Evenstar

11. Possibilities

Dae Eun lived in a daze in the days following their first meeting. She couldn't stop reliving each moment in her head, even going so far as to trace her steps back to the places she had taken him, recalling the way he looked, the things he said. Something was bothering her about him. She sensed something but couldn't define it. What was it? Something in the way he smiled and laughed, in the sunlight in his eyes, in the way he held out his hand to the wind as they drove. She was going crazy trying to figure it out.

He was sending her messages everyday now, asking her what she was doing, telling him about his day. Many times he messaged her at three or four in the morning, as he was about to end his day - and she about to start hers - or when he was ready for bed. He kept very long hours, and it bothered her. That was it. He bothered her. He unsettled her. In just one day he dropped into her life and it felt like all her senses were now directed at him. What was going on?

Each night she sat at the veranda and looked up at the sky, as they both had done when he told her that night that he came to meet her purposely. Whenever she saw the evening star, she asked over and over, "What's happening to me?" There was no one to tell this to. She was embarrassed to tell June. She didn't want her friend to think that she was fangirl-ing over her bias, because she wasn't a fan. If not for June, she wouldn't even know who he was. But being with him that one time, something connected that was beyond her understanding. And whatever it was wouldn't let her go. She didn't sleep well, and even in her dreams he was there.

She tried to calm herself down, especially after receiving his messages. She was very glad he hadn't called. She wouldn't know how to talk to him. She needed time to collect herself, to return to who she was before meeting Taehyung. He's just a guy, she told herself over and over. Relax.

No one noticed, really. Her dad and brothers were too busy with their newly-formed Bulgarian business and she was her normal self around the house and in the farm. They all asked about Taehyung and she brushed it off, saying that he was just visiting out of courtesy to her mom's friend. But she knew it wasn't true. Each time she saw in her mind the way his face looked in the late afternoon light, she knew that he had come for a reason, and that their meeting was not an accident.

"A penny for your thoughts."

"Appa!" Her dad suddenly stood before her at the veranda and she didn't even notice. "I didn't hear you come in."

"You were lost in thought. I must say this is the first time I've seen you like this. Does this K-pop idol have anything to do with that?"

"His name is Kim Taehyung, Appa."

"Whatever. Looks like he's got you bad."

"Appa!"

"Don't Appa me, I was young once. I know the looks, Eun-ah. Do you really like him?" Chung-Hee pulled out a chair and sat beside his blushing daughter.

"Appa, I don't even know him."

"But he's kept in touch?"

"Yes," Dae Eun had to say. "He sends messages everyday."

"There you go, looks like he's pretty much interested. And why wouldn't he be? You're my daughter, the only daughter of the Kwan Corporation. I've done a very good job of hiding you from all my business partners, because I don't want them thinking they can marry into our family." Chung-Hee looked at his daughter seriously. "Eun-ah, I promised your Eomma, you will marry only when you want to, and only whom you want to marry. I will not interfere, but please... these K-pop idols, I don't trust anyone who's in that line of work."

"You don't have to trust anyone but me, Appa." Dae Eun pulled her chair next to her dad's and leaned on his shoulder. "I'm curious about him though. I want to get to know him."