I stared at the screen in dismay. Ukiss’ Eli Kim has a girlfriend?! Hmph. Whatever. Its not like I ever had a chance with him anyway. I shut my computer, hiding the article from my sight, although the disappointment remained. I sat there, unsure of what to do with myself. I mean, I know he’s a star, and the chances of me ever even meeting him are tiny, and the chances of us getting to talk more than just saying hello, thanks for being amazing, I love you, were even slimmer. Oh, and then being friends? Yeah right. But most importantly… falling in love? Psh! I always knew that would never happen, yet I, along with countless other KissMes hoped for it everyday. But no, that would never happen. Not to me anyways. And see, while I was sad about this turn of events, maybe it was good for me. No, acctually, it was good for me. I needed a reality check, and this gave me just that. Even if it wasn’t true, which it probably was true, it wouldn’t matter. I need to get on with my life and find a real boy to fall in love with. Not some untouchable star.

I stood up and ran to go get changed. I needed to get out of the house. Maybe some fresh air will help to blow away my disappointment. I stepped out my front door, locking up behind me. I stepped down on to the sidewalk and began walking, marveling at the warm sun hitting my face. I smiled, my sour mood dissipating slightly. I continued walking down the street, eventually coming to stand outside a café. I smiled and entered. I ordered an iced coffee and went to sit outside and drink it. The tables ran directly along the sidewalk, encroaching somewhat into people’s walking space, but not too much. I watched all of the people as they went past. Some alone, some with a friend, others happily holding hands with a boyfriend or girlfriend. I smiled as they all walked past. I leaned back in my seat and sat my drink on the table beside me. I closed my eyes slightly for a moment, letting the sun soak into my skin, sighing in content.

It didn’t last. Suddenly I heard a loud scraping sound, and a male voice, “Shoot!” My eyes shot open as a cold sensation poured over me. I sat wide eyed in shock for a second, then looked down at my pants. My coffee had spilt all over me. I stood up quickly, letting all of the pooled coffee fall to the ground. I glared up at the male who hovered next to my table, a look of guilt filling his face, well, what I could see of it. He wore a hood, and sunglasses, but his mouth was set into a frown. “I’m so sorry!” He appologized, “Here, I’ll go get you some napkins!” He ran back inside the café before I could even voice my annoyance. I slumped back down in my seat and crossed my arms as I waited. He reappeared a moment later with a stack of napkins. He handed them to me and I began wiping at my pants. He stood there, wringing his hands. “Is there anything else I can do?” He spotted my cup lying on its side, “Ah! Something else to drink! What would you like? I’ll buy it!” I gumbled as I wiped and looked up at him, gauging his sincerity. I threw the soiled napkins back on the table. “Fine.” I told him what I wanted and he quickly ran back inside. I watched as he ran off again and sighed in annoyance. I knew it wouldn’t last for long.

The stranger returned a moment later with two drinks. He handed one to me and sat the other across from me. He grabbed all of the dirty napkins and ran off to throw them away. I sipped at my drink and he soon came back. He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. I ducked my head down, suddenly shy, although still agravated, “Thanks,” I looked up and saw him smiling. My heart fluttered. …Maybe this was fate… Maybe I saw that article today for a reason. Maybe THE guy for me was going to trip into my life today, and if I hadn’t let go of my hope with a certain star, I wouldn’t have accepted HIM. I watched him and he fidgeted under my gaze, still standing there awkwardly. I sighed, giving in, “Would you like to sit?” I offered; gesturing to the seat opposite me.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” He said in a deep somewhat unsure voice. He flashed me a smile and sat down across from me slowly. I went back to my drink and he sipped at his too. The silence was awkward. I debabted over what to do in my mind. I peered over the edge of my cup at the man accross from me. I bit my lip and was about to say something, but he beat me to it, “Sorry again. I guess I was walking a bit too quickly. I hope your pants aren’t ruined.” I looked down at my pants and examined them.

“Nah, they’ll be fine. I’ll just wash them and they’ll be fine. They’ve been hrough a lot before, so this is nothing.” It was true. They’d gone through countless paint splatters when I helped my friend paint her appartment, they’d survived through mud and grass stains when I went to the park last time and it had started raining, and now they can survive iced coffee. No big deal. But it still didn’t make up for the fact that I was rather uncomfortable. And cold. As the wind blew past us it hit my legs and I shivered. He noticed this and stood up, removing his jacket.

“Here, use this to cover your legs.” He handed me his jacket. I reached out, unsure.

“But it’ll smell like coffee and…” I trailed off and he shook it.

“No, that doesn’t matter. If you can wash your pants, I can wash my jacket. Take it. You can’t get sick because of me. I’d feel bad.” I sighed in defeat and took it, placing it over my legs. I looked back up at him,

“Thanks.”

I frowned as I saw his hair. He’d had his hood covering it until now, so I was just now seeing the bright blonde hair he had. He saw me staring, “What is it? Do I have something on my face?” He put a hand to his cheek. I shook my head no and looked away. That hair… I thought back to this morning and the face on my computer screen as I read the article. He has the same hair. I looked back up at him, deciding not to hold that against him, but I still couldn’t help but stare at it from time to time. He noticed me watching again and put a hand to his hair.

“Ah! It’s my hair, isn’t it? That’s why you’re looking at me weird.” He chuckled.

“Huh? Oh, no, sorry!” I shook my head and blushed, tearing my gaze away from him. He laughed,

“No, its fine. I get that a lot. Living in Korea with blonde hair is kinda weird. Especially when you’re Korean yourself, so I have no excuse.” He laughed and I smiled.

“No, it wasn’t that… I think it’s cool. It’s just that… it reminds me of someone else…” I trailed off as I thought about him. My thoughts returned to the possibility of him having a girlfriend. I pouted and looked away.

“What’s with that look?” He asked. I shook my head and took another drink. “What? Do I remind you of an ex? No… Oh! A boy you like?” He leaned in and smiled at me cheekily. I frowned and stared at him. “Hmm?” He asked. I pursed my lips. “It’s the second, right?” He grinned. “So, I should be flattered right?” He his chin. I snorted. “What?” he asked confused. I shook my head. “So, who is this guy? Does he know you like him?” he asked me. I glared up at him, “O-Oh…” He backed off.

“I’ll have you know, that I have no chance with this guy whatsoever. He’s completely out of my reach, AND I just learned today that he quite possibly has a girlfriend.”

“Oh… Sorry…” I shrugged,

“Whatever. I can’t really complain. I never would have known him anyway. It was always just wishful thinking after all.” He watched me sadly.

“Oh… that… stinks. I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t even been able to have a girlfriend in years. I’ve been so busy and… well, for other reasons… it’s been impossible. Only recently have I been able to even consider the possibility again.” I looked at him weirdly.

“…What other reasons? What does that mean?” I asked, suspicious. He laughed awkwardly.

“Ahh, its nothing. Just something a little personal… Maybe I’ll tell you another time.” He smiled and I nodded slowly, understanding his need for privacy. But then I took in what he said. I looked back up at him quickly. He smiled at me. What…. He looked at his watch and shot up, “Shoot! I’m so sorry, I have to go! Here,” He grabbed one of the clean napkins and a pen from his pocket. He wrote something quickly and passed it to me. “Call me later and we can arrange to meet so that you can give me back my jacket. So, just keep it for now. I’m in a hurry and you’re cold. Wait… what’s your name? So I can know when you call.” I stared at him.

“Uhh, Inah…” He smiled down at me and placed the napkin in my hand.

“Okay, Inah-ssi. Please don’t loose either one, okay? I’ll see you soon!” He winked and ran off.

“Wait-” I called after him, but he was already gone. “You didn’t give me your name…” I mumbled after him. I stared down at the napkin in my hand. I pulled out my phone and quickly added the number into my phone. He was dubbed mystery jacket/coffee guy. I placed the napkin in my pocket and stood up. I held the jacket up and looked at it. It was kinda chilly… I looked around, afraid someone might see me, although why, I have no clue. I quickly pulled my arms through the sleeves and zipped it up halfway. It was too big for me, but it was cozy. I smiled and stuck my hands into the pockets. It smelled nice too. I moved my hands a bit in the pockets and felt something. I looked down in confusion as I pulled it out. It was a small folded up picture. I opened it up and looked at it intently. It was a group of five people, looked like a family. Three women and two men. I looked closer at the young man. That must be my mystery jacket/coffee guy. He kept his big glasses on the whole time, so I didn’t get a good look at his face. I was really curious as to what he looked like. I almost dropped it in surprise. That guy… he looks… familiar…. I looked up at the seat where he had been sitting a moment before. No… I held the picture up close to my face, inspecting the young man’s face. It looked like… Eli Kim. The Eli Kim. Surely that’s just a coincidence, right. Maybe I’m just obsessing today because of that article, so I’m just seeing Eli everywhere. Yeah, that has to be it. That guy wasn’t Eli Kim. He couldn’t be. I shook my head as if to dispell the thought. I quickly refolded up the picture and stuffed it back in the pockcet of his jacket. I threw away my trash and trudged back home to change out of my coffee stained Jeans.

~~~

Later that night I was laying on my bed, debating whether or not I should call him. He probably wants his jacket back soon, but I feel so awkward! I held my phone in my hand, staring at his entry in my contacts. I decided to just it up and call him. I was going to have to eventually anyways. Later and it’d probably be even more awkward. I pressed the little green button and it started ringing. I waited with baited breath, “Hello?” His deep, gruff voice said through the phone. I had to hold myself back from squeeking in surprise.

“Uh, hi. Umm, this is Inah… From before… I have your jacket…” I facepalmed myself for being so awkward.

“Oh! Yeah! Hey! You called!” He laughed and I let out an awkward giggle myself.

“Yeah…”

“Great! Well, I’m pretty busy tomarrow, but would you maybe like to meet me the next day for lunch? And you can give me my jacket back then.” I smiled,

“Sure, that sounds fine.” I nodded, although he couldn’t see it. “Oh! You never told me your name before…” It had been driving me crazy ever since I found that picture. If I knew that it could dispell all of my theories and worries about Eli, no matter how crazy they were. I mean, of course he wasn’t Eli Kim.

“Oh, yeah, sorry!” He laughed, “My name’s Eli.” I coughed, almost choking on air.

“Seriously?!?!” I asked.

“Uhh, yeah… Why?” He asked.

“Oh, uhh, no reason… It’s just… an uncommon name here, I guess… I’ve never acctually met someone named Eli…” I tried covering up for my stupid outburst. He chuckled,

“Yeah, I guess so. I grew up in America and moved here later on to pursue… a career.” I nodded, my mind racing. His name is Eli. Freaking Eli. And he lived in America?! What madness is this?! So did he! I was about to start pulling my hair in frustration. “Inah? You there?” he asked.

“Oh! Yes! Sorry! I was just thinking about something….” He laughed, “Alright, well I’ll contact you tomarrow if that’s alright and we can talk about times and stuff, but right now I have to go. So, I’ll see you later, okay!”

“Okay, bye” I smiled and hung up the phone. I rolled over onto my back and placed my phone on my chest.

Who is he?