Kim Jinwoo – New York – Day 10

He blew warm air into the air again and again. There was no end to his heavy breaths. His eyes glided over the antique building. Girls stared at him as they passed by, whispering to themselves. He heeded no attention to them and stared down at the dying bouquet of pink roses. The pastel pink petals were being kissed by the small snowflakes. They froze ever so slowly. His eyes floated back up toward the brick building.

The hope that surged through him and the bouquet seemed to die out. But a gentle touch brought it back to life. It bloomed like a flower in spring. His heart grew elated when he saw her standing there with books in her arms and a pink nose from the frosty nipping. “What are you doing here, Jinwoo*-shi?” She was shivering even with her black coat and fuzzy wool sweater. Her boots didn’t seem to give her enough warmth nor did her adorable black mittens.

(Adding *-shi is a formal way of calling someone. For example, if you are not very close, you might add ‘–shi’ to the end of someone’s name.)

“I came here to see you. I tried looking around for you but I couldn’t find you.” He tried his best to not let his teeth chatter as he talked but to no avail. His words came out broken but nonetheless, he was able to hand her the frozen pink bouquet and show her what he was feeling. Hesitantly, she reached out for the bouquet and it crinkled and crunched at her touch, just like the snow beneath her feet. More hope floated in his heart when he saw her beautiful and unique smile. It spread slowly across her face, the corner of her lips almost touching her rosy cheeks. It was as though spring had arrived early because her smile caused any bitter chill to melt.

“Would you like to go to the café and grab a cup of coffee? I think we could both use a mug to thaw ourselves” he took the overwhelming amount of books out of her arms and into one of his own. He held out his empty hand and she obliged timidly. As they slowly walked to the café, no words were exchanged. Occasionally, he would look down at her and watch her attempt not to look at him. Her eyes roamed towards the passing buildings and falling snow.

The café was so empty except for the select few regular customers. They sat at the counter and just stared at each other as they engaged in a conversation that caused them to go off into their own little world. The bouquet lied still on the counter, under the blinding lights, next to the steaming Americanos, melting like their cold hands.

Lee Seunghoon – New York – Day 10

It was just like any other day; he sat across from her on a cold day, next to the window. His guitar leaned against the side of his chair and she was leaning in toward him. They laughed as if no one was looking and they played little games in between their little talks. It was nonsense but it was good nonsense. Every once in a while, he would get lost in her twinkling eyes or her soft laughter. He would give her his sole attention as she talked about a past memory.

“What about you? When did you realize that music was your everything?” Seunghoon had to stop and think. It was as though he couldn’t understand a word she was saying. The question sounded so foreign. If it were any other day, he would have said that music became his everything the minute he had touched his first guitar. But he couldn’t remember what his answer was because now, music wasn’t his everything. She was. Just like he had been with music, he couldn’t breathe without knowing that she would show up at the café the next day. He couldn’t sleep without knowing that she was home, under her warm blankets, falling asleep to one of her favorite songs. He just couldn’t function without her existence.

“Are you okay? Was that a weird question for you?” Her laughter led him away from his foggy mind and back to reality. And again, he got lost. The way she smiled and laughed. The way her eyes became incredibly adorable crescent moons whenever she smiled. But when he saw her coming back down from her happy little cloud, he attempted to make it seem like he had been paying attention the whole time.

She stopped laughing but continued to smile. Her hands wrapped around her mug and her eyes met his playful ones. “You know, I forgot to tell you. I found this vintage music store a few blocks from here. They have these beautiful guitars hung up and they have old records that I’m sure you would love.” Seunghoon smiled widely. No, not because she had mentioned some little old music store but because he loved that they had so many things in common. He knew that he could spend hours, days, maybe even years just sitting there, talking to her about music or old memories, quiet little places or their favorite foods, people they admire or things they dislike.

It was like any other day, but better. They just sat there until the café began to close, talking and laughing, looking at each other and making funny faces, humming their favorite songs and recommending artists that the other didn’t know. One day, they were going to sit there as a loving couple, talking about their future together.

Song Mino – New York – Day 10

He thought that he wouldn’t have been able to survive without thinking about his draft but he began to forget about it the moment she sat down across from him. Her steps seemed a little lighter and her face seemed to be filled with a splash of life. Her eyes seemed so content and her lips even curved up a bit into a small smile. When her latte was set down in front of her, she looked up at Mino and he looked up at her. Her smile grew wider and he smiled, too. His laptop closed and he tucked it away into his backpack.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Song Mino” her voice was livelier than it was the day before, “did you sleep well last night?” His eyes sparkled at the question and he tried his best to sound serious, “I slept just fine. How about you?” Minyoung burst into a round of laughter and Mino did the same. The truth was, the night before, they had gone out to a bar after the café had closed. They had an altercation with a drunken man and his friends and the two ended up running away from the drunkards, hand in hand. Mino had dropped her off safely and went back to his own home before the sun had come up.

“Do you think they’ll remember us if they ever see us again?” Mino made a face, “I hope not, they’re just trouble looking for some fun.” As they talked about what they had done in the morning, he couldn’t help but stare at her. His heart fluttered madly by just looking at her sweet smile and listening to her talk as if there was nothing bothering her. He could tell that she was happier. She talked more and smiled often. Her pale skin seemed healthier and her eyes just seem vibrant.

“So, how’s your book coming along? Am I still struggling to find my Prince Charming?” Mino chuckled and she smiled ear-to-ear. “You don’t need a Prince Charming. You’re a strong, independent woman. And actually, you’re happy. You’re smiling and laughing. You’re just living life as if your scars didn’t exist.” He watched her smile get smaller and smaller until there was no lovely smile lingering on her pretty little face.

She stared down at her latte and played with the handle of the grey mug. “Mino, do you think that I’ll ever find someone who will love me, all of me, scars and pain included?” Mino looked at her with eyes that told her his answer. He wanted to tell her that he was sitting across from her. He was writing a book about her. He was thinking about constantly, day and night. He was waiting for her to see that she had nothing to worry about, that she was perfect.

Kang Seungyoon – New York – Day 10

There was no exchanging of words between the two. She sat there reading a different book. He sat there with an open book but his eyes were on her. “You won’t be able to know what your book is about if you keep staring at me.” Seungyoon coughed and looked down at the pages of the uninteresting book and wondered how she always knew he was staring at when her attention was elsewhere. He told himself to read the book but his heart and mind didn’t seem to be connected. His eyes wandered up at her again.

This time, she looked up as well. She had an amused smile on her face and his face grew stiff. “You know, if you take a picture, it’ll last longer. You can just put it on top of an open page and pretend to read.” He began to blush at the teasing. He hadn’t meant to stare at her so much but he couldn’t help it. He was just attracted to her. “No excuse this time?” Jennie just chuckled at his innocent reaction.

“Did you want to talk about something? Because I don’t think I can focus on my book when I know that you’re just so bored out of your mind that you have to resort to looking at my ugly face.” Seungyoon rubbed the back of his neck and tried to think of something to say but everything that crossed his mind seemed too awkward or idiotic. He sighed and just embarrassingly laughed.

“Do you want to go out on a date with me?” At that moment, he had forgotten how to breathe. It felt like a dream but he knew it wasn’t. He stared at her with wide eyes and shock spread across his face. “I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything but I feel like you’re attracted to me like I’m attracted to you. I’ve been waiting for you to say something but since you’re just one of those people who just stare at people they like, I’m doing it for you.” She waited for him to say something or move but he just continued to stare at her. “I was totally off, wasn’t I? You don’t like me?” Seungyoon slowly shook his head but still didn’t say anything.

“I’ll take your reaction as a yes then. Let’s meet here tomorrow night and then go out to a movie or something. Cool?” Seungyoon nodded but there was no change in his facial expression or body movement. Jennie smiled at him one more time before going back to her book.

Nam Taehyun – New York – Day 10

Taehyun watched her run out of her sister’s apartment with blood running down her head and more bruises covering her frail body. Her hand was gripping her sister’s tightly. She had no energy to run away anymore, he could tell. He stepped in her way and caught her in his arms. Fire burned in his eyes and heart as he watched an older man run towards them. Aena looked up at Taehyun with pleading eyes but his grip on her was firm.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. Before pressing the call button, he flashed it in front of the man’s eyes. He stopped in his tracks and backed away before running back to his home. Taehyun took Aena’s hand and led her to a taxi that seemed to have been waiting for them. The ride was quiet and Aena’s grip on her sister’s hand grew tighter.

The taxi stopped in front of a very nice townhouse and Taehyun ushered the two women to get out of the vehicle. He led them inside, “I think it’ll be safer if both of you stayed here tonight.” He showed them his bedroom and told them to sleep there. Aena’s sister asked her who he was. “He’s a friend of mine.” She tucked her sister in before leaving the room. To her surprise, Taehyun was waiting for her by the door.

He grabbed her hand gently and led her to the black couch. Quietly, he began to tend to her wounds. Things were quiet and somber. “How did you know that we needed help?” Taehyun didn’t take his eyes off of her bleeding head, “I know you need to be saved.” When she was bandaged up, she caught his hand, “You don’t know how grateful we are right now.” Taehyun gently placed his warm hand on top of hers and told her that there was nothing to be thankful for.

“Do you want to go to the café? I think we need some tea, don’t you?” Taehyun stood up and stuck his hand out for her to take and take she did. He placed one of his warm jackets over her shoulders and tied her shoes for her before leading her to the café for a cup of warm and loving tea.

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A/N: I am so sorry that I took so long to update. I have been so busy with studying and getting used to college that I didn't have enough time to do anything else but eat and sleep.

Thank you for waiting patiently.

I still won't be able to update every day but I promise to update more often.

Thank you so, so much for waiting.

And I hope you're not disappointed by this chapter/update.

Better updates to come

-pluviophile1996