(Recap in italics)

"And to mark our new friendship, allow me to treat you to another coffee," she said pleasantly, slapping the money down onto the table.  The girls looked down at it, then at her, unsure of whether they should feel afraid or thankful.

"Thank you for the coffee, unnie," the first one said carefully.

"Yes, you're too generous, unnie," the other added, picking up the money cautiously.

"It's nothing," Caden said graciously. "Enjoy ladies!"  As she turned to make her way back to Daeho, she noticed that Jung Su was staring over at her with an expression of awe.  She grinned.

"Bye again, Jung Su ssi," she called politely, waving. "I'll be going first!"  Her words seemed to break him out of his stupor.  She watched as a wide smile broke across his face - the first full, genuine smile she had ever seen him wear.

"Come back anytime," he called sincerely, still grinning.  Caden turned, nodding once more to the girls, and made her way over to Daeho, who was grinning broadly.

"Nicely handled," he said quietly, allowing her to walk past him before following her out the door.

"I try," Caden said matter-of-factly, without looking back.

She continued to strut down the street as the door shut firmly behind them, with Daeho following closely.

"Man, I can't think of a better way for you to have dealt with those girls," he said cheerfully, hurrying to walk beside her  once again, as she slowed her pace to normal walking speed. "And you should have seen Jung Su's face when you were talking to them!  You've officially won him over.  It's no wonder - that was a total Soonbok move right there.  Although, admittedly, you were much nicer about it then she would have been..."  Caden laughed at this.

"I wasn't trying to make a big production out of it," she said teasingly, amused by all of his praise. "I just can't stop myself sometimes when it comes to common courtesy.  I really wasn't trying to punish them - more like shake some sense into them..."  She laughed at herself a little, shaking her head.  Daeho grinned, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Trust me," he said, ruffling her hair obnoxiously, "they deserved worse than you gave them.  But it was better that you handled it that way.  If you hadn't, I might have gone off on them - I was getting close to losing it."  Caden batted his hand away, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

"Filling your role as knight-in-shining-armor by riding in to save my honor just in time," she teased, taming the rat's nest he'd made of her hair.

"I don't do it to be manly," he said, smiling down at her sincerely. "It's like you said - I don't like when people aren't nice to my friends.  Sometimes I take my frustration too far."  Caden gave him a sideways glance, trying to gauge how serious he was being.  He continued to smile down at her warmly.

"Quit being so weird," she ordered after a moment, shoving his face away roughly and laughing.  He chuckled, moving out of her reach while tossing her hand away.

"So are you enjoying the tour so far?" he asked brightly, switching back to English now that they were out of the company of non-English speakers. "I know we haven't been able to see too many places so far..."

"That's because I like your choices so much that we're forced to linger too long," she replied, grinning. "You're nice enough not to rush me away from all the fun stuff.  I hate pushy tour guides."  Daeho laughed outloud at that.

"I'm glad my tour guiding skills are up to your standards," he joked. "Although, since it's later than I expected, I'll have to cut a few stops out of today's tour.  But there's one more place I want to show you - unfortunately that means another long walk.  You don't mind, do you?"

"I can't say no to free exercise," Caden responded cheerfully.  

They continued to walk in companionable silence, breaking it every so often to comment on a site they passed, or ask each other simple getting-to-know-you questions that they hadn't yet thought to ask.  Caden found out that, although an only child, Daeho had throngs of cousins - most of whom he was close to, and she revealed that she had throngs of cousins, along with her sisters, most of whom she was close to as well.  Daeho listed his favorite foods for her (one whole list for Korean food and one for everything else).  She told him about the sports she'd played growing up and her favorite bands (including 2NE1, but deciding to leave Big Bang off the list, just to be safe).

She was enjoying their simple conversation so much that she didn't notice over half an hour had passed by the time they neared their destination.

"We're nearly there," Daeho told her, looking over their surroundings.

"What are we checking out this time?" she asked curiously, glancing around as well.  They seemed to have moved out of the business district slightly, so the shops they passed were smaller, and the people walking around seemed like they probably lived in the area, as opposed to working there.

"Why would I tell you when we're nearly there?" Daeho teased. "So impatient..."

"Hey... shut it, pal," Caden shot back, feigning indignation.  Daeho seemed to ignore this, looking every which way, trying to spot something.

"Ah good, we're on the right path," he said, grinning over at her mischievously.

"The right path to wha-" Caden started to ask, but Daeho completely ignored her, grabbing her wrist firmly.

"Come on," he said excitedly, taking off at a jog.  Now, a jog for someone with Daeho's long legs turned out to be a full out run for Caden's short little ones.  She tried to complain, but she was too busy panting with the effort of keeping pace.

Just when she thought that her lungs were about to explode ( she made a mental note to add a little cardio to her daily routine) they came to a sudden stop. Caden immediately hunched over, trying to catch her breath.

"Jeez, what are you?  Geriatric?" Daeho demanded. "How can you be this winded from a little jog?"

"I...you...just...shut...can't," she gasped.  Daeho rolled his eyes, sighing overdramatically, but he waited for her to recover herself somewhat.

"How do you even know the word 'geriatric'?" Caden asked finally, squinting up at him with one eye.  Daeho could hold back a grin at this.

"You'd be surprised by the variety of topics my English vocabulary encompasses," he replied jokingly.  Then he poked her firmly in the shoulder a few times.

"Don't try to change the subject," he accused. "Why did that minimal movement nearly kill you?"  Caden rolled her eyes, finally straightening.

"You surprised me," she replied matter-of-factly, smoothing her now wrinkled shirt. "I'm not a runner.  I need to be mentally prepared for that type of speed."

"Yeah, alright you old woman," he shot back sarcastically.  Then he grinned, "Well, the reason I made you run is so you wouldn't see where I was taking you until we got here, so I at least know that worked."

"Huh?" Caden responded, glancing around.  She found that they were now on a walking path, seperate from the shops and businesses they were passing before, that was lined completely with pretty green trees.

"Wow," she said in surprise, gazing down the path. "It's pretty!"

"Yeah, it's a really nice spot," Daeho confirmed, grinning.  They began walking leisurely down the path.  Caden continued looking around wildly.

"This place feels so familiar," she murmured, almost to herself.

"Oh, have you been here already?" he asked with the slightest hint of disappointment in his voice.  Caden made a face.

"That's the thing," she said, looking back at him with a quirked smile. "I defintely haven't been here yet.  Strange..."

"Well that's good news for me," he replied, grinning. "This was the one place that I made sure we'd have enough time to visit."  He too began taking in the sights.

"It's better in the fall, when the leaves change color, or in the spring when the cherry blossoms are in bloom," he added, somewhat apologetically, "but it's a pretty nice spot to walk around all year long.  This is one of the places that anyone who shows you around the city will take you at some point, so I wanted to be the first."  He shot a glance at Caden, who was still looking around.

"I can't have anyone out doing my tour guide skills, after all," he added hastily, grinning cheekily.  Caden grinned back.  Then her expression changed as she made a realization.

"Cherry blossoms!" she cried, startling Daeho with her sudden outburst.  She laughed at herself, and at his reaction before continuing.

"I finally figured out why this place seems so familiar," she announced, grinning triumphantly. "This place makes an appearance in every K drama ever made!  Okay, that might be a bit of an overstatement... but I've definitely seem it in a few shows."  Daeho laughed at her reaction, looking around appraisingly.

"So that's the case," he said cheerfully. "That would explain the unusual amount of couples that always seem to be walking around this area..."  Suddenly he fixed her with a strange look,

"Wait.  Does that mean you're one of those girls who sits around all night watching ridiculous dramas?"  Caden grinned.

"A guiltly pleasure that I refuse to feel guilty about," she confirmed.  Daeho groaned in protest, but she just ignored him, continuing,

"What?  As if there's anything on tv -anywhere in the world - that's so much better?  All you have to do is understand that the show is going to be ridiculous and over the top from the start, then it'll almost always be awesome."

"I guess," he responded, trying to sound disapproving, but ruining it by grinning. "So does it live up to the high recommendation of being featured in every Korean drama ever made?"

"It's even prettier in person," Caden replied, laughing at his teasing.

They fell back into a comfortable silence as they continued walking.  It was late afternoon now, and the countless trees cast long shadows along the walkway.

"We seem to be getting quite a bit of attention here," Daeho mused after a few minutes.  Caden looked up at him quizzically, but he simply nodded toward a couple who was walking past.  She glanced over her shoulder to see the couple staring over their own shoulders at the two of them before the woman leaned over to whisper something to her boyfriend.

'Okay...' Caden thought, turning back just in time to see a middle aged man doing almost the same thing as he passed.  He was followed closely by a gaggle of teenage girls who were buzzing like a swarm of angry bees, shooting multiple glances at the pair as they walked by.  'Did I leave my fly down or something?' Caden thought, looking herself over just to be sure.  She was used to getting a little bit of attention (purely for being the 'odd man out', as it were), but right now she was simply baffled.  Especially since she couldn't make out whether all this attention was positive or not.

"I wonder if they think we're a couple..." Daeho pondered aloud.  Caden looked over at him curiously, but he was still gazing straight ahead with an expression of contemplative amusement.

"I wouldn't mind if that's what they're thinking," he added plainly, still looking ahead. "It can only help my image to snag a pretty girlfriend."  Caden couldn't help but smile up at him.  If any other person besides Daeho were to say this, she would be sure there was an underlying meaning to these words, but there was an unusual sincerity to his personality that made her believe otherwise.  It had popped out at the most random intervals of their day, always managing to take her by surprise.

"Are you this frank with everyone, or only when you're talking to Westerners?" she queried, smiling up at him fondly.  This caught his attention and he finally turned his gaze on her with a look of surprise.

"Everyone," he answered immediately, clearly unsure of what she was getting at.

"That's what I thought," she replied rather victoriously, almost to herself.  Daeho raised a questioning eyebrow, but didn't inquire further.  They walked in silence a while, until Caden noticed that he was still looking at her, apparently waiting for some kind of explaination.

"Oh," she said finally, in response to his expectant look. "I just..."  She d for the right words to describe her feelings at the moment.  Unable to come up with something satisfactory, she settled on, "I'm just really glad we became friends."  Daeho's expression immediately turned distrustful.

"Do you want something?" he demanded suspiciously. "Why are you acting so nice all of a sudden?"

"What??" Caden shot back, pretending to be incensed. "I try to compliment you and this is the reaction I get?"

"Yes," Daeho responded plainly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Because giving people warm-hearted compliments out of nowhere is weird."  She gave him a playful shove.

"Don't call me weird!" she ordered, trying not to laugh. "Fine!  See if I ever feel like complimenting you again!"

"Good," he said approvingly. "And if, for some reason, you do get the urge again - just repress it, for it is an unwanted and unnatural desire."  He nodded at her solemnly, to which she only rolled her eyes.

"But I thought we were acting like a couple," she teased. "A normal boyfriend would appreciate - no, encourage - compliments."

"And a 'normal' girlfriend would be all girly and giggly and pretend to be shy," he retorted, "so we clearly don't fit-"

"Oppa, stop being such a meany," she interrupted in the girliest, most whiny K drama antagonist voice that she could muster, switching to Korean for effect. Daeho gave her a look of horror akin to witnessing her unexpectedly grow a second head right before his very eyes.

"That was terrifying... Never do that again!" he ordered, still in English, sounding legitimately fearful.

"What?" she asked innocently. "Isn't that how normal girlfriends act?"

"That's exactly why you should NEVER do it...  Considering you're neither normal, nor a girlfriend," he said, ignoring her protests before continuing. "Besides, where did that impression come from?  You have been watching way to many dramas if you think people really talk like that."

"Um, excuse me," Caden retorted pointedly. "If I recall correctly, I just had an incident with two girls who very likely talk exactly like that."  He deflated slightly at this, thinking desperately for a comeback.

"Well that's even more reason not to act like that, isn't it?" he responded finally.  Caden rolled her eyes.

"But I thought you wanted people to think we were a couple," she countered teasingly, with a mischievous grin. "I'm just trying to help maintain the illusion."

"I never said I wanted-" he started to say, but Caden interrupted.

"Oppa!  Quit being such a spoil sport," she whined once again, switching back to Korean.  She nuzzled up to his arm. "Why don't you play around with me like you used to?"

"Oh my god, get away!" Daeho ordered, still in English - determined not to encourage her behavior.  He removed his arm from her grip, moving away quickly.

"Oppa!" she whined, grasping at him.

"Stop it!" he cried, evading her reach.  She tried to grab at him again, nearly catching him, but Daeho slip fluidly out of her grip.

"Get off!" he finally yelled in Korean before taking off running.

"Oppa, come back!" Caden called out, trying to keep up with the whiny tone, but she was laughing too hard to manage.

"Stop calling me that!" Daeho shouted over his shoulder.  She dashed after him, still laughing hysterically.

If they were getting attention before, it was nothing compared to the looks they were getting now.  It didn't seem to matter though - they were both having too much fun to care.

"What did I say about running?" Caden gasped out in English after a while.

"Why do you think I did it?" Daeho called over his shoulder snidely.

"I promise...no more...stop...now...please," she wheezed, slowing to a stop.  Daeho obliged, walking over to pat her on the back comfortingly while she, once again, gasped for air.  She looked up at him, attempting to glare, but she just ended up laughing, which started him laughing as well, until they were both crying in amusement.

"Ugh, my sides are in stitches," she complained once they finally calmed down.

"That's what you get for starting it," Daeho retorted, wiping the tears from his eyes.  They ignored the stares they were still getting from passersby as they finally continued making their way down the path.

"Man, I really needed that," Caden announced, stretching out her arms with a smile.

"What?" Daeho asked, looking over at her in amusement.

"That.  A release.  A little time to act crazy and silly in public with someone else," she explained. "The past month, since I moved here, has been an interesting and enjoyable learning experience for me and, while I think I'm one of the luckiest people in the world to have landed this job, and my students are fantastic, I haven't had a chance yet to just... cut loose."

"Why is that?" he asked amiably.  Caden looked thoughtful for a moment before replying.

"Well," she said slowly. "Until now I've been too busy to explore the city or make friends.  Plus, like I said, I was living with my sunbae and, while I loved her, it's hard having to be polite and stand on ceremony even in your own home, you know?  Having you for a tour guide couldn't have turned out better - I finally made a friend who I can act ridiculous with."

"Ah, so I'm someone to come to for laughs and funny faces when you need to escape the serious?" he asked quietly, still looking ahead with a small smile. "If you were the queen, would that make me your court jester?"

If there was any hint of displeasure in that statement, Caden appeared not to notice it.  Her smile never faltered as she continued to gaze down the walkway before her.

"No, that's not it," she said plainly. "I enjoy talking seriously with you just as much.  You're just the first person I've met in Korea who I can show both sides of my personality to without worrying."  Daeho hid a satisfied smile as they kept walking.

Eventually they wandered off the walkway and back onto the normal sidewalk, passing several shops before turning down a wide alley, cutting through to the next street over.

"I finally planned two stops that were relatively close together," he said grinning, after they'd walked a few blocks.  

They came to a part of the street that was much busier than the rest of the areas they'd visited so far that day.  The road was crowded with food carts and stands, along with the occasional tent.  The sun was just beginning to set, casting an orange haze that mixed with the blue.  All of the traffic seemed to be pedestrians only - everyone seemed eager to find a place to eat.

"Don't tell me..." Caden began.

"Dinner time!" Daeho shouted, confirming her suspicion.

"How can you be hungry again?" she demanded, laughing at his enthusiasm. "We ate that huge lunch just a few hours ago!"

"Exactly!  Hours ago," Daeho pointed out, grinning down at her. "The last time I checked, it was pretty normal to eat three meals a day with a few hours in between.  Unless I'm missing something..."

"But we didn't do anything all day except eat and drink coffee," she laughed, shaking her head.

"Untrue," he pointed out matter-of-factly. "We also walked the length of a marathon getting to all of our stops."

"I guess that's true..." she allowed slowly.

"Plus all that running we did," he added pointedly. "I don't know about you, but that sure made me work up an appetite."  Caden grinned, trying not to roll her eyes, but finally conceding.

"Fine, you win," she said. "It's dinner time."

"It's not really about winning," Daeho replied humbly before breaking into a grin. "The real question is: are you hungry?"

"I could eat," Caden responded with a wide grin of her own.

"There you have it," he confirmed. "Let's eat."

Caden followed Daeho as he bounced from food cart to food cart, trying to decide what foods she needed to taste.  They ended up having a little of everything, following a leisurely, zig zag path down the road.  They chatted amiably with each other and with their fellow diners whenever they loitered around a particular stand for a substantial period of time.  The food, of course, was all delicious - some Caden had already experienced previously, but many she was trying for the first time.

"That's it," she announced finally. "If I have another bite of anything, I'm going to explode all over the pavement."

"We can't have that," said Daeho from beside her, attempting to tease, but he too seemed quite stuffed. "I don't think the chefs would like it if you exploded near their food."  When neither of them made any attempt at moving, he finally looked around, sighing.

"It appears that this was our last stop for the day," he said, smiling slightly. "The sun has officially set."  Caden glanced over at him in surprise before looking around.  As he said, darkness seemed to have fallen without her knowledge while they were enjoying their dinner.  Many of the food stands had strings of lights that glittered up and down the street.

"Wow, the end really snuck up on me," she replied teasingly, looking back at Daeho.  Suddenly the thought of parting ways and regressing into the normal new friendship routine seemed strange.  Despite knowing each other for only about half a day (a realization that seemed crazy to her) she felt that he had shown her many sides of himself over those several hours.  This made her feel like they knew one another a little better than most after said amount of time.

"Well... I know a good guide isn't supposed to keep their tourists out too late, but there was one more spot I was hoping to show you at some point.  You could see it if you came out drinking with me tonight.  What do you say?"

Caden was sorely tempted by the chance to continue their tour, but as she thought back to her expectations before she met up with Daeho (she hadn't originally even expected to stay out this long), she wasn't so sure.  Plus, no matter how well they got along, she tended to make it a personal rule not to go out drinking with guys she'd just met (purely a common sense precaution), and even though she trusted Daeho, she wasn't sure what kind of message it would send.

"Um..." she started to say apologetically, but Daeho cut her off.

"No, I guess that wouldn't be the best idea," he mused, smiling down at her. "I don't want to come off as the creeper who was just trying to get on your good side until I could get you drunk."  Caden laughed outloud at this, appreciating his ability to read her mind.

"How about this," he continued, chuckling slightly. "I'm going out to meet my friends at the bar we frequent.  Why don't you come to one of our English club meetings this coming week so that you can meet them, and if you decide that we're all nice, respectable people, you can join us on another weekend?"

"You were going out to meet your English club friends?" Caden asked, grinning.

"Yes, of course.  What?  Did you think I was going to trick you into going to some backalley mafia bar with just me?  Just how creepy do you think I am?" he teased, causing her to laugh.

"I think your plan sounds perfect," she answered, smiling. "When are you English club meetings."

"Let's just exchange numbers and we can figure it all out later," he said, glancing at his watch. "For now you're probably anxious to get home, and I have to hurry to meet my friends."

"Sounds fair," Caden grinned.  They quickly exchanged numbers before Daeho started them walking once again.

"How are you getting home?" he inquired.

"Since it's dark, I'll probably just take a taxi," she responded comfortably.

"Sounds good," he replied. "I'll walk you."  They walked a couple blocks, cutting over to a street that was fairly heavy with vehicles.  Caden waved down a cab before turning quickly to Daeho.

"Thanks for everything," she said brightly. "Today was wonderful and fun - the best tour I could have asked for."

"No problem," he replied smoothly, grinning. "You made it easy to keep you entertained."  She laughed at this, casting a nervous look over her shoulder at the cab driver, who seemed to be getting slightly impatient.  She turned back and quickly flung her arms around Daeho in a polite hug.

"It was so nice meeting you," she said happily. "Let's stay friends, okay?"  Daeho, who seemed slightly surprised by this action, quickly recovered, hugging her back.

"If you insist," he responded teasingly.  She let go, quickly swatting him with a grin before hopping into the taxi.

"I'll call you in a few days," he promised, smiling as he closed her door. "English club, don't forget!"

They both waved wildly until Caden drove out of sight.

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A/N

Here it is!  I promised an update within a week, and I dang near delivered :P  I would have had this chapter up late last night, but I ended up working late and I was so tired by the time I got around to finishing it that the quality would have been lacking in favor of on time posting.  So sorry.

Anyway, this was the last chapter (for a while) without any appearances by our Big Bang boys.  They will be making a strong comeback in the next chapter, so please look forward to that. :)

As for Daeho, I felt that I needed to give him a strong first impression (as in these last three chapters) since he will be an important recurring character. :D  I feel like he and Caden are kind of kindred spirits, which is why they got along so well so quickly.

So, I hope you're all still liking it and that you're excited for the return of our main characters. :D  I hope to keep up with this weekly posting, if not sooner.

I love to read comments and see subscriptions, so please feel free - no, encouraged - to do both :P