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She was seated at a cafe reading a book the first time Namjoon saw her.  Her eyes were devouring the words on the page before her.  A bookworm, eh?  He smiled.  He liked bookworms.  He was one himself.

He was standing in line waiting to order a cup of tea and a pastry.  He had glanced her way, and her long, blond hair had caught his attention.  She was sitting near a window, and the sunlight streaming through it was striking glints off her golden head.  That shade of hair was a rare thing to see here.  Especially if it was natural.  Which it appeared to be.  It matched her skin tone.  Was she American?  Or maybe European?  Just then, she glanced up, and her piercing blue eyes collided with his own.    Swedish, perhaps?  

Oh, those eyes were stunning.  He put his hand up and covered his heart.  Her eyes had lanced him.  As though they’d released a fiery arrow straight into his heart.  He was checking for damage.  There appeared to be none.  Though, he’d swear he could feel the burning head of that arrow even now lodged into him, engraving his heart, calling him her own.  And he knew he had to talk to her.

As he continued to maintain the casual eye contact, he noticed when her eyes suddenly widened.  A wave of shock swept over her open countenance.   Oh, no!  Had she recognized him?  He sighed.

Of course, it was possible.  BTS had recently rocketed to the top of the charts around the world.  They were becoming well-known even in America.  If she was from the United States, chances were she’d seen him interviewed on a talk show even if she wasn’t a K-pop fan.  Of course, BTS was something altogether different, though they were often lumped together with other K-pop groups.

“Sir, can I help you?”

His attention diverted from the fair maiden to his right, Namjoon placed his order and waited patiently for it to be filled.  Picking up his cup and plate, he glanced around the cafe.  There was not one single available table, so he decided to be daring, and he approached her.

Breeze hadn’t taken her eyes off him since they’d collided with his own.  The guy was gorgeous!   Every bit as beautiful as his photos and videos and the concert jumbotron had promised!  It really was him!!  The man she’d traveled halfway around the world hoping to catch a glimpse of.  Joonie.  She sighed.  Oh, that he would speak to her!  Her eyes widened again as he turned towards her, his eyes scanning every table before coming to rest on her own. Then they lifted to meet her gaze again.

She was still looking at him?  He felt his heart rising in his chest, the mark of the arrow throbbing now.  He closed the distance between them, never breaking the contact between their eyes.

The book in her backpack was now burning a hole through her mind.  It was enlightening her vision as she gazed at him.  She had promised herself that if she met him, she would give it to him.  But she’d never dreamed it would really happen.  Did she have the courage to go through with it?

He stopped in front of her. “Excuse me.  Would you mind if I sit here with you?”

Her heart was thundering in her chest.  She was surprised she could hear his melodious voice over the resultant pounding.  He had spoken in English.  She nodded.

“Sure,” she whispered.

He held out his hand.  “I’m Namjoon.”

I know!  I just can’t believe it!

“I’m Breeze.”

Ah, her accent definitely sounded American.  Midwest, perhaps?

She slid her hand across his palm and nearly fainted from the warm contact.  All sorts of electrical impulses were flowing through her hand to communicate themselves to every nerve ending in her body.  She checked to make sure she was still sitting up.  Phew.  She was.  She hadn’t melted into a puddle under the table just yet.  But it was early still.

Slowly, regretfully, he drew his hand from her clasp.  Their eyes met briefly.  Did she really see her own disappointment mirrored in his eyes?

He pulled out the chair and sat down next to her along the square table.  He was facing her left side.  As he was sliding into the seat, he noticed how an errant, golden curl was framing her cheek. He had a strong urge to reach up and touch it.  But in that precise moment, he contacted a different part of her altogether.  His knee bumped hers.

He looked slightly chagrined. “Sorry!”

“Oh, Joonie, it’s ok!  You can bump me anytime you want!”

His eyes widened.  “What did you say?”

What?  Did she actually say that aloud?!  She’d been speaking under her breath, right?  Ummm…she searched her mind furiously for something to say to distract him from what she’d just said.  When the words left her mouth, she wanted to hit herself in the head, for she knew exactly where this conversation was heading.

“Do you like to read?”  She already knew he did, if Google could be trusted.

He nodded, sipping his tea.  “I love to read!”  He glanced at the book in her hands.  “Appears you do too.  You’re a fellow bookworm, right?”

She grinned.  That wasn’t a term she heard much these days, but it was definitely accurate.  She’d rather consume a book than breakfast.  Something Namjoon discerned when he looked at the untouched cinnamon roll on her plate.

“That book must be better than your bun, huh?”

She smiled.  “It’s wonderful!”  Talking to Joonie was easier than she’d thought it would be.  Much easier, if her slip of a moment ago was any indication.

“What are you reading?”

“Pride and Prejudice.  It’s one of my all-time favorite books!”  Her eyes lit up with the joy she found in reading.

“What’s it about?” He sipped his tea, staring in interest over the lip of his cup at her.  He was so taken with her already.

“It’s a romance.  But not a fluffy one!  It’s set in England in the 1800s.  It’s about a girl, Elizabeth Bennett, and her icy suitor, Mr. Darcy.  They spend the entire book misunderstanding one another and dueling each other with words instead of swords and with glances rather than bullets.”

Namjoon could tell this girl was a reader. She spoke like a poet!  He was sliding further down the slippery slope into love’s embrace.

Breeze nervously cut her cinnamon roll and shoved a piece into her mouth.  She barely chewed it before swallowing and began to choke on the lump that got stuck in her throat.  She grabbed her tea and took a drink, hoping the warm liquid would somehow miraculously melt the sticky treat lodged in her esophagus.  It didn’t.  The tea just dribbled out of her mouth.

Namjoon was alarmed.  This girl was clearly in trouble!  He jumped up and circled behind her.  He leaned forward and slid his arms around her stomach, clasping them together, and then drew them sharply upward under her ribcage, expertly dislodging the cinnamon roll.  It flew across the table to land on the floor at someone else’s feet.  The customer looked down at it with distaste; though, the woman seated across from him eyed it with relief, thankful she hadn’t witnessed a girl suffocated by her own breakfast.

Breeze could breathe again!  She wasn’t yet embarrassed because she was so relieved to be able to draw a breath once again.  She inhaled and exhaled several times.  Then she glanced up at Namjoon.  He had seated himself next to her once again and was now bent toward her.  His hand came to rest on her knee.

“Are you ok?”  He was so thankful he knew the Heimlich maneuver!  He was relieved to see her breathing again.

She nodded.  “Thanks to you!”

She took a long, deep breath again, closing her eyes to rest for a moment.  She then noticed the heat radiating through his fingers and into her knee to run singing along her nerves.

Namjoon took that time to study her captivating countenance.  Those stunning crystal blue eyes were framed by long, dark eyelashes that curled slightly.  Her eyebrows were two dark arches over her penetrating, cerulean orbs.  She had a straight, pert, little nose that rounded to kiss the space right above a triangular divot that crowned her upper lip.  She had two full, pink lips that Namjoon couldn’t help but briefly fantasize about claiming as his own.