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Tae looked down at the map in his hand.  Was it upside down?  He flipped it.  Nope, this looked wrong too.  And it was in French.  He couldn’t read a single thing it said.  Even as much as he traveled, he had somehow never made his way to France before.  Now he was here, but he had no idea how to get around.  And man, was water expensive!  He sighed and headed back the way he came.  He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he felt he’d get wherever he was supposed to be if he just walked.

He eventually found himself standing in front of a bakery.  His stomach growled as his sinuses filled with the scent of bread.  It couldn’t hurt to stop and get a loaf of bread, could it?  He headed for the door, smacking straight into something.  He looked down to see a girl staring up at him.  Her long, dark locks floated out of the beret on her head.  It appeared she was a local.

“I’m sorry!” she exclaimed in full English, much to Tae’s surprise.  She didn’t even have a French accent. “I was so occupied trying to figure out this map that I didn’t see you!”

“Oh, it’s all right.  I totally understand.  I was doing the same thing earlier.”

She nodded and looked up at the bakery in front of them. “Oh!  It’s here!  How did I not see it?” she shook her head. “Silly me, I should pay more attention to my surroundings.”

Tae laughed.  He headed for the door of the bakery, opening it before heading inside.  The girl followed at his tail.

“Ah, it smells like home!”

“Hmm?”

“My mother is French.  She makes baguettes all the time at home!”

“Oh.”

Tae looked down at her outfit.  She definitely looked like she was from here.  She was wearing a white, button-down blouse under a beige peacoat that went down to mid-thigh on her.  Its loose belt fell down past her knees.  She also wore a pair of sleek, black pants that went down to her ankles and a pair of ankle boots.  His eyes traveled back up her body until they found her shamrock green scarf and matching beret.  His eyes finally found her face.  She was wearing a pair of glasses too.  How had he not noticed?  She looked so French.  There was no way she wasn’t a local.  Either that or she was really into the French fashion.

She suddenly turned to him, locking eyes with him. “Do you want a loaf of bread?  I’ll pay.”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that.”

“Well I’m going to.  Whether you like it or not.”

Tae wasn’t going to pick a fight with a stranger, so he simply nodded. “All right.  Thank you.”

She smiled and turned back to the baker.  Then she said something he couldn’t understand.  Could she speak French?  For a foreigner she was very good at blending in.

A few minutes later they were on their way out of the bakery.  He looked down at the loaf of bread he was holding.  He found it quite ridiculous that he had let a girl pay for his food.

“Hey, I never caught your name,” the girl said, suddenly looking up at him.

He smiled. “I’m Tae.”

“Tae?  That’s a strange name.  Where are you from?”

“I’m Korean.”

“Ah, that explains your cute accent.” She held her hand out to him. “I’m Winter.”

Winter?  That was a cute name. He loved winter.  It was his favorite season.  He shook his head, taking her hand and shaking it. “Nice to meet you, Winter.”

They stood there for a few seconds, their hands still linked as they stared into each other’s eyes.  Winter finally found her voice after a few moments.

“I’m going to the Eiffel Tower, would you like to join me?”

Tae nodded. “I’d love to.”

——————–

Their hands were intertwined now as they walked down the cobblestone road, their shoes clicking against the ground.  Tae glanced down at the girl walking next to him.  Then he looked at the baguette in his hand.  He had to pay her back for this somehow.

It was dark by the time they reached the Eiffel Tower.  They found their way by the lights shining bright around the town.  Winter looked up at it.

“Wow, it is a lot bigger than I thought it would be.”

“Yeah.  I wish we could go to the top.”

“It’s too late for that.  We can go admire it from across the bridge, though.” Winter pointed to the other side of the long bridge not far from them.

Tae nodded, linking his hand with hers again. “Let’s go!”

Two minutes later, Winter and Tae were seated on a bench overlooking the waters below them.  They were protected from falling into the water by a gate.  Winter averted her gaze from the tower to look at Tae.  She felt a strange feeling when she looked at him.  She felt connected to him somehow.  She had never felt that way about anyone she had ever met.  And she had met many people on her travels.  His face was so pretty illuminated by the lights.  His skin was a soft tan, amplifying his dark eyes.  The dark brows that framed his eyes were gorgeous as well.  His head turned and his eyes locked with hers at that moment, and she got lost in those deep pools.  He smiled at her, somehow making his eyes even prettier.  She looked at his smile.  It was shaped strangely, almost like a box.  It was adorable nonetheless.

“Hey!” Tae exclaimed suddenly, breaking the moment he didn’t even know was happening. “Where are you staying?”

“Oh.  I’m staying a few blocks from here.”

Tae looked at the darkened city around him.  An idea formed in his head. “Can I walk you there?  It’s pretty dark now…”

Winter nodded. “All right.”

——————–

It was late when they finally made it to the duplex Winter was staying at.  They had sat on the bench for much longer than they had intended.  Tae’s eyes widened when they got to the duplex.

“You’re staying here?”

“Yeah…why?”

“I’m staying in the other half!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

Winter looked at her watch. “Hey, let’s go up to the roof.  It’s almost 1.”

“Because the lights are the prettiest at 1?”

Winter smiled. “How’d you know?”

Tae shrugged. “I have friends who travel a lot.  I’ve always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower at 1.”

Winter smiled and grabbed his hand before pulling him inside and up the stairs.  When they got to the roof, the tower was brightly lit and beautiful to anyone who could see it.

“Wow…it’s so pretty…” Tae breathed.

“Yeah…” Winter looked at Tae, who was staring at the tower in wonder.  She smiled.  She had never seen anyone so happy before, she was sure.  Maybe she could take this boy with her on all her adventures.  It would be so fun to watch him explore.

Tae looked over at the girl beside him.  She was looking at him again.  She seemed immersed in it too.  He stared back at her.  Even with those glasses hiding her eyes, he could still tell she was adorable.  He could sit here for hours.  Was this what his friends meant when they said they had fallen in love?  He stared into her emerald green eyes.  What an extraordinary color!  He had never seen such a thing in Korea!

Winter finally broke the silence for the second time that day. “We should probably get to bed, it’s pretty late.”

Tae disagreed.  He wasn’t tired at all.  And he traveled so much that he didn’t have a sleep schedule anyways.  He wanted to stay here all night.

Winter watched the sadness wash over his face at her comment. “Don’t worry, we can meet for breakfast tomorrow.  My train doesn’t leave until 11.”

“You’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yep.  Another country awaits!” She smiled. “Let’s trade phone numbers so we can contact each other in the morning.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened her contacts before handing it to him.  He handed his opened phone to her as well.  When they had typed their numbers into each other’s phones, they traded them back.

Tae was reluctant to leave.  But it appeared she wanted him to.  So he bid her goodnight and headed downstairs and for his own half of the house.  He collapsed against his bed when he got to his room.  He wished this night could’ve lasted forever.

——————–

Tae woke up to light streaming through his window.  It was blinding.  Then his phone went off.

“Tae!  I’m up!  I’ll be ready in half an hour if you’re up then.”

She had sent the text 20 minutes earlier.  He jumped out of bed.  He quickly got dressed in his favorite button-up shirt and a pair of black pants.  Then he placed a black beret on his head.  It was his favorite hat to wear.  He was out the door a second later, coat in hand.  He waited on the front porch for a few minutes.  Then Winter came out.  She wasn’t wearing her beret today.

“Wow!  I didn’t expect you to be out here already!”

Tae shrugged. “Should we bike?  I think there’s bikes in the shed out back.”

“All right.  I love biking.”

——————–

They had agreed on going back to the bakery they had met at the day before and getting croissants.  Winter said it was a popular breakfast food; that is, for those who ate breakfast.  After they had purchased their croissants and locked up their bikes, they decided to take a walk.

“So…where are you headed next?” Tae asked, knowing his time with Winter was almost over.

Winter smiled. “Why?  You gonna follow me?”

“What?  No…I’m just curious.”

Winter raised an eyebrow.

“Ok, maybe…  But I really am curious about where you’re headed.”

Winter smiled. “I’m headed to England next.”

“England?  I’ve never been there.”

“Am I gonna get there and find out you followed me?”

Tae shrugged. “Maybe.”