It was a blur and I found myself being pushed towards the camera. No one seemed to have seen what Park Jisung did and the whole time, he stood behind the camera with that cheeky grin and gummy smile. He gave me a thumbs up in the air and I finally got to report to them about the burglary.

“Hey there, it’s MBC News and I have news for you.”

And the rest was history. Five minutes passed by so quickly and we were given the signal to finally end it, the men thanking me for my job and telling me that they’ll report back to the office that I did a great job but I was still stunned.

One, I reported news for the first time. Kudos to me.

Two, my partner in crime just kissed me and that person was Park Jisung.

“KBS, you did amazing!” Jisung said but I didn’t move, my hand reaching up to touch my lips slightly. Jisung blinked. “Oh no. Is this because I kissed you? Oh no, I wasn’t thinking straight KBS! I’m so sorry, I won’t do it ever again!”

“Park Jisung,” I said softly, looking up to him. “You said you liked me.”

“I do,” he replied so simply, my knees buckled and I didn’t know what to do. “KBS, where are you going?”

“Jisung, give me a bit of time. I don’t know what to think,” I managed to say, my legs moving on their own accord as I walked away.

I kid you not, I didn’t know what to feel first. I remember thinking that my head felt so empty when I was Jisung, he cleared my thoughts like a storm clearing the path but this… This made me realize why he was so adamant in asking me if I didn’t find anything wrong with the contract.

I didn’t look back, but I knew that Jisung wouldn’t have followed me.

He knew me enough that at that moment in time, I wanted time to myself.

I didn’t know where I was going and I found myself heading to the 127 Mall. It was a long way but I needed the walk and after thirty minutes of mindlessly whispering to myself, I found myself in the center of N-CITY District. I didn’t grow up in this district but the 127 Mall was definitely one of the biggest malls in Seoul, Korea.

I was suddenly thirsty and I my lips, going into a café. I looked at the name, recognizing it.

“Dream Café,” I said to myself. “Must be the café that the Dreamies were talking about. Park Jisung told me about it—”

I stopped myself from talking, shaking my head and clearing my throat. I finally went to the counter to order myself a drink when a girl came up from behind the counter. She was wearing a yellow sundress and had big loopy earrings. She smiled at me, her smile wide and so bright I wondered where she got her happiness from.

She looked like she jumped out of a storybook.

“Hello! You can call me Cupid, the barista of the Dream Café. What would you like today? Oh, you look rather lost. Would you like a cookie?” she asked, beaming at me and I blinked at how fast she spoke.

“Uh… For free?”

“Of course. Nothing is better than a nice, soft, and gooey chocolate cookie on a hard day!” she exclaimed. “When you come here to the Dream Café, Wednesdays are for the singles and Fridays are for the couples. We have free love consultations… with me.”

She pointed at herself and I nodded slowly.

“Every Wednesday we hold an event for single people and I am very proud to say that a lot of people have come back on Fridays as a couple… Though some don’t really last and they come back the next Wednesday… single.” She looked up as if she was thinking of something and I cleared my throat.

“So, tell me. What is a pretty girl like you going here? On a Wednesday?”

“Uh… To drink coffee?”

She broke into a smile. “Well, one Love Alarm with an extra shot of caffeine for you coming right up!”

“I just want an expresso—”

“And a lot of whipped cream for your lost soul!” she joyfully sang. “I’ll serve it to you soon. On the house!”

Wow. This Cupid girl was giving out too much free stuff.

But I wasn’t one to complain and I went to take a seat.

And just like that, I was staring into space once more. Jisung liked me. What do I do with that information? Why did he like me? When did it start? I thought he was friendly with everyone, I thought we had a mutual friendship—

What if I lose him? I hardly had any friends. No, scratch that. I was so focused on my career; I had no friends at all. My eyebrows furrowed and I don’t know how much time had passed when a drink was placed in front of me.

I now then understood why Dream Café was so famous. It was decorated so well, even for just coffee. Cupid really put her heart to it, the whipped cream had sprinkles of hearts on it. The straw looked like a candy cane and I thanked her, the woman sitting down in front of me instead of leaving.

She was very friendly, wasn’t she?

“So, what’s the story?”

“Sorry?”

“So, what’s the story?” she repeated. “There has to be a story. Your face. You look like you a dog who has lost its master.”

“I do?”

“Like whatever you dreaded, happened.” She let out a sigh, twirling her hair with her fingers. “But it’s about love, that much I know.”

I smiled to myself, lowering my head. I wasn’t one to talk to strangers either but there was something about Cupid that made me want to open up.

“A friend told me he liked me,” I told her and she nodded, her expression not changing. “I don’t think I’ve ever picked up on clues because I always thought… I always thought that he was just being kind. That maybe that was the way he is.”

“Maybe it is the way he is,” she replied. “But people forget that just because you’re kind to everyone does not mean you don’t treat a single person special. We live in a world where kindness is viewed as distorted. If only we can go back to the ’90s.”

She sighed and I chuckled.

“So, this friend. Do you like him? Do you not? Are you afraid of losing him and that’s why you’re here, and not him?” she asked and I nodded.

“It’s not like I don’t have feelings for him. Thinking about it, I have been taking his loyalty for granted.” I frowned. “It’s just I have never thought of him that way. He was always a friend—”

“But that’s how it starts,” she told me, smiling at me. “As a friend, you have the basics already. Trust, respect, love—in its own way. What’s your name?”

“KBS?”

“Is that a question?”

“I mean, it’s not my name but you can call me KBS.”

“Well, KBS. If with this friend you feel like you can trust him, turn to him in times of need, you’re already halfway. Being with a friend is such a good thing because you don’t ever want to hurt your friend, do you?”

I nodded.

“And it’s okay if you don’t want to be with him. Not everyone wants to date a friend. You can always tell him to come to the Dream Café on Wednesdays for single people—”

“No,” I found myself saying, the female giggling.

“That’s the answer to your question.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I don’t know how long I sat with Cupid over that cup of free coffee but I learned so much about her. While her intern made the coffee, she cheerily told me that she believed in love. A little bit too much. She was a whimsical character, the female telling me that she once saw a fortune teller.

“What did she say?”

“She said that my love story will come soon enough. That I will fall in love with someone who doesn’t believe in love,” she told me and I laughed, wondering what kind of couple that would be. “But what human doesn’t believe in love right, KBS? To love is not only for people but for everyone around us.”

“That’s true,” I told her, nodding.

“I also went to get my chart read and apparently he’ll be a lawyer.” She made a face.

“And you hate lawyers?”

“Not hate… I’m not fond of them. There is this one divorce lawyer that comes over from time to time. He drops by because he knows the boss of this café.”

“You mean, Na Jaemin?”

“Yes, that’s my boss. Anyway, this guy.” She shook her head. “He’s a criminal lawyer but apparently he ended up becoming a divorce lawyer after handling a case that had to do with a female losing her memory and her baby in an accident. Jaemin-ssi told me about it and it was so romantic—”

“I don’t think there is anything romantic about someone losing their memory, Cupid.”

“Not that, of course. But everything else. How they met for three times and fell in love with each other all three times.” She sighed, her big eyes sparkling up and I could tell she really wanted it for herself. “Anyway, that divorce lawyer… Jung Sungho? Sungchan? Something like that... Told me that love isn’t real. That only compatibility is real and people get divorced every day. I mean, I get it that he decided to take divorce cases but how can he say that?! What a crime!”

She scoffed as she continued to ramble and I noticed that the sun had already set. How long did I listen to her talk?

“But you know what, KBS? Some people get divorced and who find the love of their life at even… 70. Sometimes their lives start at 70. There is nothing better than having someone call you their own.” She smiled at me.

I was about to respond to her words when the door of the café opened and I heard a familiar voice.

“KBS?” he said and I saw that it was Jaemin, the male frowning at Cupid. “Cupid, have you been giving out love advice again?”

“Oh, Boss!” She jumped up cheerfully. “Well, yes…”

Despite Jaemin looking like he was about to scold her, I could tell he adored her. They both had big hearts and he sighed, nodding.

“Go do your job.” He shooed her away and she gave me a wink, rushing back to the counter. “KBS, what are you doing here? You don’t live around here. And… On a Wednesday?”

“To be fair, I didn’t know about your single Wednesday events until I arrived,” I told him, Jaemin looking relieved. “And I came from reporting a case today.”

“Oh, so…. So. you. got. the. job?” he asked robotically.

“What’s wrong with your voice?” I asked, tilting my head at him. “Why are you asking me that when you already know? Did Jisung already tell you?”

Jaemin cleared his throat, taking Cupid’s seat in front of me.

“Yeah, he told us. In the group chat. He was very proud of you,” Jaemin told me and I smiled. “But we also know what happened before you reported the news.”

I turned beet red and Jaemin panicked.

“And I’m not saying that you need to feel pressured to accept his… if you even call it a confession. Haechan believes he could have at least bought you balloons and a ring.” Jaemin mused and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, sounds like Haechan.”

“But Jisung is a good kid. If you want to put him down… Do it slowly but honestly.”

I don’t know why but Jaemin talking about me rejecting Jisung made my heart twist.

“And I know Jisung. He won’t hate you. He’ll sulk but give him a few days and he’ll come right around.” Jaemin’s phone suddenly rang and he tapped the table with his fingers softly before lifting a hand up to tell me to give him a moment as he answered the phone. “Hello? Renjun?”

Jaemin gave out a few “Ahuh” and “Mhmmm…” and ended the call with: “I’ll have to close the café first and I’ll see you guys there and we can find him.”.

Once he hung up, he glanced at the screen.

“Jisung has been drinking with the boys again.”

“What? Bu