Eun Mi stared at the man beside her. She couldn’t see his face, not with the black mask hiding it, but she could tell he was smiling. His eyes crinkled, one of them becoming smaller than the other. His eyes had what she’d learned was called aegyo fat or aegyeo-sal. It made his eyes seem warmer, kinder.

“Have…have we met before?” Eun Mi asked. She was taken aback by the situation, but in her mind his eyes resonated with familiarity.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, it’s just that you look familiar to me. Well, your eyes do.” She raised her finger and tapped the corner of her own eye to emphasize the point.

“My eyes?”

Just as the question left his lips, their eyes met. The brief eye contact filled Eun Mi with a blazing heat; a knot formed in her stomach, her heart skipped a beat. Her shoulders gave that surprised jolt that they always did when she realized she’d done something wrong and she looked away.

She rubbed her aching neck, wishing she hadn’t turned so quickly.

“Did you sleep well?” He asked as he drew his legs up, resting his elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands together.

“Pardon?”

His eye smile appeared again. “Did you sleep well?”

Eun Mi blinked. “I…I…”

“You don’t remember? Well, let me tell you, you were snoring. And you drooled all over my jacket.”

Heat ambushed Eun Mi’s cheeks. “Oh my goodness! I am so sorry!” She wiped at the corners of , then fussed with her hair.

Taewoon chuckled. Her mannerisms were cute, innocent even. But just as quickly as he found her adorable, he found her stupid.

“You shouldn’t sleep in open spaces. Did you spend the entire night out here? Next time, when you run away from home, go to a sauna.”

Eun Mi slipped her rosary beads over her head before covering her face with her hand. She was embarrassed. Her cheeks burned, her hair was a mess, and he had said that she’d drooled all over his arm.

“I didn’t run away. Sometimes, when I can’t sleep I came here. I hadn’t seen Mami Lupita in a long time, so I came to clean and pray.”

Taewoon turned to look at her. “Who?”

“Mami Lupita,” she repeated, lowering her hand a bit and signaling to the sculpture before them. “Our Lady of Guadalupe. She’s the Patroness of the Americas. You’ve never heard of her before?”

“I can’t say I have. I mean, I knew she was Mary, but I didn’t know how to address her in this form. Where did she appear like this?”

Eun Mi’s eyes brightened. She forgot all about her windblown hair, her embarrassment, and the nonexistent traces of drool over and his sleeve. She began the tale, relating the wonder of the Marian apparition in Mexico City back in the 13^th Century. She told it with such fervor that Taewoon had no room to question her devout heart or her nationality.

“So, you’re from Mexico?” he asked after she had relayed even the scientific facts that supported the miraculous encounter.

“Close! I’m originally from America, but my mother was Mexican and my father was born in the States but lived in Mexico until he met my mom. I lived in Mexico City with my aunt for a few years before coming here.”

She spoke with animated tones, gesticulating her words here and there. Taewoon had fun just watching her speak. He also noted that she had no problem looking him in the eye after her initial embarrassment. He could see the strength and confidence in her chocolate eyes.

“You shouldn’t tell just anyone your life story. There are some real creeps out there.” Taewoon pulled his mask higher up his nose.

Eun Mi looked at him for a moment before shrugging. She settled back against the marble base. She was lost in thought for a while, twirling the rosary beads between her fingers, her eyes looking straight ahead.

“I don’t think you’re a bad person,” she said eventually. “You have kind eyes.”

Taewoon didn’t know what to make of that statement.

“Eun Mi!”

Eun Mi turned in the direction of Su Jong’s voice.  She saw him walking quickly, his colorful hair hidden under a cap, his head shielded by his jacket’s hoodie, and a mask on his face.

Taewoon stood, offering her his hand. She took it; it was so much bigger than hers. They both noted the difference in their heights: an entire foot.

“Hey,” Su Jong nudged her lightly on the shoulder. “What are you doing? Manager Jo is looking for you like crazy! How long have you been here?”

Eun Mi took Su Jong’s hand in hers, turning it over so she could check on the time. “About an hour or two. It hasn’t been long.”

“Seriously,” Su Jong took his hand back, “do you think you can get away with this just because you’re a favorite? Everyone is worried sick every time you do this.” He gave her head a few taps in scolding.

She pushed his arm away, raising her own fist as if she would retaliate with a punch of her own, inhaling sharply between her teeth. Su Jong flinched.

Taewoon laughed. He was really starting to like this girl, Eun Mi.

“Stop being fussy and say hello.”

“Good morning!” Su Jong instantly bowed to Taewoon. “Thank you for taking care of my friend.”

“Hey! Who said he was taking care of me?”

“Since Sister Redemption isn’t around and he is, isn’t it a given that he babysat you?”

Eun Mi smacked his arm, her words flowing out in a stream of beautiful Spanish. Taewoon watched and listened, amazed.

“Stop being mean and take off your hoodie.”

Su Jong cross his arms over his chest as he took a dramatic step back. “We’re in a church!”

Eun Mi smacked his arm again. “You shouldn’t make those kinds of jokes because we are in a church. Let me borrow it, please?”

Shrugging, his eyes squinting in a cute eye smile, Su Jong did as she asked. He looked from Eun Mi to Taewoon.

“Hyung-nim, it was a pleasure meeting you,” Su Jong bowed again.

“Eh? Oh, um, yes. It was a pleasure meeting you, too,” Taewoon returned the bow.

“I’ll be waiting in the car.” Su Jong said. He bowed to Taewoon again and disappeared the same way he had come.

“Is he an idol?” Taewoon asked. Only idols went out as covered up as Su Jong and himself.

“Yes.”

Taewoon had asked the question not really believing that Su Jong was a celebrity. Eun Mi’s casual assertion left him at a loss for words.

“Um, I’m sorry about drooling on your sleeve.” She offered him Su Jong’s hoodie. “Su Jong is around the same size as you; I’ll take your jacket and wash it.”

Taewoon stared at her. “Oh, no, you don’t have to—”

“Please? I didn’t mean to and, well, you didn’t have to let me sleep on your arm. I’ve been told I can’t hold my head when I sleep… Please, I promise I won’t damage it.”

The sincerity in her eyes made something melt within him. He felt sorry for having . He also didn’t know how to tell her that she hadn’t really snored or drooled.

Taewoon didn’t really want to lie to her. He also really wanted to see her again. Slowly, he ped his jacket and handed it to her.

The way her face lit up made him blush beneath his mask. Her smile pushed her cheeks up, forcing her eyes to become cute crescents. Her nose also scrunched up slightly with the action.

“I’ll be sure to bring it back clean! It was a pleasure meeting you, please get home safely!” She bowed to him and waved as she walked away.

“Wait!”

“If I don’t see you again, I’ll leave it with Sister Redemption! You can leave Jongie’s with her. Bye bye!”

Before he could say anything else, she was gone. Taewoon was left standing there with his arm outstretched, a hoodie slightly small on him, and a whole lot of questions left unasked.

“She could have at least asked me my name.”

Eun Mi crashed into the back seat of the white car Su Jong had arrived in. Tae Jun sat on the driver’s seat, his fingers tapping the steering wheel in a methodical rhythm Eun Mi knew all too well.

“Oppa.”

“Don’t you ‘oppa’ me, Song Eun Mi.”

Eun Mi winced. She settled in her seat, her seatbelt secured tightly around her. She was grateful that Su Jong had volunteered to go get her. If Tae Jun had found her sitting out there with a complete stranger, no mask on, and carefree, she would have had a long lecture to look forward to.

It wasn’t that Eun Mi was careless, nor was it that she believed something bad wouldn’t happen to her—it already had—, she simply had not wanted to make an occurrence that felt sweet become one to be weary of.

Her insomnia had returned with a vengeance the night before. She’d spent countless hours walking around in her room before she’d decided to pay Mami Lupita a visit at St. Cecilia’s. She had just intended to pray a rosary, but sleep had assaulted her.

She hadn’t been fully asleep, not really. If her head had no kind of support, her neck lolled this way and that, preventing her from having any rest. It wasn’t until that young man had lent her his arm that she had really slept at all.

Eun Mi smiled. He had such nice eyes. They were big, gleaming, warm, and kind. Eun Mi loved his eyes the moment she’d seen them. They’d remained kind and warm as she spoke endlessly about Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Carefully, she folded his jacket, placing it on her lap with her hands on it. She felt mortified at the thought of having drooled! But now, at least, she could hold on to the experience a bit longer.

Eun Mi had wanted to ask his name, but asking his name would bring complications. He was a celebrity as well. Eun Mi could tell from how he carried himself, the aura surrounding him, his mask.

She had not pointed it out how his voice seemed familiar as well. His eyes coupled with his voice struck a chord somewhere in her memory. She could not quite place them. Still, Eun Mi was sure that she had met him somewhere before.

Eun Mi, however, did not want to find out who he was. As much as she had wanted to ask him for his name, she knew that things would become warped, twisted the moment that he told her. So she had not asked.

Sighing, she placed her head against the window. She felt her eyelids becoming heavy, felt her body becoming lead. She wished herself back at St. Cecilia’s prayer garden just as sleep swallowed her.