"Ah !" Rui cursed to herself out loud as she walked out of her office to realise that it was raining heavily. After the kind of day she had at work, she didn't want to go back into her office building so she dashed across the street to where a small cafe was located.

 

The cafe was flooded with people, probably taking shelter from the rain too. Not wanting to draw attention to her soaked self, Rui hurried towards the booth at the end of the cafe (the only booth available), hastily taking her coat off as she took her seat. She ordered a hot latte and proceeded to observe her surroundings. The cafe was quaint and cosy, definitely had a homely feel to it. It was nice. "I chose the right place as a refuge from the rain" Rui thought to herself. It's been a while since she had the time to just sit and breathe. Rui had been so busy working for the last few years; she forgot how nice it feels like to be sipping on a hot latte in a cafe all by herself. She loves her job, but the workload has prevented her from having a social life. Except for the occasional drinking session with her friends, she hasn't had much social interaction with other people outside of the workplace.

 

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realise someone was sitting here" said a soft, raspy male voice, breaking Rui's chain of thought. "I'll just find somewhere else to sit" said the man again.

 

Rui lifted her head, took a quick look around the cafe before glancing at the man. "That's alright, looks like the cafe's full. Have a sit", Rui said gesturing to the chair across from her. "At least now I won't look so forever alone" she thought to herself. She didn't realise his face at first because he had the hood of his jacket up, shadowing his face. But as soon as he sat down, Rui recognised the man immediately.

 

"Sorry again for intruding your booth but I was looking for a place to stay out from the rain and from the entrance, the booth looked like it was empty. I'll move to a different table once someone leaves. Sorry" said the man as he flashed the kind smile he was once well-known for. Still shocked to see him, Rui only managed a slight nod as a response to his apology. "Ah, you're not mad are you? Really, I'll move to a different seat once it's available" said the man again with an apologetic look plastered all over his face.

 

Willing to speak, Rui finally said; "No no, it's alright really. You can seat here as long as you want. I'm sheltering from the rain as well and it's nice to have company".

 

The man smiled again and introduced himself. "My name's Daesung. Nice to meet you".

 

"I'm Rui and urm, I actually recognise you..." Rui said, her voice trailing off.

 

Of course she recognised him, how can she not? This man was the subject of her affection many years ago. Before Big Bang took a long hiatus and never came back, before she had to give in to reality, before she had to grow up and leave the fangirling life to younger kids with much less responsibilities in life than her.

 

"Oh, you do? Ahh, you must have been a really big fan then. Not that many people recognise me anymore these days. Not even in Korea, much less here in Japan" Daesung said, smiling to himself. Rui smiled at his ridiculous statement, she would've recognise that face anywhere until the day she dies.

 

"I'm sure you're just being humble. You're still a pretty big deal, even after... You guys took a break" Rui responded, softly muttering the last line.

 

**

 

It's been a three weeks since the chance encounter with Daesung at the cafe but Rui was still smiling to herself whenever she remembered that night. She had a good time that evening. She ended up talking for hours with Daesung about random things; from Daesung's hilarious tour stories to Rui's embarrassing drunken night activities. She had never opened up to a stranger before, but then again, he wasn't a stranger to her. They left late that night when the waitress of the cafe came up to tell them that the cafe was closing. She didn't realise they had been talking for that long, the rain stopped hours ago and no one was even in the cafe anymore.

 

Daesung, being the true gentleman he is offered to walk her home only to be told that Rui lived far enough that she needed to take a cab so he walked her to the nearest cab station and waited with her until a taxi came to take Rui home. She almost wished the night would never end; it had been the perfect evening.

 

"Will I see you again?" Daesung asked as he held the cab door open for her.

 

"Maybe. I work at that building right there, come drop by sometime if you're ever in this area. We can go have coffee again" Rui answered.

 

"Okay. Next time, your drinks are on me. Thanks for letting me share that booth" said Daesung as he smiled, causing his eyes to turn into the shape of the crescent moon.

 

And that was the last she saw of him until one evening when her secretary came knocking on her office door. "Hey boss, a man's here to see you. Do I let him in? Says he owes you for something?" Rui merely responded with an "Uh yeah, sure" wondering if she knew anyone who owed her for anything.

 

She was pleasantly surprised when Daesung appeared at her door, smiling, as always. "Hey" he said as he walked towards Rui's table, naturally taking a seat on the chair across her office desk. "I was in the area and I thought maybe-"

 

"maybe you could buy me a latte as a way for saying thank you for letting you sit in my booth? Well, you're a few weeks late" Rui said cutting Daesung off mid-speech as she giggled to herself.

 

"Oh no. I'm not here to buy you a latte" Daesung said, smiling at Rui’s words. Rui blushed, embarassed of her quick assumption. "I was just in the neighbourhood and I remembered you worked here. Thought you might want to.. Go grab some dinner? ... With me" Daesung added the last line nervously.

 

He wants to have dinner with me? Rui thought to herself. She could hear her heart beating in her rib cage in excitement. "Urm. I have a few more things to settle here but I'd love to if you can wait for a bit" Rui answered, her fingers fiddling with the load of paperwork on her table.

 

"Yeah sure. I'll wait at the cafe? In your booth?" Daesung said, eyes sparkling.

 

My booth, he said my booth!!! Rui screamed in her head in excitement.

 

**

 

And so that was how it all started. Rui became fast friends with Daesung, he was every bit as lovely as she always imagined he would be. Daesung is caring and lovely and surprisingly talkative for someone who claims to be as shy as he is. Rui didn't mind though, she was glad to sit and listen to all his stories as they munch down their dinner.

 

"How come you never dated? Or were you really good at hiding your relationships?" Rui asked Daesung over their 7th plate of sushi that night. She's always wondered really, back then she wondered as a fan but now she just wonders as a friend because it was puzzling to her how Daesung would talk about everything under the sun but never once about girls and relationships.

 

"Oh, you didn't know? I like men" Daesung calmly answered as he took a small bite from his anago sushi.

 

"Oh" was all Rui managed to answer.

 

 Daesung gave out a hearty laugh, nearly spitting out his food as he looked at Rui's crestfallen face. "I'M KIDDING YOU SILLY GIRL" said Daesung as he pinched Rui's nose getting a little wasabi stuck to her face in the process.

 

 Rui blushed. Daesung and her were friends, but he's never tried to touch her more than it was necessary for him to. Like holding her hand when they crossed the street (Rui was deathly afraid of crossing the street) or when the weather's cold and Daesung took her hands in his to keep her warm as they walked.

 

Her heart pounded loudly threatening to break out of her chest when Daesung took his napkin to wipe the wasabi off. "Sorry, you've wasabi on your face. Does it hurt your skin? You look kind of red" Daesung said, a hint of concern heard in his voice.

 

"Nope. It's fine. I just.." Rui's voice trailed off as she dipped her finger in the wasabi on her plate and smeared it on Daesung's cheek. "Now we're even" Rui said as she leaned back to admire her artwork on his face.

 

Daesung pouted and demanded that Rui wipe the wasabi off for him but Rui was determined not to baby the grown man. "Fine, then I'll have wasabi all over my face all night until you clean it up for me" Daesung sulkily said to himself.

 

True to his words, Daesung left the wasabi to dry on his face even as they got up to leave the restaurant. It was late at night and the weather was cold, but they always enjoyed their night walks after their dinner. "It's actually hurting my skin, to have the cold wind blow on the wasabi" Daesung said, lips turning downwards into a cute, little frown. Rui was about to tell Daesung to wipe off the wasabi himself when it started to pour. Daesung took hold of her hand and they ran towards a boutique that had an awning at the entrance to take shelter.

 

"Why does it always rain when I'm with you?" Rui complained to Daesung who was combing his now wet hair with his fingers.

 

"Oh first you won't wipe the wasabi, now you blame me for the bad weather?" Daesung immediately responded in a fake hurtful tone.

 

"No really. Think about it, it always rains when we go out. Why'd we have to take the cab so far into the city just to have your favourite sushi. Now no cab's gonna want to drive in this rain and I'm about to freeze to death" Rui answered, worried that her fingers are slowly losing feeling thanks to the rain and the cold weather. Daesung looked at Rui's face, unsure if she was angry at him for causing them to be stuck in the rain.

 

After about a minute of contemplating his thoughts, Daesung finally said "Come, I know a place we can stay warm if you're willing to make a run for it. I promise it's not that far". Without waiting for Rui to respond, Daesung once again took her hands and they ran off into the rain. Daesung skillfully led her down the street, across a few small roads and after what seemed like a long time of sloshing through the rain (that seemed to be getting heavier by the minute) they arrived at an exclusive looking apartment building. Rui stopped in her tracks, staring at the grand building in front of her before Daesung tugged lightly at her hand and pulled her through the glass doors past the building’s doorman who held it open for them.

 

“Where are we going? Do you live here?” Rui started to ask questions as they rode the elevator waiting for it to arrive at the penthouse. Daesung nodded his head slightly as he fussed over the water now dripping down from his drenched clothes.

 

They arrived at the penthouse and Rui was taken aback at the sight before her. Daesung’s apartment was beautiful. It had glass windows all around and had it not been for the heavy rain, they would probably be able to see the whole sky view of Tokyo. Rui didn’t even notice that Daesung had left her alone in the living room to go get her a towel for her to dry herself with. The walls of Daesung’s home are embellished with art and pictures of what Rui assume are his family and friends. She recognized some of the pictures, like the picture of Big Bang winning their Song of The Year award at MKMF and several other pictures of Daesung with the Big Bang members backstage at one of their many tours in the past. Rui smiled to herself, she loved these 5 boys, heck, she still does. If it weren’t for Big Bang, she wouldn’t have even known of the existence of some of her best friends’ now.

 

“What are you smiling at?” Daesung softly asked as he handed a towel to Rui. “Nothing, I’m just looking at your pictures with the boys.

 

The Big Bang boys.” Rui answered, carefully wrapping the towel around herself.

 

“Ah, yes. The boys. It’s been a while hasn’t it?” Daesung thought out loud, as he directed his gaze towards the pictures Rui were looking at. “Anyway, do you want some coffee? Or… Do you need to shower or something? You can go take a shower and I’ll pop your clothes in the drier real quick. I’m sure I can find some clothes that might fit you as we wait for your stuff to dry” Daesung said, blushing to himself.

 

He doesn’t remember the last time he had a woman in his apartment, it was awkward; Daesung wasn’t sure what to do now that a girl is standing right in the middle of his living room. It seemed impolite to ask her if she wants to shower the first time she brought her to his home but it would be even more tactless of him if he didn’t ask.

 

“Ah, yeah. A shower would be good, but you go ahead first. I’ll make my own coffee” smiled Rui not meeting Daesung’s eyes.

 

When Daesung went off to take a shower, Rui stood up and went to the direction of the kitchen as Daesung had showed her earlier. She rummaged through the cabinets, looking for the coffee only to realize that it was next to the coffee machine. Smacking her head at her own stupidity, Rui turned the coffee machine on and brewed a fresh pot of coffee. It smelt good.

 

As Rui sipped on her coffee, the realization hit her; she’s in Daesung’s apartment. Daesung. THE Kang Daesung. Had this happened many years ago, she might be hyperventilating, a puddle of mess on the floor but today, she’s as calm as she can be. It took her a while to get used to having Daesung around, but he made it so easy for her not to see him as a celebrity. If she was honest, the only time she was actually star struck by Daesung was during their first encounter at the café. The fangirl admiration wore off pretty quick as she got to know Daesung better, only to be replaced with feelings. Real feelings she never thought she could have had for him.

 

“Aish, why does that man have to be so adorable?” Rui thought out loud to herself.

 

“Me? Awwwh Rui, you’re too kind” Daesung’s voice boomed from behind him as Rui felt her face turn into a shade of red.

 

“I- urm, I’m gonna go take a shower now. I made coffee” said Rui in a haste to leave the embarrassing scene, cursing herself as she walked out of the kitchen to realize she had no idea where the bathroom is.

 

As if reading her mind, she heard Daesung shout from the kitchen “To the right, second door into my room. You’ll see the bathroom door in there, next to the Doraemon lamp, I laid out some clothes on the bed for you to wear”. 

 

Grateful that she didn’t have to go back into the kitchen to face Daesung, Rui made her way to the second door on her right. Daesung’s room was as big as the furniture were minimalistic. There in the middle of the room was a big bed with Doraemon comforters and bed sheets where she could see a black tee and some sweatpants laid out on the bed right next to the Doraemon soft toy. Rui snickered to herself; Daesung’s love for Doraemon never withered.

 

Once Rui was done showering and changing into the clothes Daesung had laid out for her, she went back out of the room together with her drenched clothes to find Daesung sitting comfortably on the couch, watching some Japanese variety show on the television with two cups of coffee on the coffee table in front of him. Daesung heard her get out of the room and stood up to take her clothes out of her hands to be put into the drier. Rui awkwardly went to sit down on the couch and stared at the men trying to capture a ping pong ball with his mouth on tv.

 

Daesung came back and sat next to her, damn that man looks good in sweats, Rui thought to herself as she glanced at Daesung who was dressed in his off grey sweatpants and a fitted short sleeved black tshirt.

 

He didn’t say anything to her and Rui reveled in the silence between them as she took short sips from her cup of coffee when Daesung suddenly said “Twice. Once before debut and once after but no more since. Well, there were a couple of times when I was hopeful that I might be able to experience the beauty of love again but none of them got anywhere, they were all fleeting, those feelings. No where near how love should feel like so I guess, yeah, twice.”

 

Rui looked up at Daesung, puzzled at his sudden statement when she finally remembered her question during their dinner earlier. “Oh. How come? Did you really end up liking men?” Rui asked jokingly.

 

Daesung laughed a little and went on to answer Rui’s question “Urm, not really. Seunghyun-san nearly made me fall in love with him though. He’s such a beautiful man” Daesung said, laughing to himself as he continued talking, “I don’t love easily. And when I do, it’s hard for me to let go. I believe I’ve fallen in love once before Big Bang debuted but that didn’t work out because unfortunately, being famous changes everything and everyone around you. After that, I stayed single for a while until I finally fell in love again back when we were promoting the Alive album and she was lovely but I guess after a few years, that fell apart too. When she left, a part of me died and I didn’t think it was possible for me to love again. Or rather, I didn’t care so much about love anymore until recently when I realized that love isn’t so bad after all”. Daesung took a deep breath and held it in as he felt Rui’s hand reach out for his. It comforted him, feeling Rui’s warm hands around his, one of her fingers drawing circles on the back of his palm.

 

Rui smiled at him and said inquisitively “What made you change your mind?” but before Daesung could answer, a sound was heard coming from the dryer indicating that the Rui’s clothes were dried and ready to be worn again.

 

“Oh, your clothes are done, but it’s still raining out and I don’t want you to go home at this hour alone. Do you want to spend the night here? I can sleep on the couch and you can sleep in my room” said Daesung silently hoping that Rui would accept his offer.

 

“Only if you promise to stay up and talk to me” was Rui’s only response as her hands left Daesung’s to reach for her coffee cup leaving Daesung’s hands feeling bare and empty.

 

They ended up talking all night and Rui eventually fell asleep halfway through their conversation, slouched into Daesung’s side. Not wanting to wake Rui up, Daesung kept his position and as the night progressed, he fell asleep too.

 

It was late in the afternoon when Rui woke up, the sunlight brightly lighting up the living room. She felt a warm body by her side and an arm slinged casually around her, so she looked up to see that she had fallen asleep in Daesung’s arms.

 

Rui couldn’t believe how beautiful this man looked, even when he’s asleep. The rays from the sun lightly kissing his stunning face making him look like an angel. Rui rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and not wanting to rouse Daesung from his sleep, she kept still for a long time until she had to get up and go to the bathroom. Carefully untangling herself from him, she proceeded to get off the couch when Daesung’s eyes fluttered open.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up, I just had to go to the bathroom, I’ve been holding it in for a long time, sorry” Rui said apologetically. Daesung didn’t seem to hear a word that she said as he abruptly stood up with a determined look in his eyes and planted his lips against hers. His lips felt soft on hers, moving ever so slightly making sure he didn’t miss any part of her pink lips. He lashed out his tongue and lightly traced Rui’s bottom lip as she opened up only to respond to his tongue with her own. Daesung pressed his hand on the small of Rui’s back deepening the kiss.

 

After what seemed like forever, Rui broke the kiss and stared into Daesung’s small eyes “what… was that for?” she asked as Daesung took her hand in his and kissed it.

 

“I thought about it all night after you slept. It’s you” Daesung said in his hoarse, morning voice. Upon seeing the confused look on Rui’s face, Daesung continued talking. “It’s you; you made me change my mind about love. You make me want to love again”.

 Rui smiled at Daesung’s words and threw herself at him as she planted one kiss after another on Daesung’s angelic face. As Daesung lifted her up in his embrace, he realised that finally, he’s found the angel of his dreams.