Lo1k_diamonds

“What?” she muttered under her breath, confused, clicking her mouse all over the now blank, inaccessible software page as if that would change the error message bar.

Worse than that, a new error message popped up, forcing her to restart the accounting software. Biting a “fine”, she restarted it, only for it to pop up a different error.

Server Error. Please verify your connection.

Muttering unintelligibly, she tried refreshing the page multiple times until the authentication page for her credentials appeared, but it was no use. No matter how many times she clicked ‘authenticate’, it still didn’t work. She was getting no phone call to confirm the login, and that stupid error bar kept staring at her like a curse.

The sudden hammering sound from outside made her eyes snap towards the window, and instantly everything clicked. She groaned and grabbed her phone again to turn on her mobile data and a hotspot. Stupid construction work on a grand new apartment building right in front of her place that constantly made her electricity fail, screwed up her internet, and drove her crazy with the noise in the early morning.

When her phone was set up, she turned back to the laptop on her desk. Almost there, a few clicks and she could start getting ready to go to the office. Only the screen suddenly turned black, and she was about to lose it.

“What the fuck?!”

Pressing keys and swirling the mouse did nothing but boil her blood until her eyes fell on the stupidest mistake she’d made that night — she had forgotten to connect the charger back in, probably after the last time she went to the bathroom and took the laptop with her.

Falling against the backrest, Taeri covered her face, holding back a scream as irritation flared deep in her bones. How could she be so stupid?! But now she was almost there! One press of the send button — that was all. Couldn’t the world cut her some slack?!

Huffing, she closed the laptop with a smack and got up. Maybe all she needed was a shower or a coffee, but with no electricity, she was shit out of luck for both. Maybe a bottle of soju, she thought with a bitter chuckle. Nothing like going to the office after a few shots. She’d likely just fall asleep on her desk, then. Nothing like a reprimand to derail all her efforts for a promotion. And she needed that promotion if she wanted her dad to stop whining about it and her mom to let go of the idea she’d marry and have children any time soon. 

“That boss of yours had it easy,” he ranted almost daily over the phone. “How else would he be your senior but only five years older? But your time will come. You didn’t get a grade 1 on your Suneung for nothing!”

“Have you seen photos of Daejung?” The pitched tone of her mother’s voice in her memory was strikingly close to reality. She could almost hear her as if she were calling right now. “Your cousin is throwing a big birthday party to celebrate her son’s first birthday. She’s super busy with it. Apparently, it’s very difficult to book a private room in a good restaurant for so many people, but nothing that they can’t afford, of course. Maybe you should be looking into getting married,” she’d throw in as much more than an afterthought. “Wouldn’t your life be easier if you just had to think about family instead of work? Maybe your boss, he’s only five years older than you and his mother—”

Taeri grunted loud enough to make the sound of her mother’s nagging voice go away and finally reached the fridge. Fuck it, she needed something to eat before—

A ding made her look back at the lit screen of her phone on her desk. Closing the fridge door, she instinctively caught a magnet about to fall to the floor and put it back on the smooth white surface. Her eyes panned over the other magnets, all made with photos she had taken with friends and family while travelling. The lighting on them was perfect, and it drew a small smile on her face. She was proud of her photos; they still filled her with warmth.

A second ding tensed up her shoulders, and she painstakingly dragged her feet back to her desk, eyeing her laptop as the harbinger of doom. But it was when she unlocked her phone that her eyes widened like saucers.

[I haven't received anything yet, can you check?]

[I need it by 7 AM]

Rubbing her forehead, Taeri reread the text message from her boss before looking at the time: 6:22.

Instantly, she scurried off into her bedroom as fast as she could to change clothes. Scrambling back, she stuffed her laptop and everything she needed into her bag and rushed to put on her shoes so she could all but run.

Passersby on the street eyed her like she was crazy, but she barely saw them. The sun wasn’t even up yet, and the wind dragging drizzle into her eyes made her path harder than it had to be: people, cars, motorcycles, lights holding her back from crossing the street.

When she could finally cross the street, the weight of two sleepless nights started weighing on her. Her chest hurt, her head was light, and looking at her phone—shit. 6:38. She’d never get there on time at this pace.

Turning the corner on autopilot, she unlocked her phone to text her boss something to gain more time. The music echoing around her, which had started faint and was diluted by the morning sounds of Seoul waking up, finally grew louder in that quiet, seemingly empty street.

The melody made her lift her eyes from the screen before she could press send, and relief rushed over her. Instantly, her heels started tapping the ground as she made her way with quick, sure steps. She’d never noticed that coffee shop before, and she’d passed there every day for years on her way to and from work. She had no idea how she had missed it before; it looked lively despite seeming empty through the shop window. The music was inviting, as were the chairs outside and the vines framing its neat façade. Maybe they just recently opened—right on time to save her, too.

The bell chimed above her head as she walked in. Nobody was there except a tall man in a light green apron, still arranging things behind the counter.

“Hello, excuse me,” she called as she rushed in. “Are you open? Is it okay if I connect my laptop? It died on me.”

The barista lifted his curious eyes, then raised his open hands. “Sit, I can connect it for you.”

Taeri smiled as she set her bag down on the counter and dug inside it to find the charger. The friendly man helped her with the cable, and she was sitting on a stool with her laptop in front of her in no time.

“What would you like to have?” he asked, and she raised her expectant eyes from the lit-up screen.

“A double espresso, please.”

The barista nodded, and Taeri almost sighed. Instead, she covered her eyes as she waited for her laptop to boot up. Her heart was still racing as the adrenaline coursed through her, and now, all she wanted to do was laugh. What a thing to be frantic about. In the end, she’d solve the problem in five minutes, have her coffee and arrive at the office in time to learn she’d been lined up for a promotion. 

By the time she double-clicked the accounting software icon, a cup of coffee and a box were set beside her laptop.

“What's this? I only ordered the coffee,” she reminded him, frowning ever so slightly.

The barista’s smile shone through despite his attempts to stifle it. He simply gave her a little teasing shrug of his shoulders. “Just a little something to start your day right.”

He turned his back, focusing on something with the espresso machine, and Taeri’s frown lightened. Reaching for the cup, she took a delighted sip before observing the box. It was small, made of wood, engraved with markings that reminded her of waves or gusts of wind, and with a shine that reminded her of chrome powder, playing with the lights above her. That polished glow calmed her racing heart, filling her with contentment as the lights became like spotlights above her, casting a silver glow over the box.

Putting the cup down, she traced one delicate line, following it towards the small golden hook hasp with a finger before sliding it.

Inside, she found a golden rotating cylinder studded with pins that plucked the tuned teeth of a steel comb, creating a melody. The melody she heard from outside the coffee shop, which she didn’t notice was missing until now, played louder and enchantingly, making her pause.

Taeri stared, mesmerized as the cylinder turned, waiting as the melody developed. As her heart waited for each note expectantly, her thoughts intruded—she never wound a key to make the box work, she had to send the consolidated quarterly management report before 7 AM, once at the office, she had to verify the allocation of funds into—

The world was closing in.

Her heartbeat spiked once she realized her vision was narrowing on the music box. Her hand gripped the counter as she unintentionally leaned in. Was she fainting? Her fight-or-flight system kicked in, and after a deep breath, she closed her eyes and pushed back in an effort to get away from the strange box.

Her eyes snapped open; she’d pushed too hard, to the point of falling off the stool. Gasping, trying to grab the counter without managing to, everything blurred and slowed as she realized she was falling back and couldn’t do anything about it.

Taeri’s eyes closed as she braced for impact. Then her back crashed against something sturdy but far too quickly to be the floor, and to her surprise, she was instantly set back in place by a pair of helping hands. It made her train of incongruent thoughts halt and, blinking back into reality, her chin dropped.

In front of her were three people working behind the counter, not just the one barista, not to mention the neon bottle display behind them that wasn’t there before. The music was loud, the lights were all but out, and the flashing lights created an atmosphere nothing like the coffee shop she was in before.

Was that a cocktail in front of her?

“Careful!”

Taeri winced and turned around, wary, only to find a familiar friendly smile that belonged to the two helping hands trying to stabilize her. The barista didn’t have his apron on, but that didn’t stop her from raising an accusatory finger. “You! What did you do?!”

“Me?” he asked simply, barely audible, and she snapped, shouting to be heard above the music.

“Yes, you! You spiked my drink, didn’t you?!” Her head was spinning, irritation mixing with fear in a very unpleasant cocktail souring her mouth. She didn’t notice his surprise or the way he glanced around worryingly; she kept going, “I can’t believe you’d do that! What is wrong with you?! You can’t go around putting drugs into—!”

“Okay, calm down—”

She slapped his hands away. “Don’t tell me to calm down!”

He grimaced and smiled awkwardly at the people next to her at the bar, giving a headbow to the bartender behind her as well. “She’s just confused.”

“What—Confused?!” Taeri got up to poke his chest with a sharp finger. “You’re the one who roofies his clients!”

“Client?” he parroted, raising an eyebrow as Taeri pointed behind her.

“Even if your place is empty, you think I wouldn’t—” 

Her voice lost power as she looked around. It was glaringly obvious that she was not in a coffee shop, but in a bar. The people chatting and ordering drinks along with the bartender were all looking at her worryingly.

Taking a step forward, looking for her things, she noticed her laptop was no longer on the counter. Fortunately, it was inside her bag on the floor. However, something else was on the counter. Next to her reddish cocktail was a familiar small wooden music box that she grabbed promptly.

“This! You gave me this!” She all but shoved the box against his chest, and he raised his arms up in the air, wide-eyed. A small question passed his lips, directed at the bartender behind Taeri as she insisted, “You told me to open it! What did you do to me?!”

“She had it with her,” said a voice from behind her, making her turn around to the bartender.

“What? No, he gave it to me. Just now,” she added, though with faltering conviction as she looked around once more. “What the hell?” she muttered under her breath, gripping the box to her chest. Her heart was starting to miss a couple of beats as her anxiety surged. How the hell did she get there?

“Okay, you need help,” the man started, raising his hand to signal the bartender, and Taeri spun around.

“You’re not getting away with this!” Her voice pitched and had a slight tremor to it that maybe he picked up on, because for a moment he just looked at her. 

Then, he pursed his lips and nodded. “Come with me,” he told her, then turned back to add, “If you want, of your own free will, to my favorite booth in this very public bar.”

“Yeah yeah,” she sighed, grabbing her bag and stuffing the box in it, eager to follow him and get an explanation. Not that she trusted him, but looking around, the situation was dire.

He was the only familiar thing in that place. The bar wasn’t familiar; the space that was a traditional coffee shop before now had tall tables with stools and a row of leather booth seating lining up the room, including in front of the tall, clear glass windows stretching along the front of the bar, offering an expansive view of the street outside.

Everything was so different; her stomach churned. So many people, noise, and worse of all, no recollection of how she’d gotten there. She didn’t know whether to scream or run away, but for now at least, she’d try to get some answers from that barista.

Like what happened to her and how much time had passed?

Of course, her words came out a little differently.

“What did you put in my drink?” she asked as soon as they sat down at a booth in the corner, right where the window ended. She could see the whole bar, and it made her feel safe.

The man sitting across from her scoffed. “What are you talking about?”

“You put something inside my coffee!”

“Me?! You just bumped into me, does that even make sense?!”

“What?” Taeri’s voice pitched in disbelief. “But—” 

Someone drew close, cheering loudly and sitting in the booth directly behind him, making her stomach drop as she quieted down. Everything was so different, nothing made sense.

She let her head fall into her hands. “What is going on…” she groaned, trying not to tremble. “One second you’re connecting my charger, serving me a double espresso and saving my life, and the next, you’re behind me, and what, you dragged me to a bar? Why would you do that? You’re ruining my life!”

“I didn’t do any of that, you know that, right?” 

He raised an eyebrow, and she was forced to swallow dryly, hiding once more. How could that be? She was at a coffee shop, and he was there, right? And now they were at a bar. How could he have done that? In front of all those people, too?

“A double espresso?” he echoed, followed by a faint smile she didn’t catch. “Of all the excuses you could come up with to talk to me…”

“Excuses?” She lifted her head to look at him, bewildered.

“Are you saying you don’t really know?”

“Know what?”

“Who I am?”

“How am I supposed to know that?” she asked in disbelief, and he smiled.

He grabbed sunglasses from his pants pocket, put them on, smiled admittedly dazzlingly before tousling his hair, taking them off, and wiggling his eyebrows playfully. All Taeri could do was stare at him with her mouth ajar. He was handsome. Granted, the more she looked at him, the more it dawned on her how stunning he was, with sweet brown eyes, a cute droopy nose, and a smile so warm that her heart skipped clumsily. His facial symmetry bordered on perfect if she drew imaginary lines over his cheekbones and eyebrow curves. Even his dark hair, falling over his forehead and eyes in waves, made him look straight off a screen or out of a dream.

She shook her head slightly; none of that mattered right now. “What are you doing?”

He nodded with a crooked smile, amused. “I suppose such a person exists.”

Her cheeks warmed, feeling out of place as she leaned in and asked, “You remember, right? I mean, you served me a double espresso with a music box.”

His eyes widened in realization, and Taeri waited with bated breath for the next words out of his mouth.

“I get it now,” he chuckled, leaning in, too. “You’re a customer from back then. I am, too!” he cheered joyfully. “It’s been what? Ten years maybe? Not many people even know this place was a coffee shop before it turned into a bar.”

She spluttered, “It’s been—What?”

Her eyes instantly turned towards the world around them in a wide, frightened way as she gripped her bag to her chest. When they settled back on him, his gaze was gentle.

“Do you want me to call someone for you?” he asked. She shook her head, fingers digging into her bag. His lips pursed. “How about we get you a double espresso?” 

Instead of saying yes, her eyes widened. His knees were out of the booth, and suddenly, the idea of him leaving made her stomach uneasy. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll get something, too.” He got up to signal the bartender, then sat back down. “Maybe you’d like to talk? I’m a good listener, I promise.”

Taeri nodded, then hid a tense chuckle while she rubbed her face. She just needed to wake up, figure herself out. Maybe she was blowing things out of proportion; she’d been pulling so many one-nighters that maybe this was just her finally crashing headfirst into a wall of monumental proportions.

A server came, went, and returned, setting two cups on the table between them, and she muttered a thank-you, propping her head on her hand while the other added sugar and swirled a spoon mindlessly.

“A penny for your thoughts?” he said, and Taeri took in his light demeanour before sighing.

“I was just thinking that maybe I just forgot about things due to exhaustion. It has never happened this bad,” she underlined, putting the spoon down. “Usually, I just forget if I did things, where I put things, when things happened… But maybe that’s just what it is. Maybe I was so exhausted, I just fell asleep.”

“Weird to come to a bar to sleep…” he mused, taking a sip of his tea as she tasted her coffee.

She chuckled. “Alcohol can make people do way worse than sleeping.”

“Fair enough.” He put the cup down, and she could tell by his eyes that he was curious. “So what, you were dreaming?”

“I…I’m not sure,” she hesitated, gripping the hot cup for comfort as she looked at him. It was so real.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I had no electricity or internet this morning, and I needed to send a report by 7 AM, so I ended up at this coffee shop I’d never noticed before. You were the barista; you plugged my laptop in for me, served me a coffee with a music box. That’s it.”

“Maybe you’re confusing me with the barista because of my most recent ad.” His amused smile did nothing for Taeri; she just grimaced a little. What was he talking about? “I’m a global ambassador for Compose Coffee. The campaign was launched a few days ago.”

Ignoring the fact that she didn’t know what Compose Coffee was, she asked, “Like where, on TV?”

“Everywhere,” he revealed with a wide smile. “Billboards, buses, TV, online…”

She shook her head the whole time. “No. I work day and night, I don’t have time or energy, to be honest, to notice any of those things.”

He hummed, playing with the tea bag in his cup. “And then?”

“What do you mean?”

“That was this morning,” he proposed, leaning in. “What happened after?”

She blinked for a second. “That was just now.”

He chuckled. “We’re a long way from this morning,” he teased, glancing toward the window behind him.

She turned around and held her breath. The sky outside was black, and car headlights were impossible to miss as people crossed the street, some covering themselves from the drizzle with umbrellas, others just with their hoodies or bags. People were out drinking and enjoying nightlife, but that didn’t make any sense.

Opening her bag, she dug in until she could feel her phone. Lighting it up only made her eyes widen further—yesterday. The date on her phone was from yesterday, and Google confirmed it for her when she queried ‘what day is it today’. She lifted her eyes towards the not-barista, who just calmly enjoyed his tea. Nothing made much sense, but at least she could still send the quarterly report on time—she knew exactly what needed to be done and where the mistakes would be.

Or at least she thought she did. Maybe it was all a weird, hyperrealistic dream and she still had to do everything. Anyway, she’d find out. She grabbed her laptop and pulled it out of her bag.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Sending the report I was talking about,” she answered absentmindedly as the laptop's brand logo appeared on the screen.

“Why?”

She paused and looked at him. “Why?”

“Yeah.”

She glanced at the laptop. “Because I need to send it before 7 AM?”

“Sure, but why now? I mean, it’s your evening.” Taeri blinked blankly, and he insisted, “You’re clearly in need of a break. Why not enjoy your coffee and do it tomorrow morning?”

“Why do it tomorrow morning when I can do it now?”

He chuckled, then his smile dropped. “You’re serious?” She nodded, about to touch the trackpad when he interjected, “It’s just work. It’s still going to be waiting for you in the morning.”

“It’s not just work,” she mimicked with a tired smile. He raised a challenging eyebrow, and she acceded, putting the laptop to the side on the table. “It’s a favour my boss asked of me, and the difference between continuing in limbo regarding being in line for a promotion or not.”

He opened and closed his mouth, frowning in confusion. “Wait, so…your boss said ‘do this for me, and I’ll promote you’?

She chuckled. “No! Of course not, he just asked.”

He waited patiently for her to say more. Then he pushed, “So he said, ‘do this for me, and I’ll make sure you’ll get promoted soon’?” She scoffed and shook her head with a mocking smile, and he tried again, “Got it, he said, ‘do this for me, and I’ll get you promoted next time’?”

Taeri shook her head again, and this time her smile didn’t hold. 

The handsome man in front of her hummed pensively. “So, you’ll do this for him, and he’ll…do nothing?”

“Of course he will. It’s implied. It’s cooperative talk,” she added, crossing her arms over her chest. “You wouldn’t know, right?”

“Right, not my field of work,” he agreed with a playful smile before his expression softened. “People usually say what they mean, though. And if he has never said it…how do you know what he’ll do?”

Her mind was blank as she thought back to when her boss asked her to help finish this consolidated quarterly management report. He was desperate, all but begging her. Not just him, the company as a whole needed it. He could ask Kunwoo, but he might make mistakes. It needed to be perfect.

“Saving the company has to mean something. My name will be on it,” she underlined with conviction despite the two lines between her eyebrows.

“So he’ll keep your name in and admit to his superiors that you took over his responsibilities to save the company?” She was unsure how to answer. Had her boss ever done that? He simply asked. “How long have you been saving his ass?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, a few years.”

“Has he ever promoted you or given you anything in return?”

Her silence was self-explanatory and took up the whole booth. Taeri didn’t know what to say, all she could do was play the tape of her memories: her boss having a problem, her offering to help, his super grateful reaction, his compliments, him saying she’s reliable, him turning to her again, her helping despite her plate being too full as it was, in a rewind the tape and play again cycle that repeated itself so many times she couldn’t pretend not to see it. Even if a small voice inside her head said he would come through, he had to, it was the right thing to do, the fair thing to do, her analytical mind could no longer accept it. She had run the numbers, calculated the odds, verified the error margins, and there was no significant standard deviation—he had not steered away from the same outcome once. Probabilistically speaking, he never would. There was no mistake in his modus operandi; it was the norm, and she was hanging onto an impossible exception.

And yet, her father’s nagging voice invaded her mind. Right. She couldn’t give up. She was grade 1 in her year. Grade 1. She had become physically ill to reach the national top 4%. It had to mean something, to get her somewhere. It was how the system was built. She just had to trust it.

She shrugged and grabbed her coffee. “I just have to keep at it. Hard work pays off.”

He nodded slowly. “Still, you can do it tomorrow, then?” Taeri glanced at the laptop screen—22:55. He repeated, “You clearly need a break.” 

His meaningful look made her finally relent and agree before taking a nice long swig of her coffee. The craze in the last ten to fifteen minutes was likely due to exhaustion; there was no argument there.

“I’ll give you that,” she conceded. “One coffee, some sleep, and then back on the horse.”

He pursed his lips, playing with the sugar packet he didn’t use. “Alright. I'll keep you company, but on one condition: no more work.” He eyed the laptop next to her pointedly, and she closed it with a chuckle. “Tell me about you. What do you do when you’re not working?”

Taeri stared at him. “When is that? Between correcting Kunwoo’s mistakes or covering for Joonho’s trip to Jeju?”

“Have you ever been to Jeju?” he asked with a gleam in his smile, and she frowned.

“No. According to Joonho, the best time to visit is precisely when our work peaks with deadlines for tax submissions and such.” Taeri’s tone was factual, as though what she was saying was obvious. Yet given the man’s lost look, she added, “So I always need to stay.”

“What about work trips?”

“Hate those,” she chuckled bitterly. “All I do is stay in my hotel room preparing presentations into the AMs. And then get into a taxi or train and come back.”

“Okay, how about this: what do you want?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yeah,” he insisted, proud of his question. “What do you want? What gets you up in the morning?”

She thought hard about it, knowing the answer work wouldn’t do. She looked around, remembered her days, stared at her coffee, and nothing.

“Come on, there has to be something,” he teased playfully. “Bills to pay? Climbing the corporate ladder? Meeting a rich man so you can nail him down and be set for life?”

He winked, and she chuckled, shaking her head. Her mother would have said yes, what a great idea, but Taeri had always detested the idea of being stuck at home with nothing challenging to do and no problem to solve.

“How boring would that be?” she asked, playing with her nearly empty coffee cup under his observant gaze.

“Maybe not as boring as you’d think,” he commented, and she told him with one look she sincerely doubted that. He smiled. “Alright, so a man isn’t the goal. Good. What is? What do you want for yourself?”

She frowned and rubbed her forehead for a moment. Her mom and dad’s voices echoed inside her head, and she finally had an answer. “I just have to be better.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Than who?”

“I don’t know…everyone?”

“Why are you comparing yourself to others?” He seemed confused about how her thoughts went there, and she shrugged.

“Shouldn’t I? My cousin is younger and got married two years ago and already has a 1-year-old son. The son of my parents’ neighbour started a similar job at the same time as me, and he’s already a manager. Heck, in my own team, people have started later than I did and are already higher than I am.”

After a beat of silence, he asked, “So?”

“So? I’m falling behind!” she sneered, huffing, sitting up straighter and lowering her eyes. 

“Why?” That simple word was aggravating. Made her look at him. “Because you’re not married? Or have a kid? Or are a manager? You didn’t tell me you wanted any of those things when I asked. Do you?”

“Am I not supposed to want them?”

“Says who?”

“Everyone?”

He frowned, and the inkling of disappointment in his expression made her feel off in her own skin. She was trying her best; she didn’t need him to add to the list of people who made her feel like she wasn’t good enough.

“Thank you for the coffee.” 

She grabbed the laptop, ready to put it inside her bag, and he asked, “What will you do now?”

“See if I can get a few hours of sleep before waking up early to deal with this report.”

She was getting her things to leave, and he sighed. “That’s not really a break.” She shrugged and got up, and he blurted, “Spend the night with me.”

Taeri turned, and a very pointy arched eyebrow made him rush to his feet, sputtering.

“Not like that! I’m not asking that, I’m—! Listen to what I’m saying,” he tried, laughing awkwardly through the embarrassment colouring his cheeks. “Let’s have fun tonight. I’ll treat you.”

“Why would you?”

He sighed, looking at her. Their height difference did not faze her; if anything, it made her arch her eyebrow even more. “Because it sounds like you’ve forgotten how to have fun.”

She scoffed, but didn’t immediately turn away. Instead, crossing her arms over her chest, she asked, “What's in it for you?”

“Besides helping you? Having fun sounds good.” His smile was way too boyish and mischievous for her liking. He could see it on her face, and so it fell in no time. “Everyone knows who I am. I can't have fun or a nice time like I used to. I miss that. But you don't know me, so it's perfect.”

“What if I do? I could be lying.”

He grinned. “You're not. Besides,” he added, putting down a bill after signaling the bartender, “you wouldn't have been able to hide it for this long.”

“Hide what?”

“How awesome it is to meet me in person.”

She scoffed and turned away, hiding a smile as he chased after her. 

“I'm the Prince of the nation, you know?”

“Right, right. Fine,” she breathed once they were outside. For a moment, she hesitated, weirded out by the fact that it was nighttime rather than early morning.

But then, he was next to her, asking, “What?”

“Having fun. Whatever that means,” she sighed before turning to him. His expression lit up in a way that dazzled the women passing by them, and she gulped. He really was charming, wasn’t he?

“I’m Kim Taehyung, by the way.” He bowed his head respectfully, and she matched.

“Kang Taeri.”

“Well, Kang Taeri, prepare to live the best night of your life!” He stretched his arms as if to present the whole world as the stage for the night, and Taeri raised an incredulous eyebrow. If only his personality wasn’t as radiant as his smile. But as it was, even she was forced to nod and acknowledge the world probably was different to people like him. “Now, what should we do?” he asked himself, tapping his chin pensively. “There are so many options, I can’t choose,” he chuckled, eyeing her mischievously. “Hmm, what do?” He bit a fingernail. “Usually, it’s my agency that arranges dates with fans, but…”

“Not a fan,” she reminded him flatly, and he smirked.

“Right! How about karaoke?”

“No.”

“It can be fun! Plus with a few drinks—”

“No alcohol. And I don’t like singing.”

He hummed as though evaluating if it was an idea worth pursuing. Her blank stare was enough to make him move on. “How about going to an arcade?”

“I’m not a teenager.”

“Theme park?”

“Not a child.”

“Cinema?”

“That’s supposed to cheer me up?”

“Public bath?”

Taeri raised an eyebrow. 

“Never mind,” he whispered, biting his lip to hide a chuckle. “How about something sportsy. Like bowling?” The shrug that shook Taeri wasn’t good enough, and he snapped his fingers. “I know! I had a wonderful idea! You’ll have to trust me, burn some bad energy, and look beautiful while you do it!”

Her cheeks warmed at lightning speed as opposed to her mouth, which just opened and closed for a moment. There was no quick quip at the tip of her tongue, what was he even saying—

“Let me make a phone call—oh, two, I need to call a car—”

“No car,” she interjected, finding her voice. “I’m not getting inside a car with a stranger like this. And I want to know where we’re going,” she added pointedly, straightening her back a little.

He tried his best smile. “Can’t it be a surprise? You said you’d let me treat you.”

“Yes, well, that’s how people lose kidneys.”

Taeri wasn’t looking at him as she held onto the strap of her bag on her shoulder. It almost felt wrong to say such things when he had been nothing but nice, but looking around, her spine stiffened further. It was nighttime and even the world felt different. She needed to hold onto something.

“Fine,” he sighed, his eyes soft as they met hers again. “Mokdong Indoor Ice Rink. What do you think?”

“I’ve never ice-skated,” she breathed, and that was good enough for him.

“It’s decided! Perfect idea! Now, how about a taxi? It will be quicker—”

“Bus. We can go by bus,” she decided, grabbing her own phone to search for the nearest bus stop. 

“Alright,” he agreed with a smirk, turning to his own phone.

Taeri didn’t listen to the conversation he had on the phone as she guided them from one street to the next to catch the right bus. While they walked, she could ignore it, but once they stopped and waited, she couldn’t—her fingers had a slight tremor to them as she gripped her bag strap and the lapels of her shirt. She should have grabbed a coat on the way out, but she had been in a rush thinking she’d go to the office, where she did have spare clothes. Every detail reminded her that something was off, even as the world around her felt extremely normal. The people, the T-money card they bought Taehyung, the bus as it approached, the quiet inside, the ding of the stop bell when it was time to get off. Only Taehyung looked a little tense as they made the trip, both seemingly happy to look outside and wary every time someone got on.

His deep sigh when they got off made his relief evident. “That was something. I haven’t used the bus in years.”

The way he smiled and almost hopped on across the parking lot toward the big pavilion made his words feel genuine. He didn’t seem like a spoiled prince who had taken a bus for the first time, rather someone who was a bit afraid of doing it like he once had. 

Taeri’s thoughts almost wandered into how fame changes someone’s life and liberties, but there was no time for that. Taehyung went ahead, typed in a security code, and kept the backdoor open for her to enter like he owned the place. She followed his instructions about picking the right ice skates, and there she was, tiptoeing at the entrance of the rink.

He got on and stabilized himself instinctively, stretching out his hand. “Come on.”

“This is crazy,” she breathed, more to herself than him, as she took in the expanse of white behind him. No wonder a shiver ran up her spine.

“It’s fun, I promise.” He leaned a bit further in her direction, and she almost cursed out loud. He looked so reliable, with a warm smile and inviting arms. His broad chest, no longer covered by a leather jacket, looked safe, much better than being on her own, hanging onto the rails flanking the entrance, but she was still scared to let go. “I won’t let you fall. You just have to hold onto me.”

With one last look of ‘why are we doing this’, she took his hand and placed both feet on the ice. At first, it seemed that was the extent of it, but as soon as one of her feet slipped an inch, her whole body became shaky. Glaring at her feet didn’t work, and as her feet slid back and forth and sideways to find balance, he gave up on holding onto her hands and simply held her waist instead.

She grabbed onto his wool sweater lightening fast. “Is this even safe,” she mumbled, eyes still on their feet as they moved slowly forward.

“As long as I have you.” She dared to look up to complain about his teasing, and just seeing him going backward made her stomach uneasy. “But don’t worry.” He smiled, changing the angle of his feet, and suddenly, they were spinning in a slow circle. “I’m not letting go.”

Her nails gripped his sweater. “Promise. Promise me.”

Her voice was shaky, and the lack of an instant confirmation made her attempt to smack his chest, only to be instantly off balance. Having her falling even more into him didn’t seem to bother Taehyung. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it as he supported her and took the momentum to lean further away from the railing.

“Told you you’d have to trust me,” he teased. But as Taeri’s eyes widened and body clearly tensed against his, he reassured her, “I promise I’m worthy of your trust.”

She almost whined about how crazy it all was, but there it was again, that cozy, almost snugly warmth of his arms making her tempted to just agree and stay safely like that, in his embrace.

Of course, that was not what Taehyung had in mind. He was set on having her skate by herself, no matter how much she complained. Every whine earned a cheeky smile, and every squeal and soft chuckle. 

After letting go of her twice, even if just for a split second, Taeri managed to smack his chest properly. “Stop it! You promised!”

“I’m right here!” he chuckled, circling his arms around her to catch her. “You won’t learn how to do it if you never try.”

“I’m trying enough, thank you very much!” Her pitched voice shook as she tried holding onto him better.

“Alright, how about side by side?”

She was suspicious but followed his instructions and soon, they were circling the rink side by side with her arm looped around his.

“Relaxing isn’t it?” he asked once she was stable, looking around. “I can only imagine how amazing it must be for people who do it outside.”

“They’d freeze from the cold,” she muttered, taking in the empty bleachers.

He laughed. “I bet they’d take more than one layer of clothes.”

His eyes were set somewhere far away, but the exposed skin of her chest still heated up. It was not like she imagined she’d go ice skating when she rushed out of her apartment that morning.

Yet instead of pointing that out, she asked, “How come it’s empty?”

Taehyung hummed, then, looking around, chuckled. “It’s past the closing time. I just happen to know the owner.”

She nodded, impressed. “So you do this often?”

“Not really. Haven’t since high school. I used to have a tradition…”

“What?” she pushed, noting well how he distanced himself a little, and making a point of pulling him back closer by the arm.

“I’ll show you, but first,” his wide, playful smile made her groan, “make this curve.”

Her eyes shot up in front of her. The end of the rink was still far, and suddenly she didn’t know what to do. “I don’t know how!”

“You do, I told you how to do it. Use your knees,” he supplied, and by the time her eyes were on him again, he was already at an arm's length, holding her only by the hand.

“No no no no, don’t do this!” she pleaded, trying clumsily to stop, but that only made her more shaky, so not even that was a good idea.

“Don’t overthink, trust your gut!”

“My gut?!” She shouted, “I’ll throw up!”

“Stay calm, use your body to balance yourself, the tip of your toes to—”

“Taehyung!”

She rolled her free arm in front of her chest, bracing for impact with her eyes screwed closed, but then a slight push made her slot in his embrace again. Opening her eyes, she didn’t bother looking back at the rail she almost crashed into and only stared at him with a pout.

“We can try again next time,” he assured quietly, holding her to him as he dictated their dance.

“I’m getting hungry.” Her whine was more of an excuse to hide away and maybe get off easy, and he chuckled. He knew. He still allowed it.

He guided her out of the rink, got her shoes for her, and then led her upstairs. The rink had a cafe with a window giving a view of the empty rink. There was nobody there, it was closed, and yet he led her to a seat by the window and told her to wait there.

Taeri looked around and let the lights on the empty rink beyond the window, along with her now tired muscles, dawn on her. That had to be reality, no dream could be that real. She just ice-skated for the first time. She felt the cold, the wind in her hair, the skates scratching the ice, and the number of times she almost fell. For the first time in a while, things felt right.

Grabbing her bag, she searched inside it and almost let herself believe it. If there was no box, then maybe…

She put the small wooden box on the table in front of her. It was right there, with the same engraved lines that reminded her of gusts of wind and chromy shine. She didn’t dare open it again, just let the sight deflate her hopes. Something was not right. No amount of fun could erase that.

Movement in her peripheral vision made her hide the box inside the bag again. Matching Taehyung’s smile as he brought her something, she decided to bury those thoughts as well. Maybe he was right, she needed the break.

“And here you have it, my high school tradition: apple cider donuts and hot chocolate.”

Her eyes widened at the delicious sight. “How did you get them?”

“They had leftovers, and I make amazing hot chocolate.” His smugness didn’t even bother her as she reached for a cup.

She hummed after taking a sip—he was right. “You’re a good skater.”

He chuckled. “Thanks.” 

Taeri took a bite of a donut and moaned lightly, cleaning the apple pie spice off the corners of her mouth. “Your tradition is delicious.”

He smiled, licking his lips before looking down at the plate between them. “Had one almost every day in high school. Most of the time the owner just gave us snacks after practice.”

“So you did it as a sport?”

“Yeah. Until I injured myself,” he revealed, eyes still low. “Then I stopped coming.”

Taeri paused halfway through her donut. “Because you couldn’t skate anymore?”

He raised his eyes, his lips in a small smile. “Physiotherapy never really got me there again. My dreams of competing in the Olympics fell through and…coming here just hurt too much.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago,” he voiced, eyes lost in the empty rink beyond the window. “Like another lifetime.”

He was far away in his thoughts, she could tell. His eyes had a distinct dullness left when dreams didn’t come true. Taeri knew what that felt like, even though she never talked or thought about it anymore.

“I know what you mean. I mean, nothing like you, it wasn’t that serious, but,” she smacked her lips, then crossed her arms over her chest, “I know the feeling.”

“How enigmatic,” he teased, finally grabbing a donut. “What happened?”

“Well, I used to be a—Well, I can’t say I was one, I never did it professionally. Sure, I did it longer than high school, but—”

“Taeri,” he called, having waited and given up on her rant.

“I used to be super into photography,” she finally revealed, the admission tightening her chest.

“Oh, that’s cool! What type?”

“My main focus was landscape photography, but my friends always asked me to photograph them and our trips, so I’m sure I’m decent with lifestyle photography, or candid. Was,” she corrected, and he hummed with a mouth stuffed with half a donut.

“Why? Was?”

She could barely understand him as he talked with his mouth full, yet she sighed. She understood enough, and she didn’t want him to repeat the question. “Well, after university, things got rough. Time just vanished. I had to focus on my career, and even though we all live in Seoul, we just…stopped seeing each other. It’s not their fault, of course,” she acknowledged, with a dry chuckle. “I said no so many times that they just stopped asking. And our outings were my moment to get the camera out, so when I stopped going, that stopped too. It just…happened.”

Taehyung had finished his donut and was just listening. “You can go by yourself.”

“It’s not the same…anyway, it’s in the past. I haven’t taken my Canon out of my closet in…” She frowned. “Five years.”

The lines between her eyebrows intensified as she pinpointed the moment she decided to drop that goal in chase of another. A promotion was opening up, and that had been her moment to make it count. That was already five years ago, and her moment never came.

“So that’s how dreams die.” His voice made her lift her gaze towards his. “Marinated in complacency until they drop to the bottom of the list of priorities.”

There was no judgment in his brown eyes, just a somewhat bitter understanding of the situation. It felt mutual, and the tension in her chest lightened a bit. She didn’t have to be defensive about this because something in his eyes told her he knew exactly how she felt.

Because of this, she didn’t feel the need to express any agreement, and they simply ate in silence for a short-lived moment.

A cheerful ringtone interrupted it and made his eyebrows jump in curiosity when he eyed the screen of his phone.

“Let me get this.”

He put his hot chocolate down and moved away to the other side of the room to pick up the phone, and Taeri’s thoughts turned back once more. What had she done in the last five years? She was starting to wonder the same as Taehyung: what did she do when she was not working? She hadn’t seen her friends in years, not even for their yearly reunions anymore. She didn’t go shopping, she ordered everything online. She didn’t go to the cinema, she watched everything on streaming to fill up her evenings. No eating out, everything was ordered in, except for work dinners. She had vacation days, but she realized she had taken them all for family reasons—helping her mother spring clean every year, hosting Christmas with her parents, looking after her grandparents when something happened, even babysitting Daejung a couple of times—never for herself. What was she doing while Joonho was traveling almost every year to Jeju?

Her eyes shifted to her bag next to her. If that was reality and she had just passed out from exhaustion, she’d have complaints in her inbox. But the date was from yesterday, so maybe not? On the other hand, if that really was somewhere else, maybe reality was different here. Maybe…she had gotten her promotion. Maybe here, her friends were still in her life. She could find out if she grabbed her laptop.

Pursing her lips, she looked away, focusing on the expanse of scratched ice out the window. The emptiness felt consuming in such a grand space, yet the marks their skates had made looked somewhat delicate. Parallel for the most part, intersecting sometimes, when he spun them, she guessed. If she had her camera, she could probably get a very nice shot from there, with the way the light reflection accentuated the lines written on the ice.

“What do you think,” his voice carried as he walked back with excitement, “of going to a party? Specifically,” he added, sitting down across from her again, “one on a yacht on the Han River.”

“Really?”

His grin widened. “Just got an invitation from a producer I’ve worked with a couple of times. He’s just back from Japan and wants to celebrate this TV deal he signed.” Taeri didn't immediately reply, and Taehyung waved his hand. “His parties are usually fun, I wouldn't invite you otherwise. However, there's a catch.”

“A catch?” she echoed with a small smile.

“The Golden Blue Marina is really far from here, so taking a bus is not really an option.” She nodded, understanding where he was going before he finished, “I'd like to get us a ride, if you're comfortable with that.”

“A taxi is not a bad idea.”

“Awesome, finish up while I call one.”

He took one last donut and kept it between his teeth as he typed on his phone with both hands, and Taeri finished her hot chocolate calmly. Before leaving, she did go freshen up, remarking that her shirt and pencil skirt were likely not aligned with a yacht party dress code, but there was nothing to do about it.

When they stepped outside, the taxi was already waiting. Taehyung opened the door for Taeri to get in before getting in behind her.

Her eyes landed on the bright red time on the car dash — 01:21 — before turning out the window. Seoul was calm at that time of night, at least in that neighborhood, with the street lights overhead trying to break through the gloom of a starless night.

“Have you noticed you got inside a car with a stranger?” 

She glanced at him, and his teasing smile and relaxed shoulders as he leaned into her, wiggling his eyebrows almost made her laugh. 

And maybe because she didn’t, his expression sobered a little bit. “Maybe text someone where you’re going and with whom.”

He lifted his phone to show her the taxi’s destination, and she finally nodded, grabbing her own phone from her bag. Not that she had thought about the questionable sense of what she was doing. She felt safe with him, in the way someone feels when they meet an old friend after many years of not seeing or talking to them. He was right, she should be more sensible than this.

But grabbing her phone and seeing her chats, she pursed her lips. Who could she tell? All the recent chats were either with coworkers or family, like her cousins or parents. All of which she could not tell, “Hey, I’m with a famous guy going to a yacht party. If I don’t reply anymore, call the police.”

Her thumb hovered over the chat as she stole a glance at Taehyung. She didn’t even really know who he was.

Knowing he wasn’t looking at what she was doing, her finger quickly pressed the back arrow and found the browser so she could search his name. She thought she'd have to syphon through thousands of hits, but she was wrong. Her eyes widened as she was bombarded with photos of the man next to her, his birthday, the kdramas he'd been in, and the first question on the engine: is Kim Taehyung in a relationship?

A subtle brush of shoulders was enough for her to close the browser and look up at him with her heart in her throat. Her face was way too warm but he didn't seem to notice, flashing a smile before turning away to the window again.

Taking a deep breath of relief, certain he had not seen her quick search, she opened a calendar event and typed everything she could think of: where they were going, the yacht, the producer name Taehyung had dropped casually, and his name. The actor himself.

Glancing at him once more, she realized she wouldn't have believed her own note. She, with an actor, going to a yacht party at 2 am. She didn't party, she didn't go out at night, she didn’t know famous people. Even she would have called bullshit.

So she turned on the camera on her phone and looked at herself. Even in the dark, her tired features, glistening eyes, and long hair framing her face were a familiar sight. It was her, that was happening, she was trying to have fun.

She snapped a photo, but it was shaky, so she snapped another, and her mouth opened in surprise when a pair of lips smacked against her cheek.

His eyes were full of mischief when she turned to him, his chest much closer now than before. “Check it,” he urged, drawing her eyes to his lips. She hadn't heard that smooth, baritone pitch before, especially from so close. The back of the taxi felt like an isolated dimension with only the two of them, in the dark, suddenly so close like this.

Taeri licked her lips and turned her attention to the screen, more than aware of his breath lightly hitting her cheek as he stayed close to see the photo she had taken. In it, maybe someone couldn't be sure it was Kim Taehyung, the actor. It was dark, after all. But she could. She could tell they were in that backseat together, the warmth of his chest easily sipping through her shirt and raising up her neck as she turned to him, finding him even closer than before.

He hummed as he inspected the photo. “We look good together, we just need more light. Don't worry, we can take a few good ones at the party. I know a very good photographer.”

He winked, and she scoffed, hiding her eyes and the way the heat traveled to her face by focusing on the screen of her phone. Attaching the photo to the event and saving it didn't even matter anymore, she just needed a second to process. He was way too good looking, he was an actor. He couldn’t be hitting on her. Right?

The tension remained in the silence and the brush of arms, and it didn’t dissipate when the taxi stopped. Instead, Taehyung got out first and held out a hand for her to take. His grip was firm as he pulled her slightly towards him, but it was his warm smile that made her mind blank. That erased her doubts and made her certain that a line was being crossed past friendliness and into something else. Why else would he linger looking into her eyes with an inviting smile, holding her hand like he didn’t want to let go?

Except when they got onto the yacht, he moved his hand to the curve of her spine and used a word to introduce her to the host that stuck to her—friend. The yacht left the dock, Taehyung introduced her to basically everybody at that party—because of course he knew everybody—and he always made sure to say, “This is my good friend, Taeri.”

At first, it was as though he had put a sticky note on her forehead that everybody read with a smidgen of pity. It felt sticky, like a label she had not asked for and didn’t know how to get rid of. Until he left her on the deck, at the bow, comfortably watching the city lights against the night sky and its reflection on the Han River while he went and got them a drink. The view was beautiful, the exact type of composition she would have loved to capture in its entirety with her camera—if she had it. So with a sigh, she turned to the party and did the second thing she did best—people-watching.

That was when she realized that party wasn’t exactly what it looked like at first. Yes, people were laughing, drinking, taking photos, dancing inside the cabin, but something was off. It was only after a while of observing that she picked up on what it was that bothered her: everything was superficial. A smile for the camera, a laugh to turn heads, a flashy hello purposeful to be seen. Taeri knew what to look for to take the best candid shots—to take the right photo at the right time to show the person, not what they wanted to show. And that was the thing with those party goers—they weren't showing themselves. It all felt like a performance. 

“Do you like champagne?”

She turned to Taehyung, nodding with a smile, and he revealed the two glasses he had been hiding behind his back.

“Perfect, here you go!”

Clinking glasses lightly, she couldn’t help noticing the eyes on them or that Taehyung was facing the city, slightly turned towards her while he took a sip with his back to the party.

“Can I ask you something?” she started, drawing his interest. “Do you like these parties?”

“They're okay.” He shrugged, lowering his eyes before admitting, “They're exhausting but part of it.”

“Of what?”

He hummed thoughtfully, tapping his lip. “Of the job, I suppose.”

Taeri nodded with a savvy smile. “So it's not for enjoyment or company…”

“Tonight's definitely for the company,” he assured with a wink and she smirked.

“I guess this is where you bring your friends,” she said, hiding behind her glass, and he laughed with his eyes low on the rail he was gripping with his free hand.

“I'll admit it's not where I'd usually bring you,” he conceded with a lopsided smile. “But to bring you, it's best if everyone thinks you're a friend from the start.”

“Why?”

The question was out before she thought it through and he nodded, leaning into the railing with his forearms. “Photos get taken at these types of parties and it's best to prevent any problems before they get a chance to pop up.”

She stiffened next to him. “Oh. I'm sorry.”

“Why? Don't be,” he almost pleaded with a shy smile, bumping her gently with his shoulder. “I'm the one who would have been sorry if things got difficult for you, so don't worry.”

She nodded in silence, biting her lip for a moment without moving away. “Why bring me here, then?”

“We're having fun, so I thought seeing the city from the river at night could be nice.”

“Yeah, that can be nice,” she agreed, distracted by the city lights for a moment. “Where would you have taken me?”

Taehyung looked up at her and smiled after a moment. “Privately, I'm not a party guy. You already know where I'd take you.”

“The rink? You take all your girls there?”

“No! I don't,” he insisted, straightening back up as she laughed. “Only the ones I like.”

Her laugh relented with the certainty in his eyes. She was almost tempted to argue, but wasn't compelled enough to. There was a sincerity in his voice, expression and gestures that couldn’t be denied.

Glancing behind him, Taeri stretched out an open hand. “Give me your phone.”

Taehyung raised a curious eyebrow, but did as she asked, observing what she did with a glint in his eyes. When she aimed the camera of the phone at him, he laughed.

He did gleefully pose once, making a V with his fingers, before turning back and opening his mouth slightly. The Banpo Bridge moonlight rainbow fountain was a sight to behold, with over one kilometer of water jets dancing to a song that couldn't be heard properly from there. Still, the colorful display was incredible, bringing excitement to an otherwise calm boat ride.

“Didn't know they did shows this late,” she commented, leaning against the railing.

“Me neither,” he said, grabbing back his phone. One swipe of his fingertip and he gasped, “Whoa, what's this?”

She smiled but waited in silence, taking glances of his reactions to her photos while watching the fountain show. The light composition was very rich to play with, but the star was the model. No wonder he was an actor, he was amazing in every shot.

“Woah, I can't believe you just took these,” he said, as he swiped and zoomed in occasionally. “Every photo is good, you should have told me you wanted a shoot.”

“Candid, remember?”

He chuckled, “Right. I'm sold!” He grinned, pocketing his phone. “I’ll work with you only from now on!”

“Why, you need an accountant?”

Her tone was playful, and he shook his head with a smirk, observing her closely while her gaze lingered on the rainbow lights painting the water jets, each falling like a unique waterfall. 

“I don't know why I care so much,” she admitted, with her mind as far away as her eyes. “Somehow, along the way, my life became about work, like that's all that I'm worth. And my dreams…stopped mattering,” she whispered, turning to him. His smile was gone, but his eyes were endlessly soft. “I think it's become a vicious cycle. The more I work, the less I have time for myself and my friends. The more I focus on work goals, the more I'm constantly swimming against the current. And the more I seek external validation, the more I'm faced with others' expectations, stuck feeling like I'm not good enough and wanting to be good enough.”

“You are good enough.”

“I don't feel that way. But I want to,” she added, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. 

“What will you do?”

There was a spark in his eyes she would have loved to capture. Instead, she smiled. “I think I'm due a holiday. I think I'll travel. Fly to Jeju and take some shots there. Relearn. Rediscover.”

“The island?”

“Myself.”

A cheeky smile broke through the tension, and suddenly, it was quiet. The water jets stopped and the night resumed its tranquil course.

“Thank you.” Her voice mixed gently with the dark. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t think I would have seen what I’m doing with my life. I would have kept denying it. I would have never ice skated or gotten on a yacht.”

He stood tall. “What?”

She nodded. “Didn’t want to tell you and have you bragging again.” He was about to protest, and she placed her hand on his arm. “It’s not just about doing all this for the first time, it’s…the courage to do something about my life. I’m going to do it,” she promised, eyes locked on his, hand warm on his leather jacket. “And every time I have doubts, I’ll think of you and how I have an actor who’ll give me a job as a failsafe.”

He laughed, grabbing her hand, caught off guard by her tease after such a heartfelt promise.

“You bet. Let's toast to it,” he proposed, lifting his champagne flute. When she clinked his glass in a fluid motion, he whispered, “It's a deal.”

He was more solemn than her, chuckling while she emptied her glass.

“I know it wasn’t you, but I’m happy ‘you’ gave me that box.”

“Box?”

Taeri smiled playfully and gave him her empty glass before searching inside her bag. When she turned to him, he had given their empty glasses to a passing server and was free to receive the small wooden box she placed in his hands. His eyes widened as he turned it in his fingers, almost thumbing the small golden hook hasp open, but stopping at the last second.

“It’s a music box,” she told him, reaching to open it to show him, but Taehyung put his hand over hers, stopping her.

Her eyes immediately darted up curiously, but he wasn’t looking at her. Instead, his attention was focused on the lines carved on the wood, with a furrowed brow that only increased her interest in his reaction.

Yet before she could inquire about it, a hand paused on her arm. The party host was surprisingly friendly. Taeri had not expected him to actually make time to come talk to her after having quickly introduced himself when they got on board. She thought rich and connected people like such a successful producer would not bother getting to know someone normal like her, but he kept asking so many questions, from where she worked to how she had met Taehyung. The latter was eventually distracted typing on his phone, but otherwise let her answer every question. 

He didn’t even say anything when the older man concluded, “Taehyung only surrounds himself with good people, I wouldn’t have expected any less from a lady friend.” 

She would have taken it lightly if the comment wasn’t followed by a wink. Instead, she found herself wide-eyed, asking Taehyung to say something, only for him to confirm, “Thank you, she’s wonderful. I’m very lucky. It’s like she crossed my path at the exact right time.”

His words made a protest die in her throat and a warmth spread comfortably to her chest. She couldn’t argue with him on that, she felt the same way.

The producer laughed knowingly, then signaled someone far away. “I’m supposed to inform you that breakfast has been served inside if you care to have something before we dock again. It was wonderful to meet you, dear Taeri.” He gave her a headbow with a warm smile. “I hope we see each other again soon, Taehyung.”

Taehyung bowed respectfully, waiting for him to leave. Then, he turned to Taeri. “I know it’s late—well, early. You had something to send before 7 AM, I’m sure you’ll want to do at least that before taking holidays,” he said quickly, eyes boring into hers with hope. “But before that, could I take you with me to have coffee? It’s somewhere special, I swear.”

He was so eager to convince her that a bubbly laugh formed inside her. She leaned in a bit closer. “You don’t have to convince me, you know? I would have said yes no matter what you want to do or where you want to go.”

A mix of relief and glee spread across his smile before he looked down. He bit his lip and returned the music box to her carefully. Then, once it was safely tucked away, he grabbed her hand and spun her gently to face the horizon. “We can still watch the sunrise before we go.”

His chest was firm behind her, and the arm around her waist with his chin resting on her shoulder only made her warmer and more gleeful. There was no more reason to second-guess what was happening. Somehow, Taeri felt like she should just let the breeze take her.

The time that preceded the sunrise was filled with little teases and witty remarks, followed by a moment of serene quiet between them when the first rays of sun lit up the sky. Behind them, they could hear a few partygoers still laughing and enjoying themselves, but it wasn’t enough to disturb Taeri and Taehyung’s peace. Instead, at that moment for both of them, dawn was almost like a rite. Contrary to the stress that came with thinking about deadlines, clients, and workload, she was simply watching the view and enjoying it. She couldn’t even remember the last time she did that. Especially considering she did have a deadline coming up, and yet, her body was not tensing up, nor were her fingers eager to grab her laptop and do it. She turned her head slightly to look at Taehyung, catching him already looking back. It was almost like a rebirth, to watch a new sun after such a weird night, but at least one thing was for certain—she was still herself. Whether time had turned back or she’d just passed out from exhaustion, he had allowed her to make a different decision, not become another person. She was thankful for that, and it showed in her smile as she leaned more into him.

His eyes dropped to her lips, and her heart fluttered, warm and open to him continuing, but he didn’t. He closed his eyes, and she was certain there was restraint and introspection in his expression. When they opened again, she simply kept smiling like nothing happened, hoping it would reassure him. It was clear in his eyes that something did, but she was more than happy to just stay in his arms watching the sunrise without anything more.

Because of that, when the yacht docked, she couldn’t help the disappointment stealing away her smile. Yes, they’d still have a coffee, but after that, she’d likely never see him ag—

“Hey! Look here!”

Her eyes were drawn to the shout, only to immediately widen and turn to Taehyung. He was already guiding her by the hand to switch with him so he could be a barrier between her and the photographers waiting for people to disembark the vessel.

“Taehyung!”

“Kim Taehyung, who’s your lady friend?”

Taeri’s eyes stayed glued to the floor as he guided her out and shortly to a nearby parking lot, thankful his sturdy body covered her so well. The shouting and flashes were surreal, she had no idea how to handle any of it.

Yet as quickly as it started, it ended—Taehyung guided her straight inside the back of a car, and when the door closed behind him, all that was left was her racing heart. The car drove away instantly, and in seconds, the commotion dissipated, but the adrenaline in her veins didn't.

“Thank you, Mr Jung.”

At the sound of his voice, she raised her eyes. Taehyung looked composed, but the arm still around her shoulders was telling. He was as unnerved as she was.

“Sorry about that,” he voiced with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Don’t worry about it.”

She wanted to reassure him, and it made him smile, though both were still tense as the car drove them away. The introspection returned to his features, so she let him be, snuggling to his side as she watched the streets of Seoul in the early hours of the morning. It wasn’t long before she recognized where they were, raising her eyebrows when the car came to a halt in front of a familiar coffee shop.

She got out of the car first after a confirmatory nod from Taehyung, breathing a wow as she took in the façade. The vines surrounding the shop window and entrance were just like she remembered. 

The slam of the car door closing made her turn to ask him, “I thought you said it turned into the bar.”

“It did before the owner opened it here again.”

She looked across the street, a bit further at the end. “So close to each other.”

“Indeed. Come.”

He took her hand in his and entered the coffee shop first. It was empty, not even a barista was there, even though everything was lit up, on and waiting. She had a question about it on the tip of her tongue, but instead, she let him pick a table and sat down when he pulled out a chair for her.

“I still can’t believe I never noticed this—”

Her thoughts dissipated when she saw what he was holding in his hand. It was a small wooden box, just like hers, but not hers. Because the one he had had curling lines like flames and an orange tone to its chromy shine.

“I had completely forgotten.”

His voice broke the silence and her attention, drawing her eyes to his. When he placed the box down on the table between them, she took her box out of her bag and put them side by side. Their resemblance was undeniable—the same style, the same size, the same type of shine but in different hues.

Her heart started racing. “You have a box, too.”

He nodded. “It’s been…ten years. I had totally forgotten,” he repeated, a hint of disbelief in his light chuckle. “I’m sorry I didn’t connect the dots when you told me your story. The details were different and…Anyway, your box is so similar to mine,” he highlighted, and she leaned in further.

“So you also woke up here or…?”

He hummed. “I think I did. I don’t remember it very well anymore. But I do remember being street-cast by a scout right in front of the now bar where we met. My life changed that day, and I never looked back. Never stopped to think that maybe something wasn’t right.”

She didn’t know what to say, especially as he focused on the boxes again.

“But meeting you has made me remember and realize that I thought I was living my dream, but I’m not. My dream was never to become rich or famous or successful or just a pretty face.” There was a pain behind his smile that brought tears to her eyes. “I wanted to mean something. To brighten people’s lives and lift their spirits. But I lost something along the way, and forgot that I need light too. I need connection and trust, too. It doesn’t matter if I know everybody and everybody knows me if I’m alone every day and every night, fading away just a little more.”

“I’m sure you can turn it around,” she said, reaching out to grab his hand.

“Yeah, I think so too. I think it’s time.”

“Time?”

He chuckled. “It almost feels like you came to get me.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, you said I gave you this box. I couldn’t have, but who knows how these boxes even work. Maybe our meeting was just fate so you could open your eyes and mine.”

“That sounds a little crazy,” she said, lightheaded, struggling to connect the dots like he did.

He squeezed her hand. “Maybe, but it’s okay. I’m ready to go back.”

“Go back? How?”

Her own eagerness surprised her. Her logic accepted that reality, but her instinct knew something wasn’t right as well.

“I don’t know. My instinct was to keep the box hidden and never open it again. I think we should try.”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

He grabbed her other hand. “We turn our lives around right here. Together.”

The rush of confidence he gave her was the reason she could take a deep breath and nod. Then, they let go of each other’s hands, and each grabbed their music box.

“Ready?” he asked, and she nodded, turning her gaze towards it. No matter what happened, her decision was made.

She slid the golden hook hasp, and what was a vivid memory became reality once more, making her heart race. The golden cylinder rotating, the same melody as the tuned teeth was precisely plucked, and the same mesmerizing spell that she didn’t fight this time. Her vision narrowed in on the music box, but this time, she could still see him across the table. When her head rested softly on the tabletop, although she couldn’t see him anymore, she was ready to close her eyes and go through it again.

Her eyes snapped back open as she straightened herself up, turning to the owner of the hands shaking her shoulders for her to wake up.

Taehyung’s eyes were wide as he looked at her, worry and wonder in them. She turned around on the chair. 

“Taehyung?”