Chapter 2
The Man of Her Dreams
A cute boy with big eyes wandered into the nearly full classroom, seating himself at a desk near the front.
"Better to learn while you have the chance," he sang his motto to himself as he pulled out his books. He was about to put them down on the desk when he spotted a folded piece of paper on it.
"What's this? A note?" He unfolded the paper, marveling at the detailed sketches scattered across its lines.
"Hello. My name is So Young," he read aloud. "Huh." The boy shrugged, and pulled out his own sheet of paper. "Hello, my name is Baekhyun," he wrote, folding the paper up and tucking it into the metal corner underneath the desk just as the professor started class.
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So Young hopped off the bus, rushing into the small coffee shop where she worked. The bells above the door chimed as she stumbled in.
"Am I late?" she gasped, catching her breath. Somehow she had nodded off on the bus and missed her stop, causing her to have to take the bus back to the direction she came from.
"Don't worry, So Young," the owner, who was in her late 60's, smiled kindly at the girl. "I know you're so busy at this time of year, and it's only been a few minutes."
"But, I don't want to burden you," So Young pouted, "I'll try harder to be on time in the future!" She bowed.
"I told you, don't worry about it. Come, come. Meet the new employee. He came looking for a job just last week, and he seems close to your age. Plenty talented, and," she lowered her voice suggestively, "good looking too, I'd say." She winked at So Young.
So Young raised her eyebrows, turning to see a tall, and, true to the owner's words, handsome man standing in front of her. He smiled, eyes crinkling and sporting the most adorable dimples she had ever seen. Well, almost.
"Hello, nice to meet you. My name's Yixing, but my friends call me Lay." He gave her a friendly wave.
"Nice to meet you. I'm So Young. Guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the future, huh?" So Young smiled back, feeling at ease in his presence. He somehow reminded her of someone familiar, with his easygoing yet slightly quiet personality. They would get along well, she could tell.
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"So you go to Seoul Arts School? Wah, such a coincidence! I attend that school too! How come I've never seen you?" So Young asked as she wiped down the counter, glancing at Lay for an answer.
"Well, it's a pretty big place, you know." Lay's eyes were focused the cup of latte he was in the process of making. "And I'm pretty much always in the library studying, so you probably wouldn't see me around."
"Wow, such a good student, You must be a smart guy." she smiled.
"Well, I'd like to think so," he grinned back. "Try me."
"Um... tell me about the Joseon Era." So Young said, half-joking. To her surprise, he really told her about the history of the Dynasty. She nodded her head occasionally, listening in mild fascination.
"...after its decline in the 19th century," he finished, handing the latte to the equally fascinated female customer, who turned and left rather reluctantly. He turned around to face So Young, leaning on the counter. "What about you? What are you into?"
"Well, my life is basically art... drawing especially." she answered, shrugging.
"Drawing? That's pretty cool, actually. I never had any luck with stuff like that... all I do is dance. But here, draw me something." He tossed a napkin and pen to her. So Young caught it and started to sketch, tapping the end of the pen against her chin thoughtfully. As she added the finishing touches, Lay leaned over, staring at her page in amazement.
"Oh wow. You're awesome! It looks so real..." he nodded in approval, tracing the detailed leaves of the tree with his finger. "Better than I expected," he said with a teasing smile.
"Yah! What are you trying to say?" she shot back, grinning.
"Hmm, I don't know, you tell me..." he said. He looked away innocently with those dimples of his.
They spent the rest of the day joking and laughing. "Well, I have something to look forward to at work now," So Young thought to herself as she walked home that night.
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