Eunbi comes back from the counter holding two mugs of coffee, though she pauses in midstep, if only just to admire the sight of a certain Choi Yuna by the window, rays of the setting sun streaking through her wavy curls as the tall girl bent over a keyboard on display, fingers splayed on the keys as if caressing a lover. 

The piano is out of tune, but it doesn’t seem to bother Yuna, who hesitantly presses a few keys to test the tone, and for a moment Eunbi is lost in the sight. It was as pretty as a postcard, and Eunbi almost wanted to take her phone out to capture the moment. 

Thought moved to action, and she sets the mugs aside, whipping out her phone as she shifted to capture the best angle. The click draws Yuna’s attention, her head turning in a magical moment that makes Eunbi catch her breath, her finger automatically clicking down to freeze that into eternity, an angel haloed in light pouring from the window beyond. 

Yuna smiles at the captivated expression on Eunbi’s face, and the choreographer blushes in response, lowering her phone with a guilty start and retrieving their coffee with a brusque nod.

“You look beautiful.” 

Eunbi blurts out without thinking, then shoves the other mug into a bemused Yuna’s hands, raising her own mug to hide her burning cheeks. The hot beverage does nothing to cool her off, and Yuna’s laugh definitely doesn’t help. 

“Thank you, I didn’t dress up today though.” 

Yuna accepts the compliment gracefully, and Eunbi peeks over the curve of her mug, even as Yuna tucks an unruly strand of hair back behind her ear. Her ponytail was tied low at the nape of her neck, and Eunbi’s eyes followed the arc of her neck as Yuna tilted her head around to take in the rest of the cafe.

It was a rather quaint little place, and a cat had greeted them earlier upon entry, entwining itself sinuously between Eunbi’s ankles and nearly tripping the younger girl up. Wood carvings and antique furnishings lent a vaguely Victorian sentiment to the place, and the piano in the corner added an artistic flourish on top. 

All in all, it was a rather comfy little cafe, and Yuna seemed all too at home in these surroundings. Eunbi was suddenly glad she found this place, and her inner photographer itched to use Yuna as a model again. Focus, Eunbi, you don’t want to scare her off.

“You play the piano?” Desperate to make conversation, Eunbi seizes on the first thing that came to mind, remembering the familiarity with which Yuna tested the keys earlier. A shadow flashes in Yuna’s eyes, and her knuckles tighten around her mug.

“I used to.” Yuna withdraws her right hand inward, her other hand curling protectively across the wrist. Eunbi doesn’t miss the grimace that crosses Yuna’s face, and inwardly kicks herself for bringing up an obviously sensitive topic.

“I’m sorry.” Eunbi offers up awkwardly, and Yuna smiles at her kindly, shaking her head.

“It’s okay...it was a long time ago.” But she does not put her right hand back on the table, instead moving it back down onto her lap and out of sight. Eunbi follows the movement, and is tempted to ask about it, but knows it is probably a bad idea. I barely know her.

“So, you and Ms. Kim are friends?”

Yuna changes the subject easily, giving Eunbi a way out. The choreographer lets out a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding, and takes the offered branch with some relief. It was almost annoying how she felt like a nervous highschooler around Yuna all the time, but the next hour passed on surprisingly swift wings as they moved from topic to topic, settling into an easy rhythm of conversation. 

Yuna was a very good listener, and after the initial self consciousness, Eunbi relaxes into the banter, eyes shining with good humour as she shares funny anecdotes about work and her friends. Yuna chimes in with a few stories of her own, making Eunbi guffaw at the completely off-the-wall situations Yuna apparently seems to be able to find herself in. It was a very relaxing conversation, and both girls came away with much improved impressions of each other after it was over.

Eunbi insists on getting the bill, even though Yuna offered to split on it. “I dragged you out here,” Eunbi argues, and Yuna acquiesces after a moment, lingering by the piano to play with the store cat while Eunbi settled the bill. 

Eunbi turns around and sees the cat snuggling up to Yuna’s neck, the tall girl chuckling as she petted the purring calico. The cat cracks open one eye as Eunbi approaches, tail swishing into the dancer’s face as it hops out of Yuna’s arms, landing gracefully on the exposed keys of the piano. Eunbi’s sneeze was timed almost precisely to the clatter of discordant notes that resulted, and Yuna grins, pinching Eunbi’s nose affectionately.

“Bless you.”

Magically, Eunbi manages to not blush this time. The pair steps out into the fading light of the setting sun, and for a moment they stood in silence, unsure where to go from there.

“It was nice talking to you.” Yuna breaks the silence first, a wry smile on her lips. “I had fun.”

“Me too.” Eunbi meets Yuna’s gaze boldly, more comfortable with the older girl after their date (?). Yewon had been right, of course. Eunbi was a lot more confident dealing with people face to face, excepting the initial false starts when she was still trying to get her bearings around Yuna. 

“Can I come see you again?” 

It was an impulsive question, but Eunbi meant it from her heart. She liked talking to Yuna, who was funny and witty and full of surprises. She wanted to get to know her better, and then maybe finally be able to ask why the older girl looked so wistfully at the piano in the corner. The image of Yuna playing the piano remained burned into her mind, and it seemed a waste that the girl no longer played, whatever the reason was. 

“You do have my number.” Yuna teased, and Eunbi flushed in embarrassment at the reminder.

“I didn’t lose it!” Eunbi defended herself, scratching at her head awkwardly, then knocked herself with a knuckle. “Right! Here,” she pulls her name card out of her wallet, handing it to Yuna. “Fair’s fair. I know where you work, and now you have mine too.”

Yuna turned the card over in her hands. “A dance studio? It suits you.” Eunbi grins nervously, shifting on her feet. A thought comes into her mind, and Eunbi blurts it out without thinking.

“You could come over some time. We can dance together again.” 

Yuna arches an eyebrow at the invitation, but Eunbi seemed more earnest than anything else, so she decides to let it slide. There was only so much teasing a girl could take, and she decided to show a little mercy for once. 

“I’d like that,” Yuna replies with a smile, disappearing the card into a pocket. She looks around at the unfamiliar streets, a vague pout forming on her lips that Eunbi doesn’t fail to catch. Yuna did mention how bad she was at navigating the streets earlier.

“Can I take you home?” Eunbi asks almost hopefully, and Yuna laughs, shaking her head.

“Not so fast, tiger. Maybe after the third date.” This was technically the second, but Yuna doesn’t mention it. She taps her chin thoughtfully.

“You could take me back to where we started though.”

Eyes sparkling, Eunbi bows with a flourish, extending an arm for Yuna to take. With a small chuckle, Yuna accepts, placing her hand almost delicately in the crook of Eunbi’s arm. It was nice being with someone who liked her, Yuna decides. She had no idea where this was going to go, but she was willing to find out.

She could do worse than Hwang Eunbi, and the dancer was easy on the eyes if nothing else. Eunbi looks over at Yuna as the girl was studying her, their gazes locking for a good long moment before Eunbi flushes again, breaking the connection. Yuna giggles.

This was going to be interesting.