(Recap in italics)

She glanced back to find that, rather than the scenery, Daeho seemed to have been gazing at her.  Rather than appearing embarrassed or guilty that she had 'caught' him, he simply smiled brightly.

"Enjoying the sights of Seoul?" he asked sincerly.  Caden smiled back comfortably, finally turning back to face him.

"It's a very pretty spot," she affirmed.

"Well I've got a lot more sights where that came from," he said enthusiastically. "Ready to get started?"

"Lead the way," Caden said, smiling broadly.

They began walking out of the park and back into the city.

"By the way," Caden began casually, "the girl I contacted on the phone yesterday - Mi Kyong ssi - wasn't she supposed to come with you also?"

"Why?  Am I not a good enough guide?" Daeho teased.

"Of course not," Caden laughed. "I was just curious."

"Yes, originally the two of us were going to come together," he affirmed brightly. "She told me to apologize for her absence - she didn't want you to see her as a flaky person.  I can personally attest to the fact that Mi Kyong is very busy: she double majors in Government and Business, while simultaneously acting as the vice president of our club - the English club, treasurer of the Finance club, and president of the Model UN club."

"Wow," Caden replied, slightly taken aback, as they continued to walk leisurely down the street. "That's one capable girl..."

"Yeah," he agreed, sounding slightly less impressed than Caden, but not at all unfriendly.

"She's pretty much the genius/master organizer of our group.  I have immense respect for her, and she's pretty fun to hang out with during her minimal free time, but she's a little 'take no prisoners' for my taste," he concluded, flashing Caden a sly smile.  She snickered slightly at this - although she had never heard the phrase 'take no prisoners' before, she definitely got the gist.

"So where exactly are you taking me right now, anyway?" she asked curiously when she realized that they had been walking for about 15 minutes and she still had no idea where they were going.

"It's a surprise," he said teasingly, continuing to look straight ahead.  Caden arched an eyebrow at him, trying to gauge whether he was being serious or not.  Daeho snuck a glance at her, bursting out laughing at the sight of her judgement look.

"I'm just kidding," he assured her. "I'm actually pretty surprised that you followed me all this way without asking that before.  You must have a lot of trust in me as your guide!"

"Sure, something like that," Caden responded sarcastically, which only made him laugh again.

"Alright," he said finally, in response to her question, "I hope you haven't eaten lunch yet, because I'm starving, so the the first sight of the day is going to be... the inside of a restaurant!"  Caden laughed at this, only slightly surprised by his frankness - she wasn't used to hearing these kind of pronouncements from Japanese or Korean people.

"That's fine with me," she proclaimed, smiling. "I'm pretty hungry too."

"Perfect.  I'll be sure to bring you to a good spot," he promised as they continued down the road.

Five minutes and several blocks later, Daeho came to a stop in front of a small, inconspicuous looking restaurant.

"After you," he said gallantly, holding open the door and bowing her in.  Caden obliged, grinning in amusement.

"I thought that 'ladies first' was a western custom," she teased softly once inside, aware of the several other customers who were eating quietly.

"A western custom for a Western girl," Daeho boomed, causing several fellow diners to look over at them in alarm.  Caden resisted the urge to slap her palm to her forehead, settling for simply shaking her head good-naturedly.

Hearing the sudden commotion from the front, the elderly owner popped his head up from behind the counter.  Seeing Caden first, his expression turned rather sour.

"I'm sorry, we don't speak English here," the man barked in a gruff voice - his words in polite Korean, but his tone rather grumpy.  Feeling slightly affronted despite herself, Caden opened to reply, but before she got the chance Daeho slipped fluidly past her, effectively blocking her from the man's beady little gaze.

"Manager nim!" Daeho called out cheerfully, almost equally as loudly as his original outburst.  The man pursed his lips, apparently just as unhappy to see him as he had been to see Caden.

"Daeho, you ill-mannered boy," the man barked. "Coming in to bother me on your day off - can't I get a moment's peace from you?"

"As always, I missed your kind-hearted and friendly demeanor too much to stay away," Daeho responded brightly, loud enough to cause several nearby customers to titter quietly.  Caden herself had to work to hide her grin.  The shop owner only snorted, resuming his work behind the counter.  Daeho turned back to Caden, still grinning broadly.

"Why don't you pick out a table and I'll take care of the orders," he said, indicating the shop owner meaningfully.  Caden opened to reply - unsure of whether she should argue or simply offer support, but before she had a chance to do either, Daeho began to shoo her away toward a the many vacant tables.  She obliged, picking out a small table near the wall, slightly away from the few other customers.

Satisfied that she wasn't going to somehow sneak  back over, Daeho turned and made his way over to the counter.  Caden watched as he bantered good-naturedly with the shop owner once more, before making his way over to her with a triumphant grin.

"I hope you like Korean food," he said, sitting down in the chair across from her. "Have you gotten a chance to eat at a Korean restaurant since you moved here?"

"I have," Caden replied brightly. "My friend took me a couple of times to Songjukheon."

"Songjukheon?" Daeho repeated in disbelief. "Wow, your friend must be loaded, taking you to such a fancy restaurant just for Korean food..."  Caden hid a smile at his frankness again.

"Well, don't expect anything like that here," he continued, smiling. "This is the authentic Korean food - it's not as pretty, but it still tastes better - cheaper too.  At least I think so."  He flashed her cheeky grin, as if to recognize that his opinion wasn't the only one - even if it was right.  Caden grinned.

"Well if that's the case, I'm excited to try it!  I just hope it lives up to your high praise..." she teased.  Daeho only grinned back, clearly comfortable in his confidence.

All of a sudden, the clatter of glasses caught Caden's attention and she looked up to see the owner approaching with a tray of drinks.  He set a drink in front of each of them rather abruptly before turning on Daeho with a sour expression.

"I don't know when you became so important that I should serve you," he barked gruffly. "What do I pay you for it you don't even deliver the food to the tables?"

"I can't speak for Daeho ssi, but I appreciate your effort, at least," Caden piped up politely, with just a hint of teasing.  The man turned his attention on her, sizing her up under his stony faced gazed.  Then he turned back to Daeho.

"She speaks Korean better than you," he barked, tilting his head to indicate Caden. "Maybe I should hire her to deal with customers in your place."

"Manager!" Daeho complained as Caden bit her lip to keep from laughing.  The man just shook his head, making his way back into the kitchen.

"Ah, really - giving my position away so easily," Daeho called after his retreating back. "You should know that I'm an irreplaceable asset to this shop!"  The man only snorted before disappearing behind the curtain.

"Ah, really..." Daeho said again, shaking his head.

"He seems kind of funny," Caden chuckled, giving up on covering her laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, he's a real riot," he responded sarcastically, which caused Caden to giggle even harder.  Daeho only sighed.

All of a sudden, he looked up at her in alarm,

"I can't believe it!  I just realized that we've been speaking Korean this whole time!"

"Yeah, I guess we have," Caden responded, still chuckling, far less amazed by this fact than her companion apparently was.

"But you speak it so well!" Daeho cried, astounded.

"Well, yeah..." Caden replied, still unsure how this could surprise him so much. "I live here and I teach English to Korean speakers after all..."

"But, well, then," Daeho proclaimed, getting rather tongue tied.  He paused to consider his statement before finally saying, "why did you call the English club for a guide if you already speak Korean?"  Finally Caden understood his confusion.

"Oh that..." she began. "I didn't really think about it like that... See, before I moved here last month, I taught English in Japan for two years.  I still wasn't fluent in Japanese at the beginning and someone suggested that I contact the local college English club, since they're often happy to show tourists around and get a chance to practice English.  I also got the opportunity to travel quite a bit during my vacations, and I found that most everywhere I went offered the same sort of set up.  Plus, having a college student as a guide is much more fun than a typical tour guide.  They're usually closer to my age and far more interactive - like you," she finished with a grin.  Daeho smiled back, apparently accepting her explanation.

"I still can't believe all this time passed without me realizing though," he said laughingly. "Like you said, it's supposed to be a chance to practice my English...  You introduced yourself so easily that it seemed natural to speak Korean to you.  Even though..."

"Even though we made a big deal about my being a foreigner?" she teased.  Then she switched to English, "We can speak English if you want.  You probably need the practice more than I do..."  Daeho laughed in amusement.

"Ah, no, we'd better not in here," he said, still in Korean. "That old miser doesn't like foreign languages in here.  No matter what we say, if we say it in English, he's going to think we're talking about him."

"Talking bad about me to the girl?" came a gruff voice as the owner approached with their food.  Daeho shot Caden a 'see what I mean?' look from behind his back, forcing her to hold in laughter once more.  The man set Caden's food in front of her carefully before all but dropping Daeho's in front of him.  Then he turned to Caden once more.

"So tell me," he began in a manner that could nearly be described as pleasant (for him), speaking in the least grumpy tone she had heard yet, "what did this mannerless oaf do to convince you to spend time with him?  Do you owe him money?  Or maybe it was some kind of bet..."  Daeho rolled his eyes, sighing loudly at this, but the owner completely ignored him.

"No, nothing like that," Caden replied brightly, trying her best to keep from laughing. "He's actually my tour guide for the day.  I haven't really gotten a chance to know the city since I moved here last month, so I decided to employ a little help."  The owner Daeho, tone grumpy as ever.

"Only lived here a month and she's a better Korean than you," he mused before he returned his attention to Caden, sounding civil once more.

"Where's he taken you, then?" he asked.

"Oh, this is our first stop of the day-" Caden began, when the man his employee once again,

"Five minutes and you already had to stop for food.  Lazy, useless boy...  This is what I'm always talking about -"

Daeho seemed to have given up on defending himself for the moment, instead simply gazing at Caden with an expression of amused resignation, as if to say 'now you understand what I deal with'.  Between the two of them and their constant back and forth, Caden was having the hardest time not laughing.

"- I really don't know why I keep you around," the owner concluded, turing back to Caden. "I'd be much better off with you in his place.  For all the work he does, all I'd have to do is stand you outside looking pretty.  Fill this place up with hormonal college boys.  How 'bout it?  I pay well and I'm sure it would be less work than whatever you're doing now..."

"Still trying to give my job away?" Daeho demanded before she could answer, apparently unable to contain himself. "What about all the college girls I attract, huh?"  The owner just gazed down at him ironically,

"What girls are you talking about exactly?"

Caden couldn't hold in a giggle at that.  The owner gave her a look of approval.

"Well, think about it," he said finally. "I could always use the extra business."

"I'll keep it in mind if I'm ever out of a job," Caden said pleasantly, biting her lip to keep from laughing.  The owner nodded approvingly, finally turning to make his way back to the kitchen.

"You better be careful about what you agree to with him," Daeho warned once the man was out of earshot. "You may be joking, but he'll really use you for advertising if you let him.  It would probably work too - the guys from my school are well known for their willingness to make fools of themselves when it comes to pretty girls."

"And does that mean you fall under that catagory as well?" Caden teased.  She saw a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Well I've managed pretty well in front of you, so I guess that makes me the exception," he replied, grinning cheekily.  She couldn't help but laugh at this.  There was that frankness.

"How old are you, anyway?" she asked, suddenly curious when she realized she didn't know.

"I was born in 1992," Daeho replied cheerfully. "I turned 22 this year - Korean age."  This was a typical 'getting to know you' question for Koreans (being so class-minded), so he wasn't surprised by it at all.

"Really?" she responded, somewhat surprised. "I thought you were closer to my age."

"Is that so?  How old are you?" he asked curiously.

"Twenty..." she paused, doing some mental calculating in her head, add a year, plus her birthday hadn't yet passed, "25?  So I guess I'm only three years older... But you'd only just be old enough to drink in America this year. Maybe that's why it feels more drastic," she mused.

"That's still much younger than I originally expected you to be," Daeho pointed out, grinning. "You're very young to be a teacher."

"I'm only young to be a real teacher," Caden replied brightly. "In Japan I was just a foreigner teacher - you don't need as much training."

"Aren't you still a foreigner teacher here as well?" he teased.

"Oh... oh yeah, that's right," she replied bashfully, with a weak smile.  There was such a world of difference in the amount of responsibility and independance that she was given in her current teaching position, as opposed to the public school teaching program she had joined which had initially sent her to Japan.  Honestly, she was pretty surprised that President YG had found her to be totally qualified for the position - a Korean candidate with her resume would never had been hired.  She knew that her proficiency in Japanese (and likely her foreigner status) are what ultimately clinched her the job.  If she had joined one of the programs as a foreigner teaching public school in Korea - which is where most foreigners in the country seemed to work - she would be having a very different experience with teaching than she was currently.

"Three years older..." he said thoughtfully, successfully drawing her out of her reverie and back into their conversation. "That makes you my noona."  Then he grinned, noticing that she had yet to begin eating,

"Is our conversation so enthralling that you forgot your hunger?"

Caden looked down at her uneaten plate in surprise.

"Oh!  I completely forgot!" she declared, picking up her silverware. "I guess that really was the case."

"Then I'm extremely flattered," Daeho teased. "Although I bet once you're tried it, that probably won't happen again."  Caden laughingly obliged, taking her first bite.  Daeho watched expectantly.  As soon as the food hit her taste buds, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh my god, it's delicious," she breathed, unable to contain herself.

"I thought you might say that," Daeho announced, grin widening as he watched her eat.

"I can't believe there aren't more people here when the food is this amazing," she exclaimed from behind her napkin (having made a slight mess of her face in her hurry to consume the amazing food).

"There usually are," Daeho confirmed, grinning. "I've brought you here on an off day - being in the business district, this place gets most of its crowds during the week.  If this was a weekday, there would be a line out the door for a table.  Mostly students, but also a fair number of office workers.  I work the lunch and dinner rushes five days a week, after classes in the morning."

"That sounds busy," Caden said, impressed. "How is it - working here?"

"You mean how is working for him?" Daeho asked pointedly.  Caden only smiled and didn't respond.

"It's not so bad," he sighed. "Although he's just as demanding as you might think.  It's not like he's tough on the outside with a warm, gooey soul within.  He's a grumpy old bachelor who stereotypically dislikes young people and change.  And yet he owns a restaurant that caters mostly to college students.  Why?  I think he likes the idea of taking their money.  Plus this way he gets a chance to harass them all as a unit.  The only reason we bother to put up with him is because the food is so good... Seriously, where else are we going to be able to find Korean food that's better than our grandmothers used to make?"

Caden had dissolved into a fit of laughter over the course of this speech.

"That is a good reason to put up with someone," she joked, catching her breath. "Although, I'm kind of young and different, and he's pretty nice to me..."

"Of course.  He's always nicer to the girls," Daeho pronounced dismissively. "Stodgy old ert...  For the rest of us, the abuse is pretty constant.  Especially me."  Caden only laughed at this, busy munching away on her food.

"But as you can see, I'd gladly take a little abuse if I get to eat the food," he continued, grinning broadly before taking a big bite.

"I understand," she said, sighing contentedly.  Daeho laughed at this.

"I'm glad I brought you here, then," he told her, smiling. "It's not a usual tour stop for me, but you struck me as the type who would appreciate a local's tour of Seoul, rather than a tourist's."

"Then I struck right!" Caden enthused. "I'd much rather see the local's version of the city - especially since I'm a local now.  So does this mean you're going to show me all the secret spots and student hang-outs for the rest of the day?"

"Definitely," he affirmed. "Between me and my friends, we've found pretty much all the best spots in the city - poor college students always find the best places to go that also don't make us go broke."

"That sounds perfect," Caden said happily.  She took one last bite of her food before setting her chopsticks down with a melancholy look.

"You are delicious, food, but I have to stop eating you now before I explode," she told her plate sadly.  Daeho, who had just taken a bite, snorted with laughter, nearly choking.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be one of those dainty girls with the bird-like appetites," he teased, once he had recovered himself. "I have to say, you just lost a little respect in my book, not finishing a meal this delicious."

"What are you talking about??" Caden demanded, incensed. "My serving was huge - bigger than my head!  And I finished over three-fourths of it!  Not all of us can be growing boys with garbage disposals for stomachs."  Daeho just shook his head disapprovingly, but Caden could tell that he was trying not to smile.

"Tsk, I don't know..." he said, feigning pity. "It simply doesn't do to waste it..."

"Fine, you eat it then!" she challenged teasingly.  His face didn't change.  He simply sighed.

"Very well," he said, picking up her plate. "I'll do my best."  Then he grinned,

"I might just have to turn on my garbage disposal."

Caden laughed at his ridiculousness as she watched him scoop the remainder of her food onto his plate.  They chatted casually as he finished up.  Daeho leaned back in his chair, sighing luxuriously.

"Now that was satisfying," he announced, patting his stomach. "That should last me a good two, maybe three hours."

"More like a good two or three days," Caden teased.

"Garbage disposals much be fed constantly," he pointed out, grinning.  Caden rolled her eyes, grinning back,

"Oh, I see.  So that's going to be a thing with you now, huh?"

"Pretty much," Daeho teased.  He streched before finally standing. "Ready to go?  We've got lots more to see and all afternoon to do it."

"In that case, we'd better get on it," Caden agreed, following suit.

As they left their table and made their way to the door, the owner appeared behind the counter once more.

"Can't deliver the food and now you leave me with your mess to clean up," the man called out to Daeho, causing several customers to look around apprehensively. "What do I need you around for if I'm the one who does your job in the end?"

"Ah, true, true," Daeho responded, "but now that I'm all rested up from a weekend off, I'll be twice as productive for the lunch rush on Monday when you're busy doing nothing.  So I leave it up to you this time, Manager, with my thanks!"

"Thank you for taking care of us," Caden piped up quickly, before anyone had a chance to react, hoping to prevent further bickering as much as possible. "The food was delicious!"

"A girl of fine taste," the owner said approvingly.  Caden heard Daeho snort at this.  She only smiled broadly, keeping her gaze focused on the owner.

"Come back anytime," he continued, "and I'll make sure you're taken care of.  And there's no need to bring that mannerless boy with you either - I see enough of his face as it is - I'll look after you and make sure you get my best effort."

"Thanks so much!  I'll be sure to take you up on that," Caden promised, trying hard not to laugh.

"That's enough, you old ert.  No need to sweet talk every girl that likes your food and speaks politely," Daeho chimed in, grabbing Caden gently by the shoulders and steering her out the door.

"What??" the owner cried, incensed. "How dare you say such rude things to me.  And in front of customers.  I should have you fired!"

"No need, Manager nim.  See you on Monday," Daeho called over his shoulder as he walked out the door, still ushering Caden forward by the shoulders.  She couldn't see around his tall frame, but she vaguely heard the owner snort indignantly.

"Just don't be late," they heard him bark as the door closed behind them.  Unable to control herself any longer, Caden burst out laughing.

"The interactions between you guys are so ridiculous," she gasped through her laughter. "Completely over the top..."  Daeho chuckled, leaning against the building, waiting for her to calm down.

"Why is it that you seem to be constantly holding back laughter during our conversations with him, while for me it's more like holding back tears?" he pointed out when she finally stopped laughing.  This made her chuckle once more.

"I'm not really sure," she replied cheerfully, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. "It doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"No, it really doesn't," he responded brightly, stepping away from the wall. "And now that you've recovered yourself - ready to continue our tour?  I have a few good stops in mind."

"By all means," she grinned.  Smiling back, Daeho turned and began making his way leisurely down the street, with Caden following closely behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N

Woot!  We're going to get to spend the day with Caden and her new friend Daeho. :D  I thought I'd stop here for now, otherwise I'd end up typing forever. :P

Again, as a character, Daeho amuses me and makes me happy.  I see him and Caden getting along really well.  The picture is close to what I imagine for his face, but the hair is wrong. :P  I think it might be someone famous, since all the other pictures on the webpage were of famous boys, but I don't know who it is... My YG family bias is showing - how embarrassing. :P

Don't worry, the boys will be back soon.  We'll have a nice, big YG family reunion in a few chapters :P

I hope you're all liking it still. :D  And to all my subscribers - I hope you got a chance to admire my pretty new story poster, made by --mistletoe of Simplicity designs :D  I, personally, think it's super awesome and cute. :)

Next update in a few days.

Remember, comments = karma, subscriptions = love, and love = all you need (according to the Beatles :P)