Fell In 60 Seconds

It was a long, dreary day in the heart of Seoul. The sun was shining yet the pitter patter of drizzling rain could be heard in the background; along with the zooming noises cars made as they passed by. Myungsoo was walking wearily down the vibrant streets of Hongdae as hundreds of people passed him by carrying different things. He was holding an oversized umbrella over his head to protect himself from the rain. Then, suddenly a gust of strong wind hit him surprisingly and turned his umbrella inside out.  

Sighing, Myungsoo lowered his umbrella and searched for the nearest bin to throw away his broken item. Clumsily, he stepped into a shallow puddle of murky water and he grudgingly lifted his leg to find the hem of his trousers drenched. It had been a long day for him; having had to sit through 5 exams and multiple classes, he just wished to have a break. All he wanted to do was get away for a while and just have some time for himself; away from his friends, away from school, away from everything. 

Myungsoo continued walking down the streets and found a large bin right in front of a male clothing store. As he looked up, one of the jackets on sale and display caught his eye. He stopped suddenly and just stared into the display window, wondering how the jacket would look on him and contemplating whether or not it was worth spending money for. As seconds ticked by, the boy’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Coming out of his trance, Myungsoo took out his phone and watched the top left corner for the blinking green light; indicating that he had received a text. He turned it on to find that it was Sungjong asking him to buy some milk for him.

“Aishh, such a kid”, he grumbled.

He texted him back; agreeing to drop by the corner shop later on to buy whatever is needed for the dorm and asked if there were any other things the guys needed since he was on his way. Just as he turned his phone off, he caught sight of the time. It was 12:36pm.

“Damn!” He gasped, “It’s already 12:36pm? I should probably get something to eat…” He shoved his phone back into his pocket and left the shop window.

After walking around for a while, he found the exact cafe that he was looking for. He smiled. It was quaint and had a beautiful ‘European Bistro’ theme to it. Just as he was about to walk in, a young lady walked out of the cafe wearing an apron. She looked around the age of 20 years old. Myungsoo suddenly stopped in his tracks and stared at her. She stretched her arms out as if to welcome the bright sun back to Seoul. Her hair was a rich shade of mahogany and flowed in waves past her shoulders to compliment her glowing, porcelain-like skin. Her eyes, framed by long lashes, were a beautiful shade of hazel and seemed to brighten the world. A straight nose, full lips - she seemed the picture of perfection. Had she smiled, the world would sigh with contentment. Had she laughed, the world would laugh with her. Myungsoo was dumbstruck by her beauty; he couldn't stop staring. The girl turned to face Myungsoo and smiled. The girl and Myungsoo stared at each other until the girl broke the connection by winking, and flounced back into the restaurant.

"Wait!” Myungsoo called out, “What’s your name?"

He took a step towards her but was too late. She was already inside the cafe, happily serving customers. Without realizing, he absentmindedly followed her inside and took a seat at a table for two in the corner of the café; all whilst staring at the beautiful waitress. She swayed as she moved about in the bistro and Myungsoo was entranced.

Through the small oval window in the kitchen, he watched as the beautiful girl was chopping carrots cheerily. He smiled as he watched her, imagining that the food she was preparing was for him. Suddenly, he gasped as he saw her drop the knife; her finger bleeding. He stood up so quickly and caused his chair to screech loudly and fall over. He ran to the kitchen and up to her. Grabbing her arm, he brought her to the sink and gently washed to blood away and took out a flower covered Band-Aid from his pocket to put on her cut. Bringing her finger up to his lips, he placed a sweet kiss on her finger and smiled at her.

"There, all better." He chuckled, "Dayoung-ie, you should be a lot more careful next time. Ok?"

"Yah! It’s your fault, stupid!" She huffed. “You sit there pretending you don’t know me, asking for my name, and then watching me as if you’re a ert. What am I? A game!?”

"Shhhh," He cupped her cheek with his right hand whilst his left still was still held lovingly onto her damaged finger. His right thumb was placed softly onto her lips, causing her to stop talking. "I’m sorry, darling, I was just playing. I was so surprised to see you that I wanted to surprise you by pretending it was our first time meeting again."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." She replied, swatting away Myungsoo’s arm and wrapping her arms around her boyfriend instead, "Aishh, you're such a smooth talker, getting me to shut up like that. It’s dangerous." Dayoung then lifted her head and looked at her boyfriend straight into his eyes.

As they stood there in the kitchen of the bistro, hugging tightly and looking at one another amorously, the world around them seemed to have stopped. No noise could be heard, no one was moving around them, nothing was happening. It was just his breath against her breath. A staring competition between a couple suffering temptation. It was as if the world stood still.

Then, to break the trance, Myungsoo lifted his right hand and once more cupped Dayoung’s cheek. This time, instead of protesting, she leaned in closer to her boyfriend’s touch. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm feeling of his palm against her cheek. As did this, his gaze was directed onto her luscious pink lips that was glossed perfectly. He couldn’t help it anymore. Myungsoo closed his eyes and slowly closed the gap between their lips. As their faces grew closer and closer, they both can feel each other’s breaths on their cheeks. Centimetres into the kiss, Myungsoo stopped. It felt like years, but he just stayed there, not moving. Dayoung opened her eyes, only to find a scared expression on her boyfriend’s face. She smiled before finally pulling his face down onto her, his lips crashing onto her own.

“Dayoung-ie~” He whispered with eyes closed.

"Hello? Sir? Are you awake? Anyone there?" said a voice from behind him. The person shook him and his eyes shot open. Looking around him, he found another young lady standing with a notebook and pen.

"Are you ready to order yet?" She asked. She was in no way more beautiful than Dayoung, not even close.

‘Dayoung?’ He thought. ‘Where is she?’

He looked around, confused. From the corner of his eye, he saw ‘Dayoung’ in the kitchen cutting up the carrots as if nothing from the past 15 minutes happened. He then realized what was going on. It was all his imagination. This beautiful girl was not his own. He did not kiss her luscious lips. All he was doing was whispering her supposed name in the bistro and making a kissing face with closed eyes on his own.

With this realization, he shot the waitress a death glare.

“No.” He replied bluntly.

“Oh,” taken aback, the waitress walked backwards and bowed at a 90° angle, “Sorry, I’m really sorry.” She then scurried away, terrified of the crazy man speaking to himself in the corner of the bistro.

Sighing, Myungsoo propped his elbows onto the table and covered his face with his hands. What was he to do? This woman was not his, and he fell in love with her within a matter of seconds. He saw a future with her. It was definitely love at first sight. But who was he to know? He has never been in love. All he knew was this girl was something special.

And with that, he decided. Taking out a pen from his pocket; received from a fan that asked for an autograph on his way home from school, he carefully grabbed a napkin from its holder and scribbled away. When he was done, he slid a ring off from his finger and placed it in the napkin. Myungsoo stood up from his seat and started to walk out of the door when he felt someone tap his shoulder.

“Excuse me sir, are these yours?” The beautiful lady stood in front of him with the napkin and ring in her outstretch hands.

“What’s your name?” He asked bluntly.

“Oh, Dayoung. Why?”

“Keep this,” Without answering her question, Myungsoo curled her fingers so that her whole hand was covering the ring. “And this,” he said pointing to the napkin, “Is a letter from me.” And with that, Myungsoo left the bistro, a small smile forming on his lips.

Dayoung stood on the same spot for a while, dumbstruck with what just happened, before deciding to read that was on the napkin.

Dear Beautiful,

I Fell In 60 Seconds