It took about a year for us to find some type of normalcy again. By then, Yoochun was busier with his work and Junsu was barely seen. Yuri still came by though, either to do her usual studying or dazing off. It would seem like everyone was going to take their turns looking into the distance. I was too busy to do so. Well, at least that’s what I try to appear to others.

            Ae Ri was finally back to being her normal self, or whatever was left of the brightness that she used to have. She can at least smile now, even though it’s a little more forced than natural. It was obvious that it was going to take a lot more than a year for her to truly heal over Tae Hyun’s death, but she was trying to move on. I had at one point debated if I should fire the other three waiters and waitresses, because Ae Ri was working like lightening. She would not stop moving and was taking more shifts than she needed to. Technically, I would just let her do what she wants if it makes her happy, but it was getting to the extent of harming her health. I had to force her to take her lunch breaks and sometimes even gave her the day off for the hell of it, because I knew she was overworking herself. I couldn’t necessarily blame her, because I knew that the minute she stopped, she’ll be thinking of him again. One thing will lead to another and things will break, someone will get minor cuts, and she’ll be a ball of tears again. I had to snap her back to reality multiples times on the job when she started this phase that was now lessening. She wasn’t a child and I wasn’t babysitting her. We both knew that, and she was trying harder not to disappoint me as a boss and as a friend. She had to get her adult life back together no matter how painful it was.

            I could be Ae Ri’s support system as she picked herself up, I could tell Yuri to call everyone and made all of us hangout like once before, I could now run my business efficiently again and serve Tae Hyun’s favorite cup of coffee without thinking much about it. But the one thing I couldn’t do was control Jaejoong.

            I’m not clear on what’s really going on inside Jaejoong’s mind, but I know that he has begun the pursuit of Ae Ri. I don’t know what made him think it was a good time to court Ae Ri in her depressed state, but he was on the go. And I would know.

            He popped into the shop one day with a small smile on his face, which expressed his nervousness. In his hand, was a single stem of three lilies. He handed it to her gently; she was delighted. I was furious at the scene. I’m not sure if it was jealousy or not, but Ae Ri should not get with Jaejoong just because she’s in a phase of vulnerability