Ephemeral

Chapter 2

The promised day has finally come.

I stood in front of the cafe's entrance and walked in.

Once I am in, I looked around the cafe and immediately spotted him.

There wasn't a lot of people in the cafe, so it was easy to find him.

He was wearing a cap and fiddling with his phone while looking out the window.

The sunlight hits his face. He looks like a male lead from a comic book.

I ordered a drink and look at him from afar.

The guy has broad shoulders and his arms are also pretty buff.

Once my drink is ready, I walked to him and knocked on the table in front of him.

He looked up at me and immediately stood up.

"You're here." He said, looking a bit surprised.

"Nice to meet you again. Shall we sit back down?"

He sat back down in his seat and I sat in front of him.

"So, do you have the pictures?"

"Ah, yes."

He opened his backpack and took out a small envelope.

Once he gave me the envelope, I opened it and saw the two pictures of me that he had taken.

When I look up, he was staring at me.

"Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's because you're very pretty."

He sure is bold. A few seconds later, it looks like he snapped out of the daze he was in and his ears turns red.

"I-I mean it's just a simple compliment. I don't have any ulterior motives."

"That's what people with ulterior motives says."

"I'm not trying to do anything bad, I swear!" He said, flustered.

His eyes looking everywhere but me.

He looked so cool that I was not expecting him to be shy like this. I thought he was more of a bad boy type.

Every guy that approached me has been so straightforward that I've never really seen a guy being flustered like him.

"Thank you." I said.

"Huh?" He finally looked at me with a puzzled face.

"For the pictures and compliment."

"Ah, not a problem." He said while trying to avoid my gaze. His ears still burning red.

He took a sip of his drink and I took a sip out of mine while looking at him.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"It's just... you're different from other people that I've come across."

"How come?"

I look out the window.

"You're... pure. You don't know who I am, what I am like, but you still fulfilled my request."

"I just wanted to keep my work."

I look back at him. His face looks so innocent as he looks at me.

"If I told you these two photos will get you a lot of money, would you sell them?"

He looks at me, confused.

"You don't need to pay for them." He said.

I shook my head.

"If someone else is willing to give you a lot of money for these photos, will you sell it to them?"

He was silent and thought for a while.

"Depends on why they want to purchase them. As I told you before, these photos were taken by me because it helps me to get inspiration. If you don't want your photos to be seen by anyone else, I promise you that I will not sell or give these photos to anyone else, no matter how much money they want to give me."

"But why would you promise such things? Don't everyone like and need money?"

"It's because..." He's avoiding my gaze again.

"Because?"

He lifted his head and look at me directly in the eyes.

"Because you said not to."

"Just because of that?" I asked while about to take another sip of my drink.

"And... because you looked like you need someone that you can trust."

I halted. Trust. I've heard that word a lot.

"We are your parents. Trust us. This is for your own sake."

"Trust me, your parents are doing the right thing."

"I would never do such thing! You trust me, right?"

I held my cup tighter.

"Trust? Why would I need other people that I can trust?"

"To have someone to lean on. Someone to share your burden with."

I scoffed at his statement.

"I don't think I need that, but thank you for promising not to share or sell my pictures with anyone else."

I put the pictures in my purse and stood up to leave.

"Thank you for giving me a copy of the pictures too. Now then."

With that, I turn around and head to the door.

"Wait! I don't even get your name." The guy shouts.

I turned around to face him.

"I don't think you need to know it, but if we do meet again next time, we can introduce ourselves to each other."

With that, I exited the cafe and got in the car that was waiting for me.

"Miss, your parents were asking where you are so I had no choice but to tell them."

"Did you told them I was meeting someone?"

"No. I assumed you still want me to keep that information confidential."

"Good job. Thank you, Miss Kim."

I took out the two photos from my purse. I can't help but think about that guy.

"Are those the pictures from last week, Miss?"

I nodded.

"It looks different from other pictures of me that I've seen."

"How so, if I may ask?"

"I look... lonely."

"Is that a good thing?" Miss Kim asked me, confused by my answer.

I rub my thumb across the pictures.

"It is."

Because for once, I didn't need to put on a fake smile. It was natural. A photo that might make people feel sad because of how lonely I look in the picture, became my favorite pictures.

Because for once, I looked human.