“Can’t you just wait for one second?” Taeyang pleaded, desperation seen in his eyes. He pulled IU’s arm, causing IU to spin around quickly and face him.

“Bwoh? Whatever you have to say, make it quick. I have a schedule later.” IU ignored his desperation, and spoke sharply.

Taeyang and IU had stopped in front of the main entrance of the YG Entertainment building, and many people started whispering amongst themselves as they watched Taeyang and IU bicker. Both noticed the crowd starting to form, and lowered their voices a bit, trying to control their emotions and facial expression.

“Why are you acting like this? It’s not like you..” Taeyang asked IU quietly, remembering to slip on his sunglasses as he led IU out of the building. She flipped her hoodie back on, to hide her identity, and didn’t bother to struggle off his grip until they were out of sight.

“Who are you tell me what I’m like? We haven’t contacted each other since 4 years ago, when you, my first friend, left me hanging. We barely know each other anymore!” IU pulled her arm away from Taeyang, pushing him away. She got caught up in all of her emotions and almost forgot that she and Taeyang weren’t even friends anymore. Unconsciously, IU released all of her anger from the past four years without Taeyang. “You left without telling me that you were going to Seoul. Don’t you remember when I first saw you? You would’ve been as lonely as I was in the past 4 years if I hadn’t made you open up to me! You were stubborn and refused to be anyone’s friend. You think you can just come and leave as you go after being really close friends with someone?! It’s not that easy. You can’t make it into the industry if you think you don’t have to rely on anyone else. You’re so obnoxious. Do you even know that?”

“I’m sorry I left, okay? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand that I had to leave with my parents to Seoul. I’m sorry for everything. Is that enough?” His eyes focused on her, expecting an answer.

What is he expecting? Some grand ‘get back together as friends’ moment? I hate when people say they’re sorry for everything. It means they don’t know what else they’re sorry for.

Instead of the cute resolve he was expecting from her, IU walked away with a solemn expression. She had gotten back to her senses, realizing that Taeyang probably didn’t feel like he was her close oppa anymore. She was just a girl he was acquainted with, and Taeyang was the same to her. Why was she overreacting? In fact she was extremely embarrassed for overreacting. She mentally hit herself many times, as she crossed the street to head towards the coffee shop around the corner. Usually coffee calmed her down. She laughed to herself, seeing how ironic that sounded.

Keep your cool, Lee Ji Eun. Treat him as your colleague and acquaintance like everyone else does in the music industry. Forget about the past. You’ve really lost it, Ji Eun-ah.

Taeyang slowly followed behind her, feeling a bit guilty. He didn’t feel that close with her anymore, but he still felt that small sense of responsibility to see her to wherever she was going. As she entered through the revolving doors of a shop, Taeyang squinted upwards to see what shop it was before he entered. “Cafe Mocha”, it read.

Man, I haven’t been here in ages...He thought to himself, smiling at the memories. He walked into the revolving doors after IU, bumping his elbow in the transparent glass as he rushed to get inside.

Taeyang cursed silently as he made his way to where IU was sitting, a table for two, close to the counter where the orders were taken.

“Man, that must’ve hurt..” IU muttered, observing Taeyang.

“Whatever..” Taeyang muttered, stringing along incoherent curse words as he tended to his elbow.

IU laughed silently, amused.

“Hi! May I help you with something to drink?”

Both individuals looked up to see a waitress had come.

“Or maybe something to eat?” The waitress asked again.

IU observed her from head to toe, taking note of the fact that the waitress hadn’t even looked at her once. Taeyang was someone who could mesmerize people easily. AND especially since he’s one of the vocals of Big Bang. She felt kind of jealous, seeing the waitress show her emotions so openly to Taeyang. It has always been an aspect of IU that could never be done. IU found it extremely hard to show her emotions to someone, and she never was open to anyone except to Taeyang, back when they were younger.

IU sighed. No point in thinking about it now. As she fixed her gaze back onto the waitress, she cringed. Wearing an almost see-through white button-down shirt, the waitress’ bra was almost completely visible through the material. She was also wearing a short miniskirt above the knees to complement the concept of a total flirt. She must’ve been a new waitress, hired by her friend, Seulong from 2AM. Yes, yes. He conveniently owned the shop.

Gosh, I have to tell him to fire her later. IU stared at the waitress in obvious disgust. She’s an utter disturbance to the public.

Oblivious to the waitress’ and her outfit, Taeyang continued to scan the menu, trying to make up his mind in what to order. Finally moving his gaze upwards, the waitress flashed a dazzling smile at Taeyang, flashing a look at him suggestively. The first two buttons that were buttoned up on her shirt were now ed, and IU studied her speechlessly, wondering when she had ed them. Even her skirt seemed shorter. Which reminded her, since when did the waitress’ skirt have fringes at the hem?

IU peered around, examining the area under their table and the area over by the waitress’ feet. There was no extra cloth. IU shook her head. She must be hallucinating. Maybe the skirt was always that short. Relaxed, she drank a bit of the ice water on the table, and casually glimmered over to the waitress who was still waiting for Taeyang to speak. Upon gazing at her, her eyes instantly fixed at the apron tied to the waitress’ waist, with the pocket that had a bloated appearance. A small strip of fabric from the waitress’ skirt protruded from the pocket, and it was evident that it had been shoved inside. IU almost choked on her ice cubes.

Taeyang immediately looked up at the suffocating IU. A distinct habit surfaced, and it was one he had developed since he was young. It helped keep the annoying women away.

“OMO, YEOBO, KWENCHANA? [Honey, are you okay?]” Taeyang gasped over-exaggeratedly, as he leaned across the table, and patted IU’s back gently, waiting for her to stop coughing.

The waitress, who was in shock from what Taeyang just said, stood there like a statue. *Damn, he had a girlfriend* was probably what she was thinking.

Taeyang laughed to himself, as he finally took notice of the woman standing there, who seemed to strip clothing rather quickly.

Ew. I guess I have to emphasize the ‘yeobo’ part. Taeyang sighed to himself, wondering why some girls were such a nuisance--of course, not including IU.

“Yeobo, I’ll order for you, okay?” He smiled cutely, poking IU on the nose. He then shot one of his handsome smiles at the waitress as he handed the menus to her. “One caramel macchiato with whipped cream for my yeobo, and one americano for me, please.”

The waitress hesitated before taking his order, not forgetting to glare at IU before proceeding behind the counter.

As the waitress strutted out of sight, Taeyang started laughing; the last time IU heard his laughter was so long ago. Yet it sounded very familiar and mischievous. IU, her eyes locking with Taeyang, suddenly understood his meaning. He was playing along with the waitress. A smile appearing on IU’s face, she joined him in on the laughter, both laughing until tears came. Another waitress came to serve their orders instead of the previous one, and both went into another fit before accepting their coffee and wiping each other’s tears dry.

“Uhm...Taeyang-ssi...” IU hesitated, after they received their orders and were quietly sipping their coffee.

“Neh?” He asked, as he stirred his coffee repeatedly.

“C-can I call you....o-oppa?” She shied away in embarrassment, after asking. It was embarrassing to be asking this question after meeting with him again in 4 years and using formal language.

“Ah..” Taeyang blushed, realizing what she was asking. “...Sure. You can drop the informalities, too.” He smiled, before taking another sip of his americano.

IU pretended to admire her coffee, secretly smiling to herself in happiness. Another question popped into mind.

“Ah, by the way, Taeyang-ssi..”

Taeyang pouted at her cute mistake. “You meant, oppa, right?”

IU’s face turned beet red at his remark. “N-neh. O-oppa, how did you know I liked drinking caramel macchiato with whipped cream?”

Taeyang laughed heartily, turning around to eye the glass windows that were at the front of the shop, reminiscing the times before he became an idol. “I used to watch you order your coffee from the windows outside. You caught me once, remember?” He paused for a second before adding in something else. “Wait, I think I was wearing a hoodie that time... Never mind..”

IU watched him awkwardly, flustered after asking the question. Taeyang answered so quickly without any uncomfortable gestures, it made it seem like they were much closer than they actually were. She scoffed to herself and shook her head. Closer? What was she talking about, when they weren’t even close in the first place?

After both of them finished their coffee, they rightfully paid for their own orders, and walked out of the shop together. A cool breeze enveloped the two, and they stood there for a while to embrace it.

Although they weren’t friends, they had to admit that it was nice to finally spend some time together. After all, they soon would find out how much they needed each other, wouldn’t they?

~*~

A/N: Hello! It’s Kpopchicken; I am SO SORRY for the delayed update! Now that the finals were over in June, in came summer school and the homework I get in Writing Workshop and Geometry. Ugh. I AM SO SORRY, but I hope you understand if I take a bit longer than usual to update! Uhm. And I'm not very confident about this chapter, but...I hope it's an okay transition, as I had left this fanfic for about a month and a week or so. Thank you for your consideration, and for stopping by to read this chapter!

Love,

Kpopchicken :D