As Jessica was carefully dispensing some whipped cream from the can onto a customer’s drink, Yoona came up beside her, getting another drink ready.

“Hey, where were you yesterday?” Yoona asked.

“Huh?” Jessica replied, not really paying attention.

“I called you yesterday to ask if you wanted to hang out.”

“Oh, mianhae Yoong. I was um,” Jessica tried to come up with a good excuse, not wanting to explain how she spent a day with a ghost boy in Incheon. “I was uh, in Incheon,” she blurted.

“Incheon?” Yoona looked at her oddly. “What were you doing there?”

Think quickly Sooyeon, she told herself.

“I was visiting someone.”

“Visiting? Who?”

“Um…a friend, an old friend.” Yeah, that’s it! “A friend I haven’t seen for a while.”

“Oh…okay, just wondering. We haven’t spent time together in a while unni. Sleepover? Go shopping? Be sure to tell me when you’re free,” Yoona suggested.

“You got it Yoong,” Jessica promised half-heartedly. Jessica watched Yoona walk away with a customer’s order and let out a sigh of relief. It was wrong to lie to her best friend. But she knew she just wouldn’t understand the situation Jessica was in. How does one exactly describe a day with a spirit? It was just too complicated and she was afraid Yoona wouldn’t even believe her. She couldn’t risk it.

A few days pass and Jessica lives her life normally for once. She happily greets the customers as they enter and supplies heart-filled goodbyes as they leave. Jessica goes to the back of the café to wipe off some tables and collect some dishes. She heads for the booth in the back. She places the tray on a table behind her and starts piling some cups and platters and proceeds to gently cleanse the table top in the booth.

“Hey are you free later?” A familiar voice asks. Jessica looks and sees Donghae sitting in the booth.

“Where have you been?” she instinctively asked.

“Why? Missed me?” Donghae said with a teasing smile and Jessica shook her head in disappointment. “What?” he asked, confused.

“You shouldn’t be visiting me while I’m working,” she told him, keeping her focus on the table she was cleaning.

“Why not?” He asks leaning forward. She nudges her head backward and Donghae follows her signal, realizing a couple whispering to one another, eyeing Jessica a bit suspiciously. Donghae quietly mouthed his lips into the shape of an “Oh,” understanding.

“That’s why,” she replied.

“Well, are you free tomorrow?” he insisted.

“Mmm, I have to work late. Maybe the next day,” she suggested.

“No can do Princess.”

Her head shot up at him at the sound of the weird nickname.

“I’m gonna be watching my little brother Jungshin tomorrow. His band is playing at this open coffee house and I promised I’d be there,” he explained to her.

“Ahh, I see,” Jessica nodded her head pouting. “You certainly are busy for a ghost,” she added.

“Do you want to come?” he suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

“Come to the coffee house tomorrow night. Jungshin’s band is great. He plays the bass. Their music is really awesome and you’ll enjoy it, I promise” Jessica looked at his excited eyes, smiling like two little moons shining back at her.

“I don’t know…I won’t know anyone there,” she hesitated.

“You’ll know me!” Donghae commented with a smile. Jessica shook her head.

“Yeah, knowing a ghost will definitely help.”

“Come on, It’ll be fun.” She looked around to make sure no one was watching, turned her attention back to him and reluctantly nodded her head.

“Great! It’s a date then!” he exclaimed. Jessica threw him an icy glare, freezing Donghae in his seat.

“Okay, okay I was kidding. Sheesh. When you work a lot you sure do get grumpy.”

“Instead of mocking me, how about telling me about the coffee house?” she said with her hands on her hips.

“Oh right! The café is in Incheon and is called ‘The Coffee House.’”

“Easy enough,” Jessica said shrugging her shoulders.

“It starts at 7 so try to be there around 6:45 so you can inconspicuously get a seat in the back and I’ll meet you there. It’s on Main Street, you can’t miss it. There will probably be a bunch of people going in.”

“Alright,” Jessica said, committing it to memory. “This better be good,” she said.

“Don’t worry, you’ll like it. It’ll be really chill and laid back,” he promised.

“Excuse me miss,” a customer beckoned for Jessica. Jessica instantly turned around and nodded her head, picking up the tray of dirty dishes on the other table.

“I’ll be right there,” she said. “Donghae I have to get back to work,” she said, turning around. When she looked back in the booth, unsurprisingly, Donghae had vanished.

“Rude,” Jessica said as she upsettingly tossed the dishrag onto the tray.

--

Lightly stepping off from the last step of the bus, Jessica looked around a bit nervously, hoping not to get lost. She looked down the street she was on, lightly brushing a piece of her orange-tinted chestnut hair behind her ear. She saw a small group of people waiting outside a café and knew she was probably at the right place. She walked down the street, brushing off her skinny jeans and straightening her light pink button-down, short sleeved blouse. She squinted her eyes as she approached what was probably the café until she could finally read the sign protruding out from above the doorway that read “The Coffee House.” Jessica smiled at finally reaching the café and quietly entered, saying a few “excuse me’s” to the several people standing around, chatting with friends.

            She moved to the back of the café where she could still get a decent view of the small stage that sat near the front corner, close to the entrance. She sat down at a small table by herself, placing her bag on the table. She placed her elbow on the table, resting her chin on her hand, observing as strangers met friends. She looked down at her new gray suede flats, admiring how they rounded out her toes and how the ends of her skinny jeans tightly wrapped around her ankles. She let out a sigh and her head bolted up at the sound of someone’s voice saying “May I take your order?” Instead of a cute waiter in a blouse and apron, it was Donghae, smiling down at her – but she couldn’t say she was disappointed. “You made it!”

“On time too,” she commented as she pointed to her watch, where the hands read “6:45.”

Donghae took a seat in the chair across from her. “Jungshin is setting up right now.” Jessica looked to where the stage is and scanned the guys setting up some speakers and instruments. She saw a few guys up there and wasn’t sure who to perceive as Jungshin.

“Which one is he exactly?”

“Trust me when I say this. He’s the really tall one,” Donghae said bluntly. Jessica looked back and watched as some of the guys straightened up from fixing up their equipment and when one guy, above all of them was immediately the tallest, she knew she found the right guy. “Oh…wow. He’s ridiculously tall,” Jessica replied, her eyes widening.

“Yeah,” Donghae laughed. Jessica watched as the tall boy helped move around speakers and noticed his boyish cute smile.

“He’s a lot like you. He has so much youth to his face,” Jessica pointed out.

“My parents always called us the baby faces of the family,” Donghae laughed.

“It’s true. You guys have such child-like faces. I don’t mean it in a bad way, it’s actually very charismatic,” she clarified for him. Donghae turned to her and smiled.

“So you think I’m cute?” he replied a bit arrogantly.

“Well…I didn’t exactly…say…that,” Jessica stammered a little, pulling her head back, realizing how close their faces were.

“Shhh,” he shushed her, waving his hand a little. “They’re about to play their first song.”

Jessica returned her focus to the small stage and watched as who seemed to be the lead singer step up to his microphone. He had reddish brown hair, pearly white skin and a handsome face. He introduced the group as “C.N. Blue,” said his name, “Jung Yonghwa,” then announced the first song “I’m A Loner.” It was catchy and Jessica found herself bopping her head up and down a bit as she watched the band play, she even started to sing along a bit. There were four members altogether – Jung Yonghwa, Lee Jungshin, Lee Jonghyun – a bright-faced and handsome guitarist – and Kang Minhyuk – the sweet-looking drummer. The next song was a more rock-ish song called “Love,” – another catchy tune that stole Jessica’s focus almost immediately. Then finally for one more song, they performed a lighter song called “Love Light” that Jessica immediately fell in love with. It wasn’t as intense as the other songs, but it was softer and had a brighter feel that made Jessica rock back and forth.

“Omo, I love this song,” Jessica said unconsciously.

“It’s a really nice contrast to their other songs. I actually suggested to Yonghwa and the rest of them that they should try a lighter song,” Donghae noted.

“Oh jinjja?” Jessica said with surprise.

“Mmmhmm,” Donghae nodded. “I helped a bit with the tune, and then Yonghwa wrote the lyrics. He won’t admit it, but the rest of his bandmates and I are pretty convinced that the lyrics are about this girl he has a major crush on.”

“Gwiyeopda! How cute!” Jessica exclaimed.

She continued to listen and started singing a bit, “geuh deh neun darling, bam ha neuk byul bit boda ah reum da wuh yo. neh mam sok gip peun got eh suh ban jjak guh li neun
naman eh sarang beet.” Donghae looked at her with wide eyes as he listened to her sing along.

“Wow, what a voice.”

“Me?” Jessica blushed, pointing to herself.

“It’s like listening to a lullaby. You have to sing for me one day,” he insisted with elation in his eyes.

“No way!”

“Why not?”

“It’s not like I’m a pro or anything…” she said, avoiding his eyes.

“So shy,” he teased. “You have such a pretty voice. Sing for me one day? Please?” he looked at her with his shiny puppy dog eyes that were all too familiar to Jessica.

“Not that look again,” she retorted.

“I’ll take that as a yes then,” he smiled victoriously as he leaned back in his seat. Jessica shook her head and finally realized that everyone around her was clapping for the band.

“Oh, I guess they’re done?” she questioned, watching as the band stepped off.

“Yeah, they’re finished their set for the night. What do you think?”

“I think they’re great! I like their music – especially that last song. Do they want to be professional or do they just perform for fun?” Jessica asked with her hands clasped together.

“They do it mostly for fun. They liked to perform every now and then, but they don’t really imagine a future with it,” Donghae explained. Jessica’s eyes widened a bit.

“Really? Wow, I really thought they were looking for exposure. They’re so good.”

“That’s what I told them, but they would actually rather focus on schoolwork. You’d be surprised if I told you that Jungshin is a total nerd right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sure my baby brother can play the bass like a rockstar, but he’s totally into numbers. He loves math, it’s so strange.”

“Isanghae! How weird!” Jessica laughed, covering . “I seriously wouldn’t have expected that from him.”

“It’s true. He’s so good at math, he’s one of the top students in his class – the little geek.”

“I find that very charming – being smart and what not,” she replied with a smirk.

“Sure, coming from the girl who has a boyfriend who’s aspiring to be a doctor. Pshh,” Donghae scoffed. “And Jungshin says that I get all the ladies.” Jessica laughed again as she stood up. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to introduce myself to your brother,” she said.

“What, why?” Donghae looked at her wide-eyed.

“Just to tell him how awesome his band is. Wait here,” she commanded with a stern finger.

“Why?”

“Because I want to have a normal conversation with a human being without a ghost whispering in my ear,” she explicated bluntly.

“Hey hey hey, now what is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you do seem like the eavesdropping type,” she said with her arms crossed and her eyes rolling toward the ceiling.

Donghae let out a sigh as he stood up from his seat. “Fine, I’ll wait outside for you then since you obviously don’t trust me.”

“Thank you,” she said with a devious smile as he slumped towards the door.

Jessica held her purse with her two hands folded in front of her. She slowly approached Jungshin as he and his bandmates were chatting with some of the other audience members. She lightly tapped Jungshin on the shoulder and his head lightly peeked to see who had approached him. At the sight of the pretty girl he turned around with a welcoming smile. “Annyeonghaseyo,” his low voice said with a slight bow, his hair slightly flipping.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” Jessica replied. “You’re Lee Jungshin right?”

“Yes. I’m sorry have we met before?” he asked.

“Oh no, it’s just umm, well your band was really good and uhh,” she struggled to find the right words to say without being creepy. “Well I’m actually a friend of your brother, Donghae.”

“Really? Well, thanks for coming to our performance.”

“Donghae told me a lot about you and the band. I’m surprised you guys aren’t planning on going pro,” she said as his other bandmates turned around. Jessica started to shrink back a little as they all stared at her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Jessica.”

“Well, this is Minhyuk, Yonghwa and Jonghyun,” Jungshin said as he gestured to each of them. After he said each of their names they all bowed to her.

“So you know Donghae?” Jungshin pointed out.

“Umm yes. We’re actually pretty good friends and he told me about your band.”

“Oh cool. How did you meet Donghae?”

“Uhh well, he’s a friend of a friend,” Jessica tried to sound as convincing as possible.

“Ahh I see,” they all nodded.

“It’s a shame Donghae couldn’t be here. I know he loves to come to your performances,” she said.
”Yeah, Donghae’s a great guy. He’s always critiquing us and giving us tips. He comes to pretty much every performance,” Jonghyun spoke.

“Well since you’re friends with him, you probably know he’s in the hospital. I wish he could be here too,” Jungshin said with a sigh.

“I’m sure Donghae wants to be here too,” she replied.

“Yeah. Hey, we’re about to get some drinks and hang out. Would you like to join us?” Jungshin offered, the rest of his bandmates nodding in agreement.

“Oh no, that’s alright. I actually have to go,” she declined waving her hands. “I just wanted to watch and tell you how great you guys were. Maybe I’ll come to another performance.”

“Awesome, thanks so much. It was nice meeting you,” Jungshin said as he and his friends walked away. Jessica smiled and walked out the door, quietly looking for Donghae. “Donghae?” she whispered, whipping her head left and right.

“Boo!” Jessica jumped at the sight of him, her hand over her heart.

“Ugh!” she groaned. “I can’t take anymore of these scares. I swear Lee Donghae, you’ll be the death of me!”

“Oh come on,” Donghae giggled. Jessica angrily stomped away to the bus stop and Donghae went after her. “Don’t be mad, you know I’m just playing around.”

“More like you’re just really annoying,” she answered.

“So what did you and Jungshin talk about?”

“Not much. I told him I was a friend of yours and that you told me about his band so I came to listen.”

“Is that all?”

“Well he said that he misses you coming to his performances – all of them do.”

Donghae smiled a crooked smile and looked up at the sky. “That’s good, at least I know my baby brother misses me.” Jessica looked at him as he gazed upwards, the corner of lifted as she observed the nostalgia in his face.

--

As they approached the apartment building, Jessica turned around to Donghae before entering. “Thanks for walking me home. I had fun,” she said with a slight smile.

“It’s the polite thing to do right? Always the lady home,” he said as he bowed. Jessica rolled her eyes as he rose back up laughing.

“Well…goodnight,” she said with a slight pause.

“Goodnight Princess,” he whispered with his arms behind his back. Jessica walked into the lobby of the apartment, peeking over her shoulder every now and then to see if he was still there. Once she pushed the button for the elevator she looked back out to see if he was still there but he was gone. She just stared at the empty place where he was standing a few seconds ago, even though she clearly heard the “ding” of the elevator’s arrival. She stepped in, without realizing the huge smile that tugged at her lips unconsciously.

--

[A/N]

Oh my gosh guys, can you believe it?? I'm really writing again! So what's been going on with me? Well right now I'm on winter break! HAPPY HOLIDAYS BY THE WAY :) . Since I'm on break I had some time to finally FINISH this chapter kekekeke. I am working on the next one - but only God knows when it will be finished hahaha.

NEW POSTER ON THE MAIN PAGE. YOU LIKE? :)

I just want to say this - I'm so sorry I haven't been updating! Trust me, I know - it's been months! But while I've been gone, I've been schooling it up obviously! Keeping my grades up and applying to colleges. I've finished all my applications! Right now I'm working on voice lessons and preparing for my college auditions :) Everyday and every week is just music music music - Phew!! Lots of work! I hope you guys have been doing well!!

Thank you so much faithful readers and NEW readers! I hope you will forgive me for the long wait!! It's winter time, so I hope you're all spending time with your families and friends !! <3

P.S. So I've been working on this new yoona/siwon story. In a few ways it's similar to my "Memoirs..." story, but in many ways very different. What do you think? Should I try writing it? Should I discontinue "Memoirs..." and write the new one instead? Ahh I'm not sure what to do! I really really like both ideas and the stories that go along with both! AHH. I'm also kind of upset because I was working on a teaser video for the new story but for some reason my vegas pro won't open :( GAH it was almost done too! ARGHH. Maybe I'll be able to get it working again - let's pray it turns out that way!!

love, Jasmine :)

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