“You’re going to Jeju on the coming Saturday” Mr Son said, as he entered his daughter’s room, “Pack your bags, you may have to stay for few days there” 

“Why?” Naeun had her laptop in her lap, as she looked up at her father through the glasses in shock, “I have an important meeting next Tuesday”

“And why am I staying for days?“ “Who decided?” “I don’t have so much free time” her frustration could be heard in her raised tone now.

“Your schedule never has any free time, my dear daughter” Mr Son smiled, watching Naeun’s frustrated rapid-blinks in return.

Before she could fire back at him, guessing her reaction already, her father interrupted again, “Anyway!” “Your grandmother wants you to go there with her”

“I have no say in it” he shrugged informing so, as he turned around to leave without giving Naeun much chance to give an answer, “You can talk to her yourself” he walked out of the room, leaving Naeun in distress.

How can she be away from work for an entire week and that too when such an important meeting is planned. 

“Dad!” she shouted, getting out of her bed, to walk out in the hall behind him.

“Naeun, get this break for your good!” Mr Son had a serious voice this time, making Naeun stop on her feet, standing at her spot silently, staring at him in surprise, “It’s been a year and half, you are just working yourself too hard now” 

“You’re not even part of the project, why are you attending the meeting?” he was upset, and Naeun could guess why. She was sorry for stressing her parents with her overindulging workaholic lifestyle these days.

She tried to speak but was interrupted again, “Just a few days away from work is not going to do any harm to anyone” “You’ll be fine!”

“And however, your grandma will be needing help moving in, can’t you just help her this time?” 

Naeun was embarrassed to speak back, but part of her head was still struggling with accepting this break time.

“He is right” Naeun heard her mother, as she came out from another bedroom, walking to her, “Just take some time off when you have the chance like this”

“We understand, you’re passionate for your work and you want to learn more & more everyday” she reached for Naeun’s shoulder, “We’re just helping you to take rest too” she blinked smiling, making Naeun chuckle at her mother’s ironic words making sense somehow.

“Okay” “I’ll talk at the office tomorrow” she passed a stern look to her father who was watching her, “I can do this for grandma!” she clarified, making him smile finally.

Her parents gave each other a satisfied smile, making Naeun walk back to her room then.

“I can work on some research material, during this trip anyway” Naeun whispered, as she walked to her bed, opening the laptop again, to continue her work.

—----------------

“Grandma, why did you want to move here?” “Isn’t the house in Seoul more comfortable?” “You have your friends there as well” Naeun asked her grandmother, as she drove their car inside the gate of the house.

“Your grandfather had promised me that we’ll move here when our kids will be married & settled with their families, but due to his illness, it got extended for a really long time now”

“But I wanted to fulfill his promise in the time I have hereafter, that’s why?” hearing Grandma’s explanation, Naeun had a soft smile on her face, knowing how much her grandparents loved each other, “That’s cute!” 

She parked the car in the small front yard, as they both got off the car, observing the whole area around.

“This is nice!!” Naeun stretched her arms above her head, turning around to stare at the sea that was visible at a distance from the spot.

Her grandma was watching her granddaughter smiling face, contented, “That’s a relief”

“Let’s go inside”

They walked inside the house, had a brief examination, as till then the mover’s truck had arrived as well, which soon got them busy moving all the stuff inside the house for an hour or two then, and it was evening already till all the work was done..

The movers left, and there was only Naeun and her grandma now, arranging the little stuff here and there in the house.

“Grandma, you are here!” They heard another male voice at the door. 

A man nearly her age was there, wearing a sleeveless white t-shirt on blue baggy jeans, with his headphones tangling on his neck, and a big black backpack on his back.

Naeun saw him walk inside the house, straight to her grandma, not even noticing her.

She was observing him and then saw her grandma with an overjoyed smile, as he hugged her grandma making her hug him back immediately, “Who is this person?” she had to ask now seeing her grandma be so warm to someone she had never heard of.

“Taemin!” her grandma answered, looking at the boy with the widest smile Naeun had seen on her face in a while, “He owns a music cafe across the street.” Her grandma was very enthusiastic about this person, making Naeun more suspicious about him.

“He helped us find this house, and also negotiated with the owner for a reasonable price” grandma had her smile constant, making Taemin smirk now watching her.

“I see!” Naeun was still giving him a keen eye, who was chatting too joyously with her grandma like he was the grandson and not her. 

She was a bit jealous. 

Not that he had a chance, but she was….

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Naeun walked close to them, hugging her grandma’s side, pulling her closer to her side, as she saw Taemin’s eyes shifting on her, making her turn to her grandmother, feeling awkward with that uninvited eye-contact suddenly.

“Because you never asked me?” Grandma answered back, watching flustered Naeun go speechless in response. 

Naeun was so busy with her work, she had not really talked with her grandmother much since she had joined her work. 

It would be months now that she was spending so much time with her grandmother, other than asking her about her health & well-being once in a while through their brief phone-calls, there was much to know now about her grandmother’s recent life.

“Well, I did now!” Naeun tried to come up with a reasonable answer, but was a bit embarrassed too, feeling exposed in front of a stranger.

Grandma was smiling silently, when meanwhile Taemin had reached for his bag to pull out a bunch of LPs from inside.

“Here!” He handed the LPs to grandma, making her laugh loudly, “You found them?” Grandma was surprised, making Naeun more curious now, being the silent observer on her side.

Taemin did a quick nod, as his eyes crumbled at corners when he giggled, blushing now at the sight of Grandma‘s happy face.

“They’re so old” “How did you get them?” Grandma was stunned, examining the five LPs in her hand, 

“I did some work of searching around” “But it wasn’t that hard” he clicked his tongue, smirking proudly, making Grandma nod back with a grateful smile again, “Thank you so much dear” Taemin stepped up opening his arms for a hug, as Grandma went ahead to hug him, making Naeun move back in reflex.

She kept watching her Grandma hug this boy, pat his back, adoring him so heartily. 

She was fuming with this strange feeling of abandonment.

Grandma turned back to Naeun, taking back her attention, “You guys have your introduction time” 

“I’ll make us something for dinner in no time” she rushed in the direction of the kitchen, leaving Taemin & Naeun to themselves as they both watched each other with equally awkward gazes.

“Wait, I’ll help you” Naeun turned in direction of the kitchen again, she didn’t want to stay alone with him, so she needed an excuse now, even when kitchen was not her place to help.

“It’s okay” “I’ll finish early without your help” she heard her Grandma laugh, as the utensils were clinking already, Naeun decided to give up and turned around to come across Taemin’s speculating eyes on her, making her take a seat on the sofa, resuming the awkwardness hence forward.

He followed to take the chair across from her, “Taemin!” he had his hand extended in front of her, as she looked up taking his hand, “Naeun!” she was careful of purposely not smiling back, as he smiled watching her straight face.

“So she’s the pretty granddaughter Grandma talks about all the time?” he enquired, with a calculated raised voice, letting it reach the kitchen, which made Grandma peep out from the counter, “Yeah, she is the one” 

“But she is not at all easy, just so you know” Grandma raised an eye at Naeun, who was confused, wondering what was this conversation about now.

“But, Grandma!” “She is not that pretty,” Taemin replied, making Naeun snap back at him, with furious eyes now, only for him to more with his shameless, smiling face now.

What was he so confident about? Why is Grandma adoring this boy so much anyway? Naeun was sure they weren't even going to be friends.

“Ehhh!” “You’re just playing hard now” they heard Grandma’s voice from the kitchen again.

“I don’t think I need to play hard” he snorted, laughing under his breath, but it was clearly audible for Naeun with her sharp ears, as she passed out a chuckle, “What are you trying to do here?” “We don’t even know each other?” her stiff voice was drawing the line for him, but Taemin wasn’t interested in reading her warnings or even responding to her, as he stood up to walk away, making her more furious.

“She looks scarier than pretty!” He added, taking a seat at the dining table, so that he could chat with Grandma from a closer distance.

Grandma passed him a soft gaze with a calm smile, “Don’t worry, she’s adorable sometimes” 

Naeun raised up, upset that her Grandma was teasing her by teaming up with a person she didn't liked at all.

She marched towards her bedroom, “Grandma, I’ll get changed.” 

“Unless for her temper” Grandma added in soft whisper after noticing Naeun’s angry face, making Taemin smile, “It’ll be fun then”

Three of them had dinner together, and Naeun decided to do the dishes, as she couldn’t help in cooking, and as Grandma was busy on call with Naeun’s father, Taemin decided to arrange the LPs he had brought on the bookshelf in the living room in the meanwhile.

“What do you want from my grandma?” he heard Naeun’s cold voice behind him.

“Huh?” he was wondering what her question meant, “Nothing!?” 

“Then why are you so sweet to her?” “For no reason?” she asked, scanning him suspiciously, as he ended up laughing seeing the seriousness in her eyes.

“Hmm!” he nodded, continuing to laugh, and Naeun was just flustered now, not knowing what was wrong with this person, “Do you need a reason to be good to someone?” he asked back, making her think for a moment before replying.

“Well, people don’t help each other for nothing?” She had seen only give and take in her life as a student as well as an employee in the corporate world till now, it was hard to believe that he was just nice and not acting nice for some personal motive.

“Grandma is cute and very loving towards me, and that’s the only reason I’m helping her” he ensured again, watching Naeun’s still unconvinced eyes staring at him, “What do you think I may want?” he chuckled, now curious what she was thinking behind that suspecting gaze.

“I don’t know” she let out a frustrated sigh, confused with her thoughts about him now.

“Anyway, I’ll make sure to know till I’m here” “So keep your distance!!” she warned, before moving away, walking back into her room again.

Taemin couldn’t help but smile at her words. 

“What was she saying to you?” he heard Grandma, as she approached him from a distance, watching Naeun enter into her bedroom,

Taemin shook his head, trying to stop giggling, “I think she is interested in me” he joked, giving a teaseful eye to Grandma making her laugh again, “Be careful with your jokes with her” she patted his shoulder, making him nod obediently.

“I’ll leave now” he rushed to the sofa, taking his bag from there to leave, as Grandma agreed, making him walk to the door.

“We’ll drop by the cafe tomorrow” Grandma said before he could leave, making him nod, as he waved her goodbye, before moving out of the house.

—---------------

“Have fun with your time then” Grandma stood up taking her bag from the coffee table, “I’m going to meet my friends” 

“Friends?” Naeun had her big eyes on her grandmother, watching her smile, “You have friends here?” 

“Ask him to give you company?” Grandma whispered, indicating her gaze on Taemin, who was busy arranging the LPs on the shelf across their table.

“He’s a nice guy to be friends with” Naeun was staring at her Grandma smiling at her with a cute face, “Why would I be friends with someone I just met?” “I’m good” her expression flattened, as she looked down taking a bite of the pastry in front of them.

With the following silence, she looked up again to find out her grandma was already gone, as she rested back, sighing, when her eyes traveled in the direction of Taemin.

He was quite focused on sorting the LPs and arranging them very particularly, so there was no chance of him listening to this conversation, he was occupied, humming the tune of the song running on the player, moving from one shelf to another.

Naeun didn’t know what to do now, she was still feeling a bit overwhelmed about doing something out of the blue. 

Now that she was left alone, her thoughts were going all over the place, stressing her again over skipping days from work. 

She couldn’t think of something that could relax her or something she wanted to do here to calm down.

Her eyes were following Taemin’s relaxed movements as all these thoughts were going in and out of her head now.

He was calmly moving around in slow pace, continuing to hum the tune, as his eyes blinked naturally once in a while. 

The tranquility in that space, with just the two of them, undisturbed, was dissolving the chaos in her head steadily, she could hear his humming clearer now, as her attention deepened subconsciously.

She was meditating on his moving figure for quite an amount of time, for him to finally notice, but she was so absorbed in the calm, that him walking close to her didn’t affect a flinch of her focus.

She kept watching him absentmindedly till he came to stand in front of her.

“Are you showing your interest in me or you just like scaring people like this?” he folded his hands on his chest, narrowing eyes on her, as her conscience finally returned.

A high tone scoff left her lips, as she blinked to look away, “I must be going crazy” embarrassment was very obvious on her face, with her cheeks changing color slowly, as Taemin ended up smiling watching her face turn adorable in no time.

“This cafe-” she stood up banging her hand on the table, then to pull her shoulder bag from the chair, to hang it on her shoulder, as she turned back to look at him letting their eyes match, “is-” she lost what she was supposed to say. 

His eyes were smiling, and she was not feeling herself now.

“Cafe?” he frowned cutely, confused what she was talking about, “What about it?”

She felt her heartbeat dropping by the way he was searching her eyes with that innocence on his face.

She was not expecting herself to be reacting this way in such a situation.

“It’s strange” she had an unpleasant expression, as she walked past him to come and stand out of the cafe.

She looked back inside and Taemin was watching her more strangely now, as she sighed again, running her hand into her hair, looking away, staring at the sea view in front of her instead to avoid his attention.

“What is happening to me?” she whispered to herself, grabbing the hair in her fist tightly in anger, “Why am I so out of my mind?” “This is so embarrassing” she was just babbling to herself in anger now.

She looked back inside and he was nowhere to be found inside, as she dropped her body to sit down, holding her bag between her knees and chest.

“Why is he so good looking?” “What is wrong with him?” she kept murmuring under breath softly, watching the road in front of her.

“Are you okay?” she heard his voice, as she saw his feet approaching from the side, making her stand up to find his worried face.

“You need help?” he asked, moving forward, as she extended her arm in reflex moving back gesturing him to stop at his place, “Not from you”

“Why?” he had stopped on his feet, more concerned by her reaction now, “What’s the problem?” “Are you not feeling well?” 

“I’m fine” she raised her other hand, overwhelmed just by his presence again, as her feets moved back in reverse subconsciously.

“Let me atleast take you home then?” he suggested, noticing her disturbed face.

He had no idea what had happened to her but she looked stressed. Grandma not being around he wanted to make sure she would reach home safely.

“I’m good” she turned around slowly, to walk forward as he stood there watching her walk a distance, and saw her walking back to him again......

“I think I forgot the way back home” she murmured, standing in front of him again, as he couldn't help himself from smiling, adoring her flustered face, avoiding his eyes.

She was walking by his side without looking at him, quiet and more awkward than before.

“Do good-looking people bother you?” he decided to break the ice, also in an attempt to confirm something he was thinking he had heard accidentally.

“Who said you’re good-looking?” she had her straight tone back, trying to ignore him, she was trying to get adapted to his provoking nature by now.

“So you were bothered by me?”, but his question stirred the air again. Why wasn't she thinking anymore?

The silence followed back, making him confirm his assumptions, as he continued smiling, taking a few glances at her.

“Do you want to go see the sunset at the lighthouse?” he suggested, making her snap back at him, as they both stopped walking.

“I’ll not talk much to bother you?” he pressed his lips together to hide the smile, making her start walking ahead again without any reaction, 

“It’s close!” “You can think of it as a long walk to your house?” he kept suggesting as she kept walking with no answer in return, making him take quick steps to catch her pace, as they walked ahead for a while till she turned to him after few more steps together, “Lead the way then”

“Okay” he jumped ahead, struggling hard to keep back the smile, as a soft cough left his lips in the attempt.

He was walking ahead but just a step away keeping his pace in check with her, as she was watching his back, when she noticed his ears turned red, when the evening breeze was quite cooler.

“Are you satisfied with running this small cafe in the countryside?” she asked, as he was actually not talking to her much, as promised.

He turned around to look at her, making her stop again nervously, “So you’re really interested in me?” he had the teasing smile again.

She smiled this time, looking away, making him smile too, “I do write some songs that sell well” “So yes, I’m satisfied here running a small cafe” he added, and Naeun’s smile disappeared, as she walked closer to him, “You’re a songwriter?” he blinked, with a snobbish smile on his face now watching her shocked face peacefully, “I don’t look like one right?” 

She was stunned by his confession, “Does grandma also know this?”

“No!” he shook his head in denial, “It’s not something I tell about myself naturally”

“Why?” she was loud and clearly surprised, “I mean it’s not something you should keep secret as well” 

“Yeah?” he was more fascinated by her changed attitude to mind her raised enthusiasm now, “But it was never a secret as such” “Nobody has asked me anything like this before” he giggled softly, making her blink in realization.

“Ah! I see,” she muttered softly to herself, starting to walk again, as he quickly followed, leading their way to the lighthouse ahead.

Silence for a minute and one more question, one more unplanned honest answer, followed by the embarrassing silence again. 

Taemin and Naeun ended up sharing bits of information on that journey, that day, which was good enough to not call each other strangers anymore.

—---------------

He only had a little hunch, but he wanted to check there once.

He went up the steps, and yes, she was there.

Sitting at the table near the railing of the balcony of the cafe, sipping her coffee, watching the sun go down across the horizon.

She was lost to the level that his footsteps couldn’t disturb her.

As he went ahead, taking the seat in front of her, making her jump back in her chair, surprised, only to relax the next moment, seeing the familiar face.

“I should’ve checked this place first” he breathed, watching the sky himself, “Hah!” “I’m tired!” an exhausted sigh left his lips, as he stretched his legs, to lean back in his chair, shifting his gaze on her again, who was staring at him with a blank face.

“You were searching for me?” she raised her eyes in surprise, “Why?” 

She had to wait for her answer, as he kept watching her silently without speaking another word ahead.

She pouted, raising her brows again to emphasize her curiosity, as he took a deep breath, moving forward to fold his hands on the table, “Grandma told me you are leaving early tomorrow” he explained, as she went ahead mimicking him and pressed her folded hands on the table, to match his steady gaze on her, “Yeah, so?” 

He was smacking his lips, clearly nervous inside-out, struggling to speak further, as her eyes narrowed in suspicion, “Are you okay?” 

“No!” He had a serious face with the deep voice, something was up.

“Hmm?” “What happened?” she was taken aback by his answer & weirdly the melancholic gaze he had now, as he stood up then, walking to stand across the railing, leaning on it.

Naeun sat there on her seat, waiting for him to clarify more.

He turned around resting his hips on the metal behind, “You have nothing to tell me before going back?” Naeun was struck by his question.

Before going back??

Do I have anything to tell him?

Maybe she knew what it was.

She stood up to walk in front of him, as he watched her patiently, “Is there something you want to hear from me?” she was trying to read his face, to confirm her assumptions.

“Maybe?” he nodded, still a bit hesitant but anticipating, and she couldn’t bring herself to reply to his demanding eyes on her, as he could read her expression when she was eating her words in dilemma, “Can’t you just say it?” he added, walking forward toward her, as she stepped back in reflex before he could come any closer, “Isn’t it better kept unsaid?” 

He stood there at a distance, watching her lips quiver before she could speak again, “I want us to stay friends”

“Are you sure?” he stepped up, seeing her froze by his question, “I’m sorry” “I don’t think I can do that with you” he couldn't leave their fate to her hesitation, when she was clearly lying on his face.

“I was searching you everywhere in the town, not to tell you that I want us to be friends forever” his upset tone was making her feel bad for suggesting that now.

“You know why I’m saying so” she didn’t had much confidence in fighting his anger right now, “Fine” “Let’s not even be friends then” she concluded, but couldn’t move her feet to walk away, when he kept searching her eyes for more,  

“I’m going to kiss you!” he announced, and her heart reacted faster than her, hardly giving her time to calm it down, “Hit me, Run away, Avoid if you can” his sharp eyes kept staring into hers, and she didn’t even realize how much time went by with her thoughts freezed, his lips were already on her, making her close her eyes, as she felt his soft ones engulfing hers generously, and she had no command whatsoever on her own body, as her lips opened under his directions, kissing him naturally, as her hands reached to hold onto his waist weakly holding him as she kissed him back.

He pressed her closer, holding the small of her back in one hand, while reaching her neck with another to kiss deeper, as she gave up on any left resistance thereafter.

“I’m crazy” she whispered, against his lips, as they stopped catching their breath, “What are we going to do now?” she added, making him smile, as he pulled back, watching her, but she kept her eyes closed, taking few more deep breaths, “This is not good” she murmured again, making him chuckle, before taking her lips again to stop her from talking further, as she opened her eyes in surprise, only to close them again when he had palmed the back of her head, pulling her face close enough to allow him convincing her with his skills this time, making her fist close tightly on his fabric, all she could do was keep craving for more.....

A/N:

It's been really long!! Sorry for this long delay, personal life and back to back shinee comebacks occupied most of my time, so I couldn't really bring myself to sit & write much for a while but here I am, back again.

Taemin has released his new mini album 'Guilty', so to celebrate that, I have a brand new song in mind for next story!! So please stay tuned for that one as well !! And thank you so much for waiting patiently for such a long time!! Hope you enjoy this story!! Stay healthy & happy everyone!!