Asking for permission from Yumi’s mom was not as hard as we expected. She was busy doing something on her laptop when we politely asked her if she was going to let Yumi sleepover at Hyejin’s house. She barely even saw our face when she nodded absentmindedly then shooed us out of her working room.

And here we were now. Right in front of DeGree. It was a café, apparently.

“Ajjussi,” I called Hyejin’s driver when Hyejin was still impressed by the exterior design of the café. “You may go home if you want. We can just call you when we’re ready to go home.”

“That’s fine, Kim Saeri-ssi. I’ll just wait for you here.”  He smiled kindly at me. I smiled back before turning back to approach Hyejin and Yumi.

“It’s pretty cool, eh?” I said, joining them in gawking at the building.

“Pretty? Pretty??” Hyejin gasped in disbelief. “It’s the coolest café I’ve ever seen! I mean, just look at the exterior! I feel like spending the rest of my life here…”

I sighed in understanding. Well, it was not Song Hyejin if she was not exaggerating things like this.

“I thought you didn’t like that Yoo—” I paused “Yoyo-something guy. Ouch!”

I winced in pain when Yumi slapped my arm pretty hard.

“It’s Yoogeun, Saeri-ah,” she protested. “YOO-GEUN.”

“Yoogeun,” I repeated.

“I still do. It’s the café I like,” she replied carelessly. “Can we just get in now?”

I shrugged and started to follow Hyejin who had already led the way into the café. The air was so cold here. I really hoped it was much warmer inside.

We were barely stepped in but the music blared so loudly I had to close my ears with both hands. Just the opposite of Hyejin, I was not used to going to a noisy place like this. Well, I loved noise but not this kind of noise which the music made you deaf and people kept shouting like they were living in a jungle.

Oh, and the whole show-off thing was really nauseating. It was the main reason why I did not really like going to parties.

I looked around me and finally realized that Hyejin and Yumi had already been gone. Some nice friends they were.

I definitely needed a seat. All of the people here were from our school but being neither a nerd nor a popular one at school, I only knew a few of them. I furrowed my eyebrows when I spotted some very good looking waiters among the guests. Well, they were supposed to be the waiters. Right? But all I could see was how they became the center of attention in this place without them even knowing it.

I sighed and continued to walk to the bar lounge. I was not really thirsty so I just sat there, staring at space. That was until someone snapped their fingers in front of my face.

I looked up to find a very familiar face just a few inches from mine.

“Taemin-ssi!” I gaped at the unexpected person.

He smiled from ear to ear to me. “What are you doing here?”

“I should be the one asking that,” I replied, still amazed at him being here in the first place.

“I work here, you see?” He shuffled my hair, still smiling like a five year old who had just gotten a massive lollipop. He was wearing the same uniform just like the other waiters were.

“Oh…,” I trailed off, unsure what to say.

He was Key’s closest friend. I did not know much about Key at school but I thought he had a lot more friends. That made me wonder why Taemin was the only one who came to visit him at home frequently.

“Do you wanna drink?” he asked.

“Uh… Not really. I mean, I don’t even feel comfortable here. Too noisy,” I reasoned.

His face fell for a split second. “I know something that will make you feel at home,” he said a moment later.

“Huh?” I looked at him quizzically.

“Wait a second,” he told me before turning back and doing who-knows-what.

“Hot chocolate?” I could not contain my smile when he placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of me a couple of minutes later.

“You’ll like it.”

“And why is that?” My smile was getting as wider as his now. His smile was definitely contagious.

“Because you love chocolate,” he stated simply. “I always find bars of chocolate in your fridge. Key hates chocolate and as long as I concern, your parents don’t eat it so those would be your treasure. Now, are you feeling better?”

I felt like hugging him now.

And I felt like strangling Key now.

How come this sweet Taemin and that annoying thing were close friends? They were like the sun and the moon!

I mean, like oil and water.

Wait, more like a prince charming and a fat, ugly toad. Yeah, that was a perfect comparison. Taemin did not deserve wasabi and Key did not deserve marshmallow.

“Are you suffering?”

“Huh?” Taemin looked puzzled.

“Never mind,” I said then started to sip my hot chocolate. Yes, it’s mine now. Hands off.

“Talking about Key, does he often go here? I often hear you guys talking about this place,” I said out of my curiousity.

“He works here too, actually.”

The warm chocolate that I was about to gulp down was bursted out.

Taemin chuckled at that but handed me a sheet of tissue nonetheless.

“He’s here??”

“No. He said earlier this morning that he didn’t want to serve a bunch of kids, knowing that the birthday girl has already booked the whole café and invited all of her friends from school to the party,” he explained then paused for a second. “Now that reminds me, why didn’t Jonghyun-hyung come too? He knew exactly that we would need to work extra tonight. Aish… That guy.”

I did not pay attention to what he was saying afterwards. I was now busy thinking of the best way to torture that Key thing.

♀♂♀♂

“Hyejin-ah. Hyejin-ah. Yah! Hyejin-ah!”

“It won’t work, Yumi-ah. She won’t wake even if there’s an earthquake,” I chimed in. I just got out from the bathroom and found that Yumi was still trying to wake Hyejin up.

“But we have Math today! Mrs. Go will throw another fit at her if she skip her class again!”

She kept on shaking Hyejin but to no avail. Hyejin still snored and even accidentally hit her on the face when she tossed and turned. I chuckled at the reflection of that incident in the mirror while I was combing my damp hair. My hair was nothing like that in the commercial on TV. It was wavy and thick. I neither hate nor love it but I did know that I would never color it. If any, I loved its natural jet black color.

“Surrender already?” I gave Yumi a goofy grin as she walked towards me, leaving the snoring drama queen alone on the bed.

“You know, I always think that Key-oppa’s face is familiar. I just can’t put my finger on,” Yumi said while stared at my reflection.

“Must we start the day with discussing him? Why is it that he can still ruin my day even when he’s miles away from me?” I said in exasperation.

“Fine, fine. I’ll just go get ready now.” Yumi sighed in defeat then walked into the bathroom.

I let out a heavy sigh right after she was out of sight. Of course he looks familiar. All good looking guys always look familiar to girls. Including Key. As much as I despise him, I would not deny that.

Being clueless was his only flaw.

Ck.

Too bad he’s my brother. A step brother that keeps on messing his sister’s life. He did not change much since the first time I met him. If any, he’s getting meaner and meaner each day. What did I do wrong to him? Sure he was pretty pissed at that time but who on earth would hate someone just because of a kick in the shin? Besides, he insulted me in the first place and kept on doing that for this past two years. Did he not feel bored just once?

I did.

Countless time.

A song from Yumi’s phone startled me from my thoughts. I recognized it as a song from a boyband called SHINee. What was the name of the song again? I was really sure it was Love’s-something. Yumi loved that song so much. Heck, she loved SHINee with all her heart. She always squealed like a fan girl everytime she saw them on TV or newspaper.

I walked to the bed, where Yumi had put her phone carelessly. It was right beside Hyejin’s feet. What if she accidentally kicked it?

“Yumi-ah, someone’s calling you!” I shouted to her.

“Who is it?” She shouted back from the bathroom.

I glanced at the name and said, “Oppa?”

“Just pick it up and tell him to call back later. I’m still in the shower,” she replied before continuing her humming, definitely enjoying her shower there.

“Hello?” I answered the phone.

“Yumi-ah?”

Woot!

I did not know that someone’s voice could be that soft and cheery at the same time.

“Um… No, it’s Yumi’s friend. She’s still in the shower and told me that you can call back later. Is that alright?” I answered carefully.

“Oh, okay. I’ll call back later.”

Click.

That was how the call ended. No longer conversation. And that was how it hit me.

Yumi had a brother?

Really? That Yumi pie? If that was really her brother, would he be Oppa pie then? And how come I had never seen this Oppa pie before?

♀♂♀♂

Hahahaha...

Never thought I'd be posting another one after what I've said yesterday but yeah, seriously, this is the last one before I come back with more chapters next week.

Oh and I have to remind you guys that it was originally in Indonesian. I have to make a lot of adjustments since there are things that would make nonsense in English if I insist in translating it the way it is.

And I'm loving my subscribers!!!!

Ray Gasan.