Chapter 4 Me in the future.

We remain the same no matter what.

The sun was warm.

Jinyoung liked that.

His eyes were closed and the sun made him feel warm and good.

He was in the backyard of his house sitting on the door frame. His old note book on his knees and a smile on his lips.

His eyes opened when he felt it on his nose. A little pink petal that had fallen from his neighbors' garden.

He smiled.

It was Sunday and he said he wanted to write a new song but at the end he did nothing but relax.

"Oh! No! Please!" Suddenly a voice was heard. He chuckled.

Jinyoung knew it. So he stood up and walked near to the wall that surrounded his yard.

He was eighteen years and tall enough to be capable to take a look of the house next to his, but he couldn't find her.

Finally, he decided to speak. "Nice day, isn't it?" For some reason he thought it didn't sound cool enough.

He heard something hitting the ground. Of course he couldn't see her, she was somewhere near to the wall.

"Oppa?"

He smiled. She sounded particularly cute today. "Yes, it's oppa. Are you alone? Did you fight with your sister?" That was stupid, his brain suggested… But also his brain supplied he had been there during a fight between them before. "You know you two shouldn't make your mother mad again."

"What?!" She asked like he was crazy. It was a stupid thing to ask. "Where did that come from?"

He pouted, good thing she couldn't see him. "I don't know." He tried to play it cool. "What are you doing alone then?"

"Stuff." She simply said. But after a moment she added. "Homework. For my art class. I have to draw what I see and show some perspectives… Eonnie is having cake with Eunjung-eonnie."

He was curious. He wanted to take a look.

"In other words, they left you behind." He laughed.

"Yup." She didn't care.

"What are you drawing?" He asked letting his back rest on the wall.

"The tree."

He was curious.

"Mmmm." He looked up to the branches full of pink. "Is it good?"

"How will I know?!" She complained. "I hope so?"

He wanted to see.

"Let me see. I'll tell you."

"What?! No!"

"Why no?" He looked up to the wall, it wasn't too tall.

"Because you'll make fun of this!!" She was cutely worried. "My mom won't let you in!!" She said laughing on the instant he was landing by her side. Her eyes opened wide.

"I found my door." Jinyoung said cleaning his hands on his jeans.

She pouted.

Keri was using her comfiest pants and a cute hoodie and was sitting in a funny pose with her back on the tree. She looked as cute as she sounded minutes ago.

"Let me se." He insisted with a smirk.

She put her eyes on white. "Oppa, you're impossible!" She said but handed him her work.

It was beautiful!

"It's not that bad." He said sitting next to her.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Making sure you won't screw it." He said and took a pink petal from her long hair.

He looked the petal on his hand.

.

It was cute.

But it was not as cute as it was back then.

He let the petal go.

He looked up to the tree on his neighbors' garden. It wasn't as beautiful as it was when she lived there.

His phone ringed.

He smiled seeing the name on the phone screen.

That's how he ended there.

"Oppa? Can we really find the things Jieun-eonnie asked here?" Keri was looking at him with a pout.

They were on the traditional mark of Daegu. And he wasn't sure.

That Jieun girl was pretty demanding and he didn't think it that much earlier. Now that he was seeing the list he doubted it.

"I shouldn't have heard you when you offered yourself to accompany me, you have no idea!" She complained. She was using a pair of high heels. She looked so mature.

"Hyung! There is that kimchi she asked for! Is this the brand she wanted?" The tall and handsome boy (even Jinyoung had to admit it) called him from the other side of the crowded hallway.

He didn't answer right away. He sent a dirty look to Keri first. "Told you!" He bragged before walking towards Cha Eunwoo, Keri's dongsaeng, friend of Jieun and (of course) THE model.

He found him annoying for some reason. But in fact, the kid was very kind even when you would expect him to be some high snob for the way he made people to turn and look at him. Now Jinyoung was his hyung. Great.

"Yes. It is." He confirmed. "Good job, kid." Jinyoung maybe wanted to bother him with that but the guy just smiled happily for the compliment.

"Noona said if we find all the things fast we can go to the center of the city." Eunwoo remembered looking at Keri.

She was by his side eyes fixed on the phone in her hand. "We will. But Jieun-eonnie just sent us a longer list. Should we separate?"

"No!" Both men answered at the same time and that made Jinyoung a little upset.

"I'll get lost." The younger explained and sweetly smiled to her.

"Scooby Doo showed the world is bad idea to go by your own." Jinyoung suggested. He made her laugh. "Let's go." He smiled and touched her back to make her walk in front of him as always.

But now, Cha Eunwoo was with her. 'He's her ex boyfriend.' His brain remembered him.

She told him so when he had asked with who was she having lunch that day. Now they're friends. Just friends.

But watching them together.

They looked good.

...

The silent between us.

Taeni was frowning at him.

He tried to smile, but Gongchan wasn't a good actor.

She stepped back so he could get in.

The house was beautiful. Bigger than he expected. The living room had a big window and a lot of people... A LOT.

"Hi." He was shy.

"Hello, Channie-hyung." Moonbin was in the couch and talked with a big smile. He held a boy in the air with his long hands.

"Be careful, Binnie." Eunjung sweetly asked. "Good afternoon, Chanshik-ssi."

He vowed even when he already did.

"Sit a moment." Taeni gestured to another sofa. She handed him a glass with ice and a colorful liquid on it. "She's upstairs."

He did as she told. For some reason he was very nervous. "I thought she was in her parents' house." He mumbled after some minutes.

"Her mother's apartment." Taeni corrected him. She smiled to Mino and Moonbin let her play with the kid putting him on his lap. "She's staying there. Just not today."

He gulped.

"She was very excited about this so she stayed with us." Eunjung clarified. "Chanshik-ssi, do you understand? Today's important."

"I... I know! I..."

"Just be careful." Taeni interrupted his stuttering with a serious look.

He wanted to say this was important for him too but...

"Are we going out now?" A giggled distracted him from the stairs. "Or are you too entertained with my eonnies?" Suji asked.

And God!

She was so beautiful.

She was using a cute pink sweater that was too big for her and a pair of white pants that contrasted with those militar boots. Her hair was a different color.

"Hi." He dreamy said.

.

"Hi." His math teacher answered with everything but a smile on her face. She was not happy. He gulped. "Gong Chanshik, isn't it?"

He nodded. She sighed.

He was in the Teachers' Room. There were just a few people in there but still he felt like missing the air. The man who give them chemical was looking at him like he was a criminal.

"I'm sorry." He decided to say.

"You should be." The woman with black long hair said whilst frowning. "You're not usually like this." How did she know? She just asked for his name. He pouted. If Jinyoung-hyung knew he was there because he fell asleep as consequence they playing all night, he would feel like he's the one to blame.

"... And the worst it's you had to be loud! At least be smart and leave your head on the desk!" Oh! The woman kept talking.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

"You're not a kid anymore. You're a senior, we need you to be a good example." And the woman kept on it.

Gongchan was getting tired so he let his eyes traveled around the room.

There was nothing better. Just the black hair of that creepy man everyone called Dumbledore's mustache. He believed he taught maths in freshman year.

"You can leave them there." Another boring teacher was entering in the place. The tall man opened the doors and...

The moon tried to reach the sun.

There she was. The girl. His girl.

Beautiful as always. His heart stopped.

With a big smile carrying all the notebooks of what?... Three? Four classes?

How that trash of a man let her carry all of them?

His hands curled into fists.

"Gong! Are you even paying attention?" His teacher asked near to his ear. She had stood up and was facing him with a furious look.

"Yes. I am." He said but his gaze never leave the beautiful girl. She let the books on one of the tables.

"I told you to put them here." The man said pointing a table across the room.

"Student Gong!" His teacher again.

"I said I'm sorry." He repeated very calm even if he didn't feel like that. He was taller than the woman so he could look the scene on the entrance without problems.

The girl let out a high laugh. "You should be thankful I brought them here, man."

Gongchan was impressed. Even his teacher looked at her.

"What are you saying, student?" The tall man asked.

"What you heard." She gestured to her ears. "I helped you because you wanted that little girl to carry all this alone. Next time ask more people or do it by yourself." She sounded very firm.

"You're earning a detention for this."

"Write it down, old man." He wasn't old. That made Gongchan giggled. "I have a lot of friends there." She shrugged.

And with that she left...

"Student! Come back here!" The man called her walking out.

His math teacher sighed again. "At least you're respectful." He smiled. He just had thought about punching that man. He wasn't respectful. "I'll let you go this time."

"Thank you." He said wanting to run out and see what happened to the girl that made his heart run fast.

When he closed the door behind him he let out a low laugh. She was cooler than he thought. She just saved him.

.

"What's so funny?" Suji asked with a smile on her beautiful face whilst she took a sit.

"I didn't thought we were coming to a place like this." He confessed closing the slide door. They were on a traditional restaurant and they just choosed a private room with a big table with a stove on the center so they could grill the meat and a lot of couches on the floor. "I was thinking on something... Cooler."

She giggled and he knew what he said was fine.

"Right." She said still smiling. She tied up her long wavy hair with a headband. "On our second date, when we get back to Seoul I'll take you to my favorite urban restaurant. We can do climbing and then have dinner... Or maybe we'll go to do archery in that coffee I went with..."

"Are we having a second date?" Gongchan felt his heart was about to explode. "Our first is that good already?" He felt playful. A bubbly sensation on his skin.

She laughed at loud. "Well..." She shrugged. "We need to get to know each other, oppa. We deserve it after such a long time, don't you think?"

He giggled. He was a growth man. He was twenty seven and even so the woman in front of him made him feel like a teenager. He could swear his cheeks were red.

"Yeah. We need that." He said reading the menu. "Oppa is paying so let's ask for only the best!"

"Ooooooh!" Suji clapped. "This could be the best date of the century!"

...

NOW: We're so different from our past selves.

It was sour.

So sour.

That coffee was the sourest drink he had ever had.

And that was weird because he always loved coffee and he always loved that coffee shop.

CNU looked up to the empty chair across the table. He was looking for her.

He sighed.

He was such a looser.

"Oppa!" Someone called him and yes, it was Taeni with the biggest smile on her cute face. She was using a long sweater that made her look smaller. "What a surprise!" She was standing so close she had to look down at him.

He didn't want to but yeah… He smiled back.

"It's weird to see you here." He said. And for a moment he got afraid she would have misunderstood him. A uncomfortable feeling started deep in his chest.

Her smile didn't fade. "Is it?" She let her gaze to travel for all the place until she stopped on the big glass wall that faced the garden and the little lake. "This may be the only place I miss from Daegu. They make my favorite coffee here so I always come when I visit my parents." She explained like they were there together for the first time.

He hummed. "Will you sit with me or are you waiting for someone?"

She chuckled. "I'm not?" Taeni showed him a long facture. "I'm waiting for my order to be ready. I'm bringing coffee to everyone at your house, do you know we're decorating your place for the engagement dinner?"

He made a face. "I know. But I'm not good in those things, you won't miss me." Then he made a gesture to call one of the waitress. "Sit down, for all I can see they will have to bake half of the things you want so let me invite you a cup."

She looked up to the counter and then back to the table. It was one of THEIR tables, close to the corner and with a good sight of the place, so no one would bother them.

He perfectly noticed the moment she made up her mind.

"Right. But if my things are ready before I drink it you'll have all that caffeine."

She was so endearing. He nodded content. He decided to ask the waitress to delay her order.

Taeni looked at him smiling, then let her elbow to rest on the table and her face on her hand. She was looking at the big window, at the lake outside.

.

"What it is?" CNU asked following her gaze to the lake. It was raining. It was cold. November was ending. It was supposed to be cold. She was upset.

Taeni looked back at him. Cheeks red and pout on her lips. "Oppa, what will happen…?" She stopped there. Her eyes fixed on her hands.

He blinked. CNU studied her face trying to guess what was wrong. But could see nothing but her being pretty. He decided to ask. "What's wrong, honey?"

She slightly smiled at the pet name but didn't lift her eyes. "It's just… Did you notice?" She was not upset. She was sad. He would fight whoever made her sad. "Next year you'll have your tests and then…" She gulped and he knew. He was the one making her sad. "You'll get into a great important University far away from the city and we…" He closed his eyes for a moment when he thought her lip was trembling. But he immediately looked at her again. She was smiling. A sad smile. "I was thinking… How much I would liked if we knew each other a little earlier."

God. He knew. He would liked it too.

Both focused on the lake again. Drops made beautiful designs on the water.

CNU would like to say it. That wouldn't fix it, but he wanted to say it.

"Do you want to go out?" Shit. That wasn't what he had to say. "This weekend?" Her pretty eyes were looking at him with curiosity. He softly smiled. "Let's do something fun! Let's go to the aquarium and then let's eat in a good place, do you want it?"

She blushed. And nodded. Her eyes won't be on him for a while.

He smiled. Yes. He wanted to see her without the school uniform as much as he could.

"Excuse me." The waitress had come with two slice of cake and two cups of coffee.

He thanked her and them, took the sugar and offered it to Taeni. She giggled.

.

"Thanks." She said looking at him. "But I don't need it." Taeni lifted a hand. And…

What on Earth? CNU couldn't believe it. "You like it with lots of sugar!" He demanded.

She just chuckled. "I did." Her cup on her lips WITHOUT A SINGLE SPOON OF SUGAR. "But I think my long sleepless nights of college ruined my life style."

That should be funny. But it isn't.

Surely that Moonbin guy knew how she liked her coffee.

"So… Who were you screaming at?" She asked pointing at his phone.

"No one." He said crossing his arms on his chest. But after seeing her starting to frown he added. "It was from work. A stupid author who is asking me to extend his deadline."

"Mmmm…" She hummed. "You said you're an editor, right?"

"More like a baby-sitter of old men who write." She laughed at that and that made him warm.

"Well, you liked books back then so it shouldn't be that bad. Or it is?" She tilted her head and looked so cute…

"I like poetry…" He started. "I edit bad romance stories with vampires and zombies. Not so good."

"Ah!" She enthusiastically said. "I think I love that kind of stories better than anything else, so your work is very important, oppa."

CNU half smiled. "I thought you liked poetry too." He mumbled looking away. He didn't know if he was mad or not.

"I did… Kind of. On High School…" She took another sip of her dark drink. "I don't read poetry now. I don't understand it."

Was that a lie?

Their eyes met for a moment. They were silent.

"Things change." He said.

"A lot." She was not smiling.

Suddenly she stood up. "Guess I have to talk to someone. I need our coffees, they have been waiting." She started to check her phone. "They're waiting."

"Want me to drive you there?" CNU offered.

She stopped a moment and pressed her lips in a thick line.

"Yes. It's your home so you won't lose time." She said before walking away.

He sighed.

CNU lifted the cup to his lips.

He made a face.

It was sour.

It was so sour.