"Oh my gosh NO!" Hei-Ryung screeched, raw panic in her voice as it drilled through the locked apartment door. Worried that something might have happened, Youngjae jammed his newly reacquired key into the lock and shoved the door open.

     "Ms. Cha, are you alright?" He demanded, bursting through the door and onto the scene. The worst that seemed to be happening at the moment was Hei-Ryung falling off the couch in surprise at Youngjae's sudden appearance. The television was on, and the screen had just cut to a commercial break. "M-Ms. Cha?" Youngjae faltered, his face blank and confused as he made eye contact with Hei-Ryung, who had cautiously poked her head over the arm of the couch.

     "Yes?"

     "Why were you screaming?"

     She seemed reluctant to share exactly what had caused such a chilling howl, but after nearly a minute of silence had passed she decided to open you. "Nam Soon... he was just crushed by chairs..." she admitted sheepishly, a few tears starting to appear at the corners of her eyes as she pointed to the television screen. Though an advertisement for spring fashion- they were already into the second week of March, after all- was currently playing, Youngjae understood it was the television show that had previously been airing that had upset Hei-Ryung so much.

     "Still, you don't have to scream..." he pointed out, sitting down on the edge of the step so he could pull off his shoes and join Hei-Ryung in the living room.

     "That was the end of the episode!" Hei-Ryung insisted, jumping to her feet and frowning indignantly at Youngjae. "Nam Soon could have died right then! It was such a terrible accident," her voice had actually started choking up at this point.

     Youngjae understood that Hei-Ryung was a sensitive girl, and it was perfectly alright for her to become emotionally invested in a television character, but there was one thing that confused him about this whole situation. "Go Nam Soon, right? The main character in School 2013?" Hei-Ryung nodded in agreement, sniffling as she wiped away the tears and composed herself. "Didn't that end two months ago?" Hei-Ryung nodded again, though this time it was accompanied by a small smile.

     "I recorded all the episodes," she explained, pointing to the screen. The commercial had ended, and another drama was picking up around the middle of the episode.

     "Why? Didn't you have enough time to watch them the first time?"

     "Of course! I always made sure to watch them when they aired!" Hei-Ryung exclaimed, picking up the television remote and clicking the power button. With a high-pitched staticy blip, the screen went dark.

     "So then you know very well that he doesn't die."

     "Your point being?" this conversation was obviously going nowhere fast, so Youngjae let Hei-Ryung get the final word and gave up. As someone who was rather apathetic towards dramas, he didn't stand a chance of understanding why Hei-Ryung was getting so worked up despite knowing that everything turned out all right in the end. Better to let her do her thing and focus on what he had come for, then to argue with Hei-Ryung about pointless diversions.

     "I see you got your key back," Hei-Ryung observed, leaning against the arm rest of the couch as Youngjae stepped into the living area. "Has Seulki forgiven you?"

     "I'm not sure how Ms. Lee feels about me, but she's forgiven Mr. Kim. He's the one who convinced her to give me back my key," Youngjae explained, pushing the round, wire frame glasses he had perched on his face further up the bridge of his nose. They suited him, but Hei-Ryung felt that they also made him look a bit nerdy. So did that mean that, since the glasses suited him, Youngjae was nerdy? Hei-Ryung ran this thought through her mind a few times while Youngjae waited patiently for her to comment on what he had said. When it became apparent that this was not going to happen, he decided to move on with the conversation.

     "I don't mean to push you, but wouldn't it be better for you to be working on your next book rather than watching reruns of School 2013?" This was apparently the wrong question to stimulate the conversation, because the moment he mentioned the word 'book' Hei-Ryung's expression become drawn and worn out. "I-I'm sorry if I offended you, Ms. Cha-"

     "I'm dying, Youngjae," Hei-Ryung sighed, crouching down on the ground with her head in her hands. Unsure of how to react to this sudden revelation, Youngjae knelt down beside her and cautiously rested one hand on her shoulders. Hei-Ryung didn't push him off, a sign that something really was wrong with her.

     "Does Ms. Lee know?" If she did, she hadn't mentioned anything to Youngjae. She probably hadn't even told his uncle, because Ji Suk would definitely have told Youngjae if he had known. Both of their futures were resting on Hei-Ryung, after all.

     Hei-Ryung shook her head helplessly. "No, I haven't worked up enough courage to tell her. She's worked so hard for me, so I feel terrible for just..." her voice drifted off, and Hei-Ryung gestured helplessly to the air. Whatever she wanted to say had apparently been lost, but Youngjae understood what she meant. "Also, I want to make sure that it's really happening before I start worrying her. Especially if I'm already dead and just can't face it yet." Now Youngjae was lost. He was pretty sure that zombies and vampires did not exist in reality, contrary to every supernatural teenage romance novel, so Hei-Ryung definitely could not be a member of the undead race; yet here she was telling him that she might have died.

     "I haven't been able to write something decent for weeks!" Hei-Ryung suddenly wailed, tugging at her hair. "It's driving me insane, Youngjae! What if all of my talent really has died off? Kang Kae Yeon has either become an endangered species, or has already gone extinct! How am I supposed to tell Seulki about something like that?" She demanded, jumping to her feet and storming across the room to her computer. After violently giving the mouse a shake, Hei-Ryung pointed an accusatory finger at the computer screen; there was only a blank word document on the display.

     So she hadn't meant that she was literally dying, but that her imagination and creativity was metaphorically dying. Youngjae let out a long, low breath of air to try and calm his poor heart after the shock it had just received. Dealing with Hei-Ryung was better than any cup of coffee, that was for sure. Already she had nearly given him a heart attack twice, and any drowsiness he had been experiencing earlier that morning had certainly dissipated; a change that could possibly be permanent. If Youngjae couldn't sleep tonight, he was going to blame Hei-Ryung.

     "Have you gotten out at all during these past few weeks?" Youngjae asked, seizing the opportunity to broach the subject he had originally come to discuss.

     "Not since the book signing. And that didn't exactly help much," her voice was bitter as she talked about the event, and Youngjae completely understood why. Rather than skyrocketing her career, the event had only managed to make it even more unstable. Stories and blogs about the disaster were still at the top of every search engine when Kang Kae Yeon was entered, even though it had been two weeks since it occurred. It also explained why Hei-Ryung was saying she was 'dying', rather than using the term most people did: 'writer's block'.

     "I've heard that a change of pace can really help someone when they've hit a block. Maybe stepping away for a few hours would do your brain some good," Youngjae suggested, sounding way too obvious for how subtle he was trying to be. Seulki had mentioned to him that it had been a while since she had heard anything about Hei-Ryung's next book, and they had assumed that she was running into a funk. Youngjae hadn't imagined it would be quite this bad, though.

     Hei-Ryung exhaled loudly and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Do I have a choice?" Youngjae winced at how penetrating her words were. Apparently she was a bit more perceptive than he had hoped. "Obviously you came here with the intent of dragging me out of my apartment," she didn't sound annoyed, though. In fact, if Youngjae didn't know better he would say that Hei-Ryung actually sounded a little hopeful, even excited. Like she was waiting to see the outside world, but hadn't been able to do it on her own.

     It was a possibility, knowing how Hei-Ryung was.

     "You of course have a choice, but I would appreciate it if you would join me for a little-"

     "I'll go get dressed!" Hei-Ryung exclaimed, her face lighting up as she rushed out of the room, the bedroom door slamming behind her. Chuckling under his breath, Youngjae sat down on the step to put his grey nylon sneakers back on. He was glad that getting her into the outside world was turning out to be a painless process, and he refused to let apprehension about how smoothly the rest of this day was going to go ruin his good mood. After all, he had already told himself that Hei-Ryung was going to be annoyed with him by the end of the day and prepared for this reaction, so he might as well enjoy himself before then.

     "Make sure to dress warmly! It's pretty chilly outside," Youngjae told Hei-Ryung, remembering how he had nearly been knocked over by the blustery winds. Not the most pleasant experience of his life, especially because the audience of pedestrians on the other side had not been very quiet about laughing at his struggle.

     Ten minutes later Hei-Ryung was bouncing- yes, bouncing- out of her bedroom with a bright, but small, smile on her face, her braided hair slightly swinging side to side. She was wearing a long, sleeveless blue shirt cut slightly longer in the back, and a long, pleated pink skirt that brushed against her shins. Her outfit definitely suited the spring time atmosphere of March, especially when contrasted with Youngjae's light gray hoody and navy blue slim fit jeans, but Youngjae didn't really care about being 'Springy'. He just wanted to keep warm, and it was obvious that this objective was going to be better met by his attire than by Hei-Ryung's.He didn't want to fight with her, though, and so chose not to argue with Hei-Ryung about her clothes. Instead, he quietly watched her slip on a pair of white sandals and followed her out of the apartment.

     After a short, quiet ride down the elevator, they stepped out into the brisk March morning. Instantly a breeze whipped past them, chilling Hei-Ryung's arms. Shivering, she moved around to the other side of Youngjae so that he acted like a windbreaker. "I told you to dress warmly," Youngjae sighed, walking with slight difficulty- Hei-Ryung was pressing herself against his side to try and hide from the wind and share some of his good sense's warmth- towards the main street so they could grab a taxi cab.

     "I know, but it's spring! I'm so sick of having to bundle up against the cold all the time, so I got excited about finally being able to wear something nice!" Hei-Ryung lamented, pushing a strand of hair that had been ripped from her braid by the wind behind her ear. Already the excitement of leaving her apartment for the first time in two weeks was starting to disappear. "Can we walk to wherever it is you want to take me? It'll be good exercise, and it will help keep us- well, mostly me- warm," she suggested, looking up hopefully at Youngjae.

     "Do I really look that fat? I didn't think I needed exercise, but-"

     "I didn't mean it like that!" Hei-Ryung gasped, blushing apologetically as she covered with one hand in horror. It wasn't until Youngjae smirked playfully down at her that she realized he had been kidding. Pouting, Hei-Ryung pushed him away from her and strode forward indignantly. "That was not funny!" She scoffed, her voice unsteady from trying not to laugh. Smiling, Youngjae hurried to catch up with her, something that was easily accomplished because of how much longer his stride was.

     "We can walk if you want. I just assumed you wouldn't..." how to put this tactfully?

     "Wouldn't want to be around people?" Hei-Ryung finished for him, surprisingly up front about it. "Thank you for worrying about me, but... I want to try and be a little more sociable today, though I'm not sure why. Maybe the fact that spring has finally arrived is putting me in a better mood than usual; I want to at least try and behave myself today," nervously, Hei-Ryung clasped her hands behind her back and wrung them together, her gaze never moving to look over at Youngjae.

     'Behave' was an interesting choice of diction, but Youngjae understood what she meant by it. Sort of. "Then I suppose it's my job to make sure you have a good time today," Youngjae decided as they arrived at the main road. He could see a bright yellow taxi cab approaching them, the colorful neon sign in its window announcing it was available, but Youngjae let it pass them by in favor of going with Hei-Ryung's plan and walking. As it was still relatively early in the morning there weren't many people out and about, a fortunate boost to Hei-Ryung's determination to actually participate in the world today.

     It didn't take long for them to start getting a conversation going, with Youngjae doing most of the talking while Hei-Ryung listened and occasionally interjected with a comment or interested "hm". Just as quickly, though, the conversation stalled and both participants had to quickly scramble to come up with another topic that would keep it going. Biting down on her bottom lip, Hei-Ryung scoured her mind for something she could talk to Youngjae about, feeling guilty for being such a crummy conversationalist. It wasn't as though she felt the need to keep talking- or, at least, for Youngjae to keep talking- as right now seemed like a nice time to just walk in silence and enjoy each other's company, but Hei-Ryung had no idea if Youngjae felt the same. She supposed she could ask him, but something as obvious as that would sound silly.

     "As the spring wind blows the scattering cherry blossom petals spread out on this street, as we walk together," across the street, a music store had begun playing Busker Busker's Cherry Blossom Ending on their loud speakers, filling the air with the song's spring time mood. Hei-Ryung wasn't surprised to hear the song, because although it was already a year old it had definitely become a classic spring time song. Smiling softly to herself, Hei-Ryung hummed along to the song, her voice straining to hit some of the high notes.

     "When the wind blows, my heart starts to pound without knowing. When the wind blows, from way over there, I keep seeing you. My heart starts to pound without knowing..." beside her, Youngjae started singing along. Surprised that he would join in, Hei-Ryung quickly silence her own out-of-tune humming and listened to Youngjae sing. He was far better than her and, in fact, she would hazard to say that he was better than a lot of the people she had heard sing. His voice was pleasant to listen to because it was warm and smooth, and even though he also couldn't quite hit the high notes he was able to get close enough that it sounded good. As the bridge started playing, Youngjae quit singing and frowned down at Hei-Ryung.

     "You stopped," he pointed out, playing the role of Captain Obvious perfectly.

     "I'm not nearly as good as you," Hei-Ryung chuckled self-consciously, clasping her hands behind her back.

     "So? That shouldn't stop you from enjoying yourself," he insisted, smiling at Hei-Ryung. "Come on, you didn't sound that bad," he insisted as the bridge began coming to an end.

     Reluctantly and quietly, Hei-Ryung allowed her airy, out-of-tune voice to nervously mingle with Youngjae's as she joined him in the final chorus. "As the spring wind blows the scattering cherry blossom petals spread out on this street, as we walk together..." As the song, barely audible by now because of how much distance the two had put between themselves and the shop, came to a close, another started playing just up ahead. Unlike the gentle and lilting spring song, this one had a driving beat, synths, and was 100% in English. Raising her eyebrows, Hei-Ryung glanced over at Youngjae.

     "Want to check it out?" He asked, vaguely recognizing the singer as Chris Brown. He couldn't put a name to the song, though, and was just as curious as Hei-Ryung. Once she nodded in agreement, the two quickened their pace a little and turned the corner, where they were faced by a surprisingly large crowd of people. In the center of it they could barely make out the bouncing head of a boy, who was apparently dancing along with the music. Youngjae hadn't known there were street performers in this area of Seoul.

     It was the perfect opportunity for him to start implementing his plan, though. At the request of his uncle, who had by now heard about the disaster Hei-Ryung's book signing had been, Youngjae was to force Hei-Ryung to come out of her shell. It wasn't good for business if she couldn't even handle something as minor as that, after all. He wasn't entirely behind his uncle's reasoning, but Youngjae agreed that they needed to do something about Hei-Ryung's anxiety attacks. So, after much debate, they had decided that the best way to do this would be to force her to face her fears. By putting her in uncomfortable, even frightening situations they would hopefully get her to conquer whatever it was that was holding her back.

     "Come on, let's get a closer look," Youngjae encouraged her, walking around behind Hei-Ryung and gently pushing her towards the crowd. He almost felt like he could feel her heartbeat as it started speeding up, juxtaposing against the rest of her body, which had gone completely rigid. "Don't worry, I won't let you get lost in the crowd. We'll stick together, alright?" he assured her as they reached the edge of the crowd. Mumbling apologies, Youngjae carefully navigated his way through the press of bodies, keeping his hands on Hei-Ryung's hips so he could guide her. When they reached the front of the group they quickly caught sight of the performer.

     It looked like he had been performing for a while, because he was covered in sweat from head to toe. This didn't seem to bother the group of high school girls who formed most of the crowd, though, and in fact seemed to make them cheer even louder for the boy. Then again, it might have been his outfit that was doing that. Brown leather combat boots, baggy black cargo pants held up by a leather belt, and a black sleeveless vest. No shirt, just the vest, so his well-defined abs were on display for all to see. Underneath his grip, Youngjae could feel Hei-Ryung relax a little now that they weren't being buffeted on all sides by the eager crowd. Hopefully she could enjoy the performance now; though Youngjae hoped she kept in mind that this kid was obviously still in high school.

     "He's really good!" Hei-Ryung exclaimed, having to raise her voice to be heard over the chanting students and blasting music. Youngjae nodded in agreement, not bothering to try and make himself heard over a particularly loud bout of squeals from the girls as the kid pulled off a particularly impressive move. "Really, really good!" Hei-Ryung continued, clasping her hands together tightly and watching the boy perform with wide-eyed fascination.

     "Moon Jongup fighting!" One of the students screamed, though she was quickly shushed by her fellow classmates. So the kid's name was Jongup... Youngjae had never heard it before. Which wasn't surprising, as he wasn't a high school student. "We love you Cheetos!" Another girl added, sending a wave of giggles through the crowd. Youngjae didn't need three guesses to figure out where that nickname had come from. Jongup, too, seemed to know exactly what the girls' were referring to, and smiled nervously as he focused more intently on the dance's choreography. For a kid who came out on a freezing spring morning with no shirt on to dance to a song that talked about putting your hands up in the air if you're y and you know it, he was awfully shy.

     The song ended shortly after that, and those who were not decked out in a school uniform quickly dispersed to go about their business. Youngjae would have liked to join them, but Hei-Ryung didn't show any signs of moving away from the spot she had apparently become rooted to. Leaning over to see if he could grab her attention, Youngjae noticed that she still seemed to be in awe of Jongup's dancing. Chuckling, Youngjae waved a hand in front of her face. "Come on, let's get going. I thought you said you were cold?" He reminded her, nodding towards the goose bumps that had appeared on Hei-Ryung's arms.

     Blinking, she tore her gaze away from Jongup and nodded. "He was really amazing," she breathed out, rubbing her arms to try and squash the goose bumps.

     "Was he amazing, or was his body amazing?" Youngjae teased, gently nudging Hei-Ryung as she started blushing.

     "A bit of both?" She admitted with no shame, glancing over one last time at Jongup. She had expected he would be joining his classmates now that he was done performing, but instead he was tugging on a sweatshirt and heading towards her and Youngjae. Surprised, she quickly hurried to get out of his way- the boy had his head covered, so maybe he didn't realize he was about to walk right into them- and pulled Youngjae along with her. Jongup seemed to know exactly where he was going, though, because he adjusted accordingly and followed them.

     "So what did you think of my dancing?" he asked, grinning proudly at Hei-Ryung as he adjusted the sweatshirt so it fit comfortably. "You seemed to be watching me pretty closely," he added when Hei-Ryung remained silent. Knowing that Hei-Ryung wasn't going to respond without a little encouragement, Youngjae subtly nudged her from behind to try and snap her out of whatever trance she had been thrown into.

     "You were amazing!" Hei-Ryung squeaked out, starting to wring her hands together as she inched back into her shell. This didn't seem to bother Jongup, though, who just seemed glad that Hei-Ryung had liked his performance. Frowning, Youngjae wondered if perhaps the kid was trying to hit on her. If so, he was about to be sorely disappointed when he found out that she was a bit too old for a high school student like him.

     "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I don't get to hear people compliment my dancing much," Jongup admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He had worked up quite the sweat while dancing, and Youngjae could tell that he was uncomfortable inside of the sweatshirt he was wearing. Probably should have let himself cool off first.

     "They seem to like you a lot, though," Hei-Ryung pointed out tentatively, glancing over Jongup's shoulder at the crowd of high school girls.

     "Exactly," Jongup chuckled, reaching down and picking up a duffel bag from the ground. Hei-Ryung didn't seem to get why he was agreeing with her all of a sudden, and Jongup didn't take the time to explain. Instead, he flashed her one last smile and a thank you, then swung his bag over his shoulder and strode down the street. Behind him, the girls broke up into two groups. One started making their way towards the local high school, the other swarmed together and followed Jongup.

     Left on their own, Youngjae and Hei-Ryung resumed walking.

     Beyond idle chit-chat, they didn't talk much until they arrived at a coffee shop. "It's nearly ten o'clock. Don't you thinks it's a little late in the day for coffee?" Hei-Ryung asked, slightly bowing a silent thank you as she walked through the door Youngjae held open for her.

     "Maybe," Youngjae admitted, coming up behind Hei-Ryung and observing the shop. A long, black marble counter stretched around the opposite wall, manned by a solitary woman who looked incredibly bored. Beyond that, the simplistic design included several wooden tables with spindly wooden chairs surrounding them, and long windows that let in the bright morning sunshine through slatted blinds. It was the woman Youngjae was interested in, though, as she was the reason he had picked this shop as the first stop on his "Fix Hei-Ryung" journey. She was the daughter of the shop's owner, a kind old man who had medical problems and so couldn't work as much as he would like, and the only reason she worked here was so she could earn a little extra money to play with- her parents paid for her college. She hated her job, though, and often had a bad attitude with customers.

     If Hei-Ryung could successfully conquer her, then Youngjae was convinced she could do anything. Of course Youngjae's plan would be ruined if Himchan didn't remember what he was supposed to-

     Jay Park's voice began sounding from within Youngjae's pocket. Forcing himself not to smile with relief, Youngjae pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. "Hello?" He answered.

     "So what was so important that you needed me to call you at exactly this time?" Himchan asked from the other end.

     "Really? Is it that serious?" Youngjae responded, "alright, alright. Just give me a second," ignoring Himchan's confused questions from the other end, Youngjae covered the mouth piece with his hand and glanced apologetically at Hei-Ryung. "I'm sorry, but this is pretty important. Would you mind ordering our drinks while I work this out?" She looked like he had just asked her to assassinate the president. "I'll just have a normal cappuccino," he didn't give Hei-Ryung a chance to protest, and quickly bustled over to a secluded corner of the shop.

     "Youngjae, I understand that you don't have much work to do, but some of us are busy. I don't have time to play around with you," Himchan complained when Youngjae announced that he was back.

     "I'm sorry, Mr. Kim, but I'm not kidding around. This is serious business!" Youngjae apologized, keeping his voice low as he snuck a glance at Hei-Ryung. By now she had tentatively approached the counter and was trying to get the disinterested waitress's attention. Noticing the stricken look on Hei-Ryung's face, Youngjae felt a little bad for doing this to her, but reminded himself that it was for her own good.

     "I know, you mentioned that," Himchan groaned. The bell that hung over the shop's door rang, and another customer entered; from where he was standing Youngjae couldn't see who it was. He could, however, see that Hei-Ryung had finally gotten the woman's attention and was stumbling over their order. Silently, Youngjae cheered her on and prayed that she didn't pass out; it was something that was very likely to happen, as Hei-Ryung's face had gone incredibly pale. "Now mind explaining exactly what is so serious?"

     "I needed an excuse to leave Hei-Ryung alone," the best policy was always honesty, so Youngjae told Himchan the truth.

    For a moment the man was silent, and then came his exasperated reply: "I just got you back on Seulki's good side, and now you're torturing her favorite author?"

     "I'm sorry, Mr. Kim, but this is for the best. I prom- are you kidding me?" Youngjae groaned, watching the newcomer approach the counter and engage Hei-Ryung in conversation. (From his cell phone, Youngjae could faintly hear a sarcastic reply coming from Himchan.) It seemed an awfully big coincidence that Moon Jongup had decided to come to the exact same coffee shop, especially considering how terrible the customer service was known to be. Besides, shouldn't the kid be in school right now?

     "What happened to your friend from earlier?" Jongup asked, leaning on the counter and smiling at Hei-Ryung. Hei-Ryung was surprised his jaw hadn't fallen off by now with how much the guy smiled.

     "He had to take a phone call," Hei-Ryung explained, nodding in Youngjae's direction. "I'm supposed to order us coffee, but-"

     "She can't speak up. Honestly, can you even hear her?" the woman drawled, frowning at Hei-Ryung as she tapped her glossy manicured fingernails on the counter. Swallowing hard, Hei-Ryung rubbed at the palms of her hands and forced herself to stand her ground. She couldn't run away and leave Youngjae to sort things out for her again, especially since all she had to do was order coffee- one of the easiest tasks in the world! Besides, she didn't want to go back outside in the cold, and Hei-Ryung had no idea where the bathrooms here were.

     Sensing Hei-Ryung's distress, Jongup gently pushed her aside and took over. "What does your friend want?" Prepared to cry because of the immense relief and gratitude that suddenly hit her, Hei-Ryung lowered her eyes to the floor and hurriedly answered him. Nodding, Jongup repeated Youngjae's order. "And what do you want? The same thing?"

     "I don't really like coffee," Hei-Ryung mumbled nervously, straining to lift her eyes enough to read the board that hung overhead and listed off the beverages the shop offered.

     "Then how about orange juice?" She nodded. "Alright! One orange juice, please," Jongup ordered, holding up one finger and smiling at the woman across the counter. Rolling her eyes, she disappeared into the back to make the drinks. Jongup remained unfazed by her attitude, and remained smiling as he turned to lean against the counter and chat with Hei-Ryung while they waited for the drinks.

     "Don't you want anything?" Hei-Ryung asked quietly, finally able to lift her eyes enough to see Jongup's face. She had expected him to be annoyed with her, but no, he was still smiling. Then again, maybe he was just good at hiding how he really felt behind that smile of his. That scared Hei-Ryung even more than him being straight up frustrated, because at least then she would know how he felt and wouldn't have to guess.

     "Nah, I'm not really thirsty right now," Jongup admitted, rhythmically tugging on the collar of his sweatshirt to try and do what the brisk spring breeze hadn't been able to.

     "Then why come in here?"

     "This is my dad's shop, and that's my older sister. I stopped by to say hi." By this time, Youngjae had hung up on Himchan, who still didn't quite know if he should be supporting Youngjae's plan or opposing it, and had joined Hei-Ryung and Jongup at the counter. Of course the increasingly-friendly Jongup would be the son Youngjae had never known existed. Sighing under his breath, Youngjae stood awkwardly behind Hei-Ryung and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "You're friend's back," Jongup pointed out, "want me to get you guys a table?" This time he addressed Youngjae, who agreed only because he felt it would be rude to turn down Jongup's offer.

     Once they were seated, Jongup's sister brought out their drinks and plopped them down on the table. "Enjoy," she muttered before turning on her heels and hurrying back to the counter. Customer service was obviously not a part of her destiny.

     "She wants to become a secretary," Jongup commented, sitting down with Youngjae and Hei-Ryung. When he noticed the incredulous looks on both their faces, he chuckled and went on to explain: "She figures that's the quickest way to meet a rich young guy who will fall head over heels in love with her. Like in all the dramas." So it wasn't just Hei-Ryung who had a strange obsession with dramas, though it seemed that this woman's was bordering on unhealthy.

     After chatting about Jongup's sister for a while longer, the conversation gradually drifted around. Although Youngjae couldn't say that he was entirely happy with this unexpected addition to his plan, he also wasn't going to openly complain about it. Sure Jongup wasn't expected, but he was playing a part in getting Hei-Ryung to open up. Sipping at his coffee, Youngjae glanced down at the introvert in question and watched her happily chat away with Jongup. It had taken her a while to get to this point, but now Hei-Ryung seemed to have no problem with talking to complete strangers.

     It was a success for Youngjae and his uncle, so he should feel happy, but Youngjae wasn't even satisfied. He was disgruntled and even annoyed, though he hid this well by keeping quiet and forcing his expression to remain pleasant.

     Eventually Jongup had to leave- apparently he, as a senior, had been given off the morning while the younger students tested- for school. After bidding the both of them goodbye, he hurried into the back room and up an invisible staircase to the living area upstairs to change into his uniform. As they had both finished their drinks by now, Youngjae suggested they get going, too.

     The wind had died down since they entered the shop, and now the weather was surprisingly warm. Smiling because of the pleasant change, Hei-Ryung stretched her arms out and led the way down the street. "You were right, you know. I feel like whatever was keeping my brain from working is gone, and I can finally get back to writing!" She chirped, turning around to walk backwards so she could talk face-to-face with Youngjae.

     "That's good. I assume you want to head back now?" he was a little disappointed that things were ending so soon, but as he had used curing her writer's block as an excuse to get her outside there wasn't much he could do about it.

     "If you don't mind. I'm pretty far behind schedule," Hei-Ryung quietly agreed, looking a little guilty. "Sorry that we didn't get to do much," she added, spinning back around to face front.

     "It's fine," Youngjae assured her, feeling like he should say more.

     "Maybe we can do this again sometime?" She offered, glancing hopefully at Youngjae over her shoulder.

     "Definitely."

Author's Note

Kind of a random chapter, but... whatever ^-^ At first Jongup wasn't supposed to play such a big part in it, but somehow he wormed his way into the story.

Updated: It isn't just Jonguppie, either, hehe  The other half of B.A.P will be playing roles in the story as well, though they'll be coming later on.