He had no idea that his feet would lead him to the bookstore-and-café junction that was two roads away from Cube’s headquarters. Their building has their own coffee store, yet he nonchalantly grabbed his cap and mask and ventured out at eleven in the evening. To his surprise, the building that he was yearning to go to for two weeks already was still open at this time of night. The chime made an out-of-rhythm sound as he pushed one side of the two-door entrance and a middle-aged man wearily smiled at him. He recognized who he was since his niece was a fan and even jokingly said that his fan girls were already asleep and preparing for another school day tomorrow.

The light glowing from the ceiling made the two-storey but compact building look like a diorama that his classmate in fourth grade made. He remembered that his ten-year-old self regretted doing a miniature mall model, but at least he had a decent grade with it. He snapped out of his thoughts when the out-of-rhythm made a sound again, and saw a young woman skip her way to the counter and asked something to the man. Due the intonation of her voice, he can only guess that she asked him a question. Realizing that he was eavesdropping, he turned his attention to the neat stack of books in the bookshelf with the words ‘SCIENCE FICTION’ embossed on top. He grabbed an uncovered book and sat on a maroon beanie near the stairs. The woman went up and turned his head to her direction, but he didn’t get a full glimpse of her as she already had her back turned to him and preceded to, from what he could remember, the non-fiction shelf.

After reading the first chapter (which he thought as a bore), he decided to look for other titles from other genres. He passed by her aisle and noticed that she had been reading while standing for the past twenty minutes. She looked up, realizing that the stranger sitting on the beanie was curious of the book that she was into. He looked at her warmly, though she felt fear creeping through the back of her neck as she wasn't the type to approach or talk to people as instantly as others do. Hesitantly she put the book back and walked away, but their eyes met again, hers subconsciously lighting up. Now alone in the second floor, he fulfilled his first intention and chose another book, but not a science fiction novel. Entrapped with his two thumbs and supported by his remaining fingers, he studied the object before his eyes and smiled at its content. He flipped through the pages and noticed a paper bookmark attached to it. He carried the copy downstairs, purchased it from the owner and bid farewell and welcomed the breeze outside of the junction store that was gradually becoming colder by each night.

She always looked forward for Thursdays. The autumn air barely entered her system since her mother nagged her to wear thick clothing, and she was secretly glad that she did. She external warmth when she took notice of a tall man looking at her and realized that she looked ridiculous with her wrapped appearance, although she mentally thanked her mom again the moment the stranger smiled. She replied with her lips curving to the right, thereby pushing the corresponding eye upward and making her left eye seemed bigger. It was never in her comfort zone to talk to strangers; I’d go back for the book next week, she thought as she put it back to where it belonged, and headed downstairs. He was in her direction, and after they made eye contact, her mitten-covered hands turned cold. She dashed off for the exit, but not before waving a hand at the owner and saying a hasty goodbye. Upon reaching her dormitory, she found her roommate was already asleep. She didn't even bother to change her clothes because the moment she plopped her body on the bed, a tidal wave of thoughts racked her up all night. The new ideas from the book that she had been invested on were mind-bending, although the stranger's warm but intriguing boyish smile kept her from patching up her own ideas from the book. By the time the feeling of slumber hit her, it was already three in the morning.

They were given more time for leisure activities next week since their preparations for their concert would mean no breaks. At all. He continued to read the book until at night, wanting to avoid a crowd at daylight. He wanted to meet the from-head-to-toe-dressed-for-autumn girl who unconsciously recommended him the marvelous book, although he inferenced that his intention of friendship might be a problem to not only the both of them, but for the name of his group as well.  

He was glad to see the man behind the counter to be the same person on the same place last Thursday. The lingering aroma of freshly-roasted coffee was all over the place, even upstairs. The same man, who goes by the name Mister Kwon, started a casual and funny conversation as he made and served his order.

“…but she only goes here on Thursdays.” Mr. Kwon said. The younger of the two was disappointed. Nevertheless, he enjoyed their talk and his cup of cappuccino.

After the grueling exam that she had, she headed straight to her dormitory’s building and set her alarm to ten o’clock. Her nocturnal habit had led her to have an intimate circle of friends, and it included her dorm mate. She had not even bothered to change her clothes and only grabbed a beige trench coat on the rack. She cursed at herself for forgetting her mittens, resulting to her continuous put of pressure on the pockets of her long jacket. Fortunately, the place that she wished to go to was just a stone’s throw away. As she pushed the transparent weight that would have caused the sound of the chimes, a man dashed to the door before she had a chance to enter. He had not even bothered to apologize because of his hurry, but his ‘whatever his excuse is for just passing by’ irritated her more. His familiar figure was already upstairs, and only had she realized that it was the same man from a week ago. She turned her head and heard muffled cries from the outside of the store. She ignored their giddy anxiety and said hello to Mister Kwon before heading upstairs. Surprised at founding him on her favorite spot, she did her usual routine, but at the spot where she hid a book. She felt his light tapping on her arm, and she turned to see his handsome face smiling at her. In turn, she returned back his warm gesture, although in an awkward manner. His eyes seemed to point on what she was previously reading, and while she was hesitant to give it to him (since it was the only unopened copy), she stretched out her arm with it. Surprisingly, he rolled the side of his sweater and handed to her his copy of the first volume.

“Is this…?” She checked the exterior of the book to verify if it was the copy that she was reading.

“Good choice of read!” He cut her off.

“You still haven’t apologized to me, but that can make it up!”

He realized his fault from before and automatically bowed stomach level.

“It’s okay; I get that a lot.” She remarked while differentiating their height difference with her hand.

He chuckled softly. “Any books that you could recommend?”

“I’m sorry I hid that,” she pointed with a crooked finger on the book that he was holding. “Mister Kwon told me that it won’t be delivered until next month! Would you believe that?” She raised the traded book. “These kinds of books are underappreciated, don’t you think?” It took some time for him to answer ‘mhm’ with an approving nod since her charming aura and comfortable attitude towards him made him forget of the threat to his planned friendship with her.

He looked at his watch. “Got some spare time? It’s awfully boring in my place.”

“I’m nocturnal, so I’ve got until five.”

He walked near the stairs and stretched his neck, as if seemingly looking for someone. She saw his shoulders heaved down.

“If you’re looking for the girls outside earlier, I think they went left.”

“Quite the opposite, really.”

“Oh, they went right? I’m sorry.”

He laughed. “No, no; I mean the looking part.” She looked at him from his obviously dyed brown hair to his stained black Chucks. The features of his face, especially his nose bridge, were sharp and precise. Had she considered herself to be lucky since her nameless friend is a celebrity or in a dire situation, for sooner or later a fangirl might snap a photo of them together, she had come to realize that she was in the middle. She saw his left eye widen (he was on her right) at the sight of a group of teenage girls. He dashed for the narrow space between two bookshelves and bent down behind the end of one of them. She chuckled at his childish actions as she walked to his hiding place.

“Really…?”

He looked up to her and grinned sheepishly. “Dongwoon.”

Her face brightened up (for she had thought of an idea) and quickly ran to where he came from. She called for the middle-aged man downstairs and asked him to close the shop. At first, the man questioned her request, but her fixed gaze at the door signaled Mister Kwon of what the problem was, and so he did as she wished.

“You can come out now.” She motioned him to follow her downstairs.

Mister Kwon approached the two. “I’m going to go out of business because of you two!”

Naturally, Dongwoon apologized formally with a bow, but she ignored his threat. “Mister Kwon, it’s a matter of life and death for Dongwoon-sshi here. Besides, it’s only for one night.” They sat at the high chairs of the café and she ordered an Americano. She nudged her new friend, saying that she would buy for the both of them although he still looked uneasy.

 “Still worrying about the fans? Don’t worry, I have an idea.”

“You sure it’s okay here, uh…” He purposely unfinished his sentence to know her name. The elevator was the first place that she thought of going with the celebrity and while it was unusual to think of it as a place for quiet company and coffee, it was the safest.

“Mister Kwon said it’s fine and,” she stretched out her hand as the other was holding her steaming cup. “I’m Jihyun.”

“Nam Jiji-noona?” Dongwoon blurted. Jihyun raised her eyebrow at him. “She’s a girl group leader. Does 4Minute ring the bell?”

She shook her head and looked down to laugh at her lack of knowledge on Korean pop groups. She tried to change the topic. “So, you’re a really quick reader! From what I know, isn’t your job hectic?”

He swayed his body sideways. “Nah, I was hooked on it. Helped me a lot. I even recommended it to my friends.”

She gave it back to him. “Well, you should have it, then!”

“Keep it as my payment for your help, this amazing cup of coffee, and your company,” Dongwoon beamed at her. “Still not believing, huh?” He got a Sharpie from his pocket and thought on what to write on the back of the front cover. His face brightened up and scribbled his idea before giving it back to the puzzled-looking owner.

“Oh-kay, it’s officially mine. Thanks!”

The two talked for a long period of time, but neither felt the hours had passed already; sometimes they’d stand up and stretch, or even go back downstairs to have a coffee refill. Their far companion, however, told them to go home as he also had to himself.

“As you might want to know, a couple met here as well and they got married.” Mister Kwon slyly said, causing the two to look at each other with panicked and awkward expressions.

“Don’t listen to him,” Jihyun broke the ice. Dongwoon nervously laughed and parted ways with them, who was now quite unnoticeable with his scarf-covered mouth.

“’This belongs to ‘Jihyun-sshi/noona/Dongwoon’s dongsaeng.’ Some dork.” She scoffed the inanimate object in her hands. Jihyun noticed the multiple scribbles and pencil marks on a lot of pages just like how she did on some pages as well, but the handwriting was different from hers. She had an idea that her friend enjoyed her favorite self-help book.

Written on the inside of the back cover was a short (and neater in terms of handwriting) note:

‘I could tell you’ve been a lot through your notes. I apologize that I imitated your little habit, but believe me, it helped. You haven’t finished it, haven’t you? (since your notes stopped at page 115) As a sign of gratitude, this is free of charge, and I won’t spoil you since I’m a nice person.’

–Dongwoon-sshi/oppa/your dongsaeng

P.S. I found a similar book although I hid it.’

Dongwoon recalled his encounter with Jihyun, and remembering his additional note on the back cover, he smiled to himself, which caused a similar skeptical look from his bandmates.

He will always look forward for Thursdays.