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“You know what your problem is?” Mr. Kwon pointed a finger at Taehyung. “You’re suffering from a broken heart but won’t admit it.”

It was true that Taehyung had just broken up with his girlfriend or rather – she had broken up with him, but he wasn’t sure that his heart was broken. If anything, he was mostly pissed about his recent break-up with Lisa two weeks ago.  

Lalisa – or Lisa as just about everyone called her – hadn’t spoken for most of the day. Even when they arrived at the airport together, she remained quiet. She was acting cold, and any efforts Taehyung made to be the loving boyfriend he always tried to be were met with pure indifference from Lisa. Taehyung didn’t understand why. This time should have led to a heartfelt moment between the two; a loving exchange of goodbyes between sweethearts who wouldn’t see each other for an entire year, but instead, Lisa behaved as if she couldn’t stand to be around Taehyung. He reached out to hold her hand and she pulled away, claiming she had to retrieve something from her purse. He leaned in to kiss her, she leaned back and claimed she didn’t want to ruin her lipstick. Taehyung almost wanted to give up.

When her flight was called, he and Lisa both stood and stared at each other expectantly. Taehyung reached out to hug her and for the first time all day, Lisa hugged him back. She held on tight and squeezed Taehyung so hard that he let out an involuntary grunt. When he pulled away, he could see tears in her eyes.

“Are you crying because you’re going to miss me?” Taehyung teased, wiping away her tears.

Lisa gave him a sad smile and nodded. “That’s not why I’m crying.”

He looked down at her and held her round face in his hands. “Then why are you crying?”

She didn’t respond and instead stood on her tiptoes, giving Taehyung a soft and sound kiss. Taehyung leaned into it, enjoying the feel of his girlfriend’s lips for one last time. It sank in that he wouldn’t taste her strawberry lip gloss for a year. Or he’d never be able to take in the way she always smelled of vanilla and how her hair always smelled like cherry blossoms. He held onto her tighter. It was a goodbye kiss but something about it felt more concrete, more permanent. Her body was trembling, and when Taehyung broke away, he noticed her tears were flowing more freely now.

“Lisa,” he began. “Are you okay?”

She looked up at Taehyung with those same sad eyes, sighed, and said: “I think we should break up.”

By the time he made it back to his car, he was fuming. He had his driver take him to his favorite bakery. It was about an hour away from the Incheon airport and another forty-five minutes away from his apartment in the Gangnam district, but their sweet delicacies were worth the commute. Besides, after another airport heartbreak, he wanted to be anywhere except the place he and Lisa had called home for the last year.

Taehyung wasn’t sure why Lisa had broken up with him. She only cited long distance as the reason but that was something they had discussed for the last month and a half. They both had decided to give long-distance a try. They both had decided that a break from each other was what they needed after countless nights of arguing and they both had decided that a break did not mean a break-up; but somewhere, along the way, Lisa had decided, on her own, that she no longer wanted to be with Taehyung. And Taehyung couldn’t help but wonder where he went wrong in the last few weeks. Had he not been attentive enough? Not been supportive enough?

 “You can pull over here.”

His driver, JiHyun, came to a stop about twenty blocks from his favorite bakery. There had been overcast in the sky all evening, but it hadn’t rained yet.  Seoul’s weather had been cloudy for the last week, the rain only ever appeared once or twice. Taehyung wished it would rain. It certainly would match his mood. As Taehyung got out of the vehicle that day, he could see streams of sunlight shining through, attempting to push away the grey clouds. He told his driver he’d call him when he was ready and JiHyun drove off, leaving Taehyung alone with his thoughts.

Thoughts of Lisa invaded his mind again as he made his way toward the bakery. He still couldn’t understand it. Why the hell did she break up with him? What gave her the right to make that decision for both of them? Was this not a two-person relationship? Did his feelings not matter? Why did she choose to do this on his birthday of all days? With every question he asked himself, he found himself becoming more irritated. The pain transformed into anger and so did his pace. He was nearly running towards the bakery now, paying no mind to his surroundings or the people bumping into him. It wasn’t until he felt the small body of a woman slam into his side and then onto the ground that he stopped.

Lucille.

She had hit the ground hard. The damage was a bleeding nose. Despite her protests, Taehyung helped her back to her apartment and cleaned her up. He couldn’t help but notice just how beautiful she was. How soft her skin was. How full her lips were. For a moment, he was no longer a man with a broken heart.

If there was any ache in his heart, he wouldn’t have noticed. Seeing Lucille seemed to have dulled it.

After he left Lucille’s apartment, he fought every urge not to turn around and indulge in the bento cake with her. He wanted to catch up with her. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know about her art, her life, her likes and dislikes but most of all, he wanted to know if she still hated him.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Taehyung said. He’d admit that he was currently in a creative slump, but he didn’t think it had anything to do with Lisa.

“Whatever it is, you need to figure it out. Your fans are waiting for a new collection, and I’ve got magazines blowing my phone up to hire you,” Mr. Kwon replied. Taehyung watched as his mentor slash manager took off his round eyeglasses, cleaned them, and put them back on the tip of his nose. Kwon JiYong was a man only in his thirties, but he still looked like a man in his twenties. He had been a legendary photographer in his own time and took Taehyung under his wing when he was only sixteen. “Maybe we should do a collaboration.”

“I thought you were retired indefinitely.” Taehyung played with a notepad on his desk.

“Oh, I am but if it gets you out of your creative block, I’ll do it,” Mr. Kwon said with a smile. “You’re costing me money here!”

“I know and I’m sorry,” Taehyung put his head in his hands. “I don’t know what’s going on. Every picture I take looks like .”

“Maybe it’s time you changed your subject,” Mr. Kwon said. “Maybe it’s time to break those silly little rules of yours.”

“You mean to start taking pictures of people? That would go against my whole brand,” Taehyung said. “I want people to look beyond the –”

“The superficial, I know, I know,” Mr. Kwon finished. “Then take pictures of the unconventionally beautiful. Hell, take pictures of ugly people. There are so many ways to criticize society’s obsession with perfection without excluding humans.”

Taehyung thought about this but eventually shook his head. “Don’t worry, Mr. Kwon. I’ll get back to being your star photographer soon. I’ll figure it out.”

Mr. Kwon sighed and eventually got up, placing a comforting hand on Taehyung’s shoulder. “Fine. If you need anything, let me know.” He began walking out of Taehyung’s office and toward the stairs. Taehyung followed. Once they reached the bottom, Mr. Kwon turned to Taehyung. “Hey, you know what always helped me get over a break-up?”

“What?”

“Getting under another woman.” Taehyung groaned, but a smile was on his face. The front doors of the studio opened. Mr. Kwon stopped in his tracks, surveying the young woman who had just entered. He leaned over to Taehyung and whispered. “And that is a woman you should get under.”

Taehyung looked over at the entrance and saw Lucille. She was wearing a long-sleeved black and white striped dress that hugged all her curves perfectly. She was holding a medium-sized white box and her curly hair flowed freely around her face. She looked good. Too damn good.

She paused, looking around the studio. Taehyung watched as her eyes lit up when she noticed the large section of his photographs in the east wing. She immediately walked over to admire the pieces more closely.

“You know her?” Mr. Kwon asked.

Taehyung nodded. “Yeah, she’s an old friend.”

“Well, make her a new lover.”

“I’ll see you Monday, Mr. Kwon,” Taehyung said, rushing his mentor out the door.

Mr. Kwon laughed as he passed through the exit, waving goodbye. When Taehyung turned around, Lucille’s back w