"I knew I would find you here."
His deep, warm, soothing voice cut through the silence.
I could never forget how it made me feel throughout the course of three years; safe, loved, desired.
The voice that always had a little bit of flirt in it, while still sounding professional and homely. There was a familiarity to it that made my heart sting once, short and painful.

I looked up from my book and right into the gorgeous face of my ex-boyfriend Park Seojoon. He didn't smile, but his expression was soft. From his mid-movement freeze posture, I could see that he came here with business.
Far-off memories and emotions started coming back as soon as I saw him.
I shared a bed with this man for three years, I went on vacation with this man countless times. I saw him happy, sad, angry, I saw him cry in the most bitterly way, I saw him scared to the bones, I saw him , I got to know his weirdest habits.
I had seen every deepest human emotion of this man and he still managed to be the picture of perfection in my head, always handsome, always charming, the Park Seojoon that everyone loved. The Park Seojoon that had left me for another girl 6 months ago.

I must admit that I was missing him a little these days, but it was my pride that was utterly hurt. While we were dating, I had been too convinced, too confident that there was no better girl for him out there. This didn't mean that I had been lazy or let myself go too much. But maybe, I should have shown him more often what hell of a man he was. Maybe his current girlfriend did that, maybe she showed more appreciation. I didn't know her at all, I didn't even ask for her name. A bad memory connected to one person was enough, I did not want to have two persons that could put me in a bad mood whenever I saw them.

But I had seen her once; officially, Seojoon and I were already broken up at that point, but we had signed up for a charity event together, and to spare all the drama and explanations, we had decided to go together one last time. After the event, quietly and secretly, he had sneaked out the door to head home. I didn't know why I had followed him, but that was what I had felt like doing. She had been waiting outside, all dressed up in a cute dress, her hair up and very elegant make-up. She was a very pretty girl.

"Am I interrupting something?", he asked, still the soft, warm expression in his face.
Just keep looking at me like that, I thought cynically. The thought of Oscar Wilde's 'Picture of Dorian Gray' popped into my head. Just like Gray, he would always stay beautiful on the outside. For the inside, I didn't know.
I closed my book and put it to the side while striking the brightest smile I could pull off.
"Not at all."
"I still remembered. You would always come here to read at night. Nice to see it hasn't changed." He smiled a genuine smile. My heart jumped.
"Some things never change."
After I said those words, an awkward silence formed. I had no idea why I said it with an reproachful tone, maybe to provoke an unexpected reaction or a feeling of remorse in him. All he did, though, was a defeated smirk and then proceeded to look to the floor for a short while. I waited for him to pick up the conversation again.

"So, the reason I came, do you remember our trip to Jeju last summer? Well, there were some travel documents from me that you carried in your purse that I need soon, so please send them to me", he stated after the awkward silence.
"I will send them by e-mail. Is that why you came here personally?", I asked, now in a neutral voice.
"No... I was in the area I guess, so I just remembered that you like this place..."
He was hesitant, unsure himself why he came to this place personally, to ask me to send an e-mail. I was pretty sure he hadn't been in the area, this café was located on the road all the way up to the Namsan Tower. Unless he wanted to explore the more touristy sights of Seoul, he had come here to see me.
I hated that this made me feel excited, even thrilled. I tried to hide it as best as I could but didn't manage to hide the smile that brushed my face for a few seconds.

"I should have just texted. I will remember the next time. Stay well and have a pleasant evening", he rushed to say.
With that, he smiled a remorseful smile and paused for a moment before he turned around to head for the door.
"You too", I said, for he turned his head in my direction once more and disappeared through the door a few seconds later.
The coziness, the comfort of the café was gone as soon as he left. I looked after him, just when something else than the cold air from swinging the door gave me chills.

Outside in the dark, I could make out two black eyes staring directly into my face.
I closed my eyes and shook my head for a second. Was I already seeing faces now?
The look back outside assured me that I was not. The gaze was still there, petrifying.
A man, tall, skinny and dressed in black completely, was standing outside in the dark, his hands in his pockets, looking through the windows of the café right at me.
I didn't dare moving an inch. It made me uncomfortable to the point where I could feel my stomach turn.
The man looked at me for what felt an eternity, before he slowly started walking backwards into the dark until he was gone.

This was my first encounter with him. With the guy that would change my life.