Hey there! So I deleted the first chapter because I decided to just post this as a oneshot, since I just really don't have time to post chapters, even if it's just supposed to be 4 chapters. And I don't want you guys feeling disappointed for cliffhangers, though it isn't really that much of a cliffhanger (if it was divided into 4 chapters). This one is by far my most favorite story I've ever written, fiction or fanfiction. So I hope you guys will like it too! Enjoy reading!

 

They met in that café.

 

Maybe the word ‘met’ is not the appropriate term for what happened, because they weren’t able to get each other’s names. Still, they shared a connection that may have lasted mere moments, but established a lasting impression to both.

 

Making them want to know each other.

 

 

She is a regular, a freshman in college whose daily routine was to stop by there. With her porcelain skin, long, silky straight dark hair, arched eyebrows, and full lips, it is not surprising that she is usually mistaken as a snobby rich kid when she is not smiling. This happens infrequently in the café, because coffee and sweets make her happy.

 

That day, though, she is irritated that upon entering the place, her face does not light up like it usually does.

 

He is a newbie in the place, a sophomore college student whose world suddenly changed, with his dark, brooding eyes, creases between his eyebrows, and slouched posture, it is not surprising that he is often mistaken as a troubled young man.

 

That day, he entered the café alone, his heart-shaped lips in their usual frown.

 

She approaches the counter, greeting the man behind it a soulless hello. She does not even bother replying to his concerned question; instead she says her usual order, and hurries to her favorite table. It is located at a corner of the shop, beside a window, where it is slightly hidden by a bookshelf. From there, she could easily see the whole place: the tables, the mini stage at the other corner of the place, the freedom wall near the entrance, and the entrance itself. It is a perfect place especially when she does her hobby of people-watching.

 

She doesn’t feel like people-watching, and besides, the café is empty besides her. She sighs as she grabs a book from the bookshelf, opening it randomly to a page and starts reading to distract herself. Another distraction comes, though, in the form of the man behind the counter.

 

“Minseok, go away, please. I’m not in a good mood,” she says to the older guy. Minseok frowns, and says, “Hey, it’s oppa to you, and no, I won’t go away unless you tell me what’s wrong.”

She bites her lip, not really wanting to tell the truth. So she tries to change the topic. “Shouldn’t you be doing my order?”

 

“I think you’ve forgotten that I’m the boss here. I can order my employees to do it if I’m busy entertaining a family member.”

 

“I’m not family.”

 

“For the years we’ve known each other, I practically consider you as my sister now. So, what’s this about? Is it Jongin?”

 

At the mention of that name, she bites her lips again. She knows she can’t get around it now, so she slowly nods her head. He shakes his head, then says, “It has only been a month since you two started college, and now you’re already fighting.”

 

She wants to retort that they are not fighting, it haven’t reached that level yet. But the tinkling of the entrance chimes interrupted their conversation. He stands up as he says, “Sorry, I have to go at the counter. It’s just me and the other employee at this hour.”

 

“Go,” she says, waving her hand dismissively at him. Realizing she doesn’t really want to finish their conversation, nor continue it at all, she adds, “And please make my order to-go.”

 

He approaches the counter, his eyes slowly going through the menu. It may be his second year in college, but it is his first time going to that café which was recommended by his perpetually noisy bestfriend. He isn’t really in the mood to eat, but the urge to have caffeine running through his veins is so strong he just decided to satisfy it. He places his order and goes to a table near the stage.

 

He looks around the room quickly, noticing immediately the stage and the freedom wall. Wanting to distract himself further from his problems, he stands up and walks towards the freedom wall. Most of the posts are just announcements of events, such as the start-of-school party his friends were talking about the other day. He remembers them persuading him to go to the said part and get a life, but he isn’t the type to be easily persuaded. He does have a life, he argues sarcastically, it’s just that it is not going the way he wants it.

 

A sigh leaves his lips as he remembers the reason why he is at his lowest point. He shakes his head, trying to get it out of his mind. He goes back to reading the posts, one of which caught his attention. It is the lyrics of the song he is set to perform in one of their recitals, Tell me what is love. Unconsciously, he hums the song, and a few moments later he is singing it out loud, not even caring about the café’s background music or other customers in the place.

 

He certainly does not care about the girl with the porcelain skin.

 

She hasn’t reached the next page when she heard someone humming. She doesn’t look up immediately to see who is singing; instead she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, letting his voice wash over her. His humming turns into singing, and she can’t help but be captivated by his voice. For her, it is like honey and chocolate, so smooth and velvety. Her previous negative emotions disappear as she continues to listen, and unconsciously, she smiles.

 

Finally, curiosity wins in her mind, and she opens her eyes. She looks up and sees a guy, all in black, facing the freedom wall.

 

Her heart stops beating.

 

She is not the type to easily say that a guy is handsome. Much to her chagrin, that is the usual topic of her bestfriend’s teases. She could not see all his features, but from what she can see, he has a well-defined jaw and a really fair complexion, and just from his side view, she can see that he’s really handsome.  His eyes are closed, though, obviously feeling the song.

 

But then he opens his eyes, and looks at her direction. Her eyes widen and her cheeks blush a furious red when she realizes that she’s caught blatantly staring. She decides to ignore the fact that his eyes, despite seemingly brooding, are adorably big, or that his lips are heart-shaped. She feels thankful to Minseok, who suddenly appeared to give her her order.

 

She stands up quickly, slinging her bag across her upper body at the same time. She takes her order from Minseok, saying, “Thanks oppa. I need to go now, see you around.”

 

Then she dashed out of the place, not even looking back to see her confused friend, or that beautiful singer. Her face, she knows, is definitely red from embarrassment, and she hopes her bestfriend doesn’t see her now.

 

Still, at least the frown on her lips is gone.

 

A few lines into the song, he decides to care if there are other people in the place he may be bothering with his sudden singing. His eyes make a swift glance around the place, and they fall on a girl with porcelain skin, sitting across the room almost hidden from his view.

 

He isn’t really a person who believes in love at first sight, but he might end up as one. The girl has her eyes closed, but there is a smile playing across her lips, indicating that she is listening. Sunlight streaming from the window beside her accentuated her pretty features, and he thinks he’s looking at an angel.

 

Not wanting to be caught staring, he faces the wall again, closing his eyes at the same time. He is having difficulty focusing on the song, and he messes up a note or two. All he can think about is to know that girl’s name.

 

He looks at her again, and this time he catches her staring. He notices her cheeks blush as she quickly looked away, and he can’t help but grin at her reaction.

 

Unfortunately, before he can walk towards he and ask her name, her order came. She dashes out of the café with her order, leaving him more frustrated than when he came in.

 

His heart-shaped lips turned into a frown again.

 

The next time they saw each other, their positions were reversed.

It has been a week since then. Due to her busy schedule and her need to hide from someone, she did not visit the café for that week. All throughout that week, though, her thoughts always have a way of straying to that guy with heart-shaped lips.

 

She doesn’t have anyone to talk to about it, since she’s basically avoiding anyone as of that moment. She keeps herself very busy instead to stop her thoughts from straying. At night, though, her mind always goes back at him.

 

She wants to know his name.

 

So as she enters the place, she can’t help but feel hopeful that he will be there. Her hopes were easily crushed, though, when one look around the place told her that he isn’t there. With a disappointed sigh, she approaches the counter. She might as well stay in the place for the real reason, which is to study for her upcoming exams.

 

She looks around again, and notices that a bag and some books were on her favorite table, signaling that it was taken. With another sigh she goes to the table near the freedom wall, which is the only vacant one as of that moment. Other students are also preparing for their exams, so she isn’t surprised that the place is full.

 

She is surprised, however, when she approached the counter and saw who is manning it.

“Junmyeon, what are you doing here?” she asks, her surprise evident in her tone. The fair-complexioned guy just gives her his signature angelic smile, and says, “What happened to your manners? You used to call me oppa all of the time before.”

 

“That’s what I was telling you, Junmyeon. This girl’s manners disappeared the moment she entered college,” Minseok says, as he gets out of the counter to deliver an order to a table near the stage. She rolls her eyes at what he said, and mutters under her breath, “Shouldn’t you be scolding your brother about it instead of me? He was the one who started this.”

 

From the raised eyebrow she gets from Junmyeon, she knows he heard her. So she tries to distract him by ordering a blueberry cheesecake. She does not order anything with caffeine yet, she knows she will  need it a bit later. She’ll let the sugar rush do its work first.

 

She goes back to her table quickly, trying to avoid continuing the conversation. She sits facing the entrance, as she doesn’t really like having her back at it. As she waits for her order, she reads her notes for her history class. She tunes out everything else then.

 

She tunes out even the guy who sat on her favorite table.

 

He returns to his seat, and pushes the books in front of him aside. He is seated at the table that girl with porcelain skin was sitting at the week before. He has been visiting that place everyday ever since that incident, and even if he doesn’t want to admit it to himself, he is dismayed that she haven’t shown up yet.

 

That day, he is there to study, aside from hoping that he will see her again. After all, exams are coming up. He is pretty sure that she is studying at the same university as he is, but the campus is vast and he does not even know her major, so it is impractical for him to look for her inside the campus.

 

As he grabs his folder full of music sheets from his bag, he hears a guy singing along the song playing in the café. The song’s title is Beautiful, and he knows that song because he had once helped a friend serenade his girlfriend using that song. Out of curiosity, though, he looks at the direction of the voice, and he sees one of the employees of the café, Junmyeon, the angel-looking one, who is delivering an order to a girl.

 

That girl, the one whose smile kept popping in his head for a week. That girl with porcelain skin.

He watches her smile at Junmyeon, and laugh as the guy continued serenading her. He thinks the song is very apt. He cannot help but think she has a melodic laugh. She playfully swats the arm of the guy, obviously trying to make him stop further embarrassing himself. He feels a pang of jealousy, because the guy obviously is close to her.

 

When the guy goes away, he sees her go back to her reading. She is nodding at the beat of the music, and he smiles at how cute she looks like, her face all serious but her head and body moving to the sound of music.

 

He tries to go back to studying, but he is too distracted. So instead he switches seats, deciding that if he is going to watch her, then he can’t let himself be seen by others, especially her. From his new position, he is almost unnoticeable, because he is partly hidden from view.

 

He pretends to be reading, but from time to time he’ll glance up and look at her.

 

After an hour, the need to have caffeine is getting stronger, so she decides to already order a caffeinated drink. But instead of going back to her seat after ordering, she walks towards the freedom wall, stretching her upper body along the way.

 

A lot of the posts in the freedom wall are announcements of events, such as the one happening at the café itself. It is an open stage event, wherein anyone can do whatever they want on stage, whether it be dancing, singing, or whatever. It will be on a Friday, a month after.

 

She slightly gets excited about that event, but then she remembers that she doesn’t like performing in front of too many people. Judging from the face they used on the announcement, she bets there will be lots of people coming, and she silently grumbles at that. Her lips form a pout as she tries not to think about it.

 

She moves on reading the other posts. At one point, she realizes that the song playing is one of her favorites as of that moment, Take it slow. At first she hums along, but she cannot keep herself from just humming. Eventually, she sings the lines, not too loud, but loud enough to be heard by anyone across the room.

 

Like the guy with heart-shaped lips.

 

He can’t help but smile when he sees her pout. Judging from the area where she is looking, he guesses that she must have just read about the open stage event of the café. He had read that announcement the day before.  He is curious as to why she has such a reaction to it. Heck, he is curious about everything about her.

 

He goes back to trying to read his notes, but then suddenly she is humming along the song playing in the place. Her humming is soft, but since there’s not much noise, he can hear it quite clearly from his position. He leans against the window, making him more visible from the other side of the place. A smile plays on his lips as he listens to her.

 

But then she starts singing, and his heart stops beating. If he thought a while ago that her laugh is melodic, then nothing can compare to her voice. He is a music major, and he hears her making some mistakes, but he doesn’t give a damn, because for him her voice is sweeter than anything he’s ever heard.

 

It’s like listening to an angel.

 

She continues to sing along, as she heads back to her table where her new order is waiting. As a habit when she is not sitting at her favorite table, she glances at that area. What she sees made her commit mistakes.

 

There he is, body leaning against the window, eyes closed. On the table in front of him are books and notes scattered. He obviously is a college student, and most probably a music major, judging from the music sheets. That thought made her heart skip a beat, and her voice tremble slightly.

 

She notices him tapping his leg, and at first she thinks it is random tapping. But as she continued to sing (she likes the song way too much that she can’t stop singing even if he’s in front of her), she realizes that he is tapping according to the music, thus he is listening at her singing.

 

She also realizes that when’s he’s smiling, even with eyes closed, it’s as if the whole world lights up.

 

She really wants to know his name.

 

 

Despite desperately wanting to know each other’s names, it wasn’t easy for them, because both are too shy to approach each other.

He finds himself falling into a routine, which is likely of him. He is the type of person who likes order and routine, after all. His new routine is simple, but it includes her - the girl with porcelain skin.

 

Whenever he has free time, he will spend at least an hour at the café, sitting at the table either near the freedom wall, or the bookshelf. He always orders something different from the last time he is there. He waits for her to show up, sometimes studying, sometimes surfing the net to pass time. If she shows up, (which is frequent, like three to four times a week), he will observe her discreetly. Most of the time she is alone, but she is usually entertained by Junmyeon (who happens to be his classmate last semester, so they know each other) or the owner of the shop, Minseok. She seems to have a close, sibling-like relationship with them. Sometimes he sees her with other people, and they are working on something, so he assumes they are her classmates. There are times, however, when she is alone and none of her guy friends are there to entertain her. He never has the courage to approach her though, because he’s just not really good with girls.

 

Almost everyday, she goes to the café just to see if he’s there. Sometimes he is, sometimes he’s not, but at all times that he’s there before she is, she catches him casting a glance at the door when she enters. Her heart always beats faster whenever this happens. She also catches him looking at her through the window’s reflection, if he’s the one sitting at her favorite table and she is seated at the table near the freedom wall. She knows she shouldn’t get her hopes up, she’s a realist, and she prefers to be practical. Yet sometimes she cannot help it, and during those times she wants to approach him and ask for his name. But no, that is impossible. She’s not good with approaching guys she is attracted to.

 

One day, he finally thinks that what he is doing is being a stalker. He has been observing everything about her (sometimes using the window to be discreet). He learned that she has small habits, like biting her lip when she’s bored or when she is uncomfortable with the conversation, or humming along a song that was playing, or pouting when she is being teased by the two older guys. He learned that she usually wears a simple shirt tucked into skinny jeans, sneakers or flats, but she wears a skirt, shorts, or dress at least once a week. She does not usually tie her long dark hair, but if she does, she usually ties it into a ponytail or a bun.

 

She is very curious about him, not only his name (but it really helps if she knows his name, because then, as her bestfriend once said, a name makes stalking online easier – not that she is a stalker). She thought of asking the two older guys, because it seems like they know each other, but she knows all she will get is teasing. So she cannot help but notice that everytime she sees him, his order is different from the other time (she actually thinks he has tasted everything in the menu, a feat she herself hasn’t achieved). He has this bracelet he is always wearing. He is a simple dresser; a long-sleeved shirt, pants, and sneakers or rubber shoes are his usual wear, and these are more often than not black (the dark shade fits him so well, though, or so she thinks). There are times, though, that he wears short-sleeved shirt or shorts. She can pretty much see that those guns are worked out during those times. He also has this habit of messing up his hair (if it ever gets messy because his hair is actually her hair goals; it always falls into place), and he does it either by running his hand through his hair or using a snapback.

Most important of all, he’s usually humming or singing along the songs being played in the café.

 

He’s never seen her with only a guy before (besides the two older guys). So he is surprised that one day, as he discreetly watches her read the freedom wall (she always reads the freedom wall, one of the things he noticed about her), a guy approached her.

 

No, not approach her. The guy is back-hugging her.

 

He feels his heart squeeze in jealousy, especially when he watches the guy kiss the top of her head a few moments too long. It relieves him a bit that she stiffened at both actions, though.

But still, he is uneasy. He realizes he knows the guy. Heck, everyone in the campus knows the guy.

 

Kim Jongin, also known as Kai. The new playboy in town.

 

There are four Kims who are very popular in the campus right now, and those four are related to each other. The three, Minseok, Junmyeon, and Jongin, are brothers, and the fourth (who coincidentally is one of his close friends) is Jongdae, their cousin. Minseok is known for being the cute but y boyish guy who can be flirty but most of the time quiet. Junmyeon is the angelic guy who makes girls swoon through his kind actions and words, not to mention his smile. Jongdae is the guy whose playfulness makes girls laugh and whose voice makes their hearts flutter.

 

Then there’s Jongin. Even when he was in highschool, he is already quite popular with the girls, especially those older than him. He is that dark-skinned y dancer whose moves can make any girl his.

 

He hopes that Jongin hasn’t turned the girl yet as his.

 

But as much as she wants to go to the café everyday, she can’t, because she’s avoiding someone. Unfortunately for her, the day came when she cannot avoid that person anymore.

Still, she decides to ignore his hug or his kiss at the top of her head (and with all of her heart she hopes the other guy across the room didn’t see it). She realizes she cannot pretend, though, because she knew he felt her stiffen under his touch.

 

“Kim Jongin, you better run away before I skin you to death,” she growls, as she hastily removes his arms around her. She walks quickly back to her table. She glances at the table across the room and she sees him looking at his phone, but the confused expression on his face makes her feel that he saw them. Her heart drops at the thought, but before she can stare at him longer to truly decipher his expression, Jongin takes the seat in front of her and blocks him off from her view.

 

“Park Hyemi, are you still angry at me?” Jongin asks, a stupid smirk on his face. She tries to keep her temper at bay, but her blood is boiling at how cocky he is acting, so she snaps. “I believe I told you to disappear, Kim Jongin.”

 

“Since you’re still using my full name, I guess you are,” the dark-skinned male says, and then he takes a sip of her drink. That takes her to the limit.

 

“KIM JONGIN, I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

 

He jumps at her outburst. He looks around and sees her, face red, eyebrows scrunched together, lips formed into a thin line. He still thinks she looks very pretty when she’s angry. She’s trying to strangle the other guy, who is laughing at her.

 

“Sorry about this,” he hears someone say beside him, and he looks up to see Junmyeon. The older guy takes the seat in front of him. He continues, “I was about to tell you to go when I saw Jongin enter, since you’re the only other customer at this hour. But I thought Hyemi can handle the situation better, since she’s usually calm and level-headed, so I didn’t.”

 

Hyemi. So that’s the name of the girl with the porcelain skin.

 

“Are they…together?” He asks, as they continued watching the scene before them. Hyemi is trying to reach Jongin while Minseok is trying to drag her away from younger guy. He thinks that the hidden violence in her is still cute, and he thinks he’s turning crazy.

 

He catches Junmyeon staring at him in a weird way, and he feels as if he had just been X-rayed. Then Junmyeon goes back to watching the three, as he says, “Nope. They’re bestfriends, since middle school. Hyemi had a crush on Jongin before that though.”

 

His heart squeezes a bit at that. But he listens to Junmyeon, who continues, “But when she got to know Jongin, that crush disappeared. She realized she doesn’t like dancers who try to pretend as if they always break other people’s hearts, but deep inside are just fluffy oddballs.”

 

He laughs out loud at Junmyeon’s description of his own brother, and also at her who has finally aimed a good kick at Jongin’s crotch. The older guy stands up to help his brother, and as he walks away he says, “So they have a really close bond but only that of a sibling-like bond. Anyways,  I think she’s crushing on a music major right now.”

 

He doesn’t know what to make out of the other guy’s statement.

 

She grins at her triumph, watching her bestfriend kneel in pain in front of her. Then she hears his laughter, and that made her heart flutter. She looks at his direction, and she sees him grinning at her. She can feel her face redden once again in embarrassment.

 

She turns away quickly, looking back at Jongin who is by then lying on the floor and groaning. Junmyeon is beside him, but he is laughing at the current state of pain his brother is in. Minseok’s still beside her, and he’s also laughing. She cannot help but laugh at her bestfriend’s misery, because for her, he really deserves it.

 

“So, Kim Jongin, just for your information, I’m still angry at you. I thought that is already obvious, since I’ve been avoiding you for like, a month now. But then again, you have a pea-sized brain that only thinks of girls and dancing, and not of other people’s feelings. If you were already aware, you would have known to ask me why I’m angry. And you would have known not to make me angrier by drinking my coffee, which you know I hate so much.”

 

She steps over him and grabs her bag, ready to storm out of the café because really, the embarrassment of getting angry in front of him is too much to handle. She looks back at Jongin for one last time, and finally feels pity and guilt at the look of pain on her bestfriend’s face. So she decides to give him at least the reason why she’s angry all along.

 

“Look, Jongin, I’m perfectly fine with you having new friends and all. Sehun and Yixing seem to be good people, and honestly I think you being friends with them is nice. But that doesn’t mean I won’t get hurt if you keep on lying at me that you’re studying when I ask you to hangout with me and you are with them. If you’re embarrassed to have a girl bestfriend, then say so.”

 

Then she runs out of the cafe.

 

They did officially meet in that café, weeks after they first saw each other.

He is standing there, in front of the freedom wall, removing some of the posts at the lower part. He realizes he’s taken down all posts at that area, so he tries to reach for the posts at the upper part of the wall. Suddenly, another hand reaches the post he’s trying to take, and removes it.

“Hyung, you’re small, so I’ll just take care of the upper part,” Jongin says beside him. He glares at the younger guy, but he lets him do the work. He steps back and watches the younger guy.

 

He can’t help but see what had made him such a close friend of hers. Beneath that layer of confidence is a person who genuinely cares about the people he loves. In the short span of time that they’ve known each other (less than a week, actually), he got closer to the dark-skinned male easier than he did with his best friends. But in his defense, Chanyeol and Baekhyun are so noisy he never really wanted to be their friend in the first place.

 

Said friends are actually at the stage, bickering about the placement of the tarpaulin. It seems that Chanyeol tied his higher than Baekhyun’s, and it made the latter think that the former is actually taking a jab at his height.

 

He decides that his best friends do not need help, so he walks over to Junmyeon, who is at the counter, folding tissues. He shows the posts he had taken down from the freedom wall and asks, “Where do I put these things?”

 

“I’ll take those, can you just continue folding these?” Junmyeon says. He nods and takes over Junmyeon’s place. Before Junmyeon can leave, though, Jongdae approaches them and says,

“Hyung, can you check on Sehun and Yixing? They were tasked to get some decorations at the back storage, and they’ve been there for an hour already. The back storage is not that big to get lost in.”

 

“Sehun’s probably fooling around with Yixing hyung,” Jongin says, as he hands Junmyeon the posts he has taken down. “I’ll go and check them.”

 

The three older guys watch him enter the back area. When he’s out of sight, Junmyeon also leaves. Jongdae, who is left to do nothing as of that moment, is left with him. They settle in silence, Jongdae watching him as he folds the tissues.

 

Despite them being close friends, it unnerves him. Jongdae can be quiet, but he is never too quiet and still. So he asks, “What’s up? Shouldn’t you be doing something?”

 

“Minseok hyung kicked me out of the kitchen because I’m no good at baking and making drinks. How about you? Are you waiting for someone to show up?” Jongdae asks. He cringes at his friend’s bluntness. Jongdae is never one to be vague. “Should we tell Jongin to call her up already?”

 

“I am not waiting for someone,” he tries to reply lightly, but it sounds a bit strained. He shakes his head, as if trying to wake himself up. He continues, “Why should we tell Jongin to call who already?”

 

“Who should I call?” Jongin says, as he emerges from the back area with a box of decorations at one hand, Yixing at the other. Behind them are Sehun, who is holding a tray full of drinks and looking as if he is banned from eating sweets, and Minseok, who is holding a tray of pie slices.

“Junmyeon hyung. You should call Junmyeon hyung, he will not like it if he misses snacks,” he smoothly says, preventing Jongdae from continuing the conversation he doesn’t want to have at that moment. Jongin does as he was told, calling also Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

 

Soon, they gather around one table. Minseok thanks them all for helping him out in decorating the café for that night’s open stage event. They dig in the freshly baked pies, and for a few minutes, they were quiet.

 

Then Baekhyun, being the noisy person he is, breaks it by asking, “Minseok hyung, what have you prepared for tonight?”

 

“I prepared different kinds of pasta dishes for tonight, since it will be the easiest for the cook to prepare. There will be a bartender tonight too.”

 

Laughter comes from Baekhyun and Chanyeol, and soon everyone except Minseok joins when they realize what the former meant by his question. Minseok pouts at this, and asks, “What’s wrong with the menu I came up with?”

 

“Hyung, what he meant was what performance did you prepare for tonight. As owner of this café, you should have prepared one, right?” Jongdae says. The eldest looks shocked at the statement, and he says, “It’s an open stage! Anyone can perform as long as they want to! No one’s forced! I’m not required to do one!”

 

Laughter ensues again at his reaction. Junmyeon pats Minseok’s back, as he tries to calm down the eldest. “There there, hyung. It’s alright. We’re pretty sure you’ll be up on stage later anyway.”

 

“Yeah, probably dancing around a pole,” Jongdae teases again. This time he gets a hard smack at the back of his head courtesy of Junmyeon. Then Jongin says, “Talking about dancing, Yixing, Sehun and I prepared one.”

 

“We’re not asking you,” Baekhyun says teasingly. Chanyeol laughs loudly at this, earning him a high-five from the smaller guy. But then Yixing says in a slightly nervous tone, “Jongin, did you already make up with Hyemi? Because it might not be a good idea to perform later if she’s still jealous of us.”

 

“You can perform if she’s not coming,” Jongdae mutters, but since they all became quiet at the mention of her name, he is heard by everyone. He receives another head smack from Minseok this time. “Idiot, Hyemi’s coming. She promised me.”

 

“She did promise to help in the decorations, but she’s not here.” This time, he receives a pinch at his side, courtesy of Junmyeon. Jongin, however, just pouts. “Hyung, you have little faith in Hyemi. We’ve already talked, and we’re okay now. She just had an emergency meeting, but she’d be going later.”

 

He really hopes she will be there later.

 

She sighs for the nth time since the meeting had started. She feels annoyed for being stuck there. She promised Minseok that she will help in decorating for today’s open stage event, because she knows he does not have enough staff to help.

 

She also knows that Jongin and his newfound friends, Sehun and Yixing, are going to help. She wanted to be there to make up with getting angry at him (and also that crotch kick). She wanted to get to know his new friends more, and she knows that’s what he wants too (honestly, she thinks she can easily be friends with them; she’s always dubbed by her best friend as one of the guys). Jongin also said he  has new friends to introduce, but then Jongdae snatched the phone away from his cousin and yelled at her ear, “His new friends are my best friends, and they’re the best, so better come!”

 

Despite nearly going deaf in one ear, Hyemi smiled at Jongdae’s words. Honestly speaking, she likes Jongdae’s antics. On the occasions the four Kims and her are together, there was not one moment she wasn’t laughing. But still, she felt nervous at meeting his friends. She’s not really comfortable with meeting new people, especially loud people.

 

There was a time when she was running late, and she happened to run into Jongdae and one of his best friends. Both were too noisy, bickering over something petty. She’s thankful that she had the excuse to get going and not even say hi.

 

She glances at her watch, and she realizes that by the rate the meeting is going, she will not arrive at the café on time. Her heart drops at this realization.

 

Because she’s pretty sure he’s going to be there at the event.

 

He is sitting at his favorite table, the one behind the bookshelf. Junmyeon, Minseok, and he are the only ones left, as the others were already on the stage.

 

“Why did I allow them to have a dance battle?” Minseok groans, as they watch Sehun, Yixing and Jongin moving to the beat of the rhythm. Also on the stage are Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae, dancing to the music.

 

The two other males laugh at this, then Junmyeon says, “Hyung, let them be. It’s open stage.”

“Why did I allow you to create this event?” exclaims the eldest, as he runs a hand across his hair. This further causes laughter. Junmyeon pats his back, saying “I’m your favorite dongsaeng?”

 

“Not in your wildest dreams.”

 

He laughs at the brotherly exchange. Then he glances at the entrance. It’s been an hour since the event started, but she’s still not there. His hopes of her coming is diminishing by the minute.

“If she says she’ll come, she’ll come.” That is what Jongin said when he is being pestered by Baekhyun and Chanyeol. He doesn’t get as to why his two best friends are so excited to meet her. He also doesn’t get why they keep looking his way whenever they talk about her.

 

He goes back to watching Jongdae grinding on Chanyeol, and he suppresses the urge to vomit. At the back of his mind he also asks Minseok why he allowed the event to push through. Or at least, they shouldn’t have made it an open stage; the screams might be giving his friends the confidence that they’re good at dancing, which they obviously are not.

 

He doesn’t hear the tinkling of the chimes over the screams, but he sees her entering the place.

 

She’s running for her life.

 

Actually, she’s not, but the way she sped through the busy walkway it’s as if she is. She might as well be, since she knows her best friend will get angry if she misses his performance. She doesn’t care anymore if her bun’s getting loose, or if her blouse is untucked from her shorts. All she cares about is reaching there in time.

 

As she pushes the doors to get in, she takes a deep breath, then she looks at the stage. There are so many people but luckily, all of them are not blocking her sight. She sees Jongin on stage with Yixing and Sehun, and she smiles when she sees him wave slightly at her, acknowledging that she made it on time.

 

But the smile on her face drops into horror when she realizes that there are other people on stage with the three, and they’re also dancing (or supposed to be). She thinks she needs to scour her eyes and mind as the image of Jongdae grinding on Chanyeol is burned into it. She looks away quickly, diverting her gaze to her usual table.

 

And to him.

 

He watches her smile when she found her best friend on the stage. He tries to stifle his laughter when her smile drops into a horrified one when her gaze turned to his best friends. The two older males with him stares weirdly at him for his reaction, but when they followed his gaze they immediately understand why.

 

His heart beats faster when her gaze lands on him. He tries to keep cool, smiling casually at her. He tries not to let his smile go wider when he sees her trying not to look embarrassed. It is like the first time they’ve seen each other. She looks away a heartbeat after.

 

She walks over, and once she got to them, she playfully swats Minseok’s arm. “Oppa, why did you let Jongdae oppa dance?”

 

“It’s an open stage event, Hyemi,” Junmyeon answers in place of his brother. She rolls her eyes, an action he finds really cute. She tries to sit between the two brothers, but they both suddenly stood up, leaving her confused.

 

“I think I’d like to show Jongdae how to dance,” Minseok says, and soon he’s on his way to the stage. She tries not to laugh at his actions, but she fails. She looks at Junmyeon, who’s looking at her. He grins, and says, “I think I’d like to show hyung why it’s called an open stage,” then he follows his oldest brother.

 

She stares at them with surprise on her face. He laughs at her expression. She looks at him, and even beneath the colored lights he could easily tell she’s blushing. She opens , but she doesn’t say anything for a few moments. Then she looks away again, staring at the two groups who are having a showdown.

 

She can’t think of anything to say, much less introduce her name. When she is about to say something, that cute expression on his face, with one of his eyebrows raised and an expecting look in his eyes, the words she thought of disappeared.

 

But the silence is becoming unbearable. The need to know his name is becoming unbearable. So she breaks the ice by being herself and saying the first thing that comes to mind, “Music majors shouldn’t really dance.”

 

She mentally slaps herself at what she said, because she knows that he is pretty much a music major. But then his laughter (so beautiful, she thinks) fills the silence, and her heart soars.

 

“That’s why I’m staying here. Still, Junmyeon hyung’s not a music major,” he says. She looks at him at the same moment he gives her a grin. She swears that she’s in heaven whenever she sees that heart-shaped smile. She looks away and laughs, then she says, “I know he’s not a music major, but he’s taken music classes. And Minseok oppa’s not a dance major either, but he was a member of a dance crew.”

 

“And I’m glad to know there’s still one person in Jongdae oppa’s group of friends who has his dignity,” she continues, as she motions at him. He laughs again, and this time she giggles with him. She glances at him, and their gazes meet. Their eyes never left each other’s. He tells her, “That’s exactly what Jongin said.”

 

She can’t help but smile when he’s smiling like that at her. Finally she musters up the courage to introduce herself. She extends her right arm, saying “I’m Park Hyemi, Jongin’s best friend.”

 

“I know,” he says, and her heart skips a bit. His smile becomes the brightest she’s ever seen. “And I’m Do Kyungsoo, Jongdae’s close friend.”

 

Epilogue

He watches her slide onto the seat in front of him. Her porcelain skin is pink from the heat, and her silky black hair is tied in a ponytail. She keeps fanning herself as she laid her books on the table and her bag on the floor.

“Here, have this,” he says, as he hands her an iced drink. She takes it, eyes it a bit, and took a hesitant sip. He smiles, knowing full well why her actions were like that. It is not that she does not like trying new things; but food is still food, and when you are pissed off, sometimes what you really need is your favorite drink. He tried to suppress a grin when he saw the corner of her lips tug up into a smile. “How’s it?”

 

“How come I never thought of tasting this?” She replies, and then takes a longer sip. Her eyes flutter close and a sigh passes her lips, making him laugh. “You should have tried tasting everything, you know.”

 

A weird look shows up on her face, but it is gone as soon as it came. He does not miss it, however. He does not like missing anything about her. That puzzles him, so he asks, “What is it?”

 

She looks hesitant to tell at first, but in the end his nagging get her. She looks at him straight into the eyes, and says, “Well, we’ve known each other for quite a long time now…”

 

“Two years, to be exact, since we first officially met.” And by officially met, he means that day when he finally was able to introduce himself to her. And yes, both of them knows that they had wanted to know each other way before that. He motions for her to continue.

 

She takes another sip of the drink before she does. “I’ve always noticed it even before we officially met, that you have a different order every time you’re here.”

 

He raises an eyebrow. “And so?”

 

“So… have you tried everything on the menu?” She asks, and he can hear pure curiosity underlying her tone. He knows she wanted to ask that question for a long time. And she looks so serious, he can’t help but laugh.

 

“Hey, you wanted me to ask,” she says, as she playfully punches his shoulder. He stops laughing;instead, he grins, and replies, “Yeah, I have. So even that you’ve noticed? Looks like I had a stalker then.”

 

If she is blushing because of the heat a while before, then he knows she is blushing because of a different reason. But she is still able to retort back, “Says someone who knew my name even before I introduced myself.”

 

Their gazes meet, and he swears it is the best decision of his life to stop by that café that day.