Haneul didn’t turn from her desk as she heard the familiar rush of feathers fluttering in her window and the soft footsteps landing on the plush carpet of her bedroom. She continued to draw her pencil across the notebook paper as she scribbled notes for her history class. She sighed as the pencil was abruptly plucked from her fingers and slid behind her ear, and two hands grabbed the armrests of the computer chair to slowly spin her around. She tried to look annoyed as her eyes came to meet those black eyes sparkling with amusement that she knew so well, but the edges of could not help but tug upward into a small smile.

“Baro,” she mused. “That was pretty rude.” He was gazing at her with those alluring eyes, that lop-sided smirk that got her heart to pumping. His face was close as he leaned down over her, his wings folded neatly behind him as he regarded her mischievously.

“It was rude of you to ignore me. What does a guy have to do to get a ‘hello'?” he purred back, tilting his head to the side slightly. He took the pencil from where it was tucked into her hair and chewed on the end thoughtfully, as if pondering something. He looks cute, she thought with a tiny giggle as she watched him stare off into space. “Nope, I definitely can't let something like that go,” he decided and turned back to her, and she felt the goosebumps rise on her skin as his eyes burned with passion and desire. Oh, no… she thought. He tucked the pencil behind his ear as he propped himself up on his elbows on the chair, drawing his face even closer. Haneul’s heart began to pound as she anticipated what was to come; still, she wasn’t prepared.

She gasped as he abruptly jumped forward to kiss her hungrily, slamming his lips over hers with the force of a tidal wave. He grabbed her face and tilted her head back as their mouths moved in unison, while Haneul's fingers curled into the fabric of her skirt, trembling as the strong feelings bubbled inside of her. She could never get over how sweet he tasted, like pure honey was being poured over . She parted her lips, pleading for a deeper kiss, and Baro graciously obliged; as his tongue tangled with her own, she felt like she was melting, burning hot as she was overcome with desire. It felt like she couldn’t get enough, and she felt sad when he pulled back. As his lips retreated, she moved forward in an attempt to reclaim them, but he clamped a hand over with a roguish smile. “No, no. That's your punishment,” he teased before straightening up and walking away. Haneul pouted grumpily, savoring the ghosts of his lips against hers as they rapidly faded.

“That was a cruel joke,” she huffed as she crossed her arms primly and glared at him. Her wily boyfriend just laughed and flopped down on his belly on her bed, kicking his feet as he regarded her with nothing short of pure amusement. He is very much enjoying this, she thought with a slight sniff.

“Hey. I have an idea,” he said suddenly, catching her off guard. He sat up, tucking his wings neatly behind himself and sitting cross-legged as he lit up with sudden excitement. “We should go on a date, Haneul.” The girl's eyes widened slightly and a haze of red appeared on her cheeks. A date? “We haven't been on one- officially, I mean, unless you want to count the Moon Festival. Come on! It'll be fun!” he beamed at her. A date… she thought again with a small smile.

“Yeah. Yeah! Let's go on a date!” she grinned giddily. She gasped as he abruptly jumped up and dashed over to grab her hands, tugging on her arms in an attempt to drag her out of the chair. “What? Now?” she laughed as he pulled her from the computer chair. He walked backwards towards the middle of her room, holding her hands and swinging them from side to side.

“Yeah, right now. What is it? You got another hot date I don’t know about?” he teased as he slid his hands up her arms before grabbing her gently by the waist. She chuckled and shook her head, giving him a lopsided smile.

“Oh yes. A very hot date. He's quite the man,” she teased as she pressed herself against him, biting down on her bottom lip slightly.

“That so? Tell me about him,” he smirked while his hands slowly traveled down to her hips, holding her body against his.

“Oh, he's wonderful. He's so attractive,” she smiled alluringly. “He's strong and muscular,” she mused as she ran her hands up his chiseled arms, across his shoulders, and down his solid chest. “He has this beautiful hair, too, that I just want to caress all day,” she sighed, reaching up and curling her fingers into the black strands she loved so dearly. “And his eyes. I love his eyes the best,” she smiled gently as she gazed deep into their depths. “Every time I look into them, all I see is love,” she murmured.

“Hmm,” he smirked. “Sounds like a pretty swell guy indeed. Well, I have a pretty hot date myself, with a gorgeous girl. Do you want to hear about her?” he asked smugly, and when she nodded, a playful smirk crept across his lips. “Her body is nice, too, with curves in all the right places,” he told her, his hands running up and down her sides. The feeling of his fingertips caressing her, even beneath the fabric, sent electricity shooting through her nerves. “Her skin is soooo soft, too,” he purred, and she gasped lightly as he leaned down and kissed her across her chest. His eyes flickered up to meet hers, and he grinned when he noticed her face was on fire. “Yeah. Now that I think about it, she has nice hair too. A nice, soft brown,” he smiled as his fingers twisted through her long brown hair. “It always smells good, like the sea breeze,” he whispered as he pressed his lips against the soft, shiny locks. “Her eyes, though. Her eyes, I love the best,” he breathed as he straightened up, resting a hand against her cheek. “Every time I look into them, all I see is love.”

“You stole my line,” she chuckled, not tearing her gaze from his for a second.

“Pretty fair deal, considering you stole my heart first,” he grinned at her, and then he swooped in like he always did, taking Haneul's breath away as he kissed her deeply and passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she melted against him, weakened by the intensity of the love the man had for her. She could feel it, in every kiss, in every touch, in every breath he took as his mouth moved against hers and his hands ran over her body. It was enough for Haneul to drown in, and she would. She gladly would.

After they finally forced themselves to break apart and return to the task at hand, Haneul changed while Baro hopped down from the window to go wait for her out on the sidewalk. She ran a brush through her hair before hurrying down the stairs, announcing her departure to Sandeul and his family before scurrying out of the front door to rejoin her demonic boyfriend. She giggled as he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her for a few minutes before she disentangled herself from him and pranced away, laughing.

“I hope our date doesn’t just consist of you kissing me all the time. As nice as that would be, I was hoping for a little better,” she teased, then smiled and held a hand out for him. Smirking, he strolled over before sliding his fingers into hers.

“Of course not. I’ve got an idea or two,” he mused. “Let's go then, shall we?”

With that, the pair set off down the sidewalk in the direction of town. Autumn was now well underway, slowly phasing into the bleak starkness of winter. Dead leaves littered the ground, skittering across the sidewalk as the steady breeze blew across the sleepy town on the ocean. They crunched under Haneul's feet as she walked side-by-side with Baro, her hand tight in his as they made their way towards the business district. The girl smiled softly as she took in the nice afternoon, the cooling breeze and the chirping of birds drifting on the air as the little creatures prepared for the long, hard winter. For Haneul, the winter took the form of a certain silver-winged angel. She glanced at Baro out of the corners of her eyes.

How long will it be before he shows his face again? What will he do this time? She thought anxiously. Her fingers reflexively tightened around his, causing him to glance over and smile gently. “Hey. Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “Just enjoy today, all right?” He knows exactly what I’m thinking about, she thought with a small sigh, pressing against him. He's right. I just want to enjoy today… with him, she thought happily as she rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, simply enjoying being with him.

It wasn’t long before they arrived in town. It was an undeniably nice day, and many of the residents of the seaside town had taken notice; in addition to the couple, the sidewalks were filled with what seemed like half the town. Teenage girls strolled about, chatting animatedly as their arms were laden with shopping bags. Boys wandered about, goofing off and shoving each other as they loitered about and called flirty comments to the opposite . Young mothers toted about their children on grocery runs or a simple afternoon out with their beloved progeny; the little boys and girls clung to them, some of them snacking on candies or smearing their faces on ice cream as they tottered along beside their mothers and fathers. Businessmen, fresh out of the office, paused for a quick coffee as they chatted fervently on their cell phones. Also, just like Haneul and Baro, young couples strolled along in the throng, pressed closed together and reading affectionate words and kisses as they enjoyed the perfect afternoon.

“It sure is a nice day. A date was a good idea,” she smiled as she looked around at all the happy people, all the happy faces. From the stupid smile that was plastered on her face, she wasn’t sure if any of them could be happier than her at the moment. I’m so in love, she thought as she looked over at Baro. She was almost sad. Now that they were in public, he had hidden his beautiful black wings so that he looked indistinguishable from any other human.

“What?” he asked her with a smirk when he noticed she was staring.

“Nothing. Just you,” she chuckled softly, and he rolled his eyes and reached up to playfully ruffle her hair. “Hey! Cut that out! Do you know how much work it takes to get my hair to look this good?” she whined as she swatted at his hand in an attempt to keep him at bay. He laughed heartily, but obediently retreated. Haneul pouted as she fixed her hair, but then raised her eyebrows when Baro abruptly stopped. “Oh? Are we here?” she inquired.

“That's right,” he smiled as he strolled up to a small restaurant nestled in the avenue of shops and diners. It was a quaint-looking building, made of soft brown brick with large windows providing an open view of the patrons inside, sitting at nice wooden tables and booths. Haneul stood on her tip-toes in an attempt to discern what the restaurant specialized in, but was unsuccessful. She tore her eyes from the window when she heard a polite cough, and she blushed when she realized that Baro had been standing at the door, holding it open for her.

“Ah! I’m sorry! I was just looking,” she cried as she scurried over, passing through the door while Baro just smirked at her. Haneul's brown eyes swept across the small restaurant as a hostess led them to a table, but it wasn’t until a menu was sat down in front of her and she flipped it open that she finally realized what the calling card of the little joint was. “Curry!” she exclaimed, not sure whether to be surprised, delighted, or unsettled.

“Yeah. I may have grilled Sandeul a little to find out what you like,” he smiled sheepishly at her as he ran a finger over the laminated menu. “A little cheesy, I know, but I really wanted to take you somewhere you would like…” he added more quietly, with a lop-sided smile and a hopeful expression. He really wants me to enjoy myself, she thought with a warm feeling. She glanced back at the menu thoughtfully as she pondered the options, then decided on a basic yellow curry and placed her order when the waiter arrived. Baro was looking at her expectantly as the waiter strolled off.

“Thank you… It's been a long time since I’ve had curry,” she smiled softly at him. “I’m very happy.” At that comment, he beamed happily, like a child who had just received gratification, and reached across the table to gently take her hand, his thumb rubbing it gently in rhythmic circles. This is nice, she thought happily. I’m on a date with the man I love most in the world… It's almost like we're normal, she thought wistfully. But we're not, are we? I’m human, and Baro is a demon… We're as star-crossed as star-crossed can get… I don’t even know if I can save him. Can Baro and I even be together? She thought, her smile slowly drifting downward into a frown. Sure, they were happy now, but was it all a waste?

“Haneul,” Baro murmured, and her gaze flickered upward to meet his. His expression was unreadable as he stared intently at her, but his hand was still wrapped tightly around hers. “You’re thinking too much,” he smirked suddenly. “You’re always thinking about ‘what if's' and hypothetical situations… You'll get gray hairs, you know.”

“Don't you worry about our future, Baro?” she responded miserably, tilting her head to the side as she regarded him with an expression that was a mixture of confusion and worry. “Let's face it… We can't go on pretending like this. I’m human, and you’re a demon. I’m mortal and you are not… The world is against us. Time is against us. I don’t even know if-"

“Stop,” he interrupted her firmly. She stared back at him, teary-eyed. “Just stop,” he whispered as he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently. “Haneul, of course I think about these things. It's enough to terrify me… But then, what will worrying do? I don’t know the future. I can only speculate, and where does that lead me? Nowhere, Haneul. Nowhere.” He smiled at her, and despite herself Haneul could not keep the corners of from tugging upwards. “So I just push all of that to the back of my mind. I think about this moment, right now. How beautiful you are… How soft your hand is,” he purred as he rubbed her hand between his. “That's enough to put my mind at ease, at least for a while. Everything else, I’ll take on as it comes. Right now… I just want to be with you.”

Haneul smiled. Yes... He's right. It doesn’t matter what will come our way… Baro and I will triumph, just like we always have, she thought, reassured.

“Yeah. I just want to be with you, too,” she nodded in agreement. They broke apart as their food arrived, but Haneul could still feel the ghost of his lips dancing across her knuckles, and the heat from his eyes as he gazed so intently at her. However, as she spooned the curry in , she began to be overtaken by a multitude of other feelings. Before she knew it, a tear was rolling down her cheek.

“Haneul?” Baro blinked, alarmed.

“It tastes like my mother's curry,” she whispered, slowly setting the spoon down against the plate. Was she sad? No, it didn’t feel like sadness. More like… comfort. It's comforting, she realized with a tiny smile. She glanced out of the window, gazing up above the oblivious passersby and the cars rolling along the streets and the brick-and-mortar establishments to the blazing blue sky above. Mother? Are you there? She thought. Haneul received no answer but a pigeon taking off from a building into the air in a flurry of feathers, so she supposed that was sign enough. She glanced back at Baro, who was staring at her with a look of discomfort. “I’m okay. I just... got into my feelings a bit. Let's finish, yeah?” she smiled at him and resumed consuming the delicious cuisine.

After, Baro took her to a nearby public park, one much larger and grander than the little play park by the elementary school. This was a genuine park, complete with a large concrete walking path that disappeared into a woodland area and spacious clearings with clean-cut grass perfect for picnics and touch-football games and flying kites. Haneul walked along the path with her hand in Baro's, feeling utterly and completely at peace.

Mother, I don't know what the future holds. I’m not sure if Baro and I can truly be together, she thought as she glanced out of the corner of her eye at the handsome demon. But some stories of star-crossed lovers end well, right? So I just need to believe in us. And with you watching over me, I think…

I think things will turn out all right after all.