unveiled

chapter 2

Stepping back out into the street, he noticed he had killed the better part of the day.  The sun had lowered just enough to cool the afternoon a bit.  The smell of the street vendors reminded him he had not had lunch yet.

Following his nose, he wandered to a small café.  Once inside he found several small intimate tables.  He selected one near the large glass doors, the sun streaming in a beam across the whitewashed table.

Tae sat and ordered noodles and house tea and searched through his bag until he found what he was searching for.

Soon he was lost in the images and poetry, happily eating his noodles and enjoying his drink.

The crowd at the café varied in size, never so many people that others had to wait for a table.  The crowd was polite, conversation was hushed and Tae was utterly content for over an hour.

Gradually he became aware of subtle changes in the crowd.  They grew younger, louder, rowdier.  He was studying a watercolor of a small pond in a summer woods when he became aware of a lot of giggling and conversation that was just a notch above whispering.

Tae steeled himself to look up.  He knew from the pitch of the conversation that it was from a group of young women, probably students from the nearby university. He was not being arrogant when his first thought was that they were trying to get his attention.

Tae was usually a topic of conversation at some point when he appeared in public.

He was impossibly good looking.  His face chiseled perfection from every angle.  His eyes were dark and piercing.  He had the body and wardrobe of a supermodel and every room he walked in was his runway.

Tae would have been embarrassed and irritated to hear that, but that was just a recitation of the facts.

He slouched in his seat and raised the book to cover his face.  Maybe that would give him some privacy and stop the chatter.

It did not.  The conversation gradually grew in volume.  He sighed and was preparing to quietly leave when he heard one of the girls loudly say “so stupid".

He turned toward the table in surprise.  That was not usually a line that was thrown his way.

His surprise turned slowly to anger as Tae finally realized the new subject of the conversation.

A group of 5 college girls were seated two tables away from him.  

Their hair, their tight jeans, their sweaters and jackets in different hues marked them as a “hive".  That's how Tae described a group of people without individual style or imagination.  They were indistinguishable one from another, nothing remarkable to note or recommend them.

Tae detested these groups, mean spirited and judgmental.  They were usually the type fawning over him and his friends in clubs, their bodies the only tool they had for seduction. 

They had no wit, no humor, no kindness, no compassion, lacking anything to find attractive the morning after.

At one time this type of girl was enough.  These days Tae was heartily sick of them.

They were all turned in their seats, pointing and laughing in the direction of the small private courtyard in the rear of the café.

There in the center of the courtyard, bathed in a shaft of a now fading sun, was a small figure completely covered in an elaborate cloak, a hood pulled up to conceal the face.  Tae's first thought was that it must be a child.  The figure was so small and engulfed in the long folds of the cloak. 

Looking closer revealed that he….she….the person was seated cross legged in the courtyard, back to the café, head thrown back to catch the sun's final kiss of the day.

Tae was fascinated.  However, he was again jarred by the loud, hateful comments from the table of front of him. 

His anger flared again. Deciding he had heard enough, he unfolded himself from his table and casually strolled in front of the table of young women. 

He almost laughed at the transformation as he walked past to the bar. 

When he returned every one of them had freshened makeup, smoothed hair and unbuttoned a button or two.
He glanced at the table as he passed, his eyes making a seductive sweep around. 

He heard a series of sighs and smirked, the smirk he knew would create reactions.  It never failed. Now the figure outside was forgotten and he became their prey.  He smiled a slow smile at their naiveté. 

“Good evening ladies,” he greeted them, pitching his deep voice even darker and quieter than usual.

Stunned silence, then the predictable frenzy of chatter trying to capture his attention.

One voice silenced the rest. There she was, their queen. She was the leader, they followed her dictates and unless he was mistaken, he recognized her voice from the “stupid" comment.

“I never expected to find such treasure here,” he stated. 

He laughed at himself.  He sounded like a vampire from some sordid romance story.  That thought made his grin genuine. He wished he was a vampire to give this bunch of harpies what they really deserved. These next few minutes would have to do.

“Damn Taehyung, you've lost it! Dae would be laughing her ass off at you right now.” He thought.

Eyes hooded and voice thick, he slowly looked at each woman, licking his lips, brushing his thumb across his mouth, a slow wink and a lip bite.  By the end they were all staring at him wide eyed.

“Here I was, hoping to find a beautiful young woman……or two,” he paused for effect" to keep me warm tonight,” he purred in that black velvet voice.

He watched as each of them offered in both subtle and overt ways to leave with him.

Little idiots, they should be glad he was not a vampire, or a serial killer, or a human trafficker. Idiots.

“I have very peculiar tastes.” He whispered.

That did not phase any of them.

“I am very selective.” He said, watching each of them hanging on every word.

“I only select beautiful partners,” he said, slowing gazing over each woman one last time. All of them were practically panting.

“And I only look for the beauty inside a woman.”

A couple of them caught what he was saying and the blush of arousal flamed to a flush of shame. There was some decency there.

“Sadly,” he paused “I find none here.”

Silence fell around him.

“There is nothing attractive about belittling or mocking someone,” turning to the leader, his voice deadly calm,    "and calling a vulnerable person names, like stupid, is a huge turn off for me. Shame really.  I hope things are different if we ever meet again.”

With that he gave his most devastating smile, politely bowed and walked away.

Behind him he could hear cursing and crying, but best of all he heard the sounds of them leaving.

Glancing back out to the courtyard, Tae saw the figure had not moved an inch, seemingly oblivious to the commotion.

As he watched, a series of dust motes danced in the breeze, illuminated by the setting sun.  A small, fragile hand lifted from the folds of the cloak and touched one of the specks, then held it suspended there for several seconds before shaking it free again.

Tae walked to the bar and without taking his eyes from the girl asked the barista, “What does she drink?”