Nicole’s P.O.V
 

I hung up and shoved my phone in my coat pocket and sighed.

Why did Key have to catch a cold now?! Of all days too – this was our first official outing since like… last year.  I was so excited too, who knows what could have happened. My heart skipped a beat when I thought about him. Ahh… Key… I’ve missed you so much. Now that I was here, it would be a waste of a ticket to just catch the subway back home so I headed off to the shops nearby. By the time it was two-thirty, I somehow ended up buying more things than I planned and a rumbling stomach so I decided to head towards a cute looking café. I sat in a corner, sipping my hot chocolate and eating a croissant before I heard a familiar voice.

“Unni, what do you want?”

I looked at the counter and saw Jiyoung with a girl with short hair. A friend of Jiyoung’s from school?

“Um… I’ll get…the hot chocolate…and a slice of tiramisu!” said the girl.

“Anything else? I’m going to go order now,” smiled Jiyoung.

The girl shook her head and stood awkwardly while she waited for Jiyoung to order. While they were waiting for their drinks, Jiyoung looked over in my direction and lit up. I smiled and waved and she then grabbed the other girl’s arm and dragged her over to my table.

“UNNI! What a coincidence that we met today!” cried Jiyoung.

I laughed.

“So what brings you and your friend out today?”

“Amber, this is my family friend Nicole, Nicole, this is my friend from school, Amber,” introduced Jiyoung.

I smiled at Amber and she waved back.

“We were just at the library, we got hungry so we came here,” continued Jiyoung.

“TWO HOT CHOCOLATES, TIRAMISU AND RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE!”

“NEH!” cried Jiyoung as she ran off the collect her order.

As Jiyoung ran off, Amber stood there, awkwardly. Ahh… I should make her feel more welcome. After all, she does look like someone who would be a really good friend.

I tugged Amber’s sleeve.

“Sit down! Don’t stand there! I promise I won’t bite!” I joked.

Amber smiled and sat in the seat opposite me.

“So…you go to the same school as Jiyoung?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“Yeah, I moved there nearly a year ago,” she replied.

“Ahh… Jiyoung is like a little sister to me,” I laughed.

“She said you were family friends right?”

“Yeah, we’ve known each other since we were like three.”

“That’s a very long time,” laughed Amber.

I smiled and took another sip of my hot chocolate. Despite only meeting her, I felt a sense of ease around Amber. I wondered if we would be friends in the future. As I put my mug down, I heard Jiyoung approaching us.

“The food’s here!” she cried as she set down the tray in front of Amber. She then took the seat next to Amber and grabbed her fork and started to eat her cake.

Mid bite, she began asking me if they were intruding my space.

“Nah… I was supposed to go shopping with a friend but he couldn’t come today so I just went around by myself and ended up here.”

“Ahh!” replied Jiyoung, “Unni! Do you want some cake? It’s really good!”

I opened my mouth and Jiyoung shoved a big spoon full of her cheesecake into my mouth. The piece was so big I started to choke. Amber’s eyes widened in fear as I washed down the piece of cake. I glared at Jiyoung who stuck her tongue out at me in return. She then smiled innocently.

“You looked like you really wanted some so I gave you some,” laughed Jiyoung.

I slapped her arm playfully.

“I meant a bit!”

Amber laughed at us and continued to eat her cake. Suddenly Jiyoung’s phone rang and when she hung up, disappointment flooded her face.

“Is it ok with you guys if I leave first? My mum just called to remind me that my cousins’ birthday party is today.”

I looked over at Amber and we both nodded.

“You guys get to know each other,” encouraged Jiyoung as she left.

While finishing our drinks and food, Amber and I got to know each other more and the more we got to know her, the more I began to like her as a friend. As we walked out of the café, I smiled at Amber.

“So… are you up for some shopping? I was supposed to go with my friend but as you can see, he didn’t make it so, how about we go together?” I grinned.

Amber smiled back.

“Why not?”