Welcome to Gaia! ::

With a glance around the crowded shop, Hae-min took a sip of her cappuccino and continued to stare at the inoffensive cupcake resting lightly on a small porcelain plate before her. That kind of sweet didn't really exist in her family's very traditional home in Korea, and though she was eager for the new experience she wasn't sure she wanted to have such an experience here, in public. It couldn't be helped, though; she wasn't ready to walk back after a day of quiet exploration of this large city and there was no way she was going to just leave something she'd bought here.

Even though she could definitely afford it, she had been taught to eat everything on her plate. So she kept sitting and staring, even though it was the last booth with seating room and others might need to sit down. "It not possibly that bad," she mumbled to herself. "Not possibly."

Bagel in hand Alani turned, watching as a few people entered. All the tables were taken, she realized. She watched as one man asked to share a table with a petite looking woman. For a moment she watched them, feeling a distant wish that she was brave enough to talk to complete strangers naggling at the back of her mind. She just couldn't though, she'd be interupting whatever conversation they were having.

Perhaps outside was a good idea - the little shaded tables just outside of the bakery were vacant. With a small smile and nod to herself Alani headed towards the door. Unfortunatly at the same moment that Alani was making her way from the front counter to the exit, the business man turned, holding the coffee he ordered in one hand, still talking on his cellphone with the other.

There was a shattering sound as the man dropped his coffee, thankfully spilling the majority of it on their shoes rather than anywhere vulnerable to burns. Alani's bagle ended up smushed half against her and half against him. An awkward pause followed, silence falling over the entire bakery as every conversation stopped so all eyes could turn toward the two at the front. The man stepped back, arms held out to his sides in complete shock over what had just happened.

"Oh gosh. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." Alani instinctivly knelt down, reaching out to carefully pick up the pieces of the broken cup.

The man's face turned from white to red in mere seconds, his voice raised to a furious roar as he began to lay into the girl who'd ran into him. Alani winced from her crouched position on the floor, feeling her own face turning hot in shame.

Andrew had been about to thank her and take his seat when yelling caught his attention. He turned to see the fat old business man now accosting some young lady. He swallowed a few times, breathing heavily through his nose. He was suprised to see the other young lady, the one he had been about to sit with, stand and walk over to help.

Setting down his food and shades, the blue eyed young man strolled over to the business man who had begun sputtering and swearing at the other girl's interference. Andrew wasn't very tall, but he could look intimidating if he needed to. He placed a hand roughly on the man's shoulder.

"Don't you think it was about time you left?" To punctuate his point, Andrew grabbed the man's Blackberry and with satisfaction, hurled it out the now open door to the shop. He then repeated the process with the man's briefcase.

His expression turned to one of mock concern.
"Oh now, that wasn't smart. Everyone knows you shouldn't leave personal property out on the streets of NYC. Things are bound to get stolen."

The man, now an intriguing shade of puce, looked as if he was ready to argue, but then hurried out the door after his papers and phone. Andrew grinned with satisfaction. He was proud of himself. Normally, he'd have just punched the guy. He really didn't want to deal with another lawsuit, though.

Andrew turned his attention to the young ladies.
"Are you both alright?"

She watched the man who had been about to sit with her throw the man's things out the door. For a moment, she gaped and considered the sheer rudeness inherent in such an action, but then she smiled. That old man deserved to have his things thrown, and she hoped they broke too. Not to say that the nice man wasn't a little scary, but it was a good scary.

"I fine, thank you very mister," she said with a smile for the man, before turning to the girl. Actually, she looked a bit older than Hae-min, but that didn't matter. She felt good because she'd helped. "You come sit with us. What you order? I get you a new one." Hae-min offered both of her hands to the other girl for the broken cup pieces.

"Ah."

Alani's cheeks warmed over as both of them offered to buy her a new bagel. It felt like she watched through a filmy haze as the gentleman took the ceramic cup pieces and proceeded to order her something new. She stood, dumbfounded, beside the other woman. It'd been such a very long time since she'd been treated to anything. Alani was used to being the one who helped unconditionally, afterall.

Still with flushed cheeks she turned to the young woman, giving a hesitant smile and a sheepish duck of her head. "You're... you're both so kind! Thank you. Ah, my name is Alani Celes."

Andrew returned to the table, bagel in hand. With a smile, he set it in front of Alani and took his seat.

"There, no harm done."

He glanced between the two young ladies.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't catch either of your names. I'm Andrew Walker. It's a pleasure to share breakfast with you two."

"My name Mhin Hae-min," she said again, smiling at Andrew. "It nice to meet you." Quietly, she fiddled with the wrapper on her cupcake. With a preoccupied pat to her hair, she picked it up again and nibbled on it. Once you got used to the sugaryness of the snack, it wasn't too bad. "How you are today?..."