His alarm blared loudly in the other room, but Seunghyun didn’t need it, because he’d never gone to bed the night before. He thought about going to shut it off, but if he didn’t finish priming the leather of the pair he’d been working on, it wouldn’t come out just the way he liked. Seunghyun wasn’t a perfectionist for nothing.

After a while, his brain just tuned out the incessant beeping sound as his fingers continued to apply primer into each and every curve and corner. Once he felt he’d applied enough coats that were perfectly even, he stepped back to look at his work.

The pair of shoes he’d been working on for nearly thirty-six hours were complete and they’d come out almost exactly like how he’d pictured them. The leather was black, but Seunghyun had added flakes and strips of colored paint along the sides. They were pretty close to what he had desired.

He stretched his arms up and over his head, then massaged his fingers in hopes of making the feeling return to them. He’d been working too hard and deserved a well needed nap. He entered his bedroom, switched off the alarm, and dropped onto the mattress.

Seunghyun was almost thirty and lived alone in his apartment in Seoul with his Cocker Spaniel, Charlie. He was a cobbler and owned his own small shoe shop, though customers were far and few between. Seunghyun had a peculiar taste—he liked to make fine art shoes. Well, more like he designed shoes as he saw them fit and each were a piece of artwork to him.

He had been classically trained, coming from a long line of artists on his mother’s side. After attending art school, Seunghyun just hadn’t felt like it fit. While he enjoyed creating art, he could never find the right inspiration for his pieces and he’d never felt like his heart was in it.

It was one day that Seunghyun attended a gallery showing with his mother that was dedicated entirely to shoes. It lit a fire inside of Seunghyun that he had never felt before. When he’d headed home, he picked up a pair of white canvas shoes at a nearby shoe store and let his creativity go to work on them.

After that, Seunghyun enrolled in a cobbler training program, where he was taught the art of making a shoe from start to finish. He eventually finished his program and received certification. From there, his small career had taken off, landing him small time gallery runs with his designs before allowing him to open his shop.

But after a time, Seunghyun had run out of inspiration to put on his small canvases and his creativity waned. That was when Seunghyun bought a dog.

Taking Charlie on walks was the next best thing to ever happen to him. Going on long walks with his dog was great for the puppy, but also for his inspiration. Seunghyun had never understood the joy of people watching until he took Charlie out every day. There was something about watching how people walked by, whispered to one another, dressed, and everything else. It was endless inspiration upon inspiration. He brought along a small sketchpad with him after a while, making quick sketches as ideas flashed into his mind.

In need of more zany adventures, Seunghyun began to spend his days out and about exploring neighborhoods he never knew intimately at all times of the day. Anything and everything that happened was endless inspiration and Seunghyun basked in it.

After he had slept for about nine or ten hours, Seunghyun got out of bed. He checked on the drying shoes in his art room, finding that they still satisfied him after he had gotten rest. He dumped food into Charlie’s bowl before jumping into the shower.

“Where shall I go today?” he said aloud, running his lathered up fingers through his dark hair.

As he rinsed, he listed off places he hadn’t been recently. He climbed out of the shower and threw a towel around his waist. As he walked back to his bedroom to select an outfit, he called out to his dog.

“Charlie, should I go to Hongdae or Dongdaemun today? Bark once for Hongdae and twice for Dongdaemun.”

There was no response from the dog. Seunghyun whistled loudly as he pulled out slacks and a button up. The small dog padded into the room and jumped onto his bed as Seunghyun dressed.

“Come on, Charlie boy. Hongdae or Dongdaemun?”

The Cocker Spaniel looked up at him with a bored expression, but barked once. Seunghyun beamed as he walked to his vanity and styled his hair in the mirror.

“Hongdae it is. Thanks, boy.”

Out the door Seunghyun went, taking only his pack of cigarettes, pencil and sketchpad, keychain, and cellphone. On the train, Seunghyun watched couples pass by and how they all interacted with one another. There was nothing interesting there, though, and his interest quickly waned. After a while, Seunghyun gave up on the people on the train. There was no one interesting to watch. Seunghyun was on the train at the wrong time of the day.

The speakers announced the stop for Hongdae and Seunghyun shuffled off the train among the many youths when it came to a stop. He followed the mob quickly into the overcrowded streets of the newest hangout place for young people.

He stopped for a while to watch street performers. One was a man performing magic tricks with a knife, mostly looking like he was mutilating himself without actually getting hurt. It was sort of vulgar and only fascinating to young people, he supposed. Seunghyun made a mockup of a bloodied shoe, though he didn’t think it was the most creative design he’d ever thought up.

After that, he watched a few different singers and dance crews. He created a few sketches, but nothing felt right, and Seunghyun decided to venture into the streets. He slunk into the side alleys, looking for small shops with interesting people in them as opposed to the overcrowded clothing shops that sold t-shirts with Keith Haring designs or weird English phrases on them.

His feet carried him into a few different coffee shops, where he admired different people doing things. Some were carrying art pieces or writing poetry, some were texting endlessly on their phones in silence. Seunghyun even stumbled across a poetry slam session. He listened as various young men and women recited their poems, the intensity of their voices fluctuating depending on how they emphasized words and what sort of atmosphere they desired to create. A particular poem about flowers and the ocean allowed him to sketch up a mock oceanic floral design that felt the best out of what he’d come up with so far. Once the slam was over, he moved on, proceeding down his alleys and going into basements or up the stairs, looking for anything and everything.

It wasn’t unusual for Seunghyun to spend his days this way. His search for inspiration often took him on wacky and strange adventures throughout Seoul and its suburbs.

By the time it was late in the night, Seunghyun wasn’t really sure where he was anymore, but he continued to wander. He figured eventually he would run into a bus stop and could orient himself as to where he was and how he could get home to his beloved Charlie and bed.

After a fifteen-minute walk, which involved Seunghyun pulling his cigarette carton out of his pants pocket for the first time that day only to discover he had forgotten his lighter, he found a bus stop.

Lo and behold, there was someone at the bus stop. They looked particularly unhappy, if their face in their hands was any indication. Seunghyun thought about not saying anything, but he really needed to stay at the bus stop so he could get home. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a cigarette carton sticking out of the pocket of the person’s jeans. They were bound to have a lighter. They could spare just a few seconds to lend him a lighter. He shuffled underneath the overhang of the stop, stopping beside the bench.

“Excuse me. You got a light?” he asked.

The other person’s head snapped up in response to his voice. Seunghyun observed them as they did him. The person was male, though his slim and angular face was beautiful and androgynous in a way that Seunghyun had never encountered in person before. Light waves of caramel brown fell to his shoulders and his beautiful lips were agape, but that wasn’t what attracted Seunghyun to him. It was the eyes. This man’s eyes were small, but beautiful, a glittering of tears collected in the rims that intrigued Seunghyun. What had happened to this man to warrant such tears?

“Excuse me?” the man said then, voice obviously caught off guard.

Seunghyun held in his chuckle. He gestured vaguely as he repeated his question. “I asked if you had a light. Sorry to bother.”

He was sorry to bother this man, because obviously he was not having the best night ever. The man drew a lighter from his pocket and offered it. Seunghyun took it, the lightest brush of their fingers happening. He lit his cigarette, which he had been holding between his fingers, with ease and offered the lighter back quickly.

“How did you know I had one?” he asked.

“I noticed the pack sticking out of your pocket,” Seunghyun said with a soft chuckle before he blew smoke from between his lips.

Seunghyun watched as the man deposited the lighter back into his pocket without a word. Seunghyun focused on smoking, his body feeling relieved from the much needed nicotine. He really couldn’t believe he had gone nearly the whole day without his cigarettes. The needed dose made him feel a lot more relaxed and he glanced up at the bus listings on the LED screen mounted overhead. His bus wouldn’t be there for quite a long while, he realized once he had spotted the proper number.

A bus pulled up, but neither he nor the other man moved. The man sighed audibly then, his shoulders sulking and Seunghyun wondered what was hurting him so much. He finally looked past the man, forcing himself not to focus on the long slim legs hidden behind tight denim, and check out what was going on around him. There was a suitcase and a duffel bag beside him, both obviously stuffed to the brim. Seunghyun could see the long heel of a stiletto sticking out along with a gathering of colored tulle and the shoulder of a leather jacket. They were women’s clothes, which piqued Seunghyun’s interest. Had he not seen the man’s face, he could have thought he was perhaps a woman, but he was almost positive due to the voice the other possessed. He was not so sure then.

He knew the other man was having an awful night and he probably didn’t want to talk to strangers, but he had piqued Seunghyun’s interest and he couldn’t help wanting to explore every possible angle.

“Where are you headed with all those things?” he asked.

Seunghyun saw how the man’s eyes drifted over to his bag and a panic started up inside him. The man turned and tried to adjust the contents of his bag in an attempt to get it closed, but no luck. Seunghyun smiled a bit and waited. After giving up, the man settled back.

“To be quite honest, sir, I don’t really know where I’m heading. I got broken up with and kicked out of my apartment.”

Seunghyun felt his eyes widen and he held the breath that wanted to be released from the shocking information he had been bestowed. “Wow. That’s pretty harsh. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

He genuinely felt sorry for the other man. It was nearly midnight and that meant that the man had assumingly just been kicked out at that time of night. He was stuck at a bus stop because he was at the mercy of someone else.

“Yeah, well…” The man blew out a frustrated breath. “Life really likes to kick some people around no matter how hard they try.”

Seunghyun spat his cigarette onto the ground and ground it out with his shoe. “Tell me about it.”

He identified with the man’s statement quite a bit. He knew the feeling. Maybe it wasn’t the same way that he meant, but Seunghyun had experienced something similar. He had gone to art school, only to feel unfulfilled, and even before that, for years he had struggled to feel like he had a place to belong. Even at his current stage in life, nothing was absolutely perfect and sometimes Seunghyun felt life was just too difficult for him. He wanted to give up, but he knew he owed it to himself to not. But the man’s metaphor was good. Life kicked him around.

“I’m sure you know nothing about that.”

Seunghyun saw how the man immediately tensed when the sentence came out of his mouth. It was an easy visual tick to show that he regretted what he said and most likely hadn’t meant it. How could he mean it? They didn’t know one another. Seunghyun felt bad he was bothering him. He wondered what the man was like. Did he always lash out at strangers? What had happened to him to make him so angry? Had he been broken, and so he was something entirely new? Seunghyun’s fingers tingled with anticipation and desire to sketch. He could feel the design begging to be drawn out.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m having a day.”

Seunghyun felt sympathy for the man and for the fact that he had to apologize, even though Seunghyun hadn’t felt all that insulted. There was a part of him that understood through his intrigue, that sometimes people would lash out when they broke. He wasn’t angry.

“So, you lash out at others. It’s not that uncommon. I’m not offended,” he responded.

Seunghyun worried that he hadn’t phrased his sentence right, feeling it had come off harsh, but the other man looked up at him in surprise. Seunghyun felt like he was looking at him as if he had two heads. He watched as the other man’s eyebrows furled, obviously confused by his laidback attitude in response to being yelled at.

Seunghyun couldn’t hold it in that time. He laughed, enjoying the expression. He felt the itch in his fingers increase, something he didn’t think could get stronger and yet it did.

Another bus pulled up and again neither of them moved. Seunghyun noticed the other man’s eyes flit up to the screen. He knew he should just stop bothering him, but the interest was monopolizing him.

“Which bus are you taking?” Seunghyun asked.

“I’m supposed to take the next one, but…”

“But?”

“Turns out I don’t have any cash and my card is useless at the moment.”

Without a thought, Seunghyun pulled his wallet out and prayed that he had some cash inside. He pulled it open and found a few stray Won, just enough that could pay the maximum bus fare one way. He had his T-Money card, so he wasn’t in need of the spare Won at the moment. His fingers grasped them tightly as he pulled them out and his hand toward the other man.

“Thanks for the light,” he added lamely.

The other man stared up at him in disbelief. Seunghyun didn’t move, offering the bills. He refused to accept “no” as an answer. He wanted to help this man. There was just something about him that made Seunghyun feel compelled to help him. He’d inspired Seunghyun so profoundly from just a look and he couldn’t think of another way to show how grateful he was. (Well, and he didn’t want to scare him by declaring such a thing.)

The man accepted the bills from him after a few moments. He looked down at them and then back up at Seunghyun.

“I…”

“Sometimes the world can be kind too. Don’t worry about it. I hope you get where you need to go,” Seunghyun said quickly.

He figured the other man wanted to say something back, but at that moment, the bus pulled up. Seunghyun watched him shoot up and struggle onto the bus with his suitcase and duffel. Just as the bus door shut, a pink high heel flew out the door and landed on the pavement not five feet from Seunghyun. He looked down at it, then back up, and caught one last sight of the young man on the bus, looking like he’d been punched in the gut for dropping the shoe.

He stepped forward and picked up the peculiar shoe. It was a stiletto pump encrusted in pink glitter. The glitter had fallen away in some patches, leaving only a fake pattern behind and no shine. They were obviously well used from the multiple scratches and missing glitter. Seunghyun knew that the young man loved these heels.

Instead of questioning why he had high heels or what he did with them, Seunghyun only saw that he had a mission—this shoe needed to be shown a new look because it was loved so much. He felt disappointed he only had one, but he hoped that he could find the young man again and obtain the other one. He would give both the treatment they deserved.

He placed the shoe underneath his arm and drew out his sketchpad, quickly lining out the shape of the shoe he held. He began with the overall idea, before drawing tiny details everywhere and arrows to different areas with descriptions or color notes. Just when he finished, his bus pulled up, and Seunghyun hopped on and tapped his card against the reader, heel still underneath his arm.

When Seunghyun awoke the next day, it was the early afternoon. He was glad he had caught up on his sleep and as he rolled over in his bed, he immediately spotted two things. The glittery pink heel was on his bedside table and Charlie was sitting in the doorway to his bedroom, looking very annoyed that Seunghyun had yet to feed him.

“I’m coming, boy. Sorry.”

He got up and sped walked into the kitchen, dumping food into Charlie’s bowl, before he rushed back into the bedroom to grab the heel. He snatched up his notebook and proceeded into his art room, not bothering to change out of his pajamas. His fingers pushed his hair out of his face, then picked up the clip he’d left on his table and pinned his bangs back. He carefully moved the heels he had left on the table the day before, glad to see they had finished drying, to a different spot in the room and set the lost heel in the center of the table.

Seunghyun collected his needed supplies and settled onto his stool, hunching towards the table, despite how bad it was for his posture, to begin assessing what he needed to do to bring his vision to life. He looked over his notes once more, checking what it was he wanted. When he had fully figured out the vision he was setting out to make, he picked up the high heel and a piece of sand paper.

With controlled movements and great care, Seunghyun sanded all of the glitter and most of the pattern off the high heel. He hoped the young man (he wished he knew his name) would forgive him. He just hoped that the new design would be so good that he would forget about what they originally looked like.

He then assessed what needed to be repaired. The insole of the shoe was peeling up and pretty ruined, the heel cap needed replacing, and the soles were a little scratched. He was relieved that most of the scratch damage had been removed by him sanding down the original coat. Getting off his stool, Seunghyun found swatches of matching fabric and took them over, placing them over the inside sole to see how much would be left over. He wanted to ensure he would have the match for when he was able to get the other shoe. Seunghyun ended up selecting a black and pink plaid fabric and cut out the shape carefully. He slipped it inside and secured it over the original cushioning with a hook needle and a bit of super glue for extra assurance. Next, he replaced the heel cap, a simple and easy fix.

Seunghyun then grabbed his masking tape, acrylic paint, and spray cans and set to work.

Two days later, Seunghyun had finished the shoe’s makeover and it was absolute perfection to him.

Seunghyun had painted the soles a lavender color and painted champagne colored sparkles all over. The rest of the shoe had been painted bubblegum pink before being coated in equally pink glitter that had sealed perfectly to the relief of Seunghyun. (He was still finding glitter on his person.) He had lined the topline edges with small pearls, each placed carefully beside one another, to create a trim. Seunghyun had created a toe cap, painting a perfect curved line in the lavender color of the bottom. Over the lavender paint, Seunghyun had pressed a piece of champagne colored lace, creating a unique toe design. For a final touch, Seunghyun had made an ankle strap. It was made with lavender patent leather, which Seunghyun had found inside his art room, and a silver buckle.

Seunghyun loved it and he was proud. He hoped that the young man would somehow find him again and he would love the shoe too.

After Seunghyun had showered, dressed, and fed Charlie, he carried the beautiful dried shoe out of the apartment in a box that he had found. He made his way just down the street to the subway station and hopped onto his usual line. Getting off at the usual stop, Seunghyun took his usual exit and walked down the street. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the front door to his shoe shop, flipping the “closed” sign to “open” once inside.

He switched on the lights and went about cleaning up the shop, placing the pair of shoes he had finished days prior in a spot. He rearranged his displays, putting forward some of his older designs among the newer, hoping they would catch someone’s interest. Once it looked the way he wanted, he went to designing the front window display. He switched out the shoes for new ones, only displaying a half of each pair.

With extra care, he placed the refurbished heel in the middle of the window display, draping lace and pearls around it to play up its appearance. He even put a champagne flute behind it, depositing champagne tulle and pearls inside to emulate the appearance of the drink. His final touch was a tiny sign that said “Not for Sale.”

With a grin, Seunghyun crossed his arms and looked up at his display, feeling satisfied. He was sure today would be a very good day for him and his shop.