Before I knew you

What I Want

"Are you okay with Korean food?"

Namjoon was a little nervous as he walked with Myla out of the gallery. A small voice in the back of his mind was telling him that he shouldn't be doing this, that it was dangerous, but he ignored it. It was clear to him that Myla didn't know who he was, in fact, he was pretty sure that she hadn't even heard of K-pop since she barely recognised Korea, the country. It was nice to be around someone who didn't know who he was and have a nice conversation with them.

"You eat Korean food when you're on holiday?"

"Not always, but sometimes, yeah, when I start to miss it. Do you not like it?"

"I've never had Korean food."

"Oh, well, what do you usually eat?"

"Italian."

"Okay, we can have Italian."

"No, no. It's okay. Let's have Korean."

Myla waved her hands, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I have pasta all the time. I'm happy to try something new."

That made him smile.

"Okay, then. Let's go. Gaja."

"Gaja?"

"Ga-ja. It means let's go in Korean."

"Oh. Gaja!"

Behind his mask, he was smiling. She was too cute.

"Two words down already! You'll be fluent in no time."

He watched as she rolled her eyes.

"Sure."

When they got to the restaurant, Namjoon asked if there was a table away from prying eyes. In a way, it was riskier for him to go to a Korean restaurant than anywhere else, as anyone who was likely to recognise him was likely to do the same.

"Do you mind if I order?"

"Nope. You're the expert."

Namjoon took off his hat and mask as they settled in at their table. Myla, who had been studying the grill in the middle of the table, looked up and stared at him.

"What?"

"Sorry, I - I didn't recognise you without the mask."

"Oh, right."

He examined her for any hint of recognition, but to his relief he found none.

"So, is it normal to have a cooker in the table."

"Ah, yes, for Korean barbecue the meat is cooked at the table."

"I see. Cool."

"Do you have any allergies?"

"No."

After Namjoon ordered their food, he poured them both a glass of water.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

"Kamsahamnida."

"Kam..."

"Kam-sa-ham-ni-da."

"Kamsahamnida."

"Perfect."

Namjoon smiled at her, but Myla shook her head.

"You realise I've forgotten how to say hello already."

"Annyeonghaseyo."

"Annyeonghaseyo."

"It takes time to learn a language. Repetition is key. My English gets worse when I don't use it for a while."

"Really? You sound fluent now."

"That's because I've had a lot of practice recently."

"Well, if you ever need someone to practice with... I mean... never mind."

They were interrupted by the waiter bringing their food. Namjoon said he was fine cooking it himself and the two were left alone. The table was silent other than the hiss of meat as he loaded up the grill.

As he cooked their dinner, Namjoon wondered if could take Myla up on her offer. To be honest, he hadn't thought about what would happen after today, or when he had to leave and go back to Korea. Could he keep in contact with her? Could he do that without telling her who he was, and what he did for a living? Would it be fair to keep such a secret from her?

He looked over at her and she smiled widely at him causing him to smile back. Namjoon had never felt so comfortable around someone he had just met before. Perhaps it was because she didn't know who he was and so treated him differently than other people did. He didn't want to lose that. For once he wanted to just be Namjoon, even though he wasn't always certain who that was, he felt that with Myla he might just find out.