I want to take you on a date.
Those words kept ringing in Aera's mind as she sat in Sehee's restaurant.
Last night, she hadn't been able to give Doyun an answer. How could she? It was just too sudden. She never expected him to drop that bomb without any preamble. Of course, she had been seeing the signs, but she had ignored those signs at the moment.
"If you are letting the noodles go cold, there's definitely on your mind." She heard Sehee say as she down infront of her. Aera looked at her sister with a troubled pout.
"Unnie, what do I do?" Aera asked, clutching onto Sehee's hands as if it was her lifeline. The older woman patted her hand. "What happened?"
Aera sighed. "Doyun asked me on a date. I don't know what to do. It's been a while since I dated anyone." Sehee's eyebrow shot up in interest. "If you feel attracted to him then go for it. Just don't do it to keep him happy. It'll hurt him if you don't have any kind of romantic feelings for him."
Always right, Aera thought as she watched Sehee go back to work. She knew what her unnie said was right but she didn't really know what she wanted. Did she like him though? That was the biggest question for her right now.
Not really in the mood but because of commitment, Aera went home to get ready for the afternoon classes. On the way home, she did think hard on the subject. Even when she got home and into the studio downstairs, she couldn't really stop figuring out her feelings.
Doyun was a good person. A great person actually. He had a stable and reputable job. He didn't have any bad habits and was very polite. Before yesterday, she had never had to think about him in a romantic light though.
Was he attractive? Oh hell, he was! He was a tall man with a muscular body, required for his job. She had seen him hauling people in air on multiple occasions and she knew he was strong. On top of that, he was extremely handsome with a very sweet smile. Ah, well, he was just the perfect boyfriend material but was he the right person for her?
**
"Noona~"
The childish voice of a boy brought the young woman out of her reverie. She had spaced out again, she realised as she looked at the kids in her studio.
"What is it?" she asked the little boy, suddenly alert and more in the moment. The boy pointed a finger to the front door and said, "There's a man outside. He wants to meet you."
Aera looked towards the front and sure enough, a man stood there with a cap and mask obscuring his face. Telling the eldest girl in the class to keep an eye on the other kids, she left to see who it is.
"Good afternoon, sir," she greeted with a bright smile. "How can I help you?"
The man turned around slowly and pulled away his mask to reveal a set of lips stretched into a boxy smile. Without even realising what she was doing, Aera put her arms around her new friend's neck, hugging him.
"Taehyung-ah, what a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?" Taehyung opened his mouth to answer but before he could, they both heard a voice.
"U-Unnie..." called out the little girl, her face red from holding in her tears. Having taken care of kids before, Aera knew something was wrong. She quickly crouched infront of the girl and asked, "What happened? Did someone do something?"
The girl shook her head. "No. I want to go to bathroom," she said covering her behind shyly. Aera's eyes widened and she didn't waste any time scooping up the girl in her arms and running towards the bathroom.
Taehyung could only watch the whole scene unfold, not knowing what else to do. When he decided to come and see Aera, he didn't know he'd only be allowed to see her, not talk to her. What was he going to do?
"Look after the kids for me, Taehyung-ah. Please!" He heard Aera shouting hastily as she made a bee-line for the bathroom.
He stood there, like a statue as seven to eight pairs of eyes turned at him. As he looked each child in the eye, he realised, she had really, actually asked him to look after the kids. Well, it wouldn't be hard. He loved kids.
Just then, he heard something shattering. When he looked at the far corner, he saw a boy, about six or seven years old, sheepishly smiling at him. Under his feet was a broken planter, with soil everywhere.
"Oops," the little boy said before skipping to his seat.
Taehyung sighed as he looked at the little studio once again thinking, oops indeed.
YOU ARE READING
Brush Strokes ✓
Fanfiction"It's tea. I didn't add poison to it. If that's what you are thinking." ⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅ Lee Aera has never had it easy in life. Struggling in the cut-throat industry of art where you either get noticed or...
