Chapter 3: Caramel Macchiato

♡

Kim Seok Jin ~ Paris

My group, J2L and I were still at out hangout before my phone beeped with an updating message. I knew Anna would be with the EXO people and her cousin, so I sent Jimin to scout her. My personal butler has found Anna in her car going towards somewhere after Jimin left.

-
To: Young Master

Young master Seok Jin, I have found Miss Anna in her car heading towards a cafe. I will send you the address below. And have fun with your reunion.

98812 XXXXXX, Seoul district

-

To: Ken Hyung

Thanks for finding her for me hyung. And thank you, I will. I won't come home until later.

-

I smiled to myself, and my friends started looking at me. "Oh I know that look Jin hyung." L.Joe said, smirking. "You found her, didn't you?"

I nod and cover my face with my hands as I continued to smile idiotically. I snap out of it, grab my coat, and head out of our hangout. "Good luck hyung!" Jimin and L.Joe chorused. "Hope she still remembers you dongsaeng!" L hyung said as I gave them a wave.

'I'll find you Anna. Wait for me.'  I thought as I got on my bike and drove away. I know this cafe, so it shouldn't be a problem finding her.

I arrive in at least 10 minutes, and I saw her after parking my motorcycle and taking off my helmet. I smiled once I saw her, it's been too long since I've saw her. But why does she so... upset? I enter the cafe, and head towards her table. Close up, I saw her listening to music while she was accompanied by a slice of cake and a warm drink. I sat down across from her, and I can tell that she wasn't expecting me or... anything. But I smiled brightly and hoped that she could remember me.

"Excuse me, but are you looking for someone? I think you found the wrong person." She says, confused by my smile.

"No, I found the right person. Do you remember someone called Princess Jin, my dear Anna?" I say with a smile as Anna paints a blank face. 'I'm your princess Jin, did you forget?'  I thought.

Anna blinks multiple times and looked at me in the eye. I then saw a flicker of recognition from her eyes, and I knew that she still remembered me.

"J-Jin? Seok Jin, Princess Jin, Bunny, the weird boy that liked pink and princesses?" Anna stuttered as my smile grew wider as Anna cheeks are covered with a pink tint.

"So my darling still remembers!" I say with cheesiness as she gapes at me.

"You moved to Seoul..." Anna says with a surprised tone.

"Yup, eight years ago. Even though we were apart for a long time, I'm glad that you still remember this princess. I missed you a lot Anna. And now that I've found you, I won't let you go." I said seriously.

I changed my facial expression, and smiled instead. "But how were your eight years of loneliness without me?"

"You're asking me? I think I should be the one asking you that your highness." Anna says with a teasing smile. "But it was alright I guess. I became lonelier, but I managed to survive through elementary, middle school, and half of high school combined."

"You sound like you had a good eight years without me." I huffed. "I missed you so much, you had no idea how I felt! I always wondered if my angel has ate or is dong well in life and in school. Your grades were always the best, no matter what!"

"Yah you liar! I didn't have perfect grades, you just didn't try hard enough because you were always bored or distracted! I worked hard and did whatever I could! And what's up with the angel and dear and darling? You sound really creepy Jin." Anna said as I laughed.

"You're a bit different than that gentle, sweet, and innocent Anna from before. But nevertheless, your attitude is still the same, you just managed to hide it better than before." I joke.

Anna throws me a look. "Yah at this rate, I think I'll kill you from the insults and the compliments! A-Anyways, how'd you become a man? You were so girly when we were little. Oh... did my little princess grow up to be a knight or is she still a princess?"

"Easy. This princess became a prince, and duh- puberty!" I say as Anna burst into laughter. "I'm handsome, right? You can't deny my princely looks~!" I sang.

"It's true. Our princess Jin really has become a prince now. If you didn't introduce yourself as the princess, then I thought that you were just a cute stranger." Anna says as my heart jumps and my cheeks flare. "Oh yeah. Do you want something?"

"No I'm ok." I reply as Anna shakes her head.

"Andwae. I have to buy something for you since this is our first reunion in like eight years Jin! And I still need to give you a hug."

"Fine." I sighed. This girl is still stubborn as ever... "If you still remember, you know what I like-"

"Nope. I completely forgot everything from the past eight years. Ever since high school started, I began to lose my memories..."

"Yah! If you forgot everything, then why do you only remember my name then?" I ask, pretending to be angry.

"I'm just kidding. One chocolate milkshake coming up." Anna smiles and reaches for her wallet. She gives me a smile, and then gets into line.

My thoughts trail over to Anna's smile and her words. 'She still remembers.'  I thought, smiling and playing with my hands. I suddenly remembered that Anna was paying, and I rushed and stood next to her in line.

"Woah! Jin, what happened? You almost gave me a heart attack." Anna said with a shocked expression.

"Mian. I just realized that I should be the one paying for my own drink." I chuckle.

"No, it's ok. Just... consider this as a little something for our reunion." Anna smiles.

"Anna, really, it's fine. I'll buy." I say as my hand suddenly touched her hand that grabbed her wallet.

I look at my hand and chuckle nervously as I let go. "Sorry about that, I think my hand has a mind of its own."

A silence fills us, and we give each other awkward smiles. Then, Anna pipes up.

"So... it's really been eight years, huh? What happened with your life?" Anna asks as her eyes occupied the menu then back to my eyes.

I blinked a few times and then cleared my throat. "Umm... it was ok. But ever since I moved away, I really did miss you." I added the last sentence quietly. "How were your eight years in Busan?"

"Same thing, same life, just that you weren't there and I couldn't play with a princess-y man." Anna joked as I gave her a look.

"Yah! I'm not that girly! And I specifically remembered that I told you not to call me that." I said as she laughed.

I swear, that laugh is like an angel's song. Wait, why am I being so cheesy right now? Snap out of it and be a man Seok Jin!

"But you introduced yourself as a princess man, so I thought, why not call you by your nickname?" she asked as I engulfed her in an angry hug.

Yes, an angry hug. It was a thing Anna and I made up when we were little. When one of us was frustrated, we'd give the other an angry hug, or a hug that's a bit more tightening but gives you a warm feeling. At least that was what I felt. I didn't know about Anna though... although I'm sure she remembers this.

"You're angry already?" Anna said as I squished her. "I wasn't even starting, Pink."

"Stop teasing me!" I whine as Anna laughs again. We pause briefly to order my chocolate milkshake, which I actually paid for { I won the argument of paying } and we resided to our table by the window.

Anna and I talk some more about our past eight years, sharing how school and our lives were. I knew how strict Anna's parents are, but I was surprised that she actually came here herself. Usually, one of her bodyguards would accompany her.

Anyways, after chatting for an hour and a half at the cafe, we decided to take a walk and talk about our life now.

"I'm going to be attending Yonsei Academy after summer. You go to that school, right?" Anna asks.

"Aniyo. I'm attending Seoul Arts High." I respond as Anna immediately gives me a sad look. I finally burst out in laughter, and Anna hits my arm.

"I thought you were saying the truth at first! You know how shocked that made me feel?" Anna said angrily as I laugh-pologized as she kept on hitting my arm.

"Mian ne. I just wanted to see your reaction." I say and pat her head. "It's cold tonight." I comment as we walk in the park. "Want my jacket?"

"Kwenchana, gomawo. Oh yeah I wanted to talk to you about something earlier, but I think that you won't like what I'd say. But the curiosity is killing me." Anna suddenly says as I place my hand in my pockets. "What's with this rivalry thing between you and Luhan ge and the rest?"

Oh no. I almost forgot about that. Now how do I put this gently and subtly?

"We're enemies, and we hate each other." I said quickly. Seok Jin, what happened to gentle and subtle?

"Oh. Kudo kuna. That's sad. I thought you guys were close."

"We all didn't really click when we first met." I explained. "We sort of... avoid each other, and if we have to, we talk to each other. You saw how Luhan hyung was when he saw Jimin, right?" I asked as Anna nodded.

"Chakaman. I never told you that Jimin and Luhan ge talked. Seok Jin, you've been acting weird every time I mention one of their names. What are you not telling me?" Anna crosses her arms as she came to a stop.

"I'm telling the truth, but... I sent Jimin to spy on you guys." I say, defeated.

"Wait, what?"

"I just.... wanted to see you again so badly, but I wanted to know that if it was you... so... I did something bad, didn't I?" I ask as Anna gives me a look.

"You sort of did. But you could've just popped up at samcheon's house and said hi or something, not stalk me. Wow, I really do feel special right now Jin." Anna says.

"Is that sarcasm?" I ask as we begin to walk again. Anna smiles.

"Yeah, I guess. But I don't have a right to be upset. You guys just don't really get along, and I get that. Although the hard thing is that I'm scared that in the future, you guys will ask me to choose someone between the two groups. And Seok Jin, if I don't choose you, it doesn't mean that I don't like you. I'm just going to go to my own path, and you'll go through yours. We have different lives, and we're just living them that way. I'll apologize earlier, is that fine?"

"Yah. You're making me sad, saying all this random stuff. Stop saying that, or I'll really think that you'll like them instead of us." I say.

"Oh btw, and who's they? I think you have some introducing to do Jin." Anna says as I have a brilliant idea.

"Since I know that you hung out with Luhan hyung and the others, why not join me and my boys for the night? I mean let's all hang out and get to know each other before school starts. You know that we still have a few weeks left, right?" I ask

"You mean two quick weeks." Anna adds with a sarcastic tone. "And they'll be gone before we even know it."

"Yeah." I respond. "And that's why you'll meet J2L sooner!" I say, grabbing Anna's hand in a flash and started running. I can hear Anna yelling questions, but I just yell back, "Don't worry! They'll be nice, I promise!"

And this is the first step to reel her in and make her mine, which was one of the things I should've done a long time ago.

●

Seol Anna ~ you

I felt the rush of the crisp, cool air of the night, although the air was very humid around us. It's been a long time since I've ridden a motorcycle, I used to ride it a lot when I came by to visit samcheon and Hana.

Jin and I arrive at this fancy looking neighborhood, but he keeps on driving and he finally takes us near the beach. Jin helps and takes my hand to lead me towards a hidden building. The lights were already on, and I heard chatter as we came closer to the door.

Jin opens the door without a knock, and I heard a familiar voice.

"Oh hyung, you're back? What took you so lo-" he said, stopping as he sees us, hand in hand. "Oh?! You two are dating already? Yah, hyung that was so quick!"

We both let go of our hands, and two other strangers look our way. "S-Shut up Jimin." Jin says to the... Kim guy with pink cheeks.

"Annyeong. This idiot here is Jimin, whom you've saw earlier." another guys says, playing the guitar. "The kid with the book is L.Joe and I'm L. Those are our nicknames."

"Yah! You're so mean hyung!" Jimin says as the rest ignore him. Jin disappears from my side and plops down on the couch in the far corner of the building.

"Then... what're your biological names?" I ask as he smiles.

"He's Lee Byunghyun, and I'm Park Myungsoo. Or you'll know me as Chanyeol's older cousin." He says as my eyes grew wide.

"A-annyeonghaseyo." I say polietly and bow as I see L. Joe glance at me, and then back to the book and L strumming his guitar again. "Annyeong." I bow towards L. Joe, who took interest in his book once again.

My interest goes back to the comfortable room filled with PCs, a flat screen TV, couches, a window, a table, and a corner with a barista looking counter. "Wow. This place is daebak. Did you guys make this?" I asked, walking around.

"More like we designed it to our tastes. L hyung designed the barista corner, and the guys and I added the furniture and computers. Oh and we have a dance room at that door in the corner." Jin says, pointing to a glass door near the TV.

"And there's also two bathrooms, and a huge bedroom with a king sized bed for us if we're tired or want to escape from home." Jimin adds.

"This place is amazing. I wish I had something like this." I say as L.Joe suddenly says, "Then why don't you share this place with us? Our secret hangout will be like yours." He smiles as I give one back to him.

"Kamsamida L.Joe-sshi." I say.

"Oh and please don't call me Byunghyun. Drop the titles and just call me oppa instead."

"Hey! Anna will call you that if she wants to L.Joe." Jin says seriously.

"Ohh... Is someone jealous?" I tease my friend as he covered his red face.

"No I'm not! I- I'm just trying to protect you from these bad guys." Jin says as the other three whine in sync.

"Yah this kid, really." L says, making a smacking hand gesture.

"This hyung is so mean. Like what did I ever do to you in my past life?" Jimin asked.

"Sometimes, I think that you're just trying to impress the people you know by making your friends suffer from your idiotic words." L. Joe said as the room suddenly grew silent.

"Thanks for being so nice guys." Jin nods. "I'm so lucky to have friends like you."

"Are you asking for a funeral?" L says and stands up, making his way towards Jin.

"Hyung, I think Jin hyung needs another lesson. Don't cha think?" Jimin says, smiling creepily.

"I think I should join this one." L. Joe says and puts down his book.

"Wait, what's happening?" I asked, confused.

"Oh it's nothing, you'll know just from watching." L says to me with a smirk as the three guys began to crack their fingers.

"Yah! Why are you guys cracking your fingers when you're only tick-" Jin asks, only to be interrupted by a shrill and unmanly laugh.

"This is what you get hyung!" Jimin says and tickles Jin's sides while L and L. Joe do the same.

I begin to chuckle from their silly punishment, and I felt bad for my old friend, who was extremely ticklish. These guys sure are a weird but fun bunch...

"Can I join?" I ask as they stop tickling poor Jin as he tries to catch his breath.

"Wait.... what? Oh don't you dare Seol... ANNA!!!" Jin yells and continues to laugh as the four of us do the same.

-

"Mian Jin~" I sang, trying to make my friend out of his grumpy state as the three guys and I walked on the sidewalk of a night market near the beach.

"Nope. I'll never forgive you four." Jin says grumpily as he turns his head away from our directions like a stubborn child.

"Hyung! We already apologized like a million times!" Jimin whines.

"Just let it go dongsaeng. It was your lesson anyways." L comments as L.Joe nods silently besides him.

I suddenly got an idea, and I dashed off to the other food stalls to look for this one thing that the princess loved so much...

And yes, that something is bulgogi. It was just that. It was the precious, delicious, and expensive meat that my friend goes crazy over.

"Yah! Anna where are you going?" I heard Jin yell as they see me dash away from our current spot on the sidewalk.

I quickly found a stall that sold bulgogi and paid, and ran back with a giant heap of beef for the boys. "Jin~ Will you forgive us after I treat you to bulgogi?" I asked as the guys stopped as the bulgogi came into their sights. It was like they all stopped fighting once they saw the beef, like they were frozen in space, gaping at the food in my hands like they were hungry dogs that wanted to be fed. Well... not literally.

"Well, I could change my mind..." Jin says, eyeing the steaming juicy meat. "If I'm the only person to eat this bulgogi." He says as the guys groan.

"I can always buy more..." I whispered to the boys as their eyes widened. "Let's go!"

"Ya! Where are you guys going?" Jin asked as we jogged off to the bulgogi stand.

As the three boys and I stood in line, I heard Jimin whisper, "You're the best dongsaeng ever."

"Same." L says as I watch him gape at all the meat.

"That smell is just so..." L. Joe described. "It's like heaven on a plate." He says as the two boys nodded.

"You're welcome...?" I asked as I ordered and gave the plate to the hungry boys.

"I love you Anna! Thanks for the food!" Jimin yells as they rapidly ate.

"You got them excited over bulgogi?" Jin asked as I laughed.

"They're quite easy to manipulate. Like they say, you give food to win a boy's heart." I chuckled as I looked at my friend. "I'm just kidding. Besides, you're their leader, so shouldn't you buy them some food? It's like they starve all day." I commented.

"Well, it's not like they don't have money because they do. They're just lazy bastards that can call up a buffet right in our hangout but they choose not to. But... I'm glad that they're opening up to street food. You know what they say about us with money- that we don't eat anything unless it's cooked by our chefs. I mean, street food was so foreign to them when we first got together as a group. And now, they love the stuff."

"Wow. Sounds like you're a good leader for someone who showed the rich the world of street food." I joked.

"Dongsaeng, do you have any money left?" I heard Jimin call.

"Ya. You idiot, you have your own money, leave Anna alone before she goes bankrupt!" Jin argues as I saw the empty plate.

"Arraso." Jimin said as the three boys dragged each other to find more food.

"Bulgogi?" Jin offered as I ate one.

"Thanks," I said, "Mmm. It's good." I smiled. "Let's get some ddukbokki and fish cakes!"

After we bought our food, Jin and I sat down on a bench near a park. I took a piece of the fish cake, a dduk, and dipped it into the sauce before it went inside my mouth. It was a delicious fusion of spicy, warm, chewy, and soft.

"I still can't believe you invented this when we were like what- eight?" Jin asked.

"Eight and a half. You were the one arguing about the last fish cake. And then our faces looked so devastated when the fish cake landed in the ddukbokki." I said, chuckling.

"I was glad that we shared that. It's honestly like the best thing ever." Jin comments, still eating.

"Wah~ You still have those bunny cheeks, don't you?" I asked, chubbing his cheeks as he ate with a smile.

Jin turns pink, and says, "Yeah I do."

"You were so adorably chubby when we were little. It was only when you became ten, you started slimming down and growing taller." I said, remembering the chubby bunny I knew.

"You know I always hated being picked on for being fat. It was only when they found out that my father was rich so they shut up and left me alone."

"But I didn't care. You're my friend and I didn't leave you alone to face them. Oh remember Min Yoongi's face when he found out that I was the friend that you always talked about?" I asked, as he nodded. "He was so shocked because he had a crush on me. I was so glad that he stopped bothering you after I told him not to. Hey, are you ok?" I asked, seeing his sad face.

"Yeah I'm alright. It's just that... My weight was such a huge deal to me when I was little because it bothered everyone, including me." Jin said.

"It didn't bother me. It never did. It was because people always saw for who you were on the outside, they were too busy to look on the inside." I say, chubbing his cheeks. "Besides, I thought your cheeks was almost the cutest thing because they grow so large when you ate." I smiled.

Jin cracks a grin, and I poke his cheek.

"There's my little princess." I say as he looks at me.

"Alright, I'll let this one slide. But I'm not a princess anymore, I'm a prince."

"Whatever you say. Because you'll always be the Jin I know." I popped a fish cake into my mouth.

A silence passes, and I eye the empty swings.

"Wanna play?" Jin asked as I nodded excitedly.

"Last one on the swing is a rotten kimchi!" I said, taking off. As my butt came into contact with the seat, I sang a song of victory as Jin and I pant from running after eating.

"I guess I'm a rotten kimchi." He smiles as he sat down, breathing loudly.

I look at my lap and to the sparkling sky. I didn't notice anything until I felt a force push me from behind as I yelled.

"Ya! Kim Seok Jin!" I yelled as I heard him laugh.

"Got 'cha!" He says as he continues to push. "You weren't noticing."

"I know that. You didn't have to scare me!" I said as I swung rather high.

As I slowed down, Jin started to swing as well.

'I hope that we can be like this for a long time Anna.'  He thought.

__

Update~

4080 words for chapter three

On a level from a caramel macchiato to an espresso, how sweet is Jin in this chapter? Even though coffee is sort of a sad song, I wanted to emphasize the sweetness of your relationship with Jin.

I don't like coffee, but I'd recommend hot cocoa or some tea to drink when it's cold- soup's good too. And to those who have summer break right now, try an iced green tea latte from Starbucks because it's amazing. Oh and less ice because you shouldn't be drinking extra cold water.

Stay warm or cool and happy reading!

Gomawo and annyeong!

x ; an author who is sick and craves for something warm and sweet like a caramel macchiato.