November 1935, Wall Street still hasn't recovered but it's slowly climbing its way back to prosperity. Three years after the Pecora Commission was put in place by the US Senate in 1932 to study and investigate the reason why the stock exchange crashed. A year later in 1933, the commission struck diamond, and discovered the US Banking Committee's manipulative practises, including graft, positional corruption, and fragile financial regulations - leading to establishing the Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933. Since the law has been passed, banks had to be separated into two classifications: Commercial or Investment Banking. 

Even then when the cure has been found, the damage was already done. Before New York fell in October 1929, The London Stock Exchange was the first to be crippled September of that same year. Journalism wasn't just a passion, or an occupation that brought food to your table, or gave you clothes to wear for a Friday night out - it was a way of living. When the November rain makes itself evident through the splattering of raindrops on the sides of your leather shoes, there is no other way to feel alive than to tighten your grip on the umbrella handle, and keep walking through a cold night. Living in America for six years, after being sent by the Prime Minister personally to keep yourself close to the conversation of the economic struggle, brews and stirs the idea of being an enemy of the state. 

Still, a fine line between paranoia and the truth could never stop you from enjoying a good drink at the local jazz lounge two blocks from your Brooklyn apartment. What's the difference between enjoying whiskey on the rocks at home and at the bar? Jazz music accompanied by the sight of the masses lulling everyone into a false sense of security that at some other corners of the world - war was not imminent. Somewhere in Europe, everyone was preparing for it, including the old country. You couldn't care less once the piano, drums, and saxophone starts playing side by side. Take those 4-bar fills with your Johnnie Walker, and the numbing begins. Pseudo-anaesthesia with detrimental effects can only result into something minimal, but a love interest can be more dangerous. 

She was staring across the room, next thing you knew, she bought you another round of Black Label. It was time to be courteous and join her at the table, so you stood up from your seat from the bartop, grabbed your glass, and walked over to her. 

"Good Evening, ma'am. How do you do?" You initiated. 

"I'm great, thank you for asking. Cheers." She replied as she raised her champagne bottle. 

"Cheers." You raised your glass as well, before taking the seat in front of her. 

"My name is Lee Gahyeon, but you can call me Lucy." She introduced herself. 

"Lovely to meet you, Lucy. What's a bird like you doing here drinking all alone on a Saturday night?" You teasingly asked. 

"Same reason as you do. I'm pretty sure we were both drinking all by ourselves." Lucy rebutted then took a sip of her glass. 

"Touché." You said with a smirk.

"No! Don't tell me! Hmm ... Trench coat, white shirt but unironed, no tie so you don't go by a 9-5, umbrella on hand meaning you travel by foot a lot ... You don't look like a detective to me, so you must be a journalist." Lucy read you like a book. 

"Do you always inspect people you buy drinks for from head to toe?" 

"No ... Only the ones I want to take me out on a second date." Lucy remarks with a wink. 

"Oh - so this is our first date then?!" You shockingly replied. 

"A little sudden, isn't it? Two minutes ago, you didn't even know my name, the next - the stars were aligned." Lucy says with a smug face. 

"I'm from Chelsea, London. Currently living two blocks down the road from here since 1929, in an apartment that I barely get to use since I'm always outside anyway." You acquainted yourself with Lucy. 

"I'm from Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Been here in America for four years now. Took my Bachelor of Music in Boston University, graduated magna laude. Trying to make it big as an actress, so far I have no luck so I'm just doing theater work." Lucy acquaints in return. 

You were mesmerised with Lucy's eyes, like there was something in the way she stared back at yours. Deep inside you could see a whole new universe, a dark ravine that no matter how much you tried to dive in, it was still an uncertain degree of insobriety. You remained silent, basking in the creaking and crawling effect of the whiskey, and all the notes in the club slowly became distorted. What was once an evening of relaxation, becomes an anxiety-filled segment that makes you want to tear open your shirt to alleviate the suffocation. 

From what boils inside, manifests itself on the outside, you weren't a stranger to this feeling - it was the feeling of love, attraction, and desire. 

"You're not particularly sluggish with these kinds of interactions, aren't you? Can you tell me now if we're just passing time, or do you really want to leave this bar with your hand in mine?" You jumped the gun and went straightforward. 

"I'm not the kind of girl that gets undressed before the second date, but I am the kind of girl who knows what she wants - and right now I want you." Lucy replied. 

You gulped your whiskey down, placed the glass on the table, then looked up to see that Lucy was already on her feet putting on her trench coat. You panicked and quickly stood up from your seat, and reached out for your umbrella. Lucy waited for you to gather your composure, and once you did, she reached out for your hand to hold. Everyone in the club could see you walk and surf through the other tables in the dark, with this stunning lady. You waved the bartender goodbye as you and Lucy passed by the bar. The bartender only gestured in return a salute, and Lucy could only mutter 'cute' as a reaction to your exchange with the barman. 

Now outside the club, the patrons in line waiting to be allowed in are providing you and Lucy their undivided attention. You were a witness to the whispering, and the penetrating stares these twats couldn't do a good job on hiding. You turned around from the crowd and started walking opposite the direction with Lucy with no authentic plan in mind to do next. You realised that it wasn't your exact responsibility to think so anyway because it was Lucy who wanted to leave the club, so once turning the corner, you asked her. 

"Okay, where do we go?" 

"Why are you asking me? I was going to ask you!" Lucy responds. 

"Me?! You were the one who got up from the table and started putting on their trench coat!" You retaliated. 

"You were the one who asked me to hold your hand and leave the lounge!" Lucy shifts. 

"Ahhh great ... Well, it's only 9, maybe there's another bar we could go to." You suggested. 

Lucy was about to suggest a location, but suddenly the clouds made an uproar, thunder and lightning were the culprits, and the skies released a downpour of heavy rain. Lucy hastily hugs you to avoid getting wet, whilst you struggle to open your umbrella. Once opened, you placed it over you and Lucy, but even if it was apparent that you both were protected from the elements, Lucy didn't let go. In the middle of the rain pummeling down the pavement, Lucy looked at you straight in the eyes, as she rested her head on your chest. You can tell that she felt your heart beat for her entire being, and this made her feel warm inside. She stared out into the unknown with her senses dedicated to you, and in that moment you knew she was the one. 

"Take me home." Lucy sincerely requested from you. 

"Lead the way, and I'll keep embracing you. Let me know if my grip is too tight, let me know if this just feels right, like the way I feel too." You replied. 

Lucy nodded her head on your chest, and you both started walking down the lane. A few minutes went by, and next thing you knew you were in a lift going up to her apartment unit. Like you, she only treated her loft as a place for sleeping and bathing, and the rest of the world exists outside from the four walls. Lucy held your hand and led you out the lift to her doorstep, and it was like the drunk feeling washed away forevermore. She got her key out, opened the door and the lights, and without warning she kissed you. You kissed back and all of the things in the world were muted out, and nothing even mattered. 

Lucy invited you to her home, and she went straight to the kitchen. You went in, hung your coat on the rack, and observed well the decor she chose to present her guests. They say that someone's home is like a reflection of their soul, and you can tell that Lucy's was who she said she was. Family pictures were to be expected, she hails from a rich family. Bordered and framed achievements, like her diploma and award proving that she is an upstanding alumni of Boston University. At one corner of the living room, you can see her violin, and beside it is the bow, all on top of a pile of music sheets clearly unorganised. You've been caught by Lucy staring out unto her necessities, so she tapped your shoulder to make you resurface from thought. 

You turned to her and saw she was holding two coffee mugs, and she signalled you to follow her, so you did. Lucy led you to the window in her room, and then she stepped out to the fire escape. You emulated what she did, and sat right next to her as you looked up to the stars. Lucy's apartment was at the top end of her building, so no pesky New York buildings can get in the way of stargazing. Lucy handed you over one of the coffee mugs, and you took a sip the same time she did. 

"You wanted to know if we were just passing time? Chasing what? Chasing the rush that makes us feel significant in life? I have no need for any of that, I just want to love someone who loves me." Lucy revealed to you her thoughts. 

"Lucy, I'm sorry - I didn't mean to make you feel like I doubted your intentions or offended you in any manner." You apologised. 

"I can lie, you can lie, we all can. But like I said, the stars are aligned." Lucy signals you to look up to where she was looking at. 

She was right, the stars were there for you and her, and you knew from there it was meant to make sense. You returned your sights on Lucy, and she did the same to you. 

"Ever since I sat on that table, that moment I did, I only had one question in mind." You share with Lucy. 

"Oh yeah? What would that question be?" Lucy encourages the topic. 

"What if the one that was meant for you, was all along here facing you?" 

Lucy took a quick sip of her beverage, and placed the coffee mug down at the nearby step. She got up to move beside you, and then she rested her head on your shoulder. 

"Maybe I felt the same way. Couldn't affect me much as it will anymore, right? So, if the one that was meant for me is beside me now, then if I wake up tomorrow, you'll still be beside me right?" Lucy unveils her thoughts. 

"Tomorrow, until the end of time." You replied.