Finest Jin

New Horizons

It was the three month mark and we were finally settled into the basic routine of this strange new life. Having left behind the chilled forests of Alberta, Canada, every day was a new adventure in this crowded city in Asia.

I stepped off the sidewalk and followed the scent of hot coffee to the cafe at the corner of the block. The street lights bathed me in luminous halos, then faded shadows as my feet tapped a staccato on the concrete. Winter was in the air and I was disappointed to feel a shiver run down my spine. My body had quickly climatized and now this weather, barely even a blip on the Canadian winter scene, had me bundled up and red nosed.

I adjusted the black face mask to fully cover my chilled nostrils as I trotted the last few feet to the cafe entrance.

Opening the door, I was immediately immersed in the fragrant warmth of tea and fresh baking. I breathed into my very soul. This was a great idea. Tonight would be my first evening of alone time to work on my laptop, undisturbed, while the children had a movie night back at our apartment. As I tucked away my scarf, mask and toque, and sat down to a steaming jasmine tea, it was impossible not to grin. This was already a soothing tonic to my weary soul and balm to the chaotic schedule we had been living. In this atmosphere, at last; I felt I could breathe. Life had already put on the brakes and there was time enough to fill ones' lungs with peaceful calm. I set up my laptop on the table and warmed my hands on the hot cup while the computer loaded.

Time galloped past, with no interruptions. At least a weeks' worth of work had been accomplished and was now up for my review. I smiled inwardly, congratulating myself on my productivity and reached above my head, hands clasped and stretching. As my spine settled itself back into place with several satisfying pops, I opened my eyes to see a beautiful man enter the cafe. He wore a long black trench coat and a face mask like mine. He kept his eyes down under his baseball cap, but even the shape of his face belied the exquisite facial structure. He looked very familiar...

I glanced at him nonchalantly as he ordered a tea and pastry and sat just a table away from me. Perfectly placed for my perusal. He sat gracefully, pulling the mask down around his neck, revealing his chiseled jawline and plump lips. I bit my own. I did know him...It was Kim SeokJin of Koreas' own Bangtan boys. I smiled inwardly. Of all the coffee shops in all of Korea... My luck could not have been any better. I watched his Adams' apple bob as he swallowed down some of his tea and pulled out an iPad. He was mesmerizing; even watching him break off a piece of his pastry and pop it into his shapely lips was lovely. I didn't even realize I had been staring until he hesitated, cup raised, and glanced in my direction. Our eyes met briefly and I was immediately ashamed. This man, like me, had come here seeking solitude, and I was intruding with my lecherous leering. I forced a small smile, then drug my eyes back to my own screen. It had gone to sleep in my musings. I felt my face flush, hot and embarrassed.

Way to act the fangirl... Keep that up and he would never set foot in here again.

I purposely typed out another few paragraphs on the text I was working on, then called it a night. I shut down the laptop and packed it into the carrier bag. My last few sips of tea were sweet. I relished each one slowly, letting my eyes close and my body relax into the chair. When the final swallow had completed its' journey to my stomach, I stood to bundle back up in my winter wear. Coat zipped, mask, toque and scarf on, gloves in place...I was ready. Throughout this whole procedure, I had intentionally tried to forget about my stunning neighbour, or, plan B; come up with some scintillating ice breaker to start a conversation with him. Something endearing and sweet...and funny and memorable...tough to do with an extremely limited knowledge of Hangul. I sighed. It was just not meant to be. As I gathered my bag on to my shoulder, I saw his eyes glance my way. With every last bit of courage, I forced myself to look at them and give him the brightest smile that I could drum up with my blood rushing past my ears. The mask would hide my lips, but I hoped that it would show in my eyes. I tacked on a quick bow, which he returned discreetly, then I fled the cafe.

Striding quickly back towards our apartment, I had to shake my head and laugh to myself. In every dream of that very moment, somehow my self-humiliation had never been included in the range of emotions associated with meeting an actual member of BTS in the flesh. I decided that I would keep this shame-faced moment my own personal story and no one would ever know about it.

I punched in the passcode, entered the lobby and headed up the stairs.

They had better be asleep when I get there. I knew I would lie awake for hours running my failure over and over in my head, changing the way it ended so that I came off intelligent...witty...charming...anything but the way I had stared like a teenager, then bailed before embarrassing myself again. Ah well...it had been an adventure none the less and that very possibility was why we had come to Korea in the first place.