I was in the dark basement again, stumbling behind the tall man cocking his gun towards the shadow in the doorway. I looked up at him, but I couldn’t see his face. He pulled the trigger. “No!” I cried, and woke up with a start, panting and blinking. Whew. I was just on the bed in the apartment. I rolled off and looked at the clock. Crap. 3:45 in the afternoon already? I must have been pooped after that first day. You’d think after three months of sleeping I’d be caught up already, huh? Shaking my head, I changed into my work clothes and shoes hurriedly and rushed downstairs to the café.

“Waitress bring me some more soju,” yelled a man rudely from across the room. I sighed and went to fetch his drink. Up yours, I said mentally as I flashed my fake smile, setting down the soju. Ugh one more hour?!

“New customer at table 11,” the hostess called. Great. I wiped my forehead and went across the restaurant to take the new order.

“Oh!” A little gasp escaped me. Sitting at table 11 was Jonghyun. He was back?!

“Hi Soorin,” he smiled. His perfect white teeth were so shiny. Today he was just wearing a plain black t-shirt over jeans, emphasizing his perfect build and muscles. Aigoo stop staring! I scolded myself.

“Oh, hi, Jonghyun,” I said breathlessly. “You’re back. What can I get you today?” My words all rushed together. Could he tell my heart was beating about three times as fast as it should? You’re just a waitress with no background, Soorin. And that’s probably all you are to him, I reasoned with myself. No sense in getting false hopes up.

“Actually, I was wondering when you get off work?” he asked.

ASDG;LKJA;SHLDKJF is he asking what I think he is?! “Um, in an hour, why?” I feigned innocence.

He looked down for a few seconds before raising his head up again; I thought I caught the hint of a blush. “I was wondering if you’d like to go out afterwards,” he said. “You know, for a bite to eat or something.”

“Oh!” I covered my mouth lightly. Oh my gosh. AIIIIIIIIIGGGGGOOOOO. Jinjja-yo?! I had no idea what my surprised expression looked like, but it must not have seemed too good, because Jonghyun suddenly seemed flustered. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to...I’m sorry for bothering you.” He bowed his head.

“Oh, no that’s not what I meant!” I assured him. “No, I was just—” So shocked that youwere asking me out, I finished mentally. “I mean, yes I would love to go with you. But I don’t get off work for another hour...”

“That’s fine,” he agreed quickly. “I can wait.” My heart fluttered. Had I ever felt this way about a guy before? Ottohke in situations like this? Well I wouldn’t know because someone took my memory away. Grrrrrrr.

“What’s wrong?” Jonghyun asked. “You look angry. I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable...” He bowed and got up to leave.

“Nononono!” I waved my hands. “It’s just...nothing. It has nothing to do with you,” I said earnestly. He sat down again. “Can I get you something to drink while you’re waiting? The manager might not like it if you don’t order anything...”

We both smiled. “I’ll just have some soju,” he said.

“No problem.” I went into the back and brought out a bottle. “Here. Sorry to leave you so fast, but I have to go back to work.” I waved and smiled as I went to go serve some more orders.

Every minute or so, no matter how much I tried to focus, my eyes would drift back over to the handsome one waiting at table 11. The hour felt so long. How was I supposed to serve random people when the first potential friend in my new life was sitting fifty feet away? “Hey, Soomin or whatever, are you brain-dead?! Stop getting so distracted by that dino over there!” one of the other waitresses hissed in my ear as I spilled a cocktail on the bar.

“,” I muttered, blushing as I blotted the puddle with some napkins. I noticed Jonghyun’s bemused expression out of the corner of my eye. My face flushed hot. Was I this clumsy in my “previous life”? I tried to avoid his gaze as I remixed the drink and brought it to the right customer, but I had to sneak another peek. He was just so...a;sldkfhgdj. In other words, indescribably attractive. Heck, I didn’t even know anything about him.

Finallythe hour was over. “You can leave now,” the manager called from the back room.

“Kamsahabnida,” I bowed, and made my way through the emptying café to Jonghyun’s table.

“Shall we go?” He stood. “The weather’s really beautiful this time of year.” Oh yeah, it was May already, because I’d been comatose for three months thanks to some poopy stranger. Grrr -.-

“Sure,” I grinned shyly as we went outside. “Ahh I’ve missed the fresh air.”

“What?” Jonghyun seemed shocked. Oops. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to disclose the little portion of my life story I actually knew. “Nothing.” I shook my head. “Where do you want to go?”

He shrugged. “Why don’t we just take a walk around the block and see what we find?”

“Okay.” We began walking. “So how old are you?” he asked.

“19 in Korean years,” I answered. “You?”

“22 in Korean years,” he replied. “Hey look someone’s selling street food, want some?”

“Sure,” I smiled. I read the sign: Tteokbokki and chicken~ Had I eaten tteokbokki before? I wondered if it was good.

“Here you go.” Jonghyun handed me some tteokbokki. “Mmm thanks, mashisseo-yo,” I said in between mouthfuls. “So what do you do for a job?”

He gaped and looked at me incredulously. “What?” I stared at him as we kept walking.

“You haven’t heard of Shinee?” he asked skeptically.

Hmm, Shinee. Vaguely familiar. But not enough. Is it a huge conglomerate like LG or something? “Uh-uh.” I shook my head.

He pointed to a billboard above the building a few blocks down. “See that?” Tune into MBC Music Core every week! it read in bold characters over a photo of an idol group onstage.

“Whoa wait a minute. That one in the middle there looks like you!” I pointed to the shorter guy who seemed to be belting out some intense high notes.

He laughed, not a mean laugh, but a friendly one. “That one is me.”

“So are you like the lead singer of this huge idol group Shinee?” I clarified.

“Yeah,” he smiled slightly, putting his hands in his pockets. “You must have been living in a cave up till now,” he joked. “Most girls your age are totally obsessed.”

“Oh, let’s just say I’ve been out of it for quite a while,” I replied. Literally. Awkward silence ensued. GAHH STOP HAVING A MAJOR BRAIN FREEZE AND THINK OF SOMETHING TO SAY. “You seem to be really friendly, not shy at all,” was what I came up with. You babo, Soorin. Stop sounding socially retarded.

A weird expression not unlike the one I’d seen on his face when we first met seized him again. “Sorry,” I mumbled, nibbling on the last of my tteokbokki.

“Gwaenchanha,” he sighed. “I’m usually not like this. It’s just...you remind me of someone I knew once.”

“Really? Who?” I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. He was an idol; if he even had time for dating he at least deserved some privacy.

He became even stonier. “I don’t...feel like talking about it.” I wanted to facepalm myself and fall into a little hole in the ground. Looking to the side to avoid Jonghyun’s face, I realized we had walked in a circle and ended up in front of my building. “Uh my apartment is here,” I said. Thank you God, for directing me back here.

“Oh, um, okay. Well...goodnight.” He turned and left without even glancing back. Aish stop being so naïve, Soorin. He couldn’t possibly be interested in an ordinary waitress like you. Especially one that asks prying questions about stuff that’s none of her business. Sighhhhhh.

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Aigoo I love reading all your comments <3 Keep reading! Might update again in a few hours...we'll see :) It'll get good soon--sorry if it's "boring" right now, I kind of want this sequel to be more about emotions and struggle....hopefully I'll be able to write well enough to portray that. OKAY enough of the crazy author's babble. thanks to you all!
PS I know I asked this already in the prequel....but do any of you know someone who can do quick and quality posters? :)
Thanks to all for your support! I never thought I'd get past 10 or 20 readers <3