I wake up to the sound of the hotel’s alarm clock. With one hand, I slam down on the snooze button and the beeping sound stops. For awhile I just lay there, unsure of why I had to get up today. Before, my reason was Key, but since we were pretty much over, I was left laying there, pondering in my thoughts. I glanced over at the digital clock, and bright red numbers stared back at me. It was now 10:19. I sighed and got up. I went to the bathroom to perform my daily morning routine. Looking up at myself in the mirror, I was met with an ugly me. Eyeliner had trailed down my face, making me look similar to a clown.
             “Ack~!” I quickly wipe the make-up away with a sheet of make-up remover, disgusted by the sight.
About an hour later, I am sitting at a table in Shin’s Delicious Shakes. A waiter approaches just as I have my order set and ready to go.
             The male in a white button-down and black pants with an apron clears his throat before asking, “What can I get for you today?”
             He was cute; he had a baby face but through his tight shirt, I could tell he had a body like that of a terminator’s. The nametag on his left chest read, “AJ Lee.”
             Suddenly, I became very aware, of everything. My hand unconsciously reaches up to my face, the to my eyes. Although I had removed the make-up this morning, my eyes were still a little poofy. Hopefully the cold spoon helped with swelling.
             “Hello?” The waiter asked, waving his hand in front of my face, breaking me away from my thoughts.
             My cheeks burn from embarrassment. Trying to regain some of what pride I had left after the unfortunate event yesterday, I cleared my throat and pulled the wide rim of my hat lower to cover my face. “Um... I want a strawberry shake, please.”
             “Strawberry... shake...” he repeats as he jots down the order onto the little notepad in his hand. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
             He starts walking away, but something stops him and he immediately turns back, walking to where I was sitting.
             I look up at him and inquire in my most lady-like manner, “May I help you? Or.. did you forget something?”
             “Um...”
             I could easily tell he was nervous. Now that the small notepad and pen were in his apron pocket, I presumed, his hands were fidgety. His left foot was tapping at a speed close to that of a hummingbird’s wing flapping. Well, not that severe, but you know what I mean.
             “Yes..?” The air was getting thick as the silence lengthened, awkwardness increasing.
             “Are you... I mean, is this your first time on Jeju Island?”
             No, it wasn’t. I had come to Jeju Island before, once. When I was 10, my dad was still alive and we came here for a family vacation. It was supposed to become a family tradition, but later that year he was diagnosed with cancer and passed away.
             “Yes. This is my first time on Jeju Island,” I lied.
             “Oh, really? Okay.” With that, he returns to what he was doing earlier - getting my strawberry shake.
             A few seconds later, he is back with my strawberry shake in a glass. A little blue umbrella was added too.
             “Here you go,” he says, handing me to cold glass.
             “Thank you.” I take the glass and return to my daily habit of staring out the window at absolutely nothing.
             The day looked so perfect. Kids were outside playing and running around. The birds flying overhead seemed happy too. Even the several clouds that I could see seemed to be formed together in the shape of a smile too.
             Suddenly, the air around me seems thick and awkward. I turned my head to the left and met with two curious eyes staring back at me.
             I took another sip of my shake as I made the decision to ask, “What?”
             “Why are you here?” the waiter asked with furrowed eyebrows. He looked like he was genuinely curious about the answer.
             So I told him the truth, “I’m here with my mom on a business trip. Why?”
             For some reason, I didn’t feel the need to lie.
             “Ahh... I see. So you’re alone today?”
             His eyes illuminated with hope all of a sudden.
             “Yes, why?”
             “Ooh! Yay! I get off work at 2. Will you wait for me until then? I want to show you something.”
             I was confused. We had only met a mere few minutes ago, and yet he already wanted to show me something That seemed really weird to me.
             “Oh! It’s nothing weird like that. Don’t worry, I’m not a ert or anything,” he said, waving his hands frantically to clear up the misunderstanding. “I know we just met, but somehow I feel like I can really trust you... if that makes sense?”
             “But... why?”

I still didn’t understand what he had meant. After what had happened yesterday night, I felt unworthy of anyone and everyone’s trust, much less did I feel anyone deserved mine.

“You sure ask a lot of questions, don’t you? It’s my turn to ask you a question. What’s your name?”

“Ila Yoon.”

“Ah. Ila Yoon. Oooh! What a pretty name!”

I laughed quietly, for I now learned something new about this AJ; he got easily distracted. I must’ve given him a look because he jumped a bit in his chair and continued on.

“Well... it’s a secret. I have a feeling that whatever I’m going to show you, you’ll like it a lot. You’ll come, won’t you?”

I thought about it. “Okay. I guess. I don’t have anything better to do-”

“Yes! Hehe, okay. Wait for me!”

As he walked away, the image of his smiling eyes lingered in my mind. I couldn’t help but smile myself. How could just a simple ‘yes’ do that?

Catching sight of the still strawberry shake in front of me, I took a sip -  it was warm now - and turned back to look outside. For some reason, the sky seemed bluer, the sun brighter, and everyone looked happier. I didn’t even know that my iPhone vibrated with a new message.

“Where are we going?” I ask, worried.

The boy in front of me was leading me down a trail of a forest. I know I should be worried, but it was broad daylight and somehow, I now trusted him too, if not as much as he trusted me.

“We’re almost there!” AJ says, taking ahold of my left wrist and pulling me to match his pace.

“Yah! Slow down, will you? I’m wearing 5 inch heels and I can’t...”

My breath caught as I saw what was right in front of me. My subconscious complaints vanished as the sound of falling, rushing water fills my ears.  The scene sitting before me was absolutely gorgeous; the waterfall was at least 30 feet tall, 15 feet wide. Flowers were already fully bloomed, decorating the whole area. Birds of all sorts flew around freely.  All in all, I could not believe that such a beautiful place existed in Korea.

“This... this is so beautiful!” I turned to look at him with excitement.

He smiled. “See? I told you that you would like it.”

We just stood there in silence for who knows how long. Being someone with talkative friends, this was the first time that the silence was pleasant and not painful.

“Why did you bring me all the way here to show me this?” I ask.

We were now sitting on the edge of the water hole with our feet in the cool water, dangling around.

“Because when I first saw you this morning, I thought of this place,” he says confidently.

Blood rushes to my cheeks, turning them a bright pink color.

“W-w-what do you mean?”

I take a deep breath and turn away from him in an attempt to hide my flushed cheeks. My heart was beating at an uncontrollable rate, faster than I remember it ever did.

Suddenly, warm hands cover mine, causing my shut eyes to flutter open.

“Will you look at me, Ila?” he says, with a tone that causes me to do so.

“Ila... I know that this may sound weird, and that we just met, but I think I like you. This morning, I felt like I trusted you. It’s never happened before. Also... you’re very very pretty.” Now it was his turn to blush.

I smiled. “Thank you, AJ. That’s very sweet, but I don’t think I can accept your feelings. I don’t think I can be in any relationships either.”

“I love you, babe...”

I shake my head of the thought. “Especially not right now. I’m sorry.”

With an apologetic smile, I stand up and slip on my heels, then walk back up the trail.

“Wait! You’ll come to the restaurant tomorrow again, right?” he calls after me.

“Maybe! Bye!” I wave one arm to the person behind me and continue walking.

So~~ what do you guys think? Please comment with your feedback :) thank you!

BTW; The next chapter is the final.