A thin ray of the bright Parisian sun hits Sooyoung’s face as she rolls around in bed. She quickly shields her hurting eyes under the cover of her silken sheets when the alarm clock on her bedside table suddenly shrieks making her sit up straight in annoyance.

“Alright, alright I’m up,” she says to no one in particular.

She makes her way into the bathroom to have a quick shower. She was never one for quick showers but her boss called her for a favor yesterday so she had to wake up three hours earlier than she normally did. She hurriedly dresses herself and makes her way out of her apartment.

“Bonjour Mademoiselle Sooyoung!” greets the doorman. In the two years that she has lived in this particular apartment within the winding streets of Paris, the old doorman has never failed to greet her whenever he was the one who manned the front desk.

“Bonjour Albert, how are your kids doing?” answered Sooyoung.

“Oh they’re fine Mademoiselle. I see your up earlier than you usually are, is there something special going on?”

“No, nothing special. My boss just asked me for a favor, that’s all.”

“Then I shan’t keep you here any longer. Passez une bonne journée, Mademoiselle.”

“Thank you Albert, may you have a nice day as well.”

Sooyoung looks at the watch on her wrist and sees that she has quite a few more minutes to spare before she’s expected at work so she decides to go and have a quick breakfast first at her favorite café, The Polar Panda Coffee Shop.

Polar Panda Coffee Shop is owned by one of the most unconventional pairings Sooyoung has ever met, Rei and Clara. Rei is a Filipino who moved to Paris when he was a kid fifteen years ago. He wears his long black hair in a neat ponytail and always keeps his beard only slightly shaven. He also likes piercings. He has a total of nine piercings that Sooyoung knows of, five on his right ear, and four on his left. Sooyoung isn’t sure if he has piercings on other parts of his body as well. His right arm is also covered in tattoos, they seem to be telling some sort of story but Sooyoung has yet to ask him about it.

Clara on the other hand is a pure-blooded French girl. She has blonde hair that goes just above her shoulders and wears thick-framed glasses that emphasizes her blue eyes. She would be most often seen wearing light colored dress shirts as opposed to Rei who always wore black t-shirts. And if one we’re to look for the word cute in a dictionary, they would probably find her picture as the definition given. She’s as bubbly as Rei is solemn. It’s like the two of them are yin and yang.

Sooyoung once asked Clara how the two of them became friends. Clara said that they met through a mutual friend and that they just had too much in common not to become friends. Sooyoung was confused because she thought that she had never seen two people more different from each other. She wanted to ask what their similarities were but never got to since Clara was always busy minding the other customers of her café.

As soon as Sooyoung enters the building her nose is immediately welcomed by the strong aroma of coffee and freshly baked bread and pastries. The café has a cozy feel to it, which somehow hides the fact that it isn’t an average café. On the eastern side of the café is what the regulars call “Le Petit Zoo.” Like its name says, it’s a little zoo inside the café. Though the only animals inside are cats, bunnies and little dogs. On the walls some of Rei’s paintings are hanged along with some photographs Clara has taken. Even in their art, Rei and Clara’s differences can be seen. Where Clara’s photograph depict realism, Rei paintings showed surrealism. Yet like the two people, the works of art manage to blend perfectly within the walls of the café.

Sooyoung quickly makes her way to the cashier, this time manned by Rei, and makes her usual order of three croissants and a large cup of cappuccino with an extra shot of expresso with half and half.

“Bonjour Soo. You’re early today,” says Rei as he punches in Sooyoung’s order.

“Yeah, my boss asked me for a favor and I couldn’t refuse since he said he’d give me a bonus if I say yes,” answered Sooyoung dryly.

“Well, at least he’s compensating.”

“Yeah, well he can’t compensate for me waking up three hours earlier than when I usually wake up. I need my beauty sleep, you know? Can’t be this pretty without any maintenance.”

Rei chuckles at Sooyoung’s narcissistic remark and hands her the food she ordered.

“Cheer up Soo. Frowning doesn’t suit you. Here, eat up and have a nice day.”

“Merci Rei. Say hi to Clare for me.”

“Sure thing.”

As Sooyoung makes her way to her usual spot she notices that someone is already sitting where she was headed. Already filling annoyed with her waking up early, she decides to tell the person to sit somewhere else. Just as she was about to open to reprimand the woman sitting on her favorite seat, the said woman faces her, as if hearing her loud steps.

Sooyoung’s mind then went blank. In front of her was undeniably the most beautiful person she has ever seen in her twenty-four years of existence. Her skin was akin to the most precious of pearls. Her long silky brown hair was tied in a lose ponytail. She was wearing a white wool sweater and tight denim jeans. Her almond-shaped, hazel colored eyes were looking onto Sooyoung’s with a hint of interest. Sooyoung saw her lips, her perfect pink lips, move as if saying something. It took Sooyoung a few more seconds to realize the woman was talking to her.

“-you okay? Mademoiselle? Miss? Excuse me?” the angelic woman said to her.

“W-what?” Sooyoung replied. She groaned inwardly. Good going Sooyoung, you must look really stupid right now.

“I said if you were okay. I noticed you were kind of eyeing this particular table.”

“O-oh yeah, I usually sit there. But I don’t usually go this early so I guess that’s why I’ve never really seen you before.”

“Well, in that case, why don’t we just share? This table has to seats anyway. And besides, it’s nice to have company.”

“S-sure. Why not?”

Sooyoung nervously places her tray on the table and the woman notices this. She giggles slightly at Sooyoung’s obvious discomfort and decides to tease the woman a little.

“Why are your hands shaking? I don’t bite. Much.”

“N-no! It’s just that, you’rereallyprettyandiwasdistractedididn’twhattodoandnowyouaskedmetositwithyousoyeah,” Sooyoung said rather quickly.

The woman’s eyes widened at Sooyoung’s sudden outburst and felt a bit of heat rush up her cheeks.

“Well, I’ve never heard that kind of pick up line before. I can’t say that I don’t like it though.”

“Pick up line?! No! I was just- That was- I mean,” Sooyoung stutters. She just sighs and says. “I’m sorry, I’m usually not like this. Mind if we start again?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Well, my name is Sooyoung. Nice to meet you…?”

“Yoona. Call me Yoona.”