Meet Idan

Youngwoo stood up and reached out with his hand towards Idan. The man seemed quite reminiscent of what he looked back in the park. Well, aside from the fact that he looked like he was 30 to 35 now. His bright skin had some signs of tiredness on it, and circles under his eyes made him look like he hadn't slept for a day or two. Still, his green eyes were full of brightness and his sharp, yet comforting gaze was vivid. He smiled lightly and shook his hand.

"I'm Idan." He suddenly chuckled a little, but his composure remained solid.

"I'm Youngwoo, but everyone calls me Lee."

"Hah. Simplicity sake, huh?"

"...yes. How'd you know?"

"Idan's my second name. My first name is Toirdhealbhach. Try saying that 5 times faster." He chuckled again.

'Yeah, I can see why he sticks with Idan.' Youngwoo could hear Iris muffle a snort at Idan's first name. Still, he opted to ignore her reaction and respond.

"I see. So, you're a healer?"

"Yup. Job's nasty as hell, but at least the pay's good. And you?"

"A fighter. Swordsman, to be exact." Youngwoo tapped the sword in its sheath a little.

"I see. So, you in a guild?"

"No. I don't really want to be bound to a guild just yet."

"Just like Ieva, haha." Idan smiled widely.

"Is Ieva not in a guild?"

"No." Replied Hilda. "She's a freelancer. Well, considering that all the things she makes can be used anywhere, there's a high demand, but she can at least choose what she'll do. Trust me, she got a way better offer than me when we were offered to enter Magician Guild, but the only reason she rejected was that she'd be bound to do what they wanted." She rolled her eyes ever so slightly.

"So." Said Idan, looking at the woman. "How'd you two meet?"

"...you remember the park incident a month ago? He saved us." Hilda said, although there was a bit of **** in her voice. Well, that evening held some bad memories to her.

"Oh." Idan suddenly sulked a little, but that didn't last long. "Thanks a million, Lee." He formed a smile anew. "Seriously. If you want something from Reaper Guild, feel free to contact me."

"You're in Reaper Guild?" Youngwoo raised an eyebrow.

"Well, healers are needed everywhere." He shrugged lightly. "And since Hilda went to Magician Guild, we decided I'd better go and stay between the rogues. You know, to have eyes and ears in the major guilds."

"So you know each other for long, I take it?"

"Yup. Met long before the Tower." He nodded.

"Let's not linger on that." Hilda suddenly cut in.

"...Right." Idan quickly nodded, and changed the topic.

'Their past is a touchy subject, I see.' Thought Youngwoo as he exchanged some words with Idan and Hilda. Slowly, they all emptied their drinks, and as Idan got up slowly to make them a refill, he suddenly asked:

"So, how long have you two been a thing?"

"...eh?" Youngwoo made a weird sound, as his gaze bounced between the man and Hilda for a few long seconds.

Visibly taken aback as well, Hilda hid her hands under the table, and looked at Idan, a little unnerved. Well, if Youngwoo could see her hands, he'd see she was keeping her thumbs busy by constantly laying one on top of another and repeating the motion. Still, she glanced at him momentarily and saw the surprise in his eyes. Wanting to quickly fix the situation, she started saying:

"W-We're not dating." Still, her voice shook ever so little.

'...that felt weird.' Thought Youngwoo as he slowly got his hands off the table as well. 'It almost sounds like she... wanted us to be dating?' His heart suddenly skipped a beat. No... surely he was just hearing things, right? He tried to convince himself that Hilda wouldn't be taken aback that much by that question, but deep inside himself, he felt like maybe, just maybe, his feeling was reciprocated by her?

"Oh, come on, Hilda." Idan laughed wholeheartedly. "You call for me, I come around, and suddenly there's a new friend I don't know about?" He chuckled. "Come on, you think I'm blind?"

The woman looked up at the man sitting across the table. She felt her heart rush up to her throat. She liked Youngwoo, and she didn't want to be hiding behind cowardly excuses. But... she didn't know if he felt that way. Sure, they danced and kissed before, but looking at it now, she wanted to rationalize his action. Maybe he was caught up in the moment? However, she was suddenly taken aback again when she heard his voice:

"We... only started recently." Said Youngwoo in a calm, collected tone. Still, he looked at his hands on the table, and didn't dare turn his gaze at either of the two. Well, he didn't really want to have said that, but he decided to take his chance. For some reason, he felt like he should do it.

"Oh, I see." Idan smirked as he placed their drinks on the table. However, feeling the atmosphere in the room, he decided to simply take his coffee and sit down with them.

A few longs seconds of silence passed, the three of them not looking at each other at all. Hilda was fidgeting her fingers under the table and her head was looking down, her hair blocking her beet-red face from being seen fully. Youngwoo had decided to look into the main room. Seeing Iris 'sprawled' across the couch (actually floating just above it) and looking back at them with lack of interest, he felt as if something was weighing down his body. Meanwhile Idan was quickly sipping his coffee, as if he suddenly was in a hurry.

The seconds of silence extended into a minute, then two. And suddenly, Idan got up and said:

"Alright, I gotta go. You guys have fun! Say hi to Ieva for me!" And then, he was gone behind the door. [A/N: Idan's face in this very moment]

The tension appeared in the air. The two who were still sitting by the table suddenly looked at each other. Their drinks were completely untouched since Idan had placed them, but they didn't care for them.

The first to speak was Youngwoo:

"I'm sorry, Hilda." He got up and bowed to her deeply in an act of apology. "I said something I shouldn't. I should also be going."

"...Youngwoo." Hilda got up, and looked at him. He froze on spot before he moved more than 2 steps away. "Did you mean that?" In that very moment, she felt thankful for Calm Mind. Heavens, if she didn't have it, she might've passed out due to stress. Thankfully, the most she could feel right now was heavy heartbeat in her chest. "That we are dating?"

He looked at her with unsure look. Deep in her mind, she was already preparing for the worst. However, she heard him speak:

"Yes." He nodded weakly. Seriously, without Calm Mind, he might've not even got up by now. He really needed to work on his confidence around people he liked. "And I'm sorry. I didn't ask for your opinion. But... I really feel that way." He continued.

"You mean... you'd like to date me?" She fought her body to squeeze out last words without having them caught up in her throat.

"I know it's ridiculous, so... it's alright-"

"I'd like that too." She suddenly cut him, feeling heavy flush wash over her. Dear, her face must have same shade as her hair right now. Still, she pushed through. "I'd like to date you too, Youngwoo." She took a step towards him.

Subconsciously, he also stepped closer to her. Hell, it felt like a dream. He'd need to pinch himself to check if he wasn't dreaming. No, there was no way he would be dreaming right now, was there? No, surely this was real. He felt his mind being a haze, but decided to push through.

"Then..." He started. "...Hilda, shall we start dating?" He asked, coming a step closer. They were just about a step apart.

"...yes." She came closer, just within each other's breath. A smile crept onto her lips as she felt the weight on her disappear with her words. "Yes Youngwoo, we shall." She leaned closer to him, and gave him a quick peck on lips.

Youngwoo quickly returned the favor, his lips chasing after hers. He felt all his worries melt away as he was with Hilda in that moment. Nothing mattered now. Not Ieva, not Iris, not even Pagma's Swords Dance. For now, he only cared about his girlfriend.