He closed his eyes, hands pressing into the tension in his neck.

A base vibration hummed beneath - casting through the iron railing and concrete floors.

The air outside was damp, a staleness clinging onto his linen-pressed shirt as drops of sweat formed on the surface of his pale skin. He took a breath, another one as the clash of sea-water rushed into his nostrils.

Nostalgic. 

The rush of the ocean was nostalgic - dreams of a childhood memory, of digging his feet into the wet sand and feeling the heat of the sun on his back. 

He could hear voices below, one in particular boisterous and loud - belonging to his one and only friend - that obnoxious and uncaring friend who dragged him late that night to this ridiculous party despite his reluctance. 

He hated crowds. Hated the necessity of small conversations and "how's life?". 

"Come on! It'll be fun! ," Baekhyun chattered non-stop while dragging him into the Uber,"Suho's already expecting us and you've been moping around all week, you need something to take your mind off today!" 

It didn't take long, maybe 30 min of having to watch his friend getting plastered all by himself with a group of girls carelessly flaunting themselves at the both of them. That was the line.

He had jerked himself away from wandering hands to find some piece of solance on the second floor terrace. 

He took another breath.

Here, the scene was quieter - spectacular view of bright streaks of orance and yellows painting across the sky with the laps of crashing water slowly soothing his mind. 

This was fun.

This he would go anywhere for.

Or so he thought.

"Ahhahahahaha!"

He cringed, frowning at the loud noise was disrupting his serene space. 

It was a female's voice - somewhat intoxicated.

"Thizzzz houeezz is amaaazzz  ---"

"Shhhh!" another voice followed. A male. "Keep it down, we're not even supposed to be up here."

"S'alright! They wont midz. Just peekin in at the art and then we go oksszz?" the female giggled.

"Not ok, look let's.....oh !"

A crash.

Chanyeol turned to see the glass door behind him burst open and two bodies trip over each other, simultaneously falling at his feet.

He frowned again. A headache was starting to build in the back of his neck.

One of them groaned, pushing himself up while the other continued to laugh, clutching her belly as she lay on the floor. 

He cleared his throat -

- and they both froze. One with cat-like lips gaping wide while the other's face blanched in fear.

They had finally noticed his presence.

"Oh shiiii-....."

"I'm really really sorry. We didn't even mean to crash your party and it's not like--"

"We just wanted to see the art collection. Plus no one really said it was a private--

"It was all her idea in the first place. I didn't even--"

"Oh my gawd! Are you seriously blaming me right now---"

"Well, it was your idea---"

Chanyeol groaned. The two of them had been apologizing and bickering back and forth for what seemed like ages now.

Watching their reaction, he could tell they had misunderstood him for the owner of the house, and from what he could gather from their babbling, they had crashed the party hoping to get a peek at some famous collection.

He rubbed his forehead, brows gathering together in frustration.He was definitely going to get back at Baekhyun for dragging him here.

They were still busy bickering with each other.

"Stop!" he snapped.

They both clammed up - the female clinging onto the male's arm as she cringed at his sternness. 

"Look," Chanyeol sighed, "I'm not the owner okay? I don't give a if you snuck in or whatever the hell you want to steal. Just leave so I can be alone."

The male nodded quickly trying to pull the girl along, but she refused to move - suddenly sober and lips frowning in anger.

"What's your problem?" she scowled, "We apologized right? You don't have to be such a jerk."

Chanyeol's eyes narrowed, dark eyes now scrutinizing her from her messy hair to the loose t-shirt dress that clung to her thin figure. She definitely did not belong here. 

She shifted uneasily, suddenly aware of her own state. 

"Scar..." the male hissed, "Not now, let's just go.."

"No Sehun!" the female scrunched her nose, "He's accusing us for being thieves and I'm not... and.......ulp...." she slapped her palm onto , her face slowly paling and eyes wide.

"Scar?" Sehun hovered near her in concern.

"I....I feel sick.." the girl confessed.

"I told you not to drink that punch downstairs," Sehun scolded, "Um..." he glanced hesitantly at Chanyeol, "I'm really sorry........but do you mind watching her while I get her some water?"

Chanyeol sighed again, thinking of the infinite ways he would later torture Baekhyun.

As he looked back at the girl, dark circles now forming under her eyes - he felt a tiny bit of sympathy and so - knowing he would forever regret it, he nodded.

"Thanks man!" the male beamed, his lips pulling into a curious curl as he led the girl onto a bench before hurrying way in search of some water.

"Sorry....." the female muttered - though there was not a hint of sincerity in it.

Chanyeol shrugged, curiously watching her as she leaned back, her shoulders dropping in comfort at the touch of the cool concrete wall.

"We're not thieves...." she began to explain, "I dragged Sehun here because I really wanted to see Suho's art."

"Suho?" Chanyeol raised a brow. 

She nodded. "He used to never sell his art, you'd have to pay thousands just to get a glimpse of it, but now he's released a few of his collections to certain buyers. I heard a rumor that the owner of this house has Suho's most recent collection."

"......." 

"You don't....happen to know where he keeps it do you?"

Chanyeol shrugged. Why should he tell her if this was Suho's house? or the fact that Suho was a close friend of his. He didn't trust her one bit. 

"Arghhh!" she scratched at her head, "and I finally thought I could see it....."

She peeked back at him, her ebony eyes twinkling with a peculiar spark.

"Um...." she cleared , "So...what do you do?"

"......" Chanyeol leaned onto the railing - his head was throbbing now.

"Uh...." she started again, "because you know...most of the people I talked to downstairs were all big shot CEO's and all so um........." her voice died slowly, silenced by Chanyeol's unresponsive state.

He could see a slight irritation twitching at the corner of as she pressed her lips together.

"Nevermind," she muttered - turning her attention to the sunset afar.

Chanyeol watched her silently, suddenly caught at the way the few strands of loose hair curled in the wind.

"Actor." he replied.

She glanced back at him, startled.

"I'm an actor," he repeated, "I'm only here because of my friend."

"Wow," she mouthed, nodding her head. "Have I seen you in any films?"

"Revenge of the Nerds. Came out last summer."

"Oh...." Her eyes widened - but all Chanyeol could see was confusion.

"Rise of the Olympians?" he tried again.

"Uh...." she smiled a bit.

"The Prince and I?"

She chuckled hesitantly.

"Do you not watch films?" he questioned - frowning.

"Not really," she replied nervously.

He frowned again - turning his head in disappointment.

"Uh..." she leaned forward on the bench, "but you must be really good! I mean..... to be in that many.....yea....."

It was only a second, maybe even a subconscious pull into a smile that he was even unaware of but when he caught her staring, he adjusted his expression. 

She blinked, lips parted, and cheeks flushed. 

He mistook it for sickness. 

"You okay?" he checked, walking towards her.

"Huh?" she closed her lips, "Um...yea, haha," she waved her hand in front of her face, "I'm fine..." 

"So um...." she slowly distanced herself as Chanyeol took a seat beside her, "Anything good you're working on now?"

Chanyeol fell back against the concrete wall - relishing the way the chill creeped through his skin. He closed his eyes slowly - a deep breath of rose perfume filling his senses.

"A romantic comedy maybe," he answered, "Got a potential role."

"That's great!"

Chanyeol eyes snapped open as she slapped his arm playfully. But as soon as their eyes met, the awkwardness returned - her hand hesitantly pulling back and lips again pressing together.

"Hehe..." she laughed nervously.

"Yea," he glanced at her sudden friendliness "Not sure if I'll try out for it though."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Romantic movies are always boring."

"Oh...."

"Besides," he added but then stopped, unsure for a moment.

Was he really spilling everything to some random girl right now? 

"Besides?" she questioned.

".....I'm not sure what to say at the casting. They want us to describe what love is like."

"Well, that's easy enough," she huffed, "Just give them an example or maybe use a metaphor."

Chanyeol raised a brow, slightly. 

"Metaphor?"

"Yea," she smiled, "You know....um....love is like a thunderstorm or ..two people growing old or.....um.....like cold brewed coffee"

"What?"

"Cold brewed coffee."

"Coffee?"

"Uh huh," she was smiling so widely now, the spark in her eye growing in intensity.

Chanyeol stared at her for what seemed like minutes - a sudden building in the pit of his stomach before he burst into laughter, shaking his head in disbelief.

Meanwhile she remained still, eyes blinking as she followed the way he clutched onto his chest - a genuine laugh filtering the air until it came to a slow still.

"What's so funny?" she folded her arms.

"....coffee....wow," Chanyeol wiped the corner of his eyes., "yea. I'm sure that will get me casted."

He chuckled at himself - he hadn't laughed this hard in so long.

"I'm serious," the female narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, love guru," Chanyeol grinned, "Do tell me how love is like cold brewed coffee."

She paused to remember that moment - the way his lips parted, his hand sweeping through his dark hair; an different aura under the moonlit sky. 

"Fine," she pouted after "But you owe me because this will definitely get you the role."

Chanyeol nodded, another round of laughter threatening to break.

She cleared , as if readying herself for a speech.

"The thing about coffee is that it always looks so refreshing," she spoke slow and thoughtfully, "It's the one thing people depend on to give you energy throughout the day. And it's ever changing, you can add flavors or sugar to make fit your taste."

She paused - her eyes drifting to the sky.

"And so you drink another and another, to fill that something within you that you thought you needed. But the sweetness always fades after a while, no matter what, no matter how many times you change it, there is always the aftertaste of bitterness on your tongue. The truth is you don't really need it, you just love the way it makes you feel."

"How's that?" Chanyeol questioned, intrigued. 

She turned towards him, and for the first time that night - he saw her in a different light. 

"Alive," She smiled - a brightness that failed to reach her eyes.

They sat together in silence - amidst the rumble of cheers and music below, amidst the rush of water crashing onto sand and the nearness of each other, amidst the awkwardness of not knowing what to say next.

He simply sat, his gaze following her every expression and flutter of her lips.

They were both startled when the glass door slid open. Sehun had returned - his face flushed and breath staggered.

"We have to leave now!"

"What whay?" She asked, concerned.

"People know we snuck in," he helped her up, already pushing her out the door.

"What how?!!"

Sehun shook his head before turning back to Chanyeol, who remained seated, confused with the situation.

"Thanks a bunch man!" he waved.

Chanyeol nodded, but his gaze remained on the girl.

"Park Chanyeol," he voiced, unsure why exactly he was giving her his name.

Her cheeks turned a hue of rouge when their eyes met. She bowed thankfully at him before quickly following her friend and out the door.

Chanyeol turned back towards the sea - the thump of music now slowly dying into the night. His phone buzzed irritably in his back pocket.

It was probably Baekhyun, he assumed. But nothing seemed to phase him - not even that piercing headache sitting on his neck.

He thought back at the events that unfolded just a few minutes before. 

He never got her name.

He stood there watching the sky darken, his lips pullin apart - a softness bearing on his face.

"Coffee huh?" he muttered, "I guess I can use that."

A/N Notes:

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! It was really fun coming up with the scenario for this. I'll be working on the next chapter to post next Sat :).