Taehyung of BTS was standing before her in all his stunning glory! His long, slender legs were clad in freshly pressed, black slacks. He was wearing a long-sleeved, white, button-down shirt – but the top two buttons were undone exposing some of his beautiful chest to her incredulous eyes. As well as his nicely defined collarbone. Over the crisp, white shirt, he had donned a black jacket that completed the ensemble perfectly. It was unbuttoned and revealed a great swath of his white shirt. He was wearing black dress shoes that had been shined so well that they were reflecting the ceiling tiles of the elevator back to him.
Her eyes made their way back to his own. As he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled at her, deepening his attractiveness. As she stood gaping at him, he responded, “Going down?”
Awoken from her momentary stupor, she nodded and joined him in the elevator. She glanced at the buttons. 18 was lit up. She had been staying on the eighteenth floor. Curious. Today was her eighteenth birthday. She stood next to Tae as the elevator doors closed, closeting them into the small space together. She sent a furtive glance to her right and was then shocked to meet his dark eyes as he gazed back at her. Her eyes widened in surprise. She was speechless. How could she break through the awkwardness of this incredible moment? She was riding an elevator with one of the most famous vocalists in all the world! And her absolute favorite!
Just then her stomach growled, rebelling against its enforced fast. Tae’s eyes slid to her belly for a moment before meeting her own again. His mouth split into another wide grin.
“Hungry?” he questioned her.
She nodded. She grimaced as she responded, “Somehow I slept through breakfast.”
He nodded sagely. “I’ve done that before. It’s probably from the jet lag.”
What jet? She had no recollection of being on any airplane. “That’s the strange thing,” she replied.
Tae glanced at her curiously. “What’s strange?”
“I don’t remember being on an airplane.”
He looked at her out of those piercing, chocolate eyes of his. “What do you remember?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. I mean, I remember my life back home in Pakistan. My father, my brother, my friends. But how I got here, what I did yesterday, I don’t remember any of it.”
Tae had leaned back against the elevator wall. Now he stood up abruptly. “Wait. You’re serious, aren’t you?” Surprise was clearly written all over his face.
She nodded her head vigorously. “Yes. I am. I awoke this morning shocked to find myself alone in a hotel room. I have no belongings. Just my clothes and my phone. And strangely enough, my art supplies.” She lifted the sketchbook and pencils for emphasis before continuing, “No suitcase. No purse. No passport. No identification. No money. I have no idea what to do now. But my hotel room was paid up for only one night. I have to leave now. But where am I to go? What am I to do?”
Without missing a beat, Tae responded, “I will help you.”
Anna glanced sharply up at him, a little in awe of his sweet demeanor. “Thank you,” she whispered. Then her voice grew louder as she continued, “It’s so weird. Yesterday – the yesterday I can remember – I had big plans for today with my friends.”
“You did?”
She nodded. “Yes. Today is my eighteenth birthday.”
“Oh.” Tae’s face split into a wide smile, revealing all his perfectly straight teeth and the one that was a little off kilter. “Happy Birthday!” Then his face fell. “Although, I suppose it’s not really that happy since you can’t remember how you got here or how you’re supposed to get home.”
She frowned as she looked down at her toes, “Yeah.”
“Well, I think the first step is obvious,” Tae offered.
She looked up at him. “It is?”
“Yes. We need to get you some breakfast!”
She smiled gratefully at him. Just then, the elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened on the ground floor. Tae reached out and took her hand before pulling her along towards the front doors of the hotel. As they stepped outside, he headed down the street towards a little cafe.
He smiled down at her. He was nearly three-quarters of a foot taller than she was. She was really cute! Dark hair, dark eyes, beautiful, light brown skin. She had a sweet face. He was so happy he’d found her today. He was looking forward to spending the day with her. He couldn’t wait to begin helping her.
“What do you like to eat for breakfast?”
“Bread with chocolate jam.”
“Nutella?”
“Yes. And a cup of tea.”
“I love Nutella. Let’s see if they have some in here.” They stepped through the doors to a little cafe.
Anna felt her first wave of happiness today when she saw that Nutella was on the menu. Tae ordered them both a breakfast of tea and chocolate bread while she found them an empty table to sit at just outside the doors to the cafe.
She sat down and gazed up at the bright blue sky. Puffy, white clouds were floating by. She looked at them framed by the monstrous skyscrapers that dotted the horizon and surrounded her here in downtown Chicago. She shook her head. She still couldn’t believe she was here. In America. Alone. With Taehyung. The whole thing was impossible. Perhaps she was dreaming.
Yes! That must be it! This must be a dream! If this was a dream, then perhaps she’d be a little bolder than usual. Might as well live life to the fullest in her dreams. She opened her sketchbook and began to draw the façade of the cafe on an ivory sheet of paper while she enjoyed a slight breeze on this crisp, autumn day.
A few moments later, Tae emerged from the little shop carrying a tray laden with their food. As he set it on the table, he offered, “I’m Tae, by the way.”
She glanced up at him and smiled. “I know.”
He looked dumbfounded. “You know?” He was truly puzzled. “How do you know my name?”
“I’m an ARMY.”
Now he looked confused. “An army? How can you be an army? You’re only one person.”
“What?” Now it was her turn to be perplexed. “I’m a BTS fan.”
“BTS?” He spoke each letter like it was a foreign word. “What is Bee Tee Ess?”
“What? What do you mean, what is BTS? It’s the name of your band! Did you hit your head or something?” She really must be dreaming. Tae didn’t know who he was!
“Band? I don’t have a band. I’m a teacher.”
WHAT?!!! This day just kept getting worse! Or better…
Tae wasn’t in a world-famous band. He was a teacher.
“Are you married?”
His eyebrows flew up in an attempt to slap his hairline. “Married?” He blew out a long breath. “No.”
“Ah, but you have a girlfriend?”
He shook his head. “Nope. It’s just me. Well, me and my students. I teach third grade.”
Anna smiled. Of course, you do! You’ve always loved little kids. So, in some universe where you are not YOU, you would be an elementary school teacher. “I bet you love it!”
“Love it? Love what?” he asked as he pulled out a metal chair and straddled it before tucking into his chocolate bread.
“Teaching little kids.”
He looked up at her from his position bent over his toast. “How did you know?”
She thought fast before answering, “You just seem like the type who loves little kids.”
“So, when you said you knew my name, you were just kidding me, right? The whole BTS thing – that was a joke?”
She nodded and took a bite of her chocolate covered bread.
Tae was peering closely at her from his beautiful, dark eyes. “Hey, what’s your name?” he asked softly.
Her eyes collided with his as she looked up suddenly. “Anna.”
“What a pretty name! So, Anna, you don’t remember anything about yesterday?”
“I guess not. I don’t remember Chicago at all. But look,” she opened her sketchbook to the pages portraying the landmarks of the Windy City. “Apparently, I sketched the Willis Tower, Navy Pier, and the Art Institute. And there are pictures in my phone of all those places too.”
“Hmm…maybe that’s our first clue then!”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, let’s visit those places and see if you remember anything. Or if anyone recognizes you.”
Her head snapped up. “That’s a good idea!”
She smiled at him. He grinned back. That’s when she noticed the dot of Nutella on the side of his mouth. And she remembered she was going to be bold today. So she reached out and slid her thumb over his lip, carrying the chocolate away. Tae froze as a thousand volts of electricity exploded in his face at her innocent touch. His eyes widened as he stared at her in shock. But Anna didn’t notice. She licked her finger off and proceeded to sip some of her tea. Over the rim of her cup, she caught Tae’s eye and questioned the meaning of the message she read there. He was still gazing intently at her.
“What about you? Are you married?”
She nearly spit her tea at him. “Me?” She laughed. “No! I’m not. I don’t have a boyfriend either.”
“Would you like to have a boyfriend?”
This time she did spit her tea out. All over his face. Tae sat frozen. He blinked. His face was impassive. He blinked again.
“Oh! I am so sorry!” Anna grabbed a napkin and reached out to blot his cheek.
His breath caught in his chest at yet another innocent touch from this strikingly beautiful girl. He sat immovable as she wiped the napkin down the bridge of his nose and across his other cheek, all the while murmuring another apology. “I am so sorry, Tae!”
Her heart was racing. What was he asking her? Was he implying that he wanted to be her boyfriend? That was ludicrous, surely!
Anna hadn’t noticed how close she’d gotten to Tae, but he had. Her face was only about six inches from his own. His eyes dropped to her lovely lips. A beautiful shade of pink, they seemed to beckon him. He drew closer to her. She pulled the napkin away. Then she noticed the look in his eyes as she realized he was staring intently at her mouth. Was he thinking about kissing her?
Now her heart was thundering in her chest. She sat, frozen. She couldn’t even blink. His face drew closer to her own. Their lips were a breath away from each other.