1.4 | If The Shoe Fits ✓

05 | the one with the glass slipper

  

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the one with the glass slipper

SHE'D BEEN LIVING in the heart of the city for so long that she'd almost forgotten how the suburbs were like at night.

Softer, with a lull in traffic, and the hum of cicadas from the nearby woods. Fewer people were out on the sidewalk, but the ones that were strolled at a leisurely pace, as though they had all the time in the world.

Nala began to feel like she really had, especially when she stepped out of Seung Jae's old car. He'd seemed embarrassed about it earlier, although she really didn't understand why. The rust didn't bother her, nor did the worn leather seats. Instead, she'd tried her best not to let his scent overwhelm her, which seemed ever more delicious in the small confines of his car.

"Is this alright?" Seung Jae gestured to the diner up ahead. "I'm sorry, it's not a fancy restaurant or anything..."

"No!" she hastily assured him. The diner was a lively pizza place filled with customers, and she could already smell the food from within. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled. "It's perfect. I'm starving, honestly, and I'm so hungry that I could eat you."

A short pause followed as her brain belatedly caught up with her mouth.

And then her eyes widened. "Oh, no, I didn't mean it that way! I certainly wasn't talking about cannibalism, but it's not like I meant it in the sexual way either. Although, I can see how you might think so, because you really are bloody gorgeous and..." she trailed off and bit her lip.

Atta girl, Nala. That should scare him off for good.

But Seung Jae simply quirked a tiny smile and held out his arm to her. "Come on."

She blinked, then smiled at him. "I really do love pizza," she confessed, tucking her hand around the crook of his elbow as they walked on. "And I love diners like these. I lived in the suburbs before moving to the city, and we had this lovely place in my neighbourhood that served the best Sadza. Mum even used to say it was better than the Sadza my grandmother could make back home, and—oh, shite!"

Nala let out a shriek as she suddenly swayed sideways. If she hadn't had a hand wrapped around Seung Jae's arm, she would've fallen flat on her face there and then. As it was, she barely held onto him as he steadied her with a hand on her waist.

"Are you alright?" he asked, peering down at her in concern.

"Y-yes, I think so—" She stopped as she caught sight of her shoes. The right heel had snapped clean off, and she now stood with one foot raised higher than the other.

Bloody heels.

And to think she trusted fashion experts' advice on how stilettos accentuated one's arse. No one ever said how much of an idiotic arse you looked when the stupid heel broke.

"—I'm so sorry!" she blurted, even though it really wasn't her fault that the shoes were so awfully made. "This wasn't supposed to happen. They were fine when I put them on earlier, and I only wore them because they were my nicest pair. I'm going to throw these out as soon as I can, I swear. I really didn't—"

He surprised her with a laugh. It was quiet but deep, and it made her insides quiver. "Nala, it's fine."

"It is?"

"Yes," he said simply, and went down on one knee.

Stunned, she watched as he gently lifted her other foot—the one with the heel still intact—and took the shoe off. Then, with a swift, sharp action, he broke the heel and tossed it aside. When he slipped her shoe back onto her foot, she stood perfectly levelled in her stilettos-turned-flats. She continued to blink at him in speechless surprise even as he straightened.

Under the streetlights, she noticed his cheeks redden. "I—um...my grandfather used to own one of those shoe repair huts in Korea," he said, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. "I always wondered why he had to fix broken heels and didn't just turn them into something...well, easier to walk in."

She smiled and wrapped her hand around his elbow again. "I've never been to a shoe repair hut before. I don't think they have those here."

"I've never tried Sadza before either."

"Oh, you absolutely have to. We can go back to my old neighbourhood, or we could go to my grandmother's place in Zimbabwe. And then, afterwards, we can visit your grandfather's shop."

"We could." He laughed again, and bloody freaking hell, did that sound turn her on. "But we should probably see this first date through before we start booking flight tickets for our second one." He held open the door to the diner. "Shall we?"

She beamed at him. "Let's."