“Aish! What a boring day,” Daesung said to himself, “not a single customer has come in all day, and why am I talking to myself?” He muttered quietly as he dusted the shelves of books, trying to keep busy. Suddenly, the quiet was disturbed by the jingle of bells from the door. Daesung walked up front to greet the customer and froze in his tracks.

     There he was again, Youngbae. This man that had been coming in three to four times a week for a couple months now, sometimes with questions, sometimes making a small purchase.  Even still, he made Dae nervous, butterflies and everything.  After taking a calming breath Daesung greeted him. “Annyeonghaseyo,” Daesung greeted.  “How may I help you today?”

     ‘I’m not really sure’ was the man’s reply as he turned and looked at the cookbooks on the display next to him.

     “Okay, well, I’ll just be over here,” said Daesung as he walked to stand behind the counter.  Daesung took the opportunity to give the man a once over. He was half a head shorter than Dae, but that was made up for by other endearing assets. The smooth angular planes of his face and his small eyes could give the most unnerving of come-hither stares or become completely lost in the cutest crescents when his face lit up from a smile or laughter.  His mohawk hairstyle was on the longer side and recently bleached blond. Hmmm, I really like the new color, makes his skin look even darker than its usual tan.  Today, there was also little left to the imagination regarding his fitness, as he wore a tight fitting tank with his low rise jeans.  He had a slim but athletic build, like a swimmer would have, well suited to his smaller frame.  

     Lost in thought, Daesung couldn’t help but imagine what those arms would feel like wrapped around him. He didn’t notice Youngbae come up to him and start talking. “Hello, um Hello? Are you okay?” He heard him ask.

     “Oh yes, I’m sorry, zoned out a bit I guess.  What can I help with?”

     “Well, um, actually, I, uh, well …” The young man stuttered, his cheeks and ears turning pink. He gulped and tried again. “I was hoping I could take you out for some coffee, maybe even dinner and a movie? That is, if you want, no biggie if you don’t.”  He said, mostly to the floor.

     “I’d be honored,” replied Daesung, smiling.  “My shift ends in an hour, if you are free this evening?”

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

     “Wow!” Came the loud exclamation, followed by panting and catching of his breath. Youngbae ran the few blocks home, partially out of excitement and partially out of the need to release the built up nervous energy plaguing him. 

     He had been trying to build up the nerve to ask out the angelic, smiley bookseller for months, acting like a total creeper in the process. “I’m shocked he didn’t tell me to get lost, with the way I have been acting,” He muttered to himself, and then proceeded to go down the hall to his bedroom. He needed to change since a tank top probably wasn’t proper date attire. Thirty minutes, six shirt changes, and a hopefully reasonable attempt at BB cream and guyliner later, Youngbae decided he was as ready as he was going to be. Taking a deep breath, he walked back out his door to meet Daesung at the coffee shop they agreed upon.

     It was a nice spring day and only a walk of about five