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Tae and Sarah headed for the Lakefront Trail to cut across the park towards Queen’s Landing.  She was wearing his coat, but she was shivering still.   The temperature kept dropping, especially as they headed towards the lake.  Once they reached the lakeside, Tae glanced at her.  

“You’re freezing, aren’t you?”

Her teeth chattering, she reassured him, “No, I’m fine.”

He grinned at her.  “You’re still maintaining your pleasure in that song, huh?”

Then without warning, his fingers released hers.  Before she could react to the loss of his warm hand, he reached over and slid his arm around her shoulders and drew her close to him.  Sarah found herself half embraced by him.  But by some miracle he was emitting heat from his core.

“How can you be so warm in just a shirt?” she asked in wonder.

Tae shrugged.  “I don’t know.”  Then he unleashed his boxy smile on her.  “Maybe to warm you up?”

“It’s working,” she smiled gratefully up at him as she turned her head towards his.

Tae’s smile disappeared as he gazed down at Sarah.  He really liked this girl.  He’d felt an instant connection with her when they had first met earlier this evening.  He recognized that feeling and knew how dangerous it was for a man in his position.  But heedless of the risk, he had embraced spending the evening alone with her.

Sarah reminded him a little of Yoongi.  Tae recognized in her another soul who enjoyed solitude.  He wondered why she had become like that.  Had something hurt her heart and made her turn inward?  Or had she just been born a quieter spirit than other people?  As he stared down at her, he pondered all these questions in his heart.

He found that he wanted to open her up.  He desired to be someone she shared her confidences with.  He just knew she harbored fascinating thoughts.  He wanted to be privy to them.  The question was: how could he tease that door open?

“Sarah, why are you so quiet?”

She broke their eye contact for a moment to stare out at the dark lake.  She shrugged.  “People don’t always appreciate what I have to say.”

Tae felt something shift in his heart.  “I understand.  I am often misunderstood.”

“That’s because you can see what others can’t, Tae.”

His gaze sharpened on her.  “You recognize that?  You don’t think I’m nuts or delusional?”

She shook her head vehemently.  “Not at all!  Tae, you’re a visionary.  You know how to use your imagination for good.  You’re creative.  You question.  You search for answers where others have given up.  You’re open to ideas and truths that other people can’t even imagine.  It’s one of the things I most love about you!”

He grinned at her.  “You love me, Sarah?”

Just then they walked under a streetlamp, and he watched in fascination as she turned pink.  

“I made you speechless, huh?” he smiled.

She looked away, embarrassed.  What a question!  Of course, she loved Tae!  He was her bias after all.  But it was another thing to say it to his face.  What had gotten into her?  She was usually so straightforward.  Painfully honest, her family would say.  But in this most important moment, she was unable to find her tongue.

Tae’s arm tightened around her, and he breathed into her hair, “It’s ok, Sarah.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

She could feel his warm breath against her scalp as his lips brushed her hair.  She closed her eyes to savor this moment, safe in Tae’s embrace.  This opportunity would most likely never come again.  How had she found herself here?  She had no idea.  But she was determined to enjoy it while it lasted.

“Sarah?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re coming to my concert tomorrow night, right?”

She nodded, her hair tickling his nose.  He smiled.  “Would you like to spend the whole day there with me?”

With a sudden movement, she pivoted towards him, and her head bumped into his nose.  He reached up to rub it as her excited eyes met his own.  “You want me to come to your practice and sound check?!”

“And everything else in between.  Though, truthfully, I’ll have little time to talk.  But I’d like you to be there anyway.”

“Yes! Yes!  I’d love to!”  Then her face fell.  “But Sandra!  I can’t leave my sister alone!”

“You won’t have to.  I imagine Hobi has invited her as his guest, but even if he hasn’t, she can come with you.  We can pick you both up around eight o’clock tomorrow morning.  Can you be ready by then?”

“Absolutely!  Even if I have to stay up all night!”

Tae laughed.  “I may be too wired to sleep now, but I will have to lie down at some point tonight.  Gotta rest my bones, you know?”

“And your pretty eyes,” she beamed up at him.

“But…I wish I could stay out all night with you.”

“If you could, what would we do?”

“We’d find a quiet place where we could see the stars, and we’d watch them for hours.”  He glanced down at her.  “I’d hold your hand all night long.  And I would find a star to name after you.”

Sarah’s heart had just melted into a ginormous puddle at her feet.  She sighed.  This guy was just too romantic!

“Sounds wonderful,” she murmured.

“So… Let’s do it!”

“What?”

“Let’s find a spot to watch the stars.”

“But, Tae, we’d have to leave Chicago to find any place dark enough.”

“Let’s do it.”  Tae pulled his phone from his pocket and googled stargazing near Chicago.  “Here!  Shining Star Park!”

She glanced at his phone.  “Tae!  That’s nearly an hour away!”

“I know, but look!  They’re open all night!  Let’s go!  I’ll call an Uber.  I can hold your hand the whole way.  We will have privacy.  We can stargaze for an hour and be back here by one o’clock.”

“Oh, Tae!  Is that enough sleep for you?”

“I’ll be fine.  Come on, Sarah!  Please?” Tae was widening both his eyes and his mouth in the cutest fashion possible.  His boxy smile had transformed into a long, flat rectangle.

She laughed.  “How am I supposed to resist that face?”

“You’re not,” he asserted firmly.

Who was Sarah to resist that boxy smile?