‘Kiss a random stranger inside this café.’

                The moment the words sank into my head, I wanted to take off my shoes and throw it at the girl sitting in front of me. My friends and I were hanging out in this newly opened coffee café we discovered several days ago, and empty talks had turned into a “Truth or Dare” game. I should not have joined the game; my friends were all savages and of course the game would only consist of dares and no truths. Because according to them, truths were a bore.

                I had been lucky enough to pass seven of the dares they made before this, the bottle we spun on the table never pointing at me. But alas, my luck went out and for the eighth dare, my three friends were so ecstatic to finally make me do something stupid. It was enough that Hanbyul had to perform a random dance break in the middle of the café and Junha went out just to scream “I am the most beautiful girl in the world” on the streets. All the other customers were giving us looks, but most of them seemed amused to see a group of girls doing random s in the middle of the day. Why am I even friends with these people?

                ‘Go, girl. Pick a guy and kiss him,’ Mari repeated, giving you a sly smile.

                ‘You know I can’t do that,’ I hissed under my breath, kicking her shin under the table. She gave out a yelp, to which were laughed by the two other girls.

                ‘We did worse thing, duh. Would you rather we ask you to roll on the floor instead?’ Junha commented, and when I actually did stand up to roll on the floor, the three of them hurried to pull me back into my seat. ‘Are you for real? Don’t tell me you haven’t moved on from your ex yet? You broke up with him three years ago!’

                Yes, I couldn’t find myself kissing a man because of my ex. Well, at least that’s what everyone thought. It was definitely not that, why would I even cling on to the man who had dumped me? The real reason was… I just can’t kiss anyone. At least not randomly. Not because I was shy or anything.

                But because of the feeling that I had to experience.

                I learned my gift as early as the age of five. It was my mother who kissed me goodnight on that one stormy night, and I saw the fear inside her. I felt it, as if the feeling was my own. I was confused, because she was smiling warmly at me; nothing seemed to be troubling her. I cried to sleep then, knowing that she was scared of losing my grandmother who was ill at that time, my mother’s sadness about it overwhelming my child self. Ten days later, I went to a funeral for the first time.

                I was still too young to understand the gift, and I felt several more relatives’ feelings when they kissed me. But even the young me noticed that I only felt it if people kissed me on the lips. When I told my parents, they shrugged it off, patting my head as they thought I had a high imagination. I never talked about it to them again.

                The day that I was very sure about my gift was the day I turned fifteen. My family celebrated it by holding a party, and all my friends were invited, including the boy I had a crush on. In the middle of the party, he asked me to meet him at the swing on our backyard, and he gave me his present. A kiss on the lips. I was nervous and happy that the boy that I liked was possibly returning my feelings─ but how wrong was I. I felt what he felt. Disgust.

                I pushed him away roughly, and I heard the giggles coming from the window of the kitchen. It turned out that some kids betted my crush to give me a kiss, after his friends found out that he disliked me. I pretended I was okay, but I did give him a punch then. He apologised, and I just don’t care because he was not even a good kisser.

                But I was certain of one thing.

                When I kiss someone on their lips, I can read their emotions. The longer I kissed the person, the stronger I felt their emotions.

                ‘Just go, pick a guy, grab him and kiss him,’ Hanbyul was saying, and I couldn’t fight the tremor quaking inside me. It had been years since I kissed someone, and the last time had been horrible. I was not ready to experience a random stranger’s emotions. But no matter how much I tried to reject the dare, they kept on pushing. ‘You don’t have to make it passionate, just a chaste kiss is enough. You definitely need one, or you’ll end up forgetting how to make out.’

                Sighing loudly, I scanned the café for any lone strangers, but my eyes landed on a blonde man surrounded by his friends instead. A group of boys were sitting several tables away from us—they had actually cheered on Hanbyul when she was dancing a while ago—and as much as I wanted to avoid choosing a guy from their group, I can’t help but notice the blonde man. Plus, I know well enough that if I chose a lonely guy to kiss instead, my friends would make fun of me for being a coward. They would never leave me alone once they start it.

                I didn’t wait to announce to the girls, which man I was going to kiss. I just stood and sauntered to the boys. A few of them noticed me nearing, and for a second they looked confused—including the blonde man. I walked to him, placed my index finger under his chin and tilted his head up. He must have been too surprised to even resist, and I tucked my hair behind my ear, leaning down to catch his lips. From around me, I could hear the boys roaring into hyped surprise, and the whole café went loud due to my sudden bold move. But the noises soon died down from my ears, the man’s emotions taking over my mind.

                I was taken aback when the man started to kiss me back, and I was sure everyone else was cheering us on, but I couldn’t focus on any of those. His emotions started to seep into my senses. Surprise. Of course, I had kissed him out of nowhere. But why was he kissing me back? Anger. I was confused, what would he be angry about when he was just laughing loudly with his friends just now? But deep in the middle of his fuel of anger, I could feel a hint of sadness. But what made me startled and pulling away from his lips was a very strong emotion. Strong enough that I could feel it stabbing at my heart. It was love.

                A pained love.

                ‘Whoa,’ I heard him breathe out, and I lifted my head from his shoulder, still trying to recover myself from his emotions. When my eyes fluttered open, I noticed in shock that I was now sitting on his lap, my hands on his shoulders and his arms around my waist to steady my position. Judging by the way he was breathing as he stared at me, I knew we didn’t just share a chaste kiss. , this is so awkward.

                I immediately pushed myself away from him, wobbling slightly as I stood. Slowly, the surrounding came back alive and I could hear the other boys cheering. ‘Damn, that must be one hell of a nice kiss,’ one of them was saying as he patted the blonde’s back.

                ‘Thanks… and sorry,’ I mumbled somewhat embarrassingly before hurrying away to go back to my table. My friends looked absolutely amused and they probably wanted to congratulate me for completing the dare and finally kissing a damn man, but I was still too stunned by the whole deal to even continue being inside the café. Grabbing my purse, I immediately walked out.

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                A week passed, and I found myself standing in front of the same café where I was dared to kiss a stranger. I had refused to talk about it with my friends, and they gave up trying to know how the kiss felt like. But I couldn’t avoid thinking about him, his strong emotions was a first for me. I had never felt any emotions this strong, and it lingered inside me too much that I needed to find him. A heart that fragile… how could he still be smiling in front of his friends?

                This morning, I woke up knowing that I had to find him. I grabbed my light blue scarf, just in case it got chilly even though it was already spring, and hurried out. I didn’t know where to look for him, and the café was the only place I could seek out for the man. I was not expecting to find him there, for god knows where he came from. He could be sitting in a balcony of an apartment, sipping his morning coffee or even be on a plane to some foreign country. I came here knowing that he would not be around.

                I was shaking, and I blamed it on the windy weather even though I know that was not the real reason. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my way in through the door, tiny bells chiming in to announce my arrival. The warmth was almost welcoming, and before my mind could decide that I should just leave, I forced myself to get into a seat at a corner. I unwound the scarf from around my neck, placing it neatly on my lap.

                ‘Welcome to Dream Bean Coffee Shop, may I get your order?’ The voice startled me for a moment, and when I lifted my head, I was met by another surprise. It was him. The blonde man. I took in the uniform he was wearing and realised that he was actually working in this very café. Did he wear the uniform too a week ago? Why didn’t I notice that? I was too stunned to respond, and when silence continued to fill the air, the waiter lifted his head from the note pad he was holding.

                His eyes lightened in recognition, and he pointed an accusing finger at me. I shrank in my seat, not able to tear my gaze from his eyes despite the embarrassment. There was something in his gaze that was pulling me in too deep. ‘You’re the girl from last week, right? The one that ki─’

                ‘Can I get a hot vanilla latte, please?’ I blurted out quickly before he could finish his words. My uneasiness seemed to amuse him, for he smiled before jotting something on his note pad. He nodded before leaving the table, and I finally realised that I had been holding my breath since I saw him. Okay, now he’s actually here. What was I supposed to do? . I realised in horror that I actually didn’t even know what to say to him.

                It could have been seconds, it could have been hours, but when he returned with my latte, I was still experiencing my minor panic attack that I almost spilled the drink all over him as he handed it to me. With a small chuckle at my clumsiness, he placed a small plate on the table. There was a slice of vanilla cake on it, a bright red strawberry on the top. I looked at him questioningly, and he smiled. ‘My treat. You looked like you needed something sweet.’

                ‘Thank you,’ I said meekly, not quite sure what else to say. He seemed to be waiting for more from me because he did not move and continued to stand there, leaning casually against the wall behind him. I had to say something. ‘It was a dare, by the way.’

                ‘Excuse me?’ He asked, apparently not catching my words.

                I bit my lower lip, my tummy making somersaults. ‘The kiss. It was a dare by my friends.’

                ‘Oh, that one I’m aware of,’ he said softly, with a small nod and a smile. ‘But I’m sure that isn’t the reason you came back here, is it?’

                I didn’t know where the sudden boldness came from, but I returned his smile, popping the strawberry on the cake into my mouth and my fingers. It was like when he smiled that way to me, I was instantly calmed down. ‘What if that’s the exact reason why I’m here?’

                He seemed taken aback by the answer, but his lips curled in amusement. ‘That’s interesting,’ was all that he said before he walked away to serve a new customer who just came in. My heart was hammering wildly, and I suddenly felt like a fool for even coming back here. Was I actually flirting with the guy?

                I didn’t really know what to do, so I pretended to be busy on my phone, all the while questioning myself as to why I’m so interested in getting to know him. From the short span of time that I sat there watching him, he was absolutely friendly with all the customers, sometimes even chatting with them and asking them about their days. It was a total contrast to what I felt when I kissed him. Where did he hide all those anger and pain?

                ‘You’re going to pour your drink all over your shoulder if you continue ogling him that way, Miss Customer,’ a hand suddenly tapped on my back, making me jump in a start. I whipped my head to the side, noticing a dark haired man leaning beside my seat, staring at me amusingly. Before I could demand the reason of his action, he pointed to the cup of latte that I was holding, and I realised embarrassingly that the man’s words were true. Instead of aiming it to my mouth, I had aimed it to my side instead. I had never wanted to dig a hundred-foot deep hole and bury myself alive in it. This was too much of an embarrassment.

                ‘Uh… t—thank you?’ I stuttered, turning away to hide my flushed face.

                The man chuckled softly, and I fought the urge to get up and leave instantly. ‘Could it be that you’re interested in Namjoon?’

                Namjoon? …Who?

                ‘Oh, that’s his name, in case you didn’t know,’ the stranger added, and when I lifted my head to look at him, I finally noticed that he was wearing the same goddamn uniform of a waiter. This waiter smiled down at me, lifting an eyebrow slyly as he made a silent gesture towards the blonde man. ‘I can help you if you want. I don’t think staring at him would make him realise your feelings.’

                If my face had blushed furiously a second ago, it just got worse. I stood, grabbing my scarf and the cup of latte. Not looking into the waiter’s eyes, I let out a cough, trying to clear my throat. ‘No thanks.’ I pushed my way past him, wanting nothing but to groan aloud in frustration and embarrassment as I aimed for the café’s front door. Before I could do so though, a hand grabbed my wrist, and I was pulled back so suddenly that I almost toppled down. I had thought it was the same dark haired waiter—why was he being so persistent—but when I turned my head to yell at him, I realised that it had been the blonde waiter after all.

                Namjoon, my head screamed.

                I could not think of any reasons as to why he was stopping me. The whole café was staring at both of us, adding more fuel to my embarrassment. There was an unexplainable expression on his face, and I just had enough embarrassment in a day, so when he opened his mouth to say something, I yanked my hand away, surprising him. Before he could react upon it, I made a dash out through the front door, not even looking back as I silently vowed to myself not to ever step inside that café again.

                It was already after I was safely inside the elevator of my apartment that I realise something in horror. I forgot to pay for the latte.

A/N: So, I have decided that I shouldstart posting shorter chapters, because most of you seemed to ignore a lot of important scenes whenever I write long chapters. This means that Kiss the Pain Away will have chapters too instead of a oneshot as originally planned, just like Red Rush. 

Anyway, the first kiss has finally happened! What do you think of the first chapter? Any guesses on who the dark haired waiter is?

Oh and to the readers of Red Rush, please note that the main character in this story is Mihee, the OC's cousin in Red Rush! The timeline of this story took place several years before the timeline in Red Rush. This is the story of how Mihee ended up with Namjoon ♡