Did I call the handsome stranger who stayed the next morning and helped me make breakfast and kissed me before he left, you ask?

No.

It had been three days. I hadn’t had the goddamn nerve to call him back. He looks like a ing model on steroids. His smile can melt the coldest of hearts and his arms are like two guns.

“A-Ri,” Rosa said. “Just call him.”

“How do you know there’s a him?” I asked, turning towards her.

“You’ve been staring at his Facebook profile on and off for about three hours now,” she muttered.

“This is why I am an introvert with social anxiety problems,” I muttered. “I can’t call him. He’s too damn beautiful.”

“Are you stupid? Who cares if he’s beautiful? Or, if you think you’re out of his league? Or whatever goes on in that weird little head of yours? Just do it. Even if he says no, there’s nothing you can regret because you cannot change the past. So, just call him.”

I agreed with her but I couldn’t do it at work. So, I just worked for the rest of the day. Then, I went home and dialed his number. He picked up after three rings.

“Hello.”

“Hi um… Sohn Hyun Woo?”

“Yes, who’s this?”

“Noh A-Ri.”

“Holy… I never thought you would call back. I had given up hope,” he said. I could hear the smile in his voice. “So, what can I do for you?”

“Um… you could join me for a cup of coffee?”

“When?”

“In an hour?”

“Where?”

“Bricks and Joe?”

“Alright, I’ll see you there,” he said.

Of course, nothing had quite clicked until I had to choose between work clothes and non work clothes. I realized that this was the first time I was going on an actual date in four years. I turned 29 last December. I was an oldie now. I didn’t even know how old Hyun Woo was. He couldn’t possibly be my age. He looked 23 at the most. I decided to wear a black and white striped dress with a leather jacket and boots. It was the most basic and yet, fun outfit I could think of.

Once I reached the café, I saw him sitting there staring straight out of the window. Of course, all I saw was his side profile. But, I felt intimidated. I couldn’t back out now. I didn’t want to do anything dumb and ruin any little chance I happened to have with him.

I walked into the café and realized that I hadn’t appreciated exactly how broad his shoulders were and how silky his jet black hair was. I tapped his shoulder and he turned to look at me.

“Hey, A-Ri,” he said, with a smile, standing up.

“Hey HyunWoo. Where do you live? You came pretty quickly.”

“Well, it’s walking distance from where I live… and where you live. So,” he said, with a  grin.

“Oh… okay?”

“A-Ri… I live in the building next to yours…” He said, with a knowing grin.

“Oh ,” I mumbled and looked down at my hand.

“It’s alright. Would you like me to get you something?”

“Uh… I’ll go with you?” I offered. I wanted to buy him coffee for being an absolute nut.

“Sure.”

We walked up to the counter and he ordered a latte and I ordered a chamomile tea and two muffins and managed to pull out my card before him.

“Ma’am, we’ll bring the order to you,” the girl behind the counter said.

“Thank you,” we said and headed back.

“So, um… what do you do?” I asked him.

“I’m on the police force,” he stated. “What about you?”

“I’m a consulting manager in a small Law firm.”

“What does that entail?” He enquired.

“Basically, I overlook everything that happens in the firm. The emails sent to other firms or clients, the people who will work on a case and others who won’t, things like that. I’m an advisor. But, since the firm is kind of small, I also work with digitalization of documents,” I informed him.

“Ah, that sounds interesting. You’re not a lawyer but you’re quite knowledgeable about it, I’m sure?”

“I guess?”

“Never wanted to be a lawyer?”

“No, I thought that was too obvious and too stressful a path to take in life. The job I currently do makes more sense to me.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“What about you? What position do you hold?” I asked him.

“Well, I’m in the two year probationary period. Police officer, you see? I hope that I’ll get through these years soon. I just got out of the academy a few months ago,” he admitted. So… was he less than twenty four even?

“Oh? How old are you?” I asked him, directly.

“Well, I just turned twenty five last year.”