August 13th, 2012 - 11 a.m.

"Oh my god, it's so cold out there," she said as she pulled her winter coat tighter around herself. Closing the door of the cafe against the strong wind, she turned around to find the place relatively crowded, couples and friends huddled together over a steaming cup of coffee to warm their insides. 

Standing on her toes to get a better view, she tried to peek over people's heads to try and find her friends. 

"Taeyeon unnie! Over here," came the cry from across the cafe as a hand shot up into the air, waving her over enthusiastically. "I'm so glad you could make it unnie," the taller girl said as she pulled her into a tight hug, almost squeezing the life out of her. 

"Um... Yoona. I need to breathe," she said playfully as she was released from the hug. 

"Oh! Sorry! I'm just so happy to see you. It's been too long," she laughed her well-known alligator laugh. 

"It's good to see you too. And you as well Yuri. God, it feels like ages since we last saw each other," she sighed. "Hang on. Let me go get a cup of coffee," she said as she got up and went to the counter. She came back a few minutes later with a steaming cup in her hand and a bright smile on her face. Sitting down, she quietly stirred her coffee, not noticing the looks she was being given by the two girls opposite her. "So how's work for you two?" she said, finally looking up. 

"Oh my god unnie! Stop beating around the bush and tell us about your new man!" Yuri said exasperatedly. 

"I know right? You've been going on and on about this guy. We want to know all the juicy details," Yoona said, leaning closer in anticipation. 

"Alright, alright. Geez. Calm down," she laughed as she took a sip of her drink. "I don't even know where to begin," she hesitated. 

"Um... maybe, when you met?" Yoona said sarcastically, earning herself a shove from her unnie. 

"Alright. Well, I guess it started a few months ago. Actually, it was in this cafe," she started. 

***

"What is taking so long? I need to get back to the office soon," she mumbled to herself impatiently. It was her turn to get everyone drinks from their favourite cafe today, but it seemed like everyone was in the mood for coffee as the cafe was filled with people. 

"Sorry about the wait, Taeyeon-ah. We're getting slammed today," the shop owner apologised, handing her the tray of drinks. 

"It's okay unnie. Sorry, I'm just being a little impatient," she apologised herself. "I'll see you next time," she smiled, concentrating on the tray of drinks in her hand.

Turning on the spot, she accidently bumped into someone, the tray of drinks spilling all over them ."Oh my god," she exclaimed. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," she said as she reached across the counter for a pile of napkins. "I'm such a klutz," she said, still apologising profusely. 

"It's okay. Stop apologising," came a calm voice. She looked up and came face to face with a relatively handsome man, his brown hair slicked back. "Accidents happen. I feel more sorry for you. You've been waiting in line for quite a while," he said as took some more napkins and dabbed himself off. "Noona, can you make this young ladies drinks again please?" he asked, handing over some cash. 

"Right away Youngbae-ah," the lady smiled, rushing to remake the drinks. 

"Oh, you don't have to do that. It was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going," Taeyeon tried to explain. "And I ruined your shirt and pants," she said guiltily. 

"And like I said, accidents happen. Don't worry about it," he smiled at her. He proceeded to clean up the mess on the floor and place the rubbish in the bin. "It's not like this is the only shirt I own," he laughed.

"Drinks are up Youngbae-ah," the lady called.

Thanking her, he proceeded to exit the cafe, leading the young woman outside. "Here you are. Now make sure you don't spill it on the way back to work, okay?" he smiled brightly at her, handing her the new tray of drinks. 

She couldn't help but notice the way his eyes formed into small crescent shapes when he smiled, the feeling of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "I'm really sorry again. Please let me pay for a new shirt," she shaid, reaching into her bag for her purse. 

"I'll only forgive you if you stop apologising," he said, reaching a hand out to step her movements.

"Well... let me make it up to you somehow," she pleaded with him.

"How about a date? This Friday," he said, the smile on his face never faltering.

She could feel the heat rushing up to her cheeks as a smile involuntarily grew on her face. "You don't even know my name though," she said, realising they hadn't introduced themselves to each other yet. 

"Even so, I don't think I could live with myself if I let this opportunity to ask a beautiful girl out pass by," he said gently. Reaching into her bag to grab the protruding phone out, he swiped it open and continuously tapped the screen, entering in his contact information. "Here. Now you'd better get back to work, Taeyeon-shi," he smiled, before bowing deeply to her and walking away, not without waving and smiling back at her. 

A bright smile adorning her face, she couldn't stop the spring in her step walking back to the office. After distributing the drinks out, she took her phone and looked at the new contact number, smiling when she saw his name, 'Youngbae <3'.

"Oh, that's so romantic," Yoona said dreamily. "He sounds so sweet unnie."

"He really is," she smiled, drinking the last of her coffee. 

"Wait. Remember a couple of weeks ago, you said you did something really embarassing? What was that about?" Yuri asked, recalling the distressing messages they received not too long ago. 

"Oh... that... I don't even want to think about it," she said, hiding her face in her hands as she could feel the heat rising up to her cheeks again. 

"Well, now you have to tell us," Yoona said excitedly, digging into her cheesecake. 

"And don't leave out any details," Yuri said equally excited. 

"Well... yeah, this happened about two weeks ago..."

Walking side by side down the path and stumbling every few steps, they laughed joyously. "I haven't had so much fun in ages. Thank you for taking me out oppa," she said sincerely, her words somewhat slurred. 

"Wow. I'm slightly offended Ms. Kim," he said, a fake hurt expression on his face. "I've taken you bowling, on picnics and to the amusement park, but your favourite time is when we go drinking and bar hopping," he said, although he couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him. 

"No, I didn't mean it like that oppa. I just haven't been able to unwind and just let loose in so long. I can't believe you dragged me onto the dance floor like that. I would never have danced like that if you weren't there," she laughed, slightly stumbling as they approached her apartment building. 

"Woah, woah. Easy now. I'd better get you home quick," he laughed, pulling her closer to him so he could support her better. 

Walking closer to the building, he helped her towards the elevator and up to her apartment. Unlocking the door for her, he made sure she was safely inside and able to hold herself up. 

"So I'll call you tomorrow morning okay? Just to make sure you're okay," he smiled reassuringly as he helped her take off her high heels, making sure she wouldn't fall over. 

"Nooooo, stay. It's still early," she pleaded with him, giving him her best puppy dog eyes. "Pleaseeee," she said, using as much aegyo as she could muster. He laughed at her cute reaction, smiling widely as she tugged on his arm.

She stopped tugging on his arm and leaned in, drawing him closer to her as she kissed him tenderly. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she could feel his arms gently hold her waist as he drew her closer to him, deepening the kiss. She blindly pulled him in the direction of her bedroom, their tongues still battling for dominance.

Feeling the bed behind her, she pulled him down on top of her, their lips never separating. She felt him caress her tenderly, causing her to want him more and more. She removed her hands from around his neck and ran them down his hard chest, feeling every muscle beneath his shirt. Her hands travelled further down his body to the hem of his shirt, preparing to pull it over his head and lose herself to ecstasy. 

"Wait, wait, wait," he said as he removed his lips from hers, stopping her hands from taking off his shirt. Her arms automatically went back around his neck, trying to pull him down for another kiss. "Wait, we can't do this," he said as he pushed himself off the bed. 

"What are you talking about?" she said from her position on the bed, her lips clearly swollen from their make out session. "Come on oppa," she said, standing up and grabbing his hand, pulling him towards the bed. She kissed the bottom of his jaw, trying to turn his head to capture his lips again. 

"No, we can't do this Taeyeon-ah. At least, not yet," he said with regret, gently pushing her away from him. 

"I knew it," she said, sitting on the bed and staring at the floor. 

"Knew what?"

"I knew you wouldn't want me. You could probably have any girl you want. I don't even know why you're with me in the first place," she said, her words laced with remorse.

"What? Wait, wait, wait," Youngbae hastily said as he rushed to kneel in front of her, lifting her chin to look him in the eye. "Of course I want you. I want you so bad. But not like this. I don't want our first time to be because of all the alcohol we had. I want our first time to be special," he said tenderly, laughing gently when a small smile grew on her face. 

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Yah. What did I say about apologising? You need to stop saying sorry when you're not at fault," he laughed. He leaned in to gently kiss her, caressing her cheek softly. "Now, get some sleep okay? I'll call you in the morning," he said as he lay her down, pulling the blanket over her body and kissing her on the forehead.

"Goodnight oppa," she smiled before her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing evened out.

"Oh, what a gentleman," Yoona said, her eyes sparkling with envy.

"He really sounds incredible unnie. Most guys would take any opportunity to get into a girl's pants but he's a real gentleman. I think he's a keeper unnie," Yuri smiled approvingly. 

"You really think so?" Taeyeon asked nervously, playing with her now empty cup. 

"Yes unnie. He sounds wonderful. You can introduce us and maybe he can set us up with some of his friends," Yoona said excitedly. "Oh! Triple wedding!" she said, clapping her hands together enthusiastically as her and Yuri started talking about wedding dresses and churches where they could get married. 

Taeyeon just smiled at her two best friends, their enthusiasm and approval warming her heart. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

August 27th, 2012 - 2 a.m.

"There he is! The king himself! Get over here," Jiyong said enthusiastically waving him over as the rest of the guys made room for him on the couch of the VIP room in the club. "So? How did it go? Did you finish the bet?" he asked. 

Youngbae just nodded his head, grabbing the nearest bottle of beer he could find and downed half of its contents. 

"Ahh that's why you're the king! I'm not even mad about losing the money," he said with a big smile on his face, at the same time handing over a wod of cash. "So? How was she?" he nudged him playfully, winking at him in the process. 

Youngbae just grunted, not offering any more details. He quickly polished off the rest of the beer, snatching Jiyong's scotch from out of his hands and downing that too. 

"What's wrong with you hyung?" Daesung asked out of concern. 

"Nothing," Youngbae grunted, not meeting any of them in the eye. 

"Ahhh, I know what it is!" Jiyong said in realisation. "He's probably just exhausted from banging that chick's brains out," he laughed, the other guys laughing along with him. "Isn't that right Youngbae-ah? You're not as young as you used to be," he smiled. 

"I'm getting some fresh air," he mumbled, walking out via the back entrance. 

"But you just got here, hyung!" Seungri called after him. "What's up with him?" he asked the others, only receiving a shrug in response. 

"I'll go check it out," Jiyong said to the others, quickly following him out. "Dude, what's up with you?" he asked when he found Youngbae in the alley, smoking a cigarette. 

"Nothing man. I'm fine," he mumbled again, not meeting his eyes. 

"Don't give me that. You think I wouldn't know if something's bothering you? We've known each other practically our whole lives. Now tell me what's up," he said, stealing a cigarette of his own. 

"Aren't you tired of this?" Youngbae asked suddenly.

"Tired of what?"

"Tired of going home with a different girl every night? Don't you think it's time we grew up and tried to find someone to actually settle down with?" 

"What?" Jiyong asked, a perplexed look on his face. "What the hell are you talking about? Are you sick or something?" he asked, placing his hand on Youngbae's forehead. 

"Look man. If you want to a different girl every night, so be it. I don't care. Just don't drag me into it anymore," he said exasperatedly. 

"What the hell's gotten into you? What did that girl do to you huh?" he asked out of frustration. 

"She didn't do anything. I've just realised that I need to grow up and stop playing these stupid games," he said, extinguishing the cigarette. "Look. If you want to different girls every night, why can't you just be like every other guy and feed them drinks before you take them home? Why do you have to make them fall for you and then break their hearts? And why do you have to drag me into it?" he asked out of frustration, not realising that his voice was getting louder and louder. He drew a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm himself down. "Look. I'm sorry. It's not your fault. It's mine as well," he apologised, looking down at the ground in shame. "I'm just tired of breaking these girls hearts man," he said in defeat. 

Jiyong stared at him silently, not sure how to respond. He hadn't seen this side of his friend before. "Alright man. I get it. We won't drag you into our games anymore," he said, patting his friend on the back. "Has this got something to do with that cute chick from the coffee shop?" he asked, taking a drag of his cigarette. 

"Yeah. Her and all the other girls as well. As much as I love taking money from you guys, it's not worth it anymore," he said, shaking his head. "I'm gonna head off first man. I'll see you later," he said, patting Jiyong's shoulder before walking off, his head bowed low to the ground. 

Jiyong watched him walking away, not sure what to think. Shaking his head, he put the cigarette out before making his way back into the club.

"Where's Youngbae hyung?" Daesung asked, noticing only one person came back. 

"He said he was heading off first," he explained. 

"What's wrong with him?" Seunghyun asked, swirling his glass of wine. 

"I think he's growing up," he said, taking note of the confused looks on the other's faces. "He said he didn't want to be apart of our little escapades anymore."

"What? Why?" Seungri asked.

"Yeah, well it looks like he's out grown us," Jiyong said. "Maybe we should stop all of this," he said. Looking up from his seat, he saw three new girls in incredibly short skirts entering the club, a smirk forming on his face. "And maybe not," he pointed towards them before laughing along with the others. "First one to bed one of them gets a million won," he declared before walking towards them. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

August 28th, 2012 - 10 a.m.

"What do you think this is all about?" Yoona asked as she and Yuri made their way to the cafe. 

"I don't know but it sounded urgent," she replied. "I had to make up some stupid excuse to get out of work."

"Well, hopefully everything's alright," Yoona said, a look of concern on her face. Walking towards the cafe, they entered to find it relatively empty, only a few couples scattered here and there. Seeing the back of Taeyeon's head, they approached her table and took a seat in front of her, only to find her face tear stained and splotchy, used tissues all over the table. 

"Oh my god unnie, what happened?" Yuri asked, pulling her seat closer to her and gathering her into her arms. "It's okay. Shhh," she tried to sooth, gently rubbing her back. "Go get us some coffee Yoona," she whispered as she continued to soothe Taeyeon. 

After ten minutes of trying to soothe her and calm her down, the tears finally stopped, her body no longer able to produce them. "Unnie, tell us what's wrong," Yoona said, rubbing her arm gently. 

"That bastard. He used me," she said quietly, grabbing another tissue to wipe the rest of her tears away. 

"What are you talking about unnie?"

"Youngbae oppa. That bastard used me. He just wanted to bed me," she said, throwing away the used tissue. 

"What? I thought he was a gentleman though. He sounded so nice when you talked about him a couple of weeks ago," Yuri asked in confusion, her eyebrows scrunched up. 

"Yeah, well I was completely wrong. We had such a romantic evening last night. He cooked, wined and dined me, and we made love last night. It was the most romantic and loving night I've ever had," she started, only increasing the confusion. "But when I woke up this morning, he was gone. I only found a note telling me he had to leave for a while and he would be out of touch and not to contact him," she said, her voice hiccupping again, as new tears were threatening to escape her. "I tried to call him this morning but his phone was disconnected. I don't even know what I did wrong. I was actually falling in love with him," she said with sorrow. 

"Shhh. Shhh. Everything's going to be okay unnie," Yoona tried to sooth her, sharing a concerned glance with Yuri. They spent the next five minutes trying to sooth her and calm her down again, telling her that everything was going to be alright. 

"Maybe we can try and track him down," Yuri suggested. 

"No. I don't want anything to do with him anymore, that jerk. If I ever see that Dong Youngbae again, I'm going to kill him," she said viciously. 

"Um... Excuse me." 

The three girls turned to find two attractive girls standing behind them, cups of coffee in their hands. 

"Yes? Can we help you?" Yoona asked, wondering what they wanted. 

"We're sorry to interrupt, but we couldn't help but overhear. Did you say Dong Youngbae?" the pretty blonde asked. 

"Yes, do you know him?" Taeyeon asked, curious how they knew him. 

"We do, but we wish we didn't," the other girl said. 

"Please, have a seat," Yuri offered as the two new girls pulle