Excerpt from Soju and Other Bad Decisions

Sadie discovered a small café tucked into one of the corners of the expansive lobby on her second day at the hotel. It may have gone entirely unnoticed if not for her confusion while looking for the breakfast room the day before. She is once again grateful for her terrible sense of direction, as it sometimes leads to fortunate encounters. She hadn’t yet visited it, of course, due to her current financial limitations, but the deposit from her sister finally hit her account and she felt she deserved a little treat after such a tumultuous night. Maybe the caffeine could help bring back some of her missing memories from her rowdy evening with her new colleague.

As she suspected, the menu was in Korean and English, no doubt catering to the hotels many foreign guests. But she was surprised to find, as she perused the board and sounded out the Korean characters, just for fun, that the Korean words for many of the items was very similar to the English pronunciation.

She quietly sounded out “I-su ba-nil-la la-tae” and despite knowing that she wasn’t doing anything wrong and was, in fact, pronouncing the characters of the phonetic alphabet she had learned before her trip, as accurately as she could hope to do at this point, there was something about repeating the Korean-ized English words that sounded a little bit wrong to her ears.

She probably could have just asked for an ‘Iced Vanilla Latte’ in plain English and saved herself the discomfort, but she had sounded out the words before she realized what she was doing and the barista took it as her order, regardless of the fact that she had not yet stepped up to the till. That’s what I get for thinking out loud, I guess. She thought to herself.

Fortunately, it was the drink she wanted after all, so, no harm no foul.

She debated sitting down to enjoy her drink, maybe getting something to eat, but she knew she could only really afford the drink, and she shouldn't have even bought that, so she resolves to return to the conference room and pick up one of the sandwiches the recruiters had provided for the class.

There wasn't much time left in the break anyway, and she was feeling a little embarrassed about this whole interaction with the barista, since it didn’t really go how she had planned it in her head, so she retrieved her drink and quickly turned to leave.

Only to immediately slam herself and her beverage into the unsuspecting man behind her.

The flimsy plastic cup crushed between their bodies, as the boulder of a man was completely unmoved by her sudden assault. No small feat, as she is not a small woman. She had had no idea anyone else was with her in the tiny cafe. His approach had been noiseless as he waited his turn to order, only to now be unceremoniously doused in her poor, unfortunate drink.

At least it's not hot, was Sadie's first deranged thought before the red lights in her brain began to flash at the chaos she'd just caused. Droplets of liquid were still flying through the air, with the majority running down the front of her, destroying the carefully curated outfit she had chosen for her first day of teacher training.

However, she doesn’t have much time to despair for her clothes before her gaze sets upon Lucas's handsome, coffee-splattered, face.

Her blood freezes, immobilizing her body for what feels like an eternity, but was in actuality only a few beats past what would be an appropriate amount of time to respond and apologize for her carelessness.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." came out as a garbled collection of vowels and consonants that were unrecognizable to either of their ears. But Lucas had somehow put together that it was some sort of apology and was already attempting to soothe the panicked woman. Her blood started to sludge through her veins once more, trying to get her body to resume normal person-like functions. Her face had fully flushed to a shade of magenta that Lucas did not realize was possible for human beings, and her eyes were searching and pleading as she scanned the area. He couldn't tell if she was looking for napkins to clean the mess or a means of escape. He stepped to the side, allowing a clear path to the door, if that was in fact, what she was seeking. But instead of making a hasty exit, she spotted a loose towel on the counter and grabbed it.

The barista who had been watching the situation unfold in stunned silence was only brought back to her senses by Sadie waving the towel and pantomiming her request to use it.

She raised her eyebrows but gave a quick nod, lifting her hands upwards as if to say “please, go ahead” and quickly moved through the swinging doors behind her.

She returned a moment later with the mop and bucket to find Sadie frantically wiping coffee from Lucas's neatly pressed, once-white, button down and spouting profuse apologies, now that her mouth had decided to work properly again. "I'm so sorry. This isn't helping at all, is it?" she says desperately to no one in particular.

She looks down at her own ruined blouse, "We're going to have to change," she declares. And without thinking she tosses the towel on a nearby table and grabs Lucas’s hand, rushing to the elevator, lunch and training and her coffee all but forgotten.

She's overcome with feelings of Deja vu as she steps into the shiny golden box.

Images of Lucas's beautiful face, so close to her own that all she can see are the warm chocolatey nebulas of his eyes and the sultry motion of his enviable lashes as he closes the space between them, fill her mind.

She blinks away the image as the ding of the elevator bounces her back to reality and she's startled by her own train of thought, uncertain if it was a dream or a portion of her missing memory.

Lucas leans against the far wall of the elevator and is staring in bemused silence at her reflection in the gold doors as they open. His hand brushes lightly against hers, sending electric trills up her arm and down her spine, as he moves to exit in what must be the direction of his room. She knows she needs to go the other way to her own room, to change, so she can get back to the training room before the break ends, but she is compelled by the flash of memory, or fantasy, and trails after him like a forlorn puppy dog, searching for the words to ask what may or may not have happened between them last night.

Stopping at his room he turns and asks, "Isn't your room that way?" Motioning toward the other end of the hall, amusement in his voice, as color floods her cheeks once more.

She takes in his face, as her own worried expression reaches him and his brow furrows with an unspoken question. "I need to know what happened last night," her voice comes out quick, desperate, and dejected. Humiliation evident in the implicit confession.

His face falls to meet hers, any glimpse of humor extinguished. His warm eyes darken and narrow. His jaw tightens.

For a moment he looks angry, but only for a moment.

His features soften, and he exhales. "You don't remember anything?" There’s a touch of dismay as he searches her eyes for any hint of jest.

Sadie's face scrunches miserably as she shakes her head, hard enough to toss a few stray curls into her eyes. One catches on her lashes, and he moves to free it. The motion so imperceptible, so gentle and intimate, Sadie's breath hitches and he quickly drops his hand when he notices.

Running his fingers through his hair, he sets his mouth in a straight line, blows a puff of air through his nose, and then grins. "I'll show you." And in a single fluid motion he opens the door behind him with one hand and begins to deftly unbutton his ruined shirt with the other, his fingers swift and nimble. Sadie is bolted to the floor as she watches him toss the button-down to the side and pull off his undershirt with a devilish grin, clearly enjoying her stunned silence.

Sadie’s head lowers as her jaw begins to come undone, eyes transfixed. Her body warms pleasantly at the sight of him. He has a swimmer’s body, lean and lithe with just the hint of tight, chiseled abs beneath the surface. Her eyes drift lower, following his hands as his thumbs pull at the waistband of his trousers.

Look away! Look away! Look away! her innocent sensibilities will her.

But she can't. Not entirely. She can only manage to tear her eyes from his rippling torso to meet his cheeky gaze. His eyes haven’t left her face for even a moment, and they’re most certainly laughing at her. The blood that had moved to other parts of her body was now quickly returning to her chest and face.

He gives a hearty chuckle and grabs a new garment from the small pile on the dresser. Quickly pulling it over his head, and just like that, the tension is gone. Only a few seconds passed between them, but it felt like an eternity. At least it did for Sadie. Lucas was clearly toying with her, and her back straightened with indignation.

She wants to admonish him, but he begins to move closer. She takes a step back. Her shoulders hitting the wall with an indelicate thud as he rejoins her in the hall, the door closing behind him. He reaches out and rests both hands on her shoulders. The air is tense and still. Sadie refuses to breathe as he leans forward, she involuntarily squeezes her eyes shut. She can feel him staring at her and she wants to open them, but they feel sticky and heavy, and they only fly open when she feels him pull her away from the wall and turn her roughly toward the elevator.

He begins to march her by the shoulders, like a petulant school child, past the elevator, to her room, where he finally releases her. He pulls the key card from the front pocket of her purse, scans it to open the door, and gently pushes her inside.

"This is what happened last night," his voice velvety smooth as he slips the card back into her bag, tucks a loose curl behind her ear, and walks away.