[Present day]

Humming a tune that was playing earlier on the radio, the short-haired girl spread some hair wax on her palms. With an eye on the clock, she was expecting a visitor soon. L wasn’t where she had actively wanted to go last night after escaping from Kim Ramyeon yet somehow her feet had brought her there once again. She had chided herself for being so weak – was this situation so tough that she could not make it through alone? At the same time, she was equally intrigued by the pretty boy. After he had first asked her out, he had actually followed through with simple text messages greeting her “morning” when she woke and “how was your day” in the evening. Here was a total dreamboat making all the right moves – if there wasn’t someone already in her heart, it would be so easy to fall in love with Myungsoo. He was the stuff Prince Charming was made of in romance novels.

Probably this was the reason why she took the effort to pay attention to how she looked on their dates. She had not felt a need yet to pull out a dress or skirt but it wasn’t like she rolled out in sweats to meet Myungsoo. Smoothing the wax onto her hair, there was a certain anxiety that had settled in the pit of her stomach. Amber Liu could be retentive – if something happened out of the ordinary, it disturbed the girl greatly – part of her Get Back To Normal plan ironically involved changing her schedule and that included her giving the Saturday morning coffee run a go. A different route was taken that morning, she had sprinted past L that morning and as a result, didn’t bring Donghae his piccolo latte. Yet hours later, her insides still felt unsettled.

Was it too early to get a drink, she thought. Myungsoo had great timing though, and the doorbell rang just as she was pondering whether to pop a beer to calm her nerves.

“Hello,” The door swung open. “Welcome to my humble home.”

Her female colleagues would have a field day right now. The man who stood right outside was a total dreamboat. When they went to the park, he was in his usual cafe uniform of jeans and T-shirt, something she had always seen him in. Tonight, he was dressed all in black, a smart pair of casual pants and a snug turtleneck that showed off the work he had done at the gym.

“God, you are hot.” The words tumbled out of without any censoring. “Oops, you weren’t supposed to hear that.” Turning away to hide her reddening cheeks, Amber locked the door, cursing herself – of course Myungsoo wasn’t oblivious of his good looks, he had an unofficial fan club, for god’s sake.

The visitor walked further into the studio apartment. “Well, I’ve heard that before but thank you for the affirmation.” Myungsoo grinned. “It’s always nice to hear a compliment from someone you like.” That was the other thing about the man – he never failed to remind Amber he was a suitor. He held out a box. “This is for you.”   

“You shouldn’t have.” The host chided but still peeked inside to see what it contained.

“I was brought up never to show up empty handed the first time I visit someone’s home.” Bending to examine the row of photos displayed on a windowsill, Myungsoo explained.

This was the first time her tiny place had welcomed a guest that wasn’t Donghae nor Hyukjae – living on her own, she had to be careful with who she invited. The living room area doubled up as where she ate and her bedroom. Now she wondered whether she should have taken the effort to tidy up when she spotted her pile of dirty clothes dumped unceremoniously at the foot of her bed.

Amber hoped her guests would not notice the mess. “You are such a good kid.”

Holding up a picture, he commented, “Amber, you look just like your mother.”

“We are worlds apart.” It bugged Amber whenever she was compared to Nara, for some reason.

“No, if you look carefully, you have the same face shape and eyes.” Her guest insisted.

Going over to see what Myungsoo was referring to, Amber scrowled. “You got to be kidding me.”

Slinging an arm around the girl’s shoulders easily, he pointed to their faces, “See, both of you have the same sharp chin, high cheekbones and lovely eyes.” Myungsoo noted gleefully that the girl didn’t move away from his touch. Gesturing to another photo, he asked, “That’s Donghae right? And the other?”

 “That’s Hyuk. Hyukjae. They are my best friends. He’s on his honeymoon now.” She didn’t want to talk about Donghae. Gently tugging at the frame in his hands, she replaced it back in its original place. “Shall I give you a tour of my humble abode?”

He nodded and she spun around to the centre of the area. “There’s the kitchen, bathroom and I do everything else right here.” Moving her hands all around like a traffic controller and Myungsoo laughed out loud at the hilarious scene she made. “OK, tour over.”

“How long have you been living here?” Myungsoo paced around, attempting to memorise the layout of the area. This cosy nook was exactly how he had imagined Amber’s home to be.

She picked up a pair of boots. “Since I started work.”

“How’s rent?” Raised in a well-to-do family, Myungsoo was unfamiliar with having to fend for himself. Although he did manage to start his café without monetary help from his father, there were still many things areas in life that he was dependent on his family – he had never lived alone and reckoned he would be useless at it.

“The landlord is trying to raise the rental. Hongdae is getting real expensive! It’s all you hipster cafes fault. Everyone wants to live here now.” She zipped the side of her right boot. “So where to for dinner?”

He took her hand to pull her up. Although Myungsoo was a little hesitant to be somewhat touchy with her, it seemed like such a natural thing for him to do and Amber wasn’t one to shy away in the male touch. “Since you told me about your favourite food, I’ve had a craving for Amber’s Special. Let’s have dinner at Kim’s Ramyeon.”

What was it with Murphy’s Law? The more she wanted to avoid going to the restaurant, there seemed to be more reason to go there. However, she couldn’t bear to burst Myungsoo’s bubble – the look on his face told her that he had great expectations for this plan. Even though she was hurting inside, she swiftly nodded. “Let’s go.”

The last time Amber brought a boy to the restaurant was when Henry made his grand appearance. Only Shindong could remember those times when the girl was an university student, as the rest of the staff watched Amber and Myungsoo while going about their chores. The waitresses were in a tizzy when Myungsoo entered Kim Ramyeon and speaking in loud whispers. She had thought that she would feel totally awkward just as she had the night before when she saw Jessica in her usual seat at the restaurant, but on hindsight, most attention was taken off her, thanks to Myungsoo’s ability to command the limelight.

“Krystal, don’t you have tables to clear!” Shindong called out, annoyed at the drop in productivity this stranger had on the restaurant. Since Donghae remained silent, working speedily and blocking out what was happening – he had smiled when Amber strolled in but reverted to a blank expression when he saw her companion - Shindong decided that he had to step up to the plate to interrogate this dude who was with their Amber. “Myungsoo, is it?”

“Yes, how do you do?” The latter greeted the assistant chef with a smile and a bow, and the waitresses broke out in another bout of twittering.

“Shindong’s usually friendlier.” Shrugging, Amber picked out chopsticks from the cutlery holder and passed them to her companion. “Be nice to my friend, oppa.” She warned him, waving the pointy ends of her chopsticks at him.

Placing two steaming bowls of noodles before the duo, Donghae finally met properly Myungsoo face to face. “Nice to meet you, I’m Donghae.”

Shooting up, the younger man eagerly reached forward to take the chef’s hand in his. “I know! How do you do? I’m Myungsoo.” He shook the latter’s hand vigorously.

Amber had to laugh at her date’s actions - he really was all out to impress. “Hey Hae.” She smiled at her friend, Myungsoo’s antics allowed her to forget for a moment she was staying away from him. “And you, Myungsoo, sit down and eat your food!”

Slurping his noodles obediently, Myungsoo said, “No wonder this Amber’s Special is Amber’s favourite dish! You make it very well, Donghae hyung.”

The customer’s enthusiastic feedback took Donghae by surprise. Myungsoo popped a fishcake into his mouth and chewed, smacking his lips appreciatively. Shindong couldn’t keep his tough stance up any longer – he was a softie inside – and chuckled. “It looks like someone’s trying hard to score some brownie points with you.” He said, nudging his boss.

Not embarrassed at all by the commotion, Myungsoo gazed up at the chefs and nodded. “Donghae is Amber’s best friend. Of course, I have to get him on my side, if not, winning Amber’s heart would be impossible!”

You could have heard a pin drop in the restaurant after Myungsoo’s declaration. Amber continued to eat her noodles as though nothing had happened – a part of her wanted to hug Myungsoo right then for being so darn adorable, and the other part of her wanted to die and disappear into the ground. And of course Shindong had to add his two cents worth. “See Am, all you had to do was dress girlier and look what you hooked up with!”

Finishing her noodles as quickly as she could and thankful that being a Saturday night, the staff had no choice but to cater to the dinner crowd and leave them alone in the end. She didn’t speak anymore to Donghae and wondered whether it was her imagination that Donghae too was not interacting with her on purpose. Amber herself was curious whether Shindong had given Jessica the same treatment the night before and were Donghae and the ballerina dating for real? Those questions had to be asked another time – she just wasn’t sure when.

And hand in hand, Myungsoo walked Amber home after dinner. On his part, her namesake noodles had lived up to her praises and he was glad to have met one of the important people in Amber’s life. How did this happen? How did one of the most eligible bachelors that she knew end up hot on her heels? It was as though Cinderella’s story was translating in her life. Amber knew she couldn’t take this seemingly good fortune for granted - she felt like she owed it to Myungsoo to be honest. For all the kindness and affection he had shown her. “Myungsoo?”

“Hmm?”

“I like you, as a friend.”

The expression on his face fell and he pondered whether to let go of her hand – he had thought things were going so well. “But you are so fabulous, it’s going to be so easy to fall in love with you.” Taking a close look at her under the streetlight, he waited patiently for her to continue. Amber swallowed, this wasn’t going to be easy to say. “But I have to admit, I have someone else in my heart.”

So that was what it was. Although disheartened, he attempted to look on the bright side. “I see. But the fact that you are here with me now, instead of him, must mean something right?” Whoever this person was, obviously he didn’t care enough about her to have dinner with her on Saturday night and be the one she went to when she was upset at work. “It’s OK Amber. Life isn’t perfect but as long as you will have me, I’m willing to stay by your side. Even if right now, you can’t imagine yourself being in love with me.”

This moving speech blew Amber away - she stared at him, amazed at his optimism. Maybe this time round, she could learn how to love someone else.

_________

fatty_acidMayor: Hello! Yes, things are getting complicated. Donghae has always been passive with girls that was why Jessica probably got a wrong signal too! Thanks for reading. 

Taiyou: Thank you for your comment! Yes, the flashbacks serve to explain the close bond between Donghae and Amber and how she fell in love with her best friend.