Part 5

The pleasant sun, lazily rising during those freezing winter days, began to bid farewell with its last rays of light. The winter season in Sainte-Coline made the days brief but vivid. The cold reached such low levels that fingers turned to frost. For that reason, it was unusual to see days like this, where the light shone brightly and wasn’t cornered by the greedy winter clouds.

The last customers were leaving “Café et Sucre,” and the bustle was followed by calm, accompanied by the soft tinkling of a bell, surprising Carol and Yuna as they began to tidy up the place. The man who entered had a distinguished air. Wearing a blue wool coat with simple buttons and black dress trousers, one could tell that, although the outfit covered his body entirely, he had a robust physique that contrasted with his delicate facial features.

Elegant, but with a determined stride, he approached Yuna, who looked at him with a hint of fear.

“Can I help you?” Yuna asked as the gentleman drew near.

“Are you Miss Yuna Nakama?” he inquired without answering her, but with an extremely polite tone.

“Who’s asking?” she countered suspiciously.

As attractive and imposing as this man was, Yuna couldn’t help but wonder to herself, “Who does he think he is, walking in here with that air of grandeur and authority?” Unable to stop herself, Yuna began to wear her usual scowl.

“I apologize; I haven’t introduced myself,” he backpedaled upon seeing her reaction. “My name is Vincent Dokovic. I’m the director of Destiny modeling agency, and I’d like to hire you to work with us.”

A tense silence enveloped the two young people, as if the air around them could be cut with scissors. Thousands of questions swirled in Yuna’s mind. “How could someone like me be hired by a modeling agency?” “How did this man know who I was?” “How did he find out where I worked?” And most importantly, “Why, even though I don’t know him and know nothing about him, does my body tremble uncontrollably when I look up into those glassy blue-hazel eyes?”

“I can’t talk right now… I have things to clean up…” Yuna attempted to respond, avoiding eye contact, until Carol, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, cut in.

“She’s Yuna, and she’s totally available for you,” Carol confirmed enthusiastically, grabbing her friend from behind.

“Carol… what are you doing?” Yuna whispered, trying to ensure that the complete stranger couldn’t hear them.

“If you don’t want to work for the agency, then I’ll know my friend is an idiot. But I won’t forgive you if you waste the chance to talk to a man like that... Please! Don’t you have eyes? Look at him!”

It was amusing, because neither of them knew about Vincent’s abilities. One of them was his acute hearing, capable of picking up sounds from several meters away. So the entire conversation, which they believed was private, had been heard by him. He simply watched them and smiled courteously.