Her legs burned but as she fell into another serve, she let out a breath of relief as she scored. The sun blazed down on her and she was glad that she’d left her hair out instead of getting that sew-in. Chile baby she was baking. 

    “Nov, let’s take a break!” Neb called from the other end of the court. 

    “Sure.” Lifting her arm to wipe the sweat from her brow, she took a swig of her water bottle. 

    “You tryna get chose sister?” She asked, eying the bikini top Neb wore. Pursing her lips, she rolled her eyes at her, spraying her with some water from her bottle. 

    “You know the cutest guys play here.”

    “Hm.”

    “And I see you aren’t. Why is that Nova?” Scoffing, she returned the eye roll with one of her own. 

    “I don’t need a man sœur (sister).” 

    “But tu veux un homme qui n'est pas resté. (you want a man who did not stay). What senses does that make?” She swallowed hard and bent to pick up her matching pink racket to match her pink tennis ensemble. A sports bra and fitted tennis skirt with clean white tennis shoes. 

    “You were kids and he’s some famous idol now. You have your own life to live now Nova. Let him go. Start fresh before you get too old and regret it.” 

    “Hello ladies,” They both turned to see two very attractive men approaching. Both tall and hella fit. One brown skin and another dark chocolate just the way Nebula liked em. She didn’t hold back her interest with a lick of her lips, a flirty smile following. He was showing everything she liked, shirtless and melanin shiny with sweat in the mid-summer day. 

    “Bonjour gentlemen.” Nebula flirted, lifting a braid or two of hers and twirled it around her fingers. His eyes grew dark and intense as they fluttered down her body. 

    “Parlez-vous français?” (do you speak french?) He asked, voice delightfully raspy. 

    “Oui.” Taking her eyes off their eye fuck fest, she met the eyes of the brown-skinned one. He was cute. She gave him that. Really cute. His eyes were friendly and respectful and he had his shirt on, albeit, soaked with sweat just the same as his partner over there. 

    “Bonjour,” 

    “Bonjour,” He outstretched his hand and she gently shook it. 

    “Vous venez souvent?”  (do you come here often?) He asked, voice smooth and gentle. Pleasant. 

    “Ah, oui. Ma sœur et moi venons le weekend.” (Ah, yes. My sister and I come on the weekends.) 

    “Ah.” 

    “Comment tu t’appelles?” (what’s your name?)

    “Pierre. Et vous?” (and you?) 

    “Nova.” 

    “Nova. C’est magnifique!” (that's beautiful) 

    “Merci beaucoup.” (thank you). He smiled at her and she returned it. 

    “Pierre, we should take these beautiful ladies out for a coffee. Do you drink coffee?”

    “I do. Nova doesn’t much.” Nebula answered, eyes still locked on his. 

    “Then perhaps we could go for coffee, the two of us?” He asked with a crisp white smile. She watched Nebula all but melt into a puddle of goo and tried to stop herself from busting out laughing. 

    “Oui. I’d like that Henri.” He reached for her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. 

    “Great. Why don’t we meet here next weekend for a match?”

    “What time?”

    “10?”

    “Sure.” 

    “And I’ll need your number Mademoiselle Nebula. If you don’t mind.”

    “You funny thinking I mind. I was waiting till you asked.” The two of them licked their chops at one another as they exchanged numbers. 

    “It was nice to meet you Nova. Next weekend?” Smiling at him, she gave a nod allowing him to take her hand and kiss it. 

    “Until then.” Smiling, he let her hand go and they left them alone on the court once again. 

    “Gawddamn. Did you see that fine motha? Mon dieu…” (my God) 

    “He’s only looking to tap that ass of yours.”

    “Hell, what’s wrong with that? Well, I’m definitely looking to ride that horse he got in his pants. I know he got one. I just feel it.” 

    “You’re a piece of work Neb. Damn.”

    “You, my dearest little sister, need to get ate out. I mean till your toes curl and you squirt ate out. You deserve it and let’s face it your coochie got cobwebs on it by now.”

    “Hey! Nasty and rude as hell. Get off me.” Neb grinned, playfully hitting her on the bottom. 

    “Prude. One more game?”

    “You’re on.” 

***

    Rubbing cocoa butter scented body oil into her legs, she sighed contently before looking at the tv. Some blah blah blah about some pointless celebrity news. The Hallyu wave as they called it was spreading… whatever that was. Groups of men and women, all dressed in dramatic and colorful gear flashed on the screen as the announcer continued on. Her hands stopped massaging her legs when she heard something familiar. 

    “….he’s quickly reaching star status both abroad as well as here at home. He goes by Bon-hwa and he’s apart of a group called KASSIA.” Wide eyes turned towards the tv, her heart beating wildly in her chest. His face popped up on her 60’ screen and she froze. His hair was a light brown and cut round, giving him a boyish appearance and his eyes were blue. Most definitely contacts. His signature beauty marks were there, one on the bridge of his nose, another right underneath his left eye and on his cheek. Another picture flashed of him, his hair blonde and eyes that pretty color blue. It was obvious that they’d put a colored lip color on his lips and he looked much paler than she remembered. But gawking at the familiar grey beanie and baseball jersey, she felt her eyes water. Sinking onto her bed, she gripped her bedsheets as videos of him showed up next, some of him dancing, others making cute faces or performing with the other members of their group. 

    “Only 26 years old, Bon-hwa left his home in Wisconsin after graduating high school and moved to Korea to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Since his group’s debut three years ago with their first hit, “Hello”, KASSIA’s popularity has continued to skyrocket.”

    “They just had a come back you say?”

    “Yes, they just released their new record ‘Kiss’ and it already has 15 million views worldwide.”

    “Wow! These young guys are impressive!”

    “Yeah, I think so! I’ll have to give it a listen. I hear Bon-hwa’s voice is beautiful.”

    “Mmhm. Up next, we’ll hit why Kim K says she’s over Kanye…for real this time…” Throat tight, she stood and resumed applying the body oil, too stunned to speak. He’d made it… he’d made his dreams come true. Eyes filling with tears, she let the emotions free and cried softly before getting dressed. 

    *** 

    “Hello! Earth to Supernova!” She looked up from her phone into her sister’s irritated face. 

    “Did you hear anything I said?”

    “Nope.”

    “Girl, you annoying as hell.” Shrugging, she tapped ‘bon-hwa’ into the search engine of YouTube and so many dance covers and songs came up. She felt her heart beat rapidly. 

    “What are you doing? I hope you looking up quality lingerie for that hottie next weekend.” 

    “Bon-hwa…he um… he was on the tv earlier today.” Neb’s eyes grew wide. 

    “What?” Clicking on a dance cover, she turned up the volume and moved over a seat so they could watch it together.  It was surreal, watching him… looking at him again… Tall and lithe as ever, he slowly approached what looked like a mirror. His hair was in a stylish mullet and he pulled it up into a ponytail. His reflection stared back at him and even Neb’s breath drew in. He was gorgeous. The music started to play and suddenly he moved, grabbing his throat. The intensity of his facial expression had them breathless as he continued to dance, seeming to caress the music like a lover. 

    “Shit, that’s Bunny?” Neb asked, eyes growing wider as he suddenly twirled, the sound of a match being lit right on time. Tossing his pretty white cape away from him, he began to dance to a rock sound, his movements precise, enthralling and seductive. 

    “Damnnnn. I didn’t know he could move like that…ooh…” As he moved, the light fabric of his shirt lifted, teasing his abs and his collarbones. Safe to say, he was hypnotizing. The way he played on his androgynous looks, encompassing both the feminine and masculine had her licking her lips. He danced with playful aggression, smooth power, and emotion. When the song was over, the sisters sat back, at a loss for words. 

    “Play another one. He dance in anything else?” She quickly found another one and like a geeked school girl pressed play. 

    “Ooh, hip hop….okay.” His hair was shorter in this one, dyed black. He slipped fingers through it, the action making her bit her lip. She hadn’t forgotten how those fingers had felt touching her body…

    “Aw shit Bon Bon….there it go… aye…” Neb was bopping along as he let his natural swag come out. Motioning a ‘come here’ motion with his eyes right in the camera had her neck hot and even she couldn’t help but start to bop along with it. When the video ended, the two of them sat back in their chairs, mind blown. 

    “Damn. I didn’t know he could dance.”

    “Me neither.”

    “You knew he could sing though.”

    “Yeah.”

    “Whoa.” Clearing her throat, Neb straightened up. 

    “Well babe, I don’t know what the universe is telling your galaxy about all of this… but…” Reaching for her iced coffee, she took a sip. 

    “I don’t think you seeing him today was an accident.” Neither did she. 

*** 

    Curling up on her bed, she closed her eyes as his voice drifted across her. The song was in Korean…but it was just as silky and smooth as she remembered it.  A nice relaxed R&B type beat, it melted into her ears like butter. He didn’t sound scared anymore. Rather, that confidence she fell in love with was coming back at her and it made her smile. You better sing Bunny… Opening her eyes, she nibbled on her lips as she let the song play, scrolling across her phone.       

     Thumb hovering over the green Korean messenger app, she slowly pressed it. It was silly she knew. All these years of having this damn app. He’d told her to create a profile but in 10 years, she’d never once received a message from him. Pulling up her profile, she felt her stomach do flips as she stared at a notification of a message. Mon dieu… was it… when… She clicked on it and knit her eyebrows together. 

    It was an anonymous user, toki1932 to be exact and whomever it was had no picture. All she knew was that whoever it was was male. They’d sent something in Korean… something she couldn’t understand. It’s not him. It’s probably some weird creep. She’d had her experiences with a few of them already and because of that almost deleted the whole thing. But, her childish hope of Bon-hwa reaching out to her had kept her from it. Pursing her lips, she watched as the three dots popped up signaling whoever it was was typing. A cute notification sound went off and another message showed up. 

    tok1932: Hey there. I don’t see on your profile that you know Korean. Sorry. How are you? 

    She bit her lip and hesitated. If you get creepy, I’m blocking your ass. 

    novaworld555: I’m fine. Who…I mean… how are you?  There the three dots went before laughing emojis. Then, 

    tok1932: I’m good. Thanks for asking… I think? You definitely added that as an afterthought.  

    She typed on her keyboard a hasty reply. 

    novaworld555: I’m sure you understand why I have my guard up. Dudes on this site can be…interesting. That’s the nice way to say it. 

    More laughing emojis. 

    tok1932: I’ll apologize on their behalf. Not all of us want to come in your inbox and ask for pictures of your feet. Of course… um… if that’s what you’re into then…no offense?  

    She found herself smirking. He was a bit of a smart ass huh? So far he wasn’t giving her any creepo vibes. Maybe this would work. 

    novaworld555: And speaking of feet pictures, why are you in my inbox? 

    tok1932: Ouch. You really have your walls up huh?

    novaworld555: Do you blame me? I’m talking to a random stranger from across the world. All these conversations start out nice. And then you find yourself blocked. 

    tok1932: Considering you’re still talking to me, I’d say I’m doing a pretty good job so far. 

    tok1932: I don’t blame you, no. It’s a shame that women have to be so on guard around men. We’re the ones supposed to protect you. 

    tok1932: Well, if you’re expecting an answer like I was horny and clicked on the first hot foreign face I saw you’d be terribly wrong. But nice try. 

    She pursed her lips. Hm. 

    novaworld555: I suppose. I’m waiting on you to mess up so I can block you. 

    novaworld555: That’s an interesting perspective from a random stranger all the way in Korea. 

    novaworld555: If that’s not it and you don’t want any feet pics then what is it? Seems like you’re fluent in English already so I know you’re not wanting free English lessons. 

    … 

    tok1932: Damn, you wanna block me so bad huh? Your fingers are block happy. 

    tok1932:As of now, I’m not a random stranger all the way from Korea. The name’s HB. Nice to meet youuuu…? 

    tok1932: Believe it or not, some of us are normal human beings that just want to get to know other normal human beings. Without kink or fetish. Or requests for that matter. (again, if you’re into that, no offense) 

    HB huh? She had to admit the bastard was extremely easy to talk to. She kinda dug his energy. 

    novaworld555: Yeah I wanna block you. You have no picture, no information other than you’re in Seoul and you’re texting me at 1 in the morning. 

    novaworld555: HB? Would be nice to put a name to a face. I’m Nova. Nice to meet you…I guess? 

    novaworld555: see, you’re kinda working it up on red flag numbah one… this the second time you’ve brought up kinks and fetishes…I do find it hard to believe.  P.S (if I was into that it ain’t non ya damn business.)

    … 

    … 

    tok1932: Give me a break Nova. I just made this profile. I didn’t know I needed to have all that right out the gate. Sheeshhhh. 

    tok1932: Look who’s giving creepy vibes. Asking for pictures already? At least take me out to dinner first. 

    tok1932: Hey, I’m just trying to cover all my bases and not offend anyone if I can. It’s never safe to assume anything. Matter fact, while we’re on the subject, what are your pronouns? I’d hate to mis-pronoun you. 

    novaworld555:I guess. 

    novaworld555: Says the guy who got my picture for free. You take me to dinner first. You owe me. 

    novaworld555: she/her. Hetero. You get brownie points for that HB. I’ll give it to you. 

    More laughing emojis and one big smiley face emoji then, 

    tok1932: he/him. hetero. thanks for asking. 

    tok1932: I guess I could finally fill in my profile pic. Lucky you you’re the first one to see it. Let me know what you think kay?

    tok1932: thank you, thank you.     

    PHOTO stared at her and her heart began to beat faster. She was ashamed how quickly she clicked on it. Oh…He looked like he was out somewhere in public sitting down. He had on a brown baseball cap and a red shirt on. Black vest. A matching black mask covered his face and he had his hand resting up on his chin.  His eyes were pretty and almond-shaped and most definitely bored. He’s cute as hell. Licking her lips, she went to type a response. 

    novaworld555: It’s cool. Now I can put a face to a name. Well, half a face. 

    … 

    tok1932: Hey, we just met. Half a face is all you get. 

    tok1932: I have a question. 

    novaworld555: oh boy here we go… what? 

    tok1932:kkkk. Nova…is it short for something? That’s an interesting name. 

    novaworld555: Yeah. My full name is Supernova. But… I go by Nova for short. 

    … 

    …. 

    tok1932: supernova. That’s a hell of a name. 

    novaworld555: thanks, I guess?

    tok1932: definitely a compliment. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. 

    novaworld555: yeah and this is when I block you. 

    tok1932: #triggeredmuch? sheesh. A man can’t even compliment you. I don’t know if I should be ashamed to be a man right about now or mad.     

    novaworld555: I’ll leave that decision up to you. Let me know what you pick. 

    tok1932: oh so that means you’re not gonna block me? 

        Licking her lips, she smiled to herself. 

    novaworld555: I’m still deciding on that. But for now I guess not. You passed the first vibe check. Barely. It’s still early so there’s plenty of room for error. 

    He sent laughing emojis. 

    tok1932: I’ll take it thanks. No complaints here. 

    tok1932: It’s pretty late there huh? Maybe you should go to bed. 

    Sucking her lips, she pursed them. 

    novaworld555: what are you my daddy? 

    … 

    … 

    tok1932: Ooh. That was spicy. Does that happen when you get sleepy? 

    novaworld555: who said i was sleepy? 

    tok1932: I not i. That said you’re sleepy. 

    novaworld555: okay sure grammar police 

    tok1932: get some rest

    novaworld555: yeah. sure. you too. 

    tok1932: I’ve got a long time before that happens but thanks. 

    tok1932: sweet dreams supernova 

    novaworld555: have a nice day HB no last name. 

    Yawning, she smiled as she pressed her face against her pillow. Well, that wasn’t so damn bad.