Chapter 4: Meeting Him

The next morning was the first day of Christmas break Cara decided to walk Beau, her pet golden retriever, at the park. The weather forecast says it will be snowing lightly today so she wore a beige beret then she put on a white sweater and dark brown coat matching the color of her medium length hair. Before leaving the house, she put dog boots on Beau’s paws to prevent him from getting frostbite and wrapped around a red knit scarf on him. Cara looked one last time at her reflection in the mirror and can’t help but feel giddy inside. 

Beau kept her company since she got out of her childhood house when she got a job. She adopted him three years ago from an abandoned dog center. Cara regularly volunteers at the center for more or less 5 years and until now, she still goes there at least twice a month. There’s just something about Beau that made her adopt him and bringing him home was one of her best decisions in life.

They started marching along the streets of Seoul. It was a Saturday morning, there were less people on the streets compared on weekdays. Even though the snowfall was not heavy, it was very cold.

Once they’ve reached the park, she lets Beau run around the playground, happily watching him play with the children who were blowing bubbles. Cara smiled at the scene, she always thought of Beau as her kid. She was already content with him, but seeing all the children having fun with him made Cara imagine having her own family with two kids playing in the playground with Beau and having a picnic near the river on a nice day. It'll be such a beautiful scene.

Cara was lost in thoughts until she snapped back to reality and her eyes darted back where Beau was playing but he was nowhere to be found. Panic rose inside her, she searched for him while briskly walking. It was not far from where she was when a running cat caught her eye and it was being followed by a dog.

"Beau!" Cara shouted, her eyes widened and was filled with gladness when she saw Beau. The dog chased the cat and they both stopped to run around Cara in circles. She was following them with her gaze until she felt dizzy

"Belle!"

She heard someone cry a name. Cara turned around to see who it was but she got out of balance and fell backwards, head first. She closed her eyes, ready for the cold ground to touch her back but instead felt two strong arms holding her. One hand was on the back and another on her arm, preventing her from falling any further.

"Are you alright?" The person asked her in a low husky voice.

Cara opened her eyes and she gasped at what she saw, a pair of fox-like eyes boring into hers. The man has brunette wavy hair, perfectly pointed nose, and pinkish lips.

He’s handsome.

Cara hadn't realized that she was examining his features for too long until he spoke again "Miss, are you okay?"

With her pulse racing, Cara quickly stood up on her own feet, pulling away from his cradle "Y-yes, I’m fine. Thank you." She shyly said and brushed her hair with her fingers.

"I'm sorry, I lost hold of Belle here." The stranger carried the snow bengal cat named Belle in his arms who was now tired with all the running.

"I think she was playing with your dog because she was attracted to his scarf and kind of caused all of this." he pointed at Beau’s scarf "Belle likes scarfs and also the color red" he continued.

The man smiled before resorting to a giggle.

Oh, Cara thought, he's more handsome when he smiles.

She quickly erased the thought when she felt Beau brushing her leg. "It's okay, I guess they just wanted to play." Cara’s lips curving up to a smile as she struggled to make a sentence, resisting to look at the stranger’s kissable pink lips that were so near hers earlier when he was holding her.

Oh. My. God. What was she thinking?

Cara can't think straight, she was foreign to what she's feeling right now. Her palms were sweating and she felt warmth spreading through her cheeks when it was, in fact, very cold . She just wants to get out of there.

"Wha-"

"Oh no! Look at the time" Cara looked at her wristwatch and cut him off before he could say anything "I'm sorry, we must go. We're running late on our appointment" Cara she motioned Beau to go. She may have made an excuse to leave but it was not all a lie. Beau has an appointment at the vet but it'll be not until later this afternoon.

"Sure, go ahead. See you around then?" The man with the long coat and nice smile waved at them. Cara nodded "See you around and thanks again!" She responded and flashed a small smile before turning around.

Cara and Beau reached the apartment but she was spacing out for a moment until it registered in her mind that she was in front of her door. She can't get that man out of her mind and she didn't even know his name.

Cara sighed as they got inside the house and sat on the couch, Beau sitting beside her. She looked at her golden retriever and she thought of the first time she saw this dog at the center and the connection they had when they looked at each other's eyes.

It's like the same feeling she had when the guy at the park looked into her eyes but somehow different.

Deeper.

The thought of him makes her wonder. Maybe, just maybe. She wants to see him again