“She looks so cool and intimidating,” thought Kang Seulgi, watching this mysterious waitress walk away, hypnotizing in every sway of her hip and exuding a cool aura that almost left a trace where she walked. 

Ah, poor Kang Seulgi was just sitting by herself but felt a lot more in love than anyone on a date in this restaurant, for the pale doll of a waiter gripped her earth in such a swift second -- all too fast and too sudden, but so exquisitely abrupt. Such was the wonders of Valentine’s day. You had to see it to believe it! 

A woman with skin so smooth it was almost angelic, a canvas for the tattoo parlor it seemed because down her entire arm there were heaps of beautiful artistry, though confusing, for the world to see. The waitress uniform was merely a short-sleeved buttoned shirt, unable to hide the personal marks on the woman’s arm; her trousers hiding more stories to tell on her legs but the boots so telling of who she was. The raven black hair was in stark contrast to the uniform, white and pristine, while her smile was subtle and celestial! It was like nothing of what Seulgi was thinking about her matched; a woman so cool and so gothic, so tough looking, yet the soft smile betrayed the stereotype. Yes, yes, she was the epitome of cool, but Seulgi felt something far more interesting was hidden beneath the appearances.

Seulgi hoped for nothing more than to have the waitress walk by.

Well, she didn’t walk by. She walked towards Seulgi.

And when Seulgi caught those gorgeous round eyes, she saw them widen a little, she saw the woman completely pause in the middle of her tracks. It was brief, but it was obvious should anyone be paying attention to her at the moment. Quickly, she composed herself enough to finally reach Seulgi’s lonely table. She gave brief but cordial greetings and asked if Seulgi was ready to order.

But she didn’t expect Seulgi’s big smile, she didn’t expect that sweet voice and the frankly enchanting giggle. 

Bae Joohyun stood there with pen in hand, notepad on the other, but scribbled nothing was she surfed the wave of words Seulgi said but didn’t understand any. Not even a letter. When she realized she was just surfing, she crashed through the terrifyingly powerful wave of love, crushed under its liquid claws.

“Miss?” Seulgi asked softly, puppy eyes and a puppy-like tilt of her head. “Ma’am, are you okay?”

Joohyun couldn’t stop blushing after she realized she had just spaced out, gently apologizing with a bow of her head and the softest, most shy smile she has ever done. In turn, she only got Seulgi’s big grin and a loose wave of her hand.

“It’s no problem, I space out all the time!” 

Seulgi ordered again, Joohyun took note, but her penmanship was deplorably shaky. By the time Joohyun reached the POS system, she felt she had been holding her breath in for centuries, releasing it all in one swift go. She was so evidently shaken that even her fellow waiters and waitresses were aware of this sudden change, like a gear clicking back into function yet rusty and slow. Something happened with Joohyun, they could tell, but they couldn’t ask during business hours.

Joohyun fulfilled her duties as a waitress, receiving a sweet smile and a gentle ‘Thank you’ each time. Each time she walked near that table she felt the strange magnetic pull from this woman. This very pastel-colored woman; frail and delicate, precise sometimes and clumsy in others, chestnut colored hair that glowed beautifully with the lighting of the restaurant. Every time she looked at Joohyun, she looked directly in the eyes and those orbs glowed with adulation.

For someone as cool and confident as Joohyun, this little ball of sunshine surely stripped away everything and left nothing for a brief moment. In the moment she smiled so sweetly, she captured the heart of a woman many have tried to conquer. With such a simple move, they both were on the same level. And Joohyun didn’t exactly know how to stop feeling like such a clumsy dummy struck by cupid’s arrow.

The meal was paid for. Seulgi was almost reluctant, Joohyun’s hand was also hesitant, unsure -- neither of them felt like asking the other anything, a little unsure of what the other truly felt. Two dummies under the paralyzing spell of love. Seulgi stood up from her chair and met Joohyun’s gaze one more time. This felt way more like two friends, secretly in love with each other, saying goodbye than a client and a waitress bidding a cordial goodbye.

“Y-You’re welcomed back, any time,” Joohyun stammered out, unsure if she should even say it. Her voice was small, it faded towards the end, but it was something she was taught to say after the client was done.

Seulgi looked at her a little shocked for some reason, but then that big toothy smile appeared. The woman said nothing, instead waved and walked away.

Then it was left to Joohyun to only hope this woman, whoever this was, who stripped her away of her coolness so easily, would in fact come again. Just so she could see her one more time.