I waited for a few seconds... minutes... for him to send another message, but there was none.

Okay? Just okay? That’s it?

Why did he even ask if his response is just ‘okay’?

---

“Are you sure it’s here?” I asked Nikki for the hundredth time as soon as we arrived in front of Club Espresso in Buam-dong, located between two mountains atop Northern Seoul. The area moves at a refreshingly slower pace compared to the rest of Seoul, which is most probably the reason why Jackson chose to be here – free from the prying eyes of the public.

“I’m pretty sure that he mentioned Club Espresso in Buam-dong, which is beside the neighborhood’s lone traffic light.” She said, pointing at the traffic light at the intersection. “Maybe, they’re just late for a bit.”

“A-yo! What’s up?”

We turned to our right and saw Jackson Wang slowly making its way to us, dressed in all black with white snapback and a pair of sunnies. He removed his glasses and did high five with Nikki as his way of greeting her and surprisingly, gave me a hug.

“Where’s Bambam?” I asked and looked behind Jackson but no Bambam was spotted, until I heard a continuous beeping of a car or something behind me.

“Hey, watch out!” I felt a strong grip on my right arm and a red scooter passed exactly right in front of me. I swear I could have been injured by now if not for…

“Mark?!” My mouth was left open in shock as soon as I turned to face the one who held my arm.

“Ya stalker! You almost got hit!” Mark said, letting go of my arm and motioning us to move a few steps backward away from the road.

“I thought you’re coming with Bambam?” Nikki turned to Jackson to ask.

“Bambam had to go to the gym. He’s working on his abs, so no sweet stuff for him for now.” Jackson replied.

“Wow.” I uttered.

“So Mark’s here in behalf of Bambam.” Jackson added.

“Jackson begged for me to come with him.” Mark stated.

“What? Beg? Okay fine. I begged.” Jackson said, rolling his eyes. And I laughed at that.

“Aren't we going inside?” Nikki asked, gesturing her head towards the café.

“No. We’re going to a different shop. I just told you that we’ll meet up here because the place is kind of… uhm… away from the main road. We have to walk a little further to that corner.”  Jackson said, pointing to a corner at our left.

“Okay. I’m good at walking.” Nikki shrugged.

“I’m not.” I said.

“Okay. Just stay here then.” Mark gave me a look and walked first towards the corner.

“What’s wrong with him?” I turned to ask Jackson.

“He’s just trying to act cool.” Jackson half-whispered.

“I heard that.” Mark said, not looking back, but his voice sounded like he was smiling.

After about ten minutes of walking, we arrived at a quieter neighborhood where the Supreme House of Cheese was located. It is a business run by an Italian family and has been in operation for about a decade already, selling a variety of dairy products, cheesecakes, and all types of food that scream ‘cheese’!

Nikki sat on a table by the window beside Jackson, while me and Mark sat on the other side. We were the lone customers in the restaurant. A middle-aged Italian waitress politely greeted us as she handed us the menu. She seemed to know Jackson already since her face lit up upon seeing him.

“I’m a regular customer here.” Jackson explained.

“You like cheese that much?” Nikki asked.

“Of course! I mean, who doesn’t love cheese?”

“Whoa! This is daebak!” Nikki exclaimed upon seeing the list and photos on the menu.

“The usual, noona. Four cheese margherita pizza.” Jackson told the waitress.

“Grilled cheese sandwich, please.” Mark smiled as he told the waitress her order.

“Such a pretty boy.” The waitress commented.

“How about me?” Jackson butted in and the waitress just laughed.

“What was that laugh for, noona? I’m disappointed.” Jackson dramatically said and acted all disappointed.

“Ya! You should be a gagman.” Nikki stated and laughed.

“Can you just concentrate on the menu?” Jackson continued on his drama, and Nikki continued to laugh at him.

“I’ll have the grilled cheese sandwich as well.” I stated to stop Nikki and Jackson from bickering.

Mark turned to my direction and gave me a look. “Hey, I took that order first. Choose a different one.”

“Eh? Why? It seems really delicious. I want to have that too.”

“But I laid my eyes on that first!” Mark insisted.

“What’s wrong with you? It’s not like they only have one grilled cheese sandwich available.” I said.

“You really like me that much, huh?” Mark was now giving me a teasing smile which made me speech