When three in the morning rolled in and we were still on the phone, it was clear that we either hung up and finally got some sleep, or we pulled an all-nighter. Which was how four in the morning found us wandering the aisles at Walmart.

"I have to confess this isn't how I foresaw my night going," I said while meandering through the toys section.

As if those words were a bad omen, an airplane few right at my face.

I closed my eyes and braced for impact. Instead, there was a grunt that didn't belong to me. One second, two, passed before I opened my eyes. The flying toy was in Tae Yang's hand.

"Sorry," someone else said. I sidestepped around Tae Yang and found a couple of teenage boys just straight up playing with toy airplanes in the aisle. "I didn't see you guys."

"Just be careful." Tae Yang tossed the toy back before turning to me. "Are you okay?"

I put my hands over my heart, not entirely an exaggeration because it was racing a bit. The extra part was me saying, "My hero."

His lips twitched.

"Wait," one of the teens called out, standing up from the floor to better peek under Tae Yang's cap. "You look familiar."

Tae Yang's entire frame grew taut.

He lowered the bill of his cap, but it didn't hide the way his jaw tightened. It took me a moment to recognize it was the effects of anger.

If these teenage guys had said that to me, it wouldn't be a big deal. Either they had somehow seen my past exploits or they confused me for someone else. But in Tae Yang's case, if he didn't know them, it could only mean once thing.

I grabbed his hand and pulled. "Let's go."

Casting one last glance at the kids, I debated whether to tell them off for being racist but I wasn't the biggest fan of confrontations, especially when I didn't even have the comfort of knowing that, should I land in jail for smacking a racist minor, I'd be fine. As a visa holder I had to be the better woman in all circumstances.

When we were safely out of earshot, though, I blew up.

"How dare they? Do they think all Asians look alike? Ugh, kids these days should know better. Should I go back and tell them off? No, I don't want trouble." Looking at the other guy, I added, "I'm so sorry this happened. Of all people to run into at late night Walmart, racists were the least I was expecting."

Tae Yang's mouth hung open for a moment. He shook his head. "No—it was no big deal, don't worry."

"But it was, though. That shit ain't right."

I paced back and forth in an aisle containing myriad craft materials, wondering if I'd get in trouble for pelting a ball of yarn at those kids. The answer was clear, so I deflated.

Tae Yang's chuckles caught me off guard. "Wow, you're acting like such a noona right now."

"A what?" I blinked.

"Noona, it's what a younger guy calls an older woman who isn't quite old enough to be his mom." He shrugged. "The younger guy would be called dongsaeng in this case."

"Oh." After a pause, where I looked him up and down, I added, "Makes sense, it's not like I could've given birth to you at six years old."

He tilted his head. "So that's how much older you are?"

I pinched my lips. Damn it, I'd let my guard down in front of this pretty-faced boy again.

Tae Yang took his cap off and ran a hand through his hair, before putting it back on. "That firmly makes me your dongsaeng and you my noona, then."

Sighing, I said, "Fine, I guess so."

"I'm still taller than you," he said, as though that mattered at all.

"By like, two fingers or something." I folded my arms. "Now that we have established a clear hierarchy here, I demand you tell me why you're wearing a hat at night in a store."

When he'd driven by my place to pick me up and sneak me out from under Mom's sleeping nose, the first thing I'd noticed was the cap. Normally, people wore those to guard themselves off from the sun, right? Yet here we were, in the middle of the night and indoors, and while the white lights inside the store were kind of annoying they didn't warrant the accessory.

"Come to think," I said, narrowing my eyes. "When I met you on the plane, you were wearing one too. And a mask. And you also wore a cap when we went to eat Korean food. It's almost as though you want to hide that pretty face of yours from the world."

He imitated the same gesture I did earlier, putting his hands over his heart in an exaggerated manner. "So you think my face is pretty?"

Heat traveled up my neck. "Anyone ever told you it can be very hard to have a conversation with you?"

Tae Yang's grin showed all his pearly whites. "Yes, many people, especially my roommates."

I grumbled. "C'mon, I'm thirsty—don't give me that look, I mean for water!"

His laughter trailed behind me as we made the trek across the store towards the groceries section.

Even this late, someone was blasting hard rock from the media section and I recognized the song. It was the debut single of Orlando's biggest rock band, which I guessed now was the world's biggest rock band with the way they'd exploded. Heck, their music even played in South Korea when I was there.

Suddenly, an arm was around my shoulders pushing me forward. "Let's go, I need some water too."

We grabbed a couple of ice-cold water bottles and paid for them at the self-checkout section, only to veer back into the store to keep wasting time.

After getting the hang of the word with a couple of tries, I nudged Tae Yang's side and said, "Tae Yang dongsaeng, you didn't answer my question."

Even in the shade of his cap's bills, his eyes shone with laughter. No doubt my pronunciation sounded to him what my mom's English sounded to Americans.

"Ah, yes. I got distracted at your admission of my beauty." He took a big chug of his drink that drained half of the bottle in one go. I followed suit, because we really had spent all night talking about this or that. Finally, he said, "I just don't like it when things like earlier happen."

"With the kids?" As he nodded, I asked, "So that kinda thing happens often to you?"

His grimace was answer enough.

"Wow, that sucks." I frowned. "If that happens again you call me up and I will... well, I can't beat anyone up for you but I can sweep you out of there pretty effectively."

"Thanks, Cecilia noona," he said with a smile I had to turn away from because it was too radiant.

"It was the least I could do, after you saved me from another plane almost-accident."

I watched him from the corner of my eye as he ran his hand over a fluffy blanket in home section. His fingers were straight and long, with short, rounded fingernails. The tendons and veins in his hand were plain to see. The hands of a musician.

Since he was distracted, I let my eyes roam up and down his frame. The body of a model. The face of an actor. And clothes that screamed money to the four winds.

"Are you single?"

The question froze us both, especially because it came out of my mouth.

His eyes were wide. Mine were too.

I raised my hands and shook my head. "Before you open your mouth to tease me, let me explain the reasoning behind the question."

Tae Yang folded his arms and gave me the biggest shit-eating grin I'd ever seen on anyone not a cartoon.

Even though my entire body burned in the flames of embarrassment, I said, "Yes, you are good looking. Denying that would be the same as me saying I'm ugly, which objectively isn't true."

He tipped his head. "Subjectively it isn't, either."

I decided to ignore that, for my own sanity.

"But you're also talented, funny, even chivalrous and it's pretty clear you're well-off. I can't imagine girls and boys alike—we don't judge—aren't throwing themselves at you."

For the longest time, all he did was stare at me in silence. The longer the moment stretched, the more I found fault with what I'd just said. Maybe he was asexual or aromantic and I was assuming things.

Before I could apologize, he brought me out of my misery. He expelled a big sigh. "My parents think the same way. Now that I've been discharged, they're even making efforts, all the way from Korea, to set me up on blind dates with friends' daughters."

"And you don't want to?" I cleared my throat. "Because it's totally fine if you're not interested in any of that, I shouldn't have assumed you are."

"No, I am. I'm just not interested in blind dates." He finished his water bottle and stuffed it in the pocket of his sweatshirt. "I've been working like a horse for years and I want to take things at my own rhythm, you know? I want to meet someone and fall in love with her because of who she is, not because of what she is to my parents."

"Makes sense." I played with the cap of my water bottle. Then I realized something. "Wait, how are your parents in Korea setting you up on blind dates?"

Tae Yang's bottom lip jutted out. "The past few months have been a nightmare. As soon as I was home, they set me up with a girl. Then, after flying back to the US they reached out to some friends in the States, and they set me up with a second girl."

"Whoa, international matchmaking?" I shook my head.

"It gets worse. I tried to get out of the date but my parents guilt-tripped me into going." His face twisted up at whatever memories the conversation conjured up. "So I met her and she's... not... someone I want to see again, let's put it that way."

Too bad I didn't have popcorn for this. I asked him, "What happened?"

"Ever gone out with someone who starts to plan out your wedding on the first date?"

I shuddered.

"So I tried to steer her back to earth, right? Wrong," he said, his lips pressed into a tight line.

"Oh no." I hugged myself. "I hate it when people can't take a hint."

"And I was heavy-handed with the hints—even rude, to be honest. At the end of the date from hell, just when I thought I'd finally be free from her, she straight up kissed me and said she wanted to prove how right we were." Tae Yang shook his head. "And if that weren't enough, my parents arranged a second date with her before the first date was even over."

I sucked in all the air in the Walmart and started rolling up my sleeves. "That is sexual harassment!"

He scrunched up his nose. "Well, I wouldn't go that far-"

"I totally would! If a guy kissed me without my consent I'd have grounds to smash his groin with my knee."

Tae Yang blinked rapidly. "Good point, but it's not like I can knee her in the groin."

"No, but I can."

A corner of his lips went up. "Actually, I have an idea."

"Actually," I said, taking a step back. "I was kidding. I'm not a citizen, so I can't get into any kind of scuffle with anybody."

"And I'm not advocating violence, but since that girl doesn't believe I'm not interested, why not show her instead?"

I frowned. "I'm not following."

"Noona," he said, taking a step closer that drove me right against the shelf. He leaned against it with one arm and smiled down at me. "Can you please help me out?"

There was a glint in his eyes that scared me as much as it excited me, which weeks later I'd identify as the moment of my doom.

SONG OF THE DAY: Paramore - Rose-Colored Boy

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