Yunji didn’t know what had come to her mind exactly. What she did know was that Jaeni was out, and that she didn’t want to spend the day alone, and that was the initial premise why she had agreed to meet up with Jonghyun.

It was a school day, but like she had for a few ones, Yunji had skipped class, telling her professors she had gone down with the cold. She just had Jieun phone in their workload for the day so that she could still manage to pass as much homework as she could. The real reason, of course, was far from that. For one, she didn’t want to have to sit through an entire lecture feeling her classmates glaring daggers at her, as some were still convinced that Yunji’s rumors with Kiwang were true. And for another, she didn’t want to have an awkward encounter with Dongwoon. The two hadn’t spoken since he had popped by her apartment just a few nights ago.

The guitarist had phoned her only previously, asking to meet up at a certain café, and seeing that she had nothing better to do that to sit around and eat the cake that Jaeni had brought for her, Yunji said yes. “It’s just a casual coffee date. No, no. Not a date. Just a hang out.” Yunji muttered to herself, walking towards the coffee shop where they had planned to meet. It was one where the two used to hang out, back when they were still dating. Honestly, as afraid as Yunji was to admit it, she was scared that her past feelings for Jonghyun would somehow resurface, as they didn’t exactly have closure.

Upon arriving, Yunji stood outside the café for a moment. A part of her didn’t want to meet up with Jonghyun, of all people, but an even bigger part of her didn’t want to spend the day without company. Slowly, she stepped inside. Looking around, she didn’t spot Jonghyun anyway. She assumed he was still at practice.

Yunji made her way to the counter and ordered a latte. She found a table for two near the back. Normally, she would have chosen a spot by the window, but the last thing she wanted was to be spotted with yet another idol.

She spent the next few minutes mindlessly tinkering with her phone and sipping her coffee. It wasn’t long before she noticed someone standing in front of her table. She looked up to see Jonghyun standing there, a cup of coffee in his hand. “Hey.” He greeted with a smile. “Did you wait long?”

“Not really.” She replied, motioning to the seat in front of her. Jonghyun took a seat. “Hi to you, too.”

“Do you want anything to eat? He asked casually. “Like a slice of cake or anything? My treat.”

Yunji shook her head. “No thanks, I had cake at home before going here.”

“Alright then. Uh, so, Changmi…-“

“Yunji.” She interrupted, correctin the way he called her.

Jonghyun chuckled, placing his cup on the table and fiddling with the rim. “Right. I’m sorry, force of habit.” He cleared his throat. “So, Yunji,” He began again. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. Classes started a few weeks back. Nothing new, to be honest.” She took a sip of her latte. “You?” It wasn’t that she was fully interested in what Jonghyun was up to lately, it just felt courteous to return the question back to him.

“Oh, you know, same old stuff. Practice here and there. Actually, we just had our goodbye stage on music shows, so promotions are at pause as of right now.” Jonghyun replied. “Oh, and Yonghwa and Minhyuk got casted in this drama.”

“Really? Cool. What about Jungshin?” Yunji was pretty surprised she still remembered clearly who they were.

“Starred in this music video.”

“I see. And you?”

“Bum.” Jonghyun replied with a proud grin.

Something about his expression made Yunji chuckle. “Maybe the casting director knows you can’t act.” She teased with a slight grin of her own.

“Or maybe I’m too good for them.” He stated with a playful scoff. “I think I’m pretty good at acting. Remember how many times I’ve surprised you in the past?”

Yunji paused, the nodded. She kept in mind to remind herself not to become nostalgic. Jonghyun quickly noticed the change in the mood surrounding them.

“No, no, don’t think about it.” He said. “I didn’t ask you to meet up with me so we could reminisce and stuff. I asked to meet up so we could catch up.” He gave a small, reassuring smile. “So, are you seeing anyone?” He asked, although slightly hesitant. “I saw your name in an article online a couple of weeks ago. Said there you were going out with…”

“Mmm, completely false.” Yunji said, waving her hand in front of her. “I’m not seeing anyone. That was just a weird misunderstanding that went out of proportion. I told that idiot to take care of it, but I guess he still hasn’t.”

“That idiot being Kikwang?” Jonghyun chuckled at the name Yunji had called his fellow idol.

“Yup.” Yunji nodded. “He’s a big babo. Or, big… In terms of upper-body proportions…? Not height.” She giggled.

Jonghyun smiled. “I won’t tell him you said that. And I didn’t know you two were close.”

“Childhood friends.” Yunji said before taking another sip of coffee. She took a moment, before speaking up again. “Does your offer for cake still stand?” She asked with a small, innocent smile.

Jonghyun smiled back, relieved that the initial awkward atmosphere had died down. “Let me think about it first.”

“Yah!” She whined.

“Cheesecake?” Jonghyun asked, referring to the cheesecake that was on display back at the counter. He had seen it upon ordering his drink, and she knew Yunji couldn’t resist cheesecake.

Yunji beamed and nodded. “But only if it’s on you.”

“You’ll hit me if I say no.”

“You know it.”

Jonghyun laughed and got up, walking towards the counter and ordered a slice of the cake. Yunji smiled a bit to herself, admitting that she was slowly enjoying hanging out with Jonghyun as a friend. He went back to their spot and placed the small plate on the table.

“Thanks.” Yunji said as Jonghyun nudged the plate to her. “You didn’t poison this, did you?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Maybe.” He grinned mischievously. She scowled before she took a bite. “You have always loved cheesecake, huh?” he chuckled. “But I’ll stop myself before I get nostalgic. So,” He took a sip of his already cold coffee. “You’re not seeing anyone, but is there anyone you like?”

Yunji was caught off-guard with the question, and instantly, as if it were an automatic reflex, Dongwoon popped in her mind. She hadn’t realized she had slowly started to smile.

“So there is someone!” Jonghyun exclaimed. “Who is it?”

“W-what? I didn’t say!” Yunji retorted, eyes widening.

“You did that… That smile. That thing.” He laughed quietly. Seeing Yunji’s confused expression, he laughed more and felt the need to explain. “You just do that certain smile when you’re thinking about something, or someone. Hm, remember…” Jonghyun went on, recalling a memory. “The first time I introduced you to the gang? Right when we just started officially going out?”

Yunji nodded once.

“And Minhyuk was teasing you, asking you if you were dating.” Jonghyun continued. “And you glanced at me and you smiled like how you smiled just now.”

“Still an expert at reading me, huh? After all these years.” Yunji managed to laugh. “You’re so weird.”

“I hope you know I’m really sorry about what happened between us.” Jonghyun looked at Yunji with a sincere expression. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Life happened, I guess.” Yunji shrugged. “I… How were you after we…? I mean, how’d you deal?”

“Honestly?” Jonghyun sat back on his seat. “I actually made myself as busy as I could, training, and practicing, just so I wouldn’t have the time or energy to think about what happened. But when I found myself at an idle moment, I thought about you, and I missed you a lot.”

“Same.” Yunji looked down at the cake.

“Hey, now, I said we weren’t gonna get nostalgic!” Jonghyun leaned over and gently flicked Yunji’s forehead. She pouted and rubbed the spot.

“You always do that. You !”

Jonghyun gave a hearty laugh. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“You’ve gotten meaner.” Yunji stuck out her tongue. “But thanks for the cake, though.” She added before taking another bite.

“So this person you like…?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Or is it? If you like him, and, say, he likes you back, that doesn’t sound at all complicated to me.” He said with a small shrug.

Yunji had to admit, Jonghyun made sense. She remembered the painful confession Dongwoon had the night they met up. She remembered the sincerity in his voice, the pain in his eyes, as he tried to convince her to believe him. She remembered how she denied her feelings, feelings she knew were growing for Dongwoon.

“It’s complicated.” She repeated.

“Well,”

“Let’s talk about something else, hm?” She looked up at him. “I’m really not in the mood to get all emotional and stuff.”

“Alright, fine.” Jonghyun said. “Only in one condition.” He waved a finger in the air in front of Yunji’s face.

Yunji tilted her head and raised her eyebrows, holding back a laugh.

“Buy me a slice of the chocolate cake, I’m starving!”