Hi! I apologize for the late updates for this fic. It's been very busy for me lately and I only just got around to writing this (or just writing at all) these past few days. I can't promise that this would be updated more often than how it's been in the past. But I am getting more ideas for this so hopefully I'll be less busy and hopefully I'd get to write more.

Thank you for your patience! :) I hope you like this chapter.



The Seventh Chapter
“So how did the date go?” a very pretty-looking guy slid onto the empty seat right beside Donghae, who was seated across Hyukjae.

Both mentioned males looked up at the sudden intrusion in their quiet, personal space. Donghae’s face broke out into a grin and shrugged. “Maybe you should ask lover boy here,” he responded.

“What are you doing here, Sungmin?” Hyukjae asked instead of answering his question.

Sungmin suddenly joining them for lunch sent alarming bells in Hyukjae’s head. He and Sungmin had known each other for as long as he can remember. They grew up in Incheon together, but had lost touch when Sungmin left for Seoul with his family. Imagine his surprise when he found out he had somehow stayed connected with his past when he realized they were going to school together. And now he was having lunch with him and Donghae. The last time he did that, his little world was shook up.

“What, I can’t join you for lunch anymore?” Sungmin responded. He was a little taken aback, but the smile on his face stayed intact.

Donghae stayed quiet and concentrated on his pasta as he sensed that his best friend wasn’t okay with Sungmin hanging out with them, but for what reason he didn’t know. He thought Sungmin was cool. They tried out for the soccer team in the same year. He was also surprised when he found out that the two knew each other.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” Hyukjae clarified apologetically. “Of course you’re free to join us for lunch.” He turned his attention back to his meal, while occasionally glancing at the notes opened beside his plate.

“I think you should know that his date went well,” Donghae jumped in, grinning when Hyukjae shot him a look.

“Is that right?” Sungmin teased, smiling as well. “Taeyeon, right? She seems like a nice girl.”

“Don’t you get him started on her,” Donghae interrupted before Hyukjae could get a word out. Sungmin gave him a curious but amused look. “He gets really defensive about her and starts shouting to the world how amazing she is.”

“I do not shout,” Hyukjae corrected in embarrassment. “And she is amazing.”

Sungmin chuckled at this. In all the time he’d known Hyukjae, he’d never really seen him so taken with a girl. “That is good to know. Of course you only deserve the best,” he commented offhandedly.

But this had Hyukjae looking at him again. This time his gaze held more intent, knowing and piercing.

Sungmin sighed. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I didn’t just come here to hang out and have lunch.” He let out another breath. “Your cousin called again,” he informed him. “They know. About you and Taeyeon, I mean.”

Donghae looked from Sungmin to Hyukjae and back again.

“And that is cause for concern, how?” Hyukjae demanded.

“Just…” Sungmin hesitated. “I don’t think you know what you’re doing, Hyuk.”

“Did they find out that she’s just a servant at the palace, is that it?” Hyukjae retorted, slamming his notebook shut. “It’s so typical of them to just come butting in when things get inconvenient for them.”

“No, Hyukjae,” Sungmin pleaded for him to calm down. “It’s not like that.”

“Oh really?” Hyukjae snapped as he hastily stuffed his things in his bag. “It’s always like that with them.”

“They’re here,” Sungmin stopped him. “Your cousin, I mean… wanted to talk to you face-to-face. I’m supposed to tell you. Or warn you, however you want to see it.”

Hyukjae slowly turned around to face Sungmin. “My cousin is here,” he flatly repeated.

“I think you need to hear them out, Hyuk,” Sungmin carefully said. “It’s not what you think.”

~ * ~
A loud crash echoed from the back of the shop, startling the customers as well as the staff. Ryeowook and Henry both rushed to the back, leaving Sunny to man the tables for the meantime. Zhou Mi sighed almost inaudibly as he beamed a smile towards the customer he was giving his change to.

“I hope you enjoy your coffee and enjoy your stay here at Memory Lane Café,” Zhou Mi happily told the customer.

He was punching in some numbers in the cash register and placing money in it when another crash echoed in the café. He turned to Sunny, whose eyes were wide with surprise. “Take over for me, will you? I’ll tell Henry to take over your tables.”

With Sunny behind the counter, Zhou Mi made his way to the back. He wanted to be sure that the whole kitchen hadn’t been trashed and, of course, to know what was causing all the raucous noise.

Ryeowook was watching Hyukjae molding something that he supposed was flour, but with the way that it looked, he wasn’t sure if it would be edible at all. Henry looked up and took notice of him. With a bow, the waiter excused himself and closed the door behind him.

“Sorry about that, Mi,” Hyukjae gave out an apology, looking up briefly with a small smile on his face before turning back to his flour.

“Everything okay outside?” Ryeowook wanted to know, exchanging a meaningful look with Zhou Mi.

“Nothing to worry about,” Zhou Mi assured them. “Hyukjae, what’s going on?” he then calmly asked. He still stood by the door, knowing that he didn’t like it when everyone crowded around him.

“Nothing,” Hyukjae innocently answered. “You know how clumsy I am.”

“Actually, I do,” Zhou Mi acquiesced. “And you’re never this clumsy. Besides, you’ve never attempted to bake anything before.” He paused for a bit. “Is it Taeyeon? Did you two get into a fight or something?”

“No,” was Hyukjae’s immediate response. “This has nothing to do with her.” He snickered then shook his head. “Well actually, it does.” He let out a loud breath and stopped all the molding he was doing. “This is useless.” He picked up the flour and threw it on a nearby trashcan.

“Hyuk,” Ryeowook began hesitantly, “you know you can tell us anything.”

Hyukjae let out a frustrated sigh. “Just…my cousin’s going to be around the next couple of days,” he admitted.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Ryeowook gently stated. “I mean, you haven’t had family visit you since you came to Seoul, right?”

“Yeah,” Hyukjae weakly smiled. “Except this cousin of mine, we’re not really that close, and I really don’t know why he’s here.”

“Family visiting is always a good thing,” Ryeowook resolutely declared. “I’m sure your family misses you. Will you bring him over?”

“Maybe,” Hyukjae muttered. “But, uh, that’s the thing. I might not be able to come to work in the coming days since I’ll be showing him around and all that. I hope that’s okay.” He shot a pleading look at Zhou Mi.

“Is that all you’re stressed about?” Zhou Mi chuckled lightly. He sensed that the boy wasn’t being all truthful, but decided it wasn’t his place to pry.

“Yeah, well,” Hyukjae hesitated. “We’re going to be short staffed and—.”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Zhou Mi stopped him. “Hyoyeon’s decided to come in to help sometimes. I’m sure she’ll be free to help out.”

Hyukjae grinned. “That’s great. I’ll have to remember to thank her.”

“But what does Taeyeon have to do with your cousin coming over?” Ryeowook voiced out suddenly, remembering Hyukjae’s earlier words.

Hyukjae already had his hand on the doorknob when he stopped in his tracks. He really should learn to stop thinking aloud when he was stressed about something. He faced Ryeowook and Zhou Mi, who looked interested in his answer, and smiled at them.

“Nothing,” he lied. “I just got things mixed up because of the stress of my cousin coming over.”

“Are you, perhaps, worried about introducing her to him? He is family, after all,” Ryeowook mused.

“Yeah. That, too,” Hyukjae muttered.

~ * ~
“What’s with him?” Hyoyeon nudged Donghae, stopping what she was writing on her notebook to nod towards Hyukjae.

The mentioned male had been hunched over his notes and books ever since they arrived in Donghae’s house to do some homework and a bit of reviewing. Donghae leaned back on his seat, game controller on hand—obviously not studying, and shrugged.

“He’s been like this since the other day,” Donghae told her. “Probably has something to do with his cousin coming over.”

“What?” she asked in surprise.

“Exactly what I said, he has family coming ov—.” Donghae shut up when Hyoyeon shot him a withering look.

“You can be incredibly slow sometimes, you know that?” Hyoyeon rolled her eyes at him, to which Donghae made a face at. She leaned closer to Hyukjae and lightly tapped his arm. “Hey.”

“Hmm?” Hyukjae looked up from his notes and looked up at her. It was obvious he hadn’t heard anything from their short discussion.

“Are you alright?” Hyoyeon asked straightforwardly. “You don’t seem yourself.”

“I’m fine,” Hyukjae told her and turned back to his homework.

“Which cousin of yours is coming over?” Hyoyeon inquired. She elbowed Donghae on the chest when he squeezed her arm too tight.

“You’re crossing the line,” Donghae hissed.

“Shut up,” Hyoyeon shot back just as quietly.

Hyukjae chuckled. This time he heard them both clearly. “You two never change, do you?” Hyoyeon and Donghae both gave him innocent looks. He shook his head and let out a sigh. “You’ve already met this cousin of mine.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Donghae reminded him.

“Yeah,” Hyoyeon piped in, a big grin on her face.

“You’re attracted to anything that’s shiny, you know that?” Donghae teased, rolling his eyes. Hyoyeon shoved him.

Hyukjae hadn’t been as pleased as she was when he found out. In fact, he put off introducing his cousin to Hyoyeon and Donghae until the very last day that his cousin was in the city. It was when Hyukjae and Donghae very nearly had a fistfight about how Hyukjae couldn’t care less about being truthful to his friends. Hyukjae had become a different man to them that day. He wasn’t who they thought he was.

Hyukjae hesitated.

“How many people still don’t know about you, Hyuk?” Hyoyeon wanted to know.

“It’s not something I like talking about,” Hyukjae muttered, ignoring answering the question. “There’s a reason I’m in Seoul and not in Incheon. And for them to come back after we’d clearly settled that they wouldn’t bother me anymore.”

“Something must’ve gotten their attention,” Hyoyeon mused.

“There is,” Hyukjae agreed. He let out a long breath. “It’s Taeyeon.”

Donghae frowned, while Hyoyeon’s eyes widened a bit.

“What about her?” Hyoyeon inquired curiously. “You two aren’t even together yet.”

“I’m not even sure,” Hyukjae admitted.

“You’re not being serious about it being the fact that she works at the palace, are you?” Donghae jumped in seriously.

“What, do you think they would go so far as to stop you from having a relationship with her?” Hyoyeon demanded.

“Well, I am me, after all,” was Hyukjae’s only retort.

“So what are you going to do?” Donghae asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Hyukjae told them with a soft sigh. But he wished he wouldn’t have to do anything to change how things were.

~ * ~
The bells of the café door tinkled and Ryeowook, who was currently manning the cash register, looked up and grinned widely at the sight of the person who had just walked in.

“Hey,” Taeyeon greeted him as she came up to the counter.

“Hey,” Ryeowook happily greeted back. “Come back here.” He opened the small door separating the customers and the staff and allowed her to join him behind the counter. “How are you?” he asked as he hugged her.

“I’m good,” she returned the hug affectionately. “Business looks good for you guys, too.”

He merely shrugged. “I’m happy you’re here. I haven’t seen you since the art gallery,” he said.

“Sorry, been a bit busy with royal—school,” she stammered. She covered up her slip with a giggle, but Ryeowook didn’t seem to have heard. “Where are the others?” she asked, looking around.

“Zhou Mi’s out back preparing the pastries for today,” he shared. “Sunny’s helping him, while Henry’s on a short break. Hyukjae isn’t coming in today.”

“Oh?” she responded as casually as she could. “Why not?”

She never got an answer because one of the customers, who had been seated at the corner of the café, got up and approached the counter. Ryeowook bowed politely at the customer.

“How may I help you, sir?” Ryeowook asked.

“I really like your pastries,” the customer told him with a smile. “I was wondering if I could have two dozen to go.”

“Oh,” Ryeowook excitedly responded. “I’ll just check with our pastry chef.” He exchanged a look with Taeyeon before going to the kitchen.

“I really hope they have extra,” the customer respectfully, almost nervously, commented, trying to make conversation with Taeyeon.

Taeyeon chuckled. “I’m sure they’ll have something. If not, I suppose you can come back tomorrow so they can specially prepare it for you,” she politely told him.

“This is a very nice café,” he continued rather cautiously, glancing around. “It seems to be very popular with the students.”

“It’s a very comfortable place to study and meet with friends,” Taeyeon agreed. She really did like going to Memory Lane Café. Aside from the comfortable atmosphere, everyone was really nice and welcoming. Plus, the coffee and food were amazing.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been working here?” the customer wanted to know.

“Oh I don’t work here,” she lightly corrected him. She left the counter so that no other customers would mistake her as staff. “I’m just friends with the owners and the staff.”

“Ah,” he replied in understanding. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“It’s Taeyeon,” she immediately introduced herself. She bowed politely at the customer.

“Taeyeon,” he repeated, bowing in 90 degrees towards her as he shook her hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”

Taeyeon immediately retracted her hand from him and took a step back. She looked around the coffee shop to check if anyone had heard him. Luckily, no one seemed to have.

“I’m sorry, I don’t—,” she started to deny.

“I didn’t mean to startle you, Your Majes—,” he began, looking alarmed when he realized what he had just done.

“Don’t,” Taeyeon shushed him, shaking her head intently. She gently pulled him aside, a bit further away from the counter. “What—? How—how do you know about me? No one knows.”

“You may be right,” he gave in. “But people who are supposed to know these things do know.” He gave her a warm smile followed by an apologetic one. He bowed 90 degrees once again. “I apologize for upsetting you. I apologize for tricking you earlier. I shouldn’t have been so bold—.”

“Please don’t do this here.” Taeyeon reached out to straighten him up. “I don’t mind. You didn’t upset me,” she assured him pleadingly. “Just…will you tell me who you are and help me understand why you know me?”

They found an unoccupied table by one of the windows and sat down across from each other.

“I’ll start by introducing myself,” the customer started. His smile brought out a cute dimple by the right side of his lips. “I’m Park Jungsoo.”

~ * ~
“Who is that?” Sunny asked Ryeowook once they’d gotten back out to the counter.

Ryeowook had approached Taeyeon and the customer to tell him that they only had enough for a dozen for the day. He felt relieved that he was gracious about it and agreed to just come back the next day for both. He then went back to the counter, where Sunny was studying Taeyeon and the guy.

“He’s a customer,” Ryeowook answered with a shrug. “He’s been in and out a couple of times this week.”

“And he and Taeyeon know each other how…?” Sunny pressed.

“No idea,” Ryeowook responded, looking up to watch the two as well. “It is weird that they’re talking,” he conceded after a moment. “This is the first time Taeyeon’s been back here.”

The door to the kitchen opened and Zhou Mi stepped out with a fresh batch of cookies. He placed them on display and stared at Ryeowook and Sunny.

“What are you two looking at?” Zhou Mi demanded, hand on hip.

“Don’t you think Taeyeon’s a bit weird?” Sunny suddenly voiced out, eyes still on Taeyeon.

“Weird? Why?” Ryeowook asked, looking at her in surprise.

“She appears out of nowhere. She joined SMA so late,” Sunny enumerated.

“That’s not weird, though,” Zhou Mi replied. “People transfer schools all the time.” He paused for a second. “Is that why you two are watching her so carefully?”

“Donghae says she misses classes a lot these days, but doesn’t get crap from teachers for it. She works at the palace, yet the Prince of Korea picks him up himself in his town car. Honestly, she’s too…refined to be an assistant of anyone,” Sunny went on, ignoring Zhou Mi.

“So her life is a bit different,” Ryeowook said.

“You know what,” Zhou Mi piped in. “I’ve always thought there was something different about her. I don’t know what it is and it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but there’s just something…unusual about her.”

“I wonder what it is…” Sunny mused as she bit her lip.