There he was, sitting on the same bench under a tall oak tree. He always had his headphones in, tuning out the world. I saw him there every day as I walked to school. He was handsome and well dressed. Nice tanned skin, big brown eyes, a grey shirt, body hugging jeans. I passed him again today, too afraid to approach him. I just continued my walk to school.

One day, as I was on my way to school, the mysterious man was still sitting on the bench, but today he had no headphones. He was looking at the sky and admiring the clouds until he looked at me. I quickly averted my eyes, realizing I was staring at him. I tried to continue walking.

“Yah!” he shouted. I quickly looked at him again. His hands waved to me inviting me over. As I walked over, I thought about being late for school. I was panicking at that though knowing if Umma found out I was going to be in trouble. The man on the bench was now standing and waving me over in haste. I picked up my pace and walked a little faster toward him. Maybe if I hurry over, he’ll let me go on to school.

“What’s your name?” he spoke to me.

“S…Shin D….Dongho. I…I really need to go to school b-before I’m late.” I said really shy. I was nervous being in front of a nice looking man a few years older than me. I realized the nice tone he used to try to calm me. I must have looked nervous also.

“I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. I see you walk by every day and look at me. I know you need to go to school so you can visit me after school if you want. I’ll wait for you here.” The mysterious man seemed sincere in his proposal to wait for me. I decided to agree to this arrangement.

“Sure. I’ll come by after school. What’s your name by the way?”

“Shin Soohyun.”

“Nice to meet you, Shin Soohyun. I’ll be back later.”

--

After school, I went back to the same bench to see Soohyun sitting there. I walked up and sat down beside him. “This is such a beautiful park. I’ve been thinking about your offer to talk. Would you like to go get coffee?”

“Sure. I’ll drive us.”