There was a bounce in Haerin's steps as she made her way up the small staircase of her home. She held the hot chocolate in her hands, careful not to spill it onto the white carpet. She burst into her room, placed the drink down and landed on her bed softly, laying her head on the pillow. It was near impossible to not let out a smile when she thought back to the day at the coffee shop. For some reason, her first meeting with Luhan was already enough to make her heart pound, and her cheeks turned red at the thought of him. She was beyond excited about the fact that she could see him tomorrow. She wanted to see his baby face again, and hear his gentle voice. Everything about him was somewhat...charming.
          Haerin pushed herself off the bed and flipped open her laptop that was sitting on her table. She opened up her calendar that was sitting on the front page. She checked the date. December 6th 2012, 9:32 pm. 
          "December 6th? But Luhan said its the fourteenth... and I'm sure my calendar's right," she wondered out loud.
          "Haerin, who are you talking to in there?" 
          Haerin heard the voice of her mother from behind her bedroom door. 
          "Mom, what day is it?" she called to her mother. 
          "December sixth!"
          So she was right. December sixth. Nineteen more days until Christmas would arrive. So her head wasn't really stuck in last week. She sighed. Maybe Luhan was the one that made the mistake. She made sure to make a mental note for laughing at him later. Just the thought of him made her lips curl up into a smile. Who knew such a boy existed?
 

Luhan stayed up late that night to finish his work. His mind was distracted by the thoughts of Haerin. He would see her again tomorrow, and he couldn't deny his anticipation. Tomorrow. December 15th 2012. That would make it only eleven days until Christmas. How could a girl like her forget how close a holiday was? Silly girl. He plopped his head down on the table, wanting to get lost in his wonderful and blissful thoughts. Tomorrow would come soon, and he could hardly wait. 
 

Haerin was anxious. She knew that when she saw him, she would have no idea what to say and what to do. How to react, how to talk. She was straight up anxious. But the line between anxiety and excitement was far from just blurred, and Haerin couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she put on her jacket. Even as she walked out the door of her house, she was planning in her head the exact words she would say when she saw him inside the cafe.
          What if I can't find him? No, Luhan was the only other person there yesterday. She would spot him the moment she stepped foot inside the shop. She squeezed her eyes shut in nervousness and continued on her walking. Each step bringing her closer and closer to the destination she had been waiting so anxiously for, for the whole night and day. The coffee shop was already in her sight.
          One foot away. That was how close she was from seeing Luhan again. The mysterious boy that invaded her mind. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and flung the door open.
          The wind chimes sounded. Wind blew into the coffee shop, bringing in a cold breeze. But when Haerin stepped inside, her heart dropped to a rock bottom. She wasn’t greeted by the faint sound of finger typing away on the keyboard. Or the sound of someone’s chair shuffling against the ground. She couldn’t even smell the fresh scent of coffee. Her tight string of anxiety and anticipation had been cut. Just like that. All her muscles in her body relaxed for a few seconds before they tensed up again. This time, from the overwhelming wave of disappointment that washed over her. She let go of the door that was weighing against her arm and stepped inside slowly. It was quiet, very quiet. Exactly the way Luhan had liked it. She made her way towards the table he had been sitting just yesterday. The chairs were carefully tucked in. A layer of dust resided on the top of the table. It looked like it hadn’t been touched for ages.

          “Miss did you want to order something?”

          Haerin jolted at the familiar voice and spun around. A few feet away from her was the waiter that served her yesterday and gave her the cake and frappuccino, which she had ordered under Luhan’s suggestion.

          “Um… Did a blonde boy, with brown eyes come here today? I know he came yesterday, I was there too,” she said to him. The waiter looked at her as if she were crazy.

          “No, I’ve never seen a blonde boy. I didn’t see him yesterday, and I’ve never seen you before either,” he replied with an eyebrow raised. Haerin’s eyes widened. What? How could he have possibly forgotten already?

          “Are you sure? I was here yesterday and I ordered a frappuccino and cake,” Haerin pressed on further. There was no way someone’s memory was so bad, unless they were mentally ill.

          “Sorry miss, but the only customers here yesterday was a couple and a man with black hair. We don’t get company very often,” the waiter explained.

          Haerin no longer knew what to say. She probably stood there too long, for the waiter had left by the time she came to her senses. Had she been dreaming this whole time?

Empty. Empty just like the first time he had stepped foot in the shop. So quiet that the gentle music that no one would usually notice became noticeable. It was already four o’ clock. Why wasn’t she here yet? He sighed, running a hand through his hair, feeling his nervousness creep its way up into his consciousness. Maybe she was just running late.

          Seven. The sky was dark. His essay was done, but none of the words had properly processed in his brain. All he could think about was Haerin. Along with the sharp, stabbing pain that came from deep inside his chest. She never showed up. And he was sure she wouldn’t even if he waited for her longer.

          Did something happen to her? He didn’t know whether to be disappointed, upset, angry, or worried. He was sure they made their meeting official. Maybe she just forgot.

          “Damn it Luhan, what’s gotten into you?” he mumbled to himself. He took another sip of his frappuccino and packed up his things. There wasn’t a point in being there anymore. Not when what he came for wasn’t showing up. It was such a little thing, but in his mind, he admitted to himself that he was hurt. Who knew that a simple girl he met just once, could do this to him?

He was ready to go home, to his own apartment. He was ready to lay down and sleep, and maybe watch an episode of Weekly Idol. But his mind was screaming for him to head the other way. The same way he took when he dropped Haerin off at her own house just yesterday.

          “ this,” he cursed. He didn’t even understand himself anymore. Why he would do something so unnecessary at this hour of the night? With every step he took towards her home, he cursed at himself again and again. He met her yesterday, just yesterday. But for some reason, he felt like he was reading a book which was left off at a cliffhanger. Because he and her weren’t finished yet. He knew it. He jogged up to her porch when her house came into view and knocked on the door. Firmly, but not banging. He waited for seconds. Almost a minute, but no answer came to him. He checked the windows and he saw that the lights inside were off. No decorations were on the porch. Everything seemed so dull. He knocked again, louder, this time. Then kept knocking until his knuckles began hurting. But still, he received no answer. He felt a surge of intense anger rise inside him. So that was it? One meeting and that was it? Was this how she wanted to play?

          He stomped down from the porch, about to head home with anger boiling inside him, when something caught his eye. A large white sign was inserted deeply in the front yard. The house. It was on sale. But the large white sign sure wasn’t there yesterday, Luhan was sure. But here it was, standing tall. Something was definitely off. Didn’t she just move in two weeks ago?

          “You’re never going to find her.”

          Luhan jumped in surprise, and turned around, to see a tall man with black hair leaning against the wall of the house, his arms crossed. Luhan raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

          “And you are?” Luhan asked skeptically. The man laughed, his voice slightly raspy, but young.

          “Don’t ask me who I am. Just go home. Pretend you never met her. Get her out of your life and your mind,” he said with a cocky chuckle.

          Luhan narrowed his eyes. “And who are you to tell me what to do?” he challenged, feeling bewildered by the arrogant stranger. The stranger pushed himself off the wall and stepped towards Luhan.

          “Me? Oh, well I’m the Timekeeper, and it looks like I might’ve made a little mistake.”

FINALLY! LOL SORRY! for the late update! 

Just to let you guys know this story is now shared between me and my friend Seohee of Deardeerhan.

She is the co-author so welcome her!

The story will still be on this account, but she helped me lots!

Anyway thanks for reading and please subscribe, vote and comment!

~Naeun