I paced back and forth along the length of the hall, glowering and swinging my head, as tense as a cornered wolf. I glanced in the direction of Ji Hyo's room, wondering if the actress was ready. The sight of the closed door greeted me, so I turned away and continued my nervous pacing.

After talking to Ji Hyo and at her encouragement, I had sent a text message to my father, reaching out to tell him that I was in town. It was an old number and I had no idea if it was even still in use. But to my surprise, he had replied and asked if he could meet me for dinner. I had answered that I had a friend with me and he had extended his invitation to Ji Hyo as well. He had made a reservation at a swanky restaurant back in Melbourne. Seeing that all Ji Hyo and I had with us were casual attire, more suitable for the Australian summer; we had spent the day in Melbourne, shopping for clothes before heading back in the late afternoon to freshen up and get ready.

Ceasing my nervous pacing, I walked over to the large window overlooking the forest and stared out into the woods. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself, fiddling with the collar buttons on my white dress shirt. I felt warm in them. Or maybe it was just my nerves acting up, sending blood coursing through my system.

I heard the door to Ji Hyo's room opening, followed by her dull footsteps on the polished wooden floorboards as she padded along the corridor towards me. I caught the actress's scent before I felt her soft touch. Reaching up, she rubbed my shoulders, kneading the tense muscles there and I immediately felt myself relaxing under her tender administrations. “Relax. It's going to be ok. I'll be with you. Arraso?” She murmured from behind me, before bringing her hands to down to my waist and pulling me in for a back hug, comforting me. “You smell nice.” She breathed against my ear.

Studying her reflection in the glass, I noted the small smile playing on her lips. Gently removing her hands, I turned around to face her. “Are you somehow insinuating that I stink otherwise?” I asked in jest, watching as she appraised my appearance, her eyes scanning me from head to toe.

“You clean up nicely.” She purred, complimenting me after taking in my appearance.

I blushed slightly. I didn't ordinarily care much about my appearance, but tonight, my usually messy, shaggy brown hair was immaculately coiffed. I had carefully arranged my fringe, sweeping it up and away from my forehead. I debated internally on whether or not I should reveal to the actress, that I had spent the best part of an hour trying to tame my unruly mop and decided against it. 

Ji Hyo herself was looking beautiful, appearing effortlessly chic in her newly purchased black satin blouse, and a pair of dark skinny jeans which showed off her slender legs. She had her red hair done up in a loose bun, with a few stray strands framing her face. My eyes ran down her face, following the path of the tiny mole under her left ear, down to the second one on the left side of her bare neck. I imagined what it would be like to kiss them. My eyes traced their way down to her black satin blouse, with see-through sleeves and collar, through which I could see her toned arms and the outline of her collar bones from behind the sheer material. It was enough to fuel my imagination as I followed the trail of the thin material till it stopped at her chest.

Shaking my head, I took a step back, away from her and bumped into the glass window. Ji Hyo grinned, seemingly amused by my reaction. She stepped forward and smiling coyly, took my hands in hers. Holding them, she buttoned my unrestrained shirt cuffs, which were hanging down over my thumbs from beneath the sleeves of an ed sports jacket and folded them over the jacket.

Blushing, I thanked her. Pointing with my head to the direction of the front door, we headed out together, hand in hand.

About an hour later, we found ourselves back in Melbourne. After parking the car at the basement of the Rialto, we took the lift up to the 55th floor, to the restaurant, Vue de Monde. Entering the restaurant, the maître d’ approached us. “Good evening ladies! And welcome to Vue de Monde. Can I help you two at all?” She greeted cheerfully, a bright smile on her red cheeks. 

“Hi. We have a reservation. I believe it's under the name, Murtagh.” I answered.

“Ah yes, Miss Murtagh I presume?”

I nodded to show that I was and her smile widened. “Mr Murtagh called earlier. He said he'd be running slightly late, but to expect you and your guest. If you would follow me, I'll bring you to your table.” She instructed, and we followed after her as she brought us to a table by the window.

From where we were seated, we had a great view of the city centre and the inner city suburb of Southbank, with the Yarra river cutting across it. Vue de Monde is a fixture on Melbourne's fine dining scene. Using the freshest Australian produce in his degustation menus, Chef Shannon Bennett, serves up modern Australian cuisine with a French twist in the iconic Rialto, 55 stories above the city.

We admired the scenery in silence for a few minutes before Ji Hyo turned to me. “Judging from the way the hostess spoke earlier, she seems to know your father pretty well.” She commented. “Does he frequent this place?” She asked after a beat. Giving the actress a small smile, I nod once. “Wow. Doesn't seem like the sort of place one comes to on a regular basis.” She observed quietly, talking more to herself than to me while looking around the restaurant.

Glancing at the actress from where she was seated beside me, I saw a curious shine in her eyes, and knew that the wheels in her head were turning. That she was wondering, pondering how my father could afford to frequent a place like this, but she was too polite to ask. Or, I cringed, that she remembered a time, not so long ago, when I had snap