A Way Home

My Life's Best Moment

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"A date?" Kiwan repeated. She was out on a shopping trip with her brother at the outlet mall. He with his famous mint latte as they browsed an aisle of men's clothing. Coming to a center display he handed her his cup in order to better search for a shirt for his husband.

"It felt too good to be true." Namjoo said.

"Then he is the perfect man," her brother glanced over his shoulder at her. "What are you hesitating for?"

"It's just..." Namjoo didn't know how to describe it, "he's so sweet and he's such a gentleman. Do you think there are red flags I should be looking for? I mean, it just happened so abruptly. I don't even know him."

Snatching his coffee back, Kiwan spat the utmost truth, "We truly never know any one until we've been married for twelve years. Please, you're just lying to yourself if you expect to know him beforehand. Are you crazy?"

Brushing her shoulder as he passed, he stalked out of the store. Namjoo hurried to catch up.

"Do you like him?" Kiwan asked when she finally matched his steps.

"Well...I think," her eyes hovered over her sneakers, "yes. I do."

"Then good!" Kiwan's tone climbed up a notch that two teen girls stared at them as they cruised past. "Think about it this way, Namjoo, maybe you broke up with Hopyung in order to meet this guy right now."

"Why are you mentioning him?" Namjoo frowned.

Kiwan shrugged, "The douchebag cheated on you. I always knew he never liked you as much as you did him."

Namjoo scowled. "I don't believe in fate the way you do."

"Let's go on a double date," Kiwan excitedly suggested. "I'll check your guy out. My intuition is always 99.9% accurate." He nudged her, "How about it?"

Namjoo debated all the way until she walked into work on Monday.

She'd been so high on Saturday when Sehun returned her home that she woke up on the other side of the bed, metaphor included. Doubts swarmed her.

Namjoo considered herself a mature woman. Before decision making or talking, she always double-checked possible consequences.

On first dates she never just kissed anyone on her doorstep.

What kind of spell had Sehun cast on her to make her move so fast?

The smell of flowers awakened her when she walked into her office.

Sehun was perfectly sweet. Every one of his pure actions made her heart throb.

Naturally a man who liked a woman wouldn't leave her clues like flowers to tell her he fancied her. He would talk to her first. Introduce himself. I'm so-so, what's your name? He would take the steps to eating lunch with her, get to know her, courteously ask her on a date, and afterwards decide if there was chemistry, they could try dating.

Sehun was always around like a shadow. Popping up out of nowhere. Buying and leaving her things. Somehow managing to still make her heart race.

And he was her boss. So mysterious still.

None of this really felt real. Yet it was real.

Perhaps she was afraid she was already in the deep end.

At lunchtime Namjoo stared at the clock. The cafeteria loomed on her mind. At the fore of it the stocky man. She worried. They hadn't decided on a time to meet, but she was always first downstairs. Would she have to wait long for Sehun?