Chanyeol skipped to work with a smile on his face, as usual. After getting used to working at the cafe, he had gotten much more closer to Baekhyun, Minseok, and Kyungsoo. For once, he was actually excited to wake up in the mornings and go to work. As he approached the cafe, he would always stop in front of the door, turn around to face Ara's balcony, and count to ten. 

Six, seven, eight... eight and a half, eight and three quarters, nine... ten, he recited in his head as he waited for her to step out. Why do I do this every day? It's not like she'll magically appear just because I count all the time. He frowned while turning away and going inside to greet Minseok. At the exact moment that the door closed behind Chanyeol, Ara slid the door open on the balcony and stepped out for a breath of fresh air. She stretched out her arms and let out a sigh as she bathed in the sun's warm rays. 

"So nice." She sighed dreamily, slightly squinting because of the bright morning sun. She looked down towards the cafe and through the cafe's large glass windows, spotting Minseok and Chanyeol chatting. Oh, it's him, she blinked at the sight of Chanyeol and remembered the poster he made with a smile. Even with his back turned to her, Ara was still able to recognize him because of his height and his messy red hair. She looked over to Minseok and pouted slightly. Seeing Minseok's face reminded her of before when she would visit him and Baekhyun in the cafe. The three of them used to be quite close until the accident.  

"Ah, I miss Minseok oppa. I wonder if he's still the same." As if Minseok could tell someone was talking about him, he looked through the window and spotted Ara staring at the cafe. In an attempt to not scare her, he played it off by averting his eyes in different directions so that it looked as though he was only looking around randomly. Ara didn't notice and continued staring at the boys with a small pout. Minseok had a secret smile on his face while talking to Chanyeol, something that Chanyeol finally noticed after a few more minutes of chatting. Chanyeol stopped talking and frowned, wondering why Minseok kept smiling at him in such a weird way.

"What are you smiling at me like that? Is there something on my teeth?" he asked while holding up his phone to glance at his teeth in the reflection. Minseok chuckled and shook his head. 

"Turn around, Ara is staring at us. Don't be obvious about it though." Minseok spoke in a low tone while nodding his head over towards Ara's place on the balcony. Chanyeol's ears perked up at the mention of her name and he tried his best to turn his head around without making it as obvious as possible by pretending to stretch. As he stretched his arms and turned, he peeked underneath his eyelashes to catch a glimpse of her. There she was, staring in their direction with a thoughtful expression. 

"She really is there!" Chanyeol excitedly said as he turned back around to look at Minseok. Minseok just nodded his head and patted Chanyeol's head with a laugh. "Should I try to say hi to her? I know I really shouldn't because of what happened last time, but I really want to." Minseok let the thought simmer in his head a little before nodding slowly.

"I think it might be worth a try. Since she already kind of met you before, I think she might be okay trying to say hi. Just a wave should be fine, right?" Minseok proposed, not really too sure what to do either. Truthfully, he was worrying over whether or not it was the right decision. But he really wanted Chanyeol to try to attempt to communicate with Ara. He missed seeing how well she communicated with others and he really wanted to see that again. 

Chanyeol slowly turned around and lifted a hand to wave to Ara. At first, it was obvious that she was surprised and caught off guard at Chanyeol's actions but soon she lifted her hand to wave back. Chanyeol immediately grinned widely and excitedly waved his hand back and forth as he bounced in his spot. Minseok smiled as he watched the two communicate and waved at Ara as well. Happy to see Minseok greeting her as well, Ara's smile slightly grew while she clutched her thumping heart with one hand and waved with the other. 

Ara could hear her heartbeat's fast pace ring through her ears while staring back at the two smiling boys. Ara's feelings were a mix of distressed and touched at the boy's effort to communicate with her. Although her brain was full of worries, she couldn't help but feel happy and relieved to finally communicate face to face with someone this way. Even if they were much too far for it to really matter to them, it meant the world to her.

A group of customers interrupted the moment and Minseok quickly went to work. Minseok's attention was no longer on Ara, but Chanyeol still stared in her direction. At the sight of the customers, Ara started to retreat back into the apartment but a glimpse of red hair caught her eye in her peripheral vision. Chanyeol still stood there with a smile, waiting for her to go back into the apartment before he could get to work. This time, Ara took the initiative and started to wave at Chanyeol. He waved back with a gentle smile and nodded at her to go back into the apartment. Ara waved goodbye one last time before walking into the apartment with a confused look on her face. She couldn't quite place it, but the second time Chanyeol waved to her felt much different than the first time with Minseok. She shook her thoughts away, knowing that she was overthinking it.

---

Kyungsoo walked down the streets where the market's many fruit and vegetables were proudly showcased. With recyclable bags in one hand and a small notebook in the other, he fiddled with his pen, attempting to check off the items he bought for both the cafe and the apartment. The market was full of bustling workers and customers as the sounds of bargaining customers and shopkeepers announcing discounts. These sounds were music to Kyungsoo's ears. He still remembered coming to the market on Saturday mornings with his mother when he was young, following her like a little duck as she expertly maneuvered through the market's confusing streets and stalls. Now it was him, coming by himself on Saturday mornings and growing used to the confusing layout of the market and becoming friends with the old ladies that worked the stalls.

Satisfied with the amount of shopping he got done, Kyungsoo decided to leave the market and walk towards the part of the street that focused more on cafes and small trinket stores. Teenagers and couples walked the streets along with Kyungsoo, all happily chatting with one another and enjoying the sunny weekend. Wanting to let his feet rest, Kyungsoo sat on a bench by a water fountain in a large courtyard. In front of the fountain, a boy sat with an open guitar case in front of him. A sign in the guitar case encouraged passerbys to make donations as he tuned his guitar. 

Kyungsoo's attention was completely on his little black notebook, sifting through the endless grocery and to do lists. Too focused on writing down errands for next week, he almost didn't hear the boy with the guitar cough nervously and begin to strum his guitar. Kyungsoo immediately recognized the song's first few verses as the boy sang softly, yet still loud enough to be heart throughout the courtyard. Kyungsoo listened intently, pleasantly surprised to hear the song being played in guitar rather than piano.

I'm afraid, I'm afraid for my weakness

I'm afraid for me, who is nothing without you

You know that I only embrace and know you in my heart

You know that I have no one but you

Just like those days when you were my everything, 

When I cried and laughed in your arms

Let me love you again

Hearing the lyrics again after such a long time brought a bittersweet smile to Kyungsoo's face. It was his audition song. He made it into SM with that song and it always brought back good memories. He wasn't sure how he felt hearing it again but he brought himself to stand up, donate some change, and walk home.

Ara's ears perked up to the sound of the door opening as she sat at the couch, intently focusing her attention to the drama on the screen. With her eyes still glued to the male lead character on screen she raised her arm to wave at her brother who just came back home. He lightly smiled at Ara even though she wasn't looking and placed the groceries on the dining room table. 

"Ara, put these groceries away," he called before walking away to his room. Ara didn't notice her brother's weird mood and started to put away the groceries while still watching the drama. Softly closing the door behind him, Kyungsoo moved towards his closet and reached deep past the mess of shoeboxes and random clothes for his guitar case. The guitar was practically covered in dust and Kyungsoo had to clap the dust off his hands with a grimace before he could place it on his lap. 

Lightly strumming and playing with random chords, Kyungsoo played a familiar simple melody and vocalized a bit before humming along to the melody. He got familiar with the song again and started to sing. His rich voice rang through his room, starting out quiet and shy and later becoming stronger and more confident. He sang with his eyes closed, not even bothering to strum and focused on singing. His mind was empty and all that he could do was sing.

Without realizing it, Kyungsoo's voice became weaker and weaker as tears started to pool around his eyes. But he continued singing, even as tears started to stream down his cheeks. His voice cracked and that was what broke his focus. His thoughts started to flood back into his brain as he wiped away the tears even as fresh ones started to fall. 

Singing used to be his whole being, his dream, and his life. And yet this was the first time he had really sang in a year. He thought back to the years of high school he dedicated to competing in singing competitions and taking lessons as a trainee. He so fervently chased after his dream and yet here he was, taking care of a cafe while all of his friends debuted one by one. He felt bad for himself. He let out a sob as he buried his hands in his face and let the tears flow. 

"Do Kyungsoo... what's wrong with you?" He muttered to himself. After he moped about his lost dreams, he scolded himself for doing so. His family needed him and he couldn't just sit around feeling sorry for himself. Kyungsoo wiped his tears with his sleeve and slapped his cheeks. He had to be strong for Ara. After packing the guitar back into the case and sliding it underneath his bed, he opened his door and jogged to the living room to hang out with Ara just like he promised.

"Ara! What episode are you watching? I need to catch up, I've missed so many episodes." Kyungsoo jumped onto the couch and snatched the remote from Ara, plastering a smile on his face and praying that his eyes weren't swollen. Ara smiled back and caught him up to date on the drama, pretending not to notice his wet sleeves and slightly pink eyes. She acted as though she hadn't pressed the mute button on the TV earlier to listen to him sing and sob to himself. She plastered a smile on her face as well, pretending like everything was okay.

A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't been updating this story very much! I made a new story called My Sassy Secretary (shameless advertising smh) and I've been focusing on that more than this story and I'm really sorry about that :( Not to mention I've been super busy with school. I hope this update makes up for it <3