“Or how about about we change venues and get dinner?” asked Hoya.

Jenny hesitated. In her mind, going from coffee to dinner was a big step. In the less than a day, she had gone to being just being vaguely acquainted with Hoya to agreeing to date him. I mean, that was what he meant, right?

Hoya watched Jenny's face closely. It seemed like she was contemplating his offer of dinner pretty seriously. “You can say no. That option is always valid.” Hoya said, deciding to take some of the pressure off. I wish you wouldn't though. Jenny looked visibly relieved.

“If you don't mind, can we meet for dinner some other time? I'm still trying to get used to the whole idea of this.” Jenny said as she indicated the space that was separating the two of them.

“I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in.”

“It is.” Jenny said with a smile. “I just need a few days for this to sink in.”

“Sure.” Hoya took out a piece of paper he had in his pocket and asked Jenny for a pen. He then wrote his number down and gave it to her. “Here's my number. I'm going to be out of town for the next with the team. Call me sometime next week so we can set something up.” He hoped that a week would be plenty of time for her to come to terms with the situation.

“Thanks.” Jenny said putting the paper carefully into her bag. “I promise I'll call you sometime next week.” She then stood up and Hoya followed. “So...I think I should head home. I live nearby, so I can walk there.”

“Should I walk you home?” Hoya asked.

“Only if you want.”

“Lead the way.”

- - - - - - - - - -

The walk home was silent. The sun was setting and there was a nice summer breeze. Hoya and Jenny walked side by side. Hoya kept his hands in his pockets and Jenny held her purse with her right arm. Hoya kept stealing glances and at Jenny and smiled to himself like a fool each and every time. Jenny likewise tried to steal glances at Hoya, but this task was made more difficult due to her disadvantage in height. Before long, they arrived at Jenny's apartment buliding.

“This is me.” Jenny said. What do I do now? Do I hug him goodbye? Do I high-five him? Should we shake hands? He doesn't expect me to kiss him, does he?

Unbeknownst to her, Hoya was also debating how he should goodbye to her. He took a step towards her, grabbed her free hand and shook it. Then he switched his hand position, leaned and planted a light kiss on the back of her hand before letting her hand go free.

“Take care of yourself. I'll see you next week.”

“Score tons of goals while you're away.” Jenny said. “Goodnight.”

Jenny turned and walked into her building. She glanced behind her one last time, gave Hoya a smile and continued on her way. Hoya stayed outside until he couldn't see Jenny anymore. He then slowly started making his way back to his car that he parked a block away from the coffee shop earlier that day.

How am I going to survive the next week? Replaying the scene of the kiss in his mind, he couldn't decide if what he did was a good idea or not. Not only was Jenny's face, smile and laugh going to be on his mind for the next week, so would the softness of her hand and the slight scent of her perfume. Good job, Hoya. You just created more ways to torture yourself at night.

- - - - - - - - - -

Once she got to her apartment, Jenny had to take a few deep breaths to calm her heart down. Hoya's kiss sent shivers down her spine. Who knew that a little gesture could do so much? She only hoped that her face still portrayed a certain calm while saying goodbye and didn't betray what was really happening to her. She was snapped out of her analysis by the phone vibrating in her purse. It was a Wednesday night, so she was certain that the person at the other end of the line would be none other than her best friend. Catching up mid-week had become a tradition since they both started their careers. They vowed when they were little to always make time for one another and this phone call helped to ensure that, week after week. Jenny was particularly grateful for Haeun tonight, as she needed someone to analyze the day's happenings with her.

“Hi best friend! How are you?” Haeun asked cheerfully when Jenny finally picked up the phone.

“Hi friend! How were things are the shop?”

“Busy as always, you know how it is running a bridal shop during the summer. It's crazy, but I can't complain.”

Jenny smiled. Haeun had opened a small bridal shop close to her apartment about 2 and a half years ago. She had watched her friend struggle and stress at the beginning but with a steady stream of clients coming in nowadays, the struggle to stay afloat was mostly gone, the stress remained and she seemed to be always busy.

“How about you? How was your day? Anything interesting happen?”

Jenny was unsure about how to broach the subject with her friend.

“Well...There might have been something.”

Haeun's ears perked up immediately after hearing Jenny's statement. “I'm all ears.”

Jenny went on to recount in detail everything that happened during the day. From her meeting Hoya at the bookstore, to the their so-called coffee date and then the walk home. On the other line, Haeun stayed silent, listening very carefully to what her friend had to say. After Jenny was done telling her story, there was still silence at the end of the line.

“Haeun? You still there?”

“I'm here. I'm sorry, this is a lot to process.”

“You think? Imagine being at the center of this story.”

More silenced followed.

“I think you like him. A lot.” said Haeun finally.

Jenny sighed, knowing that her friend said rung true. “I know. But, it's crazy! I don't even know anything about him. Well, technically that's not true. But I don't know anything that counts.”

“In that case, get to know him. I think you owe it to yourself to at least give this thing a shot. If things don't work out, then this could be a really good story to tell your kids one day. And if it does, then it's still a really good story to tell your kids one day.”

Jenny laughed. She could always count on her friend to inject humor into a serious conversation. “Please don't tell my brother. I want to see where this leads before telling him. Besides, according to the dating ban he set for me, I have another 5 years to go.” The friends laughed.

“I promise I won't say anything until you give me the OK. Besides, I'm pretty good at keeping things quiet.” said Haeun referring to her own relationship with Sunggyu.

“Thanks, H. You're the best.”

Hi guys!  As of today,  I have 12 subscribers and over 400 views.  When I first started writing this story, I could have never thought that it would interest so many people.  Thank you again for the kind support!  It always brings smile to my face when I log on to this site and see new comments, saw that more people read the story and are supporting it by subcribing to it.  Thank you! Thank you!  If I could hug each and every one of you, I would. :D