Serendipity: The Amazing Journey Of A Soulmate

6. Drunk in love

We get off the car and head towards the entrance, walking by his side. 

"What is this place?" he asks curiously, taking in the building.

"You'll see," I say, cheerfully grabbing his sleeve. "Come." I decided to bring Namjoon to my favorite cafe, a little gem hidden between the streets of Seoul. On the outside, it looks like a cute retro book shop, with painted white columns and big windows. But as soon as you get inside, it's like you're entering another world. It's a paradise for bookworms and coffee lovers and I think Namjoon would love this place as much as I do. His love for books is infinite, a fact he always made sure the public knows.
He lets me drag him inside, only releasing his sleeve when I pull at the door to open it. Namjoon steps inside and he looks around in awe. The place is much bigger than it looks from the outside, being set up in an old building which served as a bank decades ago. It's an all white place, combining both retro and modern styles, however it's not luxurious, but rather cozy and simple. The ground floor is a bookstore, with thousands of books lined up on the shelves, while the second floor is a mix between a cafe and an art gallery dedicated to contemporary exhibitions.

I look up at Namjoon, his radiant face making my heart beat louder than the sound of crashing waves. If I had to choose something to look at for the rest of my life, it would be his handsome face. He turns to me, his face bright and a smile to shame the sun. 

"This is amazing! How could I not know about this place? I think it just became my second favorite place in the entire world," he says, joy flowing through all his pores. 

"What's on the first spot?" I ask. 

"That's a secret." he says and winks at me. Not the fucking wink again!

"Fine!" I say and stick out my tongue at him. I don't know what's gotten into me. His face suddenly becomes foxy, his left brow lifting and fixing me with his gaze. 

"Be careful with that tongue," he says slyly, biting his bottom lip. Lord have mercy! My cheeks turn red for the hundred time tonight, my treacherous body aware of the small distance between us. I force myself to show a straight face, despite my insides burning at his unexpected flirt.

"Oh, they have Hermann Hesse's work here!" Namjoon exclaims innocently, rushing to one of the shelves. I can't believe this guy! How can he be interested in philosophy just two seconds after he shamelessly implied that he'd devour my tongue?
I rush after him and join his walk around the bookstore, exchanging opinions about books and art for what seems like hours. 

"This place is a gem. Thank you for showing it to me, Inna!" he says softly, his beautiful eyes looking straight into mine. 

"Just wait to see the second floor. This place even has a small art gallery. Contemporary artists have some of their works on display here. Not famous ones, but some with a lot of potential in becoming great." He seems impressed. A good thing about this place is that is intimate and hidden from people in search of mainstream. The people roaming around here are bookworms and intellectuals, not interested in gossip and tabloids, so no danger for Namjoon to be spotted by paparazzi. He can actually come here as Kim Namjoon and enjoy himself.

"Let's go upstairs!" I continue. "They have a nice cafe there with a bar and everything," I am so in need of a drink right now. I move first, Namjoon following me close behind. There are only two people at the bar that seem caught up in a political debate. We sit together at a small table and order a bottle of red wine, which the waiter brings a few minutes later.

*****

We've been chatting for the last three hours, trying to get to know each other better. We talked about our favorite movies, music, work, sharing jokes and drinking our wine.
At some point the waiter brought us another bottle which Namjoon ordered and I haven't realized how much we've been drinking this entire time until now. My head spins a bit, but I'm not that drunk. I only had three glasses of wine. I look across the table at Namjoon, who's talking about crabs, squealing and making cute faces. He must have drank more than I did, judging by the two empty bottles on the table. I check the time and I gasp. It's way past midnight and tomorrow is a work day. Shit.