Invisible String [1]
Genre: friends to lovers; slow burn; fluff
Pairings: Na Jaemin x Female Reader
Warnings: slow slow burn, lots of denial, fluff
Notes: 19.4k words, song prompt was Invisible String by Taylor Swift
Synopsis: Na Jaemin was an old friend who never became anything else other than that, a friend. But after a series of life decisions that led you to move from your small town to the big city, you slowly find out that maybe, after all these years, Jaemin was never just a friend. [Part 2]
The building stood massively right in front of you, a thirty-storey condominium apartment where you somehow managed to snag a good deal in a unit owned by your friend who opted to rent out the place when she moved overseas. It didn't matter to you that you were a renting tenant in this beautiful residential building, you're just glad to have found a home and move in smoothly.
You made it on time inside before one of the elevators closed. You got in clutching your bag's handle, giddy and excited to get home and get ready for the housewarming party your friends organized. You almost didn't notice that you were inside with another guy. You were busy being all giggly while chatting with your bestfriend on your phone. You discreetly inspected his appearance, tall and slightly muscular. The height difference made it impossinle to get a good look of his face without being noticed so you didn't. You wondered if he was a resident or if he was visiting someone. You weren't even that interested about it, your mind just randomly went toward those thoughts.
It was when you shifted your focus in front of you that you realized you can clearly see your reflection on the elevator door. You moved your head slightly on one side to check you hair only to find the guy's face reflected in the mirror, smiling at you.
He looks like Na Jaemin, you thought and then the realization made you gasp. You turned to him, one hand over your mouth and your eyes wide in recognition.
Jaemin laughed at your reaction and lifted one hand for a small wave. "Hello."
"Wow, it really is you," you blurted out, a smile slowly creeping on your lips.
"You seem happy to see me," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows and making you chuckle.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I am. It's good to see you!" you said, gently nudging your elbow on his arm.
"You too," he beamed. "What brings you here? Judging how surprised you were to see me, I can't possibly be the reason."
There's the Jaemin you know, playful and acts egocentric for the sake of being funny. He was one of your friends from high school with whom you shared the rest of your teenage life with. You kept in touch through the years but you rarely met because of obvious reasons.
"I just moved here. Do you live here too? That's amazing."
"I know. It's a small world."
You both laughed and for a moment you couldn't think of anything else to say. You were just baffled by the coincidence.
"How about some drinks later tonight? We can catch up or something. That is if you don't already have plans," he offered and it felt as though a switch was flicked in your brain when you remembered something.
"Ah, that reminds me. You should come to my house warming. Donghyuck organized it. Didn't he tell you?"
Jaemin appeared to think before fishing his phone from his jean pocket. "Actually, he did two days ago. I just haven't read it yet."
You rolled your eyes. "You still ignore his texts?"
"Only because he nags all the time. If it's important, he can call me."
You laughed fondly, realizing how little has changed. "So are you coming?"
"Of course. I'd love to. Hyuck would drag me there anyway if I don't go."
"Knowing you live in the same building, I figured he would," you quipped.
Jaemin did not only agree to come to your housewarming, he also offered to help you prepare. Although you said he doesn't have to because your friends would be bringing most of the food, you didn't argue when he insisted. Jaemin had always been the type to extend a helping hand anytime, especially to his friends.
It was still early so you did a little cleaning even though there really isn't much to clean. Then you texted your bestfriend Heejin to let her know Jaemin is coming. She was excited to meet another friend of yours from high school and said they'll be over as soon as possible. Jaemin then arrived and you open up the door to him holding stacked containers of side dishes.
"Oh, wow. That's a lot," you commented, opening the door wider for him to pass through. "Thank you."
"I haven't prepared an actual housewarming gift so I brought you side dishes instead," he explained as he set the container to the dining table where you led him to. "They're new. My mom just brought them yesterday. And you can return the containers after you've finished everything."
"This is enough, Jaemin. You didn't have to so thank you. And I love your mom's cooking. I'm sure these will be great."
"I'm glad you like it," he said, leaning his waist against the countertop as he watch you arrange the dishes in your fridge.
"She talks about you all the time when I go there to eat," you added, smiling as you remembered having late night drinks and barbecue at their restaurant back in your town. "Always telling everyone about her handsome chef of a son."
A fond smile flashed on his lips. "She does that a lot."
You glanced back at him, mirroring his smile. "I know. It's adorable.
There is not much to cook since your friends were bringing food too and there's not much to talk about either because you're not really detached with one another. You and Jaemin were in a close circle friends so you would meet at least twice or thrice a year to catch up and share significant moments of your lives with each other. Not to mention Thanksgiving when you would all be in your hometown and you would make sure to meet up. As for Jaemin, the last time you saw each other was at your father's funeral five months ago, which was sad now that you were reminded of it.
"Have you been well?" he asked after a while. You had been sitting in your living room after you were done with the preparations, both focusing on your phones to pass the time. "How's home?"
"Well, as much as losing a loved one sucks, we went on with our lives. First few weeks were difficult but we got by. Eventually, we got back on our feet."
"Good for you," he smiled, setting his phone face-down on his thigh. He stared at you for a while and you couldn't bring yourself to look away. No words were shared between the two of you, just comforting smile from him and an acknowledging nod from you. And then your doorbell rang, signalling what you assumed was the arrival of your friends. You both made a move for the door, stopping halfway to look at each other.
"I'll do it. It would be weird if you did."
He laughed. "Yeah, I realized that."
You made your way to the foyer just in time for the doorbell to ring again. On the door monitor, you could see your friends faces, waiting for you to open up.
"Welcome to my house," you beamed at them as soon as you opened the door. Hyuck pushed through your cheering girl friends and raised the champagne bottle he was holding.
"Welcome to the big city!" With a soft pop, the bottle was opened and he shook it with so much force that it squirted champagne everywhere within your space. You and the girls shrieked, running back inside to escape Donghyuck's champagne shower.
You were all giggling as you wiped the alcohol on your skin. Seola found Jaemin looking comfortable sitting on the long sofa.
"Oh, Jaemin! I didn't know you were coming!" She waved a hand at him and received a nod and a smile in response.
"Well, coincidentally, he actually lives in the same building. Isn't it amazing?" you told Seola, guiding them from the foyer into the living room. The boys soon followed, laughing and pushing each other into the house with Hyuck still carrying the half-empty champagne bottle.
"Hyuck, I'm not gonna clean after your mess, you should know that," you chided as you helped Seola bring the food to the dining table.
"It was for you!" said Hyuck, following you into the kitchen. He stood behind you and ducked to place his chin on your shoulder, nuzzling affectionately. Then he showed you a nice bouquet of flowers. "Here, I got another one."
"Well, thank you, but I still won't clean it so..." You spun to face him and take the bottle and bouquet from his hand. Then you pulled him to the part of the house where you kept your cleaning materials. You opened up the small cabinet and took out a mop. "Get started on it now. We'll eat once you're done."
"Aw man," he complained but he trudged back to the doorway anyway.
You looked around to see which of your friends came. There's Jaemin and Hyuck. Seola was present with her boyfriend, Minho. Heejin came with them too and you wondered if anyone else is coming.
You rounded back to the kitchen and helped set the table. "Is this everyone?"
"Yes. Did you want more?" asked Heejin, tilting her head at you and smiling before swooping in to give you a quick peck on the cheek.
"Not really but I kinda imagined you bringing Jinyoung along," you replied, referring to her boyfriend. Heejin snorted.
"Nah, he's on the night shift." She does a double take. "You know what, I think he's on the 24-hour shift. He never gets a break. Let alone sleep."
"I don't think any first year resident doctor gets any sleep," you noted.
"Honestly, I have no idea. I just feel really bad for him."
You felt an elbow brush your right arm so you glanced that way and saw Jaemin placing cold cans of beer on the table. Your gazes met and he gave you a quick smile before leaving your side.
Heejin nudged your elbow and whispered in your ear. "Handsome as ever."
You shrugged, glancing at him to make sure he wouldn't hear you. In a low voice, you said, "I know. He was already good-looking back then, now he's even more handsome."
"You mean hot?" Heejin wiggled her eyebrows so you giggled.
"Yeah, I guess he is hot now," you agreed, giggling quietly with your bestfriend.
"Who's hot?" Hyuck's head popped between yours and Heejin's.
"Not you," Heejin snorted, pushing his face before walking away. You laughed at her antics. Hyuck and Heejin have always had a love-hate relationship. Heejin was your friend in the city before you moved to permanently live in your father's hometown. She would occasionally visit you there and that was how she met your friends. You remembered how Hyuck treated her so well that she fell for him only for her to find out that Hyuck was in fact, just trying to be nice. That's how their Tom and Jerry relationship began.
"It's good that you're here now. And it's even better that Jaemin lives in the same building. That means we can get together more often," Hyuck said as you all started to get seated for dinner. Conversations and laughter filled the table, with Hyuck and Seola bringing most of the humor.
When you moved to your living room for drinks, you found out that they had each brought housewarming gifts and blessed you for your new home. The conversations soon turned to random accounts of the past, when you were all teenagers living in the moment and enjoying your youth.
You were reminded of the time when you were all in your small town, a bunch of high school kids trying to survive school. You were the new kid at the time, a fresh face from Seoul. Seoul ws not that far from the town, but it was still a small town and everyone at school was interested with the new face, especially Hyuck who befriended you first. Like Heejin, you mistook his warmth for affection, but luckily for you, you weren't really considering any romance on your first year of high school so you let it pass.
Your friendship would go on for the next few years and you celebrated everything with them, birthdays, competitions, festivals, and even something as small as getting through the exam week. Your circle wasn't big, mostly just you, Donghyuck, Jaemin, and Seola. As well as Jeno and Eunbi, both you rarely see now because life has brought you apart.
"Honestly, if it wasn't for Jaemin telling Hyuck to invite you to lunch, you would be hanging out with a completely different set of friends throughout school," Seola said while you were talking about the time you first came to school.
"Jaemin did?" you questioned, genuinely surprised. It was news to you because you had always thought it was Hyuck who was adamant that you became a part of their circle.
"You didn't know that?" Hyuck asked, surprised. "Remember when you won silver medal during the swimming competition in third year and we brought you flowers that made you ugly cry?"
You exhaled, rolling your eyes when the embarassing memory flashed in your mind.
"Jaemin bought those flowers," Seola confirmed. You glanced up at Jaemin, who was sitting right behind you on the couch while you were on the floor. He just flattened his lips together, embarrassed to admit or deny the fact.
"That's actually very sweet," Heejin sang, tilting her head to the side for effect.
"Jaemin took care of her so well that we had a secret bet in 11th grade on whether they'd start dating or not," Seola confessed and that was the one fact that made you gasp audibly.
"You did? I had no idea!"
Seola smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, it was kind of the point of the whole bet being a secret, sweetheart."
You glanced at Jaemin again to inquire if he knew about the bet. Jaemin shrugged and shook his head.
Heejin turned to Seola and asked, "Who won that bet?"
"Hyuck and Jeno," Seola replied, grinning at Heejin. "But technically they both cheated because we had no idea Jeno was making a move on her and Donghyuck knew about it."
"To be fair, even Jaemin knew Jeno was into her," Hyuck defended. "It's you girls' fault for thinking Jaemin had a thing for her."
"You still cheated and haven't paid us back."
You suddenly remembered Jeno, the only guy you dated in high school. It was a pretty long relationship that lasted from the beginning to the end of senior year. But like most first loves, that one never came back. Not that you wished for it to come back, anyway. To you, being a teenager and falling in love was both an embarrassing and beautiful thing to reminisce about.
You hadn't plan on getting anyone drunk on this party, but it just happened after Donghyuck took out his secret stash of alcohol that he kept hidden from you and you couldn't do anything about it. After all, what kind of housewarming party would this be if they all went home sober? By midnight, you were tipsy and dizzy, leaning your back on the sofa while Jaemin's arm was stretch on the backrest. You were almost oblivious of the proximity because Hyuck was flush on your other side, drunkenly singing a super sad rendition of Day6's Beautiful. Heejin was passed out on the other sofa while Seola and her boyfriend are nowhere to be found.
"Gosh, I hope they're not doing it in my bedroom," you joked after you pointed out their absence by asking if they left without saying goodbye.
"Actually, they went that way." Jaemin pointed to the direction of your bathroom.
"Oh, that's so much worse. I hope they clean up after themselves."
You laughed about it for a bit, only to be silenced by Hyuck's out of tune, sharp-pitched, high note. Your eyes met Jaemin's and you stared at each other for a while before you both burst out laughing.
"How is he so out-of-tune when he can sing really well?" you asked, nudging Hyuck so he'd stop getting sandwiched between the two men.
"Yeah, he is a good singer. Remember when we went to a karaoke room after the swimming competition?"
"I do. There was a singing contest and he registered at the last minute. Wasn't it you who signed his parental consent form?"
Jaemin nodded with a grin. "And he won."
"He did. Talented bastard." You paused, looking at Hyuck who is now mumbling inaudibly while resting his head on the armrest of the sofa. "Ah, about that. Is it true you bought the flowers that day?"
Jaemin shrugged. "It's pretty normal to give someone flowers to congratulate them on something."
"Was it also your idea to give me flowers when I ranked third in the exams?" Jaemin nodded, reaching forward to grab a snack from the coffee table. "How about those other times?"
He chewed on some chips before annswering. "Most times. But the guys picked up on it after some time. Until it became a habit."
You remembered how the boys would give each of you a flower for birthdays, contests, and graduation. You remembered how Seola broke down crying when her parents weren't present during her cello recital but the boys in your circle each had one bouquet of flowers for her so she felt a bit better. You went to a karaoke room after that and sang your hearts out until you were told to leave before 10pm because you were all minors.
"It's cute how you influenced the boys to do something nice," you chimed, glancing at the direction of the vase where you placed the flowers Donghyuck brought tonight.
"I didn't really intend to, but I'll take the credit," he grinned. At that moment, the bathroom door opened where a giggling couple came out looking equally breathless and euphoric.
"You guys look cozy," Seola said as she lunged into you, making Jaemin move aside. You grimaced at her, pushing Seola's face away from you when she tried to hug you. Her boyfriend, Minho gave you a sheepish smile. He had always been shy and you felt bad that he matched with a force like Seola. At the same time, you were happy for him because Seola is the most loyal person you know.
Seola pulled away from you just far enough to kneel on the carpeted floor. Her eyes were focusing on your clothes then on Jaemin's. "Hey, you're coupling again."
"What?" you asked, looking down on your clothes. When you glanced at Jaemin, you realized that your cream sweater matched his cream pants while his grey t-shirt is the same shade as your grey sweatpants.
Seola let out a pitchy laugh. "You guys look cute."
"Okay, alright, time to go," Minho chided softly, gently taking Seola by the arm to help her up. To you, he said, "I should take her home. She has work tomorrow."
You gasped, standing up at once to help Minho. "Why didn't she say that? Gosh, she shouldn't have drunk too much."
"I know," he chuckled as you handed him Seola's purse. "Thanks."
You walked them to the door and told them to take care before they left. When you went back to the living room, Donghyuck was laying down the couch, his head comfortabley resting on Jaemin's lap.
"I'll take him back to my apartment. You should rest now," said Jaemin with which you responded with a nod.
As you helped Jaemin drag Hyuck out of your house, you give the mumbling drunk man a peck on his cheek before bidding them goodbye. Cleaning followed after closing the door but it hasn't been five minutes yet since Jaemin left when he came back.
"Need help cleaning up?" He asked but didn't even let you reply when he pushed through the door and went straight to the living room to clear out the table. He made himself comfortable too quickly that you didn't even have the chance to say you can do it all by yourself, so you decided to just leave him to it.
Heejin woke up when you shook her, helping her up into your bedroom and telling her to change first before going to sleep. When you went back out, Jaemin had just finished putting out the last dishes from the coffee table and was about to start washing them but you stopped him.
"I'll finish up here. You should get some rest too."
"Are you sure?" he asked but he was already taking off the gloves, covering a yawn with one hand. You nodded. "Alright, I'll take out the trash then."
"Thanks," you smiled as he grabbed the trash bag. He walked up to you and mumbled his thanks too.
"Thanks for having me. And you're welcome."
"No. I mean, really, thank you for helping me out. I'm pretty drowsy myself so, you're a life saver."
He just stood there, smiling as he examined your face. Then he touched your cheek with the back of his hand. "You're welcome. Good night."
The next morning, you woke up later than expected and found the space next to you empty. A text from Heejin told you that she had to leave early for work so you scolded her for getting drunk on a weekday. As for you, you just got accepted in your new work and will begin tomorrow but you need to drop by the office today to set up your desk. So after a quick bath, you took your car to the office, making sure to pass by the coffee shop right in front of the building to pick up some coffee for your colleagues in the PR team of the Marketing Department. Your team leader has briefed you about your team so you knew how many cups to buy. Much to your surprise, you found Jaemin in the counter, taking your order. He smiled upon seeing the surprise on your face.
"Did you have a good sleep?" he asked jovially.
"I did, thanks for asking. How about you? You seem energetic and fresh, it makes me jealous," you grumbled.
"Nothing a cup of coffee can't fix," he replied, repeating your order to you before he passed it on to the barista.
You were looking around when Jaemin got back to you. Amazement is evident in your eyes as you took in the interior of the whole cafe. Jaemin couldn't help but smile.
"What do you think?" he asked, prompting your attention.
"I think it looks amazing. Is this yours?" you questioned with a proud smile.
Jaemin shrugged but he nodded his head. You uttered a 'wow' that made Jaemin smile even wider.
"That's why the name was familiar," you noted, remembering that Jaemin's parents had set up the same cafe in your town less than a year ago. "It suits you."
"Because I love coffee?" he asked, stepping out of the counter to join you.
"Yeah. You're crazy for it," you laugheed mockingly. "I think addicted may be the right term."
Jaemin raised two hands. "Arrest me officer." You laughed at his lame retort and he did too. "What brought you to the area?"
"Here?"
"Not me, I assume. You're surprised to see me again."
You laughed because it was true. "No, not you. Actually, I'll start working there tomorrow." You pointed at the building across the street.
"The Marketing Firm?" he asked and you nodded. "That's great. Some employees there are regulars."
"I would assume so."
"Congratulations," he chimed before going back to the counter. You watched him move around while you waited for your order. After less the two minutes, he brings out the cups of coffee you ordered and a slice of cheesecake. "It's on the house. For good luck."
"No, no. I can't just take this for free," you insisted, taking out your card to pay for the cheesecake. But Jaemin crossed his arms over his chest to refuse. Seeing he would never take it, you stuffed it back into your wallet. "Thank you. I guess I could use some good luck."
"Just come find me here. I'll give you more of it."
You felt happy hearing that. For some reasons, your worries about moving here started dissipating. "Thanks. See you soon."
At the office, your desk had a few balloons on it and the team welcomed you with applause. You had a little time to get acquainted with them before they resumed their work and you started setting up. After about an hour, you bade them goodbye and your team leader even walked you out.
Early the next morning, you headed out for work. Since you arrive a bit early, you decided to drop by the cafe to get coffee and hopefully say 'Hi' to Jaemin. He wasn't there though, but you didn't think about it too much and just got yourself a nice cup of iced latte.
Work was work. It wasn't very tiring, but you had quite a lot of tasks on your first day. On your previous job, you would have complained about the workload, but since this was your first day, you were pretty energetic. PR management was quite difficult and your role is mainly on social media management. As a newbie, you were assigned with only one client first, a food brand. But other than handling their social media, you also had to prepare presentations on your online promotion approaches and techniques to be presented to the meeting by afternoon on that day.
At lunch, you got ready to leave with your colleagues, Yunseo and Jaehee, but a delivery arrived for you and it was a packed lunch from Jaemin's cafe.
"It's from the boss, ma'am," said the delivery guy who was actually a service crew from the cafe.
"Thank you. I appreciate it," you replied before bidding him goodbye and going back to your cubicle.
Yunseo called your name as she headed to your desk. "Are you still coming?"
"No, actually, I think I'll have my lunch here," you replied, looking up at her when she was by your desk.
"Oh, Nana's Cafe? That's where we're going for lunch," she said. "It's right across the street."
It came with a note saying he heard you were looking for him that morning and enclosed his number for you to contact.
"Is that a note?" Yunseo asked but you were quick to put it away and give her an awkward grin. Yunseo gave you a teasing look.
"Just come with us, eonnie," said Jaehee. "It would be lonely here by yourself."
There was no reason for you to decline and it was true it would be lonely to eat alone. Besides the fact that you want to get to know your co-workers better, you also don't want to seem like a loner. With the packed lunch in your hands, you joined them at the cafe for lunch where the four of you found a comfortable spot to sit in.
"The food is great here," Jaehee commented just as you all settled down after ordering.
"Yes, and the owner is handsome," Yunseo added, giggling as she brushed shoulders with you. "He's quite popular online too."
"You know what, I tried to get him to work with XO Foods but he declined. I guess he knows he's popular enough and won't need the exposure," Jaehee shared while you just nodded.
"How popular is he?" you asked, taking interest on the subject.
Yunseo pulled up the cafe's IG and sure enough, they are tagged in plenty of posts, with most of these posts featuring Jaemin himself. Sure you've seen the tags and insights about the cafe, but you had no idea the popularity was mainly due to Jaemin's visuals.
"It helps that he had several branches in the city and systematically works in one branch every day," Jaehee added. "On Wednesdays, he's here."
"Yeah, doesn't he have like, six branches all over Seoul?" Yunseo asked and Jaehee nodded in response.
"How do you know so much?" asked Woojin, your male colleague.
"Because I tried to get him on with XO Foods! I did a bit of research about him."
Yeonsu expressed that she had a crush on Jaemin and dropped by regularly every Wednesday to spot him. You found out that this place was dubbed Wednesday Branch because Jaemin is here on Wednesdays. He had six branches in Seoul has scheduled days on each branch. Yeonsu said he's probably at the Apgujeong branch today. Woojin, on the other hand, joked that Jaehee and Yeonsu are simps for the owner and he's just here because the food is top tier.
"He's a dreamboat, any girl would simp over him," Yunseo said dreamily. You looked down at the lunch that was delivered to you a while ago and hoped they wouldn't start asking where you got it from.
You realized just how much you didn't know about Jaemin. You knew he became a chef and had a restaurant, but not to this extent. And you cannot say it was because you weren't interested, rather it was because he speaks less about himself in a humble, reserved kind of manner. You realized you should have believed Hyuck when he went on about how Jaemin is the richest among your friend circle today. He was right, it seems. And as you all ate, you realized the food really was great.
Jaemin wasn't much of a cook as far as you remember, but he always cooked when you're hanging out at Jeno's place. It was his mom who made phenomenal food. His mother owned a small restaurant in your town that you frequented in. You hung out there to eat after exams, or games, and stuff. You even remember that you had your very first alcohol there when his father slipped soju disguised as a water bottled on your table when you all turned 19. You got caught of course, but since you've finished up the entire bottle, Jaemin's mom can only scold you.
The week passed quickly and you have fully adjusted to your new work and your new home. On your way to work, you passed by the cafe. It has become a habit since you didn't own a coffee maker and needed coffee in the morning. You would have gotten yourself one, but you sucked at making coffee. An instant capsule is what you can do at best, but your taste buds just don't like it. A female employee was on the counter when you went to order and she gave you a buzzer. You found a seat and waited there as you realized the considerable amount of people in the cafe. It was more packed than usual, mostly with girls. Then you realized today was Wednesday and Jaemin will be here.
Come to think of it, you haven't bumped into him all week, which you thought was weird considering you live in the same building and floor. Maybe your schedules don't match so you didn't think much about it. But then there were quiet gasps from the customers, followed by murmurs. When you followed their line of sight, you saw Jaemin carrying a tray with a smile. You realized he was looking at you and felt conscious of the murmurs.
He placed the takeout cup in front of you along with a fold of tissue papers and your receipt.
"Here you are." His smile was beautiful today, well to be fair, you had always thought his smile was radiant. "How did you like the food?"
"Sorry?" you asked, puzzled for a second. "Oh, from last week. Yeah, it was great. Top tier, even. Thank you so much for that by the way. And I actually had most of my lunches here."
You felt a little bad for forgetting to thank him. He even gave you his number but it totally slipped your mind.
"I'm glad you liked it. Come back more often, maybe you'll catch me here and I'll give you a discount."
"Like, on Wednesdays?"
Jaemin gave you a teasing look. "You know my schedules?"
"My coworkers do."
"I see, well I'm here on Wednesdays. I'll be expecting you."
Your phone buzzed and you checked it to see a message from Jaehee. You hurriedly grabbed the coffee and found a complimentary cookie with it so you thanked Jaemin.
"You're welcome. Enjoy your coffee," he said as you handed him the buzzer. "Will I be seeing you for lunch?"
"Sorry?" you questioned. He asked that right when you were at the door, making everyone hear him. For a moment, you thought he was inviting you to have lunch with him.
"With your coworkers."
Your eyes widened in realization and shame. "Oh. With them, of course. I think so. They would hate to miss you today."
"Alright then. See you later."
But you didn't see him again that day, and for the rest of the week. A lunch meeting had been scheduled for your team to meet up with a certain client so you all skipped Nana's Cafe.
Days seemed to pass quickly in the city. You woke up one weekend to find your mother at your doorstep with shopping bags in her arms. You let her in and she went on to comment about how it's late in the morning and you're just climbing out of bed.
"Mom, I'm not late. You're just early," you reasoned, sitting next to her on the sofa and leaning on her shoulder to get more sleep.
She shook her body to get you off of her. "Go get a bath first!"
"Later," you grumbled, locking her in your embrace. She eventually stopped squirming and just let you hug her. She even had you lay your head on her lap. "How are you these days?"
"Fine. I've done nothing but work, but it's not that hard," you confessed, closing your eyes as she caressed your head.
"How about food? Are you eating well?"
"If you're so worried, you should have brought me food instead of clothes," you conplained, although you both knew you meant it as a joke.
Your mother looked at the shopping bags. "What's the point of raising you when you can't even say 'thank you'?"
You just laughed, the familiar warmth creeping in your heart upon hearing your mother's familiar nagging. While most moms can bring home-made food and side dishes for their children, your mom brings you clothes and accessories. She grew up in a wealthy family and was pampered for most of her life so she never really worried about cooking. Even after she married your father, you still lived in comfort and your father is a great cook. You had come to accept that about her because like your mother, you are also an awful cook.
"Jaemin's mom said you two live in the same building," she asked. "Do you see him a lot?"
"Not really. But I always eat at his cafe."
Your mother chuckled. "How nice is that? Back home, we get most of our food from their restaurant. Here in the city, you eat at their son's cafe. We rely on their family's cooking too much, don't we?"
You sat up and looked at her with a smile. "If you put it like that, it does sound funny."
She flicked your forehead, making you scream in pain. "Be grateful. Neither you and I can cook! You should have learned a thing or two from your father if you wanted to survive by yourself."
"Mom, there are restaurants for a reason!" you clapped back and she couldn't even respond because your doorbell rang.
You glanced at it and groaned. "Why are you people barging in so early?"
As you stood up, your mom angrily scolded you for calling her 'you people'. But your loud gasp quieted her. She followed right behind you asking what happened. "Who's there? Why are you so surprised?"
Jaemin's face is clearly registered on your door monitor. Your mother beamed happily. "Oh, it's Na Jaemin. Open up."
"You open up. I'm gonna go brush my teeth," you declared, bolting towards the bathroom to freshen up.
You also changed into more decent clothes, remembering to wear a bra. After a while, you came out to find your mom and Jaemin at the kitchen, arranging containers in your fridge.
"What's going on here?" you prompted, making your way to them and grabbing an apple from the fruit basket on your table.
"Good morning," Jaemin greeted passively, eyes focused on his task.
"Jaemin brought side dishes," your mom said happily and you glanced at Jaemin who smiled at you.
"Again? Thank you so much. That's so nice of you," you chimed, helping them by taking out the old ones he first gave you about a month ago. Most of them were already empty.
"Mom came over yesterday. She brought more this time because I told her I shared them with you," Jaemin told you. Then he turned to your mom. "She just left this morning, actually. It's a shame you missed her, Auntie."
"It is. We could have went to a spa together or something. You know, to thank her for including my lazy daughter."
"Mom!" you chided while you got ready to wash the old containers.
But your mother ignored that. "Ah, how about we set a schedule for it? We could come to Seoul together and bond."
"She would love that," Jaemin affirmed and your mother seemed happy to hear that.
"It's the least I could do. Your mother helped me a lot. And I'm thankful for you helping my daughter out here. We owe so much to your family."
You let them chat away while you wash the dirty containers. After that, you wiped them clean and packed them so Jaemin could bring them back to his house. While you were at it, Jaemin and your mother has moved to the living room so you decided to slice up some fruit for them.
"So I heard. I'd go over next time I'm here," your mom told Jaemin. They were talking about Jaemin's restaurants when you joined them.
"You can go over today, mom. Why wait till next time?"
Your mom turned to you. "I won't be here for long. I have plans with your grandfather today and then I'll go back home."
You just nodded, taking a fork to get a slice of peach. Your mom did the same.
"That's a shame. But I also have plans today, so I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to entertain you anyway," said Jaemin, standing up from his seat. "I actually have to go now. I just came to drop the sides."
"You're leaving already? I sliced fruits!" you told him but he just chuckled.
"I brought those fruits. I can have them at home."
"Ah, right. Thank you, by the way. And thank your mom for me. I really appreciate it."
"I will. It was nice seeing you again, Auntie. Come visit me anytime."
"I will. Thank you, Jaemin."
You both walked him to the door, uttering more thanks until he disappeared. After that, you went with your mother to meet your grandparents. It was a hearty lunch with them who fondly showered you with compliments and kept telling you to go see them when you're free. You realized yet again that it has been a month since you moved here but you haven't really gone out to meet anyone. You made a mental note to go see them next weekend.
Heejin calls you while you were on your way home. You had just parted with your mother after the lunch with your parents and you had actually ignored Heejin's messages during that.
"I just got home, what is it?" you asked.
"This is crazy news! Crazy!" she said, sounding ballistic. You thought she'd deliver some gossip or exclusive like she always does. Although during those other times, she didn't act this excited. Heejin is a journalist in a big paper and she writes mostly about celebrities.
You stood in front of the underground elevator and it had just closed when you pushed it again, hoping it would open just before it ascended.
"Spill it."
"Jeno just got engaged."
At that moment, the elevator door opened and you saw Jaemin and Jeno staring right back at you. You were surprised to see them, but Jeno was more surprised to see you. He might have tried to hide behind thick sunglasses and a bucket hat, but you recognized him anyway. You hung up on Heejin and awkwardly entered the elevator with the two guys behind you.
You heard Jeno call your name so you glanced back at him and smiled. "How long has it been?"
"I'm not so sure. But it's been a while," you replied, eyeing Jaemin curiously.
"It's good to see you again," Jeno added, smiling underneat his sunglasses. You can almost see the way his eyes were smiling at you too.
"You too, Jen."
You remembered the time you started going out with the ace student, Lee Jeno. How you were both in the same friend circle and you had a crush on him the moment you met him. He was nice to you but didn't express interest until late into junior year. You dated for a while, innocently navigating young love. He was wealthy and had a good background. When his father got married, you all attended the ceremony to comfort him because he disliked the whole thing. But right before graduation, you remembered breaking up with Jeno after he said they were moving permanently in Seoul where his stepmom was working as an actress. You would have been fine with LDR, but he wasn't, especially after he said he auditioned to be an idol trainee and got accepted. You remembered crying, like the dumb teen that you are. And it was in the restaurant of Jaemin's family, surrounded by your friends that you were comforted by spicy tteokbokki.
You had long made peace with your break up. It was long ago and you were both young then. Heck you have even dated two other guys since then. You were happy for him and he seemed happy too. He didn't become an idol, but he made a name for himself as an actor. The last thing you remember reading about him was that he had quit acting and is teaching at an art school. Now, it seems he will soon get married.
"Would you like to join us for drinks? We're celebrating my engagement. Donghyuck will be there too," Jeno invited just as you all got off the same floor.
"Thanks but I have work tomorrow. Congratulations, though."
"Alright. It was nice to see you again."
They headed to the direction of Jaemin's unit and before leaving, Jaemin turned to you to say, "Goodnight."
"Have fun," you replied before punching in your passcode.
Heejin called you after the articles were posted and gushed about how you dated an actual celebrity.
"Well, he wasn't a celebrity then and we were literal teenagers," you blurted.
"Did you kiss at all?"
Your brows knitted, glancing at her face on the video call. "Yes. But that's as far as we went. Don't get weird ideas."
Heejin laughed. "Wouldn't it be nice if it was you?"
You rolled your eyes, pausing on the typing you were doing in your laptop. "Are you interviewing Jeno's ex-girlfriends for an article? Why are you asking ridiculous questions?"
"No, I'm not. I'm just curious."
You thought about her question and then shuddered. "No. Can't even imagine myself there. We were just kids when we dated, Heejin. And I pretty much never thought about marriage at that time. Good for him that he's settling down though."
"What about Hanbin? You talked about marrying him two years ago."
"Yes and we broke up right after that because he wasn't ready but he got married a month later."
"Geez, why is everyone getting married?" Heejin grimaced and shuddered.
"Just so you know, we're at the age where our friends are all getting married.
"Not me. I won't." Heejin laughed maniacally.
You were working late at night on some edits in your publication materials when you suddely felt hungry and decided to go to the convenience store. There was one attached to the building, so you didn't have to go too far, but you were disappointed to see that there were barely any food left and the convenience store guy said the new stocks will come in tomorrow. You should have gone grocery shopping that weekend, so stupid.
When you went to pay for some chips, you saw the man in front of you putting two packs of ramen on the counter. Those were the last ones and you thought about buying them from the hooded man.
"Excuse me, do you really need two packs of ramen? That's pretty heavy. How about letting me buy the other one instead?" you asked and then realized it wasn't the right approach. When the man turned to you, you saw that it was Jaemin. "Oh, it's you."
Jaemin grinned. "Wanna eat ramen with me?"
"Yes!" you replied without missing a beat and the cashier girl made a loud gasp. Only then did you realize the situation and the reason for her reaction. "No. I mean... like actual ramen. Not whatever type of ramen. Hey!"
The girl was startled when you hollered at her. From the looks of her, she seemed a lot younger than you are, probably a part-timing student. "Yes, ma'am?"
"How old are you? Why are you thinking weird thoughts?" you scolded despite feeling embarrassed to the point of blushing.
"I didn't say anything, ma'am."
Jaemin grabbed the chips from your hand and slid them to the counter. "Ignore her. She's just shy. We'll pay for these."
You hit Jaemin's arm when you recognized the teasing in his tone. He just laughed and turned to the cashier. After paying, you ran out of the store first while Jaemin followed.
"Should we walk some more? There's a convenience store two blocks from here," he offered as you walked back to the building entrance.
"I thought you were gonna give me the other one?"
Jaemin glanced at you. "I would have, but one pack is not enough for me and Donghyuck."
"Hyuck again? He should just live with you at this point," you quipped. Donghyuck always went to hang out at Jaemin's place and often he would invite you guys in the group chat but most of you are busy.
"I thought you have work tomorrow?"
You nodded. "I'm making last minute edits. Then I got hungry."
"How about joining us? There's fried chicken and this ramen too."
You sighed as you two stopped in front of the elevators. "I'd love to, but I can't hang out tonight."
"You don't have to. You can just eat and then leave right after. It'll take you only five or ten minutes max."
"Okay. Thanks," you replied. You were hungry anyway and you could use a break from staring at your computer.
You thought Jeno would still be there, but Jaemin said he had left an hour ago. Hyuck was playing video games while Jaemin worked on the food. There were beer next to Hyuck and he was screaming at the TV screen so you opted not to join him even though the sofa seemed inviting. You noted how Jaemin's home was clean and cozy, especially his kitchen.
He worked fast, all the while chatting you up on your day and teasing about how your ex is about to get married.
"It's fine as long as I get an invite for being his first girlfriend ever," you joked, chopping up some spring onions that he surprisingly trusted you to help with.
Jaemin laughed. "That's funny because I actually need a plus one. You should come with me. We can laugh at their high society guests and meet celebrities."
"Laugh at their high society guests? I'm pretty sure my mom would be there too."
"Ah, right. She's friends with Jeno's Dad." Jaemin pointed the spoon at you. "And you're from high society."
You snorted and shook your head, taking the spoon from his hand. "Never lived that way. Not even once."
You tasted the broth and complimented its rich flavor. Jaemin laughed at you, saying the flavor came with the pack.
"You're right. It wasn't from your talent," you quipped and you both laughed.
"Are you two dating? You seem in love and happy," said Donghyuck who popped out of nowhere.
"Shut it," you threatened, holding out the spoon as a weapon.
You and Hyuck basically inhaled the food as soon as it was served. It didn't wait long and Jaemin wasn't only a good cook, but a great chef. He had eggs with it and some leafy greens as well as delicious side dishes from his mom.
"This kimchi is great," Hyuck commented and you nodded in approval.
"If I went home with just the chips, I would have ate the side dishes in my fridge," you said, taking more noodles from the pot.
"Is the restaurant still there?" Hyuck asked, referring to the restaurant owned by Jaemin's family.
"Yeah. The cafe was right next to it but their restaurant is more popular," you replied. "I still frequented the place when I was there. And I also got updates about Jaemin from his mom. She talks about him all the time."
"Were you so interested about Jaemin that his mom talked about him so much?"
You slurped on the noodles and glared at Hyuck. "I'm not!" you insisted but somehow it came out a little too defensively even if you didn't mean to.
"She talks about you a lot too," Jaemin said to you. "When I go home, or when she comes over, she talks about you and what you're up to."
"Right, didn't she tell you about her and Hanbin going out?" Donghyuck laughed and Jaemin nodded, grinning playfully.
"She did. She also said Hanbin dumped you and got married one month later."
You rolled your eyes at them, taking their teasing in stride.
"It was a good riddance. Hanbin is a jerk," Hyuck spat.
"I agree," said Jaemin. "Remember when we graduated high school and he punched a classmate for taking a picture with her girlfriend at the time?"
Donghyuck scoffed. "Yeah, total garbage."
"How did you end up dating him, anyway?" Jaemin asked, his forehead creasing with how much his brows were knotting.
"To be fair, he stopped being a jerk. He wasn't a jerk even after we broke up. We talked about marriage and we agreed but he wanted to stay there. I don't. God knows I would never be content to stay in that town my whole life," you explained.
"Good for you. Our town was lovely, but you can't make a life of your own if you don't get out of there," Hyuck said and you were surprised that he was taking the conversation seriously.
It was ironic that you were the last to leave, considering you were the one who wasn't originally from that town in the first place. But you're happy now that you're out of there. It was a lovely town, like Donghyuck said, but it hinders your endeavors. You know you are made for more than just a small town marketing assistant. Heck you even went to a big school just to make sure you find opportunities outside town. You ended back there and stayed for two years before you're finally out.
You remembered college graduation and realized even on that, you were with the same friends to celebrate. You came home after graduation and the town had a big party to congratulate you and the others who finished their studies. Jaemin was the one who handed you flowers at the time. And then you got drunk with your friends, singing your hearts out in a karaoke room like you always did when you were teens. You missed every second of it and loved looking back on it.
A few days later, you attended a meeting for the XO Foods' anniversary events. The main task was to hold a cooking competition and the winner will be an endorser for the brand. There was a long list of potential contestants and you weren't surprised to find Jaemin in that list. They picked the most popular, good looking, and young candidates for the mini-show. Its main purpose was to promote after all so picking people with good visuals was vital.
After the meeting, you took it upon yourself to visit Jaemin's cafe to find him and talk to him about the competition. There was prize money and the feature can help his brand and help the company as well. It was a Friday, so naturally he won't be at the cafe. Then you remembered you had his number so you texted him instead. But instead of replying, he just called you.
"I know you didn't wanna do it. My coworker has tried before, and you declined. But I just wanna know, maybe, if you changed your mind about working with XO Foods for a project?"
"XO Foods?"
"Yeah. They're the client I'm assigned to."
"Alright, sure," he replied without missing a beat.
That was quick and you haven't even explained the whole thing yet, so you did just that before accepting his answer.
"Yeah, I'll do it," he replied after your explanation. "I could use the exposure and the pay seemed decent."
You squealed. "Thank you! Oh, gosh. I though it would be difficult to convince you."
Jaemin just chuckled heartily. "Anything for you really."
You gawked at nothing, confused by what he said but you kept quiet.
"Just let me know when you need me for it."
"Yeah, I will."
"Alright, y/n" he smiled, followed by a proper enunciation of your name that seemed to roll perfectly on his tongue.
You weren't prepared for the random texts that you would get from him ever since he got your phone number. At first it came the next morning, a picture of freshly made bread pulled out from the oven. It had a note that says, "Come try a piece before you get to work!" Then the next day at lunch time, he asked if you already ate and whether you'd like to try the newest addition to their menu. The texts were mostly that and it almost felt like you subscribed to a food delivery service that sends notifications about food. You didn't think much of it, but replied politely anyway. Sometimes you said the food looks good, sometimes you said you'd get a bite before work, other times you can only decline due to work. But it was fun so you just went with it.
The meeting with three competing chefs came and you felt proud of your team for a job well done. Everyone is engaging in your online campaigns and you managed to snag three competitive, handsome and pretty, popular influencer chefs. It went smoothly and surely it did not slip your coworkers notice when Jaemin approached you after for a quick chat. Nothing much was talked about between you. He just asked if you had lunch already and left after you said you did.
Jaehee and Yunseo started teasing you and asked how you two were so close.
"We're friends, that's all," you said concisely. It was the truth and there really isn't anything else to add.
"Why didn't you tell us? We've been to his cafe a lot of times! We even met him!" Yunseo asked, playfully hitting your arm several times.
"Well, it felt a bit obnoxious to say I know a popular person," you confessed which was true too.
"Is that why he always comes out to greet us?" Jaehee asked, bewildered. "And you got him to join the competition too!"
"Eonnie, if you guys aren't a thing, maybe you can introduce me," Yunseo suggested, batting her eyelashes at you and making you chuckle.
"We're not a thing and I'll introduce you for sure but how he reacts to it will be up to him," you told Yunseo who just squealed happily and said she'll be fine as long as Jaemin knew her name. "You're a cutie."
"Am I?" Yunseo asked cutely. "I hope Jaemin thinks so too."
Border
Jaemin knocked on your door early that weekend and you opened up to see a box of pastry from him.
"What's this?"
"Oh, it's the cookie samplers I promised you last time," he said, referring to one of his texts.
You took it from his hand and noticed that he was dressed for jogging. "Thank you. Were you working out?"
"Yeah, I went for a jog then passed by the cafe for that," he replied, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Anyway, gotta go. I got work today. Enjoy your day-off though!"
"Thanks again. Have fun at work!"
You didn't think you'd see him again that day, but you did. The brunch date Yunseo had set up with you and Jaehee happened to be at Nana's Cafe in a different branch.
Yeonsu said Jaemin would be here today. She wasn't wrong because Jaemin was at the counter, taking orders. He noticed you and immediately switched with a staff to take your orders.
"These are my coworkers. You've met them before," you introduced. "Jaehee and Yunseo."
Yunseo stood up to shake hands with him. "Nice to meet you."
"You too," Jaemin beamed. "What can I get you started with?"
After taking your orders, you chatted amongst yourselves and waited for it to come. Jaemin was the one who brought it out too when they were ready, even going as far as giving three small slices of chocolate cakes for each of you. He said it was on the house since he was glad to meet your friends.
"Thanks, Jae," you said before he left.
"He likes you," Jaehee chimed as soon as Jaemin was out of earshot. You shushed her but Yunseo joined in on the teasing.
"He does."
You rolled your eyes and sighed. "Jaemin is an old friend and he'd always been nice to me since high school."
"Then he must have liked you for a long time now! You sync so perfectly, even your wristwatch were same colors!" Yunseo pointed iut enthusiastically.
"How did you even catch the color of his watch?" you questioned, genuinely bewildered by her attention to detail.
Jaemin liking you was a ridiculous idea that you refused to entertain. But it lingered in your mind. As you went home, you wondered if Jaemin had always been that sweet and friendly. The answer was no. He was more of a subtle kind of friend, coming up with clever ways to make people feel special despite acting aloof most of the time. He must have gotten over his inexpressiveness and is now being openly nice and sweet to his friends.
To you, you thought he had always been aloof too. But he did make you feel his friendly affection in some ways.
Participants had an interview at your company on Monday and it was broadcasted live online. You were there as part of the PR team and you were closely monitoring interactions from viewers. Sure enough, a lot of people watched the Live, proving just how popular the chefs were. After that stint, Jaemin approached you for a favor.
"Anything within my powers," you quipped.
"How about coming over to the cafe to test new recipes?"
You had no plans tonight so you decided to agree. "Sure, but I'm not a food critic so I'm not sure if I can help."
"Can we come too?" asked Jaehee and only then did you realized that they were listening in.
Jaemin nodded. "Of course! I'd be happy to cater to you. But I can only take the three of you since the food is limited and I already have other guests coming."
"Oh no worries. We won't be bringing anyone else," Yunseo assured, pushing Woojin aside when he was passing by you.
They chatted for a bit while you quietly observed, a little embarrassed that Jaemin had to cater to extra guests when he already have other people coming. But you decided he was probably alright with it since he agreed to it.
The cafe across the street was closed when you arrived. Aside from the staff, there was no one else in the cafe and you found yourself asking Jaemin about his guests.
"Oh, they canceled. It was actually just a friend from culinary school and his girlfriend. They said it was an emergency and I knew better than ask," Jaemin explained. "I'm gonna go finish up in the kitchen. I should join you in a bit."
"Yeah, go ahead," your coworkers said.
When Jaemin left, Jaehee said, "It would have been awkward if only and Jaemin were here."
"Or romantic," Yunseo argued. "I bet he'd prefer that too."
"Right? He's so obvious! I can't even!" Jaehee gushed and you can only shake your head.
Obvious how? It's either you're blind to it or they're making a big deal out of nothing. Well, sure, there were times he would randomly say cheesy stuff but he never expounded on that and you assumed he had been joking each time. Other than that, you were sure Jaemin was just being his usual self. Jaehee and Yunseo wouldn't understand because they weren't the ones who were friends with Jaemin for a long time.
"Should we just give them the space?" Yunseo giggled.
"We should."
"Don't you dare." you threatened just as Jaemin was coming out of the kitchen.
He had got rid of his apron and you assumed he'll be joining you for dinner now. "Is the wine good?"
"It's impeccable. Good taste, Jaemin," Jaehee complimented but her eyes were on you when Jaemin sat on the vacant seat right next to you, then grabbed your glass to drink from it.
He must have noticed the way Yunseo and Jaehee were looking because he cleared his throat and put the glass down. "She doesn't like wine. She hasn't even touched it."
"Ah, I see," Yunseo said before shooting you a teasing look. "You seem to know a lot about her."
Jaemin shrugged and then smiled widely. "Well, she's an interesting person. Don't you think?"
Food came one by one and you thought the teasing would end there but Jaemin took it a notch when he would place food on your plate carefully each time. The knowing looks from your coworkers did not miss your eye but you just gestured for them to be quiet.
You started eating after thanking Jaemin and you noticed how he watched your faces for reactions before starting his own meal. Yunseo and Jaehee uttered alarmingly specific accounts about the food while you can only say it was great and flavorful.
"You're lucky we're here then. We're quite the food critic, you know," Yunseo joked.
"Yeah. Your interesting friend can literally offer nothing but an affirmative nod," Jaehee teased and you blushed because it was true.
"In my defense, you didn't tell me I need Michelin evaluator qualifications to be here," you ranted to Jaemin who just shook his head with a fond smile on his lips.
"No, not at all. I invited you here because I wanted you to try the food, not because I need you to critic me like I'm in Masterchef."
Yeonsu and Jaehee let out 'ooohs' and even whistled. Jaemin seemed proud and even encouraged the two girls but you weren't having it.
"Like a test animal?"
Leave it up to you to ruin a cute moment. Thank you.
There were more comments on the food with a few of your innocently worded inputs. Jaemin takes out another bottle of wine that you shared with casual conversations before it was time to go. Yeonsu and Jaehee left after Jaemin explicitly said you two can go home together since you live in the same building. You can already imagine the teasing you'll get the next day, but you just sighed. Jaemin noticed your dillemma as he poured more wine for himself.
"Are you okay?" he asked before taking a swig from his glass.
"Yeah, it's just... My coworkers think you like me or something," you began, trailing off on your words but he caught them just fine. "It's ridiculous, I know. But it's just because they don't know the kind of person you are, that's why they're saying those."
He tilted his head curiously. "What kind of person do you think I am?"
You were a bit taken aback by his question so you cleared your throat and straightened your back before replying. "Well, I think you're sweet and nice. Very gentlemanly and thoughtful too."
"Really?" He cocked an eyebrow at you.
You laughed derisively. "I knew you've always been nice since we were younger and even now, you're still considerate as ever. To Yunseo and Jaehee, they might think you're going the extra mile because you like me, but we both know you've always been a really good friend to everyone."
Jaemin straightened up and rested his back on the chair before sighing your name and glancing at you. "I'm not all that, you know."
"And you're very humble too," you chuckled, clinking your glass on his before taking a sip of your juice.
"It's the truth, y/n," he insisted. "I'm pretty laid back and didn't care much unless it involves me. And I'm the most passive when it came to friendly relations. I'd say I'm a considerate man, but mostly just for my friends."
"Well, maybe that's what you think. But me and all your other friends sure know you're a really great friend. I'd know because you were very considerate of me too," you affirmed, worried that he might think so lowly of himself when he is in fact a great guy.
Jaemin just chuckled. "You don't get it do you, y/n? I know myself better than anyone. And I'm pretty sure I tried going the extra mile just for you."
You fell quiet. He must have been drunk to be saying all of that. Or maybe you were and you're mind is playing tricks on you so you're hearing things in your head. But you wouldn't be able to confirm it because he fell asleep on the table all of a sudden and you realized he just emptied the wine bottle and now he's passed out drunk. And here you thought he had a high tolerance of alcohol.
Luckily, a staff was still cleaning in the kitchen and he helped you take Jaemin to your car so you can drive him home. It wasn't your best idea, and you knew you won't be able to carry him up the building, but you drove home anyway.
You tried waking Jaemin when you reached the parking lot and he stirred in his seat, blinking as he focused his gaze on his surroundings. He glanced sideways at you and flashed the biggest smile you have ever seen from him. "You're very pretty."
"Thanks, I know that. Now come on, let's get you to bed."
He was basically zombie-walking at the hallways but you're happy that he can still walk so you just held him in place. You could tell he was terribly sleepy by the way his head would fall suddenly.
"Here we are. Can you enter your passcode?" you asked slowly, making sure he can hear you. With a drunk smile he reached for the door and started entering his passcode but he can't hit the right keys.
"Damn, why are the numbers dodging," he laughed before trying again. He kept going at it but he just couldn't get it right even as he shool his head aggressively in his attempt to sober up.
After several annoyed huffs from you, he laughingly pressed his nose on the side of your head and whispered the passcode before falling limp on your hold.
You were dumbfounded for a second, cradling Jaemin while you processed your thoughts. You tried to brush off the heat that resulted from the sudden contact and hurriedly entered his passcode. You couldn't even remember where you got the strength to drag him to his sofa and leave him there, but you were glad that you finally did. He mumbled incoherrently but you were too focused on the warmth on your ear that you just stormed out of his unit and hid into yours.
Jaemin woke up in a daze, blinking as the sun shone through the open curtains of his big windows. He recognized his living room, and wondered why he wasn't in his room. He massaged his aching temple and rose from his uncomfortable position on the sofa and then groaned in disgust upon realizing he had slept in his outside clothes. Struggling with a head ache and feeling disgusted by his own smell, he dunked an advil in the bathroom and took a shower.
He recalled being at the cafe with you and your coworkers. Then he remembered how he finished an entire bottle and blacked out. He had bits of memories scattered in place as well as one where he openly told you you were pretty. He smiled idiotically at the memory, drying his hair with a towel as he downed a whole bottle of hangover tonic. He now remembered that you took him home and feels sorry for the trouble but he just can't stop smiling, especially after the doorbell rang and he saw your face in the monitor.
He cleared his throat first and kept a straight face before opening the door to greet you. You handed a small bottle of hangover drink to him.
You weren't look at him straight and he can even tell you were annoyed by the way your brows are knitted together. "You must be hungover. Tou were so drunk last night."
Jaemin didn't have it in him to refuse even after he had just finished a bottle of the same tonic. Besides, he's just happy to see you this early. "Thank you. Oh, and I'm sorry about last night. I don't usually get drunk but that wine was a fairly new addition to theh menu. I had no idea it would be that strong."
You glanced at him briefly before looking away again. You didn't even move your head. "You finished an entire bottle by yourself, Jaemin. Surely you figured you'd get drunk?"
"Yeah, I did but it wasn't my intention really. Thanks for taking me home."
"Don't mention it. You did cook some delicious food for us, and it was free so this is nothing."
"If I wasn't a businessman, I wouldn't charge you for anything at all," Jaemin grinned, eyes shifting on your clothes and he realized that you were already dressed for work. "Do you need a ride? I'm going over there today."
You narrowed your eyes at him. "You left your car in Apgujeong."
"Oh shit, I did, didn't I?"
You just scoffed. "I can give you a lift but I'm running late so..."
"There's no need. Thanks for the offer."
"Okay, bye," you turned to leave and Jaemin panicked so he called your name. When you glanced back, he was unsure of what to say. In his mind, he was trying to find a good reason to be alone with you again.
Should he invite you over to the cafe again? No, he already did that. Maybe dinner? Just the two of you? Wouldn't it be too forward? How about coffee? Nah, you get coffee everyday.
"What is it, Jaemin?"
Your voice pulled him out of his musings. "Nothing. Have fun at work."
You chuckled. "Thanks. You too."
You bade him goodbye and he reluctantly waved at you then watched your back disappear into the elevator. Maybe next time, after all, he agreed to take one step at a time.
You expected Yunseo and Jaehee to tease you at work and they didn't disappoint. So now you're explaining to them how you two happened to just live in the same building. Yunseo was gushing about destiny but you laughed at her absurdity, then you remembered the way he whispered in your ear and felt your face flare. You saw him that morning and he seemed perky like always so you thought he must have no recollection of it. The Jaemin you knew would apologize for behaving inappropriately, especially in a drunken state. You decided it was best to keep it to yourself rather than bring it up and make things awkward. It was an accident, you're sure of it. Jaemin doesn't even seem to remember that.
The fact that you didn't see Jaemin at all for the next three days didn't help erase the memory of his lips on the side of your head. Why? Because his pictures are in every pubmat you were making, it actually felt more like you were seeing him at all times. You now share your team leader's wish that you had a different person for the layouts and pubmats. He might have wanted it for efficiency, but you wanted it just so you can stop staring at Jaemin's handsome face.
The competition broadcast came. You sat on a desk behind the filming crew, where you will be monitoring the comments and interactions on the live broadcast. The chefs arrived after a short trip to the styling room and you liked how Jaemin looked in his chef uniform and the apron that bore his cafe's logo on the chest. You knew this was a leap in his career since he only ever got photographed by customers instead of actually using his visuals to promote himself. If it was a PR stunt, then you'd think he was smart enough to have branded himself a humble, handsome chef who relies on talent rather than his looks. But knowing him, you knew it was all a spontaneous occurence that just happened to go on his favor.
The mini competition started and while you tried to be neutral as a staff member, you couldn't help rooting for Jaemin. Two of the chefs were influencers with a fanbase. Jaemin was the only one who didn't capitalize on his physical appearance and as a PR person, you'd say he was dumb for that but as his friend, you respected him for it. Then again, more people were drawn to the mysterious 'It boy' who appears on the regular but kept a low profile from the internet.
The live would go on for more than an hour since the challenge was to whip up a gourmet dish in less that 45 minutes. After getting the judges to taste the dishes, Chef Jisook ended up winning the grand price, with Jaemin trailing behind her after receiving praise for his fusion dish that 'redefined Korean cuisine'.
After the filming wrapped up, Jaemin found you in the pool of busy people and skipped over to you with a big smile. "The CEO offered to have me in one episode of the cooking show."
"That's great! Good for you!" you cheered, nudging his elbow with yours. "That's because you're so talented.
The cooking show was an online thing that the company regularly does. It has a steady following and does well to promote the brand and the guests that stars in it are usually famous chefs and celebrities. Being on that show would surely catapult Jaemin's name and brand. You were telling Jaemin all that as he drove his car to one of his cafes.
You caught him smiling at you like he was staring at you rather than listening so you stopped talking.
"Why'd you stop?"
"Because you stopped," you replied, looking outside to see where you parked. Jaemin said there's no need to rush but you shrugged and got off the car first. He followed soon after and you immediately spotted your common friends inside the building.
You ran inside to greet your friends and explicitly noted how Seola is still with Minho. You said he must be doing the right thing since he's still around.
"Excuse me, my man is not a cheat," Seola defended, wrapping an arm around Minho's waist. "As a matter fact, we're getting married."
"You are?" you exclaimed, covering your mouth in surprise.
Seola was satisfied with your reaction. "Yes. Why do you think we're gathered today? It's because Minho proposed to me the other day."
"Oh my god," you said, pulling her into a hug.
Hyuck was chuckling on your side. "He's trying to race with Jeno."
"No, I'm not!" Seola insisted, glaring at the guy. "It was a spontaneous decision."
Everyone disagreed because you all know that if the opposite of spontaneous is a person, it would be Seola.
"It's not, but we had been talking about it after Seola said she wanted to get maried before thirty," Minho confessed. "We wanted children and getting pregnant after thirty is risky so the sooner, the better. We are financially stable and in love, so what's stopping there to stop us?"
"Yeah, well, I hope you don't end up getting divorced," Heejin jeered and instantly received a glare from Seola.
"Why are you cursing us already? You're mean," Seola pouted, hiding behind Minho.
You understood where she was coming from, after all, you have thought about the same thing before. You planned to get married before thirty when you were younger. Even today, you're still considering it. You still have four years before that, but that too could be considered a short time. And of course, you are yet to find a match who is worth spending the rest of your life with. Divorce is never an option for you.
Your eyes found Jaemin's. He had been staring and you caught him, but instead of looking away, he held your gaze with reassurance and some kind of comfort that you didn't quite understand the purpose of but you still appreciated. For some reason, you thought maybe you can consider him. That is if he was serious about what he had been implying these past few days—that he liked you before and he likes you now.
Jeno soon arrived with his fiancee and you were all happy to meet her at last. The night continued and you even got to bring up how Jaemin almost won the cooking competition. Hyuck said he saw it and watched it from start to finish.
"Donghyuck, why are you so interested in everybody's business?" Seola joked and only when she brought that up did you realize that Hyuck was indeed interested in everybody's business.
"It's because I love all of you, dumbasses," Hyuck announced, even standing up to raise his glass.
Everyone in the table cheered in agreement. Who's to say he was lying? None of you could ever because you all know it was Donghyuck who was always checking in on each of you, always making plans to meet, and keeping the friendship alive. Donghyuck is the foundation of this friend group.
You went out for some fresh air after hiurs of sitting there with your friends, laughing and going through bottles and bottles of alcohol. You were trying to sober up a bit and you were wondering if you should go home. Jeno joined you a little later, breathing in the cool air as he tucked his hands in his jacket.
"Hey," he greeted in a prolonged manner.
"Hey," you smiled back at him. "Congratulations again, by the way. She's such a lovely woman."
"I know," he chuckled. "I got lucky."
You just smiled, taking in more of the night air. The streets were bright but it wasn't as busy as it was earlier that night. You started thinking that going home would be smooth without any traffic.
"It's been so long since we last talked to each other," he pointed out and you nodded. Although he was present at your father's funeral several months ago, he didn't get the chance to say anything to you other than utter his condolences. "I wish I could hang out with all of you more often. On the rare times that I could, it's mostly just with Jaemin and Donghyuck."
"Well, you got busy and I had a lot of things going on in my life too, so..."
"Yeah, you're right," he chuckled. "At least we get to hang out like this. I'm sure I'll get more chance to meet everyone once I'm married. You know, I can worry less about being in public and live a more like any ordinary person."
"Good for you, then," you chimed. "And I'm happy for you. We all are."
"Thank you. Will you come to my wedding? It's in three weeks and the invitations hasn't been sent out yet but I'm inviting you in advance."
"I think I might," you said sheepishly. You were joking about going to his wedding with Jaemin, but now that he's inviting you, you felt shy all of a sudden. It would feel normal if you had kept in contact with him like the rest of your friends, but a long time has passed without any interaction between you. You were wondering if you should be there at all.
"You know, I told Jaemin I'd invite you and he said you don't need a card because you can go as his plus one." You scowled at Jeno upon hearing that.
"He said that?"
Jeno just shrugged and nodded. You imagined being Jaemin's plus one and wondered how the two guys came to a conclusion that you would just agree on it. But then again, you had no reason to disagree or even refuse to go with Jaemin. It's not like you would hate to go with him. In fact, it would be fun to go with either Jaemin or Hyuck. "Is that why he brought it up before?"
"Maybe. You can go together, you know. You look great together. If I didn't know better, I'd assume you were dating because of the way your clothes don't match but kinda matched. Your vibes are just syncing effortlessly. It's adorable."
His implication was loud and clear but you just laughed it off. "I'll be there. Maybe as Jaemin's plus one, or maybe not. But I'll be there. You wouldn't let your first love miss the best day of your life, would you?"
Jeno laughed heartily and you felt proud about making a good joke. "Of course, my first love can't miss my wedding. You better prepare a hefty cash gift."
"Look at this chaebol ripping peoplenoff," you ridiculed.
"We're spending quite a lot on that wedding. Pay us back."
"Ugh, now I'm rethinking if I should go or not."
Jeno laughed, glancing back to the cafe when his fiancee called his name. "I'm kidding. You better be there, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," you said dismissively shooing him away but he was already running back to the cafe.
As you watched, you saw Jaemin make his way towards you. You were feeling drowsy, but you stayed standing as you waited for him to reach you. Then when he was within your reach, you said, "I heard you needed a date for the wedding and you picked me."
Jaemin chuckled, his cheeks a bit flush due to alcohol. "Nah, I'm pretty sure you're the one who's gonna do the picking because Hyuck is also dateless."
"Ah, so I still get to make the decision. Good to know."
"If you choose me, I'll pay the wedding gift for you," Jeamin challenged and you nodded, showing an expression that tells him you were considering it.
"Tempting. But I'll have to see what Hyuck is willing to wager."
"Probably a dress. I heard him say, but I'm pretty confident you'd like me more."
You scoffed. "Now I want to pick him just to spite you."
Jaemin fake heart attack and you just scoffed loudly as he pretended to fall over. He laughingly stood up. "Come on. Don't be mean to me."
"Stop copying my style! People are starting to think we're dating," you chided, but he just shrugged.
"It's either we both have good taste or stores are just selling the same colors everywhere."
You laughed as you both walked back to the cafe. Your friends soon left and as usual, you and Jaemin decided to go home together. The cafe was near the condo and you were both a little drunk so you decided to just walk there. You were clutching your bag clumsily as you staggered on the sidewalk so Jaemin offered his arm for you to hold on to and you latched on it like your life depended on it, uttering a soft 'thanks'. You felt steadier like that and warmer with his body close to yours. For a while you just walked quietly before he started asking questions.
"How's your mom?" he asked, adding, "Mine told me they went to a spa last week."
You grinned. "Yeah mine said the same thing. She's doing great. She still refused to leave town or sell the house, insisting that Dad's memory lived there. I'd love for the house to remain there too but I'm worried about her being alone."
"You can always visit her. It's not that far."
"Right. I should visit more often."
Jaemin sighed. "What about work? Anything new?"
"Not really. The anniversary events are what keeps me busy these days. Other than the cooking show today, there's nothing noteworthy." You fished your phone from your bag when it started ringing. It was Heejin and you answered it right away. "Hi. Did you get home alright?"
"Yes, but this thing won't work," she grumbled and you couldn't see what's going on but you could hear her frustration in her voice.
"What is it?"
"My passcode. I forgot my passcode. My house is threatening to lock me out."
"It's 112799," you told her, rolling your eyes and silently judging her for forgetting it each time she gets drunk.
"Thanks," she muttered before hanging up. You just grimaced at the phone before chucking it back into your purse.
"Heejin?"
"Yeah, she forgot her passcode. It happens all the time."
Jaemin nodded. "It's amazing how you stayed close all these years."
"We literally grew up together. I'd say we don't have a choice," you said in faked indifference. It made Jaemin laugh. "I'm kidding. She's my sister from another mother. My apartment was actually her cousin's. She hooked me up with her and I was able to rent it for a good price."
"Isn't it amazing how out of all the apartments in Seoul, and all the floors in that building, we ended being neighbours?" he asked and you nodded, unconsciously nuzzling closer to him when the wind blew.
"I know. It's a small world."
"No, it's actually a big world. A huge one. It's actually fate that brings things to cross paths at one point. Like an invisible string. In our case, our paths crossed so much that we became a part of each other's lives and by extension, a small part of each other."
You giggled. "It's beautiful how you worded things. You could be a poet." You saw him smile shyly at the compliment but then you added. "Yunseo has a nice way with words too. You two would get along well."
"We already get along."
"Yeah, but like, in a romantic way. She likes you and she actually asked me to set you up together. You should go out sometime," you were blabbering so much and didn't even notice that Jaemin has stopped walking. You were holding on to him so you were forced to stop too. He took your arm off of his and took a few steps away. "What? It's true Yunseo likes you. She told me herself. I'm not just randomly making decisions for her."
"No, but you're making decisions for me," he said pointedly and the annoyed look on his face made you shy.
"Sorry. Alcohol unzipped my mouth."
"So you're saying it because you're drunk? You're not serious about setting me up with another girl?"
While you were confused about the purpose of the question, you still replied. "No, not really. I think I just said it because I have nothing else to say."
"Good because I'm not interested in anyone else."
His words confused you but you knew deep it inside that the message was clear. He is interested in you. Yet you told yourself that your drunk mind is giving you false signals. When you realized he stopped right in front of your building so you pointed at it and started skipping to the entrance. Jaemin just followed you with an absent-minded smile.
You rarely bumped into Jaemin in the building because obviously, your schedules are different. When you do, it is often at the elevator which is still rare. Today just decided to be different. You stepped out of your unit at the same time and you had no excuse to avoid getting in the elevator with him. He didn't spare your conflicted feelings and you were sure it was because he had no idea you were even conflicted in the first place. Especially after he said, "I finally caught you. Sometimes I try to leave earlier or a little later just to see if we'd bump into each other but we never did. It's been like four months since you moved here but we barely saw each other."
"We see each other a lot actually," you laughed after pointing that out.
"I know but I meant here in the building."
"You're right." You separate ways quickly, getting into your car as soon as you spotted it in the parking lot and running off with a hurried goodbye.
To say you escaped was an understatement but you had to if you want to stop thinking about things that would make your friendship weird. Unbeknownst to you, Jaemin was on his own league of making sure you see each other at least once a day.
You walked in to Nana's Cafe confidently on a Tuesday, knowing he won't be there. But Jaemin's radiant smile welcomed you, accompanied by a nice piece of heart-shaped cookie. When you refused to go to the cafe on a Wednesday, he dropped by your office to hand-deliver lunch. You avoided going to the cafe at all but you found him outside your office building waiting for you to get off work. On the weekend, he knocked on your door early to give you a cup of warm coffee. It went on for days and you had gotten used to the teasing from your coworkers and the assumptions about him being your boyfriend. You wanted several times to confront him but you didn't want to be the first to bring it up, after all, you're still arguing with yourself that he is just being a nice friend like usual. But it doesn't help that the text messages that previously looked like a food promotion chatbox is now filled with selfies of him with updates on what he's doing that day.
"Oh my god. I knew it. He likes you," Heejin announced clapping her hands triumphantly. You had invited her and Seola over after days of taking unsolicited but appreciate advices from Yunseo and Jaehee. You never shared your part of the story with them because you don't think you're close enough for it. So you decided to seek Heejin and Seola and pour your heart out to them.
"But he didn't say that," you insisted.
"He was showing it. You know Jaemin. He prefers showing his feelings more than talking about them," Seola pointed out so you crossed your arms over your chest and turned to her.
"If he can say all these fancy things and subtle hints about liking me, I think he can very well say he likes me straight to my face," you retorted then Heejin and Seola comically nodded in unison.
"That makes sense. How about talking to him about it?"
You scowled. "What? Like confront him?"
"Yeah."
"No. I can't. I don't want to. Confrontations scare me."
"Then maybe telling you he likes you straight to your face scares him too. You can't just think about yourself in this situation, y/n," Seola insinuated and it made sense so you slumped on your sofa, face first.
"Maybe he really likes you, you know. He could be in love with you too. It's not so strange to think about. You're a catch, don't you realize that?"
"Heejin's right. You're gorgeous. You're smart. You're cute too and you're very caring. Your sense of humor is not that great but you're fun to talk to. Also, although I know he doesn't care about money at all, you're rich and your family background is impressive. Any man would fall for you."
Maybe the idea wasn't so far fetched. Despite your every attempt to deny it, Jaemin really did show you he liked you even before what happened on the day of Seola's dinner party. He would give you a compliment and a cookie with your coffee. He messaged you everyday and would send you weather updates every morning. When you met outside the building, he always offered to give you a ride even when he knew you have your own car. He had always acted like that and only now are you seeing every sign, clear as day and you can't ignore them. He likes you enough to put in this much effort for you. It keeps repeating in your head. Jaemin likes you.
"What are you so worried for? Don't you like Jaemin?" Heejin asked.
Come to think about it, don't you? You liked his smile. You like how warm it makes you feel and how familiar he seemed to you. You liked hanging out with him, laughing and fooling around and making fun of strangers secretly with him. Ever since you got here, you shared all the good things that happened to you with Jaemin. Now looking back, it seems Jaemin had always been a part of everything that happened to you, good or bad. It's just like the invisible string he mentioned. Except that you have both became a part of each other's life; a piece of each other.
"Does Na Jaemin really like me? Like for real?" you mumbled to yourself, your mind drifting off to more thoughts of him. "Because if he does, don't you think he's too good for me? His smile is so pretty. He's very talented and he's a good cook. Damn, even his laughter is beautiful. His voice, the lines on his cheeks when he grins, the way he's always warm when I'm near him. The way he always cared for my comfort. The way he consistently took care of me and even went out of his way several times for me. He's too good to be true."
Seola and Heejin chuckled before clinking their shotglasses together and taking shots of soju. "She likes him."
You buried your face on your palms and let out a strained shriek. "I think I do."
(to be continued)
