The alarm clock emitted an ear-piercing ring from the bedside table. Seohyun shot up, still half-asleep, hand searching desperately for the snooze button.
 

“No snoozing today, Seo,” Suho managed to say while brushing his teeth. “Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!”

Seohyun groaned. “It’s too early for this, Suho. Just five more minutes?”

“No can do, Seo.” He was leaning over her now. “You have a fitting at 6am sharp!”

“Get your minty mouth away from me!” Seohyun finally emerged from her bed, probably three-quarters awake now. It was progress. “How’d you even get in my room?”
 

Suho ran out the room, laughing (or gurgling) through a foamy sea of spearmint with extra whitening powers. Seohyun sighed. She had to get a lock for that door if he was going to barge in like that all the time. Her bare feet grazed the cold, wooden floors, making her flinch.

The sun hadn’t even woken up yet; not a trace of light filtered through a single window. It was a fight to stay awake as Seohyun stumbled over every single piece of furniture possible in her bedroom, practically crawling her way to the bathroom in the darkness.

Down the hallway, Suho was already dressed and ready to go; the only thing lacking was a full stomach. Calling to Seohyun from the kitchen Suho asked: “Want the usual, Seo?”, in which she replied with a loud, sleepy groan. That meant yes. As Suho went on cooking, Seohyun went on getting dressed now being fully awake and functional.

As she walked into the breakfast nook where a plate of breakfast awaited her, Suho ate in his usual uncivilized way across the table, a concoction of eggs and bread stuffed in his mouth.

“As much of a great cook you are,” Seohyun yawned, “your skills in proper eating etiquette don’t quite meet up.”

Suho’s chewing halted for a second in order for him to utter out some rather indecipherable words. Luckily, Seohyun knew the language of a hungry Suho. “It’s not like I’m eating with the Queen of England or something.”

“No,” Seohyun laughed. “Thanks for always cooking me meals. I kinda feel guilty that I never cook, though.”

Suho waved his hand. “Nah, just eat. I like cooking anyway.”

Seohyun scooped up her scrambled eggs. As she was chewing away on a piece of buttered and sugared down toast, her eyes shot up. “Suho, is today Saturday?”

He nodded.
 

She smiled. “Um, when will the fitting be over?”

Suho finished gulping down some cranberry juice. “Well, you have fittings for Chanel, Elie Saab, and Stella McCartney, you busy bee. But you’ll probably be finished with them all by the afternoon.”

“Ah, I see. I’ve been practicing my runway walk, by the way!”

“And how’s that going for you?”

“All I’m afraid of is tripping, but other than that I should be good.”

The two of them went to the kitchen with their empty breakfast plates. Just like ‘Sehun Oh’ Luhan had said in the magazine, Seohyun was now a household name in the fashion industry. She didn’t need to seek out designers in order to model their clothes or photographers for her next photo shoot; they all came to her instead. Her schedule was so full for the next few months that it was absolutely alarming. Suho even had to give out lengthy emails and an unsettling amount of phone calls all explaining to whom it may had concerned that Seohyun was indeed busy, declining their offers for shows, photo shoots, and endorsements. Day and night, Seohyun would work her job. It was a job one could only find in their wildest dreams. She was thankful.
 

Heading toward her first schedule of the day, Seohyun was anxious. Only a few more hours until she would meet her wonderful stranger again. 

______________________________________________________________________________________

1:46 p.m.
 

Seohyun walked out of the atelier, leaving behind her now properly fitted outfits for upcoming fashion shows. She waved a gracious goodbye to the staff and made her way back to the front of the building. 
 

Suho had dropped her off here early this morning, telling her to call him once she was finished. Seohyun pulled out her phone, shaking her head. He was more like a protective brother than a simple friend sometimes. 
 

“Hello?” came his voice from the other end of the line.
 

“Ah, Suho, just calling to say I’ve finished the fittings.”

“Oh, that’s good. Want me to pick you up?”

“No, you’re busy, aren’t you?”
 

“Well,” he hesitated. “I have some stories on my desk to look over for our next issue, but I always have time for you, Seo. It’s no big deal.”

Seohyun smiled. He was too kind. “Don’t lie, Suho. You’re busy, and that’s okay. I’ll just take a taxi.”

“A taxi?” She could hear the frown in his voice. “Okay, but make sure it’s not some creepy old man in his forties looking for a poor, innocent girl to prey on. You can’t trust anyone these days. You definitely can’t trust strangers.”

Seohyun held in her laugh. “Okay, I’ll make sure to ask him if he’s a creepy old man in his forties who wants to prey on me for lunch. Do you think I’ll taste more like croissants or biscuits with jam?”

“Seo, you know what I mean,” he said firmly over the phone.
 

“I know, I know. Don’t worry, Suho. Now get back to work, Mr. Editor-in-chief.”
 

Seohyun waved for a taxi. Suho’s voice came from the other line again. “Seo, you’ll call me if something happens, right?”

“Promise.” A taxi pulled over in front of her. “Bye bye, now. Taxi’s here.”
 

She hung up the phone, got in the car, and told the driver where to go. As the driver drove down the street, Seohyun leaned her head against the car window. Suho was definitely more like a brother than a friend. But she was thankful. She was thankful to have someone around who saw her as an important person in their life, to want to make sure she was always okay, always happy. 
 

There were few people like that in her life, and those few people she had already left behind back in America. Suho was her only family here now, on this side of the world. She hoped that more precious people would enter into her life from now on, one by one, as she made her new life in this city called Paris. 
 

“Ten euros.” 
 

Seohyun sat up, having just noticed that this was indeed her stop. “Ah, here. Thank you.”
 

With a grunt, the driver accepted her payment. Seohyun stepped out of the car and slammed the door before he could drive away with it fully swung open. She looked around her new destination.
 

The river glistened beautifully in the afternoon sun. Above her, trees clustered up to provide shade for customers of this little bistro on the corner of the street. She read the sign proudly resting in between striped awnings. 
 

“La Bistrot Christophe.” She smiled. “I hope Sehun wasn’t lying to me.”
 

Seohyun entered the charming, little restaurant and looked down at her watch.
 

2:04 p.m.
 

She looked around, hoping to see those enchanting eyes meet hers, hoping to see even his worn cap that always sat on his pretty hair. After several rounds of scanning the room, her shoulders fell. 
 

He wasn’t here.
 

Seohyun didn’t have a hard time believing it, though. This was the beauty of not getting your hopes up, of not having expectations. Perhaps Sehun was only messing with her after all. You can never trust strangers, as Suho says. 

Seohyun sighed. As she turned around to head out the door, she accidentally bumped into a figure. She would have said sorry if only her entire body hadn’t frozen.
 

It was him. The same endearing eyes looked at her widely and innocently. His same flawless skin shined even without the help of the light filtering through the windows. And it was definitely him, for the expression on his face was as kind as ever. He opened his mouth, searching for words in his state of shock.
 

“Seohyun,” Luhan breathed. “Hi...”
 

“Luhan, what a coincidence,” Seohyun smiled. She slapped herself mentally. This isn’t a coincidence, she thought. Sehun told you he would be here, you idiot. 
 

“Yes,” he agreed. 
 

It was silent for a moment, but Seohyun thought nothing of it. He was actually here in front of her, just as beautiful as ever.
 

Luhan flashed her a smile. “Well, since we’re here, would you like to have lunch with me?”
 

A thousand times yes, Seohyun screamed internally. “I’d love to.”
 

The two of them were led to a table, given menus, and ordered drinks. Their seats overlooked the river outside, the view absolutely spectacular. Seohyun kept sneaking glances at Luhan here and then, making sure he really was there, that this wasn’t a dream. She was never caught though and wondered if he, too, had been sneaking glances without her knowledge as well. Or maybe, she thought, this infatuation was only a one-sided deal.
 

Something he had said before had suddenly started beating her in the head. It was something she had pushed back to the deepest depths of her mind, but now it had swum back up to the surface of her knowledge to bother her once again. 
 

“Do you really not wish to see me?”
 

“What?” Luhan looked up from his menu. “What do you mean?”

“Before, that last time we had talked,” Seohyun explained, “you said that you didn’t wish for us to meet again.”
 

“No, I...”
 

“Is there something wrong? Have I done something?” 
 

Luhan’s expression stiffened. “No, not at all. It’s nothing. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I see.” Seohyun nodded. “But if there’s a problem, please don’t hesitate to tell me, Luhan.”
 

He smiled. “Of course. But nothing’s wrong. I promise.”
 

She grinned at him. Her mind was now at ease. She had feared that Luhan had actually disliked her, as much as she admired him. Seohyun was glad that that wasn’t the case. The buildup of tension in her chest disappeared, her nerves rested.
 

“So, do you usually come here, Seohyun?”
 

“No, it’s actually my first time. I had been wanting to find new places in Paris, now that I live here.” She sipped her drink, watching the ice cubes clink against each other in the glass as she set it back down on the table. “Do you usually come here?”
 

“Actually, every weekend for lunch.” He played with the fork that had been sitting next to his hand, examining it like a fine painting.
 

Seohyun hid her smile. Sehun didn’t lie to her; she had to thank him next time they crossed paths. Just when she was starting to doubt him, his honest words did justice. Maybe you really could trust strangers.
 

Luhan looked at her, watching her hide her smile from behind the massive menu. Her eyes always looked at him with endearment, and her kindness always showed. No one had ever wanted to become closer to him than she did, and that’s what confused him. What could she possibly see in him that captivated her? Luhan didn’t think himself anything special. He didn’t think himself as beautiful or graceful, charming or appealing. But he thought she was every one of those, and he was more confused than ever as to why she even made the effort to talk to him.
 

Seohyun put down her menu, finally building up the courage to talk to him with her own initiative. “Do you think we’ll meet again after this?”
 

Luhan tilted his head to the side, thinking for a second. “Well, instead of hoping for another coincidental encounter,” he replied, “how about we agree to it?”
 

Her expression lit up. “Really? You want to meet again?”
 

“Sure. Permitting your work, though. Now that you’re kind of famous,” Luhan trailed off a bit, “it might be harder for us to meet up so easily like this.”
 

Seohyun shook her head. “Then let’s agree to meet up like this. Every weekend, you said you come here, right?”
 

Luhan nodded.
 

“Then it’s decided. Luhan, would you like to have lunch with me here every weekend?”
 

Seohyun’s smile pierced through his heart, he being completely captivated by her. He wanted to say yes, but... “Yes. I’d like that.”
 

“Perfect!” 
 

Their food arrived, and soon enough they were enjoying finely crafted sandwiches on delicate little plates. Seohyun ate in complete bliss; this was indeed food only found in France. She looked at the man in front of her, no longer a stranger, but now a friend - a friend named Luhan. Today was the beginning of an adventure into his world, of finding out more about him. 
 

For Luhan, today would also be the beginning. The beginning not of an adventure, but a path into unknown territory. She was a complete mystery to him, but he was drawn to her. Luhan wanted to know more about Seohyun, to become closer to her; however, he knew that that was dangerous. He couldn’t afford to become closer with her, but Luhan couldn’t help himself.
 

Lunch was over, and the two of them ended up standing outside the restaurant, finally parting for today. Seohyun wasn’t disappointed, though, because she knew she would meet him again in a week’s time.
 

“I’ll see you next Saturday, then,” Seohyun beamed.
 

Luhan took her hand, held it close to his lips, and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her palm. “Goodbye, then, mademoiselle.”
 

Seohyun’s cheeks turned a cherry blossom pink. “Seohyun is fine,” she stuttered. “You don’t have to call me mademoiselle.”
 

“Seohyun, then,” Luhan smiled down at her. “Since you like that better.”
 

She nodded, completely flustered. A feeling overcame her chest, and she found it harder to breathe, especially when she looked him right in the eyes. Little did she know, Luhan was having that same exact feeling, even though his expression was much calmer in comparison to hers. 
 

As a taxi was called over, Luhan watched Seohyun climb into the car, waving goodbye to him sweetly. The taxi was gone in seconds, speeding down the cobblestoned street and out of his view.
 

Inside the taxi, Seohyun sighed. A smile formed from her lips, slowly widening as she reran the moments from earlier in her head: seeing him, seeing his smile, hearing him talk, being with him. She shook her head, thinking about how foolish she was. How could someone fall in love so fast, she thought. How could she fall in love so fast?
 

Back at the front of the restaurant, Luhan was thinking the exact same thoughts, but handled it with different emotions. How could he fall in love so fast, he thought to himself. How could he fall in love so fast?
 

Luhan sat on the curb. He couldn’t afford to fall in love with her, especially her. He was dragging himself into a world full of complications and danger, but he was falling for every trap with full consciousness. Luhan knew that he was getting himself into something treacherous, not for him, but for Seohyun. He couldn’t fall in love with her, he thought.
 

If he loved her, Luhan thought, that would mean she would eventually get hurt.