-  You made all this for me?

You looked at the cup of coffee resting on the table in front of you. Your eyes moved to look at the sandwich and the fruit salad and then back at the coffee before lifting your head up and looking at Taekwoon. He smiled warmly and nodded.

- You must have woken up very early, haven't you?

- Not that early.

You smiled as you looked at him. Staring at him unexpectedly overwhelmed you with a lot of feelings. Your eyes traveled down his face and rested on his lips. As if you were tethered to an invisible string that pulled you to him, you stood up and walked over to him.

- Do you want something else?

You chose not to answer him with words and instead placed your hand on his chin tilting his face up before leaning in and kissing his soft lips. His eyes widened in surprise and met yours when you pulled back just far enough so that your lips were barely above his.

- Is this okay?

He hummed in response and pressed his lips tenderly against yours. His eyes drifted close as he placed one hand behind your back, pulling you to him as the other hand your cheek. He kissed you back with an intensity that caused your heart to race and knees to weaken. You haven't felt this ecstatic before, never felt so alive. You let your hands slide down his shoulders, resting them on his chest. You could feel his heart pounding in his chest when you parted your lips and your tongues met as you tilted your head to deepen the kiss.

You pulled out of the kiss to catch your breaths. You were still standing between his legs gazing right into his eyes and you couldn't feel happier. This was the perfect moment, you thought to yourself. Before you could whisper the word you've been keeping to yourself for days, before you could say "I love you," the kitchen door flung open and one of his sisters let herself in without asking for permission. Your cheeks turned red and his ears were soon matching them when his sister stood there staring at the two of you in surprise before the corners of her lips lifted up in a smirk. You pulled yourself out of his hold and took your seat as you avoided her gaze. He stood up and yelled at her.

- What do you think you're doing?

- I just wanted to drink water. Why are you mad?

- You could have at least knocked.

-I did knock. But you were too busy to hear anything.

She said as she looked at you again. You were blushing heavily as you wrapped your hands around the cup of coffee to distract yourself from their fight. Seeing her stare at you, he yelled at her again:

- Get your water and leave

- Fine fine. I'll be out in a second and you can go on with whatever you were doing.

He grunted in annoyance as she grabbed a bottle of water and left the kitchen after winking at him.

You were dying in embarrassment as you grabbed the sandwich and munched on it pretending not to hear anything. You looked up at him when you noticed he was still standing next to you looking in the direction of the door. You held his hand and he looked at you.

- I'm sorry you had to see this

You gave him a smile as you said:

- It's ok.

He sighed audibly before sitting down on the stool next to you:

- Do you have siblings?

You nodded.

- Are they like mine?

You giggled and swallowed before saying:

- Sometimes

- My sisters are so annoying sometimes and I can't say anything because I'm the youngest

- It's ok

You said as you patted his hand and he smiled at you before saying:

- Do you like the food?

- Very much! But why aren't you eating with me?

- I ate while preparing it. I'm not hungry.

He then asked:

- Do you have plans for this afternoon?

You shook your head ‘no’ before asking:

- Why?

- I was thinking we could go shopping together, you know... To get Wonsik's sister a gift?

- Oh yes! That's a good idea! What time?

- Any time you want.

- I'll finish at 5 today so I'll meet you here when I'm done, is that okay?

- Yes, I'll wait for you.

 

You finished eating and asked him to give you your phone so you could leave but he had other plans.

- Meet me upstairs.

- Why?

- Just do it. Use the stairs.

He said and ran upstairs without giving you the chance to ask any more questions. You stood where he had left you for a couple of seconds before following him upstairs. You looked around before knocking on his door.

- Come in.

You heard him say from behind the door so you opened it and entered the room. Your jaw dropped and you couldn't believe your eyes.

- Was this all done in one day?

- Yes! I was here all the time urging the workers to finish.

Your eyes roamed the place in astonishment. He had a sofa in the corner, a bigger bed and a bigger closet. He also had a bookcase that was still half empty and you could see the boxes on the floor waiting to be emptied. He had a long mirror on one of the walls and new curtains. The room somehow reflected his character. It was simple yet elegant and chic.

He then moved toward the sofa and pulled its insides out revealing a mattress. You looked at him, puzzled when you couldn't understand the sorcery he'd just performed.

- How did you do that?

He giggled.

- It’s a sofa bed.

- Why do you need a sofa bed when you have your bed?

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before saying:

- I thought you might be able to spend more time with me if you had a place to sleep.

You stared at him steadily and you could see a faint hint of a blush creeping into his cheeks.

- You know I don’t need to sleep.

You said with a faint smile and he looked at you. So you continued:

- But I’ll think about it.

 

 

 

 

Before leaving the coffee shop Taekwoon had asked you to think of a possible gift to buy for Jiwon and you promised to ask your coworkers for ideas. He had no idea what to buy. Even though he bought you things before, he didn’t know Jiwon and wasn’t sure if she’d like the same things as you. Seeing him getting overly anxious about it, you decided to help him. During your break you excused yourself and left the shop. You remembered visiting Wonsik’s house a while after his sister was out of the hospital so you flew in the direction of the house hurriedly. As soon as you entered the house you headed toward the rooms trying to find Jiwon’s.

Her room was pink, a poster of a celebrity hanging on one of the walls and a pink diary resting on her desk. You looked around before changing forms and reaching for the diary. Opening it, you noticed a wish list written on the inside of the cover. You went through it until you found an answer to your question. She wanted the new album of the celebrity hanging on the wall and wrote a side note next to it saying she’ll ask Wonsik for money to buy it after her birthday. You tried memorizing his name and face planning to buy her the album and surprise her on her birthday. 

 

You flew back to the shop and changed forms before reaching for your phone inside your locker to check if Taekwoon had called you. You found a text message from him asking how your day is going so you replied saying it was good; you missed him and couldn't wait to see him tonight. Placing your phone back inside your locker, you headed back inside the shop.

As soon as you were back to your position at the front desk you saw Hakyeon walking into the shop. Is he going to show up every day? You thought to yourself as you waved back at him.

- Hey!

- Hi

- How are you?

- I'm fine, and you?

- I'm good.

He paused for a second.

- I just remembered that I didn't thank you last night... You know... For coming and listening to all my complains.

He was blushing as he rubbed the back of his head.

- You thanked me, last night...

- Did I? I must have forgotten then. But there is no harm in thanking you again.

You giggled. He didn't come to thank you, you were sure of that. He thanked you at least three times last night, so what was he trying to do now? You stared at him for a second before noticing Wonsik standing a few steps away from you gazing in your direction. You felt flustered when you saw him look at you and then at Hakyeon as a tiny frown formed on his temple. You felt drops of cold sweat forming on the back of your neck as you thought of the possibility of him seeing you sneaking into his sister's room. Hakyeon noticed the expressions on your face changing and saw you staring at something behind him so he turned around as saw Wonsik. Looking back at you, he asked:

- What's wrong? Do you know him?

-I'll tell you later.

Drawing a fake smile on your face to hide your nervousness, you called Wonsik.

- Hey!

You waved at him and he hesitated before walking in your direction.

- Hey.

- How can I help you?

- Do you know each other?

Hakyeon asked as he stared back at Wonsik who was looking at him curiously.

- He's Taekwoon's friend.

Hakyeon let out an "ah" before saying:

- Your boy?

- I need to talk to you.

Wonsik said firmly without looking at Hakyeon who was starting to feel uncomfortable. Wonsik was still frowning and furiously staring at you.

- I should go. I'll see you later.

He excused himself and turned around to leave and you were left alone with an angry Wonsik. Was he at home when you snuck into his sister's room? Did he see you? You'd get into so much trouble if he did! You pretended not to know anything about it as you asked:

- Is Taekwoon ok?

- Can we talk somewhere else?

- I... I just came back from my break.

- I know.

- What?

I'm definitely getting in trouble! You thought to yourself.

- I asked about you and they said you're in your break so I waited.

You almost let out a sigh. So he wasn't home; what a relief!

- Let me ask my friend if she can cover for me. One second.

He watched you as you walked up to one of your coworkers and then back to him when she nodded at you and took your place.

- I have 10 minutes.

You said as you followed him out of the shop. He leaned on the wall before taking a deep breath and saying:

- Are you cheating on Taekwoon?

- What?

You looked at him, dumbfounded at his question so he repeated it:

- Are you cheating...?

- I heard you the first time! And no! Of course I'm not cheating on him.

- Who is this guy then?

- Why are you asking?

- Just answer me.

His tone was demanding and you knew you had to give him an answer. You let out a sigh before saying:

- He's a friend.

- A friend?

He repeated and you said again:

- A friend.

- Does Taekwoon know about this friend?

- N...no.

- Why not?

- I will tell him... Just not now.

- Why not?

- I can't tell you.

You averted your eyes away from him. Knowing how much Taekwoon cared for you, he was hurt when he saw you with Hakyeon. Now that you didn't tell Taekwoon about Hakyeon, and seeing you avoiding his questions made him more worried.

- I saw you with him at the park after your date with Taekwoon. I was this close to telling Taekwoon about it! You either tell him or I'll do it myself. I won't let you break his heart again!

- Wonsik please...

Without saying anything or listening to you, he turned his back to you and left. You went back inside the shop trying to remember if you've seen him last night. How could he possibly see you when the park was empty and it was past midnight already?

You took your place back but focusing on your work was impossible. Was he really going to tell Taekwoon? You know you can easily tell Taekwoon about your friendship with Hakyeon but knowing he didn't really fancy him made you a bit worried. And now that Wonsik was thinking you're cheating on Taekwoon with Hakyeon made you more anxious about it.

 

 

You finished your shift and left as soon as you could. You were still very worried whether Wonsik had told Taekwoon anything about you even after the latter texted saying he'll meet you at 5:30 instead of 5 since he had to help his father with something around the coffee shop. You walked toward the coffee shop thinking of the best time to tell Taekwoon about Hakyeon when you remembered you haven't asked Hakyeon if he was okay with revealing his identity to your boyfriend. Deciding to keep it for later, you took wider steps toward the coffee shop.

When you saw Taekwoon smiling at you, you felt slightly relieved. So Wonsik hasn’t spoken to him yet, you thought to yourself as you admired the new decorations around the shop. You greeted his parents and then turned to him when he said:

- Can you wait for a few more minutes? We’re almost done installing the new coffee machine.

- Sure! I’ll wait for you.

 

 

Almost ten minutes later you were on your way to the shopping mall with Taekwoon. He was speaking excitedly about the new coffee machine and the new tools his parents bought for the coffee shop and you listened intently to all the details he mentioned even when you didn’t understand much of it. He asked you about your day and you tensed when you remembered your encounter with Wonsik. You lied, saying nothing special happened today when you remembered Jiwon’s gift.

- I thought of something for Jiwon.

He looked at you curiously as he asked:

- Really? What is it?

You thought for a second before saying:

- Is there a place that sells albums?

- Albums?

- Yes. Albums. Music albums.

He tilted his head in confusion before asking:

- Do you think she’d like it if we get her a music album?

- Yes. She said she wants…

You paused when you realized what you said. Will I ever stop doing that? You thought to yourself as you swallowed hard watching the expressions on his face change.  

- Did you talk to her?

- N… no.

- What is it then? How do you know she wanted a music album? When did she say she wanted one?

His eyes were getting darker as he stared at you waiting for an answer. You could feel cold drops of sweat rolling down your back as you said:

- I… I went to her room this afternoon…

- You did what?

His voice was loud and sharp and you could see anger all over his face. You tugged at his sleeve as you looked around at the people stopping to stare at the two of you. He glared at them before looking back at you and asking:

- Did you sneak into her room?

You nodded as you averted your eyes away from him in embarrassment. He let out a sigh before saying:

- Did anyone see you?

You shook your head ‘no’ and then said:

- I just wanted to know if she wanted something special for her birthday. I meant no harm I swear.

- [Y/N]! You can’t just sneak into people’s rooms! Did you think of what might have happened if they caught you inside her room? We’d both get in trouble! Nobody will believe us when we say you’re an angel and we were just trying to find out what Jiwon liked for her birthday.

He was right, absolutely right. But… you wanted to impress him. You wanted him to give Jiwon the gift and see her get very excited about it. You knew it would make him feel good about himself and sneaking into her room didn’t sound very bad to you at first.

- I’m sorry… I just wanted us to get her the perfect gift.

He sighed again.

- Even if we don’t get her the perfect gift, it doesn’t matter. I am sure she’ll be happy with anything.

- I’m sorry.

You whispered and he ruffled your hair. You looked up at him and saw him smiling. Your eyes widened in surprise as you asked him:

- Aren’t you mad at me?

- Mad? No. Just a little bit envious.

- What?

He chuckled.

- I’ve always wanted to be invisible and sneak into places without getting caught.

The corners of your lips lifted up in a smile. You asked:

- Do you want to sneak into girls’ rooms?

- What? No. That’s not what I meant.

You giggled.

- I know. I’m just kidding.

You paused for a second before saying:

- What if I can help you fulfill this desire? What if I can let you sneak into places? Would you do it?

- Are you still joking?

You shook your head ‘no.’

- I will have to ask my parents first if that’s possible, but what if it is? Would you do it?

He thought for a few seconds and then said:

- Tell me if it’s possible and then I’ll think about it.

 

 

 

 

Taekwoon decided it was safer to buy Jiwon another gift instead of the album. He couldn’t risk you getting caught so he settled for a perfume and you went along with it. He asked you if you wanted anything and you said you wanted nothing so you left the shopping mall and headed back to the coffee shop. On your way back his phone started ringing. At first you didn’t give it much attention but when you noticed the frown on his face you were starting to worry, especially after realizing it was Wonsik.

- What’s wrong?

- Nothing. Wonsik is just complaining about his boss. Nothing serious.

- Are you sure?

He ruffled your hair as he said:

- Yes. Don’t worry.

You sighed internally. Nothing to worry about, you faked a smile when your own attempt to reassure yourself didn’t sound very convincing.  You’ve just realized your aura was shaking lightly. Why is it always shaking? You followed Taekwoon inside the coffee shop when you suddenly remembered Hakyeon’s fading aura. Your mother had told you before that a shaking aura was an indication of danger, so was it also the case this time? You swallowed hard when you remembered the conversation you had with Wonsik and wondered if you and Taekwoon are about to go through some rough times which could cause your aura to fade away like Hakyeon’s. You were slowly losing your composure as worry was starting to take over you, so you excused yourself and fought the urge to stay when you saw Taekwoon’s pout. You promised to meet him early tomorrow since it was the weekend and he let you go after suggesting taking you out for lunch.

 

In your hurry to leave, you forgot to give him your cellphone. You noticed you still had it when you were out of sight a few blocks away from the coffee shop. When you changed forms it dropped to the floor so you picked it up immediately and walked back to the coffee shop. You entered it and his sister told you to find him in his room so you went upstairs. Before you could knock the door you heard him talk to someone on the phone.

- I don’t know… I’m not saying I don’t like… just listen to me… I know I wanted this but now I’m just… yes, I’m confused. It doesn’t feel normal… something about… yes I hate how it feels, cold and lifeless… I know… talk to her? Are you crazy? She’ll get very upset… the one I had before was a lot better… at least I understood how… I don’t know…

You were internally filling the spaces he left empty and you could feel tears welling up in your eyes. He doesn’t like me? He thinks I’m cold? Lifeless? The one he had is a lot better than me? He was definitely talking about me, you thought to yourself as you placed your phone on the floor in front of the door before going down stairs and leaving in a hurry.

You ran aimlessly as you let tears run down your cheeks and you suddenly found yourself standing in front of the shop where Hakyeon works. He came out as soon as he saw you standing outside.

- What’s wrong? What happened?

You remained silent as tears rolled down your face.

- Wait here. I’ll be right back.

He went inside the shop, collected his things and came back to you. You were still sobbing so he hugged you and let you cry in his chest for a couple of minutes until he could feel that you had finally calmed down. He tilted your head up a bit and asked you again as he let his thumb brush your tears away:

- Is it Taekwoon?

You nodded and he let out a sigh before saying:

- Let’s go somewhere else.

 

 

 

- Are you sure he was talking about you?

You nodded. You told him everything you heard and how you automatically linked it with him getting upset about you sneaking to Jiwon’s room and how he was astonished with your ability to become invisible whenever you wanted.

- He definitely doesn’t think I am normal. I try to act like a human but I will never be one. I thought he loved me the way I am but apparently he doesn’t. He thinks I’m cold and lifeless. How do I prove to him that I am not cold? I am not lifeless? How do I do that? I’m very tired Hakyeon, I’m tired of trying to be something I am not.

You were sobbing again so he took you in his arms and kissed the top of your head as he let his hand your back and hair gently.

After a few minutes of silent tears, you pulled out of his hug and stared at the ground under your feet. He broke the silence as he said:

- You know, I wanted to say this ever since I met you. I know how much you love Taekwoon but it bothers me to see you get hurt like this.

You looked at him in confusion when you didn’t understand what he was trying to say, so he continued:

- Maybe you… you shouldn’t be with him and be with someone who understands you better than he does.

- What?

Instead of answering with words he let his lips graze over yours before locking your lips together. Your eyes widened in surprise when he leaned closer to you forcing his lips on yours and not giving you a chance to back away. You hit his chest lightly and he pulled away, cheeks flushed and eyes avoiding you.

- I’m sorry. I just… really like you.

- I… I have to go.

You stood and left, unaware to the pair of eyes staring at you in disbelief.