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She had always pegged herself as the type who could be friendly with someone good-naturedly but to remain in contact with someone after a simple chat was nothing she could do. It was easy for her to talk to people but those mindless conversations weren’t the ones that mattered to her. The conversations where she got to really know a person and see who they were beneath their outer appearance was what she valued.

With that mindset, she had only been planning on keeping Lee Minhyuk as an acquaintance. She found him easy to talk to and he was an overall nice person. It wasn’t until he started hinting at his feelings towards her did she draw back.

It would have been unfair to say that she wasn’t interested in him because she did find herself checking her phone more often than not when Minhyuk texted or called her. She also found herself re-reading her own messages twice before sending it to him.

Whether she was developing feelings for him or whether she was still too withdrawn from having an interaction with a man other than Changkyun, she wasn’t sure.

Which was what led her to her predicament at the moment.

She didn’t know whether she had imagined the expectant look in his eyes when he parked the car but she surprised herself with her own words.

“Do you want to come up for some coffee?”

Minhyuk raised an eyebrow at her question, clearly caught off-guard. He looked down at his watch, checking the time, and then back up at her.

“I mean, I can come up if you want me to.”

She opened the door and stepped out. She then leaned down to look at him, one hand resting on the opened door.

“Or if you don’t like coffee, I also have tea and fruit juice.”

He laughed as he turned off the engine to the car, taking out the keys. He followed her into the building.

Mina took out the keys to her apartment and she took a slight pause as she put the key into the lock, biting her lip. Minhyuk was behind her, checking his phone as he waited for her while she mentally slapped herself for doing something unnecessary and was probably sending off the wrong signals.

She opened the door, figuring it was already too late to change her decision. Instead, she opened the door for him to come in.

“Your apartment is neat,” he commented, looking around. He was fascinated because with one look, he could see her bed, the kitchen, and the living room. The only doors he saw in the apartment was near her bed, which he assumed was the washroom.

“I’ve never actually been in these apartments before. What is it called again?”

“It’s a single apartment. What would you like to drink?” she asked. He thought about it for a second.

“I’ll take a coffee, thanks.”

She nodded, pointing him towards the couch. “Sure. Give me a second.” She walked across the room to toss her purse onto the bed and then she went into the kitchen towards her fridge.

Minhyuk set his jacket down onto the armrest of the couch and looked around her living space. As he had expected, it was neat. There was nothing out of place and even the books and magazines on her coffee table were placed in a neat stack. There were paintings along the wall and he caught along with the theme when he noted that they were all grey photographs.

He looked back when she handed him his coffee. He blinked when he saw her sit onto the couch with a can of beer. He turned to face her when she brought her legs up, bringing them into a criss-cross position.

“Relaxing since it’s the weekend?”

She nodded, bringing the can up and taking a sip.

“I have an evening shoot tomorrow but it should be fine. Do you work weekends?”

He was nodding as he set his coffee down onto the table in front of him. “I work Saturdays but I have Sunday off because the zoo is closed that day.” He spotted one of the books with a familiar title and he turned back to her.

“You like poetry books?”

She followed his eyes to her pile of books and she nodded. “Yeah, I do. I like reading a lot, as you can see.” She nodded towards the bookcase beside the TV and he let out a laugh.

“Do you read?” she asked, picking up one of the books. He nodded, turning back to her.

“Aside from the many pages of information I have to read about the animals everyday, yes, I do enjoy reading other things. I started that book too, but I haven’t had the time to finish it,” he said, pointing towards the book she had in her hands.

She seemed surprised at his response. “You read poetry too? I don’t meet that many people that like poetry. Most people turn it away because they find it too out there compared to the thick novels they read.”

Minhyuk smiled, seeing her face light up. “It’s an easier read when you don’t have that much time to read pages and pages of writing.” He stopped.

“You write too, don’t you?”

parted and she slowly nodded her head. He laughed at her reaction. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to let me read anything.”

Her shoulders dropped and she let out a sigh of relief. She placed the book down and turned her body to face him fully, picking up her can with her.

“So, you must really like animals, right?”

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Mina lay down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling after changing into comfier clothes.

Minhyuk had left half an hour ago and now she was left alone to wallow in her thoughts.

She turned to the side, shoving her face into the pillow.

“Ah, Song Mina, are you stupid? Why would you invite him up into your apartment?” she cried out, pulling her blanket over her head. She stayed still for a few seconds before throwing the blanket off and she let out a sigh.

She picked up her phone and when she saw that she had a text message from Minhyuk, she opened it.

Thanks for spending time with me today.  
10 minutes ago

She rolled over onto the other side, still staring at the screen of her phone.

Maybe it was the blind courage she suddenly got after Changkyun’s encouragement but she didn’t find today’s date all that bad. Minhyuk was an easy guy to talk to, that she already knew, but to be talking to him in private for once was different. She was able to see up close how charming he was in both his words and his appearance. She got to know him better and she didn’t regret stepping out of her comfort zone.

Or it was the can of beer she drank that made it easier to talk to him.

Either way, she felt a warm buzz inside her chest when she replied to him, bidding him goodnight.

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The next day, Mina sang along to the music playing out of her phone as she applied her makeup.

She rummaged through her cup of makeup brushes, looking for the one she needed. She took out the thin brush and reached over to take out her black pot of eyeliner.

She had to shoot at a nightclub tonight as part of a promotional event and so as to not stand out completely, she was putting on some makeup.

Once she was satisfied with the smokey eyes, she grabbed a darker lipstick shade and put it on her lips. She smacked her lips in the mirror and got up to find an outfit that was more fitting to her mood for the day.

She settled with a black graphic t-shirt, which was long enough for her to wear it as a dress. She crouched down and looked through the drawers underneath for her fishnet stockings.

After changing and grabbing a jacket, she grabbed her car keys off the dinner table and left the apartment with her camera bag hanging over her shoulder.

She arrived at the club and drove around to the back where the staff parking was located. She entered in through the back entrance after letting the security guard know who she was.

She was now sitting down at one of the booths in the main hall of the club, going through her phone since she was done setting up her camera. She felt her phone vibrate with a new message.
 

She had just put her phone back into her jacket pocket after replying when it vibrated again and she took it back out to see the new notification.
 

She smiled, not bothering to reply. It comforted her slightly to know that Changkyun was worried about her.

She took out her camera and set it onto the table. She looked around the place, seeing workers run around, preparing the place. She looked up towards the stage to see a DJ messing around with the controls on the mixer.

She avoided turning towards the bar at the back.

She didn’t realize how hard she had been gripping onto her camera until she heard it turn on because her finger had slipped. She quickly turned it back off and leaned back against the leather seat.

He was working tonight, like he did every other night. He was going to be in the same building as her and he would most likely be aware of it too. The thought made her sick.

When she first received the job offer from club manager, she had declined. Since it was Hyunwoo who had asked her, she felt guilty about declining right away. He had called her again and asked her once more if she could do the promotions because he couldn’t find a photographer in time for tonight’s event. He also said that with her following, it would receive more publicity.

She rubbed at her temples, already feeling a slight headache from when she began to think about him. Her chest tightened and she reached into her camera bag, opening up one of the smaller compartments and took out her pill box.

She popped one of the bills into and swallowed it, regretting too late that she didn’t take it with water.

She leaned her forehead onto the table, gripping onto the lanyard she had around her neck.

She was doing this for a friend.

His friend.

She just needed to get through this.

She only needed to take enough pictures and then she could leave.

She could do it.

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Mina didn’t realize how many people she would actually recognize from her classes until people started streaming into the club. They also seemed to recognize her too because a few of them came up to her to catch up.

When the club began to fill up and the music was blasting, she shuffled herself off the the sidelines where she could take pictures.

With the lanyard around her neck signifying that she was a staff member, she was able to walk up to the second floor and take more pictures at different angles. She leaned back to look through the photos. Then, she headed back down and weaved through the crowd towards the edge of the DJ booth.

He made eye contact with her and waved his hand, getting her to come up onto the stage with him. She grinned, mouthing him a quick word of gratitude before snapping more shots from this new perspective.

She was more than surprised when the DJ tapped her shoulder as she was inspecting the photos, handing her the headphones. She let the camera drop and hit her stomach as she stared back at him, pointing a finger towards herself.

Before she knew it, she was dancing along beside him for the next two songs and had fun playing around with the controls that she wasn’t completely unfamiliar with.

Laughing, she had gotten off the stage to walk towards the back. She pushed open the door to the staff room to grab her bag.

She walked through the halls, making her way to the back entrance to leave. She turned the corner and her eyes rounded at the familiar face.

“Hey, how was it?” Hyunwoo asked, stopping. He raised his hand and shot one of the people entering a VIP room a quick grin.

“I have enough pictures. I’ll edit all of them and send them to you by Monday. Does it matter which picture I pick for the promotional poster?”

He turned back to her. “No, I trust you. Thanks a lot for this, Mina.” He gave her a pat on the shoulder and she smiled, giving him a nod. He turned to leave as she began walking away but he paused.

He turned back around. “You didn’t see him, right? I moved him to the VIP lounge earlier.” She stopped in her tracks and took in a breath.

“No, I didn’t. Thank you.”

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