In a small town near the ocean, the faint snores of a young girl could be heard in the small storage room of a café.

 

The girl, no older than nineteen years old, was lying on top of a large sack of flour; the small logo on her uniform clearly stated ‘Moonlit Café’.

 

Slowly, the sound of footsteps drew nearer and the door suddenly burst open as a young boy, around the girl’s age, entered the room. He wore the exact same uniform as her, except his was a bit more…dirty. “Kwon Seohye, wake up!” he whispered frantically.

 

The girl groaned and turned over, annoyed by the sudden noise.

 

“Wake up! The someone’s coming!” He paused as he waited for a response but the only sound that could be heard was the soft snoring of Seohye’s slumber. Rolling his eyes, the intruder looked around the room quickly, trying to figure out a way to wake her up and when he spotted a small pail by the corner of the room, an idea popped into his head. He ran up to the pail, grabbing it before he ran to the bathroom just outside the door. Filling it up with ice cold water, he speed-walked back to the storage room and ultimately dumped the entire pail upon the girl.

 

Seohye quickly shot up, shocked and unable to move by the sudden shower. As she regained her senses, she stood up and glared at the boy before slapping his arm a few times. “What was that for?!”

 

“Are you deaf?! I told you, someone’s coming!” he yelled. Quickly grabbing her wrist, he dragged her out of the room, closing the door in the process. Just as they took one step forward, one of their coworkers suddenly appeared around the corner and she looked at Seohye curiously, obviously puzzled as to why she was wet.

 

“What happened here?”

 

“Um,” the boy said, awkwardly letting go of Seohye’s wrist.

 

“Kyungsoo pushed me into the fountain at the park during our break and decided to sneak me in through the back door so he wouldn’t get in trouble,” Seohye suddenly stated.

 

He looked at her incredulously. “No I─”

 

Before he could finish his statement, Seohye wrapped an arm around his waist and cut him off. “If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be getting back to work now.” She smiled politely before proceeding to drag Kyungsoo away, leaving the poor girl utterly confused.

 

As they disappeared from the manager’s view and entered into the café itself, Kyungsoo wiggled out of Seohye’s grasp. “What was that for?!”

 

She scowled at him before she spoke. “What else was I supposed to say? Did you want me to tell the truth? Did you want me to say that I was sleeping in the storage room and you just so happened to dump water on me so that I would wake up?”

 

“No…,” he started before he was cut off again.

 

“Exactly. It’s better that only you take the blame instead of both of us,” Seohye said with a small shrug as she wringed her hair of any extra water.

 

Kyungsoo clicked his tongue and he ruffled his own hair as he responded. “But it’s not fair that I take all the blame for your problem.” He glared at her.

 

“That’s what friends are for,” she said as she patted his shoulder. She glanced at the clock before continuing. “Oh, look! It’s the end of my shift. Bye,” she sang as she skipped to the locker room to change.

 

Kyungsoo sighed as he watched her go. “What am I going to do with her?” he muttered to himself as he made his way to the cash register. He too, glanced at the clock and groaned. There was still two more hours until his shift ended. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head and he grinned as he made his way to the manager’s office.

 

--

 

Slowly opening the back door, Seohye sighed as she stepped outside. Running her fingers through her now slightly damp hair, she was just about to close the door when she heard someone call her name from inside. As she turned around, she was surprised to see Kyungsoo jogging her way in casual clothing rather than his uniform.

 

“Yah, Kyungsoo! What are you doing? You’re supposed to be working,” Seohye hissed at him, looking around frantically in case someone caught them.

 

Kyungsoo chuckled as he walked past her. “Did you forget? My uncle runs that café. He got someone to cover for me.”

 

Closing the door behind him, Seohye shook her head and hit her head with her palm. “That doesn’t mean that you can do it all the time. You did it last week, too,” she said with a scowl.

 

He shrugged. “Nephew’s privileges. I might as well make the best of it.” He grinned as Seohye rolled her eyes.

 

“Whatever. I’m guessing that you’re going to walk me home today again?”

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in surprise as she spoke. “How did you know?”

 

“It’s hardly a surprise anymore. You’ve been doing it for the past two months, Kyungsoo. Even a cow would be able to understand your motives by now,” Seohye said with a slight shrug. Turning on her heels, she quickly started walking home without looking behind.

 

“Hey, wait for me!” Kyungsoo yelled as he jogged to catch up with her.

 

Seohye rolled her eyes and she walked a bit faster. “It’s not like you don’t know where live.”

 

“Hm,” Kyungsoo hummed thoughtfully. “What if I really don’t know?” he asked smiling cheekily. Finally, he caught up with her and sighed when she didn’t slow down. “Hey, slow down. You’ll just make yourself tired.”

 

“Kyungsoo, if you don’t know where I live by now then you’re more stupid than I thought,” Seohye said with a small shake of her head. “And I’ll slow down only when I want to.”

 

With an exasperated sigh, Kyungsoo grabbed her wrist causing Seohye to flinch slightly. “Just slow down, okay? I don’t want to be the one carrying you home. Your house is still pretty far away.”

 

Knowing that he wouldn’t give up, Seohye frowned as she spoke. “Okay fine then. I’ll slow down. Just please, stop nagging me about it.”

 

He smiled brightly at her reply and they continued walking down the sidewalk. The sky was starting to turn orange, signaling that the sun was setting. After a few moments, he brought his hand down from her wrist and held her hand, slowly lacing his own fingers with hers. Seohye quickly flicked her head in Kyungsoo’s direction and stared at him, flabbergasted by his actions. He too, turned his head toward her and their eyes met for a moment before Seohye looked away; she stared at the ground and her cheeks turned a light pink as he held her hand a bit tighter.

 

They continued to walk hand in hand until they finally reached the small house where Seohye lived. By then, the sky was a dark blue and stars had begun to form; Seohye slowly untangled her fingers from his as she placed her other hand on the small gate in front of the house. “Well, I guess this is goodbye,” she said as she opened the gate with a small smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

Kyungsoo quickly grabbed her arm before she could walk inside. “Wait,” he started quietly. “I have something to tell you.”

 

“What is it?” Seohye asked with a tilt of her head. She felt her heart beat faster as she anticipated his response.

 

“Meet me at the café tomorrow before school. I want you to meet someone,” he replied as he smiled a bit.

 

A look of disappointment flashed across Seohye’s face. This was definitely not was she was expecting to hear. She smiled dryly, attempting to hide the fact that she was upset. “Sure thing,” she managed to croak out.

 

Kyungsoo grinned to himself at her reply. He gave a small smile as he said, “Okay then! Then we’ll meet at the Moonlit Café at 7 tomorrow.” Seohye nodded, acknowledging his statement before closing the gate slowly. She waved to him as she walked into the house and the last thing she saw was

 

Once she was inside her bedroom, she collapsed onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. A ton of thoughts ran through her mind and she tried to convince herself that nothing bad would happen. After a few moments, she sat up and shook her head, clearing any negative thoughts from her mind. Perhaps it was time that she told him the truth.

 

---

 

The chirping of the birds signalized the beginning of the following morning. Seohye groggily opened her eyes and rubbed them before raising her arms above her head, stretching; she sat up shortly afterwards. There was no school that day, and Seohye was determined to be productive until she had to leave for work. Looking into her mirror, she prepared herself for the day, completely forgetting about meeting Kyungsoo. It wasn’t until her eyes ran over a picture of them together that she remembered they arrangement. Her eyes widened as she flicked her head around to look at the clock; it was almost eight o’clock. Her face contorted in shock as she quickly ran out of the house and down the streets in only a t-shirt and jeans. She willed her legs to move faster as she ran and by the time she arrived at the café, she was completely wiped out. Breathing deeply, she tried to collect herself before opening the door and entering the café. She quickly looked around, trying to spot Kyungsoo. But when she saw him, the sight before her broke her heart.

 

He was with another girl.

 

She was a rather prim lady; her hair was tied in an elegant ponytail and by the way she was laughing, it seemed as if Kyungsoo was telling a joke to her. An instant flame of jealousy began to build inside Seohye, though she tried her best to hide it. As Kyungsoo and the girl finally stopped laughing, he finally looked up and saw her. With a carefree wave, he yelled, “Oh, Seohye! You’re here! Come join us.”

 

Hesitantly, she walked toward them. “Who is this?” Seohye asked, trying to sound polite.

 

“This is the person I wanted you to meet,” Kyungsoo said with a sly grin. “Seohye, I would like you to meet Jangmi.” He gestured toward the girl, who waved in response. “She’s my girlfriend.”

 

Seohye blinked a few times, shocked by the news. Well, she wasn’t exactly shocked; it was more of a huge disappointment and a ton of anger and jealousy. Even so, Seohye smiled at the girl and opened to say some sort of greeting; she didn’t want to seem rude. But when she tried to speak, no words came from . She widened her eyes and tried to speak again, but nothing happened. Noticing her actions, Jangmi gave Seohye a sneer. “Kyungsoo,” she said cutely as she turned toward him. “Is there something wrong with her? She has open but she’s not speaking.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Kyungsoo replied, pinching Jangmi’s cheek lightly. “She’s a weird person. You’ll get used to her, though.”

 

He gave her lips a small peck and she giggled at his action. “Okay then,” Jangmi sang as she leaned her head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Seohye just watched the couple, her eyes b with tears. This was definitely not something that she had expected to happen. She continued to watch the couple and even though she wanted to move, even though she wanted to run away, she couldn’t; it was like she was rooted to the spot. But as she watched the two, a sudden thought passed through her mind.

 

She didn’t have a picture of Kyungsoo and herself pinned to her mirror.

 

---

 

Seohye shot up from her bed, her forehead b with sweat. Her breath came out in heavy pants as she quickly removed the covers and glanced at the clock, sighing in relief when she noticed it was only six o’clock. ‘It was a dream,’ she thought to herself. ‘Only a dream…’

 

---

 

A small groan escaped Seohye’s lips as she walked to the café; she hated living so far away from the café. Her usual sneakers were replaced with thick, brown boots in an attempt to look more ‘feminine’.

 

She should have just stuck with the sneakers.

 

Sitting on a nearby bench, Seohye sighed; her feet felt like they were about to fall off. All of a sudden, her vision turned black as a pair of hands covered her eyes. “Guess who,” a voice chuckled out.

 

“Hm,” Seohye hummed. “Is it Kyungsoo?”

 

The hands retreated. “How did you know?” a surprised voice called out. Kyungsoo went around the bench and sat next to her.

 

“It was kind of obvious,” Seohye replied with a small chuckle.

 

Kyungsoo shrugged his shoulders. “Oh well. What are you doing here anyway?”

 

“I could ask you the same question,” Seohye retorted.

 

“I saw you walking and I followed you.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a stalker.”

 

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Enough of a stalker to see how much pain you were in.” He stood up and crouched in front of her, inviting her to ride on his back. “Want a ride?”

 

Seohye widened her eyes as she stared at him. “You serious?”

 

“No, I’m just doing this so I can throw you into the ocean,” Kyungsoo said, sarcasm thick in his voice. “Of course I’m serious.” Seohye looked at him suspiciously before standing up and crawling onto his back. In response, he grinned and stood up with a small grunt. Kyungsoo proceeded to walk to the café as Seohye wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

 

“Who was this person you wanted to meet?”

 

“Oh well,” Kyungsoo started. “There was actually no one that you needed to meet.”

 

She blinked a few times, comprehending the statement. “Are you sure? There’s no secret girlfriend or anything?”

 

He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure.”

 

“Then why did you ask me to meet you?”

 

“Simply because,” he stated.

 

“Simple because what?”

 

“Simple because I love you.” He paused. “Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked hesitantly.

 

Seohye smiled to herself and for once, she was glad that he wasn’t looking at her; she knew her face was as red as a tomato. “I thought you’d never ask.” Notes; sorry for the completing it so late. orz. I literally had to rewrite it like, 5 times before I was happy with it. I hope you like it, though. c: