Soohyun woke up to the sun shining through his bedroom window and the smell of pancakes filling the entire apartment. Opening his eyes, he found that he was completely alone in the bed. He turned around to look at the clock, 7am. He had to be at work in an hour. “Why didn’t my alarm wake me up at 6:30 like every morning?” He pushed the thought away when Dongho came in and jumped on the bed. “Pancakes.” The little boy said, with a big white, missing a tooth, smile. Soohyun ruffled Dongho’s hair and said that he would be out in a moment.

When Soohyun had changed his clothes he walked into the kitchen. His eyes went wide at the sight before him. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, toasted bread and freshly squeezed orange juice. It has been years since someone last made a breakfast table like this for him. “I felt bad for just staying here.” Jia said, while looking down to her feet. “So I wanted to make both of you an American styled breakfast. Since it’s one of the things I personally really like.” She now looked at Soohyun to see his reaction. “I hope it’s okay that I cooked, since I kind of forgot to ask to use your kitchen.” She was pleased with his “woah” expression, which clearly gave away his joy. She smiled to herself. She gave a sign to him that he should sit down and eat. He gladly did so.

While eating they talked about everything from their jobs, to how Dongho’s kindergarten was. Small talk that made them know more and more about each other. Jia felt glad that she could make both Dongho and Soohyun happy with this small gesture. She never had any of this with her own family and last time she made a big breakfast was for Kevin and Yuna, the day Kevin was going to propose. He was an awful cook and Jia just couldn’t bear to see Yuna starve because of his cooking skills, let alone on that special day. Once in a while she would cook a special breakfast to herself, but it didn’t feel as great as making others happy with it. It really did feel great to her.

She just sat there, smiling to herself when Soohyun brought her back to reality. “Someone seems happy today.” He said, smiling back at her. She blushed and looked down at her plate as Soohyun chuckled. “I was hoping you could take care of Dongho today, while I’m at work.” Jia looked up at him. “Isn’t he going to kindergarten today?” She asked. Soohyun looked over at Dongho who winked back at his father. “No. He is not feeling well today, so I think it’s best if he stays home.” Jia couldn’t help but laugh at the guys actions. Soohyun chuckled and looked at her with a pleading look. Jia decided to play along. She put her hand on Dongho’s forehead. “You do seem to have a slight fever.” Jia took her hand off and pinched Dongho’s cheek. “Better make sure you don’t get any more sick.” Dongho flashed a huge smile, happy that he got his will. Soohyun laughed. “She takes so god care of him. Like a real mother.” He looked down on his watch. He had to be at work in 15 minutes. “Crap.” He muttered. Jia looked up at him. “I’m late for work.” He made an annoyed face. “I better get going. Please don’t spoil him too much.” He said with a smile on his lips. Jia smiled back. “Don’t worry, I got this!” He gave her a questionable look, but just shook his head and stood up.

Jia followed him out to the hallway to wish him a good day at work. When Soohyun had put on his jacket and had his bag over his shoulder, he turned to her. “Don’t let him watch too much television, it’s not good for him.” Jia just nodded and gave him an -I got this- smile. When Soohyun was about to walk out the front door Jia stopped him. She leaned up and gave him a light peck on the cheek. “Have a nice day.” She whispered. Soohyun’s eyes almost popped out of his head at her sudden action. He had no idea what to do. He started to stammer. “uh uhm y-yeah… y-you too.” He could feel his blood rush to his cheeks. He quickly went out of the door and ran down the stairs. When he was out of the building he stopped running and put his hand over his cheek. “What, what just happened? She kissed my cheek!” He took a deep breath. He could already feel how this day would be torture on his hormones.

Soohyun worked at a quite popular restaurant with his best friend Eli. Eli was the main chef and the owner, while Soohyun was one of the more popular waiters there. He had been working there since he graduated from college. In the beginning it was just a temporary job to help Eli get started on his business, but now he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. They had been friends since infancy and could always count on each other. Eli was there when Soohyun became alone with Dongho and Soohyun was there when Eli’s sister died from an illness. They knew each and every little thing about each other and they worked well like that.

Eli could tell that something was up with his best friend the moment Soohyun entered the kitchen. Eli immediately attacked him. “So… Someone has something on his mind today.” Eli teasingly said. Soohyun looked over at his friend, who had a big white smile plastered on his flawless face. “You know how Dongho got lost, again. Right?” Eli raised his eyebrow. “Yeah, what about it?” Soohyun took in a deep breath. “My neighbour found him and she’s… well… pretty good looking and.” He took another deep breath. “And now she is staying at my apartment. Sleeping next to me in y underwear” Soohyun scratched the back of his neck. Eli’s eyes got wide. “How well do you know your neighbour?” Eli asked with a questionable look. Soohyun looked down to his feet. “About 20 hours.” Eli almost fell backwards from the chair he was sitting on. “Woah… You must really need some. Has it really been that long?” Eli said with a huge grin on his face. Soohyun just gave him a stern look, making Eli stop his sarcastic comments. Eli muttered a “sorry” and decided to ask more about this new situation his best friend found himself in. Soohyun thought it would be best to tell everything, so he did.

“So she will be there until Sunday?” Eli questioned with a tiny smirk forming on his lips. Soohyun just nodded. “Why don’t you bring her as your date on Friday then?” Soohyun eyes shot up and his jaw dropped. “I can’t do that! I barely know her!” Soohyun exclaimed. Eli’s smirk grew. “It’s the perfect chance to get to know her better! And you’re not allowed to come without a date anyway. Who else are you gonna bring?” “But you said I could come alone!!” “Yes, but that was before you got a lady friend.” Eli jus stated. Soohyun groaned. He knew Eli wouldn’t give up until he had his way. “Fine! I’ll ask her. I can’t promise she’ll say yes.” Eli gave a big smile. “I’m sure she will!”

Today had been a long day for Soohyun. He had to listen to Eli nag him about Jia the entire day. “I knew I shouldn’t have told him everything! Why do I trust that guy so much?” He sighed deeply. He was looking forward to getting home and take a long relaxing shower. While walking home his thoughts kept turning to Jia, and the fact that he now promised to invite her to Eli’s birthday party. How was this going to go for him? “How should I ask? Should I give her flowers? No… that would be too much. Wait! She can’t get into her apartment, which means she won’t have anything to wear!” He totally forgot that fact. He bit down on his bottom lip. He decided to ask her anyway. “I could always shop some clothes for her, right?” He suddenly became nervous when he entered the apartment building. Would she even accept his offer?

When Soohyun entered his apartment he was greeted with a wall of silence. He knew that Jia probably already put Dongho to bed since it was past 8pm, but was she sleeping too? When he went past the bathroom, he could see that the door was slightly open and he could hear the water running. He stood there for a moment, feeling his body get hot. He started to picture her . How the water was sliding down her curves. He wanted to see and touch her. “Dude what are you doing!? Pull yourself together, you bastard.” He shuddered at himself for thinking dirty about her. This was not making anything easier for him. He shook his head and went to the kitchen to get a glass of cold water, trying to calm himself.

The shower felt great to Jia. She got her thoughts cleared and her body relaxed. Her day had been quite full. Her and Dongho had been at the park playground, and ice cream shop, played some board games and been reading a lot of books. She was completely dead. It’s been a while since she spent that much time anywhere else then her office. She had to admit, she did like going outside and especially when she could make that little cute kid happy in the process. She changed into Soohyun’s spare clothes, which he had left for her earlier that day and walked out to the kitchen.

On her way through the hallway she heard someone open one the fridge. She assumed that Soohyun was finally home. She stopped at the kitchen door and leaned against the doorframe. “Welcome home.” Jia gently said while lifting her hand into a wave. Soohyun spun around on his heels, looking a bit startled by the voice suddenly speaking to him. He almost choked on the water he was swallowing. Jia giggled at bit. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.” She tried not to laugh at his facial expression. Soohyun cleared his throat. “Uhm no. Well yes you did, a little bit.” He flashed a smile, realising he must have looked quite funny.

After laughing a bit they sat down at the dining table. “I hope Dongho wasn’t too rough to handle.” Soohyun said while looking into Jia’s captivating eyes. He noticed that the colour was a very special kind of green. A colour he’d never seen before. It just made him want to look deeply into them even more. “No. he was a complete joy!” Jia pulled Soohyun out of his thoughts, with her sweet voice. “I was wondering if I could hire you as his babysitter, also after you get your key back?” He gave her a very serious look. Jia started to fittle with her fingers, while she was thinking. “I could do that.” She said with a smile. Soohyun gave her a big smile back and took one of her hands to give it a squeeze. “Thank you.” His voice was low but meaningful. Jia looked down to her hand and then back up at Soohyun. She was now blushing like crazy. Soohyun saw her flustered face and quickly removed his hand. They both looked away as an awkward silence spread across the room.

After a few minutes Soohyun decided to speak. Taking a deep breath, before doing so. “My friend Eli is holding a birthday party tomorrow and I can’t go without a date.” He paused to look at Jia from across the table. “I don’t really know any women who could go with me, so would you like to be my date? It would really mean a lot to me.” Jia’s eyes winded. She had never been asked out before and certainly not by a guy she just met, like a day ago. She started to fumble with her right earlobe, something she would always do when she became overly nervous. Soohyun just studied her actions without saying a word. He wanted her to take the time she needed.

Ten minutes had past and Jia was still in a fight with her own mind. Soohyun kept his patience. Suddenly Jia looked straight at him with a shy look. “Will there be many people attending?” Soohyun tilted his head a little. “Not too many. It’s mostly friends from college and high school.” She nodded. “Is Eli a close friend to you?” Soohyun looked at her with a puzzled look. “He’s my best friend, so I guess we are pretty close. Why?” She looked down to her lap. “Does it really mean a lot to you?” She shyly looked at him once more. Soohyun just nodded, not leaving her gaze. “What about Dongho?” She suddenly asked. Soohyun’s lips curved into a smile. “Is that what you’re worried about?” She nodded. He smiled once again. “Don’t worry. He is going to stay at his grandparents’ house from tomorrow until Wednesday. He’ll be in good hands.” Jia taped her chin with her index finger. “But I can’t get into my apartment. What will I wear? I don’t even have any makeup!” Soohyun’s smile turned into a smirk. “Since Dongho will be picked up in the morning, I thought we could go shopping before the party.” Jia looked at him with a -are you serious- look. Soohyun laughed. “Yes, I’m serious.” “But I don’t have that much money on me!” She was really concerned about his plan now. “I’ll pay, so don’t worry about it.” He gave her a kind smile. “ I can’t let you do that! I mean just, just no. I can’t accept this.” She frowned at him. Soohyun found her cute when she looked mad and confused at the same time. Jia kept objecting and Soohyun was getting a bit annoyed. Why couldn’t she just say yes to his offer? A normal woman would’ve.

Soohyun stood up. To make Jia stop complaining, he walked over to her side of the table and put his arms on either side of her. Their faces were only inches apart. “I’m going to take you shopping tomorrow.” He said with a stern voice, looking straight into Jia’s eyes. “End of story.” Jia looked up into his eyes. She could feel herself getting hot. He was standing really close and she could feel his breath on her lips. Jia didn’t know what to do, so she just muttered an “okay” and broke away from his gaze. Her face was blood red and Soohyun noticed. He kissed her cheek and said a low “goodnight” right next to her ear. He walked out of the kitchen, leaving Jia sitting like a statue in her chair.

It took her a few minutes to snap out of her statue like position. “What just happened? Am I going out with Soohyun now? Oh god, I am! To a birthday party, with a lot of people I don’t know… What do I do!?” Jia felt her body shiver, she was already getting nervous. “I better go to bed.” She said to herself. She got up and walked to the bedroom, where Soohyun was already sound asleep, or so she thought. She walked over to his side of the bed, and sat down on the edge of it. She ran her fingers carefully through his silky smooth hair, trying not to wake him. “He even looks handsome when he sleeps. Why do I think you’re so wonderful? I hardly even know you!” Jia’s word was almost silent, but little did she know that Soohyun was listening to every word. He was longing to hold her in his arms. The way her fingers were running through his hair was making him go crazy. He could smell his soap on her skin as she sat close to him. He had to hold himself back. Suddenly she stopped. Soohyun could feel her leave his side of the bed and heard her walk to the other side, where she laid down next to him. He could hear Jia yawn and her breathing quickly turned into soft deep breaths, she was already sleeping.