chapter soundtrack:
deja vu - olivia rodrigo

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Unlike the day, that night the weather in London turned cloudy, and the wind was getting stronger. Chungya had to put on a thicker coat as she went out to meet Sooho at a well known café around Soho that night.

She had invited him to meet her since yesterday. 

He would come, right?

After he dismissed her calls several times on previous days...

He will come.

Chungya shook her head, then fished out her phone from her purse. As she unlocked it, the first thing that was shown on screen was a picture of Im Sooho and Eun Youngro, riding a bike together at Hyde Park. She was checking on online news on the internet when that article showed up on the headline. The sight of it made her frown. Quickly, she closed the tab and quit the browser app, moving on to open her messages with the Crown Prince.

When she was about to send him a text message to ask him where he was, a familiar voice greeted her.

"Hello. Is this seat available?"

The woman shifted her glance, lifted her chin up to see the man who just came to her. Then, she smiled. "It is, have a seat."

"You got here with the tube? Aren't you afraid of getting caught?"

Chungya muffled a laugh as she saw Sooho taking a seat in front of her at the café with a thick winter jacket and a black cap on his hat. That was quite enough to cover his identity as he took the public transportation. The man looked so familiar to Chungya though, just like the time he last saw him.

The man shrugged, a small smile was plastered on his face as he found the woman he was meeting that day inside the café. She was sitting in one of the table in the corner of the crowded room, wearing a long coat and letting her brown hair tied up in a ponytail.

"Yes, I took the bus, and I think I'm well covered. I bought this jacket and cap before I came here. So it should be fine. I asked the guards to not following me too."

Chungya sighed when she finally could see his face, the face he had been missing since the day she left for London.

If only he knew how much she missed him.

"I have ordered mine. You should take an order too. Americano, isn't it?"

"I ordered green tea and honey."

"Are you on a diet or something?"

Sooho would go for americano if they had to order beverages at a café. But that time when he arrived at the café, it was almost 7 PM and he got reminded of the drink Youngro usually made him at night for the past few nights at the mansion. The café had it on their menu, so he somehow decided to order that for his drink.

"It's not a diet, I'm just... getting used to green tea as a substitute of coffee at night." Sooho grinned. "Youngro usually made it for me lately. And it's good."

That name.

Chungya pursed her lips together, trying to maintain the smile on her face. "Oh, that sounds good." She simply said.

It was Chungya who invited Sooho to the café. She noticed he must had been so busy with his schedule. So, she initiated a meeting where they finally can meet at ease outside of her ballet show she invited him to. Luckily, he was available that night.

"Hey. Anyway, thank you for coming."

Sooho nodded, shifting in his seat. "It's my pleasure, Chungya. It's been quite a while since we saw each other as well... at the airport?" he chuckled.

The café was crowded with customers, but the orders were proceeded quickly. One of the waitresses came to their table and placed Sooho's order on the table. The man thanked her before he walked away to take care of the other orders.

"That's right." The woman was nodding her head as she remembered the day they met at the airport, when she was departing to London. When he said he would come to her shows to give her flowers, and said to her that he would wait for her to come back to Korea again, which she didn't know when. But that day, he said he would wait.

But then, would he still be waiting for her? She questioned herself as she caught the ring on his finger.

"And Sooho," Chungya called him again.

"Yes?"

"Congratulations on your engagement." She said, forcing a wide smile on her face when their eyes met. "I didn't realize it was so soon."

Sooho cleared his throat before answering, "Thank you." He nodded as he widened his smile, trying not to look awkward. 

He missed the woman in front of her. In all honesty, he indeed had been missing her since the day she left. But somehow, he felt something odd inside his heart. As if there was now a line that separated him with her. As if there was now a gap between them.

Sooho rubbed the ring on his finger with his other hand before taking the cup of green tea.

"I hope you’re happy with her. It’s… quite surprising how soon the engagement was."

The man sipped his green tea as he listened to the woman once again. "Indeed, as you know, we're quite in a... rush." He said.

"I still remember the day you proposed to me, though.” Chungya blurted out, then chuckled to herself. "You were indeed in a rush."

His proposal to her. Which she declined.

“Chungya, I—“

“As an engagement gift, I actually want to invite you and Miss Youngro to my show. I have booked two seats for both of you."

Sooho raised both of his eyebrows. Hadn't she invited him already before? He just realized, the woman in front of her was only inviting him in person at first.

"You have to come with her. It's hard to get the tickets, you know. It's the very first show of the year. And it's my first show too." She said.

Accross her, Sooho tilted his head, considering things inside his head.

"You have to come. You promised me to come and bring me flowers. You know my favorite." Chungya sipped his caramel macchiato before she continued, "With your fiancée of course, I would like to meet her too."

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chapter soundtrack:
a love that will last - renee olstead

Camden Market, 11 AM UK Time

It was Youngro and Sooho's second day of London tour, and Sooho took her to Camden Market, the famous market in London for tourists and young locals around the town. Sooho said that there were up to a thousand shops and stalls around the area with various things to sell. Fashion, music, art, and food, you could find anything there as you walk around through the market.

They took the bus that day. Sooho planned to go to the market with a bus, and they would come back to the hotel with the underground tube. Being a first timer tourist she was, Youngro simply agreed with his plans.

As soon as they arrived at their stop— Hartland Road / Camden Market (stop CQ)— the couple took off from the bus and walked their way to the market. They found so many stores on their way, and Youngro visited some of them whenever she spotted adorable stuff from the window.

By the time they arrived at the heart of Camden Market, Sooho took Youngro around the food and drink stalls. They ordered various menu before they finally took their seat on t