Eileen was walking. She had decided it would be wise to find a bathroom before it got too late. She’d found that little cafe was still open, so she’d paid to use their restroom as she reflected on how wise they’d been to avoid the champagne for two reasons. Then she walked very slowly back towards her car, which was parked several blocks away. If she blocked out the context of this moment, she could relish it. The air was crisp and sweet and filled with the smells of autumn, woodsmoke and decaying leaves. And something more. Something undefinable that she had always loved about fall. It was a promise that, though things looked like they were headed for death, around the corner, past the next season, rebirth would occur, and life would be good and green again. It would burst forth with new, vibrant colors. It would paint the day with beauty. And she would paint it on a wall somewhere or on a canvas.
Her mind traveled back, unbidden, to the beautiful lines of Jimin’s face. He was cute, really cute. Even more than his face, it was his demeanor. Something inexplicable and childlike and full of joy. She’d caught it in his eyes while she’d been lying on the blanket with him, and she’d wanted to be drawn nearer to him. And it had scared her. It wasn’t wise. She didn’t even know him. He really could be trouble. And she really could be the idiot who hadn’t noticed until it was too late. But then she remembered his swollen ankle and reflected that if she did find herself in a compromising position, she would kick him really hard there. And then run for her life. For some reason this thought both solaced her greatly and made her feel slightly nauseated. She didn’t want to imagine hurting Jimin.
Actually, what she wanted to do with Jimin was to paint him. To paint him with the sun rising behind him, its glorious rays crowning his head. She’d capture that cute, little divot above his lips. Oh, don’t get her going on those lips. She’d love to paint those pale red temptations. On a canvas. Better yet…on her bedroom wall. Then she laughed as she thought of all the girls who had already plastered those lips up on their bedroom walls and probably routinely practiced kissing them. She chuckled. She wouldn’t go that far.
She shook her head as she imagined capturing the perfect slope of his straight nose with her pencil before fleshing it in with her paints. And then she came to his glorious eyes. How on earth could she communicate through the mediums of an artist the magnificence she found there? She pursed her lips. She could but try. She knew as soon as she was home alone again that she’d be attempting to translate their beauty onto a canvas. She wished she had her phone and could take his picture. Then she laughed again as she remembered that there were billions of pictures of him on the internet.
Now she sobered as she remembered who he was and how quickly he’d be fleeing back to his real life and fading out of hers. She really needed to get her thoughts and emotions under control. She could not fall for this captivating creature. It would be an empty future at best. Even if he liked her, he’d be returning tomorrow to scores of his fans. To the life of a K-pop idol.
She sighed. Why did she have to be the one that had run into him? But if she hadn’t, would he have escaped mostly unharmed from that crazy crowd? Upon further reflection, though, she realized that it was probably her fault he’d gotten injured at all. Having to slow down to deal with her had given that vicious woman time to catch up with him. And he’d paid the price in both his lovely face and his priceless ankle. He made a living by both of them.
Man! Eileen had already been nothing but trouble for him. Why would he even want to pursue a relationship with her? A RELATIONSHIP? What on earth was she thinking?! He lived in South Korea. His job took him around the world. His days were probably endless working sessions with little time for sleep much less relaxation or the taxing efforts of connecting with a girlfriend in another country! She shook her head to dispel her crazy thoughts.
She really must steer her mind to safer shores. So she gave in to her artist’s eye and pictured the captivating curve of his chin and mentally sketched that strong jawline. She’d gotten to study it at length through surreptitious glances at him as she’d driven her car for over half an hour earlier this evening. Her mind’s eye penciled in the outline of his face straight down then turned into a 135º angle as his countenance curved to meet the smooth line of his chin. Another 135º angle to capture that beautiful outline, she rounded that gorgeous chin a bit around the edges before sketching a mirroring set of lines on the other side of his face. Enthralling. His countenance, his eyes. She sighed. This wasn’t helping. She was definitely spending the night in her car. Safely locked in. At this point she felt her thoughts were more dangerous than Jimin actually was.
She looked up at the darkening sky. It was turning from a deep blue into a darker indigo. Stunning. The stars were beginning to shine in all their glory. Perhaps she would imagine painting them instead. She could put them up on the ceiling of the apartment she was borrowing for the winter. She glanced down just in time to miss tripping over a branch in the road. She’d better pay more attention to where she was walking. Soon enough she overtook her car and safely locked herself inside of it. Hopefully, Jimin would fall asleep quickly and wouldn’t miss her.
