“Why are you crying?” I asked Rae Ah. Just a while ago at the yoga studio, she said she had plans. I was rather taken aback that she rejected me, she rejected Cho Kyuhyun. This was a first.

I mean an idol or anyone famous inviting you to dinner and you said no? I was thinking of coming to visit my mother but I bumped into Rae Ah at the corner instead. Her plans meant coming to the blood donation center?

But she seemed like she was on the way home already? Hmmmm.

She looked up at me with her watery eyes; I looked back at her, trying to sense what was going wrong.

Suddenly she stood forward and wrapped her arms around me with her head tugged on my chest and sobbed sadly.

I didn’t even have the time to react; somehow my hands had found their way to Rae Ah’s back and I patted her gently.

“Shssh. Even though I’ve no idea what’s going on. Cry it all out. Everything will be fine.” I cooed as her cries became louder.

I’ve only met her less than five times but I was already attracted to her. She has that mysterious aura behind that cheerful and bright smile. Rae Ah gives off a feeling that makes you want to know more about her. It was heart-warming.

She was also a rather difficult person to figure out. She always does something unexpected, something I was not prepared for. Her reactions are always the opposite of what I imagined. What was she thinking? The frustration in me increased as she cried on my chest while I continued to soothe her back.

She pulled away sharply as she continued to cry. “Sorry.” She choked out.

Something in me scrunched together as I saw her crying face. It was somehow painful and worrying for me to watch. My hand rose to her cheek as I wiped her tears away with my thumb.

“Don’t worry about it. Are you feeling better?” I comforted her.

She nodded her head, her hair falling forward to cover her face as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

I pushed her hair behind her ears as I placed my face in front of hers. “Everything will be fine. You can tell me if you want.” I said, encouraging her to tell me what made her sad.

She blinked. Twice. Before breathing in deeply to compose herself.

“Come, I’ll treat to you dinner.” I said, tugging on her hand as I dragged her along, back to the main street. My offer from the yoga studio still was valid; in my opinion.

She squeezed my hand suddenly as I turned around to look at her.

“Coffee.” Rae Ah muttered.

“I beg your pardon?” I said, unable to comprehend what she meant.

“I rather you treat me to coffee instead.” She said, with her head down again.

You see what I mean when I said she was someone who I couldn’t figure out? Who would say something like that? It’s dinnertime anyway, why did she want coffee instead? Hmmm. I raised my eyebrows as I heard her words.

“Alright then. Coffee.” I assured her.

She kept her hand secured in mine as we walked along the streets in twilight; the ending of the day and the beginning of the night.

The sun was setting as I made a left turn and went into a small coffeehouse in the basement of a shop-house.  I liked coming here, it was small and cozy and the drinks were good.

I went straight to my usual spot, away from the window, towards the corner of the small shop and settled down.

Rae Ah sat opposite me on the inside as she placed her duffel bag next to her.

“This shop makes the best lattes. I’ll get you one?” I said as I stood up.

Rae Ah looked up at me and just nodded her head.

I smiled behind the mask and went to the counter. I love this coffeehouse’s signature Himalayan Tea Latte with sprinkles of cinnamon. It was heavenly. I ordered one and waited on the other side of the counter.

The usual barista recognized me and nodded over to Rae Ah with a mischievous look on his face. I shook my head with a twinkle in my eyes.

When I got back to the table with the mug of latte, Rae Ah had already put on a cardigan over her yoga attire as she checked her phone.

I placed the mug in front of her and sat down. She looked away from her phone to the drink and then back to me, whispering a soft “Thanks.”

“You’re cold. Try it, you’ll feel better.” I said as I pushed the mug closer to her.

She placed her phone down on the table before cupping her palms on the sides of the mug. “Ahhh. It smells good.” She said.

“Taste it. It’s delicious.”I encouraged her.

She brought the mug up to her lips as she took a sip before placing the mug back down.

“It’s really good. What’s this again?” She asked her usual cheerful self coming back.

“A secret. It will be our secret drink.” I said.

Then she noticed, “You didn’t get one for yourself?” she asked.

I couldn’t get one for myself. If I did, I had to take away my mask to drink it. I couldn’t risk this chance.

“Nahh, I-I actually had one just now before bumping into you.” I lied smoothly.

“You’re always in a cap and a mask. Why?” She asked.

I was caught off-guard at her question. What was I going to tell her? That I’m actually Cho Kyuhyun in disguise?

“I hate exposing my skin.” I said uncomfortably.

“No plans tonight?” I said, shifting the topic away.

“Actually someone asked me out for dinner but I rejected the person.” She said before taking another sip.

That someone was me. My other self, that is.

“You were crying because of that?” I probed directly.

She shook her head immediately. “No no. Not because of that. I wasn’t that interested anyways.” She shrugged.

“You won’t interested?!” I said shockingly before I realized that it was a mistake.

“Erm, I mean, why would you be not interested? The person wasn’t someone nice?” I said in a calmer tone.

Rae Ah laughed. Her eyes tilted to a half-moon shaped as her lips curled, she was gorgeous.

“I don’t exactly know the person either. I just met him! But he was someone famous, I guess?” She took another sip.

“Hang on a minute. Let me get this straight. A celebrity asked you out for dinner and you rejected him?” I was astonished by my own acting skills.

“Yeah.” She said it so casually.

“Why?” I asked back. I was curious.  I mean, who won’t be?

“Even if I was interested, I don’t think it will be a good idea.” She explained.

She seemed to be searching for words to say but to summarize it all, she just said those words which seemed enough for her but not for me.

“Why?” I asked again.

“Why not?” She replied as she placed her mug back down on the table.

She didn’t want to touch on the topic anymore. She was trying to close the subject but I kept on wanting to open her drawer of secrets.

“So who was the unlucky celebrity?” I questioned.

“I doubt you know him. I don’t think he’s that good as they say he is. I think your singing is better. Way better.” She said with a small smile forming off her lips.

I lifted my eyebrows. She has no clue, no clue at all that she was comparing only one person. The irony. And once again, her answers were all so…unexpected.

I shrugged this time, “Tell me, maybe I know him!” I .

“Cho Kyuhyun.” She said honestly as she stirred the latte with the ceramic spoon.

“Oh! The ballad singer?” I said in a tone almost too fake.

If my manager was here, he would have laughed at the entire façade. I was never into acting but I think now I can win an award.

“Oh you know who he is.” She frowned.

Rae Ah’s personality was far more interesting than her appearance and it made me more attracted to her, to want to see her more often.

“His songs are not that bad.” I complimented myself with a smug smile behind the mask.

She didn’t say anything. She just drank the latte; another subtle hint to me that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“Don’t you want to go for dinner? It’s dinnertime now.” I said, changing the topic again.

She looked up at me with a blank look on her face. “Oh. Am I preventing you from getting your dinner? I’m sorry. I’m holding you up.” She replied.

This girl is really fascinating.

“Don’t you want to go for dinner as well? We can have dinner together since you have no plans.” I said, trying once again, emphasizing the fact that she had no more plans for the evening.

She was hesitant.

“I got to go.” She gathered her things and stood up.

I stood up as well. “Did I say something wrong?” I asked, upset that she was leaving.

Choi Rae Ah’s POV

I was getting too comfortable. This wasn’t supposed to be happening.

Hyun stood up the same time I got up, “Did I say something wrong?” He asked, his brows furrowing.

Why is that feeling coming back? I stared at Hyun as he stared back at me. Those hazelnut brown eyes that seemed to be me in.

No, Rae Ah, no.

And I quickly left the small coffeehouse. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey readers *waves*

Here's an update! Enjoyyyyyyyyyy! I have a feeling that this may be a long fic! Yay! Hahaha. ^^

Commmmment! :) 

Xoxo.