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See you tomorrow.

Why had he said that?  

She pushed herself into her bedroom and reached for her pajamas.  She was thoroughly exhausted.  A few minutes later, she lay down in bed.  Wide awake.  

She kept seeing those deep, dark, beautiful eyes.  Why did they keep calling to her?  Then, suddenly, that gummy grin flashed across the canvas of her mind.  Next, she saw its owner trying to mop the floor.  And succeeding at repositioning the chairs. 

Trying to dispel the pleasing images, she blinked in the darkness.  She didn’t need to be thinking of the nameless guy.  Here today.  Gone tomorrow.  A guy who had been ecstatic to shake loose of his fiancé.  He’d drowned his joy in a glass of wine.

But the real question was…

Why did he think that he was going to see Nari tomorrow?

—

“Size six,” Yoongi murmured to himself as he approached his apartment door.  

Would he remember tomorrow if he made no note tonight?  

He shook his head.  He was too tired to care.  He stepped through his doorway, slammed the door shut and locked it, tossed his keys onto the kitchen counter, and fell headlong into his bed a moment later after passing through the doorway into his bedroom.  He was out like a light within thirty seconds.  

But that didn’t mean that he didn’t dream of a certain girl with short, wavy hair and clear, obsidian eyes.  And a sweet, smooth voice that raised the hair on the nape of his neck.

—

She slept until noon.  Which was not good.  Her shift had begun at ten.  She was already two hours late!

She picked up her phone and called her boss.  She apologized profusely, but he just chuckled and thanked her for working so hard that she had exhausted herself to the point of sleeping through her alarm.  She didn’t admit that she had forgotten to set it.  A few minutes later, she hurried out the door.  Completely forgetting the man she’d met last night.

—

Thank God it was Sunday.  He’d slept late.  Had it been Monday, he would have missed half the school day.  But today at least, he was at his leisure.

After he showered, he headed for the store.

He stood for a long time weighing his options.  Would she like black or white?  Maybe navy or teal?  

Not teal.  She struck him as being no-nonsense.  And white would become soiled too easily.  So…black or navy?  

Black goes with everything.  Black it is, then.

Now he just needed to pick the style.  Just then, a salesgirl saw his indecision and came to assist him.  After chatting with her for a few moments, he found just the right pair.  He headed for the cash register to pay for them.  Then, he made a beeline for the diner.  He couldn’t get a certain cute girl out of his head…

—

The bell above the door jingled.  Nari glanced up and froze.  It was him.  The boy with the beautiful eyes.  Those eyes found hers a moment later.  And a lovely smile curved his lips.  She returned his smile shyly.  Then, she turned her attention back to her customer.

“Miss, I ordered the japchae.  Not the bibimbap.”

“Oh, no!  I am so sorry, sir!  Let me clear this away, and I will bring you the japchae.”  She leaned over to pick up the dish, and he slapped her on her bottom.

Immediately, she straightened.  But before she could say anything, a cool voice from behind her interposed, “Apologize to the lady right now, or you’re going to be wearing that bowl of bibimbap.”

She turned her head to survey the sweet boy with the kind eyes.  Her incredulous ones scanned his face.  

But then her attention was brought back to the other man as he retorted, “Apologize for what?”

“For putting your hand where it doesn’t belong.”  There was a glint of steel in the boy’s voice.

The man scoffed.  “I don’t have to put up with this.  There are other places to eat.  Much better places.”  He stood up and tossed his napkin down onto the table.

“Be sure you never return,” Yoongi hissed, “or there will be a surprise waiting for you.  A very unpleasant one.”  Then he gestured to something outside.  

The man glanced that way and then paled.  His eyes slid back to Yoongi.

“Didn’t you forget something?” Yoongi asked him.

“What?” the man asked between stiff lips.

“To pay your bill.”

“But she brought me the wrong meal.”

“Then you’re going to pay for putting your hand where it doesn’t belong.”  The brave boy turned his sweet face towards her.  “How much is the bibimbap?”

She uttered the price.  Yoongi looked expectantly at the man.  

Disgruntled, the cretin nevertheless pulled out his wallet and began to search it for cash.

“Make sure you leave her a sizeable tip for her excellent service.  Be aware that I think she is priceless.  So…be generous.”

The man eyed him for a moment.  Nari noticed that he was trembling.  Though, whether it was from fear or anger, she couldn’t tell.  Suddenly, he threw several bills on the table, then he fled as if his life depended on it.  Yoongi watched him go.  She was still trying to figure out what the man had seen outside.  

Yoongi’s gaze met hers a moment later.  “I haven’t eaten today.  Leave the bibimbap on the table.  I’ll eat it.  Wasn’t it nice of him to buy my meal?”  He glanced down at the appetizing bowl of steaming food.  “Would you like to join me?  I can’t possibly eat all of that.”

She simply stared at him.  “You can’t go scaring off all of my customers.”

“I won’t.  I promise I’ll scare off only the Neanderthals.”

Her lips quirked.

“Seriously,” his eyes speared hers.  “You deserve to be treated so much better than that.  I will cheerfully break the fingers of any man who dares to touch you again without your permission.”

She stared at him as her eyes suddenly filled with tears.  Where had this gentle boy been for the last year as she’d endured slaps on her bottom and insults spoken directly to her face?

He glanced up at her.  “Why are you working here?”

“What?”

“There has to be a better place where you could work.  Where you would be treated right.”  Then he read her mind.  “I imagine that wasn’t the first Neanderthal whose abuse you’ve had to endure.”

“But I didn’t have to endure it.  You rescued me.”

He grinned suddenly.  “I did, didn’t I?  Well, you’re worth the trouble.”  Then he glanced down at the bag in his hand.  “Speaking of which, I got you a gift.”  He pulled the bag up and thrust it towards her.

“Wh-what?”  Her eyes grew wide.  “You didn’t need to buy me a gift.”

“Certainly, I did.  You made sure I got home safely last night.”  His dark eyes were twinkling up at her.  They matched the smile on his face.

She chuckled. “I thought it was the other way around.”

“Then it’s a thank you present for allowing me the privilege of escorting you home.”

His words were melting her heart.  But what was his angle?  She couldn’t figure him out.  She glanced at the bag he was still holding out to her.  She was curious…

She bit her lip and reached for it hesitantly.  

“I promise…it won’t bite you.”

She laughed nervously.  Then she pulled the box from the bag.  She set the bag on the table and lifted the lid off the box.  And gasped.  

She was staring at a pair of black tennis shoes.  With excellent insoles.  She could tell they’d be like walking on air.  She frowned.  Then her eyes met his.  

“I can’t accept these.”

He shrugged.  “Okay.  Then toss them into the trash.  I can’t wear them.  They’re not my size.  And I seem to have lost the receipt, so I can’t return them either.  I thought you might like them.”

She wanted to kiss him.  The impulse was so strong that it stole her breath.  She stared at his lips for ten full seconds.  Then her gaze returned to the shoes before finding his eyes again.

“Why did you buy me shoes?”

He shrugged.  “Because I wanted to.”

Her eyes pierced his.

He sighed.  “Your feet were hurting me last night.  You need a decent pair of shoes.  And it was quite clear that you weren’t going to buy yourself any.”

Her eyes filled with tears as she directed her gaze back down at the shoes.  “I don’t have enough money to pay you back.”

“Good.”

Her eyes found his again.  She furrowed her brow in question.

“I don’t want you to pay me back.  What I want is for your feet to not hurt anymore.”

She was clearly confused.  “But…why?”

His lips quirked.  “Because you make the best coffee.”

He still remembered the cup she’d set in front of him last night when she’d believed him to be drunk.  Its aroma had been so tantalizing that he had downed the entire cup before he’d stood up to help her replace the chairs.  He loved black coffee.  But that particular cup had been exceptional.  Just like her.  

His eyes traced the gentle waves of her midnight hair that danced around her face.  That short hair framed her face in the cutest way possible.  And it made her obsidian eyes sparkle like black gemstones under sunlight.  Her high cheekbones were painted with the most pleasing pink right now.  He hadn’t noticed that before.  And they seemed to turn her lips a darker shade of red too.  He wondered briefly if they would taste as good as her coffee had.  Though, upon reflection, he decided they would be infinitely sweeter than that bitter brew.

“Please.  Try the shoes on.  I want to know if they fit.  Did I do well?”

His eyes were beseeching her, so she gave in to him and pulled the shoes on.  Instant relief flooded both her feet and her face.  Yoongi’s gummy grin reappeared.  He was clearly satisfied with her reaction. 

“Perfect,” she mumbled.  “They’re perfect.  They’re like walking on clouds.”

“Exactly what I was going for,” he murmured as his eyes slid over the beautiful lines of her face.

“Nari!”  

Her eyes widened.  “I gotta go!  That’s my boss.”

Yoongi nodded.  “I’ll be here.  After all, I’ve got to eat my bibimbap.”  He grinned saucily at her before shoving a bite into his mouth.

She turned away with a smile that traveled all the way from her lips to her eyes.  Was this sweet boy for real?  She certainly hoped he was…