Leann looked down at her short nails and ragged cuticles. If Mamaw had told her once, she'd told her a thousand times to stop biting her nails. Here she was on the other side of the world, but she could still hear her grandma's tremulous voice scolding her to "let those damn nails alone." But she couldn't. There was always so much to be stressed about. There were always things trying to sneak out that had to be reined back in again. She picked up her pace as she glanced at her phone and saw that she only had two minutes to arrive at her appointment.

She tried to compose her thoughts. She mustn't look hurried or scattered, but it was quite a feat. Her English student, Shownu, was in a band she thought was called Monsta X, if she remembered correctly. She hadn't heard their music, but she knew they had to be big since she seemed to constantly be seeing Shownu's face on billboards and at bus stops. She hated to admit that he unnerved her. He was remarkably handsome, and though he seemed open and unassuming, he had to know how handsome he was. The handsome ones always know it.

As she arrived at the coffee shop, she saw him through the window. His hair was the color of ripe wheat today. Last week, it had been black. Only God knows what it will be next week, she mused. A bell rang as she opened the door. She was greeted with the familiar rich scent of roasted coffee beans.

"I ordered you an iced Americano, but if you don't like that, I can get you something else, Leann-ssi."

"This will be fine," she replied in English as she sat down, tucking her skirt under her carefully. "How did you do with the workbook pages I gave you last time?"

"Um, OK. What means 'uptight'?" he questioned, pointing to the word on the sheet in front of him.

Leann cleared her throat, "Oh, it means when a person is very nervous." She took the paper from her straw and wound it up into a spiral. "It's like this straw wrapper. I just wound it up tight. Sometimes people can be wound a little too tight as well."

Shownu's face took on an inscrutable look. He was studying her face. She looked down. His piercing gaze made her feel like he could see too much. Don't look him in the eyes, for God's sake. Too late. Damn! The tenderness in his eyes threatened to melt her. Her heart was racing as if she were running to escape the clutches of a hungry grizzly bear.

Shownu saw her cheeks turn pink. His eyes wandered to her golden hair that was wound into a tight French Twist. He had never seen her hair down, but he hoped he would someday. Sometimes, little tendrils would slip out of the twist to form tiny curls around her forehead and behind her ears. He wished he could tug on the bobby pins he saw that were firmly tucked into one side of the roll. What if that golden fountain were released over her shoulders and down her back? He shook his head quickly, as if to shake the thoughts loose from his brain. Leann was talking, but he had heard nothing for several moments.

"... so that's how you do contractions."

"I'm sorry. Could you say that last bit again?"

"Of course," she said, as she touched the side of her hairdo as if sensing that he had mentally tried to undo it. "I was saying that some words can be combined into a contraction and it sounds a little less formal and more relaxed. For example, you can take 'you' and 'are' and put them together to get 'you're,' as in 'You're a good singer.' It's the same as saying 'You are a good singer.'"

"Oh," said Shownu, nodding his head in understanding.

"So, could you try to use the word 'you're' in a sentence?"

"Um, you're --- you're ---." He took a deep breath and said, "You're pretty." The way he didn't take his eyes off of her face made her wonder if he meant it for her.

She cleared her throat and said, "You used it correctly, yes." She wished her skin were darker and could hide the pink hue that spread over her cheeks. The pen in her hand shook as she wrote, "She'll be president someday." She pointed at the first word. "What two words do you think are combined here?"

"Ah --- 'she' and --- ah ---. I don't know."

"'She' and 'will' are the two words that were combined. So, what if you wanted to combine 'you' and 'will.' How would you do that?"

Shownu was quiet for a moment. He had an answer, but he was afraid to say it. Her eyes were expectant and encouraging, waiting for an answer.

Finally, Shownu whispered, "You'll go on date with me?"

Leann's eyes grew wide, but she immediately willed them back to their normal size. "Well, you could say that but, with a question like this one, I would actually use the words separately --- 'Will you go on a date with me?'"

Shownu put his hand over his heart and said, "I thought you would never ask."

"Oh, no, no! I wasn't asking you on a date. I was just repeating the sentence you used. Please, don't get me wrong."

His laugh was deep and genuine. "I'm just teasing you," he said in Korean. "But, actually, I was thinking it might be fun if we would go somewhere, like to an amusement park."

Leann suddenly became very interested in the tile pattern on the floor. "I'm not sure an amusement park would be a great environment for learning English."

"It could be like a field trip, like they take in Middle School," he said hopefully.

"No, I don't think so. We wouldn't get much work done on a field trip."

"Why does it have to be about work? We could just have fun and play for a day."

"I try to keep work and personal relationships separate. I find it's best that way."

Shownu nodded gravely. "Of course, I totally understand. My bad. Forgive me."

"It's fine. No problem," Leann said, trying to sound cooler and more confident than she felt. She wanted to return to the lesson, but her mind had gone blank. She was frozen in place, watching as a shadow descended on his smooth face. If I touched it, would it feel like crushed velvet? She took a sip of her coffee to try to pull herself back to reality. "Don' ya ever grow a wishbone where your backbone aughta be," admonished Mamaw's voice inside her head. With that, she sat up straighter and smoothed her gray skirt over her legs.

Shownu kept his head down, indicating his repentance for crossing the line. What if she decides to stop teaching me? What if she is uncomfortable with me now? His mind raced over a thousand scenarios, and none of them boded well for him.

Leann pulled her attention back to the lesson and managed to finish it, but her mouth kept drying out even though she sipped at her coffee frequently. She assigned him several pages of homework as she glanced at her phone. It was finally time to go. She rose to leave and Shownu stood as well, giving her a slow and solemn bow.

"So, I see you Thursday?" he asked as she picked up her worn purse from the seat.

Leann scrambled for an excuse. Thursday is too soon. I can't do this again on Thursday!

"Ah, I think I am going to be busy on Thursday," she said as she rocked back and forth on the heels of her white sneakers.

Anxious to not let her go without making a new appointment, Shownu flipped through his phone, looking over his packed schedule. "I could do Saturday morning before 10:00."

"OK, Saturday at 8:30, then," she said as she turned and walked away.

Her scent lingered in the space where she had just stood. She smelled of strawberries and ice cream. Shownu was used to girls who smelled like Chanel #5 or Prada Candy, but Leann never wore designer perfumes or carried expensive bags. Perhaps that was part of her appeal. She was genuine, if a bit 'uptight.' He smiled upon remembering his new vocab word. He placed his hands over his face, rubbing them up and down. I'm not usually bold enough to confess to women. Why did I have to choose this day to act like someone else? And why does my heart actually, physically hurt? He knew he needed to tread more lightly in the future. If there would be a future at all...