A year later

“Where are you going?” Changmin asked seeing Kyuhyun was putting on his jacket and scarf.

“Out”, Kyuhyun simply said.

“Obviously”, Changmin said rolling his eyes “Just wanna know where”

“It’s none of your business”, Kyuhyun replied still showing no interest in Changmin but that did not offend him at all. Moreover, Changmin even chuckled at Kyuhyun’s failed attempt to hide his destination.

“Let me guess”, Changmin teased “Acoustic?” And he burst out laughter as Kyuhyun slightly jumped and his face turned pink because he was caught red-handed.

“Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 8 to 10 – sounds like the work schedule of a specific part-time singer at the place where you are heading to”, Changmin continued his little game “Am I right?”

Kyuhyun was about to curse at his friend or act nonchalant but he was so embarrassed that he decided to quickly rushed out of the door before saying “goodbye” without glancing back at a laughing Changmin.

Alright, so Changmin was right.

It had been a year since the first day Kyuhyun had set foot into Acoustics and he had not missed a day when Siwon had the stage for himself. After secretly asking around, Kyuhyun even figured out the guy’s working schedule. Well, to be honest, there were some Fridays that his group of friends dragged him to do something else and he could not refuse. But those days didn’t count because his first intended destination was always Acoustic.

Tonight was the last Wednesday of November. It was quite chilly outside so Kyuhyun wore a red wool scarf with his regular jacket and strolled down to the small café shop. He chose the table in the corner to avoid attention. Also, all the front tables were taken by Siwon’s admirers. And no, Kyuhyun did not consider himself as an admirer of Siwon. He was only there to enjoy some good tea and good live music. Or so he thought…

Kyuhyun sat down, took off his bag and scarf. When a waiter came over, he ordered himself a hot Chai Tea Latte without looking at the menu. He had been to the shop for long enough to remember all of his favorite items.

“Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here tonight despite the chilly weather. My first song for you is Your Call. Please, enjoy”, Siwon finished his usual greeting and introduction and started singing.

It was beautiful as always – Siwon’s voice and his guitar playing. The beautiful sound that he made, helped Kyuhyun drift away from the present and loose himself into the music and the air. Soon enough, Kyuhyun found himself mumbling along with Siwon

I was born to tell you I love you

And I am torn to do what I have to

To make you mine, stay with me tonight

             ….

It was not how well an artist sings a song; it is how he delivers it that amazes the people who listen. And Siwon was so excellent at it that no one wanted to talk during his performance.

Time slowly drifted away, note after note was sung and played and the drink in Kyuhyun’s glass waned away during an infinite period of time…

When it was 9:45, Kyuhyun paid for his drink and prepared to leave. He never stayed for the whole time. He was afraid that if he stayed, he would not be able to stop himself from waiting for Siwon to leave also and do something stupid like…talking to the man. So he set up this simple solution and by far, it had worked quite well for him.

He returned to his dorm room at 10:15 and found his roommate studying his Economic text book. Changmin immediately looked up from the book and threw an amused teasing look at Kyuhyun who glared fire at him.

“Enjoyed yourself, Kyuhyun?” Changmin asked raising his eyebrows.

“Shut up, Changmin”, Kyuhyun spat and suddenly sneezed three times in a row. He then had to quickly grab some tissue for his runny nose.

“Uh-oh”, Changmin immediately raised from his bed eyeing Kyuhyun “Did you catch a cold or something?”

“I don’t think so…” Kyuhyun said weakly, his right hand came up to rub his irritated throat and that was when it hit him “Darn it!” he said annoyingly.

“What?” Changmin asked.

“I forgot my scarf at…” Kyuhyun stopped mid-sentence, didn’t want to confirm his destination with Changmin.

“Where?”

“Doesn’t matter”, Kyuhyun answered while grabbing some of his clothes for a shower and quickly left the room.

When he came back, Changmin already fell asleep on his bed. Kyuhyun snorted eyeing his lazy friend. He’d bet everything he had that Changmin did not even finish one whole page of his reading assignment before drifting to dream land comfortably. Kyuhyun, being a nerdy bookworm, had already finished things that he was supposed to do before leaving for Acoustic so he could have enough time sleeping without worrying about his school work. That didn’t mean he couldn’t spare some time playing a few games of Star Craft before heading for his bed though.

Anyhow, Kyuhyun did catch a cold. Thankfully, he had three very fuzzy friends who helped taking care of him in many ways such as making him take medicine, wear extra warm clothes and eat easy-to-digest and nutritious food. Despite his irritation and annoyance, Kyuhyun agreed to his friends’ ridiculous requests and his cold lasted for only a day.

On Thursday night, Kyuhyun made a reminder for himself to ask one of the staff at Acoustic about the scarf he left there. It was his favorite.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday night came around and Changmin had specifically planed out the evening for the whole group. After his basketball practice, he came back to his dorm room only to find his roommate who was also his best friend playing Star Craft. No surprise there.

“Welcome back”, Kyuhyun said, showing that he had acknowledged Changmin’s existence in the room.

“Seriously, Kyu. You should be getting ready. The guys will be here in 20 minutes”

“Ready for what?” Kyuhyun asked not turning away from his laptop.

“It’s Friday night so we’re going out. Also, I have informed you about the plan for like five times already”, Changmin accused.

“Well, forgive me”, there was no sincerity whatsoever in Kyuhyun’s voice though, “Sometimes I just hear you making sound but don’t really listen to what you say”

“Whatever, Kyu”, Changmin said nonchalantly, knowing Kyuhyun’s sharp lounge fully well, “Anyways, here’s your last notice. I know a guy who works at one of the hottest bar in the area and he promised to let us sneak in tonight. Imagine it, a room full of young and beautiful people dancing, drinking and socializing.”

“Wow that sounds like so much fun so I’ll pass”, Kyuhyun replied sarcastically.

“Oh c’mon!” Changmin groaned in frustration. “Are you really going to skip out on your only chance to possibly hook up with someone hot at a bar this Friday night to go stalk your crush at a café shop?”

Kyuhyun finally turned off his game and shut down the computer. He turned around to look at Changmin to show him his annoyed and bored expression by Changmin’s nagging.

“First, I do not have a crush on anyone. Second, I rather not spend a night stuffing into a room full of people and being sophisticated with variety of body smells and having to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a fancy drink. Also, everybody knows I don’t dance or enjoy socializing.”

“Please, Kyuhyun. Give it a chance. That is exactly the reason why you need to go out there and try different thing. For God’s sake, we are not some freshmen anymore. We are independent adults who know how to have fun and enjoy life.” Seeing Kyuhyun still ignoring him, Changmin leveled up his convincing “And need I to remind you how long ago since you last dated anyone?”

“Changmin”, Kyuhyun snapped and faced the taller boy “I do not need to hear this from you!”

“Alright, sorry. But it just does not feel right going out without you, Kyu”

“…”

“Please?” Changmin knew his pleading card was working. It was only a matter of time before they reached an agreement.

.

.

.

”Fine…” Kyuhyun said, “But we are stopping at Acoustic first. There is something I need to do and it’s not gonna take long.”

“Sounds great”, Changmin happily said.

When they got to Acoustic, it was only 7:30. Kyuhyun walked right into the shop while his friends decided to wait outside. The café shop was not as crowed as it would be in the next half an hour. Kyuhyun easily found an available waiter and came up to him.

“Can I help you with anything?” the waiter politely asked seeing Kyuhyun approaching him.

“Uhm, yes. I came here on Wednesday in the late evening and accidentally forgot my scarf at the table. I just wonder if one of the staff found it.”

“What table did you occupy?”

“The one in the corner right there”, Kyuhyun said pointing at it.

“I see… Let my check with the staff that was on their shift that day. I’ll be right back with you”

Kyuhyun nodded and the waiter left. Five minutes later, he came back.

“I’m so sorry but it seems like no employee had found your scarf.”

“Oh…” Kyuhyun said with a disappointed look on his face.

“I believe someone must have stashed it away. The table is in the corner, after all”

“That’s alright. It’s kinda my fault anyway”. Kyuhyun thanked the waiter for trying nonetheless and walked out of the shop. His phone was already ringing and the caller was none other than his impatient friends who were right outside the door. Being in a rush, little did Kyuhyun know, someone had been watching him the whole time….

“Can’t find it?” Changmin asked as soon as Kyuhyun stepped out.

“Nope…” Kyuhyun replied dryly “Let’s just go to your stupid bar”

But before they left, Minho spoke from behind.

“Kyuhyun, check this out!” Minho was currently pointing at a small poster on the gate. “Now hiring. Part-time performer. There is a phone number to call to set up an interview if you are interested”

Those words struck Kyuhyun like lightning. He then felt a mixture of complicated feelings - excitement, fear, anticipation, and anxiety. And he couldn’t even explain why he was feeling all of those things at once.

“Oh my god, Kyuhyun”, Jonghyun slapped his shoulder “this is your chance!” He said excitedly.

Kyuhyun gulped before replying nonchalantly “I don’t know what you are talking about”

“Drop the act,” Changmin finally spoke up to the subject. “You know you want to do this.”

“Actually, I don’t”, being stubborn as he was, Kyuhyun didn’t give up that easily. “I don’t see any reason to get a part-time job. My family is wealthy enough to support me while I focus on my studying. Also, my life is as busy as it is”, Kyuhyun then turned around after taking one last look at the poster. However, deep down inside, Kyuhyun knew that all it took was a little bit more nudging from his friends before he decided to gather his courage and committed this idiotic action.

“Kyuhyun-ah. I’ll tell you why you should do this.” Changmin cleared his throat before starting “Firstly, this job will not only give you some extra money to spend but also offer you some experience in real life and not just the only imaginary world you know that’s called Star Craft. Secondly, the shop is so close to the dorm – no transportation is needed. Thirdly, we all know you love singing.” Changmin stopped and fixed his expression to a higher notch of seriousness before landing his hands on Kyuhyun’s shoulders “And lastly, dude, it has been a year. You can’t keep on showing up at the shop three times a week just watching someone without even making any move. You need to man up and take this chance.”

After Changmin seemed-to-be very convincing speech, both Jonghyun and Minho held their breath while watching Kyuhyun’s expression. It was completely blank at first while he was staring back into Changmin’s eyes, considering every word his friend had just said. And then Kyuhyun gulped and sighed. There was no use in trying to conceal anymore.

“That is if I get the job”, Kyuhyun finally said as a matter of fact.

To this, his friends chuckled in sync.

“Give me a break”, Changmin said.

“Seriously…” Jonghyun said mockingly.

“Kyuhyun, you double major in Vocal Music and Performing Acts. And everyone knows you’re the star of the highest choir ever since your first year. I think you can handle a singing job in a café shop.” Minho said attentively.

“Well…” Kyuhyun wanted to say something back but no word came out of his mouth. A part of him still thought it was a stupid idea and he cursed his friends for persuading him so well that he was now seriously considering it. “I’ll think about it.”

“Awesome!” Changmin said cheerfully. “Now let’s get out of here” and dragged Kyuhyun away from the small café shop.

An hour later, inside the tightly packed bar, Changmin, Minho and Jonghyun seemed to be enjoying a very good time on the dance floor while the electric music blasted off. They were drinking, dancing and laughing among people they had never met before. Except for Kyuhyun, of course. The boy spent the night sitting in a booth alone, just sipping on his drink and getting lost in his own thought. But he didn’t mind. Despite still feeling iffy, Kyuhyun could not bring himself to stop thinking about Acoustic, about working there and about his slight chance to finally meet someone officially.

~~~~~~~~

So yup, this is the second chapter!

Again, leave a comment if you can because I'd love to know what you think! <3