I walk into the café. Tora sees me right away.

“Nice, you found the place.”

He shoots me that dazzling smile and suddenly the day’s events get blurred out. All I can think about is being with him.

“Haha, yeah. I was just walking down the street when I saw you through the window.”

I blush. The words sounded less creepy in my head…

“You’re right, it is really close to the dorm.” I say changing the subject.

I walk up to the counter and survey the menu.

“I’ll take a……chocolate latte.”

He nods. “Coming right up.”

I take a seat at a nearby table and skim through the magazine in front of me.

50 ways to keep your man happy

I smirk, of course there’s going to be a section about “satisfying your guy”. I hear the chair across from me shuffle. I look up from the magazine and see Tora, a latte in each hand.

“You’re chocolate latte.”

He hands one to me.

“Thanks.” I take a sip and close my eyes. The drink was amazing. The taste was like liquefied placidity, if that’s even possible. Point being, I felt like I was in heaven.

“So how has your day been?” he asks.

My eyes flutter open and my heart sinks.

“Hmm….fine.” I didn’t really want to think about Hoya and my mom’s intentions.

“You?” I ask, taking another blissful sip.

“I’ve been working for the last five hours.” He yawns.

“Oh wow, you must be exhausted. I’ve never worked in my life.”

“Really? Never?” he asks wide eyed.

I shake my head.

“It’s kind of tiring but you get used to it, you know? But you’ll get used to it and it becomes fun.” He grins.

“And besides, where I’m from the extra cash is always needed.” He leans back and sighs.

I wanted to ask what he meant by that but decided not to.

“So what are your plans for the rest of the day?” he asks.

I shrug and use my finger to trace the base of the drink.

“Not sure yet, I guess none so far. How about you?”

“Same. I had plans to hang out with someone but she was busy.”

I flinched. I knew exactly who he was referring to….Mi Young….

“Oh….that’s too bad.”

“Eh, not really.” He smiles and looks me right in the eye. My heart skips a beat. I feel my cheeks getting hot so I quickly look down back to my drink.

“Since you don’t have anything planned for today…do you want to hang out?” He asks.

I look up from my drink. Did I just hear right? He wants to hang out with me?

“S-sure.” I say, trying to sound cool. My whole body felt giddy. He just asked to hang out with me! A stupid grin makes its way across my face.

He smiles. “Nice, my shift is actually over right now. I’m just going to give my boss a head up. Be right back.”

I nod and watch as he disappears behind the “employees only” door. Once he’s out of sight I let go and allow that smile consume my face. My heart beats rapidly. This day just took a turn for the better.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We couldn’t decide on what to do so we ended up just walking and talking. The day was nice and warm. We walked side by side, our footsteps falling into the same rhythm. We talked the entire time, not once was there a silent moment.

I learned about his hobbies. About how he likes playing the guitar and how he was in a band.

“Yeah…we’re not that well known at the moment, but we will one day.” He said confidently.

“What’s your band name?”

“Alicenine.” He says

“You should come to one of our concerts sometime.” He says.

I look up at him. He looks back hopefully.

“Of course! I’m really interested in hearing your songs.”

He smiles and rubs the back of his neck with his hand. The movement makes his lip piercing shine. He’s so beautiful….

“We have a concert soon….so if you’d like to come….I could get you backstage passes or something.”

He takes a quick glance at me.

“I’d love that.”

Despite the warm day, a chilly breeze blows past us. I shiver and put my arm through his without thinking.

He looks down at me in surprise. His cheeks get pink and he looks away but doesn’t make any sign of protest. I blush and contemplate slipping my arm out of his. He senses my hesitation and, to my surprise, tightens his hold on me.

I smile, enjoying the feel of our arms intertwined.

Neither of us say a word during this entire exchange. We just keep walking forward, arm in arm.