I took a deep breath when the cafe was within sight, resting my hand over my pounding heart. I owed Yoohyeon and Minji big time- actually, they owed me, since they caused the problem with Bora in the first place. If Yoohyeon didn’t use me to get extra-rough treatment from Handong and Minji… What’s done is done, and Bora was waiting for me. I checked my phone one last time for a response from her, and was greeted with nothing. She hadn’t even read my last message. She was working, after all, and probably shouldn’t have messaged me at all. I patted my chest, trying in vain to calm my pounding heart, and approached the cafe. I pushed open the glass door with ease.

 

My gaze met those bright brown eyes, and all of the weight and worry that had built up since I last saw her vanished. I almost ran behind the counter and hugged her. I opted to walk up to the counter like a normal human being, instead. She was shyly avoiding my gaze now that I had gotten closer, and I could tell why: her hair was adorably ruffled into a poofy lion’s mane of a ponytail, and I could make out dark circles under her eyes. I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. I drummed my fingers on the countertop, waiting for her to look at me again. Her hands were folded neatly in front of her apron. 

 

“Miss Bora?” I hummed.

 

“I’m sorry about...you know...yeah.” She mumbled quietly, glancing up at me. “Um...what would you like?” 

 

“What do you recommend?” I asked gently, being careful not to worry her. 

 

“Oh, u-um, I like sweetened iced americano, but you always order it unsweetened, so…” I watched her teeth nervously dig into her soft-looking, pink lips. “I think the chocolate cake is really good, too, if you want that…?” 

 

“I’ll have two slices of the chocolate cake, then.” I said with a grin, proud of my little plan. “And two iced americanos. One sweetened, and the other one unsweetened.” Her brow furrowed adorably as she put in the order.

 

“For here or to go?” 

 

“For here. I’d also like to have a companion to eat with me. Would that be extra, or…?” 

 

“I- I um…” She spun around to the woman who was probably her manager, clearly flustered. 

 

“If you’re good to her, then I won’t charge you for it.” The lady said with a chuckle, patting Bora’s shoulder. Bora spun back around, revealing a deep pink blush spread across her cheeks. 

 

“U-Um, so, that comes to fifteen dollars and sixty-five cents.” She spoke quietly. I handed her a twenty-dollar bill, and watched as she prepared to give me the change. She held her hand out to give it to me, but I took a step back. 

 

“You know who that money belongs to, sweetheart.” She slowly pulled her arm back, and slipped the money into her apron pocket. “Good.” 

 

“You can have a seat wherever you’d like. She’ll be with you when your order’s ready.” The kind woman behind the counter said. 

 

I sat as far away as possible from Minji and Yoohyeon, who kept making faces at me and making my phone vibrate in my pocket with messages. I happened to glance up at the same time Yoohyeon and Minji were both staring at me. I made a throat-cutting motion with my thumb as subtly as I could; their heads both snapped downwards and stared at their tabletop. I relaxed and pulled at my phone to see what they were sending me. I figured I may as well look busy, even though I was sure I responded to all of my emails while I was at the office. Sure enough, it was a stream of nonsense. My messages were now littered with keyboard-smashing and quotes of what I said to Bora. 

 

“Um...excuse me…?” I looked up, and was met with Bora’s still-pink cheeks and shiny eyes. I shoved my phone in my pocket, and took the tray from her, setting it on the table in front of me. 

 

“Please, have a seat.” I said as calmly as possible, although my leg was bouncing up and down nervously. I didn’t think this through. When she sat down in front of me, I felt my blood run cold. What was I going to say? I finally had her to myself, in person, but...I had no idea what to talk about. If I talk about Insomnia, she might think I’ve been stalking her. 

 

“I overreacted. I saw the news, and...I thought you were with another woman, and I thought you were using me, and I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you. I-”

 

“Shush, sweetheart.” I breathed a sigh of relief, and rested my hand on top of hers. “It’s okay. I should’ve told you about my whole, um...situation.” I chuckled awkwardly; thankfully, she did the same. 

 

“You’re...really Lee Siyeon, then?” She asked cautiously. I patted her little hand affectionately.

 

“The one and only.” 

 

“Wow…” She hummed, then looked down at the table in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I, uh, met up with friends last night, and I woke up late. I didn’t have time to do much makeup or anything with my hair-”

 

“I think you look rather cute.” I interrupted her with a gentle voice. I swear I had big cartoon-y hearts over my eyes. I saw no faults in this adorable woman- in fact, I could only wish that she was even smaller, so I could just keep her in my pocket. She looked up at me; her cheeks were a deep shade of pink again. 

 

“Thank you.” She mumbled. “You’re, um...I’m sure you’ve been told a million times, but...you’re really beautiful.” 

 

“I have been told a million times…” I laughed. “...but it’s special coming from you.” Her face turned an even deeper shade of pink as she stared at our hands. “Eat up, lovebug. You must be hungry.” 

 

“Thank you.” She smiled a little, then cautiously picked up a fork and ate some of the cake, with only the hand that wasn’t covered by my own. Her smile grew wider, and she had a few more bites of cake. In order to avoid staring at her like a creep and making her uncomfortable, I had a bite of cake, too. “So...what’s it like…?” 

 

“Being me?” I asked; she nodded, taking another bite of cake. At this rate, I might order some more for her. “It’s a bit lonely, to be honest.” I sighed, and took a sip of my iced americano before continuing. “Sure, I talk to plenty of people every day. Not just through email, either. I talk to all of my employees at my office, and I visit our workshops when I get the chance. It’s all business and small talk, though.” I shrugged. 

 

“What about her?” Bora asked, nodding in Minji and Yoohyeon’s direction. I waved it off.

 

“She’s my business partner. She forced me to take her personal number in my cell phone, and she has my personal number, too.” I sighed. “We get along, I guess.”

 

“She seems really sweet…” Bora hummed with a gentle smile on her cute little face. 

 

“She has two girlfriends.” I blurted out a little too rashly. Seeing Bora fawn over Minji made my blood burn with jealousy. I covered my mouth once I realized what I said, but her full attention was on me again. “It’s- okay, it’s not what you think- or maybe it is… Just...please, act surprised when you see her or Yoohyeon with a cat-loving Chinese woman.” Her brow furrowed in confusion. “They’re in a polygamous relationship. You already know Minji and Yoohyeon, kind of, but they’re both dating a girl named Handong.”

 

“So the three of them are dating each other?” She asked.

 

“Yes, but please promise me you’ll pretend you don’t know. Minji wanted to pull a prank on you.” I squeezed her soft hand between both of mine; a bright smile covered her face. 

 

“Don’t know what?” She giggled. I breathed a sigh of relief, and relaxed my grip on her hand. “Are you like that, too?” 

 

“Poly? No, I get jealous too easily.” I chuckled. 

 

“That’s cute.” Her eyes shot wide open once she realized what she said. “Them! Minji! They’re cute!” 

 

“Sure…” I chuckled, taking another sip of my americano. “You get off at two, yeah?”

 

“Yeah, I get out early today.” A broad smile took over her features. I raised an eyebrow at her. 

 

“Are you meeting someone?” I asked in a deeper tone than I meant to. She laughed, and shook her head, unaffected by my voice. 

 

“My old dance crew! We met up last night and ran through some old stuff for the sake of nostalgia, and it’s like we were never apart.” She wiggled with excitement in her chair, making my heart flutter. “We’re meeting up again today to finish cleaning up a dance cover, and I have to run an idea by our captain.” 

 

“So...you’re gonna be recording videos again…?” I mumbled, feeling my stomach do flip-flops at the prospect of seeing this angel performing something like the “Anaconda” choreography that Yoohyeon showed me. Her face grew red, bright red, at the mention of videos.

 

“Y-You’ve seen…?”

 

“No, no, Yoohyeon was telling me about- uh, some stuff yesterday.” I coughed awkwardly, trying to figure out how I was going to explain my way out of the hole I dug for myself. “She- Minji wants me to-” I sighed. “I don’t remember how it came up, but Yoohyeon was talking to me about her college days. She went to your school. She talked about a dance crew that was really well known, and I guess this whole town knows them.” I watched Bora breathe out a sigh of relief.

 

“Good, good- I mean, it’s whatever, I just...the last videos we put up that I was in, I’ve improved, so it’s a little cringy to look at.” She chuckled nervously. 

 

“I know the feeling. Looking back at some of my first designs...what on earth was I thinking?” I laughed quietly, hiding my weak gay heart. If she thinks those videos were cringy...what is this woman capable of? I struggled to shoo away the thoughts that popped into my mind (all of which were making me feel like a teenage boy). I heard Minji clear loudly, and glared at her. She pointed to the clock, which displayed 1:30pm as the time. “Oh, um, I don’t know if you need to get back behind the counter…?” I asked cautiously, not wanting her to be punished over this, but also not wanting her to go. She looked up at the clock, then sprang out of her seat. 

 

“I’m so sorry, thank you, Siyeon!” She spoke quickly and turned to run back to the counter, but I grabbed her wrist. 

 

“Wait. Do you want me to drive you back to campus after your shift?” 

 

“Yes- I mean, no. I don’t want to be a burden.” 

 

“You don’t sound very sure.” I chuckled. I was just digging myself into a deeper hole than before. How the hell I’d be able to avoid crashing the car or pulling her onto my lap and kissing her, I had no idea. I just really wanted her in my car; I wanted her to myself. I mentally slapped myself. I hadn’t even taken her on a date yet. I shouldn’t be thinking of...that. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth; this woman has no mercy. 

 

“I just don’t want to trouble you.” She spoke quietly, blushing. “I, um...nevermind. Um...good luck with work, and uh…” She squeezed my hand gently. “Can I ki- no, nevermind, nevermind, nevermind.” She shook her head vigorously, and pulled her hand from mine. Hopefully I wasn’t being delusional by thinking that she was about to ask if she could kiss me. I grabbed her hand again, holding her in place, then pressed a gentle kiss to cheek. She was so soft and warm...I just wanted to bury my face in her neck and hold her.

 

“Text me later.” I whispered in her ear, slipping some money into her apron pocket. I don’t even know how much I gave her; my mind was all static and I couldn’t think clearly. I spun on my heel, picked up my iced americano from our table, and left before I did anything stupid. I just needed to get away from that cafe and away from Bora. Far away. My face was burning, and everything felt hot. I needed to scream or run or anything to get this energy out, but where Bora wouldn’t hear or see. 

 

“What happened?!” Minji squealed, running up from behind me. I just grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an alley; this would have to be secluded enough. Yoohyeon, of course, followed Minji like an obedient puppy. 

 

I broke into soft squeaks and jumps of happiness. I grabbed Minji and squeezed her tight, needing to get this fluttery feeling out of my chest before I exploded. Yoohyeon started squealing and jumping around, too, bouncing in circles. Minji pulled out of my arms with a bright smile, and pulled Yoohyeon into a quick kiss before bringing her attention back to me. 

 

“Did you ask her to be your-?!” I slapped my hand over Yoohyeon’s mouth before she could finish. 

 

“No, not yet. But I kissed her.” I spoke quietly, still vibrating with excitement. Minji and Yoohyeon’s faces fell, and the older of the two rolled her eyes. 

 

“What if there’s someone else eyeing her?!” Minji groaned. “If you don’t stake your claim, you’re gonna lose her.” 

 

“I’m sure we’re mutually only seeing each other. There’s too many feelings involved.” I waved Minji’s worries off. 

 

“So what? Someone might come along. I overheard you two; she’s back in Insomnia, right? The potential for new secret admirers to crop up isn’t something to ignore.” Minji crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at me like I was an idiot. 

 

“Insomnia is really something else. They’re practically idols in this town, and people from all over the world watch their videos. If you don’t make it official that she’s yours, someone else will.” Yoohyeon added sternly. I bit my lip for a moment, allowing the thought of losing my hold on Bora to creep into my mind. “You might be a millionaire, but I’m sure they’ve got a couple of billionaire fans. If it’s money that Bora’s after-”

 

“She just found out that I’m ‘The Lee Siyeon’.” I scoffed. 

 

“But you gave her big tips.” Yoohyeon countered. “Even if she didn’t know who you were, she knew you had money.” I groaned in annoyance, and leaned back against the mossy bricks of whatever insignificant building was behind me. “I just speak from experience.” She shrugged.

 

“We just don’t want you to lose your chance.” Minji said softly, holding my hand in both of hers. “You really like her. I can tell.”

 

“I do…” I sighed. “God, her cheek was so soft.” Minji and Yoohyeon giggled at me, but I didn’t care. “I can’t wait ‘til they post Bora’s covers…” I closed my eyes and relaxed, imagining how Bora would react if she saw me watching one of her covers. Her face would probably be that familiar shade of tomato-red, and she’d get all shy and awkward. I wondered if most people knew her as a confident and y woman; that’s how she came across in the videos, after all. Maybe I was one of a small handful who knew her as the little lovebug she is. 

 

“I don’t know what your plans are, but we’ve got to go pick up Handong from the hospital.” Minji hummed nonchalantly, checking out her nails.

 

“Is she okay?!” I gasped. 

 

“Her residency…?” Yoohyeon raised an eyebrow at me, and tapped her head. I breathed a sigh of relief. If Minji was so nonchalant about Handong being hurt...I don’t think I could be within twenty feet of her. With the way she doted on and adored those two girls; if any shred of it was fake I’d be sick. 

 

“Oh my gosh, if my Dongie was sick, we wouldn’t be here.” Minji laughed, and checked her phone. “She gets out in two hours! We don’t wanna be late!” She grinned widely, and left the alley with Yoohyeon skipping by her side. 

 

“It’s fifteen minutes away…” I mumbled in confusion.

 

“Can’t risk it!” Yoohyeon yelled back. I sighed, and continued my short walk to the office building. After stepping into the elevator, I looked up “Insomnia Dance” on Google, just to see exactly what kind of stuff Bora would be up to. I found an Instagram account and a Twitter account, alongside the obvious YouTube channel Yoohyeon showed me. Both Instagram and Twitter had a post congratulating Bora- no, SuA, on her return, with a picture of Bora from her last performance and her (new) silhouette side-by-side. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened, revealing my secretary’s desk. She nodded at me politely, and I returned the nod, walking straight into my office. 

 

Once I sat down at my desk, I scrolled through the comments under the posts. Most were innocent enough, praising her dance prowess and looking forward to seeing her work. Obviously, there were a couple of negative ones, because people will find an excuse to hate anything beautiful, but then there were more...explicit comments. I noticed that there were plenty of comments from people that had since been blocked, or the comment had been removed, but there were still creeps that crept through the cracks. I was glad to see that whoever dealt with their social media was actively trying to protect them from erts, but no one’s perfect. 

 

I went back to their YouTube channel, and looked at their information. I was curious to know who my short angel associated herself with. I wrote their names down on a post-it to look up later: Seungyeon, the Captain, Yujin, Yeeun, Yoobin, and Gahyeon. There was also a girl who wasn’t part of the performance team, but managed the group’s social media and edited their videos: Sorn. That’s probably who was blocking those creeps. I’d have to thank her if our paths ever crossed. 

 

I folded the post-it in half and stuck it inside my phone case, then checked the time. Bora should have gotten out of work by now. I glanced out the window, imagining what she was up to at the moment. I hope she wouldn’t overwork herself at practice. Just as I looked up Sorn’s username on Instagram, my secretary knocked on the door. 

 

“Come in.” I spoke dryly. She entered while holding a small stack of papers. 

 

“I printed the finalized version of Jinsol’s proposal for you to sign, if you see it fit to endorse.” She gently placed the papers on my desk. 

 

“Thank you. Is that all?” 

 

“Yes, ma’am.” She smiled, and turned to leave, closing the door behind her. I ran my fingers through my hair and readied myself to read through this boring clump of paper. It was probably fine to sign; Jinsol was very reasonable and easy to converse with, and obviously Minji was as well, but I still needed to read through it in case of a mistake. I checked my phone one last time to see if I had a message from Bora: nothing. I flipped my phone over, screen facing down, so I wouldn’t be distracted. 

 

Once I made it through the stack of papers and signed off wherever it was indicated, I pushed them to the side of my desk, putting all my attention back on Bora. I picked up my phone, and saw that I had a message from her; my heart jumped for joy.

 

Baby Bora:

[I’m sorry for not texting you earlier :( I had to hurry to practice, but we’re on a water break now!!] 

 

Siyeon:

[You also didn’t return my kiss :(] 

 

She responded instantly.

 

Baby Bora:

[What was I supposed to do when a jdskj gorgoi s gois l kdjkle] 

[*gorgeous girl kisses me?]

[IGNORE THAT]

[YEEUN SENT THAT YEEUN TOOK MY PHONE]

[YOU REALLY ARE GORGEOUS THOUGH] 

 

I laughed out loud, leaning back in my chair and watching as messages kept coming through. The tone of the texts kept changing between keyboard smashes, and I pictured her friends stealing her phone at rehearsal- wait. This means she told them about me. I stood up from my chair and jumped around, clutching my buzzing phone to my chest. 

 

Siyeon: 

[Sure, sweetheart, sure… ;)] 

 

I chuckled as messages both flirty and panicked blew up my phone. I decided to save her the worry and energy of keeping her friends from stealing her phone and sending something risky. 

 

Siyeon:

[You seem busy lol I’ll let you go for now. Have fun, lovebug :)]

 

By the time I got through the door of my house, I was exhausted. I laid down in the middle of what should be my living room (still totally barren, save for a couple boxes), and stared at the ceiling. I checked Insomnia’s Twitter account out of curiosity, and saw a new post. They’d be uploading a video at 9:00pm, and it looked like it would be a solo from Bora. I chewed on my lower lip, remembering how she moved in that “Anaconda” cover. , she was too hot for her own good. It was 8:00pm now, so...if I washed up and got ready for bed, the video would be up around then. 

 

I ran upstairs to shower and change into pajamas, but the images of what Bora might possibly perform wouldn’t leave me be. I couldn’t get her body out of my head. She was flexible, strong, soft...I felt my hand slide down my stomach…

 

I changed the water temperature to ice-cold, and shivered, teeth chattering under the stream. I didn’t even take her out on a proper date, or confess my feelings, or anything. I finished washing up quickly, and slipped into comfy pajama pants, a hoodie, and slippers. After ruffling my hair with a towel until it stopped dripping, I picked up my phone to check for any messages from Bora. Sure enough, I did. 

 

Baby Bora:

[I’m SO sorry about earlier!!]

 

Siyeon:

[No worries, cutie :) I still wanna know why I didn’t get a kiss back earlier though]

 

I grinned at the text, picturing Bora’s bright-red face, then checked the time. It would still be another thirty minutes before Bora’s solo video would be up. I was too tired to actually make dinner, so I pulled a cup of ramen out of the cupboard and started to boil water while I waited. 

 

Baby Bora:

[What Yeeun said wasn’t entirely wrong…] 

 

Siyeon:

[And what does that mean?]

 

Baby Bora:

[You’re gorgeous and I uh...I panicked]

 

I laughed out loud at her cute way of explaining herself before typing out a response. I received another message from her before I even had the chance to send it, though.

 

Baby Bora:

[Sorry, I don’t wanna make things weird.]

 

Siyeon:

[What do you mean?] 

 

My brow furrowed in worry. Did she not want us to be...something more? I chewed on my lower lip nervously while waiting for a response. By the time I got one, I had already started stress-eating my ramen.

 

Baby Bora:

[I can’t explain it through text. It wouldn’t do it justice] 

 

A smirk crossed my face, and I hugged my phone tightly to my chest.

 

Siyeon:

[I understand, sweetie]

 

An alarm I set earlier went off, indicating that it was time for Bora’s solo to be uploaded. I ran to my office, so I could watch it on a larger screen than my phone. I really regretted not unpacking my 4K TV yet; I’d love to see her perform on something so clear… I went to YouTube and looked up Insomnia’s channel. Sure enough, it was there: “Shots Fired: SuA”. I clicked on it immediately and made the video full-screen. It was just as powerful as her performance of “Anaconda”, but even more technically challenging. She still had a strong y aura, if not even more strong than before. When she winked at the camera, I felt my stomach churn. 

 

I kept watching it. I had to cross my legs, and my thighs just kept clenching, but I couldn’t stop. The crop top she was wearing showed off her cleavage, and even in those sweatpants...she had a killer . My erted mind couldn’t stop imagining each roll of her hips grinding into my own. Her neck, her jawline… 

 

She basically confessed earlier, right? It wouldn’t be weird of me to get off this one time, right?