– 2 years later –

 

“Aish! Jongdae-ya, wake up!”

Jongdae stirred slightly, rolling over in his sleep without opening his eyes. He pulled the covers over his head while trying to block out the sounds of the morning wake-up call – his brother.

“YAH!”

He felt a light kick to his side; it stung slightly but his beauty sleep took precedence over his inclination to return a kick to his brother.

“Hyung… ten more minutes…” he murmured, still navigating through dreamland and reality. He was in the middle of a good dream too and he almost couldn’t return to it now that he was half awake.

Joo Won walked over to the window on the other side of the room and pulled the curtains wide open, letting the rays of the early morning sunshine in, clearly to the discomfort of the younger brother as he grunted, able to physically feel the light from under the covers. The older brother then walked around and yanked the covers off the bed. Jongdae immediately curled into a ball and pulled the pillow over his face, trying to keep out as much light as possible.

“Remember you have to do an overtime shift today because Chaerin has to go for a checkup this morning?” Joo Won said as he tried to tug the pillow away from Jongdae too, but couldn’t pull it out of his firm grasp on his lifeboat.

“I’m sure Hyungsu-nim’s baby’s fine… and one day of opening late won’t kill us…you own the place anyway,” Jongdae mumbled into the pillow.

“Stop talking into the pillow! I don’t want your drool all over my stuff,” Joo Won feigned disgust as he snagged the pillow away from Jongdae’s vicinity.

After five minutes of struggling, Joo Won gave up on the physical attempt. How can a skinny guy like Jongdae be strong enough to be so difficult to drag off the bed? Instead, he decided to go with another approach.

“I was planning on stopping by the junk yard to throw some stuff out… I mean we really don’t have room in the garage for your bike…”

“YOU WOULDN’T DARE.”

Jongdae sat up immediately, eyes wide with terror. “You can’t do that to my baby!”

Joo Won rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm… I wonder how much I can sell it for… Knowing me, I could probably fetch a good price for it..”

Before he even finished his sentence, Jongdae already changed and was in the middle of putting on his sneakers, his bag already packed and at the front door. “Well hyung,  I’ll see you later then. I’m off to work like the good little brother that I am!”

Jongdae turned to face Joo Won and gave him a mock salute and a wide grin before rushing out the door. Joo Won smiled at his little brother’s antics, glad that he was able to be so comfortable here with him knowing what had happened to him two years ago. Then he caught himself when he realized what just happened. He ran over and opened the window in Jongdae’s room.

“KIM JONG DAE. YOU BETTER HAVE BRUSHED YOUR TEETH. I don’t want my customers complaining about your morning breath!!! YAH!”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Everyday has been the same track on repeat. Work, sleep, bike, sing. Sometimes in a different order, but still the same. Though he does miss the busy schedule of radio shows, music performances and tv appearances, Jongdae did learn to enjoy the relatively relaxing job of a barista. His hands tipped the espresso shot glasses with such efficiency that no time was wasted in wiping spills as he moved to steam the milk.

“Venti Café Latte for Aria,” he called out while placing a cap onto the blue paper cup.

A tall brunette girl walked up to retrieve her drink, a grateful smile for the fast delivery as she thanked him and found a seat at the sofas in the far right corner of the store.

Jongdae had always appreciated caffeine; the short lesson he took with Xiumin hyung had peaked his interest in learning barista skills. To be honest, he was quite satisfied with where his life was at the moment. After the whole debacle, his entire family took turns calling him, all worried sick. But Jongdae found that even before it happened, the joy of performing had already started to fade away. Sasaeng fans, the pressure of keeping the group in tact, everything compounded every time a member left that he was glad things were put on hold. In fact, he was relieved that it had happened when it did. Only during the press conference did he understand what the two chinese hyungs had felt that made them want to leave. He didn’t blame them.

Even though he did not quite miss the fame as much, he still missed everyone. They had become family in those four years and it was hard getting used to not seeing them everyday. Baekhyun has come to visit him on many occasions; the idiot wasn’t used to the cool summers and had continuously complained about how cold it was when it should have been 30 degrees out. But Jongdae loved it. He loved everything about this new country.

He loved how fresh the air was; he had never realized how suffocating it was back in Korea, though it might have been figuratively as well. He loved that he could walk out on the street, do whatever he want and instead of the media all over it, the most he’d get was a “Is that guy mental?”.

And the girls. Westerners are so gorgeous. Jongdae's never thought about being in a relationship as much as he had now. He’s never felt like his world was so small but coming out here really opened his eyes.

“Excuse me…”

A soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts. A petite girl stood in front of the drinks counter with her friend; she looked like she had something to say but was too shy to to open .

“Yes? Can I help you with something?” He smiled.

“Are you… By any chance… are you Chen? From Exo?”

His smile faltered for a slight second but thankfully the girls were too busy whispering to themselves to notice.

“No,” he put on the smile again,  “I’m sorry but you must be mistaken.”

“Really? You look so much like him… especially the curl of your smile…” she said, tilting her head to the left slightly, still not convinced. He immediately lessened the smile and dropped the curve of his lips.

“Lots of people have made that same comparison,” he chuckled. “But I’m just Jay, the barista.” He pointed at the name tag on his apron.

“Ah, I see. I’m sorry for bothering you!” The girl blushed furiously. Even if he wasn’t Chen from Exo, his smile and his laugh still flustered her in the same way.

“It’s okay. Since I look so much like Chen, I do hope you come visit me again. Have a good day!” He waved with his fingers slightly.

“Yah, I told you it wasn’t him. They disappeared! No one knows what they’re doing, but they have to still be in Korea…” He heard the shy girl’s friend whispering to her. He waved as they made their way to the door. They smiled and waved back before pushing the door open and walking out onto the streets.

Sighing at the sudden wave of , Chen fiddled with his nametag. Since coming to Vancouver, he had started calling himself Jay. He wanted his privacy, and though he was certain he had a much better chance at attaining that here rather than Korea, he still didn’t want to use names that would associate him back to his singing days. Thus, he combined his Korean name into a single name, Jay, and went by that here. But his brother and his wife still called him by his Korean name, unable to forgo their habit.

Jongdae's tried searching up information on himself, and there was barely any after the press conference too years ago. There was some coverage on when he left Korea, but the media had no clue where to. He did the same with the other members. Suho hyung and Lay hyung had continued to pursue their dreams in acting in both their respective countries. Sometimes he sees Suho on the tv shows he watches at home with his brother, and it made him fill up with pride. At least he was doing well.

The other members, though he got the occasional call, he had no clue where in the world they were. But he was sure they were doing well, and enjoying the “time off” too. Maybe he should take some time to go back to Korea and see how things were going…

“Hi! Can I get a Venti London Fog please?” A sweet tone broke him out of his thoughts once more.

It was her again.

Jongdae wasn’t friends with this girl, not even the slightest bit acquainted with her, but she was a regular. It must be quarter past eight already. He rang her up and quickly started steeping her tea.

It was her nose piercing. That what was he noticed about her first, though she had many features that would make heads turn including her dark orchid colored hair. The first time he had helped her, he hadn’t noticed, but she had come back to the counter for a refill of green tea and he saw something glimmering right under her nose. There’s a gold ring. A gold ring.

What the heck?

Jongdae had almost dropped the cup of steamed milk he was holding. What on earth is that? Even as the girl walked away and the nose ring wasn’t in view, he still stared after her silhouette as if he could see through her head to the other side. It was the weirdest thing he’s ever seen. Westerners find that attractive? Jongdae shook her head. Some thing he would never understand.

She came back every night, always sat in the same table if unoccupied (which was most nights), or she would sit at the little bar next to the drinks counter. Whenever she came, she would order some kind of earl grey or occasionally a macchiato, and she always had her macbook. Judging from how casual she dressed in the usual white t-shirt and denim shorts and her hair in a bun, she must have lived nearby or frequented the area.

Jongdae shook his head. He should be focusing on work, and not breaking down a complete stranger’s make-believe life.

The second last customer left fifteen minutes before the store closed, and that was when Jongdae started mopping. Glancing to his right, she was still there. She seemed so engrossed in her work that she never realizes how much time’s passed. I wonder what she actually does on her computer all the time… Jongdae contemplated that as he wiped the counters. He couldn’t wait to get home—overtime shifts were always killer, especially on Fridays when they open a little later.  Right as he was about to go into the back, he heard it. The opening.

Amuraedo nan niga joha

Amureon maldo eobsi utdeon nareul anajwo babe

 

Oneureul gidaryeotjyo geudae

Dalkomhan nareul bwayo geudae ye~

Jikyeojulgeyo babe

 

Anyway, I really like you

You hugged me when I was quietly smiling babe

 

I waited for today, for your sweetness

Look at me, I’ll protect you babe

He stopped in his steps, listening to a song that hasn’t been played for three years, a song that brought back happy memories with s.

Maeil maeil kkumeul kkujyo

Geudae soneul japgo naraga

Yeongwonhi eonje kkaji na

 

Bogo sipeun naui sarang unmyeongijyo

Pihalsu do eobtjyo

Everyday I’m so lucky sumgyeowatdeon

Nae mameul gobaek hallae

Neoreul saranghae

 

I dream everyday of holding your hand

And flying forever, until always

 

My love, I miss you

It’s destiny, you can’t avoid it

Everyday, I’m so lucky

I want to confess my hidden heart

I love you

After the first chorus she finally picked up, having taken off her headphones. Jongdae wanted to stop her, to tell her to let the whole song play and let him listen to this past fragment of his life, but knew that it was absurd.

“Oppa!”

Her lips pulled into a bright smile as she answered her phone. It made Jongdae wonder who she was talking to. Older brother? Boyfriend?

“Sorry, I was doing my work downstairs and I had my headphones on,” she chuckled. “Yes, yes, I know, I work too hard sometimes, but so do you! You never come visit me anymore. I miss you oppa…”

Jongdae felt a faint stab of unexplainable jealousy at the tone she used with the man. It was such a high school girl crush, but he envied how close the man was though he was on the other side of the phone, and Chen was right there.

“Yes, yes, I’ve been following your new drama. Though, I must admit, Suzy is much too pretty for you. And my favorite will always be it’s okay, that’s love.”

There was a pause.

“No way, if you were in it, you’d probably ruin it,” she laughed. It had an addictive ring to it. “I’m just kidding oppa. But really, that song’s my favorite. Chen is simply amazing.”

Jongdae blushed. It was far from the first time someone had complimented his singing, but for it to come from the mouth of that girl, it meant so much more.

“Oppa, if you know him, can you introduce me? I think we’d hit it off,” she said casually.

Jongdae couldn’t tell if she was serious or joking, but his neck began to flush pink as well. He’s never felt so much blood rush to his face this fast. He needed to get on with cleaning though.

Walking up to her, he tapped her shoulder lightly. “Wait a second oppa. Yes?”

Her eyes were so dark they looked endless—he almost got lost in them. Catching himself, he told her the store was closing in five minutes.

“Ah, I’m so sorry! I’ll be done in two minutes, just let me pack up my things.” She stood up and started placing her belongings into her black leather tote bag. Making sure she had everything she headed towards the door.

After locking up the door, when he looked up, she was already gone from sight. Jongdae sighed. He really needed a girlfriend, so he can stop thinking of girls who’re already taken. He smiled to himself as he remembered the song again. Best luck huh?

Next time. Next time, he promised himself he’d get her name.  

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here's some Chen for you to get through your day (and for me to get through mine) ^^

 

Gaaaaaah love this cutie pie <3