The diner ended up being one that Lila knew well. It was a small, 'hole-in-the-wall' place called Hwa's. It was one of those places that the locals loved and didn't like to brag about.

Lila liked to go there when she needed a change of scenery when she had articles to finish. It helped her to relax and the food was amazing.

"I love this place!" She said, hopping up and down as they got closer. "You know the owner?"

"Yeah, I actually discovered here when I was exploring after I first moved here. I came here so much we ended up talking a lot. It's been a few months since I've been by, so it'll be a nice surprise for him." Wooyoung's eyes sparkled as he opened the door.

The light ding of the bell signaled their entrance.

There were a few tables that had people seated at them. Wooyoung pulled his hood forward to cover his head and made a beeline to the corner booth. He sat with his back to the door and moved all the way to the corner before giving Lila an apologetic smile.

She just waved him off and handed him a menu from where they were resting against the wall. "What do you normally get here?"

"I try to change it up. Usually Hwa just makes something for me that's off the menu. He likes to experiment. What about you?" He peered over the top of his menu.

"I'm horrible and I usually order the same thing every time. I love a good classic hamburger, with bacon of course, French fries, and a chocolate shake." Lila looked up at him and saw him smiling at her. "What?"

"Nothing, I just like a girl with a healthy appetite." He said, almost so soft Lila wasn't sure she heard him. But it made her heart pound.

They sat in silenced for a moment, then a pitcher of water was slammed down on the table. Lila jumped and Wooyoung just looked up. "Hwa!!"

A taller boy was standing there wearing a greasy apron and crossing his arms. He had jet black hair and piercing blue eyes at locked onto Wooyoung. "Where have you been?"

Wooyoung's smile faltered.

Lila shrank back in her seat a little. This Hwa person was definitely intimidating.

"I've been busy finishing up the movie and everything. You know how my manager can be. Come on, Seonghwa. Don't be mad at me, please?" Wooyoung gave him puppy eyes that melted Lila's heart.

The taller 'humphed' before turning to Lila. His expression instantly changed as his eyes softened as a bright smile crossed his face. "Hi sweetie. What can I get for you?"

"Um..." Lila faltered and looked across the table.

Wooyoung was actually pouting right now as he stared up at his friend. Lila covered her mouth to hide her laugh, which in turn made Seonghwa chuckle.

"Don't be such a baby!" He scolded, turning back to Wooyoung. "How did you get caught up with this child?" He asked Lila, pouring her a glass of water.

"Um... It's a..."

"Ah, I see." Seonghwa sighed and sent the other boy a harsh look. "I'll be back with some food for you." He turned and walked away.

As soon as he disappeared behind the door to the kitchen, Wooyoung buried his face in his arms and groaned. "I'm in trouble."

"I see that." Lila said, trying to contain her smile. "He seems nice."

Wooyoung lifted his head so she could see his eyes under his hood. They looked at each other for a long moment, then burst out laughing.

When they finally calmed down, they put the menus away and Wooyoung leaned forward, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "So what exactly is it that you do?"

"I work for Star Magazine. I mostly do short 'how-to' articles or brief reports on the new 'it' thing. My interview yesterday was actually my first break."

"And San was the one who set it up?"

"Yeah, well, he dropped my name and... I don't really know what happened to be honest." Lila laughed. "But then again I can say that about a lot of things when it comes to San."

"So is doing interviews what you really want to do?"

Humming, Lila thought for a long moment. "I don't' really know. I like... I like getting to know people and seeing different perspectives in life. But I also just love writing in general. It's always been a passion of mine. So for now, it works."

"Well you're very good at it. I could tell you were nervous at first, but once you started asking questions, if felt very natural."

Lila bit her lip and blushed a little. "Thank you." If only he knew the real reason as to why she was nervous. "U-Um... What got you into dancing in the first place?" She asked, wanting to get the subject off her.

Wooyoung was about to answer when Seonghwa came back to the table carrying a large basket of fries and he chicken fingers. He had a special batter he friend them in that was amazing, so they both got really excited to see it.

Then he surprised them by slipping into the seat next to Wooyoung. "He isn't giving you any trouble, is he?" His voice was so calm and monotone that Lila couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Hwa?! Come on..." Wooyoung got flustered as he started to pick at the fries.

"So are you a fan and he just convinced you to tag alone with that pretty smile of his?"

Wooyoung was about to say something again, but Seonghwa just pushed his face to the side.

Lila laughed and said, "Yeah, basically." She added a little sarcasm to her tone to hide the truth behind her statement. "Really we met yesterday when I interviewed him and Yeosang."

Seonghwa's eyes widened. "So you're a reporter? And he's spending time with you willingly?"

"Hwa, if you're going to keep insulting me..." Wooyoung grumbled, hiding in his hood.

The older just chuckled and rubbed his head on top of his hood. Wooyoung hissed and batted his hand away, causing the other to just smile as he moved to stand from the table. He gave Lila one last strange look before he went to check on some of the other diners.

Wooyoung pushed his hood back a little and straightened out his hair. He glanced around the diner quickly as he did. Lila was happy to see he didn't put the hood back on as they both started to pick at the food.

Lila didn't realize just how hungry she actually was until she started to eat. She hummed at the first bite, then blushed for the umpteenth time when she caught Wooyoung watching her. Covering her mouth, she muttered a quick apology and paid more attention to containing her inner self.

"How long have you lived in L.A.?" He asked her after a while.

"Only about a year now. I moved here for Star Magazine after I got the job, but I love it. It can get a little... overwhelming sometimes. But at other times it's a nice place to escape." Lila stared down at the table as she spoke, not quite sure why she said that.

"Escape?" Wooyoung tilted his head.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Um," She bit her lip, trying to think of an excuse. "Like if-f I get stressed from work or, or something."

"I can understand that. Everyone needs a break." He sighed. "If this movie does well, I'm not sure when my next break will be. There's even talk about doing some filming overseas, so that will be interesting. "

Just like that, the dream Lila had been in popped and she spiraled back into reality. Her chest tightened as she started to face the facts. Wooyoung was a celebrity, a movie star. Whatever tonight was... It was a fluke. Things like this didn't happen to girls like her. He was going back to his luxurious, perfect world, and she would go back to her pathetic and miserable one.

"Are you ok?" Wooyoung asked softly, a concerned look crossing his face.

"What? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm fine!" Lila said, forcing a smile. Why was she even here? She was no one special.

She could feel her downward spiral coming. As her heart started to pound, she knew she needed to get out of there. Even if this meant nothing to him, she didn't want Wooyoung to see her like that.

"Are you sure?" He reached for her hand, but she withdrew it.

"Mmmhmm. I, um. I just realized what time it is. I have t-to work on getting your article out as quickly as possible so I should go."

Lila moved to stand and Wooyoung mirrored her. "Wait, what just happened?" He asked, reaching out to gently touch her arm. The touch spread through her like wildfire and she hand to fight not to lean into it.

"I just realized how late it is, that's all." Lila bit her lip as she stared at the floor. Then she forced herself to look at him. It almost looked like he was in pain. "Thank you for tonight, it means more to me than you'll ever know." She whispered.

Then she turned and walked for the door, working hard to keep her footsteps slow and her sobs contained.

No more fairy tales. No more fantasy. This was real life, and someone like Wooyoung would never want to be with someone broken like her.

.

.

.

.

Wooyoung walked her walk out of the dinner, trying to process what just happened. Why had she suddenly shut down like that? He thought they were having an amazing time.

Lila was the first person he had met since coming to L.A. that didn't treat him like a celebrity. Sure she had been nervous at first, but there was no fangirling or asking him for an autograph. There was a moment there when they were just two people sitting together enjoying a meal...

"What did you do?"

Wooyoung turned to see Seonghwa leaning against the kitchen door. "Can you please... Just be nice to me for once tonight? Who put that stick up your ass?"

Seonghwa just smirked. "Oh come on, you know I like to tease you. But seriously, what happened? I thought you two were getting along?"

"I don't know..." Wooyoung glanced back and the door, then sat down in the booth again, running his hand through his hair. "You're right, one minute we were having a great time and the next... It was like she was a totally different person."

"What were you talking about?" Seonghwa sat opposite of him and clasped is hands on the table.

"Random things. But... the switch happened after I mentioned sequels for this movie."

Seonghwa hummed. "Why her?"

"What?"

"You've never really shown much interest in dating before, so why her? All because of one interview?"

Wooyoung gave a half smile as he looked down at the table. "I actually ran into her before the interview. I had snuck out, wanting to go for a walk to clear my head before the string of interviews I had that day. Neither one of us were paying attention and we ended up running into each other. I could tell she recognized me right away, and I was prepared for the freak out. But..." His smile grew as he remembered the moment. "She didn't. Instead, she pulled me into an alley when a large group of girls came by. She never said my name or anything."

"Wow. That's impressive." Seonghwa said, his eyebrows raising.

"Yeah, and then the interview was pretty typical. Yeosang was there so I couldn't really say anything to her. But... She was at the premier tonight." His heart started to beat faster. "She's friends with one of the stylists. Hwa... She was stunning. And you could tell she didn't even know beautiful she was."

His friend let out a small chuckle. "You've got it bad."

Wooyoung groaned and buried his face in his hands. He did... He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind since they met on the street. "What do I do?" He asked, knowing the question would be muffled.

He felt Seonghwa's hand on his arm and he dropped his hands. "Let her go tonight. Maybe she needs some time to think about things. I'm sure this is hard for her too. Even though she did a good job pushing it aside, you two come from different worlds currently. If she shut down after you telling her about a possible sequel, maybe she got scared."

His heart sank. Seonghwa had to be right. "So what can I do?"

"Like I said, give her time tonight. But maybe show her that there really is no difference between you two. I know it'll be hard to do anything in public, especially around here. But ask her out on a real date."

"I thought that's what tonight was."

Seonghwa arched an eyebrow. "Did you use the word date?"

"I... No. I just told her I was picking her up."

The older chuckled and Wooyoung pursed his lips. "Ask her out on a real date then. If you feel like she worth giving a chance, then you need to show her you feel that way."

Wooyoung chewed on his cheek and nodded several times. Idea flew through his head of all the things he could do.

Seonghwa, as always, knew exactly what was going on and he laughed. "Do NOT do anything too extravagant. You should act like you aren't someone famous and do what a normal person like I would do."

The younger lifted his head. "And what would you do?"

Seonghwa hummed and tapped his fingers against the table. "You had the right idea tonight. Something simple and thoughtful is always a good. Maybe flowers.  As cheesy as that sounds. She needs to know that you are thinking about her."

Wooyoung nodded again. "I can do that. Thanks, Hwa." He stood and went to pull out his wallet, but his friend just shook his head.

"It's on me tonight, just don't mess this up. I can tell she cares about you, more than she probably would ever admit."

"You think?" Wooyoung's heart beat faster at the thought.

Seonghwa stood and patted Wooyoung's shoulder. "Oh yeah. She's smitten. And if she's able to push that aside like she did yesterday, then she's something special."

Wooyoung beamed. He had known this girl for all of two days and the thought of her liking him made him feel things he had never felt for anyone else before.

He left the diner, glancing in the direction he knew Lila would be walking. He longed to go after her, but Seonghwa was right. He would give her tonight.

But tomorrow was a new day.