"Do you still want to eat?"

"I want to go home."

Minseok stared at the road ahead and nodded, knowing there was no use in arguing with Ae Ri. He turned back around to head back home when his phone rang. She stared at him in irritation and slight amusement as he struggled to grab his phone from his pocket. She reached out to help him but stopped when Minseok stiffened. He awkwardly smiled at her before answering the call, his tone changing completely.

"What is it?" Minseok sighed, "I told you I had an appointment."

He looked at his watch and sighed once more as he turned around. Ae Ri grew curious despite herself when his eyes narrowed and his forearms grew tighter as he clutched the steering wheel. Minseok turned to her and blinked before hanging up.

"There's a problem at the café and Jongdae needs my help."

"Did something happen?" Ae Ri asked, "You work at a café?"

"Yeah, I told you once. Remember?"

Of course she didn't. Ae Ri wasn't interested in Minseok's affairs no matter how hard he tried to talk to her about it. She would always tune him out every time he opened his mouth. If it wasn't about her changing her ways then he would always talk about himself. She didn't care about him at all.

Never had and never will.

"Really? I forgot."

She turned back to stare out the window before Minseok stopped the car. He waved at her to stay inside while he checked out on what the problem was. Ae Ri turned to glance at the café and her eyes grew a bit wider when she saw how big and popular it was. She ignored his request and stepped inside the café, the smell of bittersweet coffee and food in the air. She silently followed after Minseok who was speaking with Jongdae. He turned to her and smiled as he motioned for Minseok to turn around.

"It was cold," Ae Ri muttered, "and you turned off the car."

"Sorry about that," Minseok smiled, "take the keys and wait outside."

Minseok handed the keys to Ae Ri and followed after Jongdae who headed inside the kitchen. She followed after them and stared at the scattered pieces of paper lying around. Minseok turned to her and sighed when she sat down in a nearby chair. 

"What happened?"

"Two of the workers quit unexpectedly and I don't have anyone to help me with orders," Jongdae sighed, "I'm too busy to cook and make the coffee at the same time."

"No one else can come?" Minseok rolled up his sleeves, "Everyone else busy?"

"Yeah."

Jongdae pouted and pulled Minseok's shirt as he forced him to the counter. Ae Ri blinked at him as he winked at her before going back into the kitchen to cook. She stepped out and sat down at a small stool which faced Minseok.

"You can go home if you want," He smiled, "I'll get a taxi for you."

"I can wait," She said, "I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

The day passed by slowly as they went to work. While Jongdae cooked, Minseok would make coffee, a smile on his face every time there was a new customer. Ae Ri waited patiently for him to finish as she glanced at the bookshelf. She avoided people's stares as she read, tuning out the noises. She was stuck in her own world before someone set a plate of food in front of her.

"I made your favorite."

Jongdae crouched besides Ae Ri and glanced at the book she was reading. She turned to him and nodded as she began to eat, leaving almost everything untouched. 

"I thought you were hungry," Jongdae softly said, "Why didn't you eat?"

"I got full," Ae Ri replied, "I get full fast."

"I see."

"Is it always this busy?"

He followed her gaze and nodded. The café was completely packed with couples and students. There was no empty seat available. She turned to stare at Minseok who kept making coffee, drops of sweat all over his forehead. He had taken off his sweater and was now wearing a light dress shirt. There was a group of girls nearby, trying to catch his attention. They were staring at his muscles, blinking innocently and brushing their hair back.

"Funny isn't it? They always come just to see him."

"Why? There's nothing to see at all."

"Really? Minseok's extremely popular. I'm surprised he hasn't dated yet."

"Why?"

Jongdae turned to Ae Ri and gave her a look. She looked at him blankly before going back to her book. The day quickly came to an end and the shop closed. Minseok rubbed his shoulders as he cleaned up, turning to look at her as he cleaned the counter. Jongdae stepped out of the kitchen to help and pushed him to Ae Ri.

"Yah!"

Ae Ri looked up to see Minseok staring at her with an awkward smile as he slipped on his sweater. Jongdae motioned for her to follow after him as he waved goodbye. They slipped into the car and fell into an awkward silence.

"Are you still hungry?" Minseok tried to come up with an excuse to talk to her, "You didn't seem to eat that much."

"I ate," She nodded, "Jongdae gave me some food."

"That's good."

He drove her back to the apartment and waited for Ae Ri to get out. She turned to look at him and took a deep breath, raising her hand to give him a stiff wave. Minseok smiled at her before speeding off. She headed back inside and slipped out of her clothes, changing back into Yixing's old clothes. She glanced at the clock before slipping inside her bed. The medicine bottle rattled as she took two more pills before falling asleep. There was a slight smile on her lips as she dreamed once more.

It was just a simple step forwards...

••••••••••••

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course, it's not like I got stabbed or anything."

Mi Rae rolled her eyes once more as Luhan examined her one more time. She wrapped her arm around his waist and pouted as he kissed her lightly on her forehead. They looked up to see a nurse call his name, motioning for him to follow after her. They had come to the hospital for his routine checkup.

Mi Rae waved at him as she waited in the lobby. She turned back to stare at the young girl who was lying on the ground while the man stood above her.

"Is she all right?" Mi Rae mumbled as she stood up.

She walked over to them but stopped in her tracks when the girl stood up. They quickly walked away and Mi Rae went back to wait for Luhan. Within minutes he stepped out with a look of triumph and confidence written all over his face.

"Did you miss me?" Luhan smirked, "You look scared."

"You were gone for just a few minutes," Mi Rae chuckled, "Why would I miss you?"

"Are you sure? What if I run away?"

"Then I'll wait until you come back."

He grabbed her hand and they walked out of the hospital. She looked up at him and smiled at him as he wrapped his arms around her. Mi Rae looked down to see him slip a piece of paper inside her pocket.

"What is it?"

"Open it up."

Her eyes grew wide when she stared at the test results. Luhan laughed as Mi Rae jumped up and down in excitement. She grabbed him and kissed him lightly on his lips.

"You don't have to come anymore," She laughed, "You're all better?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "I just need to come back to fill out some paperwork."

"We should celebrate."

"We should."

Mi Rae tapped her chin as she walked backwards to stare at him. He slipped his hands inside his pocket and walked towards her, a small smile on his lips. She suddenly stopped and clapped her hands.

"I heard there is this really nice café nearby," She rocked back and forth, "Good food and coffee."

"I was thinking more like exercising," He winked, "That'll make me feel better."

Luhan dodged Mi Rae's smack and laughed harder when he noticed her blushing. He reached out to grab her hand and they walked towards the shop that she had mentioned. They frowned when they noticed the amount of people in line waiting to get inside. Luhan looked at her and smiled when she sighed.

"I guess we should come back another day. I really wanted to eat here."

They headed back home when Luhan suddenly stopped. He led her to a nearby park and sat her down in a swing. She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes when he crouched in front of her. She blushed lightly when he brushed back her hair to stare into her eyes.

"I wanted to ask you something," He whispered, "Something I need your opinion on."

"What is it?"

"I want to meet the family of the person who gave me his heart."

"Why so suddenly?"

Luhan stared at her and looked away. Mi Rae pulled him back to look at her and brushed back his hair. She nodded for him to continue and smiled when he took a deep breath.

"Because I need to thank them," He smiled, "And I want to see them."

••••••••••••

✉(Author's Note)

So yeah, leave many comments below. I am excited to read them! ^^ And thanks again for for reading!