A/N: Takes off from Feb 17 prompt =)
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Prompt: "So many of my smiles begin with you" (Lighting Up Your World - Janet Suhh)
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After a surprisingly successful first date that ended with Ha Chae-yoon agreeing to see Min Tae Gu again -- with an unexpected kiss to boot -- they decided to meet up again on Wednesday the following week.
Wednesday was the following night, but Min Tae Gu has not stopped sending her random messages since the first time they met. She did not want to admit it but seeing his name pop up on her phone notifications were already giving her a reason to smile.
Today, his message was about the sunset and its colours.
"Did you catch the sunset earlier? The colours were beautiful," Min Tae Gu sent a message to Ha Chae-yoon.
"Doesn't the sunset get the colours from pollution?" she replied purposely baiting Tae Gu, knowing that would get him.
Unsurprisingly, Min Tae Gu called immediately. By now, he understood that if she replied with more than an "Okay" or "Sure", it meant that she was not busy at the moment so he often took the chance to call.
Accepting the call, Ha Chae-yoon was smiling when she said, "Hello?"
"Not necessarily there's the Rayleigh scattering...," he started but Ha Chae-yoon zoned out. "Pollution turns the sky more reddish," Min Tae Gu said.
"And what was the color of the sunset earlier?"
Min Tae Gu stammered. "Red and orange." He groaned and gave up. "Fine, it's pollution."
Ha Chae-yoon regretted her cynicism. "Sorry. I'm sure there's something in the sky that's not... going to kill us when we breathe."
Tae Gu rolled his eyes at her attempt to console him. Changing the topic, he asked, "Anyway, how was your day?"
"Mostly paperwork and a few meetings. You?"
"I interviewed a man today who set up a charity in honor of the woman he loved. Unfortunately, he lost her to an illness before they were able to marry and he never married anymore," Min Tae Gu shared.
"Oh that's sad," Ha Chae-yoon commented. When they met again, he told her more about the man and her heart broke more for the lonely man. "Couldn't he have met anyone again? Maybe he chose not to love anymore."
"Well, it is always a choice, isn't it?" Min Tae Gu said. "Perhaps, he never met anyone again that he felt intensely for."
She processed the information for a bit. "Do you believe that? That there could be just one person meant for you?"
"I do."
Chae-yoon rolled her eyes. "There are over 7 billion people in the world and you could only love one?"
"Why not?" Tae Gu said confidently. "I'm not saying everyone will have one true love. There are numerous stories out there that show us that you can fall in love multiple times and even have great loves twice in a lifetime. I'm just saying that there are people who seem to have that one true match."
"And you believe you're going to be one of them?" Ha Chae-yoon asked.
"I can only hope to be so lucky," he said. "And I think I just might be! Because today, I saw a double rainbow! Do you know what that means?"
She replied slowly. "Double rainbow... so... it means... there was more than one?"
Min Tae Gu made a face. "You're really resisting this, huh! It means good fortune and transformation."
"It does not mean that," Ha Chae-yoon said.
"Some cultures believe it and I do. I think it means good fortune for me because I got to meet you. And transformation for you and your cold, pessimistic heart," he told her, earning him a light swat.
"I'm not a pessimist," she said to which Tae Gu gave her an exasperated face that seemed to say 'You're kidding'. She continued, "I'm a catastrophist."
"So, worse then." Min Tae Gu said, chuckling.
"This is never going to work out," Ha Chae-yoon suddenly said.
Min Tae Gu frowned at her sudden change of tone. "Why do you say that?"
"We're so different," she pointed out the obvious. "I'm just going to keep pulling you back down to reality and the longer that goes on, it becomes less and less cute."
"Hmmm... in that case, you're going to have to stay pretty then," he joked, earning him another swat. "Seriously though, how about let's not jump to conclusions and take this day by day? I kind of like talking to you and I think you're, at least, entertained by me."
"I am. To be fair, I am thoroughly fascinated by you," Chae-yoon confessed.
"Me too. Your thoroughly jaded view of the world somehow captivates me and makes me smile these days," Tae Gu said.
Ha Chae-yoon had to smile at that. "Alright. One day at a time then."
As they ended the night, they asked for the bill and when they looked at it, Min Tae Gu noted, "66,600 won. Three sixes..."
"You know what that means, right?" Chae-yoon asked.
Tae Gu crossed his arms. "What?"
"I was really hungry! Next time, don't take me to such an expensive restaurant when I haven't had lunch."
