The door bell rang with a ding signalling the arrival of a new customer just as the young girl was bending down to pull out some boxes from the bottom shelf of the pastries display rack.

She shot up quickly, tugging at her black A-line skirt and assuming her professional stance – even though it was just a part time job she took it very seriously.

“I’m sorry we are close..d.. oh! It’s just you!” her polite tone turned to one of exaggerated disappointment when she spotted the floppy haired boy waving at her with a smile so wide and giddy he looked like he had just returned from a visit to Charlie’s chocolate factory.

“Oh come on now, Hyoyeonnie, don’t pretend! This is the best thing that’s happened to you all day, right?”

Suppressing her smile, the girl tossed back her shoulder length blonde locks and looked beyond him, “Annyeong Hyukjae.”

His companion gave her a wave as well, “Hi Hyoyeon.”

///////////////////////////

But the boy was anything if not persistent – a trait that served him well in his various pursuits – the chief among which was ‘girls’. So he started and then continued to mess with the bow on her hair like a kitten asking to play, “Don’t ignore me! You know it hurts.”

Hyoyeon rolled her eyes at him but the warmth in them was hard to miss.

“Is my dad in his office?”

The sudden question reminded Hyoyeon of the reason why the café was closing early and she launched into action hitting his back, “Yah! You! Do you know how worried your dad is about you? When are you going to grow up, Lee Donghae?”

“Ouch that hurts! Stop it woman! Hyukjae help me!”

But his friend knew better than to mess with a violent Hyoyeon so he just raised his hands and maintained a safe distance. Sometimes, well actually every time, he was with the two of them, Hyukjae felt like the third wheel. But strangely, it wasn’t awkward - he quite enjoyed just sitting back and watching the two childhood friends bicker and yes, sometimes beat each other up. It was usually Hyoyeon who did the beating because Donghae let her. He’d laugh about it later on calling it their special form of ‘skinship’.

“That’s it! 10 hits, that’s all you get, Hyo!” and with that, Donghae swiftly took hold of her hands and pinned them behind her back. “Are you done? If not, next time I’m going to stop you,” he drew his face closer to hers, “by kissing you!”