C h a p t e r  O n e

“Welcome.” Naeun bowed to a couple who entered the café with a smile plastered on her face. “Please have a seat.” She gave them the menu card and took their orders before heading to the kitchen. After a few minutes, she came out holding a tray of meals and served her customers.

“Enjoy your meal.” She beamed and bowed slightly, leaving them to crave the delicacies.

“Naeun, you can leave now. Your shift is over.” Her manager suddenly tapped her shoulder and she went in to the changing room. Grabbing her t-shirt and shorts, Naeun wore them and put on her worn out sneakers. She let out a heavy sigh, contemplating whether she should buy a new one or not. It was mid June and she won’t get her paycheck until the end of the month. She had some saving but it was for emergency. And buying a pair of new sneakers didn’t sound like an emergency to her.

Naeun had been living alone for about half a year now after she reached her legal age and left the orphanage. Since she couldn’t afford for college, she decided to work at the café and rented a small apartment. Lucky enough, the landlady happened to be one of the cook at the orphanage so the old lady gave her half price.

Peering at her watch, she grunted, “Oh! I’m late!” She hurried out from the room and headed to the front door.

That was her daily routine. Every day except for Sunday, she would work at the café from 8AM to 2PM. Then, she had practices at a dancing institute. Yes, her passion was dance. It calmed her, it made her feel safe. And that was what she need in her lonely life. The fee was quite expensive but she still wanted to join the dancing lessons under Mrs. Kim, a former dancing legend.

Even though it meant she had to do a night job at the 7-Eleven. Pretty pathetic, huh? There she was, juggling between works and dancing practices when every girl in her age was out there looking for love. She never really thought about that. All she ever wanted to do was achieve her dream as a dancer. That-

Her thought disrupted as she walked down the street and suddenly bumped into someone causing a small squeak to erupt from . The guy was taller than her but she didn’t spare a glance to check on his face. Naeun was busy bowing her head a few times. “I’m so sorry.”

“Watch where you’re going.” He scowled and walked past her coldly.

Naeun frowned as she stared at his back. “Geez, what is wrong with him?”

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Sungyeol waved his hand as he saw L pushed the glass door, “L, here.” He took the seat in front of him and sighed. Raising his eyebrow, Sungyeol looked at him. His expression wasn’t so good. It must be the pressure his father put him into.

“You’re okay, L? You didn’t look good.” Sungyeol asked in a careful tone. L shrugged, “I’m fine. I just ran into some girl on my way here.”

“Did I hear L say ‘some girl’?” Woohyun suddenly appeared behind L with Sunggyu who was smiling cheekily. “What a surprise. You should be happy then, L.”

 “Well, I’m not you, hyung.” He replied sarcastically. Woohyun sat beside Sungyeol, rolling his eyes as he heard L’s comment on his social life. Known as the player in his group, Infinite, Woohyun was a flirty person. But he didn’t go too far like playing with girls’ hearts.

The four guys talked about their ideas on the new choreography while enjoying their coffee. Except for Woohyun, they were oblivious t