Queen's Favor

Chapter 10

"I can't believe this..." She groaned right on through her fingers. If she didn't open her eyes ever again she theoretically didn't ever have to believe it.

A voice way more charming and soothing that it had any right to be cut through her attempt. "Babe, don't worry about it! I would have insisted on paying for it anyway. I'm sure you'll find it at home."

She peered through her fingers and yes, he was as gorgeous when mostly obscured as when fully viewed. Also, he was struggling so hard to smother some kind of laughter that she couldn't decide if she should be flattered or offended. Was there a combination? A happy middleground between the two?

"I've been downgraded from princess to babe."

He winced, and placed a hand to his heart. "My heart would stop if I ever tried!" After a moment, he seemed to decide to try again, expression softening once more. "I just want you to relax. You can't find something if you're too flustered to think about it."

That'd be much easier to agree to if the person who saved her from an embarrassing end didn't just have to pay for her lunch, and she couldn't even get the haircut she'd been planning on. It's embarrassing enough to misplace her wallet at home and not realize it until she was nearly to where she'd need to spend from it, but having someone like the one sitting across from her be the one to catch her do it was...

What kind of terrible luck did she have?

She sighed and waved her hand finally, slumping back in her seat. No use worrying about it any further. Mortifying though it may have been, just being upset about it wouldn't make it reappear.

"...I'm paying this back double next time." She still had her pride, even if it was in shambles.

"Oh~! So I've already earned a second date!" He grinned, altogether too pleased with himself. "I'm on a roll today."

...That.

Well, she could have just paid him the money directly but-

Now she'd just feel rude trying to correct him.

She scoffed, finally, shaking her head. "I wouldn't be too flattered. If you knew the kind of company I've had recently..."

His smile was way more charming than it had any right to be, given how cheeky it was. "Oh, I'm better than anyone else you've met lately? Flatter me more, babe."

"I think you're flattering yourself just fine on your own."

He tutted, touching a hand to his chest and ducking his head, as if she could actually buy the sad act he put on when she was halfway certain birds would come and settle on his shoulders if he went outside and sang. "If not me, than who?"

She tapped her chin with her fingers and arched a slim brow. "Every other woman in this place?" They were all certainly staring pretty closely at him. It was kind of hard to miss, since he'd left her sitting facing all of them while he sat opposite of her.

He flashed her a devilish grin just as the food arrived, and it was for the best the food interrupted him, because she'd hate to have to smack her dazzlingly pretty rescuer right after getting conned into agreeing to a second date with him. She made sure to pay special attention to the food she didn't pay for, rather than let him be a cad right in the middle of lunch.

It was actually pretty good, for being food she bummed off of a stranger after almost dying.

She sighed, planting a hand on her chin, and glancing out the window of the restaurant. Where in the world had she misplaced the wallet in, anyway? Her apartment wasn't really that big, and she'd been so tired last night after hiking halfway across the city and back that she hadn't gone around and done anything creative before bed. Now she had to back track all the way to her house and scour the place to find it, before going all the way back just to get her haircut.

Her day off wasn't made of infinite hours.

Maybe it was better just to abandon the haircut and let her shoulder-length hair grow out? It's not like Elizabeth really targeted it so that it'd be a problem-

"I'm really gonna have to start giving myself compliments to feel better if you feel this bad about the date."

-oh.

She blinked and looked back over at him. "Who ever said this was a date? You've only been talking about a second one."

He leaned forward with a conspiratorial grin. "If that means I get to see you three times, I accept the correction."

She leaned right on back, elbows on the table. "You know, just a minute ago I was implying I was desperate for a date..."

"Look at that, I'm incredibly desperate for a date." He said it without missing a beat. Without even a shadow of shame.

Therefore, it's only fair that she laughed in his face, because what else was she supposed to do? He was, surprisingly, not deterred. His grin was just as beautiful as it was amused and frankly she had the immediate urge to shove her plate of food in his face just out of an instinctive self defense measure. Mortal women weren't meant to experience that kind of wattage of beauty so close.

But, no, no she wasn't about to give up yet. Two could play this dirty game, oh yes.

"You know..." she chewed her lip, put on her best sultry voice, and tabbed the look on his face that briefly appeared in response for...later. "Now that I think about it, if we're talking about being desperate...every time I come back home from work, I can't help but wish I had a boyfriend there to draw me nice, long, hot bath we could share together...because I'll be absolutely covered in cat hair."

He sneezed directly in her face.

Fair.

But also, it was self defense, because flirting with someone as pretty him quite that close to her face was more than a simple girl like her's heart could take. He had both impressive dedication and reflexes to immediately shift gears from shifting uncomfortably in his seat to his weird cat sneeze allergy, though. Allergies still didn't work like that, though.

Despite the underhanded trick, once he managed to regain his composure, he shook his head and gave an almost dainty smile. "Well. If Romeo and Juliet can survive being on opposite sides, then-"

"They didn't survive, though."

For a man who'd just saved her life, paid for her food, and...honestly, just put up with her for the past hour or so, his smile was amazingly patient. If she didn't know better, she'd think he really was actually desperate for a girlfriend.

She did know better, however, because she had a working pair of eyes.

She twirled a fork in her fingers, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Alright, I'll make you a deal." Because clearly she's the one in the negotiating position here, and not the one embracing her crazy cat lady future prematurely and spending her days all alone cleaning up a ludicrously expensive penthouse whose closets made her apartment feel claustrophobic. "You explain why on earth you're so desperate for a girlfriend, and I'll...consider going on those dates with you."

Ah, yes. She'd successfully negotiated herself from two or three dates with a dazzling movie star looking man into 'possibly nothing'. How was she not already as rich as Jumin Han with skills like hers?

His laugh was good-natured, despite her...everything, and he swept the fingers of one hand through his hair in a little flourish. "That's an easy answer, babe. I'm actor."

It was so good she hadn't reached down to take a bite of the food as she'd been considering, because she'd have probably choked on it or spit it on him, and honestly they'd shared more than enough bodily fluids today as it was. It wasn't exactly a surprise, though. It was more...how much it wasn't a surprise. Him being an actor made perfect sense, given that it looked like he'd leapt right off of the movie screen, makeup still intact, and onto the city streets. The only unbelievable part was why he was wandering around a poorer end of town and just happened to come across her right before she got herself killed.

That was just-

what even were the chances?

His smile was bashful all over again - that bashful but proud thing he did, where he pretended to be shy about praise but really just preened over it. "Is it really that much of a surprise? I mostly do stage and musicals at the moment, though, it wouldn't surprise me if you haven't heard of me."

She pursed her lips then, squinting at him, "okay, but that didn't answer my question. Being hot and gainfully employed should make you a magnet, not a loner."

She had a feeling that sparkle in his eye was all about the fact that she'd called him 'hot', even though that was not the point of her statement, but at least he didn't say anything about it. Instead he sighed mournfully. "Aaahh...well, strictly speaking, I'm not supposed to have a girlfriend, you know?" His hand pressed to his chest. "But my heart needs to beat alongside another heart! Right or wrong, I was born for romance, and for love!"

He was born to be in drama was what.

The fork in her hand tapped her lips then, brow arching once more, this time considering. "Hmm...so no one wants to be the hidden mistress of the beautiful and glamorous actor."

He brought that wink out, like heavy artillery. "Y'know, I've got a coupon for a public relationship special offer in my pocket."

She waved her hand, conveniently blocking his face partly from her vision. Which, as previously established, didn't really diminish his unearthly attractiveness. "Oh, I couldn't possibly bear to take any more charity from you."

"Aaahh..." He sighed and shook his head. "Success is such a lonely life. Even so, let me at least walk you home after this. I couldn't bear to turn on the news tonight if I don't."

She honestly couldn't tell if that was shade or flirtation.

Probably the latter, all things considered.

Did she really negotiate herself out of follow up dates with a gorgeous and successful actor with a hero streak and a penchant for just, excessively complimenting her? She's pretty sure that she did, and honestly...that was too embarrassing for her to try to follow up on or confirm, so instead, she just focused on the lunch that she blundered her way into not paying for, and there was little in the way of conversation for the rest of the meal.

True to his word, though, he stood up just...immediately when she did.

Hm.

Yes.

She'd forgotten how tall and...princely he looked standing up.

Also why was it this man was always somehow in her personal space?! She took a quick step backward, and studiously ignored if her cheeks reddened at all. "...Well, if it'll make you feel better, I guess I'm obligated to let you walk me home. Just try not to...look at my place. Honestly, just wear a blindfold when we get there, maybe cover your ears. There's a guy that's always spoiling for a fight and will probably try to stab you immediately if you accidentally make eye contact, if the couple down the way aren't in a screaming fight they're probably screaming obscenely instead, and also there's just a lot of trash so you'll probably feel better if you don't look at all."

"...Every word you say is worrying me more."

She sighed and waved her hand dismissively, heading for the door. "It's really not so bad if you get used to it."

"That's making it worse, babe!"

Despite it not being a date, and him being such an outrageous flirt - and that she honestly didn't need an escort - he fell into the role of being a gentleman escorting his lover back to her place after an evening out in a way that had to feel so natural simply because he was an actor and had practice pretending that kind of thing. She assumed. No way a director would waste that face on a horror movie.

When she glanced up at him, he happened to be smiling thoughtfully down at her, and she broke into an immediate coughing fit, body clearly rejecting the close proximity of charm. Or maybe the glitter that she spotted here and there hidden on him - left over from some scene he played, maybe? He patted her back. For being some random stranger that saved her from getting flattened, he was really quite thoughtful. Or she was starved for non-feline attention. She wouldn't completely rule out that possibility.

He declined the blindfold.

Knife Man wasn't present, however, so it didn't end in violence. His expression still looked like he was witnessing a murder. Well. To be fair, some fancy actor like him probably lived somewhere much more like what her employer lived in than where she did. But that was fine. She might not have a glamorous job, but as long as she kept the house clean and the cat happy, she'd make pretty good money forever. Which meant, eventually, she'd have a way better place to live, too.

"Anyway, this is my stop and look at that~!" She turned toward him and spread out her arms, as if it were a big reveal that she was, in fact, still not dead. "I didn't get hit by even one truck on the way."

"I'll consider that a job well done." The look of horrified disgust melted into a much more pleasant smile once his gaze turned back to her.

So. This was where they parted ways, and the pretty actor fellow went off to his...whatever high society life, and she likely didn't bump into him again until she saw some movie poster with him on it.

She hesitated a moment, chewing her lip, and then drew in a breath. "Well...I guess you know where to find me now, but...if I'm gonna repay you after all, I should have some way to contact you, right?"

His phone was in his hand with a surprising combination of grace and speed. "It's fine, I'll give you my number. I saw you still have your phone, right?"

"Hm-?" Oh, right, yes, that made sense. After only blinking for a moment - really she was just caught off guard by how well prepared he'd been for that - she dug out phone. "Okay, so...let me give you mine first..."

"Before that, though." His smile quirked up into a playful smirk. "There's one last thing I need to know."

"...What?"

Her apartment number? Was that really necessary? It wasn't like the complex was that big.

"Your name, Princess."