What if your happily ever after was right in front of you, but you just didn’t know it. What if, on that day that you were destined to meet the one, you were too busy doing something else like texting or some other time wasting activity, or you never got to that place at all? What if that someone was actually a friend of a friend and you coincidentally meet one or two times by pure luck. Then, would it still be destiny if it weren’t to come true?

 

What if the one we were meant to be with started out as someone we thought we would never get along with?

 

There are so many what if’s. But before we get to those, like any other story we have to start at the beginning.

~~~

 

I glanced up from the book in my lap to take a quick peek at the gorgeous lady sitting across from me. Wavy, shoulder length, strawberry blond hair, obviously dyed with the tell-tale dark colour at the crown of her head, but otherwise suited her quite nicely. Her cat-like eyes, gazing off into space as she half listened to her- our friend ramble on and on about her cute princy and the pink doggy shirt she had bought him a while back. Pink thin lips that were just slightly curved down in a (perpetual) small frown, combined with her sharp features that just gave off that strict no nonsense vibe. Honestly, based on her looks alone, she was not someone I would want to have crossed paths with. But here we are, sitting in the same coffee shop, at the same table, with surprisingly the same circle of friends.

 

I glanced over to Tiffany, still spazzing over her Maltese’s cuteness. Prince is cute, but Hani is totally cuter, in my biased opinion yet I’m not losing my head over her cuteness. My phone memory might have reached its limit from all the photo’s I’ve taken of her, but I’m still sane enough not to obsessively talk about her. Well, not as much as Tiffany does, but as the German proverb goes “to each their own”. She always gets like that whenever her Prince, or Ginger - Taeyeon’s dog, or pink is ever pulled into the conversation. Mostly the pink. That pink obsessed monster wouldn’t even let me wear anything pink, but I digress.

 

When my eyes find their way back to the strawberry blond haired woman I had to resist from scoffing at her blatantly ignoring everything Tiffany was saying, her eyes lazily scanning through the monitor of her phone and instead pull my cup up to my lips.

 

Now I know Tiffany mentioned her name already and I know I’ve heard of her before. What was it again?

 

I know she used her English name, otherwise, I would’ve remembered it by now. It starts with a J.. Jac- no that’s not it. I’m thinking of someone else. Je.. Jennifer? Jenny? Je-something.

 

“Yuri-yah!” I glance back to Tiffany. She was full on glaring at me. I set my cup down and put on an innocent expression.

 

“Yes, Ppany-ah?”

 

“You were totally ignoring me. She was totally ignoring me wasn’t she?” She turns the question to the other woman, seeking for her affirmation. What she gets though is a roll of the eyes and a deadpan look.

 

“I thought we were here to get together and relax, not to have my ears talked off.”

 

“Oh hush you. You barely said anything since we came in. I had to do something or risk losing my mind from the silence.”

 

“And I have to suffer, why?” She jokes. At least I think she is, her deadpan expression is really throwing me off.

 

“Very funny, Jessie.” That’s right. Jessica was her name.

 

I raise my cup back to my lips, hoping to avoid more questionings from Tiffany. At the same time, I chance quick glances at Jessica.

 

Despite the negative thoughts that had just passed my mind, I can’t say that I dislike her. I don’t know her enough to say that with a hundred percent conviction. Right now I’m more wary of her than anything. I’ve heard of her from back in uni. Gossip was a girl's favourite past time after all, and I was not spared from that ‘ist' thought. Then again it’s only natural to be curious about everything; it’s in how one reacts to the situation that makes it good or bad. So despite the uncomfortable gnawing going on at the base of my stomach from the nerves, I forced myself to forget all of the bad things I’ve heard about her and concentrate on getting to know her first.

 

… If she ever decides to actually make conversation that is. I understand now of her ice princess reputation.

 

“Yuri!” I groan from the ringing in my poor ears, cupping my right ear before the loud woman could do further damage. Honestly, I don’t know how Taeyeon could put up with her 24/7. I love that woman to bits, but I’ve got to admit sometimes her inherent loudness can get on my nerves. And bust my eardrums. I guess this is her revenge for all those years of pranking. Karma’s a .

 

“I think I lost my hearing in my right ear. Ow!” I wince at the stinging pain shooting down my arm. Tiffany had just socked my arm, violent girl. I shift away from her before she could do any more damage and raise my hands in surrender. “Okay, I give.”

 

“Serves you right, you were totally ignoring me.”

 

“I wasn’t.” I protest. She narrows her eyes at me and I drop my gaze.

 

“Prove it, what’d I say?”

 

“uh… Prince and the pink doggy suit.” That was the last I heard before I completely zoned her out.

 

Her lips curl down into a cute pout. “That was five minutes ago. You weren’t listening.”

 

I shrug my shoulder. “At least I listened for that long.” I say, subtly implying her friend's complete lack of interest. I glance over to Jessica with Tiffanyfollowing suit a second later. Jessica, unperturbed by the attention now directed at her, drank daintily from her mug, looking more like a model in a magazine than a normal person sitting in a coffee shop. How does she make even the simplest thing look like it came out of a magazine?

 

When she puts down her mug she briefly runs her tongue over her lips, away any excess coffee from her lips before turns her attention to us.

 

“Tiff asked if you wanted to have dinner two weeks from today.” She says simply, leaning back into the chair.

 

What the hell, she was actually listening.

 

“Oh.” I grin sheepishly at Tiffany. “I’d love to.”

 

“Oh, no you don’t. I retract my invitation, Kwon Yuri. If I bore you then you don’t have to force yourself to my company.” Tiffany huffs, pettily turning her back to me.

 

“Aw don’t be such a drama queen Ppany-ah. Something.. important just popped up in my mind.” Tiffany raises a brow, unconvinced. “I was just trying to recall if I really did make all my progress reports, my manager would screw me over if I forget. You know the manager, always looking out for mistakes to bash a poor soul.”

 

Tiffany eyes me critically, probably looking for signs that I was making it up. For all the years we’ve been together she should know better by now, Kwon Yuri can look convincing if I wanted to. I stare her dead in the eyes, controlling my smile so that it doesn’t turn into a smirk.

 

Finally, she tears her gaze away, with a roll of her eyes. “Whatever. Two weeks from now, I’ll text you the details. I don’t want to bother you when you’ve got other important things to think about.” I sense sarcasm, but I hold my tongue and flash her my brightest smile. No one can resist my charming smile, if I do say so myself.

 

When I glance back to Jessica her attention was back to her phone. Well.. there goes getting to know her.

 

 

 

 

 

The next time I meet her it’s by pure coincidence.

 

I was out to buy a few things, milk, cereal, eggs, bread, and other basic necessities. I’ve put off going to the grocery for so long that the shikshin (after breaking into my apartment) kicked me out of my own house and won’t let me in unless I bring food back. Literally. My bum was still stinging from the ungraceful landing. How sad was it to have yourself kicked out of your own house? That was my life, constantly getting bullied to do things for my so called best pals.

 

I swear I was going to get back at her for that.

 

When I saw her, blond hair covering half of her face as she squints down to the bag of instant coffee in her hand, I wasn’t quite keen on going up to say a hello. We met once, we were barely acquainted. She never said anything to me, directly anyway, in the first place. I could’ve just continued on, pretending I didn’t see her. I could’ve sneaked right by her and she wouldn’t be the wiser.

 

I find my feet moving towards her, slowing to a stop a few feet from where she stood, still immersed in the bag in her hand. She must really like coffee.

 

“Hi.” The greeting pushes out of my mouth before I can think my actions through. Why must I be so nice? She tears her gaze from the coffee bag, the pair of brown eyes staring critically up at me. Her lips were set into a thin line as she nods her head stiffly in greeting. She doesn’t say anything, just stared at me with those uncaring eyes and a straight face. I felt the heat rising up to my cheeks in embarrassment as we settle into an awkward staring contest. A knot in my throat prevents me from uttering another word and my hands go clammy from the way she continuously stares at me but my feet almost seem as if they’ve been frozen on the spot.

 

I clear my throat. “You uh.. a coffee person huh?” I tear my gaze from her face, looking around the shelves just to keep from looking back at her and further make a complete fool of myself. I grab the nearest brown bag, I faintly recall Sooyoung babbling about this product. “I hear this one’s pretty good. Rich, strong taste. Great for a pick me up.”

 

“That so.” She finally says. Through my peripherals she places the bag she was inspecting into her cart, barely giving the rest of the choices a second glance. She moves onto the next product, index finger running through the selection of chocolate powder.

 

Ouch. I think I just got the royal cold shoulder treatment.

 

So much for getting to know her. I guess the Ice Princess really is as cold as she looks.

 

She abruptly stops her inspection, hand falling limply to her side. Grabbing something in her cart she swivels on her heels she marches right back up to where I was, once again, rooted to my spot. Her face was a little pinched like she just smelled something fishy.

 

“Excuse me?” she says, her voice going an pitch higher than her normally nasal tone.

 

As if her voice broke the binding spell over me I took a defensive step back. “D-Did I say that out loud?”

 

She crosses her arms over her chest, glaring at me. If looks could kill I’d have been impaled by a thousand icicles. “No. I’m telepathic.”

 

“uh..” The skin of my back breaks into a cold sweat.

 

“Who do you think you are? Is this how you normally treat people? You’re such an !” At the end of her mini-rant, she shoves something to my chest. I reflexively curled my free hand over to the item. She glares at me for a few more seconds before angrily marching back to where she left her cart while I stood there, in a perplexed-petrified state.

 

It’s when she turns the corner that I feel my body loosen up. The weight of my actions, unconscious as it may have been, processing in my lagging brain and I had come up with two important points.

 

1) I had just angered The Jung Jessica.

 

2) Tiffany was going to kill me if this gets to her.

 

I glance down to the items in my hands. Two identical bags of coffee.

 

Oh my God. I’m a huge screw-up.

 

I had to apologize.

 

Pushing the bags back into the shelf I race after her.

 

I find her three aisles over. Her entire body looked tensed from behind, her steps forceful, unlike the relaxed yet graceful way she held herself the first time we were introduced properly. Why oh why does my mouth betray me?

 

“Hold up.” I quickly overtake her and grab the side of her cart to stopping her in her tracks. I figured she’d just ignore me if just tapped her from behind, at least this way I can look her in the face, even if she is pissed off at me. Before she can say anything I beat her to it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. My mouth doesn’t know to shut up from time to time. I didn’t mean it.” I say in one breath.

 

She has that renowned death glare on, lips pursed into a thin line. I hold my breath, holding my gaze and silently hoping she’d forgive me, even though it doesn’t look like it. Finally, she exhales loudly, tearing her gaze from my face. “Get your hands off my cart.”

 

“Not until you forgive me.” Her glare darkens and I flinch at the sudden jerk of the cart.

 

She pulls her cart back, this time successfully breaking my grip from the bars and manoeuvres her cart around the way she came. Ignoring the flopping of my stomach I jog to the front of her cart, holding onto both sides and anchoring my feet to the ground.

 

“Not until you forgive me.” I say again. Annoyance flashes across her face.

 

“Look I don’t even know you, why does it matter?” she says crossly, pulling her cart back. I refuse to let go and simply follow the momentum.

 

“What? Yes, you do. We were in the same uni. Heck, we met just last week!” That stops her.

 

Her eyes stare right into my face, the next second her whole expression turns blank as her eyes get that vacant look that’s she’s so famous for. I could see it as clear as the blue skies. I guess I wasn’t as memorable as I thought myself to be. A different approach perhaps?

 

“Tippany? Dinner next week?” I try. Her eyes refocus on me, a spark of recognition flashes across her face at the mention of Tiffany’s name. It takes a moment, but her expression softens slightly as she leans over her cart.

 

“Ah, now I remember. Tiffany got pissed off at you when you ignored her. That was rude you know, you could’ve at least pretended to listen.” A smirk pulls at her lips, the earlier irritation wiped out. Amusement replaces her stern look, and I could feel the heat rising to my ears at her teasing smile.

 

“I was listening.” I defended myself, it was half the truth. She raises a brow sceptically, that darned smirk still in place. I now understand what Tiffany feels whenever I look at her the same way Jessica was looking at me. Got a taste of my own medicine. Note to self, treat Fany, Fany, Tiffany better. “I just zoned out for a bit okay. What about you, you didn’t exactly look like you were interested in what she was saying.”

 

She props her head on her hand, elbow on the handlebar of her cart, her indifferent look back on. “Being interested and listening are two different things. Take right now, for example, I’m losing my interest, but I’m still listening.”

 

“And you say I’m rude.”

 

“I’m brutally honest.” She shrugs her shoulder. “Now do you mind? I want to finish and get out of here quickly.”

 

I don’t budge from my position, hands still firmly keeping her cart in place. “You’re really interesting Jeshika-ssi.” She doesn’t say anything back, not that I expected her to. I must be stupid, but for some reason, I wanted to egg her on. The impassive Ice Princess Jung Jessica, untouchable and perfect in more ways than one. The one girl that most of the female population at uni envies and most guys would kill for to, let’s face it, get into her pants. I may be stupid for doing this but I wanted to see what other expressions I can drag out of her. “Do you even know who I am?”

 

“Tiffany’s friend. Now move.” She replies curtly.

 

“I mean my name. We have been formally introduced.” I say matter-of-factly. Her face remains impassive, but I could see the slight tick of her temple as she clenches her jaws together.

 

“I don’t have time for playing these kinds of games.” She says, her tone dangerously low. She’s capable of anger, but I already figured that. Rumours had it that she’s a spitfire once she gets angry enough. But that’s been years. “Move.”

 

I shake my head. “My name.” I say. But then I think I can do better than this. “You can always just tell me you forgot my name.” I make sure she hears the underlying tone of a challenge, and just to be sure I give her an insolent kind of smirk, one that I seem to be good at giving, or so Taeyeon says.

 

Her eyes raise up to meet mine, her cold stare I could imagine boring holes through my head. And funnily enough, I don’t feel the slightest bit intimidated. I always did love a good challenge.

 

“Move. Now. Right now.”

 

“Not until you say my name, or admit you-”

 

“Kwon, move.” My eyes widen upon hearing my surname. Okay, maybe she does remember, but she looked lost earlier until I mentioned Tiffany’s name. Did she just remember or was it just pure luck. I glance down to my button up shirt, had I forgotten to take my name tag off again?

 

“You know what, forget it.” I snap out of my musing to see Jessica’s back walking away from me. .

 

Maneuvering the cart around I run after her.

 

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

 

“Go away.”

 

“You know, grocery shopping means coming home with bags full of food and stuff. You’re not actually going home empty handed are you?” I persist.

 

“Mind you own business and leave me alone.”

 

“Okay, I’m sorry.” I manoeuvre the cart to the side, somewhere it wouldn’t cause a road block, rushing after the irritated woman. I slide past her, turning on my heels to come face to face with her, raising my hands to the side to keep her from walking around me. “I’m sorry, I just..”

 

“Apology accepted. Move.” She snaps. I don’t think she really accepts my apology. I keep my ground, sending her my most apologetic look.

 

“I don’t think you do. And you haven’t forgiven me for the first one either.”

 

Her temple ticks again as she clenches her teeth. Her arms cross over her chest and she takes a deep breath in. Thank God we’re in the middle of the grocery, otherwise, I think she would’ve strangled me by now. I keep my apologetic look, not wanting to infuriate her further.

 

“I think we started off on the wrong foot.” She sends me a piercing look.

 

“You think.” She spits venomously, her eyes narrowing. The hairs at the back of my neck stand to attention. I’ve already gotten this far, I can’t back out now. Gulping down my agitation I put on my best smile.

 

“Can we start over? I swear I’m not as bad as you probably think by now.” I say, holding out my hand, hoping she wouldn’t let me look like an idiot and leave me hanging.

 

Her eyes scrutinize my expression, but I keep my hand up, waiting for her move. Finally, she uncrosses her arms and slips her soft, dainty hand in mine. I feel a weight lifted off my shoulder and broad, relived grin pulled at my lips. Jessica rolls her eyes and pulls her hand back. “Don’t get too happy, I’m only agreeing to this because you’re friends with Tiff. One chance.”

 

“That’s all I need. Let me reintroduce myself, Kwon Yuri. Instructor by day, waitress by night.”

 

Jessica’s brows rose up to her bangs. And it must pain her to keep her curiosity at bay because after a few seconds she finally asks in a small voice “Why two jobs?”

 

I grinned wider. “I’ve got bottomless pits to feed. Got to pull my weight if I want to eat.”

 

She absently nods her head. “Jung Jessica.” I wait for her to continue, but she turns away, walking back to the cart I had left near the cereal section.

 

“Wait. That’s it?” I call out to her.

 

She partially turns around, smirk in place. “You’ve got to do better than that. Goodbye, Kwon.”

 

 

 

 

 

I never really thought there’d come a day that we’d meet the way we did on the third time.

 

I was just finishing getting ready for the afternoon batch of my clients to come in. I couldn’t really say it was a batch, it was the fall season so the hype of thinning out for the summer had passed and with it most of the seasonal gym goers. The ones left were either gym rats that I’ve come to know over the year I’ve been working as an instructor and the occasional beginners fumbling over the machines and wheezing and pleading for a break after the second set. I was paid for the whole month session so I didn’t mind.

 

“Hi Yuri-yah, looking good today.”

 

“Thanks, Hara. You look peppy, as always.” Hara grins, with that good girl smile of hers, then playfully sends me a wink and a flying kiss.

 

Honestly, the girl was a clash of demure and wild in one small, lithe body. She was a perfect example of why I chose not to judge just by looks. The small receptionist, as delicate as she looks, could breeze through the gym, clearing weights tactlessly left by those uncouth body builders and still have enough energy to make her daily run on the treadmill. I’ve never seen it, but I heard that one time during a BJJ training session she had volunteered to assist the instructor and ended up throwing one of the biggest person in the room to the floor. When I asked she just laughed and waved me off.

 

“Oh and Yuri-yah, we have a new member trying out for a month. I assigned her to you since she specifically asked not to be assigned to a male instructor. I don’t know why though. She’s got the body and the looks, I mean why not choose the best-looking guy, right?” Hara was also blunt like that.

 

“She’s out at the front writing down her details.” Thank God she didn’t hear Hara. Sometimes Hara’s bluntness was just asking for a good slap to the cheek.

 

“Thanks, Hara. I’ll take care of the rest.”

 

“You’re a doll Yuri-yah. I’m going to check up on Yoo Bin oppa, he’s got his one thirty appointment with the dentist for his root-canal. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be late to that.” She chuckled, slipping through the door before I could say anything else.

 

Checking the board my first client won’t be coming until half past two, which means I’ll be able to hold a one on one session with the new client for a little over an hour, that is if she could keep up for that long. It all really depends on the will and stamina.

 

I see the new client, face turned away from the counter leaving me with a great view of the back of her head. I swear there was something about her that was faintly familiar, maybe it was the blond hair and the small frame but I swear it was- no, it can’t be. I shake my head to rid of the thoughts of a certain ice princess. I mean come on there were a lot of short, blond girls in the world, and the thought of Jung Jessica, the laziest person on earth, suddenly deciding to hit the gym? I have seen a glimpse of her dozing off in different parts of the school, sometimes in awkward positions. No way she would do this, right?

 

“Hello, and welcome to the wonderful world of fitness.” I know, it sounds like the something you’d normally hear from a fast food joint like Chuck-E-Cheese or something, blame the owner. “Is this your first time going to the gym?”

 

“Actually yes, it is.” Wait, why does that voice sound familiar?

 

“Um.. miss..” I don’t get to continue my sentence as my jaws suddenly lost power. A pair of dark brown, striking cat-like eyes meets my own. Her eyes widen a bit, but they regress to their normal size a second later as she halts in her writing, placing the board with the form on the front desk.

 

I thought she would’ve grabbed her bags and walk out, or maybe glared at me before throwing the board at me or something. I know she remembers me from the way she reacted when she saw me, but what she does next didn’t even cross my mind. She coolly leaned against the desk, an eyebrow quirked and a smirk playing at her lips.

 

“Welcome to the wonderful world of fitness.” she mimics.

 

I snap my mouth shut. Yup, did not expect that. “Management.” I offer lamely, shrugging my shoulders. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you here.” I don’t know how to say it without making it less offensive except soften my tone.

 

“Yeah, well having a dark ape for a trainer never crossed my mind either.”

 

“Dark ape?” she shrugged. It was hard to determine whether she means it as a joke, or a jab because of my previous comment, or because she was still pissed at me from before. I have a feeling it’s a little bit of all three.

 

 

 

 

When I said to never judge by looks, this was not one of those times. Like I thought Jessica didn’t last the whole planned session. She had thought that the warm-ups were the real deal and gave a little too much power with the routine that I was wondering if she came in after devouring a whole packet of gummies. By the end of the second set, she was barely able to lift her arms. She didn’t whine. She went through the whole set huffing and grunting, other than that she was silent throughout. A little too silent. A soon as I announced to have a short breather she practically collapsed on the nearest bench. Sweat drenched her skin, her bangs sticking to her forehead and her breathing a little abnormal. She looked like a sick, abandoned puppy left out in the rain.

 

I leave her, heading to the front where the fridge was. Hara was busily scribbling something on the ledger, barely giving me a glance as I grab a cool bottle of water from the fridge.

 

“I’m putting that in your tab Yuri.” She says, still concentrating on whatever it was she was doing.

 

I don’t stick there for too long and head back to where I left Jessica. She was hunched over by her waist, her head dangling low. I don’t think it’d be wise for her to continue, she looks about ready to pass out.

 

“You over-exerted yourself.” I tell her, twisting the cap off the bottle. Crouching to her eye level I wait for her to look up at me before I tilt the bottle towards her. She mumbles a soft thank you, reaching for the bottle and taking a shaky drink. A little water dribbles down her chin. She ignores it and continues to down half the content in one go. I feel one of my eyebrows raise at the sight, but kept my comments to my own.

 

When she finishes she lets out a relived sigh, the bottle dangling precariously in her lax grip. I debate over taking the bottle from her or leaving it.

 

“So…” I scratch an itch on my arm. “What made you think of giving this a try?” I’m not sure if this is a good conversation starter between us or if she’d read my words the wrong way, but we’re in a gym and this is usually a good topic to start on when trying to break the ice with a new customer. At least with normal people, it is. I shoot a glance at her huddled form, then pretend to be looking somewhere else when she straightens up.

 

She takes a moment just breathing deeply. “Tiff said this was a good place to work out. I didn’t know you were here.” Was that last part supposed to be a good thing or not?

 

“Ppany mentioned it, huh. Funny, she never bothered coming here but she sends in a lot of people. She’s like our living breathing advertisement. I told her she should start an advertising agency with how well she promotes stuff.”

 

“ is her good point.” Jessica says, chuckling a little.

 

“Are you going to the dinner she set up?” She asks. It sounds stupid, but it takes a moment for this information to process in my mind.

 

This moment reminded me of the time when Tiffany would take a little while before she could reply to a question. Like the question had to be translated into English then she’d be able to come up with an answer then translate it back to Korean and then voice out her reply.

 

She rolls her eyes. “You forgot.” That definitely wasn’t a question.

 

I shake my head vehemently, to the point that my brain was rattling against my skull rendering me a little light headed. The last thing I wanted was to face the wrath of Tiffany. It would’ve been fine if it were just Tiffany but the girl loved to drag Taeyeon into everything she did that it was almost natural to have double of everything when it came to her. If she was angry it meant Taeyeon was angry, and I for one do not like it if Taeyeon was angry at me. I went through hell the last time I angered her, that was one whole week I didn’t want to repeat.

 

“I remember.” A raise of a brow. “I have it on my calendar, even got the champagne for it.” To prove myself I dug into my pocket ready to take out my phone. Unfortunately, as soon as I pulled the phone out of my pocket it slipped out of my hand. Fortunately, my hand reflexively shot out, catching the device in between my middle and ring fingers. A brief moment of tense relief and I straightened up and willed my clammy hands to unlock my phone. She raises a hand stopping me from my flurried movements.

 

“I was yanking your chain. Chill out, Kwon.” She leans her back against the wall and closes her eyes. Her perspiration was like a second layer of her skin, making her glisten under the white fluorescent lighting of the building. It was like looking at a photo shoot for some sports catalogue with her as the model.

 

Jung Jessica really is pretty, there was no doubt in that. Too pretty, if you ask me. It was almost impossible to be pretty like that and not get checked out ever second or so. I made a quick glance around the room and, like I thought, saw more than a few eyes focused in our direction. Doing my best impersonation of Jessica’s glare I stood my full height, blocking the resting girl from the hungry eyes of the wolves in the room. The newbies instantly refocused on their tasks while the more seasoned gym rats gave me smirks and a few winks before turning back to their workout regime. Boys.

 

I reach for the bottle in her hand. She peels one eyelid, stares at me for a second, before fully relaxing her grip and settling back to her peaceful state. I place the bottle on the space beside her.

 

“Do you have a car?”

 

I nod to her question, then mentally gave myself a slap to the face. “Yeah.”

 

She nods her head. “Good. Can you pick me up on the way? I have to have my car checked at the garage on the same day. I don’t want to impose on Tiff anymore, she’s treating after all. So, if I’m not asking too much, could you?”

 

Again, I was stumped. Maybe it was because I may have judged her a little bit with all the rumours I’ve heard, but her polite questions had my mind reeling.

 

She raises her hand, palm up, expecting something. I stare at her upturned hand, trying to piece together a puzzle that was never given. Finally she sighs and looks at me like I’m the dumbest person in the room, and in this case, I may just be that. “Phone.”

 

The second I give her my phone she taps away. She pulls out her own vibrating phone from her gym bag and hands me back my phone a second later.

 

“I think I’ve had enough workout for the day.” She says, taking the bottle from her side and taking another swing. “I’ll text you.” She says, waving her phone as she stands up to change in the locker room.

 

She leaves a couple of minutes later, giving me a half-hearted wave as she pushes past the double doors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Unnie, I’m starving.” Yoona whines. I spare her a glance when she slips her arms around my waist. The girl was staring longingly at the boiling pot I’ve left on the stove and she lets out a little whimper.

 

“Just a bit more Yoong. Go sit at the table with S’youngie.” With my hands preoccupied with washing the used kitchen materials, I nudge her with my hips, urging her to pull herself away from temptation. I feel her chin resting on my shoulder. I don’t think she’ll be moving anytime soon.

 

“How long is it going to take?” Sooyoung pipes up.

 

“Not long, Soo. I’ll be done before you know it.”

 

“How long?”

 

“Five minutes.”

 

“Is it really five minutes. Or is it Yuri speak for 15 to 30 minutes?”

 

I throw her a glance. Sooyoung looked pitiful, half of her body sprawled on the dining table like there was nothing left for her in the planet and all that was left was a husk of her former self. “The hell does that mean? … Never mind, just wait a while longer, the meat is still a bit tough.”

 

“How long is a while longer?”

 

“Go watch a movie or something. It’ll be done by then.”

 

“So it is 15 to 30 minutes! I’m going to die of starvation!”

 

“Chill out Soo, you’re not that hungry.”

 

“I’m starving!”

 

“You just ate a while ago.”

 

“You don’t know my body! Tell her Yoong!”

 

“Unnie, my stomach acid is eating me inside-out.” Yoona whines in her baby voice. I refuse to look her in the eye. I can already imagine the puppy dog pout she has put on, I just know it. I will not have my will be bent oh so casually by this giant baby.

 

“That’s medically impossible, Yoong. If you guys are really that hungry then go eat some sweets.”

 

“But I can smell the pot. I can’t be satisfied with sweets now.” Oh boy, here we go.

 

“Unnie, I’m so hungry.”

 

“Yuri! I can see the light. I need food now. Don’t let me die like this, not with nothing in my stomach.”

 

“S’young-unnie! Don’t go to the light.”

 

And cue the pounding in my head. “Jesus.” I mutter, pinching the bridge of my nose to try to alleviate the pain, to no effect as the two starts dramatically doing their own rendition of what I assume to be a scene from Romeo and Juliet. But what do I know? It could’ve been from titanic by the way shikshin number one was gurgling in her own spit. I throw them a disgusted glance. It went unnoticed as they were way too into the acting. They could’ve entered for the Oscars and may even go for runner-up at this point. That was if one was to disregard the spit now slowly dribbling down Sooyoung’s cheek.

 

“Ew! Unnie, that’s gross!” Yoona finally shoves Sooyoung’s head out of her arms, wiping the bits of drool that had touched her skin.

 

“Yah! Im Yoona! You’re not going to win an award by breaking character like that!” Sooyoung retaliates, wiping the trail of drool with her sleeves. It wasn’t like they were filming anyway, and anyone would’ve been disgusted if her drool got all over them.

 

I attempt to ignore them again, refocusing on the pot of seol lung tang before me. I take a whiff of the steam lightly seeping through the cracks of the pot, my mouth salivating from the delicious scent. If my love for food had gone as deep as the two bickering girls in my small living room I would have married this pot of soup. Unfortunately, my happiness doesn’t come at an easy price like that.

 

I broke out of my thoughts by the chirping of a bird. Dumbly I glance out the window, the surface of the glass reflecting a transparent version of my own image with the city lights dimly twinkling out in the distance. I flinch, getting creeped out by my own blurry image turned into some sort of spectre by my active imagination.

 

The following tweet had me turning to the left, sights honing onto my phone that had lit up as the text box alerted me to two new messages.

 

I wipe my dry hands against the rough fabric of my jeans, a force of habit that I never quite got rid off, and deftly entered my password. Idly I thought to myself why I bothered to make a password lock when the two black holes can somehow figure out the pin anyway. I’ve changed pins thrice in the past month and still I find wacky pictures of them in my album.

 

Both messages were from the same ID. The bold letters JJ popped up at the very top of the message board. I’ve never seen that name before.

 

‘I’ll be at the entrance of the Greenbelt mall at 6.25.’

7:26 pm

 

‘Pop some mints if you decide to eat cucumbers before going there. Your breath stank of it the last time.’

7:27 pm

 

My breath?

 

I didn’t know cucumbers had a scent.

 

Was this some kind of joke?

 

I check up on the two black holes now laughing hard at something shown on the television. I quickly type in a reply and keep a close eye on the two.

 

‘Who is this?’

 

‘Idiot. Did you already forget?’

7:30 pm

 

‘I’ll skin you alive if you leave me behind.’

7:30 pm

 

Oh, they are good. I couldn’t even see either of them glancing down.

 

‘Very funny guys. Don’t think I’m going to get fooled like the rest. Soo cut the crap, sim cards don’t come cheap. Why don’t you buy your precious snacks instead of wasting money on cheap tricks like this.’

 

Pocketing my phone I head back to the soup I left on the stove. The meat should be tender enough, all that’s needed is salt and pepper. Now if I can find the shakers.

 

Midway through searching along the top most shelves for the elusive salt and pepper shakers a jazzy tune started to play accompanied by a frenzied buzzing in my pocket. Absently I fish out the vibrating phone and wedged it in between the side of my face and my shoulder, answering the call.

 

A greeting was just at the tip of my tongue then a sharp voice on the other end cut me off.

 

‘Do you seriously have a death wish, Kwon?’

 

What a greeting. That definitely didn’t sound like either of the two black holes. What made it more impossible was that I can still hear their howling laughter at the other side of the room.

 

Readjusting the phone I stopped my search and lean against the counter. “Depends, will I wake up to a beautiful afterlife where all the good things come free?”

 

‘Do you want to find out?’ I did not like the tone of that question. Wise men know when to quit, and I am no idiot.

 

“I was kidding, Jeshika-ssi. I remember what you said.” There was a long pause after my statement as if she was gauging the tone of my voice for any trace of lies. Finally, I hear a long exhale at the other end. I was safe, for now.

 

‘Is Sooyoung there?’ I crane my neck, seeing the back of Sooyoung’s head as she shouts at the person on the tv for being an idiot. She even knows Sooyoung. Who doesn’t she know?

 

“Do you want to talk to her?”

 

‘No thank you. But please do tell her to give a little more conviction to her passionate ranting. I’m sure my co-workers would love to hear her expressive delivery of how the well the balding contestant is failing in the wake of thousands of viewers.’

 

“I sense sarcasm there.”

 

‘Thanks for pointing out the obvious, genius.’ I let out a dry chuckle. Pressing the speaker against my clothed shoulder I grab one pair of the oven mittens from the corner I stuffed it in and threw it, aiming for Sooyoung’s head. The mitt bounces off her head, ricocheting over to Yoona’s side, startling her. Two pairs of eyes turned to me.

 

“Knock it off. You’re not the one the neighbours complain about.” Sooyoung’s face scrunch in displeasure, but soon enough she has her back to me once more, this time settling down to the couch in silence. Yoona grins, childishly throwing herself against Sooyoung’s side to get her mood back up.

 

“Shut her up.” I announce gleefully into the phone.

 

‘Great. Your parents would’ve been proud of your achievement.’

 

“Are you naturally this sarcastic?”

 

‘Tiff says I should tone down my bluntness. This is me trying.’ I think this may be even worse than just saying it outright. I was never really good at picking up verbal hints like these unless they were obvious. I’m afraid if I miss the sarcasm one time she’d think I’m a complete idiot, if she doesn’t think so already.

 

“I think I prefer bluntness over the hidden hostility.” She hums. I hear loud clacking, something like the sound of fingers hitting keys on a desktop keypad. She did mention co-workers.

 

“Is it alright for you to make phone calls? While still at work I mean.”

 

‘Are you really that much of a goody two shoes?’

 

“Uh…”

 

‘I heard things too, Kwon. And really I wouldn’t have believed them if I haven’t met you personally. Actually, I’m quite impressed. Anyway, miss goody-goody, I’ll see you this Saturday then. If you forget I won’t think twice about murdering you.’

 

Our conversation ends with the single beep ringing in my ear.

 

I think I may have just got complimented offset by a death threat.

 

 

 

 

The green led lights read 6:20. I glanced around the interior of my 2003 model Toyota Windom. It’s not exactly the newest or most elegant car, but it runs smoothly and I got a good deal out of the previous owner. I pride myself on how the silver body would shine under a bright light, nary a scratch in sight. It was the very first car that I’ve bought on my own, a tangible reflection of my hard work. I kept it clean, vacuuming at least once every month, if I remembered that is. I may not be the most organized person in the world but I did make an effort to have my outward appearance clean.

 

Last night was the first time I’ve actually put in more care to my car. I had vacuumed every inch, even though it hasn’t been more than a week since I had my monthly cleaning. Even went as far as purchasing a pine scented air freshener, the one that came in the form of a pine tree that would dangle under the rear view mirror.

 

I’ve had people in that car, Sooyoung, Yoona and Tiffany to name a few. Sometimes I even offered rides to clients after a particularly hot day, of course after they’ve showered.

 

But Jung Jessica was no friend. Acquaintance slash new client yes, but what possessed me to clean up, to be so self-conscious about my surroundings. Sooyoung has told me that I was a people pleaser. Answered why both jobs entail having a face to face customer-worker interaction. Supposedly I may not consciously know it but it was a part of my so-called “charm” that could also lead to my possible downfall if someone were evil enough to use my so-called “weakness” to their advantage.

 

I told her to shut it and threw a piece of a pickle at her. She caught it and popped it into , typical black-hole. She never repeated it verbally, but I see her roll her eyes or look at me with her ‘I’m telling you, stop it’ look whenever I offer the lady with less than five items to cue before me or when I accept the meal from the restaurant even though the waiter(ess) had my order wrong.

 

It wasn’t like I was offering my body as the proverbial sacrificial lamb to the angry Gods and would willingly throw myself down an active volcano to save the world. I don’t see what was wrong with being nice and approachable. People like other nice and approachable people.

 

I drum my fingers against the steering wheel, my eyes alternatively darting from the clock on the dashboard to the slightly congested road before me. I could already see the front entrance to the mall from where I was stuck in traffic.

 

So close.

 

Tap Tap Tap

 

It’s taking forever for the traffic light to turn green.

 

Tap Tap Tap Tap

 

Are my palms sweaty? They feel sweaty.

 

Tap Tap Tap Tap

 

It’s not hot.

 

Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap

 

I knew I shouldn’t have let Hara put make-up on me, was never a fan… Then again, at least I’ll look pretty when I die.

 

Just as I was about to pound my head onto the steering wheel in exasperation the car in front of me started to gradually inch forward. I mentally urge the line before me to move faster, throwing nasty glares at the green arrow, daring it to turn red before I clear the turning point.

 

Just as the arrow switched to yellow I had my car lurch forward, nearly going bumper to bumper with the car before me.

 

Red light. I had cleared the turning point.

 

I have cheated death.

 

Tonight I shall feast.

 

I ignore what might be glaring from the front column of opposing traffic for their slight delay caused by my tailgating. Technically I wasn’t breaking the rule. It was still yellow when I crossed. It was just the slight congestion at the mall front that had me kind of blocking their way.

 

Manoeuvring to the curb I didn’t take long to find the Jung Jessica out of the throng of people going in and out of the mall. With her ironed white button up shirt and the blue skirt she stood near the edge of the sidewalk, unperturbed by her surroundings. I could already see that she was in one of her zoned-out states, proven when I rolled the car up to her and rolled down the window and she didn’t even acknowledge my presence.

 

“Need a lift?” I called out.

 

She blinks, stares blankly at me for a second before she glances down at her silver chain watch.

 

“6:25 on the dot. No bad Kwon.” She says as she pulls the door open.

 

I shrug my shoulders, deciding to stare at the trunk of the car before me rather than watch her silently like a creeper. I see more than feel the car sink as she slides onto the passenger seat and shuts the door after her. I’m back to being conscious, borderline paranoid, now that she’s actually in my car. My eyes dart from the clean surface of my dashboard to what little I can see of the car mat, then to the rear-view mirror looking for anything out of place.

 

“I like my life the way it is right now.” I joke.

 

She hums. I don’t know if that was an okay hum or an I don’t know what you’re talking about and I don’t want to ask hum, but I’m leaning more on the latter at this.

 

Why do I even care what she’d think of me? My car can be a pigsty for all I care and she can’t do anything about it. She’s the one hitching a ride, not the other way around. I don’t owe her anything!

 

…

 

.. I think I accidentally left my stinky gym bag at the back of the passenger seat. Damn it!

 

 

 

 

We reach the place in one piece. Can’t say the same thing for my sanity, I think I may have been twitching back there, praying that Jessica wouldn’t smell my sweaty gym wear that was just a seat away from her. Jessica paid me no mind through the duration of the car ride, her attention mainly out the window or focused in the magical wonders of her cell phone that seem like it was stuck to her hand. Not once had she let go of the gadget.

 

Even through the whole course of dinner the phone had not left her side once. Either it was in her hand, or right beside her hand. No one else seems to mind its constant presence but me. Once or twice I had the urge to reach for it and slip it in my pocket or hide it somewhere until the end of dinner. Once or twice I nearly had a heart attack from Jessica’s sharp senses. It was like there was an alarm in her mind that would start up whenever my hand would start creeping towards her phone and her head would snap towards her phone. I had to do some ninja moves and pretend to be reaching for something else, like stupidly rearranging the cutlery or suddenly change course and go for the meat sizzling on the grill.

 

It wasn’t until the wine started up that I had excused myself to get fresh air. I don’t know what it was with her phone that made me want to grab the nearest solid object and bash it against the flashing screen. It is an irksome device, and I say this with a specific phone in mind.

 

Pushing past the entrance of the restaurant I looked over to the bright city I lived in. It was a shame, looking up to the sky and not seeing the soft glow of the stars sprinkled across the dark night sky as opposed to when one would stargaze in the frigid darkness of the countryside. The city may have all the comforts of life, but in turn, it took away the purity of nature and turned it into what is widely viewed as the modern concept of living. Sometimes I get the urge to just get up and drive away, far from the lights and comfort. I didn’t care where I would end up. An off track at the borders of the city. A small town isolated by the long freeway between them and civilization.

 

“You alright?” A soft voice broke me from my thoughts. I tear my gaze away from the colourful glow of neon and fluorescent lining on either side of the street and refocused my vision on the girl making her way beside me. I look to her hands and feel slightly pleased with the emptiness.

 

“I thought I’d get away from the alcohol. It wouldn’t be wise for the driver to get intoxicated, right?”

 

She made a soft sound, something sounding in between a chuckle and a scoff. “One glass of wine could barely get anyone intoxicated over the allowable alcohol limit. It has more class than that.”

 

“Ah, of course. It’s far more sophisticated than sitting on a bar stool, chugging glass after glass of beer while cheering on the tv at the top of one’s lungs as if doing so could magically boost their favourite team's shoddy play.”

 

“Exactly.” She said, snapping her fingers as a grin pulls at her lips.

 

Exactly. That’s what she said. I wasn’t hearing things, right? Jessica had just rolled with my joke, right?

 

A choked laugh started my string of giggles. Before I could grab a hold of myself a set of chime like giggles accompanied my own. Look at that, Jessica and I, laughing like old friends, without it being awkward of forced. What made me scared of her in the first place? Her Ice Princess reputation? I let that question roll around my mind for a while as our laughter are reduced to silence and we both shift our focus back to the busy street.

 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” I ask her, nodding my head towards the mismatch of colourful lights decorating the city like a Christmas tree. I say it more to avoid an awkward silence with her, though from what I’ve observed from her so far getting an answer from her that’s longer than one sentence was highly unlikely. Not unless it is accompanied by a snarky remark that she seems to be good at producing.

 

“It is.” She says. I nod my head, already thinking about what I can say next to ease us out of an impending silence when her next sentence comes flowing quietly out of her lips. “It’s too bad that the lights block out most of the stars. I mean, obviously we can’t see it during cloudy weathers like today, but I would have liked to just tilt my head up during the night and try my luck at looking for a falling star now and again.”

 

And for the first time, when I look at her I don’t see the high and mighty, sharp-tongued Ice Princess that had always managed to pop up from the back of my mind whenever I thought about her. She wasn’t like a high-class celebrity that people knew off and yet not really. She wasn’t the unapproachable, high maintenance, spoilt, daddy’s princess that no one in uni dared to cross.

 

“Jung Jessica.” She breaks her focus, turning to send me a questioning look. She hums, the sound barely reaching my ears as the loud sounds of the cities night life drowned it out. I still heard. Her hum had that melodic tune to it ending with a sharp tune. I my head to the side, letting a small grin play at my lips. “Who are you?”

 

I feel a sharp pinch at my side and jerk away from Jessica’s fingers. “Way to ruin the moment.”

 

“I’m sorry.” I grunted, rubbing the burning spot around my rib area. I can’t believe she still found something to get a grip on. That was way too painful. “I was just kidding.” She makes a small noise as she continues to stare out to the lights. A poor excuse for starlight. She should see the stars from the countryside. They were way more beautiful than any way I can describe, not even if I tried. There was just that sense of magical wonder. No matter how many times I’ve seen the stars I can never get over that child-like amazement of seeing the light dusting of white streak forming the milkyway or the quick flash of a shooting star, the experience heightened by the sounds of nature all around.

 

“It’s going to sound crazy, we’re not even that close… maybe it’s the fumes from the grill… but one day, sometime in the future… Hypothetically, that is, if I spontaneously come knocking at your door in the middle of the night and ask you to accompany me to a road trip to.. anywhere but in the city. No bags, no plans and no prior bookings, I just come up and offer a drive to somewhere far away.. What would you say to that?”

 

She doesn’t answer right away. I didn’t expect her to. I don’t see her eyes clearly, but I do know that she’s staring at me, pondering over the “hypothetical question” that I had sprung at her. I start to feel the hot creeping of embarrassment crawl up my neck as my words finally register in my frozen brain. My mouth is a traitor, and apparently so is part of my brain. Just as I was formulating a plan to save myself from further embarrassment her words stopped me dead in my tracks.

 

“Hypothetically..” she starts, pausing to her lips “how far in the future are we talking about? And for how long?”

 

She actually gave it some thought? I wasn’t royally screwed then. Wait- she’d actually be fine with it? How long? “Uh.. Well.. If I give a date and time it wouldn’t be spontaneous now, would it?” I know she just rolled her eyes at me. I can’t see it, but I just know it. “As for how long… does it really matter?” I gave her a half shoulder shrug, my body was still a little paralyzed from the betrayal and her surprisingly receptive answer.

 

“I assure you though, I don’t plan on holding you hostage in exchange for any monetary value. But if it were between Sooyoung and I, I’m sure we’d come to a number soon enough.”

 

I receive a slap to the arm. It doesn’t hurt, but I flinch anyway.

 

“If it were Sooyoung, we’d be stuck in a restaurant somewhere in the city.” I can’t stop my laughter at that. If Sooyoung would be with us, we’d be detouring to sample all the restaurants in the city. Not much of a road trip as it would be a food trip.

 

When our laughter died down and the chill of the night air became intolerable I jerked my head to the door. “Let’s head back. Ppany-ah must be looking for us by now. Your phone must be buzzing off the table too.”

 

She slaps my arm again. Harder this time.

 

Engaging in the now comfortable atmosphere between us I reach for the doors first, pulling it open and motioning for her to go through first. As I did so I bowed my head somewhat, imitating the doorman at the entrance of a high-class hotel.

 

Just as she passed through she suddenly stopped. Turning her head slightly she smiled, reaching up to touch her hand over my own holding the door open. “Hypothetically, I probably would say yes.”

 

 

~~~

A/N: First time I've written with the 1st POV. I usually avoid this style since I get irritated with the constant use of me, my, I for reasons even I can't comprehend. Just my weird, picky mind I guess. This would be a three-shot story, at least I'm aiming for that, in Yuri's POV, but I might change my mind in the later chapter. Comments and suggestions are welcomed. Until next time, that's all folks.

Update: I edited the last part to make it flow a bit more natural, and so that the next chapter won't seem too weird