A/N: Totally random chappie ahead. LOLz. You have been warned. [Think of it as a preview of some sort]. To people who haven't watched 'Antique', this is Jinhyuk, Sunwoo, Gi-beom and Sooyoung [left to right]. Oh and Jae Mi's having pink dreams. *winks* <3

 

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No One’s POV:

7:20 p.m. At the Antique Bakery.

 

“Yah, boss…should I just dump cold water on her or something?” A short, young man carrying a mop in one hand asked the manager of Antique, pointing to the sleeping form of a young girl. He’d been asking the same question for the past hour, since the girl had suddenly fallen asleep in their shop after ravaging about 60 servings of cake.

“Aish, she’s still a customer…you can’t do that…” The manager replied, smacking the young baker on the back of his head before continuing to fix and balance the accounting books. He didn’t really care if she was sleeping or not, she’d finished all their merchandise for today and he was glad there wasn’t anything left over.

“But she’s been sleeping here for an hour! Dammit, I can’t clean up like this!” The young man retorted back, before resuming to mop the floor, throwing glares at the girl every few seconds or so.

“I think she’s some kind of a…homeless person…” Another waiter, whose sunglasses were his main identifying characteristic, said in a neutral, observant tone. He was sitting on the chair on the opposite side of the girl’s table and was playing with her long, brown locks while looking her over curiously. He’d been wondering what it was but there was something strange about this young girl that he just couldn’t put a finger on.

“Yah, check her bag…maybe she doesn’t have money on her…” The manager suddenly ordered, looking up from his work to look at Gi-beom, the young baker, who immediately flared up.

“No friggin’ way! She ordered almost $3,000 worth of cakes!”

“Hey, don’t be so loud Gibeom-ah…you might disturb her.” The head baker, a handsome, glasses-wearing fellow said, suddenly appearing from behind the kitchen.

“Sorry master…” The young baker replied apologetically, causing the manager to roll his eyes at the twosome. Gibeom proceeded to rummage through the guitar case which was the only thing she’d brought along with her while the three looked on curiously.

“Aish…all she has with her is a guitar, these useless pieces of paper and a phone…” He reported a few seconds later, before throwing her another death glare.

“B-bwoh?! Seriously?! Goddammit…” The manager cursed before shaking his head in frustration.

“So she can’t pay for the cakes…? Oh wait, let’s call someone to pick her up!” The head baker, Sunwoo, interjected, before grabbing her phone from Gi-beom. He quickly and easily gained access to it, since no password was needed and started to scroll down her phonebook, only to feel saddened by a surprising revelation.

“…oh my, there’s only three numbers here…what a poor, lonely girl…” He remarked, giving the young girl a sympathetic pat on the head. The manager, Jinhyuk, leaned over curiously before grabbing the phone from chef Sunwoo’s hand and looking the numbers up for himself.

“Well at least she HAS some numbers…our Gi-beom over here probably doesn’t have any…” The sunglasses-wearing Sooyoung commented before chuckling happily at his own joke.

“Yah! You little---…”

“Aish, shut up will you! I’m gonna call the richest-looking on the person on the list so you better shut your traps or else!” The manager ordered in his usual angry tone which the other three were very much used to hearing by now.

”Arasso, arasso…” Sunwoo complied, taking the other seat on the girl’s table and leaning his elbows on the table to cradle his chin while he waited for the manager to call her guardian up.

“Aish, stinking manager…” Gibeom muttered under his breath before continuing to mop the floor.

Lee Sungjong…Kim Ryeowook…Kim—ah!The manager thought, before proceeding to  dial the first number on the list and one whose owner seemed to be the most respectable and richest of the three.  

 

“Ah, yomoseoyo? …is this Mr. Kim Sunggyu?”

 

 

……………………………………………………

“Where did she go?! Dammit, find her!” A harsh male voice shouted to his other companions, breaking the eerie silence of the now-uninhabited Seoul downtown. It was barely 3:00 in the morning and the majority of Seoul’s citizens were asleep…except for a scared, rail-thin 13-year-old and the three men who’d been chasing her for days.

She’d ran and ran, as though her life depended on every step she took, braving the rain and cold winter air despite her immense exhaustion and hunger. Her hands and feet were covered with cuts and bruises, the skin of her lips broken because of dehydration but she didn’t stop…knowing fully well that being caught would eventually mean the end of her.

Even after her mother had succumbed to cancer two years ago, life hadn’t been this hard for her…it was only when those gangsters started chasing her around a week ago, even showing up at the orphanage she’d temporarily stayed in, asking her to come with them as repayment for her family’s debts. She had no family, no friends, no money…and now, she’d been kicked out of the orphanage after the caretakers decided she was too big a trouble to handle so she really had nowhere to go anymore.

I’m not gonna give up…I’m never giving up…She’d decided before going on the run to save her own life. I may not have anything to live for anymore but I’m not throwing away the life my mother risked her own one for…

I’ve got to hide…where do I hide?She thought, looking around wildly in the dimly lit central district, as she turned another corner, like the hundreds before it.

“Over here…she went this way!” She heard one of the thugs shout from behind her, causing her already wildly-beating heart to palpitate in increased anxiety and fear. Oh God, oh God…they’re gonna get me…Her mind screamed, causing a wild explosion of energy in her, making her movements even faster than before.

She ce more, after seeing a familiar entrance and unknowingly entered a cemetery park. She glanced around quickly, trying to find a place to hide when she spotted a collection of bushes and trees further north of the cemetery and decided to take cover there.

She entered the bushes quickly, pushing the leaf-covered branches aside with both hands, before beholding a very familiar scene.

This place is…She started to think, her thoughts suddenly interrupted as she realized this was the place she’d avoided going to or seeing for the past two years. Umma…appa…

She stood, seemingly frozen on the spot of grass, while training her eyes on her father and mother’s graves. It was covered with brown and yellow leaves and small twigs but even in the dim light of the night, she could easily recognize the place where the two people who used to mean the world to her, now lay in rest.

And in that single moment, everything came rushing back to her…from the day her father’s boss had called to inform them that he’d met an accident at the construction site, the day her umma breathed her last on that sterile, operating bed, the last day she stood in this very spot two years ago and promised to live on for their sakes. Suddenly feeling all the pain, loneliness and exhaustion she’d been storing for the past two years, she fell on her knees…her body drained completely.

“Umma…appa…eottoke…it’s hard…so very hard to live without you…” She whispered, as the tears she’d been saving up suddenly started falling heedlessly. “Why didn’t you take me along…? Wae?”

“They’re not coming back…don’t cry for them anymore.” A gentle male voice whispered, making her look up to catch sight of her unwanted intruder. A well-dressed young man of about 17 or 18 kneeled before her, leveling his small but shapely eyes with hers. For a moment, the two strangers stared at each other, each mirroring the pain and loneliness in the other pair in front of them. He reached out slowly, catching her by surprise before she could react, and wiped the tears which had streaked on her cheeks.

“…I should know. My appa was just buried this morning and I could only come now…pathetic of me, right?” He added, a wry, sarcastic smile of self-rebuke on his handsome face while he continued to wipe her tears dry with his fingers. The young girl, as though suddenly snapping out of a trance, swatted his hand away and glared at him.

“Don’t act so familiar with me…you don’t even know me…” She whispered in a harsh, strained voice, as though talking to another person had become a difficult task. It had been such a long time since another live human being who didn’t want to kill her out of hand talked to her and the feeling was now alien to her. I don’t trust you…I CAN’T trust anyone.

“Well, that’s true but…we do have something in common. You’re alone, aren’t you?” He asked, the question going straight to her heart like a knife. I know…I know. And this time, she looked at him…REALLY looked at him. She saw eyes that were like hers, only shaped differently. Like her own big, almond-shaped orbs, his small, curved slits reflected the pain of loss so deep it was impossible not to get lost in them.

I’m scared.

She suddenly felt scared…scared that this stranger knew her and knew what she was feeling. More than anything else, more than the thugs who were threatening her life, she was terrified of the stranger who could see her for who she really was: alone, unloved and pitiful.

I need to escape.

……………………………………………………………

 

 

“Is she alright...? I think she ate too much cake…” Sunwoo remarked in a worried tone, before brushing the young girl’s hair aside to reveal her face.

“She keeps muttering some dude’s name…” Gi-beom added, grabbing a chair and sitting next to his beloved master after finishing his task of mopping the floor.

“I think she’s pretty…” Sooyoung added in a sweet, affectionate tone, causing manager Jin-hyuk to smack him on the head.

“No one asked YOU, pabo…” The manager muttered, while staring her down, his arms folded casually over his chest.

“I think she’s pretty too…even with cake all over …” Head chef Sunwoo agreed with a slight chuckle, patting Sooyoung’s arm gently and causing the older man to blush.

“Gyu…Gyu---…gyu…” She muttered softly, shifting her head a little to face the opposite side. The four leaned over to her, getting more curious by the second about the identity of the mysterious, cake-eating monster of a young girl.

“Gyu…gyu? Who’s that?” Sooyoung asked, looking at his boss Jinhyuk with all the innocent curiosity of a small child.

“I think that’s the guy I called a few minutes ago.” The manager remarked, his fingers touching his chin while he continued to ponder on the question.

“Should I dump cold water on her now…?” Gibeom suddenly said out loud, causing the other three to look at him with raised eyebrows.

“……………”

“Can’t we just muzzle him?”

“I would have done that a long time ago but the police has issues with muzzling people…”

“Aish, he’s like a dog anyways…”

“Yah!”

 

 

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Sunggyu’s POV:

7:55 p.m. In front of Antique Bakery.

 

Aish…she’s always causing me so much trouble…I thought, before entering the elegant-looking cake shop. “Good evening…is anyone---…”

“Sssssssshh!” I heard a mixture of voices scold me, causing me to turn to the side and see Jae Mi sleeping on one of the wooden tables, her head cushioned by her arms…while being surrounded by four handsome, young men who were dressed as bakers and waiters. I quickly stopped talking, out of instinct before moving towards the group.

What has she been up to--…dammit!I almost cursed out loud after seeing the numerous stacks of empty plates on her table as well as her cake-covered face. I felt like face-palming myself at the sight, knowing fully well what had probably transpired. I’d given her one ‘cake day’, after making her give up on a lot of food and diet for almost 6 months, but looking at the number she’d eaten for the past two hours, I could say she’s probably had had enough of the disgustingly sweet things to last her a lifetime. Hell, even her long, brown hair, black-framed glasses and white sweater were all over covered with icing.

Well, at least she seems to be alright…I thought, after seeing her happy, satisfied smile. Her manager, Ryeowook had been close to hyperventilating after spending all day today just trying to find her whereabouts and even I’d started to get worried when she didn’t show up for practice an hour ago. Although I knew she could perfectly take care of herself on her own since she was as independent as she was smart, it still bothered me a lot when I couldn’t reach her.

“So I take it…this belongs to you?” A guy with messy black hair and a mustache suddenly asked me, pointing his thumb at the sleeping 17-year-old.

“Unfortunately.”

“So you’re…Sunggyu-ssi?” A startingly good-looking man in glasses whose nameplate said ‘Sunwoo’ asked, while leaning over and looking me up and down, before giving me a satisfied smile. “I approve of her choice in men.”

“Aish, there’s no way this ahjussi is this one’s boyfriend…look at him! He’s probably richer than our manager…dresses better than him too.” The sunglasses-wearing guy remarked, chuckling loudly afterwards at his own wit, earning him another smack on the head courtesy of the manager.

“Yah!”

“Hey mister, this girl won’t wake up no matter what we do…is she dead?” The youngest of the three asked, eliciting three angry responses coming from all sides.

“Gi-beom!”

“She’s not even breathing…even though she’s muttering under her breath…it’s creepy!” He explained, before looking over at Jae Mi’s sleeping form and shaking his head in disapproval.

Aigoo…these people are really interesting… Time to wake you up, you little cake monster... I thought before turning to the three who were now ganging up on the shortest, youngest staff member.

“Uhm, if you don’t mind…do you have kimchi or meat in here?” I asked out of the blue, aware of how out of place my question sounded in a cake shop like this.

“Wae?”

“Well, you wanna wake her up, don’t you?”

The four guys raised their eyebrows at me simultaneously, a mixture of confusion and disbelief in their faces. One of them disappeared behind the kitchen and handed me an unopened lunch box filled with meat, eggs and rice and chuckled as they watched me closely as I put the lunchbox right in front of her sleeping figure.

“Mister, why’re you doing that?”

“Yah, you don’t really think she---…holy sh*t!” The manager guy suddenly screamed, causing the others to jump back in surprise when Jae Mi sat up almost mechanically, her half-opened eyes scanning her surroundings sleepily. When she found the object of her search, I quickly grabbed the lunchbox before she could, replacing its cover and moving it as far away from her as possible. She may look like your average, decent school girl but she had a nose far more sensitive than any predator’s and could smell meat from a kilometer away.

“Someone better give me the meat now and no one gets hurt.” She threatened in a groggy voice, before glaring at the five of us probably looking for the person who’d hid her food away. The four guys backed away a few steps, glancing from me to her with a mixture of anxiety and curiosity washing over their faces. I laughed at how they treated her like some kind of wild animal, ready to go berserk at the slightest provocation. But I knew better.

 

“She…she’s not rabid, is she?” The guy called Gi-beom remarked, half-hiding behind sunglasses-wearing guy and manager Jinhyuk.

“Beom!”

“Gyu--…oppa? What are you---…you hid it, didn’t you?!” She complained, looking wide awake now as she focused her attention on me, her brows furrowed and face all scrunched up in annoyance.

“Park Jaemi, how dare you raise your voice at me after eating a truckload of sweets?!”

“But you told me this was MY cake day!”

“I didn’t tell you to eat everything in the store!”

“B-but…aish…” She muttered, glancing away angrily with an adorable pout before folding her arms in front of her.

 

“…it’s true…she did eat all of our cakes for today…” The head chef whispered loudly to his companions, an amused smile on his face while he did.

“…damn, she even ate more than I ever did…” The annoyed Gibeom remarked, not bothering to keep his voice down as he continued to throw death glares at Jae Mi.

 

"As if I'll ever gain weight anyway..." She muttered under breath, before sticking out her tongue at me childishly.

"Yes, you will...at the rate you're going..." I remarked, raising an eyebrow at her rebellious behavior, which I was pretty much used to. Even before she came into my household, she had a stubborn, rebellious streak brought about by the harsh conditions life had placed her in. 

"One of these days...I'm seriously reporting you to the department for child protection..." She threatened, her eyes narrowing at me from behind her huge. framed glasses.

"Oh please, are you a child, Park Jaemi?" I retorted, daring her to say yes.

"Well no...but..."

"I rest my case." 

"Uh-oh...pawned!" I heard Gi-beom whisper loudly from somewhere to the right. 

"Yah!" She hissed, throwing a death glare at Gibeom who glared right back.

Aish...they're both children.

 

I sighed before taking out a credit card and handing it over to the manager. “I’m afraid to know just how much she’d spent on this place so I’m not gonna ask…” I said, while he smiled happily and received the card with enthusiasm. I sighed once more before returning my attention to Jae Mi who was now looking sadly at the empty plates of cake which were being stowed away and cleaned up by the waiters.

 

“Oppa…are you mad?” She asked, after seeing my furrowed expression.

“Yes. Are you going to eat cake again?” I replied, my tone and expression serious.

“…yes.” She answered with the same seriousness, causing us both to smile in amusement and silent laughter as had been our usual habit over the past 4 years.

The smile on her face immediately turned into a worried frown after catching sight of the large, old-fashioned clock near the door. “Omo, it’s past 8:00 p.m…oh my God, Music Bank!”

“You just noticed? Aigoo…”

“Oppa, let’s go!” She said, quickly standing up and grabbing the leather-encased guitar I’d bought for her as a birthday gift, before rushing towards the door ahead of me. She stopped midway to glance at me who was still waiting for the manager to finish using my card. “Oppa, what’re you waiting for?!”

Kids these days really--…I thought, shaking my head in resignation before receiving my credit card from the manager.

“Thank you sir, have a good night.” He greeted politely, before giving me a slight bow, followed by the other three who did the same.

I bowed politely in return , before adding, “…thank you for taking care of our Jae Mi. And sorry for any inconvenience she’d caused.”

“Oh not at all…” He started to reply when a sudden outburst caught our attention, causing the four of us to turn towards the door.

 

“Omo, thank you, ahjussi for the delicious, magical, wonderful cakes…I’ll make sure to patronize your shop again! That is…if I can ever cake again. But if this is the last time I’ll ever do so, just know that I don’t regret anything since your cakes were the most delicious I’ve ever tasted. Bye! …oppa, hurry up!” She said quickly but with all sincerity before bowing politely at the four who bowed in reply, a mixture of amusement and disbelief in their faces. She’d rushed out the door before any one of us of could react, leaving most of us dizzy with her boundless energy.

 

“Well, she is something…” The glasses-wearing chef remarked, staring at Jae Mi’s leaving figure with an amused expression.

“Oh you don’t know half of it…thank you once again.” I said to the four, before catching up with her. She was already inside my car, buckling the seatbelt and motioning her head towards me, telling me to hurry up and get inside. I rolled my eyes at her before rushing to the driver’s seat and starting the car.

“When did you ever get so excited about a performance?” I asked, glancing sideways at her before focusing once more on the road ahead of me.

“No reason.” She replied simply, while continuing to stare outside the window, an elbow resting on the car handle and a hand cradling her chin.

“Park Jaemi…”

“Oh fine! Well actually...they’re debuting today, aren’t they? Those guys…”

Those guys…? Most likely, she means---…I thought, glancing at her once more, a bit worried by this sudden train of thought. A lot of rumors about those guys had been popping up all over the tabloids and internet sites these past few weeks, ever since Woolim Entertainment announced that they were branching out to the rock music scene. Granted that they were only rookies and “Ami” was already at the top of her game, it wouldn’t do us any good if she were to be shaken up now.

“Yeah…and? Don’t tell me you’re affected by those rumors about them?”

“Not really. I’m just…curious.” She replied, her tone neutral but I could tell she sounded a little excited. From here I could see that she had the same small smile she wore after finishing a song or perfected a dance routine but she didn’t want anyone to know so they could be pleasantly surprise.

 

Curious, eh?

 

 

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Jae Mi’s POV:

 

I continued to stare out the window, trying to avoid Gyu-oppa’s piercing, observant gaze. I knew he could sense something strange with me today but thankfully, he kept quiet about it. I was still a little shaken up by that dream I had inside the cake shop but I forced the bad memories of my troubled childhood out of my mind and focused instead on my performance later as well as the one thing I'd been looking forward to for the past three months.

As much as I loved music and hated the idea of being an idol, I’ve never been as excited nor as annoyed with a group’s debut until now. I’d finally found someone who had the perfect vocals to sing my songs but…fate seemed to have other plans when it placed him on Gyu-oppa’s rival company, making him not only MY rival but an enemy to be defended against as well.

 

Curious, huh?

Well, it’s true that there’s something to be curious about you, Nam Woohyun.

I wonder…will you surprise me later?