okay. I know you are a regular but how regular are we talking about here?" she whispered, trying to .

Contrary to what she imagines, he doesn't laugh. He puts on a sad smile pretending that it is his happy ones. 'Is this what he does when he's trying to fool people around him.' Hayi thought. She feels like he's trying to push her away because she was trying to access the place where he hides his truest self. "Just like another regular customer," he simply replied.

Things got awkward again. Jaewon feels sorry for being a downer. He can't control his emotion because her question reminds him of his mother. It wasn't even a direct question about his mom. He couldn't come up with lies to hide the fact that he had come here just to relive the same moment with his mom over and over again. He's not just like another regular customer. So, he put on the smile that has been fooling lots of people before her. Praying that this smart girl wouldn't notice the slight change in his mood.

Hayi is tired. This whole occasion, the date itself, has been draining her energy. She doesn't want to play along with this situation and saying something to ease his mind from whatever it is. Ending this on a bad note probably will make it easier for her to decline any request from Jenny ever again. It is a golden ticket she's been waiting for. And yet... she can't easily take it after staring at his sad eyes over the window from earlier. But she also can't do anything more than this if he doesn't ask for her hand.

"I'm sorry," he startled her with an apology.

"Sorry? For what?"

He looks at her eyes, "For not telling the truth and being sulky because I can't control my own emotion."

"I always come here on the first Saturday of every month... To reminisce a fond memory of mine with a person I cherish the most," he continued. This time he said it while looking at somewhere distance. Come to think of it Hayi is the only person he told about this place, and she's a stranger.

He looks at his food while waiting for her response. He feels stupid for letting his emotion seeping through from the wall he tried to build for years.

"You don't have to explain yourself if you don't want to. After all, I'm just a stranger right?"

'Wait that came out wrong!' she thought. She meant to tell him not to blame himself for feeling things. It's just that she got no energy left to rack her brain for the right words.

"Right..." he scoffed. He has completely taken that wrong. Now, Hayi's feeling guilty.

"I mea...,"

"It's okay. It's my fault anyway." There it goes again, the sad smile, the faked one he put on to make some distance with people. She makes a mental note to tell him that the smile is not going to fool anyone later if there is next time, but now she let him be engulfed with his own emotion.

They finish the rest of their date in silence. Part their ways with handshake and 'nice to meet you's.

When he walks in the opposite direction, Hayi stares at his back with a heavy heart. She mouth, 'I'm sorry.'

08:30 P.M

He flops on his bed. Today feels like a long day. Not because he has been taking over his Sunbae shift and staying at the hospital for two days? or is it three? Solely because of the date.

The date with Hayi was a mess. It's not like he wants to have something going on with her. He wants to keep talking to her. She's nice and smart. And her words... she didn't talk that much but every sentence she let out of have warmed him more than any other advice given by the people who close to him. Except for the last one. No matter how much he tried to brush it off, it still stings. She didn't have to remind him that meeting him was just her fulfilling her friend request. There shouldn't be next time. 

He decides to sleep it off. He thinks that this little disappointment of how the event turned out to be will vanish in the morning. After all, he doesn't have the time to let new people come into his life right now. Right?

Little did he know a text message came in. 

Hi Jaewon, this is Hayi. I hope you haven't deleted my number yet :). I have some free time next Friday. Do you want to go to a book store near your hospital? I got some discount vouchers from my sister. Since I am being generous I will give you some to allow you to read more books. You haven't got time to read again right? So this is your chance! lol