My day had been shot down by the note from Youngjae, after reading it I had taken refuge on my couch, thinking of all the good times that I’ve had with him over the past year.  I kept the note in my hand to reread it every so often, not that I needed to read it because I had all the words memorized, but to slow my mind down while I thought.  My scrap books were scattered across the coffee table in the living room.  Each one opened to a page with Youngjae plastered all over.

He was everywhere in my life now, there was no getting away from that.  Most of my friends have left me, mostly because of him, but also with me moving so far away from them.  I came to Korea for a job, and that was that.  I wanted to live here all my life and was able to get a degree in a job that I knew would take me here.  I was glade when I did get a job offer over here, because that was my dream.

Most of my family disowned me because of my decision of packing everything and moving, but it was my life, and this was how I was going to live it.  My mother and I still talk some times, granted, she isn’t that good with electronics so it’s hard to tell her things when your thousands of miles away. However, that was the only relationship that I wanted.  I was close with my mom, and no matter what stupid things that I did, she was always right there telling me to go forward in life.

I looked back down at one of the photo albums, the picture of Youngjae and I with his family made me smile.  I had new family here too.  Youngjae’s family had taken me in with open arms, and loved seeing not only Youngjae with a smile on his face, but me.  They knew that we were happy with each other, knowing full well the hardships of being in our shoes.  There were nights when he was gone that I did cry myself to sleep, I always felt so lost when he was far away from me.  It always felt like someone ripped out my heart and stole it, only to give it back when Youngjae returned from his trip.

I glanced back at the note again, and reread the ‘good times with me’ part of it.  I stared up at the ceiling this time.  I knew everything in the photo album had good memories, but they also did bring some sad ones along with them. I smiled softly as I remembered the first time that Youngjae and I met.  I was at a café not that far away from my apartment, I was in front of him, and never took notice on who it was.  I decided to do something that I sometimes did back in the States and pay for the person behind me, giving the cashier an extra ten dollars.  He was shocked to hear that someone had paid for his drink and glanced over at me.  Once I seen his face I knew who it was.  I felt bad at first, because I had it in my mind that he was thinking that I did it because I knew who he was before I paid.

I took my drink when it came and found a seat near the window and pulled out my laptop that I had in my bag.  I had to make myself seem busy in hopes that would make me forget what I had just done.  However, it didn’t.  After Youngjae had gotten his drink he came over to the same table and sat a crossed from me.  Glancing up I could see his eyes over top of my computer screen and a soft smile on his face.

“You didn’t have to pay for my drink.” I heard him say softly. I blushed a deep red after hearing him talk to me.

“I do that sometimes,” I told him as I looked up at him.  “I always did it in the states, just doing something nice for someone else.”

I smiled at that memory; we sat in that café for over an hour just talking.  Most of it was small talk, but there were conversations that we were talking about ourselves and some of our past.  Before he got up to leave, he slipped me his number and walked away with a smile on his face.  Also on that slip of paper was a note that said ‘I’ll see you tomorrow at the same time, this time your drink is on me.’

I couldn’t help but smile and laugh at the memory.  After that day for the next two weeks we would go to that café alternating between who bought the drinks and just sat there and talked. In those two weeks be both started to have the same feelings toward one another, and at the end of the second week he asked me out.  I looked back down at the photo album and flipped to a page that had the café shop on it and smiled.  It had been a year the last time that we went there together.  We still picked drinks up from there, but we never went back together to that small café.

As I looked at the picture, my heart seemed to break just a little.  The best times with him were sitting in that café just talking, and now we didn’t go there anymore.  We still talk, but not outside the four walls of the dorms or my apartment.  We had stopped going out much when the fan girls started seeing me around Youngjae.  He feared that something might happen to me and decided that not going out so much was going to be the best thing to do.

I leaned to my left and lay on the couch still looking at the small picture of the café.  I had just been there a few days ago to pick up some coffee for Youngjae and myself.  However it just wasn’t the same sitting in my apartment talking about what all happened to us that day.  I closed my eyes and sighed heavily, I wanted those two weeks of us just sitting and talking like two old friends, and not having to deal with the horror of the fan girls out to kill me.

The sound of keys outside my door made me sit up and look at the clock.  It was a little after three, and I had spent more than my fair share lying on the couch thinking of all the good times with Youngjae.  The sound of the door locking made me laugh at myself; I forgot to lock the door when I gave up going out shopping. However, the sound of Youngjae trying to open the door after he had locked it made me laugh even harder.

“It’s not funny noona,” I heard him half yell as he unlocked the door this time and opening the door.  I was still laughing as he made his way over to me and wrapped his arms around me.  I could see his face was a little red from his moment that he just had.  His soft lips kissed the top of my forehead.  “Happy one year anniversary noona,” he whispered softly.

Shivers ran down my body as he said that, one year ago that café was where it all started.  The happiest moments of my life started with buying his drink for him. “So, have you thought about the best moments with me?” he asked softly.

I nodded as I looked up at him.  “Yes I did, and I found just one moment in this year that stands out over the rest,” I told him with a bright smile on my face.

He looked puzzled at what I said but slowly started to smile, still hurt that there was only one moment of our time together out of a whole year that stood out.  “And what would that be?” he asked.

My smile brightened as I felt the warmth of my tears form, “the first place we met, and the two weeks that we spent there,” I said as I pointed to the photo album that was open to that picture of the café. “Where it all started, that was my happiest and best moments with you.”

I could see the tears forming in his eyes as he kissed me softly as he pulled me in more into him.   I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around him to stay close to him.  He pulled away and rested his forehead softly on mine.  “You want to hear something funny?” he asked as he smiled and cried lightly.

“Is it better then you trying to open the door after you locked it?” I chuckled lightly, only to see him close his eyes and watch him as he shook his head.

“No, although if I did out do myself on that one, I wouldn’t tell you anyways,” he replied back.  “All serious, you want to know what my best moments with you are?” he asked.

“I have a feeling I know what it is, but do tell,” I said softly as I held on closer to him.

“It’s the same memory that you just said, that café was the best time with you,” he whispered. “And this time, the drinks are on me.”