Perfect Strangers
Midnight Illusions Collection of Short Stories
Story for chaelin08
“I’m so sorry, Karen. I’m so sorry,”
“But why Yoochun? Why you can’t accept me as your girlfriend? What’s wrong with me?”
“You are nice and pretty but I never see you as my girlfriend. I only see you as my friend. Sorry, Karen. You are too nice. I’m not good enough for you,”
“Sorry, Karen. You are too nice. I’m not good enough for you,”
“Not good enough for you,”
“Not good enough for you…..”
That words keep replaying in Karen’s head. She was walking on an empty street. She was rejected. Again. This guy, Yoochun, is one of her old friend. She had liked him for 5 years. Today, she confessed her love but as always she was turn down. This is not the first time. She was rejected by three guys before. Karen seems to have no luck when it’s come to love. Karen always wonders why she's rejected? Everyone says she’s nice and pretty. She’s quite smart too. But, it doesn’t seem to attract the boys. She is not a girlfriend type. More like best friend type.
Before this, when she was rejected she drowned herself with alcohol. She drank it day and night. Her friend once called the ambulance when she thought that Karen is trying to suicide. Now, alcohol seems immune to her. It doesn’t give effects at all. It doesn’t wash away her pain anymore. She was walking suddenly she saw a café. ‘Just Café’. “So plain,” Karen thought when she saw the signboard. She doesn’t know what to do right now. She doesn’t want to go home yet. She lives alone so when she’s come back she will feel lonely, and when she’s lonely she always tend to do something stupid. “Maybe I should go in that café, order a lot of espresso and hopefully I will die after that,” Karen walk slowly toward the café.
She opens the door. There was a bell chiming when she opens the door. “It is so plain inside,” Karen thought. There are only chairs, tables and a couple of painting inside the cafe. Nothing special indeed. There are 3 three people in this café, A couple sitting near the door and a man (she thinks even though he might be a she, Karen not sure.) sitting alone, with his back facing her. Karen chose to sit at a dark corner for safety. Karen thinks she might be crying anytime and she’s hate people sees her crying. The waiter (also the owner she thinks) gives her the menu and waits for her to order. Karen flips the menu and she’s decide to order iced black coffee. She doesn’t know what to order. She is not really a coffee person. She doesn’t need caffeine to stay awake and energetic. She was born with it. The waiter seems disappointed when Karen doesn’t order anything else.
Karen looks through the window glass near her sit. The earlier scene where she was rejected (again) keeps replaying her head. “You are too nice. I’m not good enough for you,” Tch. She really hates those sentences. It was the other way to say that “I don’t like you, don’t you understand?” So by saying “You are too nice, I’m not good enough for you,” is the polite way to say it. Polite means there will no arguments. Huh. Karen sighs. If I knew I wouldn't have fallen in love with you, Yoochun. I thought you were different. I’m wasting 5 years for liking you. Now, Karen feels like a fool.
The waiter delivers her coffee. Karen say thanks and sip it a bit. She didn’t put any sugar in it. She’s hoping the bitter taste will help her forget her problems. She’s think she is not capable to handle the sugar; the sweetness in her life, when the truth is the opposite. She looks through the window again. It’s quite dark out there. Few minutes after that, it was raining. So, the weather also mocking me now? Or the Mother Nature knows exactly how I feel right now? Slowly, tears stream down from Karen eyes. She can’t hold it anymore. Karen crying and she let it all out. She had been kept it for a long time. From a small sobbing until Karen literally howling in her cry. The waiter looks uneasy, he don’t know what to do. He never faces a situation like this.
From outside of the café, a man passes by the café. He looks hurried because he doesn’t have umbrella. Suddenly he stops running when he saw a woman crying. Even though he can’t hear her crying from outside the café, but he knows that woman is crying out loud. He feels something when he saw this ‘scene’, a feeling that he never felt in his whole life. A mixture feeling of sympathy, mesmerize, nervous and sad? He wants to know why this woman is crying. He wants to comfort her and listen to her problems. He feels like he wants to be with her. After he thought for a minutes, he decides to go in this café. He opens the door and the bell chiming. He then mutters something to the waiter. He takes a deep breath and slowly approaches this woman.
“Here,” this man holding a tissue to this woman.
“Huh?” Karen lift up her head, confuse of what this man just did.
“Here, to wipe your tears,” This man shoves the tissue in front of Karen’s face.
Karen hesitates at first but she takes it after that. She wipes her eyes. The stain of her mascara and eyeliner were also coming out. Oh No! Karen feels regret wiping her eyes. “I look like a pathetic right now.” Karen quickly tries to clean the stain. That man chuckles a bit.
“It’s okay. Here, let me help you,” This man help Karen wipes her tears and the stain on her face. Karen totally shocked of what this man just did. She doesn’t really like to talk to strangers, let alone to allow a total stranger to wipe her tears. But, to this man, she just let him wipe it. Maybe because she was too shocked or too heart broken to care.
“One Mocha Frappucino for you,” The waiter says. He puts the cup on the table. That man says thanks.
“Drink this. You will feel much better after drink this,” That man slowly push the cup in front of Karen. He sits the opposite of her.
Karen still looks confused. She doesn’t want to drink anything that was offered from a stranger.
“It’s okay. I didn’t put anything. If you don’t trust me, you can ask the waiter,” This man explains, like he can read Karen’s mind.
Karen looks at the cup. Then, she holds it. She smells it first and takes a sip. Not bad, Karen thinks. She then continues drinking it.
That man smiles when Karen willing to drink it. “I always drink this whenever I feel sad,” he said.
“Oh, By the way my name is Jaejoong. You can call me Jae,” That man holds out his hand.
“Karen,” Karen accepts his hand.
“Felling better now, Karen-sshi?” Jaejoong asked.
Karen just smiles. She’s stop crying right now but Mocha Frappucino is not enough to heal her wound.
“If you don’t mind, can you tell me what happen? What cause you feel so sad until you cry? I don’t have any intention. Just wanna make you feel better by sharing your problems with me. That way maybe you will feel a little bit unburdened,” Jaejoong explains.
Karen is not sure. She feels like she wants to share but can she trusts this strangers? She looks at the Mocha Frappucino the she looks at Jaejoong. He seems nice and he really looks like wanna help her. Oh, what the heck. Karen doesn’t care anything more right now. She’s tired to be too cautious. This time, she wanna feels free.
“I..I just got rejected. I know..it silly right?” Karen speaks.
“You are not silly. I think it’s normal,” Jaejoong said.
“You don’t think it silly? Most of people I met said that we are silly if we got too carried away in love,” Karen points out.
“Hurm…Well, different people handle problems in different way. Some feels relieve when they talk about it. Some of it just wanna pretend that it did not happen. But, whatever happen, we still need love right?” Jaejoong said.
“I guess so,” Karen said.
“Who is this guy that rejected you?” Jaejoong suddenly asked.
“Er, he is one of old school classmates. His name is Yoochun. We first met since five years ago, and I like him since then. I know, sound pathetic right?” Karen said.
“No. It did not. Well, what I can say is, he lost then. For not having you as his girlfriend,” Jaejoong smiles.
Karen blushed a bit when Jaejoong said that and when he smiles. She feels nervous whenever she saw his smile.
“Why did you like this Yoochun?” Jaejoong asked.
Karen never thought why of this question. She doesn’t even remember why she fell in love Yoochun in first place. Maybe because Karen was just rejected and she find Yoochun attractive and by liking Yoochun, Karen hoping it will heal her heart.
“I don’t know. Maybe because he was nice to me,” Karen said.
“I see,” Jaejoong nods his head.
“How about you, Jaejoong-sshi? Have you fall in love? Or are you in a relationship right now?” Karen suddenly asked.
“Oh, I just broke up with my girlfriend. We dated for 3 years but turns out she has another man. After she knew that I know about her and her other man, she broke up with me. Funny right, 3 years relationship can fall apart just for a day. She said she already with that man for 2 years. She just pretends to be in love with me. I asked her why she don’t love me and she said that I was too nice. I never knew being too nice can be illegal in this world,” Jaejoong explain. He smiles when he speaks but Karen can see through his eyes that he suffered a lot.
“Well, her lost too for letting you go,” Karen said. “But I kinda agree with her. You are nice,” Karen smiles.
“Really, why?” Jaejoong raised his eyebrows.
“Because there is not a lot of people offered a tissue and a cup of coffee when they saw someone crying,” Karen said.
Jaejoong laughs at Karen’s word. “Guess I am too nice,” He said.
Karen leans down on her seat. It has stopped raining at the outside. The sky is starting to clear again. The street is wet. The clouds slowly parading away and Karen catches the sight of sun coming out from the clouds. She suddenly feels relieve when she saw it. Just like she relieves when Jaejoong offered her a cup of Mocha Frappucino. Jaejoong is also looking out the window. He smiles when he could see the sun. He suddenly feel bless when the sunlight fall on him. Karen just watches Jaejoong enjoying the sunlight. Karen feels peace when she looks at Jaejoong’s face. He is so…good looking and beautiful too. There is no flaw upon his face. With the sunlight radiates around his face, he really looks like an angel. He just lack of a halo. If Karen was drunk, she would probably believes that she saw an angel sitting in front of her. Karen really enjoys looking at Jaejoong’s face. Suddenly Jaejoong turns his head and looks at Karen. Karen shocks when he suddenly looking at her like he knows that Karen been watching him for a couple minutes. He smiles at Karen, like he allowed Karen to continue watching him. Karen could feel her face burning hot. She still feels nervous when she saw Jaejoong smiles at her.
“I.. I must go now,” Karen stands up.
“Where are you going?” Jaejoong stand up too.
“Er, I have a class after this. Thanks for everything Jaejoong-sshi. I really appreciates it,” Karen was finding her money inside her purse to pay for the coffee.
“No, It’s my treat,” Jaejoong stops Karen from taking out her money from her purse.
“Oh, really? Thanks,” Karen bowed.
“Hopefull we can meet again, Karen-sshi,” Jaejoong holds out his hand and Karen shake his hand. “Yeah, hopefully. Thanks,” Karen said and bowed again. She rushed to go out from that café after that. Jaejoong just watches Karen go and suddenly he feels sad.
*****************
Karen was walking near the café that she went yesterday. She still feels bad leaving Jaejoong just like that. She doesn’t know what got into her so she decides to go to that café, hoping that Jaejoong is there. She wanted to apologize and treat him back. She pushed the door and the bell chiming. There is not a lot of customer (as always) inside it. There are 4 people inside, 3 of them chatting and a girl sitting down at the table near the door reading magazine. Karen chose to sit at the same place like yesterday. The waiter followed her and waited Karen to be seated. He then asked her order. After thinking about a couple of minutes, Karen decides to order Mocha Cappucino and Brownies. The waiter smiles and goes back to his counter to prepare Karen’s order.
Karen looks outside the window. Will he comes to this café again? She was rude to him yesterday. But she can’t help it. She feels uneasy when he is too nice to her. She realize that she is easily falling in love with someone treat her nice. Suddenly she remembered Yoochun, the guy who break her heart. Just now, she saw Yoochun walking with a girl. She feels mad and feels betrayed. She knows that she doesn’t have the right to feel that but she really disappointed with Yoochun. Karen shakes her head. She wants to erase the memory of him. She takes out a book from her sling bag. She read it even though her mind still wandering around thinking about Yoochun. The bell chiming. Karen’s eyes still focus on her book, pretending to read it. Suddenly, she saw someone is standing in front her. Karen lifts up her head. Then, she saw an angel smiling at her.
“Jaejoong-sshi?” Karen was shock and stands up quickly.
“Hello, Karen-sshi! How are you feeling today?” Jaejoong still smiling.
“Oh, I’m good. I’m good. Thanks,” Karen smiles. “Please sit down Jaejoong-sshi,”
“Thank you,” Jaejoong waits for Karen to sit down first then he sits down.
“Er, about yesterday, I’m really sorry Jaejoong-sshi. I really shouldn’t just run away. I….I..” Karen tried to apologize.
“Oh, It’s okay Karen-sshi. I understand,” Jaejoong reassure her.
The waiter come and gives Karen her Mocha Frappucino and her brownies. Suddenly, Karen feels shy because she could see Jaejoong smiles when he saw what Karen order for drink.
“What you want to order, sir?” The waiter asked.
“Same as her,”
“With brownies?” The waiter asked again.
“Yes, with brownies,” Jaejoong said. The waiter nodded and leaves.
“What brings you here, Karen-sshi?” Jaejoong suddenly asked.
“Huh? Er.. To meet you.. No, I mean I was hoping to meet you here so that I can apologize to you,” Karen stuttered a bit when she’s answering his question.
“I see,” Jaejoong nods.
“How about you? What brings you here?” Karen turns to ask.
“Same, to meet you,” Jaejoong flashing his perfect smile again. Karen blushed when he did that. She still feels nervous whenever she sees him smiling at her.
Karen drinks her Mocha Cappucino to calm her down. She then eats her brownies bit by bit using fork. Jaejoong just watching Karen eating like he was enjoying this scene. Karen could feel Jaejoong looking at her and she did not dare to lift her head. Suddenly, the waiter came and delivers Jaejoong’s orders. Karen feels thankful so that she can lift her head after that. Jaejoong say thanks to that waiter. He sips his drink and enjoying his drink.
“You don’t have a class today?” Jaejoong asked.
“Oh, I already finished all my class. I don’t have any class at the evening for today,” Karen answered.
“You can stay a little longer then,” Jaejoong raised his eyebrows, hoping that Karen will answer yes.
“I guess so,” Karen said.
Jaejoong smiles again. Since he met this girl, he kept continue smiling. This is rarely happening to him. He thinks he is not capable to smile after what his girlfriend did to him. Suddenly, there is music played. Karen and Jaejoong both shocked and jump a bit. They both laugh after they see each other surprise.
“I never know this café played background music. I don’t hear it yesterday,” Karen speaks.
♪ Strangers in the night exchanging glances
Wondering in the night
What were the chances we'd be sharing love
Before the night was through…♪
“Me neither. Maybe he played it just for us,” Jaejoong said.
♪ Something in your eyes was so inviting
Something in your smile was so exciting
Something in my heart told me I must have you… ♪
Karen chuckles. Maybe. Even though the waiter did not look really passionate about his café, but he know to pick the right song. Karen recognizes the voice of the singer in this song. It was Frank Sinatra but she doesn’t know what the title is. The melody is nice and soothing. It is really suit the environment inside this café for now.
♪Strangers in the night, two lonely people
We were strangers in the night
Up to the moment when we said our first hello…♪
They both closed their eyes and enjoying the song. It’s either co-incident or fate because they were both strangers and met at this café. Karen smiles when some of the lyrics really suit the situation right now.
♪ Little did we know
Love was just a glance away
A warm embracing dance away.. ♪
“It was a nice song. I think the title is ‘Strangers in the night’. It was Frank Sinatra right?” Jaejoong finally speaks.
“Yeah, I think so. I like this song,” Karen said, humming the melody.
♪And ever since that night we've been together
Lovers at first sight, in love forever
It turned out so right for strangers in the night ♪
♪Love was just a glance away
A warm embracing dance away…♪
Jaejoong is watching Karen humming that song. He feels happy when he saw Karen is happy. Then, they continue chatting. Since then, they become friends. They keep coming to this café to meet each other. They never promise to meet here everyday but when one waits for the other one, doesn’t matter it was Karen or Jaejoong, the other one will sure came. They both become close and enjoyed chatting with each other. They stayed in the café from day till night if they both were not busy. They never chat for something serious. They both will tell about their day and share some funny moments and favourite things. Karen feels happy that she could find someone to share stories even though the stories are not important and silly. Jaejoong is really a good listener. He always listening to Karen stories laughs at her jokes and treats her nicely. From day to day, Karen could feels something whenever she met Jaejoong. She knows that her fear is finally happened. She is falling in love with Jaejoong.
Karen is frustrated with herself sometimes because she easily falling in love. She knew she will ruin this friendship when she started to like him. She wondered, should she tell Jaejoong that she likes him? What if Jaejoong doesn’t like her back? Karen could not handle a broken heart again. She was just about to heal. Jaejoong looks like a nice guy. But with her experience even nice guys cannot be trusted. They are the one will break your heart one day. What if she’s confessed, Jaejoong accepts her but turns out he just want to mess with her heart? Ugh. Karen hates the feeling of the uncertainty. But she knows something. She cannot fall in love again. Not at this time. She learns her lesson. She should not continue seeing him at the café. She should stop meeting him.
*****************
*To be continued at the next page
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