"You've made quite the impression" Juniper purred, leaning across the counter with a look that said she knew all my worldly secrets. I rolled my eyes at her as I tried  to help the newest member of my staff navigate our coffee machine. These things were needlessly complicated. 

"Don't you have a job to do?" It was Juniper's turn to roll her eyes as she swanned around the counter and hoofed the apprentice out the way. Before I could even begin to apologise to my affronted member of staff, Juniper was off on one. 

"Jeonghan was asking about you today" She teased, showering the 'you' with extra emphasis as if I was supposed to absolutely die from excited. I shrugged my shoulders. 

"And what's that got to do with the price of tea in China? Jeonghan is ok." It had been over a week since the party and I hadn't seen hide nor hair of anyone I had met during my brief stint there. Granted I had still yet to sleep in my dorm bed and my classes weren't to start until tomorrow but it wasn't as if I was burning to hang out with anyone, especially Jeonghan. They were only nice people. Juniper was shaking her head at me, clearing in disbelief that I was not as excited as she was. She reached forward and pinched me.

"OW!" I fibbed.

"Jeonghan is ok" She mimicked, pulling a ridiculous face, "He's more than ok and you know it" I rolled my eyes and motioned for her to start talking. If she was going to be a pain, she could at least be entertaining about it.

"Um hello. I think we both know the man is gorgeous. He plays basketball which I'm sure is a big win in your books and he's interested in you. What more do you need?"

"A 401 k" Juniper grimaced and pinched me again. This time swatted her away. I was half amused, half perturbed. She knew Jeonghan perhaps a little bit better than I did and yet here she was singing his praises. I decided to play along for the moment.

"What exactly did he asked about me?" Juniper beamed, this was her way in. 

"He just wanted to know if you were staying  in dorms and when you'd be coming back to study. It was quite sweet actually. He seems quite genuine actually-" I started to drift off as Juniper rambled on. I could only imagine how this scenario had played out in her head. Bright lights lit would light up the hallway as Jeonghan glided through, girls left, right and centre getting knocked back by his beauty. 

"-be your boyfriend" I snapped my attention back to Juniper.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said wouldn't it be nice if he became your boyfriend" I threw my hands up into the air and left out a huge sigh. This had gone too far now.

"Why do you always do this?"

"Oh come on Sephy!"

"That's enough alright!"

Exasperated, I made my way around the counter to clear an empty table in the far off corner but I stupidly trapped myself as she scuttled up behind me and blocked my way back to the counter. I had been expertedly caught. Back against the wall, arms balancing a tray that had heavy deep coffee mugs piled on and a crazy manic woman in front of me. Had I been paying any attention I would have caught myself from  getting into this situation. I knew what was happening. I knew exactly what June was going to say. 

"I pick Jeonghan"

"For?"

"He's the one"

"Are you being serious right now?" I had hoped June had forgotten about my little promise and had moved onto bigger and better people to matchmake but as per usual life was drop kicking me in the face. She was a hopeless romantic. She squinted at me.

"Are you honestly trying to tell me you don't find him the least bit attractive?"

"If you think he's so god damn handsome, then why don't you go out with him?!" June tutted loudly,

"Because I'm with Connor and you know that"

"And isn't he a ray of ing sunshine" I muttered, averting my eyes from June.

"Excuse me!"

"Jesus H Christ! If I say yes, will you leave it alone?!" I was starting to get angry and making your boss, even if she is your friend, angry is not something you want to do. Juniper propped her hands up as if to say 'hey dude, chill' and nodded. 

"Ok" June smiled so brightly I feared/hoped it woud spit her face in half and then I might get some peace ad quiet for once, "You won't regret this Sephy, you're going to love him"

 

The way I lived my life could be described in one socially up to date word. Goals. I was rich, no, beyond rich. Rich couldn't even begin to describe the wealth I had that eclipsed even the most prominent businessman's wallet. Of course, I had an unfair advantage. I had pure silver, pure gold, pearls fished from the sea as big as your eye in secret vaults, accounts on numerous shores under numerous names which had been left untouched and let to grow until they swelled and the numbers fell off the page. I occasionally allowed myself to be fulfilled by expensive gifts, like the car I was sitting in, as I drove down the highway. I could feel the awe of passersby as I slowed to meet a red light. For some, this was self-actualization, when they had reached the highest level of self, they saw themselves in this car. I suppose it was rather impressive, watching a 1962 Aston Martin db4gt zagato purring to a stop, windows tinted to hide whatever celebrity sat inside rolling their eyes at the common people. Ironically, I had bought it for a meagre £5000 when it was released. I quelled my thoughts of annoyance as I heard the click of cameras and excited discussion alongside me. It seemed almost stuck-up of me to be so easily angered by strangers but it struck me nonetheless. There they stood, ignorant to my plight, wishing to be in my place. If only they knew.

The light sparked emerald green and snuggling into the leather seat, I pushed my foot down on the clutch, released the handbrake and roared away from their moon eyes. My stomach was already in turmoil enough. I was starting class today but I had not been in the mood nor the head space to prepare myself. I had bought none of the required ready materials. I was flashing through feelings of sheer hopelessness and elation. For now, I was elated, the thought of absorbing more knowledge euphoric to me. I pushed down the tiny voice telling me I had learnt it all before, and continued my drive alongside the coast.

I had chosen to take the more scenic route to the university side of town. I was thankful that it spanned across a beach as the sun hit my arms. The expanse was breath-taking but of course it should have been. I was funding the preservation of this beautiful beach. Pearl white sands and columbia blue sea reached out to me as I drove past. The scent of the water reached into my car as I sped along, riding the speed limit. Moments like this made me feel good, it felt good in my bones to feel like this, to see things like this. I had almost forgotten the strangers from earlier.

When I reached the edge of the university town, I started to slow, bringing my car into third, and chortled along at a gentle speed. As my engine purred heads of young adults started to turn and looks of adulation faced me. Although I had hated it earlier, I was starting to enjoy the admiration now. I was getting that feeling again. I could reinvent myself again. Who did I want to be this lifetime? I scanned the faces as I rolled in slowly, students parting to let me glide through into a parking space at the front of the main building. Turning the engine off, I sat in the car for a moment, watching them watch me. There was something so theatrical about this. Suspense. It was almost thrilling. I took my sweet time collecting my bits, my handbag from under the seat and the book that was resting in the passenger seat beside me.

As I opened the door, I could hear murmurs of excitement grew louder. They would only get louder. How would they wonder at the sight of a woman who looked barely their senior stepping out of one of the most expensive cars in the world? I was a little drunk on the excitement. I stepped out gracefully, exaggerating my movements as if I were in a movie, but the crowd ate it up. I wasn't wearing anything fancy but they still seemed to gawk at my outfit. A stripy dress, oversized light denim jacket and embroidered vans. Nothing too special. Pushing my mirrored sunglasses up, they settled on the headscarf I had used to tie my hair, I raised my hand to face level and asked as sweetly as I knew how,

"Can anyone show me to the amphitheatre?"

 

Nestling into one the chairs high up in the amphitheatre, I drank the whole thing in. University had changed so much in the last thirty years, yet it was all so familiar. The bustle of young minds, all eager to make a difference in the world. It was thick in the air. The potential. My stomach had settled, my mind no longer indecisive. This was where I was meant to be. Something good was going to happen here. I could feel it. 

"Welcome to your first lecture in Planetary sciences with Astronomy" A mid aged moustached man declared, scrawling his name across the board in thick black marker, "This will be the first and last time I write anything on this board because we have been graced with brand new interactive touch technology. I am Mr Kaligian and we are stuck with each other for the rest of the semester" 

A few chuckles lit up the room and I joined in. I was smiling. There was something in the air. I knew that this was a good idea. I took my time to scan the faces across the theatre, taking in  all the people who would become a part of my everyday life, who would maybe even become my friends. I had to make a conscious effort. I continued to look until I caught a face staring back. He was far enough away that I could only make out the basics of his face, even with my perfect eyesight. Dark eyes and dark hair, studying me as I had studied countless others. 

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" I turned to find the lecture hall staring at me, people cranning their necks to get a better look at me. My mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"I..I..I"

"Just tell us your name and a little thing about yourself" Mr Kaligian nodded, gesturing at me. I glanced across the room at the dark haired boy. He was still watching me, head resting on his fists as he propped his arms up against the desk.

"My name is Perse-"

"You're the car girl!" A voice shouted and immediately excited murmuring started. I bit down on my lip, hard. Perhaps bringing the Aston Martin had not been the smartest idea. I didn't want to be known as the rich kid. That attracted the wrong attention. I smoothed out a crinkle in my dress and laughed.

"Yes uh...I am 'car girl'," I made air quotations, "It's a uh family heirloom" The murmuring contiued. I had clearly said something people liked. 

"What type of car is it" Mr Kaligian enquired. Even he had falled prey to the sound of gossiping young adults. I smirked to myself. This was fun.

"It's a uh 1961 Aston Martin db4gt zagato with all its original parts, of course"

"Of course" His eyebrows had risen, nearly disappearing into his hairline. I had managed to impress the lecturer a sure fire good start.

"I'm Persephone, by the way" I waved briefly and sat down as the chatter continued. I heard words like million and James Bond tossed around. The students were looking at me with new eyes. I had lived long enough to differentiate between genuine intregue and when people were simply looking through a green lense. Maybe being the rich kid wasn't going to be 

Something brushed against my leg and as I looked down to brush it away I caught my finger on something sharp. I pulled my hand away quickly, noticing the tiniest drop of blood swell before the skin knitted together and it was gone. I should have thought about it more but I didn't, just where the wound would have been and turned to assess the boy who had caught me. The boy was gone.

 

When I arrived at the cafe, I knew something was off. Nothing bad, but it wasn't average. It was June's voice that tipped me off. I knew that she didn't have any lectures today so I had left her in charge of the cafe but from what I could hear, she wasn't behind the counter where she should have been. As I scanned the cafe for her midnight hair, I froze. She had only gone and done it. Jeonghan was already there. Juniper was sitting across from him, deep in conversation. He had his back to me so I couldn't see his face by I could see enough to get an impression. I had not appreciated him during our first meeting but I had to admit, he was handsome. He had long brown hair which he had tied back in a lazy ponytail. He was wearing a black jacket with the sleeves rolled up exposing long pale arms as he clutched a deep mug between his hands. I heard his laugh twinkle as Juniper made a joke and for the first time in ages I wondered if I was ready to date again. I knew afterall that that was Juniper's plan. The fact that I had even conversed with a boy had exploded her mind and now she was trying to get me down the aisle as fast as possible. No doubt Juniper had been singing my praises as a proper wing-woman should but I wondered if I was ready to take this journey again, even if I did end up liking this guy. I was unable to get buried deep in my thoughts however as Juniper's voice cut across the room,

"There she is. Sephy! SEPHY! Over here" For such a small person, her voice sure did carry, and it drew attention to me standing in the doorway. Even though this was my cafe and all the usual patrons knew me, I wasn't prepared to have so many faces turned to looked at mine. I ducked my head and trotted over, my vans padding against the floor. Juniper patted the seat next to her and I slid into it. Feeling hot around the collar, I cheated a look at the Jeonghan sitting across from me and immediately admitted that I understood her earnest. He smiled at me and it was obvious he had been swept up in June's earnest.

He was gorgeous. I allowed myself to appeciate him properly. He was definitely better looking than Mason. I mean, Mason wasn't too shabby if that was your type, but this boy was leaps and bounds ahead of him. Wisps of long, dark hair framed his gentle face, dark eyes and gentle lips. Juniper had lived up to her promise. If this was the last date she would ever get to set me up on, she had clearly decided to go out with a bang. At the very least he would be easy on the eyes.

"Jeonghan, this is my best friend Sephy" Juniper emphasised the 'best' part as she introduced us and as I glanced at her I could see she was clearly making moon eyes at him. Ah. It all made sense now. Pretty boy was more for her than for me. I stretched out my hand and Jeonghan took it in his to shake it gently but firmly. He smiled at me.

"We've met but it's a good to see you. I hope you don't mind me tagging along to your study date. Juniper said it was ok" I gave June some side-eye, wondering why she had bothered lying to him. he might be pretty naive but I wasn't. This was her playing match maker, stirring everything up with her big wooden spoon like Master bloody chef. I could almost feel Juniper melt like a stick of butter on a hot day but I ignored her and focused on maintaining eye contact. Jeonghan was very good looking. I wondered if he would be able to intrigue me. He seemed nice afterall.

"Yeah no that's fine" I laughed nervously, "I guess I didn't introduced myself properly last time. I'm Persephone Del-" I bit down on my tongue. I had almost slipped up. I hadn't used that name in years. Jeonghan laughed,

"You've forgotten your own name?" I brushed my mistake off and laughed along, a little strained.

"Well that's university for you"

"It's only been one day" he laughed. 

"Your go" I encouraged.

"Well I..." Jeonghan cleared his throat and took a sideways glance. I had almost forgotten Juniper was still hanging around. He was more gracious, I was not. I swivelled to face Juniper and propped my eyebrows up at her. She managed to drag herself away from staring at Jeonghan's face long enough to catch my gaze.

"What?" She seemed genuinely perplexed. I nodded towards the counter which was getting increasingly busy by the minute and decided it was time to pull my managerial weight.

"Do you want to go and watch the counter? You're in charge" I watched as Juniper oh so slowly processed what I had just said as she turned to beam at Jeonghan and got up. She was still beaming like a crazy person as she headed back to the counter, throwing a thumbs up at me and making kissy faces when Jeonghan looked away. I took this precious sliver of time to really take him in. His hair was a soft brown that contrasted well with his pale complexion. He had it tied behind his head but tiny wisps had escaped and were planting little kisses against his cheeks. He chewed his bottom lip as his dark eyes surveyed the options. He looked amazing. It was funny how after having seen billions of face with all the combinations of facial features a person could imagine, I could still be surprised by a good looking face. He must have felt me staring because he laughed softly and fixed his eyes upon me. He was doing exactly what I had done to him. We both laughed again.

"Ok ok. I'm Yoon Jeonghan. I uh.." he chuckled and blushed slightly, looking past me. Whipping my head around, I caught the sight of a familiar dark head ducking behind the stacks of coffee cups. 

"She's the worst" I joked, "This must be the best day of my life for her"

"Why?" Jeonghan leaned in slightly, his eyes catching my attention.

"Because she's been trying to get me on a dat-" I my lips in and covered my mouth with my hands,  barely peeping through my fingers at Jeonghan. He was adoring this right now. Boys were evil.

"So this is a date? And here I thought I was here to study economics" I swatted him gently with a menu as he mockingly ducked away.

"Stop" my voice pitched upwards, playfully, "Now choose a drink before I embarass myself anymore please" 

After ordering our drinks, we chatted for the better side of two hours, though it seemed to only last for two minutes. Jeonghan was intelligent, well versed in the arts and well read it seemed too. He had read books that I had come to appreciate over a long span of reading. He was funny too, and sweet, and it made me wonder how Juniper had found such a good guy after a long line of idiots I had promptly shown the door to. He dressed well too. In a way, he was almost too perfect and that threw me off.

I spoke and he listened. He spoke and I listened. I would watch as he told stories about himself, fulfilled the questions I had asked, intrigued to know more about him and settle as he rocked me to serenity in his word. I could smell the scent of his cologne as he spoke. Hugo Boss. He knew how to appear gentlemanly. I liked the way he was dressed too. Simplistic elegance. He wore a plain white v-neck that showed off the skin of his neck, black jeans and a bomber jacket that was slung lazily across the back of his chair. I was enjoying his presence. He almost glowed as he spoke to me about his time at university and his studies, his ambitions, his roommate. His smile would get wider and wider at the minute and pure joy would radiate out of him. I wanted to study him. The light glittered against his eyelashes as he smiled. He was clearly such a gentle soul. Our fingers would brush on occasion, sensing each other out.

"So what about you? Do you really own this place?" he gestured around him at the cafe. Even for a "small start-up", this place was pretty impressive. It was the sort of place people would travel from miles around to take those enviable social media photos. It boasted excellent lighting, pieces of art that I had collected over the years and were definitely older than any patron who had set foot in here, and large beautiful plants. No wonder this place was always bustling/

"Yeah" I nibbled my lip gently, "It's always been my dream to have my own business" What a lie. I tugged the hem of my dress over my knees and looked at Jeonghan. He smiled back his perfect smile. He was clearly impressed, almost as much as I was of him but it made me uncomfortable. I had had to mould each life I lived to fit a certain story, and after the rise of social media, I'd had to work even harder to keep the charades alive. But there was a fine line when it came to conversation between divulging too much and divulging just enough to keep them interested. I wondered which side of the line I was on. Jeonghan touched my hand, this time with deliberation and brought me out of my thoughts. He was the captain of conversation and before I knew it, he had me in one again But I had had a good time and I was almost sad when he told me he had a class to get to. He was a few years younger, but I had gotten past the old fashioned age preference issues a long time ago. A nice guy was a nice guy.

We performed the usual social ritual of small talk before saying goodbye and felt the awkward expanse spread between us. It had been such a long time since I had had a successful meeting that I was almost al to the appropriate customs.

"So I guess I'll see you at uni then? I'd like to hang out again, if that's alright" I nodded. We had exchanged numbers but to Juniper's enjoyment. I could practically hear her punching the air behind the counter.

"I have something for you" Jeonghan reached into the bag he had had slung across the back of his chair and handed me a well read book. The spine was cracked and frayed and the pages were more dog earred than not but it was well loved. I took a long look at the cover. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Jeonghan tapped the book lightly.

"I thought you might like to read it. I mean..it's nothing like The Lover but I enjoyed it and..." he trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. I realised I had been staring at the book in my hand for too long. Clutching the book to my chest in one hand, I leaned in to half hug him. As I leant into Jeonghan, the fabric of his tee brushing against my cheek, I heard someone let out a 'yes' and woke up. Jeonghan had loosely wrapped an arm around my shoulders which slid away as a I pulled back. I was more than embarassed. I was completely and utterly mortified. I could feel the tips of my ears heating up. 

"I um yeah" I shook the book in the air, "Thank you. I'll get this back to you when I've finished" 

"So how was your date?" Juniper had pounced on my the moment Jeonghan had left. She was grinning cat-like at me. As if she didn't know how it had gone. Any time I had looked around me, I could feel her stare burning a hole in the back of me. I leaned against the counter and raised an eyebrow.

"You tell me...I saw you peering at us from behind the sugar like a peeping tom"

"Who's Tom?" she asked, whirling past me, miming doing actual work. She was playing nonchalant, as if I hadn't seen her little blue head bobbling about behind the condiments and shooing customers who blocked her view out the way. She was too loud to be quiet. I smirked and clutched my hands to my clavicles, trying to summarise the feelings in my head. I would not say it was love, it was not even like, but I felt an admiration for Jeonghan. He had broken past the wall of indifference in me through polite conversation. Juniper looked at me as if my mind had left town and my body was tasked with paying rent.

"Well?"

"I actually had a really good time. He wasn't like I expected" Juniper grinned at this and shook her head at me, invisibly chuckling at the doubt she must have known I had had.

"You see...do I know you or what?"

I wasn't going to give her that one. She had hit the nail on the head with this guy but she had missed a whole bunch of nails in her pursuit for the perfect one. This was one guy versus a long list of idiots I had used to occupy my time with and to be fair, it was I who had fouind him, not her. But Juniper had been right. It was worth a bunch of idiots just to have one genuine conversation. Instead, I opted for being childish and pulled a face while pelting her with a leftover croissant. She dodged it expertedly, adding to my mock rage and wrapped her arms around me so I couldn't pelt her with any more perishables.

"Are you going to see him again then?" I wiggled free from her octopus grip and tapped her on the head with a small book. Juniper clapped her hands together evilly. How on earth did I ever find such a peculiar thing as this girl?