I've seen all types of people come through the doors of my aunt's coffeehouse. Tall, short, young, old, skinny, a few pounds over skinny, man, woman etc. I always plaster the same polite smile on my face that may shine a little wider when a cute guy walks in. And I've had my fair amount of those. We flirt at the counter and it never really goes past that after he leaves, coffee in hand.

But this guy...he's different.

He has a confident stride as he enters the coffeehouse. He has on a black v-neck, exposing a little bit of collarbone, black skinny jeans and black sneakers. His skin is as dark as the mocha frappucchino I just sold to a chatty college girl just moments ago. I already know he's hot and I haven't even looked at his face yet. He has almond shaped, dark brown almost black eyes, a perfect jawline, full lips and dark brown hair that looks so soft and, dare I say fluffy, that I just want to card my fingers through it.

Oh my gosh, have I been staring this whole time?

"Hello," the stranger greets in a baritone voice. Whoa, did that voice just come out of that body? " You sell bubble tea here, right?"

Something gets stuck in my throat when I try to answer and a sound like a croak escapes my mouth. I clear my throat, but notice that the corners od his mouth turned up.

"Yes, we do," I answer with a nod. "All the flavors are listened up on the menu."

"I'll get one Choco bubble tea and...what would you recommend for coffee?" It takes me a second to realize he just asked me a question. I'm having trouble looking at him and breathing at the same time.

"I personally like cinnamon cappuchinos," I answer with a nod. "Or vanilla frappuchinos." He smiles and I can't bring myself to believe he could get any more handsome.

"A vanilla frappuchino then," he orders.

"Okay," I answer, ringing everything up in the cash register. "That will be $6.32. They'll be ready in a few." He pays and takes a seat in one of the sofas near the door. My aunt wanted to make this a "friendly" and "laid back" environment, so there are a bunch of coffee tables, no pun intended, sofas, chairs and love seats throughout the shop. I've seen couples have dates here, college kids studying, friends meeting up here before breakfast and loners curl up in one of the chairs with a book.

It doesn't take long to make the vanilla frap or bubble tea. I'm in the back room, which is still in sight of the front counter, getting tapioca pearls when I see the stranger come up again.

"Uhm, the vanilla frap is ready," I tell him as I climb the ladder that's leaned up against the shelves stocked with cups, straws,and whatever else you'll find in a coffee shop. "I just had to get more tapioca pearls for the bubble tea."

The stranger nods as he takes a sip of his drink. I'm distracted as he his lips after the sip. His lips just look so...kissable. I lose my footing on the top step of the ladder just as I grab the tapioca pearls and scream as I go sprwaling backwards off the ladder. I'm waiting for the impact when all of a sudden a pair of strong arms are cradling me.

"How did you get here so fast?" I ask the attractive stranger with wide eyes. He smells really good...and I'm way too easily distracted because this guy, this totally gorgeous guy just saved my life. Yet all I can think about is how good his cologne smells and the hold his muscled arms have around me, not the fact that I nearly just broke all 206 bones in my body on the cement floor.

"Kai?" a husky voice asks from the front counter, peering into the room where the stranger, I guess named Kai, is still holding me. If Kai is a 10 on the hotness scale, then his friend is definately a 9.5. He's tall with fair skin, blonde hair, dark eyes and perfect facial features. From what I can see he has on jeans and and a white v-neck shirt.

"Sorry Sehun," Kai apologizes, setting me down and returning to the customer side of the front counter. I quickly pour the tapioca pearls in the bubble tea and stick that huge straw in it. They give me a nod before leaving the shop.

I hum to myself as I thread the beads onto the black, satin fabric that's on the mannequin. I've wanted to be a fashion designer since I was fourteen. My older cousin had taken me to a fashion show after her friends got her some seats to go. She fell in love with modeling, and one of the male models, and I fell in love with fashion. Ever since I've been sketching my own collection, daydreaming that one day I'll see my own designs strutting down a brightly lit runway. I even keep my sketch book with me in my purse just in case I get inspired when I'm out and about one day. Since I was fourteen, I learned how to sew, make patterns, layouts, and even learned how to bead from a book I found in a craft store. Right now, I'm working on a black dress with a design inspired by a spider web I saw outside my apartment window one morning. I had to tweak it so the design looked more high fashion and less like a witch halloween costume. I'm applying for design school in the fall and if I get accepted I want to be able to afford it.

It's two days later before I see Kai again as I'm opening the coffeehouse. Well, I don't as much as see him as he runs me down when he's out jogging.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaims helping me to my feet. "I-I didn't see you there. And now you're all dirty..." He covers his face with his hands and I find the motion incredibly cute. "This is embarrassing."

"It's fine," I laugh, brushing myself off. "But I never thanked you for cathcing me the other day." He moves his hands, finally looking at me.

"No problem," he says, scratching the back of his neck. "I still feel really bad about this. Can I make it up to you with lunch later?"

"Dinner would be better," I tell him with a grin. Whoa, that's the smoothest thing I've ever said. He smiles shyly. We swap numbers and then with another sheepish smile he's off jogging again.

My mind is swimming the rest of the day after that. It seems surreal that Kai is actually taking me to dinner later. On top of that, I can't keep this stupid grin off my face.

"What are you beaming about?" my aunt asks, a small woman with her dark hair always in a bun, as I wipe down a table when things slow down for a bit.

"I think I have a date tonight," I tell her as I drop the rag in the sink. She raises an eyebrow. "His name's Kai and we met a couple days ago, here at the shop actually. He caught me when I fell off that ladder-"

"How many times do I have to tell you to be careful?" she scolds, going through the cash register with a shake of her head.

"I did say he caught me," I emphasize with an eye roll. I swear she has selective hearing. "Anyways, he ran into me, literally, this morning and wanted to apologize with dinner."

"Hm, he sounds like a nice boy." I sure hope so.

What am I going to wear? I know it's nothing fancy, but if he does happen to call this the 'd' word, I at least want to look worthy of that title. I want to more than cute, less than y while not trying too hard but look like I put some effort into my appearance. I decide on a royal blue sundress that I made for a wedding a few months back. It's above knee length and with a sweetheart top. I brush my hair down and straighten it a little after being in a ponytail all day and slip on some silver strappy sandals.

It's 7:30 on the dot when I'm opening the door to Kai wearing a yellow button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans and sneakers.

"You look great," he compliments sheepishly. I grin when I see a reddish tint on his cheeks.

"So do you," I answer, stepping out my apartment and locking the door behind me. " Let's go."

We make small talk on the way to the restaurant. Surprisingly, we're not awkward and seem to be clicking pretty well. I thought Kai was handsome when he smiled, he's even more handsome when he laughs. I found out he's eight months older than me, he's studying dance at a nearby university, has two older sisters and likes to watch Pirates of the Caribbean with his friend Suho. Kai takes us to a little place that's dimely lit with soft music playing in the backround. It's nice and comforting.

"What about you?" he asks, crossing his arms on the table as the waitress takes our menus away, but not without a lingering glance at Kai. I know I should'nt be jealous, but seriously he's out with a girl right now. Have some respect.

"I sketch," I answer simply. "Clothes that is. I want to be a fashion designer. I make my own clothes, like this dress. I'm working at the coffeehouse to save up for design school and...that's basically it." He chuckles. "I live a very simple, boring life."

"Simple can be good sometimes." I nod in agreement. "But then there should be some excitement sometimes too." I look up at him and see a hint of a smirk playing on his lips.

"Are you sure we can be doing this?" I ask Kai as we're on the rooftop of an apartment building. We got ice cream after dinner and then he led me up here. Heights and I have never really gotten along, so my knees are weak the closer I walk to the edge. I grip the ice cream cone in my head a little tighter as I take another step closer. My knees wobble dangerously and I take a couple steps back. That had been a bad idea.

"Scared of heights?" Kai asks as I take a seat down on the rooftop.

"A little," I answer, some of the mint chocolate ice cream. Kai takes a seat down beside me, taking a of his own moose tracks ice cream.

"My friend Luhan doesn't like heights either," he says with a chuckle. "He takes the stairs instead of elevators."

"That is perfectly understandable because I am deathly afraid of elevators ever since I got trapped in one." I shudder and he laughs. "I had a meltdown on the seventh floor because I thought the elevator was going to crash into the ground at any moment. It was horrible." He smiles brightly, his eyes turning up in cresents.  "So, tell me about your friends."

"Hm, I have eleven of them," he begins. My jaw drops and he chuckles. "Yeah, it's a lot. There's Xiumin, Luhan, Kris, Suho, Yixing but we call him Lay for reasons none of us remember, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Tao and Sehun is the maknae. You met him at the coffe shop a couple days back." I nod, remembering the tall, good looking blonde. "We all live in this house that's actually in the downtown area, I think not too far from your apartment. Some have jobs and quite a few of us are in school. Mm, they're like the brothers I never had actually." He smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "What about your friends?"

"I don't have any," I answer truthfully. "I had some in high school, but after graduation we went our seperate ways." I shrug. "I'm used to being alone anyways. My parents were always working and my sister lives in New York." I feel Kai's gaze on me and I my ice cream as I feel my internal temperature rising.

"Do you want to meet mine?" he offers. I look at him. "They're really nice guys." I laugh in spite of myself. "I think you'd like them."

"Isn't it too early for me to meet them?" I ask him.

"Well, this is date number one-"

"This is a date?" His eyes widen as he looks at me and he looks like a kid that just accidently swore in front of his mother.

"I-I mean, I thought this could-but it doesn't have to be if-I'm really sorry-I just-I'll shut up." He drops his gaze down to his knees, refusing to look up at me.

"Okay," I say aloud with a nod. In all honesty, I was really hoping this would be a date. Apart from being very handsome, he's also, kind, funny and awkwardly charming. " So, how many dates until I meet your friends?" Kai doesn't look at me but even in the dark I can see a smile spreading across his lips.

Kai and I text constantly and talk on the phone almost every night after out first date. I text him when I have down time at work and when he's not in class. I call when I'm sewing together a dress or top and he calls when he gets out of dance class even if he's tired. In the next month we go on a couple lunch dates, a breakfast date, one dinner date, numerous coffee dates and many fun dates. The fun dates have been my favorite ones like bowling, a disasterous date at a club that ended with a late night snack at a diner and renting a tandem bike.

"Hello there," a voice says happily when I'm working one sunny Thursday afternoon, wiping down a table. I smile when I turn around and see Kai walking towards me with both hands behind his back.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him with a bright smile spreading across my face. He pecks me on the cheek. We've only kissed on the lips once, but I'm not complaining because we don't have to rush things.

"Surprising you with a picnic in the park," he says, revelaing the picnic basket from behind his back. I feel myself blushing. "Kyungsoo made all the food, but it was all my idea." I laugh as I drop the dirty dish rag in the sink. I look at my watch and see it's three o'clock, a few hours past my lunch break.

"My lunch break already passed, Kai," I tell him quietly as I walk behind the counter to the register.

"I know," he says, completely unfazed. I raise an eyebrow at him. He smirks and bounces lightly on his toes. " I called and asked your aunt yesterday if you could take a few hours off for a picnic. She said yes because you've been working so hard and finally found a nice boy-"

"Okay," I interrupt, already hearing her voice say those exact words. He chuckles. "I'll meet you in ten, I'm going to go change."

"Your friend is an amazing cook," I compliment eating one of the sandwiches. I don't know eaxctly what is in it, but it is delicious whatever it is.

"I'll send him your compliments," Kai chuckles as he leans back on his elbows on the blanket. His legs look incredibly long for someone who is only eight or so centimeters taller than I am. I catch Kai looking up at me as I eat a strawberry from the fruit salad.

"What?" He shakes his head, grinning. "Kai, what is it?"

"I actually had an agenda for asking you here today." I raise an eyebrow.

"Oh?" I ask, taking a sip of water from the water bottle beside me. I put it down and grab another strawberry, him watching my every move.

"There's a summer showcase at the school I go to," he begins to explain, turning to face me and propping himself up on his elbow. "There's going to be singing, acting, martial arts, dancing, stuff like. It'd be nice if you could come. We could hang out backstage after my sets." I smile and look down at him.

"I'd love to come," I tell him, lying down on my side to face him. "I finally get to see you dance." He blinks when I cutely tap him on the nose. Kai chuckles as he places a hand on top of mine, lacing our fingers together. Over the last few weeks, I've come to really, really like him. I've only had one boyfriend in the past, not saying that Kai is my boyfriend but I've only dated one other guy-anyways I don't remember giggling this much around him or getting these huge butterflies in my stomach whenever our eyes lock. He smiles at me and I roll onto my stomach, pressing my face into the blanket so he doesn't see me blushing. I hear him laughing beside me.

The showcase is outside at a park that's by the river. I get there around eight when the sun is still shining and take a seat on a grassy spot near the stage. Kai was right. There's singing, dancing, acting, some poetry is read and some kids play instruments. They're all really good, but then again if they're going to an art school they should be. I'm proud of myself when I recognize some of his friends names when they're introduced. Chen ans Suho do singing solos where they both blow me away with their voices. Lay accompanies on the guitar when Kyungsoo and Baekhyun singing a duet, which is simply beautiful. Tao shows off some of his wushu skills and shows that he's not one to sneak up on in dark alleys. It's a little past dusk, that in between when it's dark enough to be considered dark but the sky still has whisps of pink and light blue playing around it's edges.

"Now bringing us a dance we have Kai, Lay, and Sehun!" the bubbly announcer says, clapping wildly as the crowd follows. The three of them take the stage, smiling and waving at the crowd. I swear all their faces change as soon as the music comes on, all serious and focused expressions. They all dance really well, like choreographer worthy. They all have their little solo moments and shine in their own way when they're in the spotlight. The way Kai moves is pretty mesmerizing. I remember he told me that he took ballet and jazz when he was younger, then started taking hip-hop in high school.

The dance ends with a simple bow and the crowd gives them a standing ovation, me included. I squeeze my way to behind the stage where I see Kai laughing amongest a group of guys. His face lights up when he sees me and he makes his way through the crowd to me.

"You were amazing," I tell him, pulling him into a hug. I hear him chuckle before he kisses the top of my head.

"Thank you," he says breaking our embrace. "And thanks for coming." I nod. "I have some people I want you to meet."

"Lead the way." He takes my hand, naturally threading out fingers together and weaves us through the mass of people back stage.

"This is Lay hyung," he introduces. About 5'10'', short, brown hair and-aww, a dimpled smiled. "You know Sehun." I wave to the familiar tall blonde boy as he politely smiles at me. "Luhan hyung." As tall as Lay with orange-ish hair and doe-like eyes. " And Xiumin hyung." As tall as me, big eyes, brown hair and a cute smile.

"So, you're the girl he's been talking about," Luhan says aloud with a smirk. I see Kai look down at the ground and rub his neck nervously.

"You talk about me?" I tease, bumping him lightly with my shoulder. He covers his face with his hands and I start laughing. Then I finally nod in response to Luhan's question.

"Well, his description of you did you no justice," Xiumin compliments with a smile. It's my turn to blush now.

"Thank you," I say sheepishly.

After a few more minutes backstage, Kai and I walk back to my apartment, ending the night with a soft peck on the lips.

"You're making a dress?" he asks me as we're Skyping almost two weeks later. I've managed to meet all his friends by now after going out to dinner with them. They're a rowdy bunch, but they're all friendly and very funny.

"Yes I am," I answer trying to finish up the beading on the back of the dress. I'm almost done, this beading is very time consuming but it's worth it in the end. "I don't have anywhere to wear it, but I can just...look at it."

"That's really sad," he chuckles. I roll my eyes, but smile. "Are you doing anything on Saturday?"

"Not that I know of. Do you have something in mind?"

"We're going to the beach on Saturday," Kai tells me. "It'll be really fun and you can get to know the guys more." I nod.

"The last time I went to the beach I was left buried in the sand for two hours," I say aloud, remembering how badly sunburned my nose got. "Sure, I'll go." He laughs.

"Are you sure?" he inquires. "That sounds like a pretty traumatic experience." I shake my head.

"It'll be fine."

What's not fine is that I have to go bathing suit shopping Friday night. I had a one piece at home, but when I tried it on it was too small. So, I have to try on half a dozen bathing suits at the mall after cutting my shift short. I finally settling on a black bikini top with a single ruffle as the top and black bottoms that I can fit shorts over it.

Ten o'clock the next morning I find myself about twenty minutes outside the city as Kai pulls up to the beach. There are a bunch of people there are that's probably because it's supposed to be eighty degrees and clear, sunny skies all day long. I slide my sunglasses on so nobody sees me blushing due to me feeling self conscious in my bathing suit. It's not like I don't have the body for it because I do, slim, flat stomach, some curves in the right places. It's just that I've never displayed it before so the small amount of attention I'm receiving is a little bit unnerving.

"So, what do you want to do?" Kai asks me after we put our stuff by where the others are keeping theres. I shrug.

"What is there to do?" I ask, looking up at him as he scans the beach. "Well, there's a Kris and Chanyeol vs Tao and Sehun volleyball match we can watch. Luhan and Lay rented a tandem bike. Kyungsoo, Suho and Chen are firing up the grill so they can start cooking and I have no idea where Baekhyun and Xiumin disappeared off to." I nod. "Let's just chill here for a while."

We spread out a beach towel and lay on out stomaches, resting our chins on our arms as we watch the calm waves of the crystal blue water crash on the shore.

"Did you apply for design school yet?" he asks me. I laugh as Kai takes my sunglasses off my face and placing them on his.

"Cute," I compliment with a laugh. "But no, I didn't apply. I'm not going to have enough money, even working overtime at the coffeehouse." I sigh, drawing circles in the sand. "I guess I'll just delay my life another year and hopefully I'll be able to afford it then." He nods.

"Well, you never know," Kai says optimistically, raising my sunglasses into his hair. "Maybe you'll come into some money or you'll meet someday designer that will hire you." I chuckle.

"I'm an amateur who hasn't even gone to design school. Who would hire me?"

"Hey guys!" a voice exclaims above us. We look up to see Xiumin and Baekhyun walking towards us. I met Baekhyun at dinner, he has blonde-ish hair, softer features and pretty eyes. "We're going to go ride some boats. You guys want to come?"

"Sure," Kai and I answer in unison. Kai gives me a piggyback ride as we walk to the boat dock. He laughs as I steal my glasses back from him. There's a line of people waiting to go on boat rides. There's kayaks, rowboats and paddle boats. The clerk at the boat shop flirts relentlessly with almost every girl that approaches the shop.

"Did you hear that?" Baekhyun whispers to us as we move up in line as a group of giggly girls walk onto the dock.

"What?" Kai asks, lowering me off his back.

"He just gave those girls a fifteen percent discount," Xiumin explains. How pathetic.

I'm messing with my sunglasses when I suddenly realize that the three of them are looking at me with michevious smirks on their faces.

"No," I state firmly. "Guys no!"

"Come on," Baekhyun pouts. "It's a discount and all you have to do is flirt. I mean, they were hot, so are you. You'll be just fine."

They look at me with pleading eyes and I've never been good at resisting those. I'm going to regret this. I take out the messy bun my hair was in and bend over, letting it fall and running my fingers through it. I stand back up, flipping my hair and let it fall haphazardly back into place. I place my sunglasses back on and take a breath to calm my nerves. I guess if I'm going to degrade myself, I might as well do it well.

"Just be seductive," Xiumin encourages.

"But I'm not seductive," I argue as we move up in line.

"Yes you are," Kai says simply like it's a common known fact. "Now go flirt, but not too much." He gives me a little push forward.

Thanks to Gerald Butler teaching Katherine Heigl how to flirt in my favorite movie, I know exactly what to do. So a smoldering look over the top of my glasses, a wink, a couple hair tosses over the shoulder and a few grazing touches to his biceps later and I end up getting us a twenty-five percent discount.

"How come you don't flirt with me like that?" Kai asks as we're strapping on lifevests to get in the paddleboats. I teasingly drag my fingertips along the biceps of his right arm.

"Do you want me to flirt with you like that?" I ask, lowering my sunglasses so I could look at him over the top of them. He turns away, a pink blush crawling up his cheeks. "Really? That easy?"

"Shut up."

The water cools off the otherwise fairly warm temperature. The water is a dark blue which I find beautiful but also kind of scary because I can't see all the way down to the bottom. I look across the other way of the towards the opposite end of the shore as the three guys chat animatedly about something. My heart stops when I see a figure across the lake. It's a man dressed in all black with black sunglasses on. It looks like he's staring right at us. He pulls something out his pocket, a phone. I grab Kai's arm as the man points to us on the paddleboat and looks at us.

"What's wrong?" he asks, looking at me.

"Look, there's a man over there," I point out. My stomach drops when all of a sudden, he's gone. He was just there, I know it. Where could he have gone so quickly?

"Maybe you should stay out the sun the rest of the day," Baekhyun suggests with a chuckle. Maybe I should.

The rest of the day consists of lunch, beach volleyball, making sandcastles, playing in the water and going for a walk through the wooded area near the edge of the beach. The day finally gives way to night and the guys makes a bonfire on the beach. I dropped my phone when we went on the walkk because I haven't seen it since then. I tell Kai I'll be right back as I venture into the area alone. It's light enough for me to walk through the area without too much squinting, but still dark enough for me to be kind of scared. I find my phone on the ground near a tree I remember walking by. I'm faced with a man in all black w hen I turn around. He looks like the one I saw when we were on the paddleboats.

"Hello," he says in a smooth voice that makes my skin crawl. "Grab her." Before I know what's going on I'm being thrown to the ground and held down. I scream when I see a cold blade placed against my throat.

"Hm, pretty girl," the guys with the sunglasses compliments. That's when I notice I'm surrounded by three more men in black. " No wonder Kai likes you." My eyes widen in shock and horror. What does Kai have to do with this?

"How do you know Kai?" I ask in a weak voice. I feel if I move my neck too much I'll end up cutting it on the knife.

"It's a long story," he says simply with a dramatic sigh. "Let's just say, we have some history together. As do his friends." I gulp. "But your involvement with them...hm...could help me in some way or another." If even humanly possible, I shrink closer to the ground when he lowers his face close to mine. "So where are they?"

"I don't know," I answer. I've seen enough movies to know that when a bunch of MIB come looking for your friends, that it's better just to lie. My breath hitches when the man straddling me presses the blade closer to my throat. He laughs as he straightens up

"She's trying to protect him," he chuckles. "Did he tell you about his little secret?" I try not to let my face falter at the mention of the word 'secret'. Is Kai keeping something from me? The man sighs. "But if you're just going to lie you're no use for me." He turns away from me.

"I hope you at least got to kiss him because that'll be the last time you see him. Kill her." He's gone...just like he'd gone at the lake. My eyes widen in panic and terror. As if instinct took over, I somehow knee the guy in the crotch and he rolls off me. I guess if I'm going to die tonight I might as well go down swinging...or running.

I go with the second option only to trip on a branch about six feet away from the beach. I scream as someone is grabbing my foot and dragging me. I manage to flip around and kick him, releasing my foot. I stand up and look at my odds. Three big guys that look like they've been trained to kill vs one girl whose taken self defense classes and has watched way too many action movies.

The odds are so not in my favor right now.

The first guy lunge towards me and I punch him across the face, then ram the heel of my hand into his nose and knee him in the stomach as he doubles over. Guy number two comes from my left and I give him a side kick to the gut that sends him flying into a nearby tree. He doesn't go down so easily and is slightly doubled over as he comes towards me again. So I ram my foot into his crotch and give him a uppercut under the chin. He's down. And as I expected, contestant number three attacks from behind. This always sends me into a panic, but I then I remember one line from Miss. Congeniality.

S.I.N.G.

An elbow to the stomach, a hard stomp on the foot, a fist to the nose and groin and I'm released. I sprint towards the beach only to be surrouned more guys.

It wasn't supposed to work out like this. I duck as suddenly what looks like fire is flying right towards my head. I have to duck again when...a current or electricity...yes, that's what it is, flies through the air also. All of a sudden there's yelling, screaming and fire, water and electricity flying everywhere.

I get pushed down, a splitting pain shooting up the back of my head accompanied by strong hands wrapping around my throat. The world is flashing in and out, slowly losing focus. The guys is suddenly pushed off me as everything fades away and the last thing I see are almond shaped eyes staring down into mine...