Chapter 1

Wooyoung POV:

'Another year of attending National Korean University of Arts! I still can't even believe that I made it into this school. In about 3 years, I'll finally be off making my own music with the others! My amazing friends, my brothers. We'll soon be practicing every day in a nice dance studio, recording songs in an amazing recording studio, and performing for ginormous crowds of fans-'
As I was lost in my own thoughts, I heard a familiar voice call out to me.
" Yah! Jang Wooyoung! " I turned around and saw Junsu running towards me.
" Where were you? I stopped by your house but you never came out, " I said while giving him a high-five. As we continued talking, others soon began to arrive.
" Hey, Junho! Nichkhun! Over here! " Junsu and I waved our hands in the air. They spotted us and ran over to where we stood.
" Hey guys! Where's Taecyeon and Chansung? " they asked in unison. We shrugged and clasped their hands in greeting as well.
As we waited for the others, we began talking about girls who also attended this university. Typical names such as Yoona, Yuri, Uee, and Jiyeon came up.
" I think Lee Yejin's pretty cute, " Nichkhun confessed. By hearing this, everyone started ' ooh '-ing.
" The girl with the amazing singing voice? " Junho questioned. He nodded and we started ' ooh '-ing again.
" She is pretty cute, " we all agreed. A few minutes passed and we saw Taecyeon and Chansung coming in from the gate entrance.
" Hurry up! It's almost time for class! " Junsu shouted to them. They ran over to us, arriving with heavy breaths.
I shook my head at the two of them as we started walking into the building. "First day of the new semester and you two are already late."
On our way there, I glanced to my right and saw a familiar figure; it was Lee Jieun. She was usually really quiet, hence no one really knowing much about her. No one really thought, talked or gossiped about her. No one really said anything to her... I sort of felt bad because of that. She seemed like she'd be a really nice and kind person. But I wouldn't know anyway. Even I didn't talk to her... Which only made me feel more guilty. The most I knew about her was that she had started attending in the middle of the spring semester and that no one had really gotten the chance to open up to her, as she was always immersed in her studies and never really seemed to have the interest of sticking around to socialize.
We entered our first class and sat in the seats at the right side of the room, waiting for the professor. Class should have been started already. I searched the room a little, trying to see if he was here or not. I looked over to the door, and just as I did, Jieun walked in. We made eye contact and I was surprised that we had the same class.Not wanting to seem rude, I smiled and nodded a short greeting to her. She curtly returned the greeting and hurried to the other side of the room.
" Hey, Wooyoung. I noticed you earlier... Who were you staring at, huh? " Taecyeon playfully nudged me, breaking my graze away from Jieun. Was it that obvious? Even I hadn't realized.
" It was nothing, " I assured him as the professor finally entered. My eyes followed its way back to Jieun. 'It was nothing..'

Lee Jieun/IU POV:

When I was walking towards the university, I noticed a pair of eyes looking my way. I glanced over and saw a familiar face, though I couldn't recall his name. 'Jung? Jung... Woo... Woohyun??' I gave up and tried shaking his presence off, but he continued to stare at me. 'Is there something on my face?' I touched my face, only to feel nothing wrong with it. I looked over again but he was no longer looking at me. Relieved, I began heading towards the classes. 'That was weird...'
When I walked into the room of my first class, I was immediately met with the same pair of eyes that had been staring at me earlier. I froze for a short moment before he smiled and bowed his head as a short greeting. I awkwardly returned the gesture and walked to the other side of the room. 'So we have the same class? I guess I'll be seeing him more often then.'
"Alright, class! Let's get started, shall we?"

After my first class ended, I got ready to go back to the Elephant Cafe, where I daily worked and basically lived. I had about an hour before my next class started. On my way to the cafe, I finally remembered the name of the guy who was staring at me earlier. It was Wooyoung, Jang Wooyoung from 2PM. 'Of course! Why hadn't I realized it earlier?' They were one of the rookie bands that attended our school. All of them had great voices and danced fairly well.
They were new regulars at the cafe, though they probably never noticed me anyway (since I'm always hidden in the kitchen). And almost as if it weren't surprising, 2PM had already arrived to the cafe before I had. I walked in and was instantly met with the same two eyes again. What was surprising to me was that, this time, Wooyoung waved to me. And it was strange... Because it was a sort of wave that only friends would seem to do. Yet we barely knew each other. 'He was never like this before..' I thought. Slightly confused, I gave a small (shy) wave before entering the kitchen. 'What's making him act this way?'

Wooyoung POV:

The first class of the day had ended and we headed over to the Elephant Cafe, where we usually hung out before returning back to campus. After getting seated, someone entered the cafe and I unknowingly smiled. 'Jieun? Does she usually come here?' Strangely, I unconsciously waved to her. 'Maybe I should be the one who talks to her first. I mean, why wait when you can do it yourself?' She shyly waved back and immediately walked towards the kitchen. 'Does she work here?! How have I never noticed?! Hmm.. Well, she is in the kitchen. I never see what's going on back there anyway...' I gave myself an excuse.
" What are you looking at? " Nichkhun suddenly asked me, making my head shoot his way.
" Huh? Oh, it was nothing... " He nodded, quickly shaking the topic off, and started talking to Chansung again. I cautiously turned my gaze back towards the kitchen doors and, for some odd reason, waited to see if Jieun would come out.
" Well, Wooyoung? " I heard Junho abruptly ask.
" Oh! Uh... What was that? "
The others laughed, " Dude, pay attention. "
I laughed along with them and shook my thoughts away. 'I should try talking to her later.'

Before we got up to leave, I realized that Jieun still hadn't come back out. 'She might be late if she takes any longer...' I thought as the others started towards the doors.
" Hey, I'll be there in a minute. You guys head back first, " I told them, purposely taking my time to gather my things. Junsu nodded in acknowledgement and they made their way out. After the others disappeared, I finally spotted Jieun walking out from the kitchen. 'Was she waiting for us to leave first? Well, anyway, here's my chance!'
I walked up to her, " Oh, uh, hey. You're Lee Jieun, right? I'm Jang Wooyoung, from 2PM, " I introduced myself as she nodded. I could tell she was quite surprised by my sudden outburst. " I mean you probably already knew that cause we go to the same univerity... but uh... I was wondering, do you work here? " She quietly nodded again and I held the door open as we started walking out together.
" Oh, I've never noticed you before. Sorry, " I apologized, scratching my head. Once again, the only response I received was the nodding of her head.
" ... Sorry if this is making you uncomfortable... Uh, I guess I'll seeya around, " I gave an awkward bow as she too ree. I lightly ran ahead, trying to catch up with the other guys. 'That was embarrassing.. She's pretty shy though,' I thought as I caught up to their pace. 'And yet, I want to know more about her.'

Lee Jieun/IU POV:

'Why is Wooyoung still here?! I guess I'll just have to go before I'm late to class.' As soon as I walked out, Wooyoung unexpectedly began talking to me. 'Oh! Uhm... Uhh...' I gave him awkward nods as he was speaking. 'Darn my socially awkwardness!!!'
" ... Sorry if this is making you uncomfortable... Uh, I guess I'll seeya around, " he bowed. I bowed back before he started jogging towards his friends.
'Geez, what's wrong with me? I made him feel so awkward... But he seems to be like a slightly shy guy himself. And I must admit, he's pretty attractive too.' At the thought of him, I began to feel myself getting goose bumps. 'What's coming over me?!'

I entered the classroom right before the teacher came in. 'Phew, what a close one!' I looked to my left and saw Wooyoung and his friends again. Was I in all of his classes this year? And with all of them? 'Ohh, this is... awkward...'

I was on my way back to the Elephant Cafe again, only to see 2PM not too far away from me. 'They're coming back, already?! Well, not that it's surprising... I mean they've been coming here every day after school for the past few semesters... I just hope Wooyoung doesn't start talking to me again... But NOT that I don't want to! I mean, I wouldn't mind... It's just... I... GAH!' I hurridely sped into the kitchen after pushing through the entrance. 'Really, what is coming over me?' I thought as I pressed my back against the wall that divided the cafe in half, trying to calm my racing heart. 'Just relax. What's so bad about someone wanting to talk to you? Oh, wait... That's right... Social skills: zero.' I sighed and leaned my head back. 'This is going to be a long day.'

Author POV:

Before anyone knew it, the sun soon began to slowly descend. 2PM had remained in the cafe, spending their entire day hanging out together. The cafe owner did not mind their presence at all, but actually appreciated their stay. The group often performed voluntarily, which helped the cafe gather more customers, though it wasn't too hard to gather people anyway since the cafe was one of the bests. On this specific day, the group had performed acoustic versions of their tracks "Without U" and "Again and Again".

Closing time neared and 2PM decided to be on their way. Before walking out, the owner praised them, " Hey, guys! Thanks for performing tonight! You were all amazing. Head back over anytime you want, alright? "

" Yeah, no problem Jaesuk! We love your place and we'll definitely be back tomorrow, " Junsu thanked him and soon exited the facility along side the others.

After cleaning the place up, Jaesuk called out to the kitchen, " Jieun-ah? The cafe is closed, you can come out of that suffocating kitchen now! "

A laugh was heard before a cheerful face appeared through the ordering window, " Ne, samchon! "

Jieun exited the kitchen and joined her uncle at the table he was seated at.

" Aigoo, so how was the first day of going back to college for my niece? " Jaesuk asked, taking a sip of his own beverage.

" Well... It was mostly okay, " Jieun started. As the evening continued, the sky had reached it's maximum shade of darkness. Jaesuk bitterly bid goodbye to his niece, still unknown to the reason why she did not want to stay over at his house instead. She had just told him that she preferred to sleep at the cafe, nothing more. But Jaesuk had already sensed the reason as to why she would rather do so, and because of that, he didn't want to push her into doing something that he knew she was uncomfortable with. He was still afraid that someone might break into the cafe but he trusted that Jieun would be okay; she was, after all, 20 years old.

" Alright, Jieun, " Jaesuk said as he made his way over to the door, " I'll be leaving now... Take care of yourself okay? "

" Ne, of course. But I think that I should be saying that to you, " the two laughed.

" Arraso, arraso. See you in the morning, " he finally bid and closed the entrance.

Jieun locked the door securely and also proceeded in closing and locking the windows up. After doing so, she brought her guitar out, sat down at one of the seats and began playing, singing along as she did so. Jieun would normally do this every night after her uncle left. She would strum her guitar and compose lyrics. She was never one to talk to people much; but when she sang, she felt as if nothing else in the world mattered. She would let her voice flow to the accompanying guitar and lose track of time, not caring how long it ever took. As long as she was able let her restricted voice out, she would stay as late as it took to do so. As she strummed the guitar, she took note on what chord she played and soon assembled a melody. Not yet inspired to write lyrics, she hummed to the tune and wrote the notes down on her music sheets.

After what seemed to be a few hours, Jieun finally decided that she should probably get some sleep. Her first class the next day would not start as early as it had today, but the clock was already nearing midnight. She stored her sheets and her guitar away before doing one last search around the cafe. As she traveled over, she discovered a mysterious small item stealthily sitting underneath one of the booths. She stooped down to pick the item up and held it in her hands. It was a black hexagonal keychain with bright baby blue letters " JWY ". She examined the item, turning and rotating it. The hexagon was able to twist as she held the chain. Holding it in her hand, she brought it over to the kitchen and placed it next to her school bag. She figured that the owner might come back the next day to search for it; it was indeed something that she would like to keep, but she knew better than to do so.

Jieun set up her sleeping mat, closed the lights and crawled into bed. Out of curiosity and interest, she soon got up, turned the lights back on and retrieved the keychain once more. Shutting the lights off again, she was surprised to find that the letters were able to brightly glow in the dark. Fascinated, she brought it over with her to the mat and laid back down. 'JWY. What would those letters stand for? And who does this belong to?' Jieun thought before drifting off to sleep.