That Saturday saw somewhat a motley group gathered in front of the signboard of the commercial park. The cold morning wind brought with it untold chills that seeped deep into my bones; I was shivering by the time I made it there. I had to admit, Kris, although a good planner with a knack at organising people, could be somewhat negligent when it came to choices for a rendezvous point.

I buried my hands deep into my pockets to try and preserve whatever warmth it still had left. The downpour yesterday had just dissipated this early morning; the ground was still wet, the air humid. There were barely any people out so early, only determined joggers who were intent on going on their usual runs around the park.

I could only sigh in happiness when I saw all the boys already gathered there upon my arrival, and I could see it plainly on Tao’s face that he was greatly relieved that he didn’t have to endure another minute of this torture. Admittedly, I had procrastinated a little this morning when I received Kris’s text message –favouring my bed over the cold Satuday winds –and had ended up paying the price when I had to run all the way here.

“What the plan, boss?” Tao had asked while I tried to catch my breath.

“I was thinking that we could take up part-time jobs,” Kris said without preamble. I supposed the cold was getting to him too.

Tao blinked up at him. “How?”

“I’ve been scouting around these past few days. There are a few shops in need of workers, but only temporary ones to serve during rush hours. We’d still get paid, but not as much as the full-time staff.”

“Okay, and where do you think we can find these jobs?” Joonmyun asked. His usually pale cheeks looked red from the cold.

“I pulled some strings and managed to secure us a job each. A Hyung I know runs a cafe not too far from here that is in need of some extra hands. He agreed to employ us for the time being.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Without waiting for an answer, Tao took off walking in a brusque pace. Judging from his lack of questions (ie, those pertaining to work hours, break times, wages, etc), it was obvious that he was desperate to do anything to get out of the cold.

Kris rolled his eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh. “Yah, you don’t even know where you’re supposed to go!”

Joonmyun and I watched as Kris jogged off towards Tao’s general direction, momentarily too numb by the cold to say anything. Joonmyun was the first to speak.

“Should we get going?” he asked, gesturing towards the direction Kris had steered Tao into going.

“Great idea,” I said, failing miserably to inject any form of enthusiasm in my speech. I began to trudge forlornly after them.

“Hey, wait,” Joonmyun said, stopping me by grabbing my arm. He slid the jacket he wore off of his shoulders and draped them over mine. “There you go,” he said, sounding pleased with himself as he carefully arranged it over my shoulders.

I blinked in surprise. “But you –”

“You look like you need it more than I do,” he said with a laugh. He buried his hands into the pocket of his jeans and gestured towards the road with his chin. “Shall we?”

With my heart still thumping loudly in my chest, I let him lead me towards the cafe.

As I trailed the boys, I began to recognise the turns and the streets. It wasn’t a route I usually frequented, but I knew I had passed these names sometime during my wanderings with Yixing and Hyunji. Out of the three of us, Yixing was the one with a remarkably developed sense of navigation; I knew he could have led us through these turns at least once in our lives. 

The restaurants however, I couldn’t recall ever seeing. Being high school students, we tended to stick to small joints or street food from one of the many stalls that dotted the streets of the city. We went to cafes of course, but the one we frequented the most was Starbucks. Therefore, it came as a pleasant surprise when Kris led us off towards one turn and pushed open the door of a quaint cafe with cocoa coloured walls.

It was simple on the outside, with boxed flowers below the windows a signboard that said ‘A Sweet Moment to Remember’ hanging above the door. The interior, however, proved to be larger than I expected. The shop could easily fit the same amount of customers that frequented Starbucks, with neatly arranged cream coloured tables and chairs. It lacked the view of the Seoul streets, but it certainly made up for it with the comfort. I was immediately engulfed by warmth and cosiness upon stepping through the doors. It was as if this cafe was separated from the world, set in a dimension of its own where time seemed to trickle at a luxuriously slow pace.

When I came in, Kris was already halfway across the cafe, making a beeline for the kitchen. Joonmyun let the door shut behind him, cutting off our contact from the world outside.

“Do you know this place?” Tao asked him curiously as he rubbed his hands together, blowing onto his palms to rid himself of the last vestiges of the cold air.

Joonmyun shrugged. “Kris dragged me with him to make enquiries.”

“I didn’t know this place existed,” I said quietly, more to myself as I scanned the room.

Joonmyun surprised me by replying. “It’s secluded, but don’t be fooled. This cafe is as busy as any during weekends and holidays.”

I nodded absently, habitually shoving my hands into my pockets. It was then I realised the difference in texture of the jacket I was wearing. I suddenly remembered about Joonmyun’s chivalrous offering. I had been so comfortable in it to the point that I forgot that it never belonged to me. I was about to return it when Kris entered, a man in his mid-twenties in tow.

 “This is Lee Donghae,” Kris said, gesturing towards the man behind him. “He’s the Hyung I told you about.”

He was remarkably good-looking, with a sweet smile and a certain gentleness in his eyes that made me take an instant liking to him. Donghae wasn’t as tall as Kris, but he looked strong and capable –expected really, if he had worked hard to start this cafe up from scratch.

 “Ah, my new workers,” Donghae said with a cheeky smile as he scrutinised us. “Welcome to your doom.”

We blinked up at him, momentarily speechless, before he cracked up. “Relax, guys. I was just kidding. It’s nice to meet you.”

We bowed and introduced ourselves. I felt somewhat self-conscious around him, nervous that he would suddenly point me out and deem me unsuitable to be under his employment. Thankfully, no such thing happened.

“You must have a sixth sense, Kris,” Donghae said. “How’d you know that I needed exactly three boys and one girl?”

Kris grinned at him. “Lucky guess, I suppose.”

“I’m curious about one thing though,” Donghae said, turning a contemplative gaze at me. “I’m pretty sure you said you were raising money for your basketball team, so why do you have a girl with you? I’ve never heard of co-ed teams...”

“Ah, no,” Kris said, shaking his head before I could explain myself. “Aeri’s here to help out.”

Donghae grinned at me. “That’s nice of you. You must really love your boyfriend to help out his team as well.”

My eyes widened.

“No, no!” Kris said, shaking his head vigorously. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“I’m not talking about you specifically, Kris,” Donghae replied. He eyed me up and down. “That jacket seems a tad too big for you, and it’s certainly too small to belong to these two.”

My cheeks reddened. “It’s not –”

“She was cold,” Joonmyun spoke up. He was smiling pleasantly and didn’t look the least bit insulted. “I figured the nice thing for me to do is to give her my jacket.”

“And Joonmyun’s not on the team,” Kris clarified. “He’s another willing volunteer.”

“Ah, okay. So,” Donghae said, clapping his hands together as if to signal that all this idle talk should be put to a close, “let’s get on with your duties, shall we? Kris and you –Tao, is it?” –Tao nodded –“You come with me. The two of you, stay here.”

As Kris and Tao trailed after Donghae, I quickly slipped off the jacket and handed it to Joonmyun.

“Here,” I said as I tried to hide my blush. I was still embarrassed by what Donghae said. “Thanks.”

Joonmyun merely smiled, his fingers brushing mine as he accepted the jacket. “You’re welcome.”

A/N: A little bonus for my readers :) Thanks a lot for coming this far and for reading my fic. I love reading your comments and I hope that I'll be able to get more feedback from you in the future.