I wanted to tell Mom that Dad had passed away. But making contact with her would mean that my whereabouts will be revealed yet I wasn’t ready to go home yet. At least not when I’m having all the freedom in the world to do what I want in Seoul.

I got home that night and hid myself in the room, cuddling Blue in my arms as I cried my eyes out. I was glad to have my wish come true to meet my Dad. But he left me just as we were reunited. I needed to talk to someone so badly. I whipped out my cellphone and rang Tiffany’s number but she didn’t pick up. Maybe she’s still asleep.

I heard a knock on my door and heard Siwon’s gentle voice asking if he could come in.

“Come in.”

The door slowly swung open and Siwon poked his head in cautiously. His eyes widened in shock when he saw me looking back at him with my weary eyes.

“Why are you crying? What happened to you? You left the café so hastily today. Sooyoung and I were so worried about you. “

He walked towards me and sat by my bedside. Without hesitation, I put Blue aside and threw my arms around him before sobbing wildly into his shoulder.

“Hey, it’s alright now. No matter what happened, you’re going to be okay.” He whispered into my ear as he gave me a hug in return.

I wanted to tell him my sorrows and pain but doing so will only reveal my true identity. I didn’t think it was time for him or Sooyoung to know I had been lying to them all these while. All I could do was cry my heart out until my tears had dried up. But the pain in my heart wouldn’t go away.

After what seemed like a really long time, I had calmed down and stopped crying. I released my tight grip on Siwon but avoided his gaze sheepishly.

“I’m sorry for ruining your shirt.”

Siwon defused the tense situation with a bright smile on his face. “It’s an old shirt anyway. I meant to throw this away soon. I hope you feel better now. If you don’t wish to talk about it, I understand.”

I reached out to place my hand over his. “Thanks for being there for me when I needed someone. I’ll let you know what happened when the time is right.”

Siwon cleared his throat before asking hesitantly. “I don’t mean to be nosy but I saw you leaving the café with a man. Is he… your boyfriend?”

Wow why does he think I’m with that corporate robot? Mr. Jung is so not my type.

I shook my head. “No, he isn’t. I don’t know him very well.”

“Ah…” He heaved a sigh of relief. “He looks very handsome and successful.”

I raised my eyebrow and gave Siwon a weird stare. I couldn’t resist the opportunity of teasing this guy. “You’re not interested in him, are you? Is that why you’re single and wouldn’t accept Yoona’s infatuated love?”

Siwon’s face and ears turned tomato red as he instantly cried out, “No! No! No! I’m just… curious, that’s all. I mean, you two do look great together. He seems like a good catch.”

I couldn’t help but let a small smile appear on my face when I looked at how adorable this guy looked. He cheered me up quite a bit.

“I’ll leave you alone now. Good night, Yuri. If you’re not feeling good, you can have the day off tomorrow.”

I shook my head weakly and smiled. “Working will take my mind off things. And besides, seeing Sooyoung will cheer me up a bit. Good night, Siwon. Thanks for being here for me.”

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A couple of weeks passed. I gradually felt better and had cheered up quite a bit. Sooyoung sure has a way to make people feel happier. She was starting to play a huge role in my life, as my only close female friend. Siwon, on the other hand, gradually grew a little quiet around me. Maybe he was uncomfortable from all of Sooyoung’s teasing. She thinks he has a crush on me, which I always laugh off as a joke. I had a little suspicion but I dismissed it off as foolishness on my part. He’s probably just a nice guy who treats me like his little sister, just like how he treats Sooyoung. And besides, falling in love when I’m still stuck in this mess wasn’t a wise thing to do.

It was just like any other morning when I went to open the café with Siwon, when I found a bouquet of flowers placed on our stone steps.

“Wow, who are these for?” I picked up the bouquet of flowers which consisted of a mix of red and pink roses. There was a card sticking out of it so I picked it out.

“Dear Yuri, I love your beautiful smile.” I read it out loud and instantly placed the card back in the bouquet. Wow, that was flattering but kind of creepy at the same time. I had a secret admirer I didn’t know about?

I peeked over to Siwon who remained silent and expressionless as he opened the lock on the gate. Could the flowers be from him? He didn’t say a word to me for the rest of the morning as he got busy baking while I got the other stuff ready. We were soon open for business and the first customer of the day was none other than Mr. Jung.

“Good morning Yuri,” he greeted me in an icy voice with a seemingly forced smile on his face.

“Mr. Jung, good morning to you. What brings you here so early in the morning?”

He took his hands out of his pocket and placed them on the counter.

“Did you like the flowers?”

Oh my God, those were from him? Say what? I didn’t know why but my heart sank a little to know they were from him.

“Yes, they are lovely. Thank you, Mr. Jung.” I replied with a sweet smile on my face.

He continued to look at me with a vacant stare until I raised my eyebrows to see what he would do next.

“I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about you since we last parted. I asked Mr. Choi if I could have the permission to court his half-sister and he said yes. He gave me his blessings. So I want to ask you out.”

I looked down at my nails and thought about it for a moment. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go out with him since he does seem like a pretty good catch and he knows my true identity. There wasn’t a need for me to lie to him about myself. He was going to fall for me as who I really was.

I obliged and his face instantly lit up with a big, bright smile. He really does look pretty good, when he wasn’t expressionless. We exchanged numbers and he told me he’ll call me when he gets a reservation at some place good.

I turned around to head to the coffee machine when I realized Siwon was standing by the kitchen door with a tray of freshly baked muffins.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I didn’t hear anything except something about a dinner reservation.”

“Don’t be silly. I know you’re not a nosey person.” I dismissed his apology with a giggle.

Siwon placed the muffins on the counter and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You like him?”

I shrugged. “Well, I don’t have many friends so I’ll take it as I’m getting to know a new friend.”

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The next day was out off day at the café so I went out shopping with Siwon to stock up on groceries for our house. As we were walking by a jewelry shop, a pair of blue crystal ear studs in the shape of tear drops caught my eye. I pressed my hands on the glass window and admired them.

“Wow, they are so beautiful.”

Siwon stood beside me and took a look at them. After a few seconds, I reminded myself that I was barely able to make ends meet and should be saving my money instead of splurging it on luxury items. Besides, it’s not like there was a need for me to wear something so beautiful when I’m mostly stuck in a café.

“You like them?” Siwon asked curiously as I took one last look at them before walking away.

I nodded. “Yes, those are so pretty. But I can’t afford them any time soon.”

Siwon stopped in his tracks and took another look at them from afar.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s get going! I’m hungry!” I whined as I hooked my arm through his casually and dragged him to a fast food joint for dinner. I felt comfortable enough with him to do that. Skinship with Siwon always felt so natural.

Halfway through dinner, I got a call from Yunho to meet him after my shift at the café and he was going to take me out after that.

“Enjoy your date tomorrow,” said Siwon before he continued chomping on his burger and fries.

“I’m sorry you’re going to have to eat alone tomorrow night.” I apologized cutely before sticking out my tongue at him.

Siwon chuckled. “Don’t worry about me; I’ll be on a date with my reflection at the gym.”

I secretly checked out his arms and resisted the urge to smile to myself. I never dared to tell him this but he had a really hot body which I liked. If only he would ask me out on a date… Oh what are you thinking about, Yuri? Stop those thoughts!

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A/N:

Wow I can't believe I've been gone for months! Here's a long awaited update for you guys! (If there are still readers who had been waiting for this, I'm sorry T_T)

The next chapter is going to be cute, I promise. And the trip is going to happen soon as well. ^_^