Chapter 30

The night before...

To Himchan: Hey! Just wanted to check up on you to see how you were holding up. I hope to hear from you soon!

Sighing, Annie resorted to actually calling him a few times but no luck. It kept forwarding her to his machine. She had to admit that it was kind of embarrassing for her to swallow her pride just so she could call him. He should at least feel honored she was actually calling. A handsome guy like Himchan was probably already accustomed to it from other girls. But then Annie wasn't just any other girl. She was only calling him as a friend, not some booty call.

Everything earlier that day was happening so fast, it didn't occur to her that Himchan was really upset. About what? She had no idea. Well she had an idea that it might have to do with Miranda's wrath towards him but if anything, Miranda was more angry at Annie and not him. Unless, he took it personally, she thought. Wouldn't he be contradicting himself by taking it personally?

She had no choice but to follow Yongguk's advice and to let him be. After all, the best friend always knew best. Speak of the devil, the thought of Yongguk actually brought a hint of a smile to her face despite the eventful night. He really was a lifesaver after what happened earlier. She owed him big time. The list of the things he'd done for her kept piling up and she made a mental note to repay him somehow. She found herself wondering how Miranda would react upon learning about her friendship with Yongguk. She had a feeling Miranda would not be too happy about it. Come to think of it, it still didn't make sense to her why Miranda was angry about her and Himchan. There was absolutely nothing going on!

She scratched her head in confusion then groaned in frustration leaning against her bed staring at the ceiling above. “What the hell is her problem anyways? Stupid ,” Annie muttered to herself then turned to stare back at her phone expectantly. It was as if she was waiting for it to ring.

After what felt like forever, she soon drifted off to sleep.

The next morning...

“Himchan...” a deep-voiced man echoed in his ears. “Yo, Himchan...”

Stirring in his slumber, Himchan managed to open his eyes to find his best friend standing in his field of vision looking down at him. Groaning, he managed to sit up rubbing his temples with his hands. “What do you want?” he managed to say, glancing around the posh apartment.

“You need to wake your up, you're contaminating my apartment with a stench of alcohol,” Yongguk remarked offering him a navy blue mug. “Here.”

“Thanks,” Himchan said accepting it nonchalantly. “How did I get here?”

“You seriously don't remember a thing?” Yongguk asked incredulously.

Himchan shook his head. “I got so wasted I don't remember a thing.”

“Go figure,” Yongguk muttered shaking his head. “Well, I was awaken in the middle of the night with a phone call. Turns out, I was drunk dialed,” he chuckled turning to his friend. “I admit, it was pretty amusing.”

“Did I really call you last night?” Himchan's eyes widened. Yongguk nodded. “Aw, man...” he groaned, rubbing his forehead.

“Hey, it's no big deal,” Yongguk shrugged taking a sip from his own mug. “Who knows what would have happened if you didn't call me? You were passed out big time last night.”

“That explains the major headache,” Himchan muttered to himself. “You got any aspirin?”

“It's in the medicine cabinet,” Yongguk replied nonchalantly. “One other thing...”

“What is it?”

“Your phone kept going off last night,” he informed his hungover best friend. “It was kind of annoying. You had no idea how relieved I was when it stopped. I'm surprised you could even sleep through all of that.”

“I was wasted, remember?” Himchan pointed out. “I don't remember . And I'm sure that means I can't hear either.”

Yongguk raised his hands in defeat. “Well, geez, just thought I'd put it out there,” he said. “Chill.” He then stood up and walked over to the kitchen placing his empty mug into the sink. “And who was it that kept blowing up your phone last night? Is it one of your clingy girlfriends?” he called from the kitchen.

As he browsed through the call history, it was no surprise that the phone calls were from Miranda. Scoffing, he shook his head. “You can say that,” he responded to Yongguk from the living room. He had to remain discreet about this since Yongguk had no idea about Miranda. Who knows how Yongguk would react if he ever found out? It was over now so it was one secret he hoped to bury from then on. No one had to know. He was not proud of it either which was why he intended to hide it nonetheless.

He was soon taken by surprise when he spotted Annie's name on his call history. She called a few times but not as much as Miranda. In addition, she had also sent him a text message too. Hey! Just wanted to check up on you to see how you were holding up. I hope to hear from you soon! He sat back against the leather couch and smiled to himself. “She was checking up on me,” he thought aloud. “How sweet of her.”

“Who's sweet?” Yongguk asked entering the living room eying his friend suspiciously.

“Oh nothing,” Himchan said, still smiling.

“You're acting really weird right now, Himchan,” Yongguk said furrowing his brows.

“It's Annie,” Himchan said with a gleam in his feline-like eyes. “She texted me just to check up on me last night.”

“Oh,” Yongguk uttered, he was disappointed but tried to remain discreet about it. “That's nice of her. I guess.”

Soon, they were interrupted by a phone chiming. Himchan immediately answered upon seeing the name on the caller ID. “Hello?” he answered clearing his throat.

“Hey! I thought you'd never pick up!” Annie exclaimed evidently breathing a sigh of relief.

“Oh hey Annie!” he grinned. “What's up?”

“Oh nothing,” she said. “I was just wondering if you'd like to meet me for breakfast before we head over to Daniel's.”

“Breakfast?” Himchan repeated, boyish excitement soon began to appear onto his handsome face. “Uh, sure! Where at?” he stood up to gather his things. “The Temple Cafe? Sure thing! I'm on my way. See you then! Bye!” When he finally hung up, he turned to find Yongguk with a look of disappointment written all over his face. “What?”

“Did she just ask you to breakfast?” Yongguk asked raising an eyebrow.

“You heard?” Himchan asked.

“No ,” Yongguk muttered.

“You're jealous,” his best friend said smirking.

Yongguk flushed. “What?! No! Of course not! Why would I be jealous? So you're just grabbing breakfast with her? Big deal,” he shrugged managing to keep his voice steady.

“You don't have to lie, Bang,” Himchan said nonchalantly. “We've been best friends for as long as I can remember, you would assume I didn't know you too well but turns out, you couldn't have been anymore obvious. And it's just breakfast, not a date. If you like her, I'll gladly back off. But I advise you to make your move before she meets someone.”

“But what if she likes you?” Yongguk asked finally.

Himchan shrugged. “Hey, if she does, then I can't help it. But my question is: would you be okay with it?” he asked turning to his best friend.

The question caught Yongguk off guard and Himchan took his silence as a 'no.' “Of course, I'm okay with it,” he said trying to sound unaffected but Himchan was convinced otherwise knowing his best friend. “Why wouldn't I be okay with it?”

“You got really quiet when I brought it up,” Himchan retorted back. Sighing, he finally said, “Look, we'll see where this goes. Okay? And I wouldn't make a big deal about it if I were you. I should get going so I'll see you later.” With that, he gathered his things and made his way out the door leaving Yongguk alone in the living room, dumbfounded.

It was a slow morning and the breakfast rush had died down giving Lucy, Zelo, and Jongup a slight breather. However, the bell above the door chimed notifying them of a new customer. “Could you help them, Jongup?” Lucy asked as she went about her work straightening up her work station as Zelo went on a trash run.

“Sure thing, noona,” he grinned as he took out a notepad and pen from his apron pocket. Looking up, he beamed upon seeing Himchan enter the cafe. “Good morning, Himchan hyung!” He greeted the older guy cheerfully.

Taken by surprise, Himchan returned with a smile of his own. “Good morning, Jongup right?”

“That's right,” the young man nodded. “Do you need to be seated? If so, you can sit wherever you want.” he motioned around the nearly empty cafe.

“Thanks,” said Himchan looking around. His eyes soon stopped on a figure sitting at a table by the window entranced by the book she was reading as well as taking a sip from her coffee. “I would like to sit over there with her.”

Following Himchan's direction, Jongup gave him a slight nod. “Sure thing, hyung. Right this way,” he said leading him towards Annie.

She was too into the book she was reading to notice two guys standing above her. Himchan resorted to clearing his throat to get her attention. She looked up finally then closed her book. “Hey! I'm glad you can make it!” she smiled then motioned for him to sit down. “You can sit if you want.”

He proceeded to sit down across from her. “Thanks for having me, I'm starving,” he said with a chuckle.

“Anytime,” she said moving her book out of the way.

“Can I get anything for you, hyung?” Jongup asked, pen and pad in hand turning to Himchan expectantly.

“I'll just have an iced Americano and... I'll stick to a whole bagel,” he said.

“Would you like cream cheese with that?” the young man asked.

“That's fine,” Himchan nodded then turned to Annie. “Did you order already?”

“Not yet, I was kind of waiting for you,” she said smiling weakly then turned to Jongup. “I'll take a bagel with cream cheese as well, Jongup.”

“Sure thing, noona,” the young man nodded jotting down the orders. “I'll be right back with your order and to refill your coffee.”

“Thanks,” Himchan and Annie replied in unison, then he walked off.

“So...” he started to say shifting his attention over to the thick book on the table. “What were you reading?” He picked it up and read the cover. “Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Huh. Interesting.” he said setting it back down. “How is it?”

“Awesome, as usual,” Annie said beaming. “My absolute favorite book.” she remarked matter-of-factly.

“I take it that you're a lit major?”

“Not exactly,” she said. “It was something I wanted to take up but I had a feeling that major was going nowhere so I resorted to majoring in law.”

“A law student, eh?” he chuckled. “How convenient. It suits you since you love to argue.”

Annie kicked his shin from under the table. “Watch it, pal,” she gave him a warning then continued with her story. “Sadly however, I've been putting off on law school at the moment.”

“How come?” he asked curiously.

“Well, you know,” she started off gazing out the window. “A lot of things. When you enter your 20s, it's all about struggles.”

“Right,” he nodded in agreement. He eyed her expectantly knowing there was more to it.

“Come to think of it, I was always struggling,” she continued. “I didn't have a happy-go-lucky childhood like other kids. I look at Danny and see how fortunate he is and sometimes I find myself envying the kid.” she laughed bitterly at that realization. “My dad left when I was five. Turns out, he ran off to Thailand leaving my mother for a much younger woman. I haven't heard from him since and I don't intend to hear from him again. He left us with nothing. My mom ended up having to work multiple jobs just to support me into my teenage years. During that time, I met Lucy since our moms were friends and coworkers. Together, Lucy and I would always walk to school and we would often share our lunch because we sometimes didn't have any money to buy lunch. Sometimes we'd have sleepovers whenever our moms were working the same shifts on the same days. It was fun while it lasted. We tried to make the most of it. One day, we were on our way home and I came across a pair of cops at my doorstep,” she blinked back tears. Himchan reached over to give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Annie,” he finally said.

Annie shook her head. “I'm fine,” she croaked trying to keep her voice steady. “There was a bus accident that killed eight people. My mom being one of the victims,” she sniffled. “When I found out, I was a mess. Lucy tried her best to comfort me but she fell apart for me too. After that, I ended up having to move in with her and her mom since I wouldn't have been able to live on my own since I wasn't old enough to work. Once I was of age, the government provided me with temporary housing until I could find a job. Lucy and I ended up getting our jobs here at the cafe. Things could only look up from here, right? Well, you know, some things were unfortunate for Lucy since her mom was depressed for quite some time. When Lucy returned home one night, she found her mom hanging from a noose along with a suicide note. Like me, she too fell apart despite the fact that she was always the strong one. Her mom left her enough money to get on her feet so she used it to rent a new apartment. Of course, my living situation wasn't so great so she took me in. I'll be eternally grateful to her,” she sighed wiping away her tears glancing at her best friend who was instructing Jongup about work. Annie soon grew embarrassed at the fact that she allowed herself to cry in front of Himchan. “And I just now told you my life story... That must have been a bore.”

Himchan chuckled. “Not at all,” he remarked. “I'm actually glad you told me. I never would've known if you didn't tell me. And I'm glad you did.”

“Well, you're a friend,” she replied sheepishly. “I felt like I needed to tell you that part of my life. I actually plan on saving up enough money from this current job for law school and possibly a new place since I can't stay at Lucy's forever,” she said taking a sip of her coffee. Jongup then returned with their respective breakfast. “Thanks, Jongup.”

“Your welcome,” he grinned. “Do you guys need anything else?”

“No thanks, we're fine,” Himchan returned with his own grin.

Before he left, he noted Annie's puffy eyes. “Noona, are you okay?” he asked, concerned.

Annie nodded. “I'm fine, Jongup. Thank you for asking,” she smiled weakly. “You should get back to work before Lucy scolds you.” The young man nodded then walked off. Turning to Himchan, she cleared . “I-I called you last night. I'm not sure if you got it...”

“I did,” he said nodding. “I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you.”

“It's okay, I understand,” she said, then eyed him suspiciously. “I'm assuming you had a little too much to drink last night?”

Himchan choked on his coffee then looked back at her. “How do you know?” he asked.

“No offense, I can still smell the alcohol on you and you do appear a little hungover,” Annie said matter-of-factly. “I don't think the smell of coffee and bagels is going to cover it up. And you also have bags under your eyes. And I had a feeling you were out drinking since you didn't pick up your phone which means you were probably getting wasted or hooking up with some girl and didn't want to be interrupted.” He had to hand it to her. She was brilliant. “Are you seriously going to work looking like ? I mean why'd you think I invited you to breakfast?”

“Oh,” he sounded disappointed. “I thought you invited me out because you missed me.”

Annie scoffed. “Please, I see you almost every day,” she mocked him. “Anyways, I can get Jongup to let you use his deodorant spray. And Lucy might have aspirin for you. I just have to ask them. I think Zelo might even let you use his toothbrush, or there might be mouthwash in the backroom to get rid of that alcohol smell.” she scrunched her nose in disgust.

“You'd do that for me? Thanks, I feel so special.” he said, touched by her thoughtful gesture.

“Yeah, not really,” Annie remarked prompting him to pout. She had to admit she found it to be a little amusing to pick on him a little. His reactions were pretty funny, she thought. “Anyways, I know Miranda won't be too happy about seeing us together. I mean there's clearly nothing between us but she's convinced otherwise so I think this will be the last time we'll hang out this way.”

Himchan choked on his drink once again. In turn, Annie patted his back as he coughed. Jongup soon approached their table with a glass of water. “Here you go, hyung,” he said with a slight bow then walked off.

“Thank you,” Himchan and Annie replied simultaneously.

Turning to Annie, he narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

Annie shrugged tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You know, I just thought that we should keep our distance because I don't want her getting the wrong idea, that's all,” she said. “I can't afford another scolding, Himchan. As if my little life story wasn't enough, I can't afford to lose this job.”

“So you're willing to sacrifice our friendship for a job?” he scoffed.

“Well technically, we wouldn't have met if it weren't for this job...”

“Annie, this is ridiculous,” he pointed out. “You shouldn't be afraid of Miranda.”

“Why not?”

“You really shouldn't. It's kind of complicated,” he said taking a sip from the glass of water.

She eyed him suspiciously. “Care to elaborate?” she asked crossing her arms.

“It's really no big deal,” he explained. “There's not much to say.”

“That's very helpful,” was her sarcastic remark. Looking at the time on her phone, she stood up to gather her things.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I have to catch the bus,” she answered. “I'm gonna be late and I don't think she's gonna be happy about this...”

He too stood up. “I'll take you,” he offered. “I was heading there anyways.”

“I don't know about this, Himchan,” she said cautiously.

“It's convenient if you ask me,” he said placing a few bills on the table. “C'mon,” he said making his way out of the cafe.

Sighing as she watched his retreating figure, Annie glanced at her best friend. Lucy's eyes met hers and she smiled. “About to leave?” she asked.

“Yep,” Annie nodded. “See you guys later. And thanks, Jongup.”

“Alright bye!” Lucy and Jongup waved simultaneously. Then, Annie was out the door following Himchan to his car.

A/N: See what I mean? I wasn't kidding when I said it was a LONG chapter. I hope you enjoy it! And as you guys oughta know by now... Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is my favorite book by far and I tend to mention it from time to time in my stories. Well technically I wrote only one story from before but I did mention the book lol. If you guys haven't read it yet then please go read it! You will NOT be disappointed! It's one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. However, I do warn you it's a pretty LONG book about 900+ pages but I assure you it will be worth your time. This will be my last update until I get another day off since I have a long shift tomorrow. Anyways, enjoy! And don't forget to subscribe, comment, or even upvote if you want to! ^^