TRACK 02
NO MASK
LIZ
When dawn brings the next morning, last night feels like nothing more than a fever dream.
None of it, but especially Kyung and those darned feelings that I've tried so hard to keep locked in the box.
About the only part of it that does feel real is the ice cream, and that's probably just because of my love for sweets.
Might also be watching him enjoy it as much as I did.
Either way, for the first time in what feels like forever, I managed to get a good eight hours of sleep.
Glancing around, I don't see anyone paying me any mind for once, but I don't want to risk looking like a weirdo.
Filing the information away for later, I sip my iced coffee on the way to the children's home.
I teach English to the smaller kids for the first few hours, so I'm distracted enough to lose myself.
But as soon as I'm alone, it sits on my brain through the rest of the day while I try to process.
Some of the things he said last night make more sense now.
Not like it changes my feelings at all. I've even tried stepping out and looking at it from a different angle.
He's obviously an idol, which is a big deal here.
More than once, I've seen the chaos and fangirling over idols.
I get it somewhat. They're celebrities, but I don't look at Kyung and see that.
He's just a cute guy who stopped to talk, dropped a cheesy but cute line, and bought me ice cream.
I'm tempted to Google him and see what it all means, but I refuse. Whatever status he may have because of his job, he can tell me himself instead of me being one of those girls. Because, no matter how I look at it, he's just going to be that cute cheesy guy.
I battle with myself all day, going back and forth on whether I should mention it or not to see if he'll tell me. In the end, I stop worrying about it. If it happens to come up then so be it.
Honestly, I'm so excited by the time I'm walking toward the overlook that I've almost forgotten about it already.
He's standing tall beside the railing with his hands tucked into a grey hoodie.
He turns to look my way before he possibly ever could've heard me coming.
It reminds me of that old saying about souls knowing souls.
Even from a good distance away, I can see him checking me out.
Which is funny, because I didn't do anything different today than I've done any other night.
I won't ever change who I am for anyone.
I left my hair hanging freely like I always do and just threw on a pair of jeans with a black t-shirt.
It's just an odd feeling because I can practically feel his gaze caressing my soul.
"Hello," he greets me in his native tongue.
"Hi," I reply, letting my smile slip out.
"Feel like taking a walk tonight?" he asks.
When I tell him sure, he turns slowly, giving me enough time to make it next to him before he starts walking.
The only sound for a minute is our shoes on the concrete.
I can't help but picture how short I must look next to him.
Even his legs look a million miles long.
Without a doubt he's slowing his stride to match my smaller one.
We turn down a path that cuts through a small park.
It's more secluded than the overlook, and I've noticed that not a lot of people venture down it at night.
Not that it's not safe or anything. There are plenty of streetlights, and I feel safer in this dark park than I would've walking in broad daylight in some of the streets in the cities back home.
He stops so abruptly that I take two more steps before I realize he's not next to me anymore. As I turn around, it's just in time to see him slipping off his mask. Twirling it on his finger, he shoots me a cocky grin before tucking it into his pocket.
My brain does that thing again where it misfires and doesn't exactly communicate with my mouth. Which is my excuse as to why I blurt out, “I saw you today.”
He stops mid-twirl as his smile slips into a more guarded expression. “Yeah?”
“I went to get a coffee,” I explain, in disbelief at myself for bringing it up. “Your picture was on the wall.”
Huffing out a short laugh, his eyes drop to the ground as his smile comes back. “It was only a matter of time. I thought you were going to say that you saw me out in public somewhere.”
“Would that have been bad?” I ask, slightly confused.
“Not necessarily,” he replies slowly. “I’ve only been two places today, though, and we have stalkers sometimes that like to hang around.”
My jaw drops open as I look at him incredulously. “You actually have stalkers?”
“Mmm,” he says with a nod. “Sometimes.”
“And you’d think I was one of them?” I ask.
He grins. “You never know.”
“I would know,” I tease him. “If anybody is the stalker, it’s you.”
Laughing again, he closes the distance between us.
I have to look way up to see his face this close.
It’s skinny like the rest of him, but he’s got puffy little cheeks that pull up when he smiles with thin lips.
His black hair is styled to cover his forehead, almost touching his dark brown eyes.
There’s no doubt about it, he’s one of the prettiest men I think I’ve ever seen in my life.
“I did come out here multiple nights, hoping that you’d be standing in that same spot,” he admits quietly, his deep voice rumbling even in the low tone.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I repeat my words from last night, “See, I’d be easy to kidnap. Ice cream and a pretty face.”
This draws a bark of laughter from him, and it’s contagious.