Make A Wish | Na Jaemin

"Renjun!" Areum called.

The said boy turned around to see Areum walking towards him.

He smiled. "Hey Areum."

"You ready to go to?" She asked.

Renjun's smile slowly faded. "I- oh. Well, you see..."

"Just say it," Areum said calmly.

He put his hands together in a small prayer. "Please don't get mad at me!"

Areum looked at him and softly smiled. How could I ever be mad at you?

"I won't get mad, promise. So what's up?"

Renjun fidgeted with the straps of his backpack. "I totally forgot about meeting up today and... And I made plans with someone to work on a class project together. I'm really sorry."

Areum's heart ached. How could he forget? How could Renjun forget their weekly study dates that they've been doing since freshman year?

Areum looked into his eyes that were full of sincerity and ignored her aching heart.

"It's okay Renjun..." She smiled. "But you have to treat me next time to make up for it!"

Renjun's face brightened up. "Deal! You're the best, Areum!" He said, leaning in for a hug.

Areum's heart quickened as she returned the hug. She silently prayed that Renjun couldn't hear the rapid beating of her heart.
It's not like they've never hugged before, but after realizing her feelings for him everything changed.
Her body was warm all over as she hugged Renjun, breathing in his scent- he smelled fresh and sweet.

God he smells so good. Areum thought.

They broke the hug, Areum a bit disappointed as she felt the warmth fade away.

"Well I gotta get going. I'll see you Areum!" Renjun said, as he turned to leave.

Areum smiled and waved, "see you Renjun! Good luck on that project!"

Once Renjun fully turned around and was walking away, Areum's smile instantly dropped and she stopped waving.

"It's okay. He's only missing one week. There's always the next time," Areum said to herself, walking away.

The next week Renjun didn't come.
Nor the week after.
Nor the week after that.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

na_j00

What are you up to today?

Areum sighed, opening the door to Cafe 127. For the past few weeks, she had been going to the cafe alone since Renjun wasn't accompanying her anymore.

At this point, Areum had stopped bothering to ask him if he was coming because the few times she did, the answer had always been no. Of course, Renjun had apologized each time and said that he'd make it up to her- which he hasn't yet.

Areum stepped in front of the counter.

"Hello, what can I get for you today?"

Areum looked at the nametag clipped onto the person's apron. Mark.

She narrowed her eyes. "So YOU'RE the boy who stole my job."

He looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"Yo, Areum! Good to see you again!" Johnny said, walking over.

"Johnny, likewise. However, I see that I'm finally face to face with the boy who you gave the job to instead of me."

"Ah," Johnny scratched his head. "Mark, meet Areum. Areum meet... The boy who I gave the job to."

Areum rolled her eyes, "you're just rubbing it in now."

"Sorry! I told you I was going to give you the job. But this dude over here wouldn't stop nagging me about letting him work here and crying about how he wouldn't survive college this year with no money."

Areum perked her head up in curiosity. "You go to college? Where?"

"Neo University," Mark replied.

"I go there too!" She said excitingly.

Areum realized her behavior and cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed. "Um, how come I've never seen you around in campus?"

Mark chuckled at Areum's sudden change of behavior. "I studied abroad in Canada last year. I just recently got back last month in August."

Areum nodded. "Well, I hope we can be friends then?" She smiled, "even though you're a job stealer."

"Sure, friends," Mark smiled back. "And in my defense, I didn't even know Johnny was giving you the job!"

"Cap!" Johnny shouted from the kitchen.

Areum rolled her eyes playfully, "uhuh." She looked up at the menu behind Mark. "Can I get a short caramel frappuccino?

"Sure thing, that'll be 3 dollars."

Areum reached into her backpack to grab her wallet as a figure walked and stood right next to her.

"I'll pay for her drink. Could you get me a venti iced Americano, no water, with four extra espresso shots?"

Areum stopped what she was doing, her eyes frozen and looking at the stranger's shoes. She was shocked, not only because she was getting her drink paid by someone else- but also because of the person's crazy order.

"Jaemin! It's good to see you man!" Mark said.

"It's good to see you too, Mark."

Areum whipped her head up to the person Mark had spoken to and lo and behold, was Na Jaemin.

She stared at his side profile: sharp jawline, intimidating eyes, and hair almost as white as snow. He was handsome, Areum couldn't deny it. It's no wonder he has such a huge fanbase of girls admiring him.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Jaemin smirked, turning to look at Areum.

Areum started blushing, realizing that she had just been caught staring. She scoffed, trying to play it off. "I'm sure I can find a million photos of you on the internet, Na Jaemin."

"Ah, so you do know me then. I was a bit worried when you didn't have a big reaction to me and we shook hands a few weeks ago." He pouted.

Damn he's good. No wonder girls fall for him.

"Well my apologies for not recognising you sooner," Areum replied.

Mark came back to the counter. "Here are your drinks. See you around campus Jaem. You too, Areum," he smiled.

"Thanks Mark. See ya!" Areum hurriedly grabbed her drink and turned around, rushing to leave the place and Jaemin.

"Where are you going?"

Areum froze. Damn it.

She slowly turned around and faced Jaemin.

"I bought you your drink. The least you can do is sit and chat with me for a bit?" He said.

Areum sighed. She really didn't want to "sit and chat" with Jaemin. One, because she hardly knew him and two, she didn't want his fanbase to attack her just for talking to him.

"I'll be waiting," Jaemin said, turning to walk towards a table near the windows.

Areum mentally groaned and slowly followed Jaemin, sitting down on the opposite chair from where he was sitting.

Jaemin sipped his coffee. Leaning in and smiling, he looked into Areum's eyes and rested his chin on his folded hands. "So Ms. Choi, let's get to know each other a bit, shall we?"