That night I laid in bed, hands on my stomach while I stared up at the white ceiling. White was such a boring color. We should paint over it. But who painted their ceilings?

I was trying to distract myself, burying my face in the cool silk of my pillowcase. I shouldn't have been so nervous, it was only a playdate and dinner, he might not even stay.

I let out a slow exhale, tossing and turning in my bed for the rest of the night

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning was worse. Anxiety crept up every limb of my body, I almost shattered a cup of tea with my shaking. I was glad that Alia and I were a little earlier than usual to school so I didn't have to worry about running into Yeonjun.

Thank god I didn't have work that day. I flew into a cleaning frenzy, everything needed to be spotless. The kitchen, the living room, bathroom, me and Alia's rooms.

I cleaned until it was time to pick her up from school, practically crashing the car into several inanimate objects on the drive there. Before pulling into the parking lot of her school, I took a few deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down. I saw Alia run out of the tall, black front doors of the brick building and down the concrete stairs, putting on a smile as I got out of the car to buckle her into her seat.

"Are you excited?" I asked once I was back in the front, pulling the car into reverse and looking behind me to make sure the path was clear.

She nodded frantically. "I'm really, really excited! What time are they coming over?"

I checked the time, eyes widening. "20 minutes. Let's go!"

I drove back to the apartment building, racing Alia up the steps and into our apartment. She stared in shock at the state of the rooms.

"Everything's so..." she trailed off, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

"So what?" I asked, shrugging off my jacket and hanging it on a little metal hook by the front door.

"Clean." She finally decided. I laughed, tidying up the last few dishes in the sink I had missed.

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. My heart jumped and I walked on shaky legs to open it. I stood behind the closed door for only a second to calm my nerves, then twisted the doorknob to the side and pulled it open.

Yeonjun grinned down at me. "Is this the right place?" he joked.

I smiled, leading them in. "No, I stole it a few minutes ago," I said, deadpan. "We live down the street."

Yeonjun seemed surprised by my sarcasm, but laughed, taking his shoes off by the front door. Jiho ran off to find Alia, and I stood with him, trying not to seem awkward.

"Hey," I finally said with a smile, hugging him. His arms went around my waist, his chin on the top of my head.

"Hi. Nice place," he commented when I pulled away, trying to calm my beating heart.

I raised my eyebrows. "I cleaned for like 5 hours today. It's not usually like this."

Yeonjun cracked a smile. "You didn't have to clean. It would've been fine."

I flopped dramatically onto the couch. "This trash heap? Sure, sure. Totally fine," I said, drawing out the O in totally.

He sat down next to me. "Should I clean when you come over to my house?"

I looked over at him, crossing my legs and leaning against the arm of the couch. "I wasn't aware we were going to be going to your house, but in that case, yes, you should. Unless it's already spotless, then you're good."

"I don't think spotless is the best word for it," he admitted. Yeonjun leaned back slightly, the fabric of his jeans pulled taught on his thighs and... ELSEWHERE.

I looked away, cheeks hot. "Alright. You better clean then."

He laughed, running his hands through his hair, moving it out of his face. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, a habit I had noticed before. "As the lady commands," he mocked a bow from his sitting position, and I stifled a laugh, covering my mouth.

"You're dumb," I said, trying to hide the smile on my face.

He smiled back, a bright look in his eyes. "Thank you. Are we going to be staying for dinner?"

I pulled my sweatshirt tighter around me, goosebumps crawling up my arms when the AC turned on. "I assumed you were. I'm making salad with steak, candied pecans, cucumbers, gorgonzola cheese, and a vinaigrette dressing," I listed on my fingers.

He looked at me, obviously impressed, and I rolled my eyes. "It's not like it's hard. I could teach you.

Yeonjun smirked a little. "Alright then. Teach me."

I stood back up, reaching a hand out to pull him up with me, and when I yanked him up, he almost fell into me. I stepped back and he steadied himself with a smile. I sighed slightly at his antics, then led him to the kitchen.

I didn't realize his hand was still in mine until we had reached the kitchen and I turned to face him. My face flushed at the sudden realization, and I let go, trying to ignore the warm, tingling sensation his touch had shot up my spine.

"Alright, turn the stove on high and put this pan on it," I instructed. Yeonjun followed my words and I poured honey in it, opening the pack of steak while it heated up.

"I hope you don't eat too much, I figured 2 pounds would be enough for the four of us," I said with a lopsided smile. Without letting him respond, I said, "Okay, now turn the other burner on? Let me find the pan..."

While he turned the burner on, I bent over, searching the jumble of metal pots and pans in the cabinet under the counter. There was a loud clatter when I reached in, wrapping my fingers around the cast iron skillet and pulling it out. I gasped, shoving my hands in to try and stop the torrent of cooking supplies falling out of the cabinet. I scrambled to keep it all inside, then let out a sigh of relief once I got everything back in place, leaning back on my heels. "All good."

Yeonjun laughed, then helped me up to standing. I put the pan on the burner and poured a little oil in it. I gave him two containers of pecans. "In there," I pointed to the pan with honey in it.

He helped me cook for the rest of the time. I instructed him on how to do things, and he followed, tongue poked out the corner of his mouth.

We finished and he turned to me. "Time to set the table?"

I nodded, gesturing to where the plates were. Yeonjun grabbed four down, barely even having to reach to open the cabinet, then set the rectangular wooden table.

"Should we call them for dinner?" I asked, placing napkins next to each plate and forks on top of each napkin.

"Yeah, tell them five minutes?" he suggested. He helped bring over the small bowls of chopped apple, pecans, and the big plate of steak.

I walked to the room next to mine. The door was cracked already, so I peeked my head in, spotting Alia and Jiho talking. They were sitting criss-cross-applesauce on Alia's bed, stern looks on their little faces. I tried not to laugh.

They simultaneously turned to face me as I spoke. It was a little creepy. "Five minutes til dinner."

"But mama," Alia whined. "We're gossiping!"

I couldn't help it: I snorted at her words. I tried to play it off, hand flying to my mouth in a too-late attempt to smother the sound. "And what are you gossiping about?" I asked, laughter threading with my voice and making me sound choked.

They looked at each other, a question in their eyes, then nodded at the same time in agreement. "You," Alia said.

"And Dad," Jiho added.

My cheeks flushed. I sat on the edge of the bed next to them. "Yeah? What specifically?"

"Dad likes you, Miss May," Jiho said abruptly.

I raised my eyebrows. "Where did that come from?"

She looked at Alia for assurance before continuing. "He talks about you a lot. He said something yesterday about how you looked cute sleeping."

I rolled my eyes, trying to distract from the fact that my heart raced at her words. "Alright." I paused, desperate to change the subject. "Now, dinner time?"

Alia and Jiho sprung up from their sitting positions and raced out of the room, causing me to trail behind them. They took two seats on one side of the table. Without a second glance, I sat down next to Yeonjun.

Dinner was mostly the two girls making pointed faces at us and us ignoring them. I stabbed at my salad, eyes trained on my plate, then pushed away the empty plate once it was clear.

"Don't feel like you need to leave right after dinner," I said. "Unless, of course, you need to get home for Jiho's bedtime. It's a school night after all."

Yeonjun nodded in agreement, and there was a flash of regret in me for having brought it up when I didn't want him to leave. Not yet.

"Yeah, we should probably get going soon." He looked at me, lips tilted up in a smile. "Thanks for dinner, sijag. It was delicious."

I smiled back, patting his hand momentarily. "Thanks for helping me cook."

"No problem." Yeonjun turned to the girls, eyebrows furrowing in confusion when he noticed their faces.

Alia and Jiho were looking between us, eyes wide and sparkling, jaws dropped. Alia went to say something, but I cut her off quickly, standing up. "Do you need help getting your things? I can walk you guys out," I blurted, blushing afterwards.

He chuckled, standing up to clear his plate. We headed to the kitchen together. "Alright. And no, thank you, it's really just my shoes and coat."

I nodded, lips pursed slightly in embarrassment, then slid on my own shoes and walked them out the door and down the apartment complex staircase.

When we got to his car, Yeonjun turned to me. "Hey, Ada?" he asked quietly, halfway in his car.

"Yeah?"

"Would it be fine if Jiho and I came and picked you two up tomorrow? Since they go to school together and we'll be working together?" he suggested.

I'm glad it was so dark he couldn't see the blush on my cheeks. "Would that be too much of a detour for you guys? I wouldn't want to cause any trouble..."

He shook his head, smiling. The light of the streetlamp over his head caused the shadows of his hair to dance across his face. In the darkness, his hair almost matched with the surrounding light.

"You're on the way to school, it'd be fine," he said, moving back out of his car. He shut the door. "Would that work for you?"

"Yeah, what time do you think you'll be here?" I looked down to avoid his eyes.

"7:30? If that's alright?"

"Sounds good," I decided, then hugged him quickly, head on his chest. Before he could even react, I ran to the stairwell with a smile. Once I reached the first landing, I called back down to him, who was still standing in the parking lot. "Goodnight, Yeonjun!"

He smiled, then waved back. "Goodnight, Adelaide!"

I watched, a sheepish smile on my face, as he turned back to his car, got in, and with one last wave, drove away.

I walked up the last few flights of stairs, then got Alia ready for bed before collapsing on my own.

I replayed the last conversation in my head, a dumb, lovesick smile teasing the corners of my lips.

To no one in the room, I stared at the ceiling and whispered, "See you tomorrow."