I laughed under my breath. I opened my mouth, but the answer didn't come as quickly as it should have.

Acquaintance… Technically, yes.

I had known him for less than a week. We weren’t dating. I wasn’t even sure whether he had been flirting with me previously, and somehow I was sitting outside his workplace at night because he had asked me to come back after I finished cleaning.

“I guess.”

Amara’s smile widened slightly. I didn’t particularly like that. She didn’t push it, though.

“Want something sweet?” she said as she crushed her finished cigarette against the wall. “I have some desserts left.”

“Sure.”

She disappeared into the kitchen.

From where I was sitting, I could see part of the room if I leaned back slightly. Amara passed Geonsu’s station and stopped to say something to him before continuing farther inside.

Geonsu looked toward the door after she left. His eyes found me almost immediately.

He lifted one hand in a small wave. I returned it. Then he pointed at me, brought his fingers toward his mouth and raised his eyebrows.

I stared at him. Again? He had asked whether I had eaten when I arrived two hours ago. I nodded.

Good, he mouthed.

I started laughing.

Geonsu turned back to his station, although that didn’t stop him from checking whether I was still there. He looked over his shoulder once. Then again less than a couple of seconds later.

The third time, I stuck my tongue out at him.

He stopped. A smile spread across his face before he turned away, laughing to himself as he reached for something on the counter.

I smiled down at my cigarette when Amara returned a few minutes later carrying a small plate.

“Here. Panna cotta al caffè.”

She handed it to me along with a spoon. The panna cotta was pale brown and glossy, with coffee syrup over the top and a little cocoa and chocolate. It trembled when I touched it with the spoon.

“I have to finish a few things and clean my station. Tell me if you hate it,” she chuckled.

She disappeared inside again.

I took a spoonful and tasted it. The texture was impossibly silky, somewhere between custard and cream, melting on the tongue almost instantly.

The flavor was rich but delicate. The cream softened the bitterness of the espresso, creating a smooth coffee taste that lingered pleasantly without being harsh. Warm, velvety, slightly sweet, with just enough bitterness to keep it sophisticated rather than sugary. 

Needless to say, I was a fan. I finished the whole thing.

By ten-thirty, the restaurant had emptied and the noise from the kitchen had changed. There were no more orders being called, only water running, metal being moved around and the occasional conversation carrying through the open door.

I had been sitting outside long enough that waiting for eleven suddenly seemed a little ridiculous.

Remembering the empty plate beside me, I picked it up and stepped into the doorway. Everyone was cleaning. Counters were being scrubbed, containers put away and the floor was already wet in places. I stayed close to the entrance, looking for Amara.

“I can take that.” Someone passing me held out a hand.

“Thanks.” I gave them the plate and watched them carry it away without another glance at me.

Nobody stopped what they were doing. Nobody complained about my scent. Nobody seemed particularly interested in the fact that I was standing there at all.

So much for that.

Geonsu had a mop in his hands when Amara walked over to him. She said something I couldn’t hear and reached for it. He shook his head but Amara grabbed the handle anyway.

“If you’re not out of here in twenty seconds, I’m leaving before you.”

He looked toward the door, directly at me. Amara followed his eyes, then looked back at him.

“Nineteen…”

He returned less than a minute later, pulling his jacket over his shoulders. His beanie was already on, although several strands of hair had gotten caught beneath it around his forehead.

“Wanna leave together?” he asked.

“Why else did I wait?”

He looked at me for a moment before his smile deepened. We left through the back door together.

I expected him to ask where I wanted to go. He didn’t, and strangely, neither did I. We left the alley and started walking through downtown without deciding on a destination, staying beside one another while people passed us in the opposite direction.

For somebody I had waited nearly an hour and a half to see, we had remarkably little to say. But it didn’t bother me.

Every now and then Geonsu moved closer when somebody approached from the other direction, then drifted away again once they passed. I kept my hands inside my pockets and watched our breath disappear ahead of us. 

After a while, I recognized the subway entrance ahead of us.

I slowed down. “Were you walking me to the station?”

“Yeah. I just… wanted to set you off myself.” He tucked his hands deeper into his jacket pockets and looked toward the street. “And I’m excited for Christmas.” 

“Me too…”

I started toward the stairs while he turned in the opposite direction. After a few steps, I looked back. Geonsu had done the same. Both of us slowed.

For a moment, neither of us seemed willing to acknowledge how stupid that was. Then his eyes moved away from mine, wandering toward the buildings across the street.

“Text me when you get home… please.”

I nodded and went down the stairs before I could turn around a second time. 

My mom’s voice reached me before I had even finished taking off my shoes.

“No, that goes on the shelf. And I told you a week ago that I don’t like what you did with the tree.”

“Darling, I genuinely don’t know what else you want me to– Oh. Kento’s home.”

I stepped into the living room.

Alex was standing beside the Christmas tree holding a decoration in each hand. My mom was several feet away from him, staring at the branches with disappointment.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I am preparing the house for tomorrow, what does it look like? People come over and of course it’s only me who cares about the state of the house. I do it all alone! Next year, I’m not moving a finger. You’ll see!” 

She spouted these words out every year, even though she was always the one inviting people over. And I helped just the days before. I cleaned the windows and dusted all the surfaces. I even cleaned the entrance door and the staircase. 

I looked at Alex, who was pleading with me to save him. It was his turn to help, so I raised my eyebrows at him and shrugged as I slipped through and went inside the bathroom.

I wanted to warm up after being outside for so long. I ran the bath hot and added dried lavender and salt while it filled, then brushed my hair and undressed.

The heat prickled against my skin when I stepped inside. I lowered myself slowly, goosebumps rising along my arms despite the temperature, until the water reached my collarbones. I stayed there for a while, letting the warmth settle into me before sinking farther and tilting my head back. My hair spread through the water and the sounds from the rest of the apartment became dull with my ears submerged.

My phone started ringing.

I groaned and reached blindly toward the edge of the tub. Romina was supposed to confirm what time we were meeting tomorrow, so I answered without checking the screen.

“Hello?”

“Are you home?”

I lifted my head from the water. “Yeah.” I wiped some water from my face. “I forgot to text you. Sorry. I got distracted when I came home.”

“It’s okay.” Geonsu laughed quietly. “I got home too and did some stuff around the apartment, but then you still hadn’t texted, so…” He trailed off.

I smiled and leaned my head against the edge of the tub. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry… There’s a weird echo on your end,” he said.

I looked around the bathroom. “Oh. I’m taking a bath.”

Nothing came from his end. I waited. Still silent.

“Geonsu?”

“Yeah?” His voice sounded different.

I became considerably more aware of where I was sitting.

Water covered most of my body, lavender floating around my chest and shoulders. A few drops ran from my hair down the side of my neck. I shifted higher against the tub without thinking, and water moved loudly around me.

When Geonsu cleared his throat, I stopped moving. Neither of us said anything.

The bathroom suddenly felt much warmer than it had a minute ago. I looked down at the water, listening to the faint sound of him breathing on the other end of the call.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt you…” he finally said. 

He sounded so painfully careful that something in me wanted to make him stay for another second.

“Geonsu… Sunday. Seven.” I said.

“Sunday?”

“Christmas.”

“Oh. Right.” He exhaled softly. “Yeah.”

Neither of us hung up. I waited, my phone warm against my ear.

“Good night, Kento,” he eventually said.

“Good night.”

I lowered the phone. His name remained on the screen for another second before the call ended. I stared at it, then slowly sank back beneath the water.

It no longer felt nearly as hot as my face did.