Several days had passed and the Sun was peeking through Soohyun’s bedroom. He didn’t get much sleep the night before because today was Saturday morning and he would be meeting Jayne in about two hours. They had decided that he would pick her up at her apartment and go to the Han River to walk about and chat. He knew he was taking a risk going in a public place, but it would still be early in the morning and hopefully not too many people would be out and about. After taking a shower, he sauntered into his room and gazed at his wardrobe over and over again. He had to pick an outfit that wouldn’t stand out and bring attention to him. He chose a pair of jeans and a tank top with a t-shirt on top. He didn’t expect it to get too warm outside this early in the morning, so he grabbed a hoodie and a baseball cap. He contemplated wearing sunglasses, not wanting to have Jayne question why he was trying to conceal himself…but then thought he could lie about not wanting the morning Sun to get in his eyes. He was trying to be as quiet as possible; making sure that he would not wake up Hoon or Dongho. Knowing that they didn’t have too much scheduled for today meant that they could sleep in unlike most days. Soohyun prayed that they would be doing just that.

                He made his way into the kitchen and grabbed a note pad and pen. Putting the pen up to his lips, he thought of what he should write to his roommates explaining why he would be gone.

            Hey guys. Decided to go out for a bit and enjoy the scenery. Couldn’t sleep much last night, so I might grab breakfast while I’m out. Feel free to send me a text if you need anything. I’ll be back in plenty of time for our video shoot today. – Soohyun

                Soohyun put the note on the dining room table and glanced at his watch. It was an half an hour before meeting Jayne. Quietly, he grabbed his car keys and checked to make sure he had everything before leaving the apartment. A few minutes later he was in the parking lot getting into his car. He opened up the text message option on his phone and decided to text Jayne to see what she wanted for breakfast. After getting her text back, he headed to the café where they met to get breakfast for the two of them before picking her up.

***

                Jayne was getting ready for Soohyun to come over. She was bright and alert, despite the fact of not getting too much sleep the night before. She kept waking up with the silliest grin on her face. After taking a shower and washing her face in the bathroom sink, she contemplated over what she should wear for her walk on the Han River. She knew it was a bit chilly outside, so she grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt. Jayne looked at the jackets in her closet and realized it would be best to go with a zipped-up hoodie instead. Tying her hair back in a ponytail, she gazed at her reflection in the mirror for her dresser.

                “I hope I look okay. I wonder if Soohyun will like what I’m wearing? Wait…why am I worrying about if he’ll like my outfit…we’re just going to grab some breakfast and take a walk…” Jayne thought to herself as she sighed. Her tabby kitten, Jinx, stretched her two front paws on Jayne’s left leg. A tiny meow escaped Jinx’s throat and Jayne giggled as she picked her up.

                “You are so adorable! You know this, don’t you?” Jayne said pressing a delicate kiss on Jinx’s forehead. She carried her into the kitchen and set her gently down as she opened a can of kitten food and scooped half of it into her bowl. Jinx ran over and greedily ate her breakfast as Jayne poured fresh water into her water bowl. A knock came at the door and Jayne’s heart began to beat rapidly. She took a deep breath and looked at her appearance one last time before going to answer the door.

                “Annyeong, Soohyun! Come right in. How are you doing this morning?” Jayne said after bowing slightly. Soohyun walked in and removed his shoes at the entrance as Jayne closed the door.

                “Annyeong, Jayne. I’m doing great, thank you. Nice apartment you have.” Soohyun said as Jayne walked into the kitchen, motioning for him to follow.

                “Kamsamnida (Thank you). I really like it. I have someone I’d like you to meet. Soohyun, this is my precious kitten, Jinx. Jinx, meet Soohyun.” Jayne said smiling as she gently picked up Jinx. Soohyun gently petted Jinx.

                “Aaawww, Jinx is so cute! How old?” He asked as Jayne placed her down on the kitchen floor.

                “Almost a year. I’m so glad I have her. It keeps me from being so alone in this apartment. Helps a lot, too, from getting homesick. Jinx is my family here.” Jayne said as she grabbed her purse and sat down on the couch to put her shoes on. “Are we almost ready to go?” She asked, standing up.

                “I’m ready if you are. Breakfast is in the car. I figured we can eat it in the car when we get there and take the coffee with us on the walk.” Soohyun said as Jayne nodded. He slipped his shoes back on and they both headed out the door. Jayne locked her apartment door and they both made their way out to his car.

                Twenty minutes later, Soohyun pulled up to the parking area of the Han River. He turned off the car and they both unbuckled their seatbelts. He reached into the bag with the breakfast and handed Jayne her sandwich.

                “Mashikeh mogoseyo (Enjoy your meal).” Soohyun said as he unwrapped his sandwich and took a hearty bite. They ate in silence and after a few minutes were done eating.

                “That was delicious. Thank you so much!” Jayne said as Soohyun smiled.

                “My pleasure. I’m glad that we can hang out. Are you ready to go for a walk now?” Soohyun asked as Jayne nodded. They grabbed their drinks and got out of the car. Soohyun pressed the key to lock the car on his keychain and walked around to Jayne’s side. They walked side by side towards the entrance to the river. “You mind holding this for a moment?” He asked Jayne as he handed her his coffee cup. She grabbed hold of it and Soohyun put his baseball cap on and raised the hoodie up over it. Then he placed his sunglasses on his face and smiled at her as he took his drink back. “I hope you don’t mind my getup.” Soohyun said nervously.

                “Why would I mind?” Jayne asked puzzled. Soohyun relaxed. He felt so comfortable around her. It was so nice to interact with a female that wasn’t fangirling over him. He truly loved all his KissMes, but at times he just wanted to be treated like a normal guy, instead of “Soohyun from U-Kiss.”

                “Um…no reason.” They started to walk along the path in sync with each other, sipping on their coffee. The Sun was starting to shine and a cool breeze was blowing. “Have you ever been here before?” Soohyun asked as they stopped and overlooked the Han River.

                “Once. When I first came here and my coworkers were showing me around town. I need to come out here more often. It’s so nice and relaxing. What about you? You come down here often?” Jayne asked.

                “Every once in a while. I have to come at really odd hours, tho. Either at the crack of dawn or late at night when not too many people are here. I like to come here and get away from the madness. Gives me time to think and sort my thoughts.” Soohyun said matter-of-factly.

                “Why’s that?” Jayne asked, a bit concerned. Soohyun paused and started to panic.

                “Why did I just say that? Did I just give my identity away?” Soohyun said to himself. “Well,… it’s the only time I have between my work schedule.” He said hoping she would buy his answer.

                “Makes sense. You never told me what your job was, though.” Jayne said as they started to walk again.

                “Well…uh…” Soohyun stuttered. Jayne raised her eyebrow at his response and could tell that he was getting uncomfortable.

                “I’m sorry…didn’t mean to put you on the spot. You don’t have to tell me. Just trying to make conversation.” Jayne said as Soohyun sighed in relief. He would tell Jayne later once he got to know her better. He didn’t want to ruin the comfort level just yet. Soohyun had no clue if Jayne might know who he really was.

                “I should be the one apologizing. I will tell you about my job, just not right now…” Soohyun said as Jayne nodded.

                “Fair enough. So, what do you want to talk about?” Jayne asked as she found a nearby trashcan and discarded her empty coffee cup.

                “Anything at all. I like talking with you.” Soohyun said as he noticed a slight blush overcoming Jayne’s cheeks. He gazed into her blue eyes and got lost in them. “Good thing I’m wearing these sunglasses so she can’t see me gawking at her.” Soohyun chuckled to himself.

***

                Hoon woke up and staggered like a zombie to the bathroom, stretching as he yawned. The apartment seemed very quiet for a Saturday morning. Dongho was snoring away like usual, but he didn’t hear any noise coming from Soohyun’s room. After doing his morning business and washing his hands, he made his way to the kitchen for something to eat and noticed a note on the dining room table. He picked it up and saw Soohyun’s handwriting. Scratching his head, he placed the note down and meandered to the fridge to grab some breakfast. He glanced at his phone for the time and realized that it would be two hours before their company van would pick them up to take them to the video shoot for their “Believe” music video.

                “I should send Soohyun a text just to remind him of our video shoot today. Wouldn’t want our leader to miss that. We’d never hear the end of it from our manager…” Hoon thought to himself as he started to compose a text message. After sending the text, he grabbed a bowl of cereal and set it on the dining room table. He wanted to sit down and enjoy it, but knew he should wake Dongho to get him in motion before it was too late.

                “Wakey, wakey…rise and shine!” Hoon said as he ripped the covers off Dongho’s bed. Dongho squirmed into a ball at the absence of the bed sheet and blankets.

                “It can’t be time to get up yet…” Dongho mumbled sleepily. He scrunched his eyes shut to try and go back to sleep, but Hoon grabbed the pillow off of his own bed and whacked Dongho hard. “OUCH!” Dongho said as he sat up and shoved Hoon. Hoon almost lost his balance, but regained it and threw the pillow at Dongho’s face.

                “Good morning to you, too, Mr. Cranky Pants.” Hoon said as Dongho threw the pillow to the side of the bed and stood up.

                “Yeah, yeah, yeah. What’s going on? What time is it?” Dongho asked as he stretched and started fixing his bed up.

                “Well, we have about two hours before getting picked up to do our “Believe” music video. Figured I’d get you up so you’d have time to shower and grab some breakfast.” Hoon said.

                “Oh yeah…we do have that today, don’t we?” Dongho said as he handed Hoon back his pillow. “Wait…why is it so quiet in here? Where’s Soohyun?” Dongho asked as he finished making his bed.

                “He left a note saying he was going out and possibly grabbing breakfast. We must have been sleeping, because I didn’t hear him leave.” Hoon said as Dongho yawned. “I just sent him a text a few minutes ago reminding him of the time so he can be here when the van comes to pick us up. I haven’t heard from him yet, though.” Hoon said. His phone chirped loudly letting him know he received a text message. “Hahaha…never mind…he just texted me back now.”

             Hoon – thanks for reminding me. I should be home within the hour. I did grab some breakfast while I was out. Hope Dongho is awake, too.

                 “What did you fix for breakfast?” Dongho asked sleepily as Hoon was tapping a reply on his phone.

                “Just some cereal. Speaking of which, I should go eat it before it gets soggy.” Hoon sent the text and headed towards the dining room.

***

                Soohyun and Jayne were deep in conversation when his cell phone went off. He reached into his hoodie pocket and checked his phone, seeing it was a text from Hoon.

            Soohyun, what’s going on? Where are you? Don’t forget that we have the video shoot today. Van should be here in two hours. You coming back soon? – Hoon

                “Sorry, I have to answer this text. One minute.” Soohyun said as he tapped his reply into the phone and sent it. “I hate to do this, but we probably should be heading back. I have some work to do today and my roommate just sent me a text reminding me. I really enjoyed hanging out with you today.” Soohyun smiled as Jayne smiled back. They turned around and started heading back towards his car.

                Half an hour later they were standing outside of Jayne’s apartment door.

                “Did you want to come in for a minute?” Jayne asked Soohyun as he nodded. They stepped inside her apartment and immediately Jayne heard Jinx welcoming her home. She motioned for him to sit on her couch and she went in search of Jinx. Upon finding her, she picked the kitten up and brought her over to the couch. Setting Jinx in her lap, the kitten walked from her lap onto Soohyun’s. Soohyun laughed and started her back, causing Jinx to purr in content. “I think someone likes you.” Jayne giggled as Soohyun looked up.

                “I could get used to this.” He said as he gently picked her up and kissed her furry face. He gently set Jinx back down on his lap and she hopped onto Jayne’s lap. He glanced at his phone and realized he had to get going. “Well, Jayne…I had a great time today.” Soohyun said as he stood up and got his shoes on. Jayne gently put Jinx on the floor and walked over to the door.

                “I did, too. I hope we get to do this again.” Jayne could feel a blush overcome her face and put her face down to try and hide it.

                “I’d like that.” Soohyun said. Jayne lifted her head up at his response. “Jayne…I…” He didn’t know how he was going to explain what he needed to say to her and put his hands in his pockets of his jeans.

                “Yes?” Jayne asked, urging him to say what was on his mind.

                “I don’t normally have a lot of free time. Today was an exception. Unfortunately with my job, there’s no set schedule. I work crazy hours. I really enjoy spending time with you. So, if I don’t get the chance to do this as often as I’d like, please don’t take it the wrong way…” Soohyun said as Jayne nodded.

                “We all have busy schedules. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to spend it with me. If we can’t meet in person, we can always call or text, right?” Jayne said.

                “Well, even calling and texting may be at odd hours, too. I hope that’s okay…” Soohyun said searching her face for her response.

                “Of course. If I don’t get it right away, I’ll just text you back when I do.” Jayne said, meeting his gaze.

                “Well…have a great rest of your day. I’ll text you later on tonight. No clue on how long work will be today.” Soohyun said.

                “You, too. Don’t work too hard. I’ll talk to you later.” Jayne opened the door and Soohyun stepped out.

                “Annyeong hi gyeseyo (Goodbye).” Soohyun said bowing slightly.

                “Annyeong hi kaseyo (Goodbye).” Jayne said bowing back. She waved slightly as he started walking down the steps to his car. He waved back. Once he was out of eyesight, Jayne walked inside her apartment and rested against the door once she closed it. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Jinx looked at her and meowed, snapping Jayne back into reality. “Yes, I know…you want attention. Come here.” Jayne scooped her up and smothered her with kisses. Jinx lovingly rubbed her head up against Jayne’s body. “You know what, Jinx…I’m beginning to like living here in Korea.” Jayne whispered as she sat down on the couch, Jinx in her arms. Jinx purred in approval.