Jooheon couldn’t take his eyes off of the girl in the room he accidentally passed by. She was dancing like she was in a club, to his song. Alone in a VIP karaoke room.

--

It had been a few months since their latest album’s promotion slew ended. Obviously, he took this chance to blow some steams off, including going to the karaoke. He had had enough of his own group songs (he loved them, still).

He was very satisfied of his own song, and the fact that it was received so well by both the fans and the public didn’t hurt either. He could feel his shoulders going up every time he heard the song through the speakers everywhere in the city.

That time, however, was an exception. He knew the songs would be another song in their fans’ karaoke playlists. The woman was probably a fan, his said to himself silently. He was just amazed they can use his song to dance alone in a karaoke room. Who goes to karaoke room alone happily? He smirked to himself, going to his own room.

--

He couldn’t believe his eyes. He had to check his surrounding to make sure he was where he believed he was. Right, Father was up there giving his sermon, his mother was right beside him listening to the sermon seriously. Then, why did his eyes see the karaoke girl two rows in front of him on another aisle? She went to this church too? His thought went south about the girl. Was she another sasaeng? His brain hurts. He tried to take a look closer, but he didn’t see any huge bags or big lenses like those people usually bring. Then again, technology had gotten so advanced these days they could take great pictures with just a cell phone. As he spent minutes thinking of how to get the girl caught in the act, the sermon ended and his mother already took his hand and asked him to stand.

Wait, why did his mother took him to the girl’s vicinity?

“Wait, mom, where are we going?”

“No, you wait.”

His mom didn’t greet the girl, but the older lady beside her.

“Hello, Mrs. Choi. Long time no see.”

“Hello to you too, Mrs. Lee. Is this your son?”

“Yes, he is my son, Jooheoni. Come here, Jooheon-ah.”

“Hello, Mam. Nice to meet you.”

“Ohoo, what great manner your son have, Mrs. Lee”

“Well, I’m his mother.”

Both of them laughed, not minding the curious, loaded look Jooheon threw to the girl busy with her phone beside his mother’s friend.

“Ah, right, who is this girl beside you?”

“Silly me, forgetting my own kid. This is my daughter, she just came back from the States two months ago.”

“Oh, the one going to the States right after high school graduation?”

The girl in question, put aside her phone for a while, and bowed to his mother.

“Hello, Mam.”

“You’ve grown so well alone in another country. How is it being back to Korea after what, nine years?”

“Ten years, Mam. But close, so let’s say it’s nine years instead,” she smiled at his mother.

Not a sasaeng then. He hadn’t even debuted 10 years ago. Moreover, Jooheon knew that smiles, he had seen one too many. A professional one he usually threw to higher ups he met. The girl had a working brain in her head, not like sasaengs in usual.

“Do you like it here, so far?”

“It’s…different. But alright, so far.”

The girl’s mother took that chance to in.

“You wouldn’t believe the length of time I had to take to convince her to come here with me. She’s been holed up in her room working nonstop since her arrival.”

Huh? Then, who did he see in-

“Mom, I went out last week”

“Once. And Alone. For work. I wouldn’t call that going out.”

The girl directed her attention to his mother, asking another question instead of answering her own mother’s words.

“How are you, Mam? Have you stayed healthy?”

“I’m alright, it’s just my son here, he just finished his promotion period and he looked like he could use a holiday or two. Right, Jooheon-ah?”

He just nodded.

Now it usually would be the time to flee as his mother would brag about his profession, but he found himself rooted in place.

He kind of wanted to know how long has the girl knows his group.

“He is a musician. Do you know Monsta X? He is a member and a producer, there.”

What?

He looked at her eyes clearly for the first time, and when they both finished bowing to each other, he realized that the girl had no idea who he was.

--

“How could she not know your group, Jooheon-ah?”

“Well, Mom, there are many groups out there.”

“ I thought you went to States for tours!”

“Mom, there were many groups touring too.”

“This can’t go on. I think I have some CDs left, I have to give it to her mother soon-“

“Mom. Can I give it to her myself?”

Her mother stopped in her track, and looked back at him with curious eyes.

“She is pretty, huh?”

Jooheon’s eyes widened. What was his mother thinking about?

“Mom, what do you mean?”

“Well, nothing. You can give it to her yourself, but I don’t know whether the girl will be in the church next week.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her mother said she is a busy girl.”

“Huh?”

His mother left him and started walking home again, leaving Jooheon in the middle of sidewalk.

--

He couldn’t say he forgot about the girl, but she slipped off of his mind as he went back to his apartment and getting back to being busy. It was just that the universe wasn’t ready to let their meeting come to an end.

It was a late night, almost dawn, when he stepped out of his studio, in need of fresh air after being cooped up since evening. He rode his car to Han River, the thought of walking his usual route occupying his mind. He parked his car in the empty parking lot, skyscrapers looming tall above him. He had chosen this place as a decompressing place since this side of river was as deserted as Han River park side could be. Office workers would still be in their home, sleeping away, leaving the place empty and available for him.

He had only walked for hundred meters or so, before he stopped in his track. He might have slits for eyes, but his visions worked just fine. There, sitting below the sidewalk lamp, was her. She had her outer professional blazer half taken off, the lapels hanging on her inner elbow, bag laid on her side. What took his attention was the bright orange can she held in her hand. People would usually had boxed or bottled soju in their hands at this time of the day, not orange juice.

Jooheon could surely felt the way he gulped his saliva. Blame it on the hour or the serene surroundings, but the way she held the can and grasped the straw in one hand looked…. Her half-leaning, sitting position and the strewn shoes didn’t help either. He could feel his thought going south seeing the red underside of the black high-heeled shoes.

Before he knew it, he was already in front of the girl, the corner of his mouth going up beneath the mask.

“Hi.”

He already had explanations in his throat, but the girl spoke first before him.

“Ah, the church boy”

He was quite surprised she knew him.

“You remember me?”

“Sorry, occupational hazard.”

“What do you work for?”

She took the time to right her blazer, put down the can and wore her shoes again. , he tried to avert his eyes when he saw that stocking clad feet went inside the shoes.

Think of your mother, Jooheoni. Think of your mother.

“I work there.”

His eyes followed her point finger, to one of the many skyscrapers in the area.

He whistled.

“Big shot, huh?”

“I am just a small fish.”

“What are you doing at this time, though?”

“Just finished working. Like you probably do.”

“I did. Did you just pull an all-nighter?”

“Nope. This is my normal working hours.”

She looked up at him, her black rimmed glasses glinting below the lights of the lamp.

What’s happening with his heart? It was just a pair of glasses.

“It is only my body here in Seoul, my workplace is still in New York.”

His eyebrows went up at that.

“I went to work when normal office workers finish their days.”

“Wew, it must be tough.”

“It is, but I kinda never get over the time difference. It’s hard to uproot a decade of New York in the few months I’ve been here.”

“I don’t even have a fixed time.”

“It’s hard imagining you do.”

She smiled at him.

“I would offer you another can, but I don’t have another. This is the only one I have.”

He looked at the orange can in her fingers, poised in the air between them. He could see the faint outline of lipstick in the upper part of the straw. He decided to just throw caution to the wind and put his hand over hers to hold the can.

He sipped from the very same straw she had used earlier.

As he tasted the orange liquid on his tongue, his eyes locked on hers. He knew that she knew that the charged air between them was mutual.

“I like it.”

She broke their eye contacts, her left eyebrow going up out of the glasses frame.

“Huh?”

Cute.

“The orange juice.”

“Oh.”

He let go of her hand, letting her hold the can by herself.

“Though I can’t say the same about the other.”

“Other?”

“Your lipstick doesn’t taste as nice.”

formed an O before a snort came out, and Jooheon exhaled a relieved breath as she laughed out loud after that.

Score.

--

She let herself inside her apartment unit. The walls bare of any decoration, her having only moved days before, barely able to get out of her parent’s house. She certainly didn’t want to live with her parents, more so on days like these. She could only imagine the rant her mother would have if she knew her daughter went home with a man in the morning.

They did nothing, although she had to give it to the man for being smooth. Who would have thought a good ol orange juice can would be so useful in making the atmosphere hot all of a sudden? Her mind went to thirty minutes earlier, when they arrived at her apartment parking lot.

“Sorry you have to go down here too, got some packages to get before I crashed.”

“Are you that sleepy?”

“I might not look like it, but once I hit the pillow, I’ll be as good as gone.”

As she unfastened the seat belt, the motion caused it to hit her hair, bringing some strings with it and in turns, messing her hair a bit. Before she had a chance to right it up, fingers not of her own covered her vision and they took the stray hairs away from her face.

“Sorry, you look like you need some help.”

She just shook her head and smile. They’d just met in a glance some months ago and had a real conversation for a total of an hour, yet she didn’t feel the need to practice her karate moves on him.

“It’s okay.”

But she was not a lawyer for the title only. She gives as good as she gets.

“Nite, Jooheon.”

She kissed him on the right cheek as he pushed the button for the door to open.

She didn’t turn back after closing his car door, immensely satisfied of herself. She didn’t need to turn back to see that Jooheon’s car stayed in that lot for some good minutes after she entered the elevator.

As she entered the shower cubicle, she muttered to herself, “It’s nice to meet a man once in a while, hahaha”

--

“You haven’t told me what you work for.”

She looked up from her sitting position beneath the street lamp, finding the man in a hoodie and beanie. She daresay he looked cute, if six feet something hulk of a man could be called cute.

“Hi Jooheon.” She smiled at him, and offering him a new can of orange juice this time.

She kind of hoped she would meet him again like this, because none of them was in a right mind to ask for phone numbers the last time they met.

Oh, and that she had numerous orange juice cans in her unit, courtesy of her hoping to meet him again sometimes after that but he never appear in her sight up until now.

“Hi to you too. No, I’m not thirsty, but thanks.”

She put down the new can, and held back the opened, straw-already-inside orange can and took a sip from that.

“I’m a lawyer, and I worked odd hours until God knows when.”

“So you’re an owl. Owl lawyer. Has a nice ring to it, rite?”

“Hahahahaha, thank you. Are you going to put it as my contact’s name in your phone?”

She said as she returned his phone, given to her after he demanded she put in her numbers inside.

“I’ll give you three guesses”

“Interesting”

“That’s one guess.”

“Hey, that’s not a guess!”

“It is a guess. Go on, two more.”

His eyes were glinting with mirth beneath the street lamp.

She loved it.

“Church girl?”

“Church? What do you- oh. We did see each other first in the church, huh?”

“Must have slipped your mind.”

“Seeing you here is the only recollection I have in my mind.”

She didn’t see the redness in his face, didn’t know that his mind was full of her stocking clad feet and red underside shoes the day after they last met.

“Dank it. Only one left?”

“Only one.”

“Hmm, dawn lamp?”

“What?” He laughed out loud at that.” What kind of name is that?”

Even she had to admit, that was a lousy attempt.

“I’ve had a night full of guessing someone’s maneuvers in courts. Scuse my brain for shutting down the moment it finished working”

A hand went to her chin, pulling her face to face his from another direction.

“You’re cute.”

“Tch.”

“Did you know that you pout when you’re losing arguments?”

She exhaled at that.

“I’ve been trying to fix that habit forever.”

“You should, or people won’t take you seriously in courts.”

“It’s hard,” she turned her face to the river in front of them.

Only to have her face pulled again to his direction.

“I win.”

“Is this a competition?”

“You didn’t realize it?”

Dank.

“Because I win, can I taste the orange juice?”

“I brought two, you can have one.”

She looked at him in exasperation.

“Not that one.”

His face getting closer to hers, and the idea of what orange juice he was talking about appeared in her minds a second before his lips met hers.

When was the last time she kissed somebody beside her parents?

Her upper lip was sandwiched between his lips, little bites subjected on it. She was sure it will swell right after but for now, she was enjoying the way he kissed her. Soft but sure, as she could felt his tongue met hers in a slight swipe.

Then it ended before she could reciprocate.

“It tasted nice.”

“It’s a good orange juice.”

“That, and your lipbalm, too.”

--

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

He looked at her, her upper lips has swollen after what he did to it. He loved it.

“That should be my question.”

She snorted a laugh.

“You’re the one with reputation to hold, though.”

“I’m okay.”

“What if someone had a picture of us kissing and blew it off?”

He had told her about his profession when they met the last time, and she was smart enough to connect the dots on her own.

“Then so be it. Although,” he looked at her teasingly.

“I kind of hate the cold and it would be nice to see your face without having to don multiple layers and mask.”

She shook her head while sipping her orange juice again.

“Just say you want an invite,”

“Thought you would appreciate it if I cut through the bull and goes straight to the .”

She laughed out loud.

“You’re right. You sure know your way around, are you sure didn’t know about my job before?”

He nodded, and took the opened can with straw in it to sip some of the liquid inside.

“You said you weren’t thirsty.”

Instead of answering her statement, he said,

“It doesn’t taste as nice.”

“The orange juice?”

“Nah.”

She tilted her head cutely, resurfacing his desire to kiss her again.

“The lipbalm. It tasted better on your lips.”

She rolled her eyes, half laughing half snorting.

Score 2.