She checked herself in the mirror over and over again. Is this too formal? Too casual? Do I look overdressed? These were some of the thoughts running through Sayuri's head as she stared at her reflection and tried to pick up clothes. She checked her Countdown for what seemed to be the umpteenth time today. Two months, one week, seventeen days, and six hours. "I don't remember it ever counting down that fast," she muttered to herself.

"Well, somebody's excited," her mother walked in to her room. "If I didn't know any better I would say you're going on a date," she added.

Sayuri jumped from her mother's sudden appearance. "Mom! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were just there," she apologized.

"Oh, that's fine," her mother reassured her. She went up to Sayuri and helped her pick out some appropriate outfits for her to wear. "So, who is he?" she asked.

"His name's Chanyeol. I met him through Luhan and they were performing at the cafe down the street. He's also the new morning barista," she told him. "He's really into music, and he's really tall. Oh, and he's got ears like a little fairy," Sayuri added.

Her mother chuckled at Sayuri's description. "I see," she replied. "So you don't know what his Countdown says, then?"

"No, I don't," Sayuri said. "But he asked me to go to dinner with him tonight, so I guess I'll know then?"

"You should be excited for yourself," her mother advised. "I saw him with you today while you were working. A mother knows when her daughter is definitely happy with someone. Not even your favorite book could make you light up the way you did around him," she pointed out.

Sayuri blushed. "Minah said something along those lines, too. But I don't know, I'm really nervous," she told her mother.

"And that's perfectly fine," she added. "You'll know it's him soon enough."

"Thanks, Mom." Sayuri felt reassured that her mother believed in her. She was most definitely excited to see Chanyeol later tonight.

Chanyeol patiently waited for her at the front of the bookstore. He glanced at his own Countdown as well and noticed how much faster it was going to zero. Two months, one week, fourteen days, and nine hours. He didn't recall having lost a month earlier, at least not until he met Sayuri. Chanyeol turned around to see her come out in a casual oversized sweater and jeans. Her hair was tied up in a bun and Chanyeol could see more of her face. "Shall we go?" Sayuri asked.

"Um, uh, yeah, we should," Chanyeol agreed. "Come on, the next train's coming in forty minutes. I'll lead this time," He took the initiative to hold her hand. Their fingers linked together and they both made their way to the train station.

"Where are we going?"

"We're almost there, I promise."

"Chanyeol, this is kind of a long walk."

"Well, it's been a while. It doesn't really help that I can't remember shortcuts for the life of me," Chanyeol explained. After getting off at the station (which turned out to be at the wrong stop), Chanyeol had suggested to walk to dinner, insisting that it "wasn't too far" and that he "knew the place like the back of his hand". Sayuri didn't mind at all, but her feet were starting to hurt after a while. "Ah-ha! We're here!" Chanyeol rejoiced. They stopped in front of a restaurant just around the corner of a narrow street. "That's dinner up there," he pointed up. Sayuri looked up and saw a balcony decorated with plants hanging off and Christmas lights wrapped around the rails. The neon sign above read, "Vivapolo".

"What does the name mean?" Sayuri asked.

"I actually don't know," Chanyeol replied. "Come on, let's go in. They make the best spaghetti here."

Both of them entered the restaurant and were greeted by a young waitress who looked to be no older than Chanyeol. In fact, she looked almost like him as well. "Chanyeol-ah!" she waved over to their direction. "This is such a surprise, Mom's going to freak when she sees you! And you need to introduce me to your friend!" she told him. "I'm Yura, by the way, and you must be...?"

"Sayuri. I'm just a friend," she told Yura.

"Oh, I see. My little brother's finally got a date, huh?" Yura teased.

"Ah, quit it, noona...," Chanyeol blushed. Sayuri couldn't help but giggle at how cute their relationship was. Underneath the tall exterior Chanyeol really was such a kid at heart. She found it almost adorable watching their interactions. "So anyway," Yura asked, "table for two, right?"

"Yeah, the usual. And please try not to embarass me, noona," Chanyeol begged.

"No promises!" Yura gleefully exclaimed. She led them to a table by the window where Sayuri and Chanyeol took their seats. "If you guys need anything, I'll be right at your service," Yura said as she provided them both with menus. "And it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Sayuri. Take good care of little Yeollie, yeah?" she nudged.

"Noona, please," Chanyeol pleaded.

"Alright, alright, I'll leave you two alone," Yura eventually left. While they both looked over their menus Chanyeol looked over at Sayuri and noticed how she giggled every now and then. "Your older sister's great," she told him.

Chanyeol shrugged it off. "Yeah, she is. A little bit overbearing, maybe, but I don't think I'd do well without her. We're quite close, actually."

"Yeah, I can tell. Sometimes I wonder what it's like to have a sibling," Sayuri told him. "I mean, I have my mom and I have Minah, but sometimes I just want someone else to connect with too, you know?"

"I know what you mean," Chanyeol nodded. "Kind of like a soulmate, right?"

Sayuri looked up at him and nodded as well. "That's exactly what I mean. But I have yet to meet that special someone," she sighed.

"Well, what comes along just comes along, right? Maybe one day you'll find somebody as well. And I'm sure that when you do, both of you will be happy," Chanyeol told her. "It took a while for Yura to find her special someone, even if though he found her first," he added.

"What about you, Chanyeol? You haven't found your soulmate yet?" Sayuri asked.

"I've got a long way to go. Though I think I might have a good hunch about who it might be," Chanyeol put down his menu. "You ready to order?"

Sayuri smiled at him. "Yeah, I think I've made up my mind," she told him as she put down her menu as well.

The savory, fragrant aroma of pasta sauce and pizza filled Sayuri and Chanyeol's noses as they had their food served to them. Their table was filled with all sorts of dishes, ranging from spaghetti to soup in bread bowls to saucer-sized pizzas. "Noona, we didn't ask for this much," Chanyeol told Yura.

"Well..." Yura shrugged. "I couldn't really stop her, Yeol." A woman who looked to be in her late forties walked up to the table and stood beside Yura. "The moment I told her, well, she went all out."

"It's so good to see my little boy!" the older woman exclaimed and walked up to Chanyeol to hug him. "Ah, Mom! I have a friend," he struggled to speak under his mother's hug.

"Oh, yes," she turned to Sayuri. "You must be my dear Yeollie's Soulmate! I'm his loving mother, but you can feel free to call me Mom, too, dear," Chanyeol's mom said as she shook Sayuri's hand.

Sayuri blushed at the comment. "Ah, uh, no, i-it isn't like that at all," she stuttered. "We're just friends, but I'm really glad to meet you, Mrs.."

"Park, Mrs. Park is fine. Speaking of which, Chanyeol dear, you haven't told her her future last name yet?" she asked Chanyeol.

Chanyeol let out a choke as he drank water while Yura tried to supress her laughs. "Mom, we're trying to have dinner," he tried to tell her.

"Oh, of course, can't let my little boy get too skinny," Mrs. Park laughed. "But anyway, since we're family, it's on the house," she told him. "No need to worry about it, your friend's practically family already," she added.

Sayuri went wide-eyed. "Um, are you sure? I couldn't possibly..."

"It's fine, dear," Mrs. Park reassured. "I know you'll take good care of my son, so go ahead, be my guest for tonight," she smiled at Sayuri.

Sayuri had no choice but to agree. "O-okay, then." She decided to take a bite of pizza first. "Oh, wow," she exclaimed. "This is really good, Mrs. Park," she told her. "Your chefs are amazing."

"Why thank you, dear. When you and my little boy get married you can have as much as you like," Mrs. Park smiled.

"Mo-om!" Chanyeol exclaimed. Yura couldn't help but laugh.

Sayuri never felt more full in her life than she ever did. She leaned back in her seat trying to let her dinner digest in her stomach. Across the table from her, Chanyeol looked like he was about to blow up anytime. "So your mom owns this restaurant?" she asked him.

"Yeah. All the recipes are hers, too. Did you enjoy the food?" Chanyeol asked in return.

Sayuri sighed. "I've never had such good food ever in my life. I don't think I'll go anywhere else again," she laughed. Chanyeol decided he loved the sound of her laugh. He loved the way it rang in his ears and how she sounded so joyful. He liked that she found wonder in everything. Before he even knew it, three hours had already passed by since they had dinner together. "Your mother's such a loving person. I can tell she cares a lot about you," Sayuri continued.

"She really does," Chanyeol agreed. "By the way, I'm really sorry about her behavior today," he apologized. "It's just that you're the first girl I've ever brought to this restaurant with me."

"Really?" Sayuri was surprised. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I understand, I mean, we're not really at that point yet," she added. "But I wouldn't mind marrying you just to have this food everyday," she joked. Chanyeol looked at her with a questioning look. Was she serious?

Sayuri noticed the way Chanyeol looked at her. "Um, I'm sorry, was I being too forward? I didn't mean to..." she laughed nervously. Oh, no, what did I do?

"Oh, no, it's fine," Chanyeol shrugged it off. "But I guess I wouldn't mind that either," he smiled at her. "Oh, man, it's getting a little hot in here," Chanyeol said as he took off his jacket. As he put his jacket off to the side, Sayuri took a glance at his left wrist for a while. Two months, one week, fourteen days, and five hours. It took her a few seconds to realize that his Countdown and hers were almost similar; in fact, she checked her wrist discreetly and realized that both of their Countdowns were only off by a couple of hours. Did he know the whole time?

Chanyeol caught her glancing at his wrist. "Oh, this," he continued to show her. "You know what I said earlier, about how what comes along comes along? Well, I guess that's how I've been living my life lately. But I think recently I've been taking action according to what this says," he pointed to his Countdown. "I told you about how I have a hunch about who my Soulmate might be, and I think you know who it might be too," he told her.

After seeing Chanyeol's Countdown, Sayuri folded her sleeve and showed him hers as well. "So it's just as I thought," she said. "But we've got a long way to go."

"I've heard stuff like this takes time," Chanyeol told her. "But hey, we have all the time in the world. And besides," he stood up and took her hand, "I'm pretty good at talking," he lifted her up from her seat as music started playing in the restaurant.

"We have the place to ourselves, Sayuri. Will you dance with me?" Chanyeol bowed.

Sayuri curtsied in return. "Well, sure, good sir Chanyeol," she laughed as Chanyeol twirled her around. Little did they know as they danced through the night together that they began to fall faster and faster for each other. But for now, both of them were very content with where they were at that moment.