Ryeowook kept his gaze down for a moment, then met mine slowly. "I think...for your protection, we should attend the festival together."

I stared at him with surprised eyes.

"I know you have to talk to Heechul...but every other time you're not...I want to make sure you're safe." He looked down, acting very shy all of a sudden.

I could feel my heart beating hard and my face burning up. "...alright." I smiled softly.

He looked back up. "Really?"

"Yeah." I shrugged one shoulder. "That sounds great."

He let out a small breath. "Okay. Good."

We were both quiet for several seconds. I glanced toward the saloon as a small cheer sounded from one of the open windows.

"Will you still go to the saloon?" He asked.

I looked at the saloon for a moment longer, then turned back to him and shook my head. "To be honest, it's not my most favorite place in the town."

He chuckled a little. "I noticed. You don't drink, so it's not that much fun for you."

"I guess I'll go home." I shrugged again.

"...it's still a little early." He said quietly. "We could take a walk or something."

"Oh. Okay." I smiled again.

It was a good evening to take a walk. The air was on the cooler side and the sky was lined with some thin clouds with the moon peaking in between them. We passed by Kangin as he was finishing locking up his fruit cart. My gaze lingered on him as he literally kissed each piece of fruit and tucked them in a small basket. His behavior was still odd to me but I was just glad he wasn't giving me the stink eye.

"So is there some dress code for the festival?" I looked at Ryeowook.

"Just dress formally. There will be a lot of dancing, eating, and drinking."

"But shouldn't we dress informally so we don't get our clothes dirty?" I chuckled.

"It sounds like a good idea, but it's a bit of an image thing."

"Oh that makes sense." I nodded.

We walked in silence for a while until we came up to the front door of my apartment. We both noticed it but didn't say anything. We just stopped in front of my door and stood in place.

"...I can't believe it's been almost a week already." I said quietly.

"...have you had a lot of fun?" Ryeowook asked.

"Yeah I have." I smiled. "When I first came into this town, I didn't know what to expect. But for the most part I'm glad I chose to live here."

"You still like it even though you were forced in a situation you didn't choose to be in?"

"...that is a thorn in my side, I'm not gonna lie. But once it's over...I'll be very relieved."

"Me too." He nodded.

"...well, it's late." I glanced behind me. "I should probably get some rest."

"That's a good idea. The festival starts a bit early tomorrow. 9 AM."

"Oh, thanks." I chuckled.

He said nothing. I said nothing.

"...can I try something?" He asked.

I swallowed a little. "Sure."

He took several steps forward and raised his hands toward my face. He pulled off my glasses and studied my face. "You shouldn't wear glasses tomorrow."

I blinked. "Why not?"

"You look better without them."

I smiled softly. "Fine. But you shouldn't either. I think you would look better without yours."

"Really? Can you check?"

I nodded and pulled off his glasses gently. His eyes seemed to be bigger without the thick black rims of his glasses. The shape of his face seemed to get better as a whole.

My face burned a little more. "Yeah. Don't wear your glasses."

He nodded softly. "Okay. I won't."

We held each other’s glasses in more silence. We were standing very close, the distance between our faces much shorter than a few seconds ago. I could see very clearly into his eyes. They were a lovely shade of dark brown.

“Do you know how to dance?” He asked a bit suddenly.

“Oh, uh..I do, but I don’t dance often.” I admitted.

“I said there will be a lot of dancing, so I should show you how to dance properly.” He held out his hand.

I grinned and took it. We got into a traditional ballroom dance position and started to sway. The only music we had was the crickets in the bushes nearby and a soft breeze in the summer night. He moved very rhythmically but carefully, making sure I was following him well. I don’t normally ballroom dance, but with him it was very relaxing. His left hand held mine securely and his other hand lay softly on my waist. Our faces were even closer. We didn’t say anything. We simply enjoyed the moment. I became very relaxed in the swaying and slowly lowered my head.

“Are you tired?” He almost whispered.

I slowly met his eyes. “A little.”

I felt his hand holding my waist raise up and gently push the back of my head down. I rested the side of my face on his shoulder, making me smile and my heart jump. We continued to move in a small circle for almost three minutes. The lights surrounding us started to get dim and fade away, the candles melting away in their glass containers. I was content to fall asleep like that until he slowly came to a stop. I didn’t move. I didn’t want the moment to end.

“Jill.”

I shifted a little and slowly lifted my head. It was harder to see his eyes in the dimmer light surrounding us. He leaned in a little. My gaze lowered and my eyes closed as his lips gently touched mine. My shoulders rose very slightly as a quick breath rushed into my lungs. Then he pulled away slightly. I let out that small breath and chuckled softly, raising my hand to rest it gently on his shoulder. He immediately moved back in for another kiss, this one lasting much longer. I felt his hands move around my back and my feet were forced to move closer. My other hand soon rested on his other shoulder. His head tilted a little to the side and he opened his mouth a little more, making me melt a little and move my hands closer together around his shoulders. We kissed for over a minute until we both pulled away, our breaths deep and quick. I couldn’t see his face anymore because all the candles had gone out.

Neither of us spoke for several seconds.

“I should be kissed by someone who truly cares about me, right?” I smiled a little, almost caught up on my breathing.

I heard his soft chuckle. “Right.”

“I’m glad it’s you.” I said quietly.

I was met with another tender kiss, taking me by surprise. “Honestly, when you asked me if you could work for me, I thought I was gonna die.”

“Why?”

“Because ever since you came to our town, I immediately thought you were really pretty.”

I blushed and chuckled. “Really? To me it seemed like you didn’t like me that much…you seemed a bit awkward.”

“…I’m sorry. I usually act like that.”

“It’s okay. I tend to act awkward around people I like too.”

“Then you’re a good actor. I didn’t notice.” Even though I couldn’t see it, I could hear the grin in his voice.

“I get that a lot.” I grinned too.

I saw the shadow of his head turned to the right. “It’s really late. We should get some rest.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Big day tomorrow.”

He looked back at me. “Sleep well.”

“You too. I’ll lock my door and check my entire room before sleeping too.” I chuckled.

I felt his hand touch the rim of my cheekbone and felt his lips against mine one last time. I leaned into his kiss a little and couldn’t help but smile.

When he pulled away, I slowly reached for the knob of my door and opened it. “Goodnight.” I waved at him.

He smoothed out some of my hair. “See you tomorrow.”

Once he left and I was alone in my apartment, I collapsed onto my bed and just stared at the ceiling, unable to hide the -eating grin on my face.