requested by RaNonymous

It was just another day, ordinary just like any other.

How cliché, it was, that he happened to be strolling along the street when he first saw you.

His eyes were drawn to yours.

And yours were drawn to his.

He couldn't help but stare; your features exotic against the crowd of Koreans, distinct and refreshing to his eyes, your hair twisted up into a bun, your heels clicking against the paved sidewalk.

But as luck would have it, you were gone in the blink of an eye, leaving him standing in the middle of the street with no name and no way to find you again.

He shook of the feeling of emptiness that had suddenly carved a hole in his chest and continued walking, cursing under his breath as he realized that he might be late for his job.

Who is she...?

~*~*~*~*~

“Minho-shi,” the secretary said, clicking her tongue disapprovingly as he walked in, “you really should try to be on time a little more.”

Minho sighed, smiling as he shook his head. “I am the CEO, you know.”

“But you should try to set a better example for your employees,” she replied. But both she and Minho both knew that he would change nothing, and she would reprimand him again tomorrow.

He shrugged. “I try.”

“Try harder.” She smiled at him. “We have a new employee coming in today. You'll probably need to show her around... I wonder why she isn't here yet.”

As if on cue, the door opened, and you walked in as quickly as you could. “Mianhae, I got lost on the way here...” you said, bowing in apology.

Minho walked up to you and bowed. “Annyeonghaseyo, I'm Lee Minho, the CEO.” He held out his hand and you took it, shaking once briefly.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” you said, smiling at him and introducing yourself. “I hope that we can work well together.”

“Me too.”

And he really did mean it.

~*~*~*~*~

“So you'll probably be working here,” he said, walking around the office while you followed him. “Since you're just starting out, you'll probably be handling some basic tasks, but your resume seems very impressive, so you'll probably be promoted soon.”

Minho spoke calmly, but inside, he was fighting very, very hard to remain calm and not flip out on you right then and there. His heart pounded, and whatever sort of perfume you wore was incredibly intoxicating—so much to the point where he intentionally tried to walk faster to create more space between the two of you so that he could keep his head clear.

“Do you have any questions?” he asked, once he had finished his impromptu tour of sorts.

You bit your lip, thinking for a moment, before speaking. “Where do you work, sajangnim? Or is that too personal of a question to ask?”

“Please, just call me 'Minho-shi,' nobody calls me sajangnim around here,” he said. “And I work on the top floor.”

“Oh, alright then, Minho-shi,” you said, smiling, and Minho felt like his heard exploded for a second—your smile was breathtaking.

He shook his head slightly, trying to clear it, while also trying to make it look like a nod. “So I'll leave you to your work, then. If you need anything, I'm Extension One on the phone on your desk.”

“Alright. Thank you!”

The two of you bowed to each other, and he took his leave, striding to the elevator with hurried steps.

Once he had stepped inside, he allowed himself to let out a long sigh, and he ran a hand through his hair.

It's her again, he thought, taking deep breaths to try and slow down his heart.

Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would see you again, and especially not where he worked.

Maybe this is a sign that we were meant to be?

~*~*~*~*~

Over the next few weeks that you worked at the company, you and Minho grew closer. It began with you bringing him coffee occasionally, then escalated into short chats, which then grew into full conversations, and eventually became a strong friendship.

But Minho couldn't help but find himself wanting more.

He wanted you, and not just as a friend.

“Can I talk with you for a moment?”

You turned around, giving him a slightly odd look. “Um... sure, what did you want, Minho-shi?”

He took a deep breath, and swallowed awkwardly before he finally spoke. “Would you... like to have dinner with me?”

To his surprise, you beamed. “Sure, I'd love to.”

Score one for Lee Minho.

“Um... Minho-shi? What are you doing...?”

“Um.” He froze. “I am doing anything except a victory dance. Yeah.”

You laughed. “You're surprisingly funny, Minho-shi. Let me get my stuff, then we can go.”

~*~*~*~*~

Minho decided on going for a safe bet—Western food, since he wasn't sure what kind of food you liked to eat.

“Is this alright?” he asked, once the two of you had been seated.

“A little too late to ask that,” you chuckled. “But yes, I'm fine with it.”

“Good.” He smiled, and he noticed that redness started to creep up your cheeks, and you looked away awkwardly.

“So...” you said. “I don't really know a whole lot about you personally, how about we play a little game?”

He raised an eyebrow. “What kind of game?”

“Well, not really a game. We'll just ask each other random questions, does that sound okay with you?” You tilted your head to the side a little, eyes widening in a cute way.

Minho nodded. “You go first.”

“Hm...” You thought for a moment, resting your hand on your chin. “What was your favorite toy when you were a child?”

That was an easy one. “My stuffed bear. I still have it, actually... hopefully that doesn't destroy any sort of manly image that you had of me.”

You laughed. “To be honest, I didn't really have much of an image of you, period... but thanks for destroying it.”

“Hey, that's not nice!”

~*~*~*~*~

The rest of the date went pretty well in Minho's opinion. He found that you had only come to Korea recently and hadn't been able to look around, so he decided that he would definitely take you out to sightsee...

...that is, if he got a second date.

“Well, that was nice,” you said, as the two of you walked out together.

Minho's hand reached out towards yours unconsciously, but he drew it back in, unsure if he was overstepping his boundaries.

You noticed though, and took his hand, smiling at him, and he could feel his heart skip a beat.

“You could have just said something.”

“I... uh...” He coughed, trying to alleviate the awkwardness.

“It's alright,” you said, swinging your hands a bit. “Probably just nerves.”

He shrugged. “If that's how you want to put it.”

“Walk me to the bus stop?”

“Alright.”

~*~*~*~*~

Once you had boarded the bus, Minho walked around for a bit, bored. He didn't really have anything to do—most nights he just spent by himself or working.

Suddenly, his phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the caller ID, 'Jung Ilwoo' flashing on the screen.

“Yobosayo?”

“Yah! Minho, wanna go grab some drinks?”

“Sure. Where at?”

“The usual spot, y'know?”

“Alright, I'm near there now. I'll see you in about 10 minutes.”

Minho hung up the phone and spun around, making his way to the bar that he usually went to. Maybe it would do him some good to relax a bit. Besides, he wanted to know what Ilwoo thought about his new possible relationship—as the old saying goes, 'bros before hoes.'

Hopefully, though, you weren't a 'ho.'

~*~*~*~*~

“Minho! I haven't seen you in ages,” Ilwoo said rising from his seat to greet Minho. “C'mon, I ordered you a beer.”

“Thanks,” he replied, picking up the bottle and taking a small mouthful. “How've you been?”

“Alright.” Ilwoo shrugged. “You?”

“Nothing much,” Minho replied, trying to keep his tone even.

Ilwoo smirked at him. “A-ha! I knew it! You have something you wanna get out, now spill.”

“Shut up,” Minho grumbled. “How did you know?”

“You at lying.”

“Oh. Well... there's this new girl at work.”

“She hot?”

Minho rolled his eyes. “Why are you even asking that question?”

“It never hurts to ask. Where's she from?”

“America.”

“Korean?”

“No.”

“Hm.” Ilwoo's tone immediately fell, and he pursed his lips.

Oh, . “What's wrong?”

“Aren't foreign girls, like, es or something?”

Minho nearly slapped him. “Are you serious?”

Ilwoo just shrugged. “That's what the movies say. Besides, you could do a lot better. Like Park Min Young, she's really pretty. Didn't you tell me she liked you once?”

“Thanks for the drink.”

Minho downed the last off the beer and placed the empty bottle on the table before getting up from his seat and leaving, not wanting to spend another second with Ilwoo.

He sighed as he pushed open the door to the bar and walked outside, the air cold against his skin.

He definitely hadn't expected that kind of reaction. Was it really so bad to like someone who wasn't a native Korean?

No, he decided. I don't care.

~*~*~*~*~

“Good morning, Minho-shi!” you said as you walked to your desk.

“Morning,” he replied. “Are you going somewhere for lunch today?”

You shook your head. “No... why?”

“Do you mind eating with me? I mean, you don't have to, but...”

“I don't mind. I'd love to.”

Minho smiled. “Alright. I'll call your line at 12.”

He waved before turning to the elevator, pressing the topmost button.

Hopefully, things would go well.

~*~*~*~*~

“Minho-shi, you called?”

He stopped twirling his pen and dropped it on top of his desk, rising from his seat and walking towards you. “Hi.”

“Hi,” you replied. “So... what exactly did you want?”

“Would you be my girlfriend?”

The two of you were silent for a few moments, before he finally spoke again. “.”

“Um...”

“I didn't mean for it to be like that! It was supposed to be more romantic. And not awkward. And... um...”

“I'll be your girlfriend, Minho-shi. Or should I call you 'oppa' now?” you teased.

His cheeks reddened slightly and he scratched the back of his neck. “If you want to.”

“Alright then... Minho-oppa, I would be glad to be your girlfriend.”

You stood on your tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, and he could feel the spot where you'd kissed him tingling slightly from your touch.

And he knew at that moment that he definitely wouldn't have had it any other way.

You were his beautiful stranger, after all.

Well, no longer a stranger. But still beautiful.

...and this, my friends, is why i usually don't write romance stories.

tbh i feel like i could have done better with this one. but my brain just did not want to write this for some reason omfg i had this great storyline and all that but it didn't want to come to liiiiife. BLEH.