Over the next few days, Jimin's visits became more often, him slipping more playful, flirtatious notes for Ivanna every chance he got. Though Ivanna rolled her eyes and tried to act nonchalant, she could feel something warm blooming inside her chest, leaving her all fuzzy and giddy.

Though Ivanna's competitive nature wouldn't let her back down, she tried to one-up him as best as she could. And now that she was done with making a bunch of notes for Valentine's day, she turned her attention into writing notes just for Jimin. Their interactions were becoming the highlight of her day, and she refused to lose it.

The front door opened only to reveal the familiar man walking in, clad in a pink shirt, tucked in a pair of black jeans. His deep brown eyes crinkled as soon as he spotted the brunette, his curly blond hair sprawled out lazily over his forehead. Ivanna's eyes raked appreciatively over his figure, her fingers tucking in her curtain bangs behind her ear.

"How may I help you today, sir?" She gave Jimin a cheeky grin. After the amount of times she had met Jimin now, she grew a lot comfortable with him to worry about his global popstar status. Sure, she always ensured that no chaos was caused whenever him or Jungkook—who paid them less-frequent visits—came to the cafe.

"I'll take my usual, m'lady. Though I would really like if you could add a white chocolate cheesecake on the order."

"Coming right up, sir."

As usual, Jimin didn't venture off to take a seat but rather stayed in front of the counter, watching Ivanna like always. She had grown less self-conscious whenever someone looked at her whenever she worked, so there was that. The buzzing of the cafe died down in the background as she listened to Jimin's playful remarks and him giggling on his own jokes. It was safe to say that brought a smile to her face as well.

Ivanna almost dropped her glass when she heard a high-ptcihed squeal from behind Jimin. A teenage girl, with two more of her friends, had entered the cafe and were visibly shaken with seeing Park Jimin in person. Though, like good ARMY, they didn't make a scene and quietly went to take a seat, not before bowing apologetically to both Jimin and Ivanna.

Jimin, who instead of panicking, merely winked at Ivanna, before mouthing, "Guess I'm busted."

~~~

"And then Jungkook called me saying 'I don't know where I am, Hyung'," Jimin said, faking a sob-like voice. "and then I practically went out of my way to find him in that thunderstorm."

Listening to Jimin tell some behind-the-scenes stories of the BTS members was always fun, especially with his dramatic expressions and too many hand gestures. However, Ivanna was glad to see Jimin trusted her enough to talk about the members to her so freely.

"You sure you both weren't dating then?" she said mischievously, wiggling her eyebrows. Jimin almost spilled the coffee, before he choked on it.

"I—" Another cough. A deep breath. "Woman, you're impossible." Jimin shook his head dramatically, his blonde locks falling into his eyes. Ivanna merely giggled at that, her bubbly laughter ringing in Jimin's ears for just a little longer. "And to answer your question, no, we weren't dating. Jungkook is like my little brother, Iv."

"Well, I guess you were saving yourself for someone special, no?" she asked, genuinely curious now. She propped her pretty face on her palms and batted her eyelashes at Jimin, who sighed at her antics.

"Yeah, you can say that. But..." Locking eyes with her, he dropped his voice lower. More intimate now. "I guess the wait was definitely worth it," he murmured, none of them blinking, too scared to break the moment.

"Is that so?"

Ivanna's tone matched Jimin's, and that had him chuckling lowly, before humming in response. They finally come out of their trance when a little girl jumps near the customer, smiling widely. Ivanna tore her eyes from the blonde in front of her and grinned back at the girl. She couldn't be older than six. Shortly after, her mother came behind her.

"Hello, ma'am. What can I get for you?" Jimin shifted to the side in order to free the space in front of the counter and watched the interaction from the corner.

"Oh, hi. I would like a Raspberry Latte please." The lady smiled, before the girl started pulling on her dress and she cradled the girl in her arms.

"And what can I get for the little lady?" Ivanna asked, her voice turning softer and more playful. The mother smiled, cooing at the girl to encourage her to talk.

"Choco!"

Both Ivanna and the lady snickered at the girl's enthusiastic response. Shuffling through the second drawer, Ivanna made dramatic noises, taking out a chocolate and playing with it in front of the girl like an airplane.

'Swoosh!'

The girl giggled, clapping her hands and making grabby hands. After a minute or so, Ivanna finally handed the girl the chocolate, the girl bopping her nose as a thanks. The brunette scrunched her nose, before offering the lady to take a seat while she prepared the coffee.

As soon as the lady left, Jimin sauntered back in front of the counter, careful not to catch attention of any other customer. It was certainly a hard task, considering how attractive Jimin was, but he was to blame for having such a swoon-worthy ass.

"Well, well, miss. Ivanna, I must say: I'm impressed."

She quirked a brow while adding the raspberry syrup on the ice cubes in the cup. "You mean to say, you weren't already?"

"Ah, you got me there. I was, but... I'm even more entranced now."

After adding the final espresso shots, she shot Jimin a smirk. Her ponytail swayed, along with her hips as she went pass Jimin after blowing him a kiss. She kept the coffee on the lady's table, and turned to leave. The girl pulled on the string of her apron, making her turn back and crouch down.

"What is it, little princess?"

She let out a surprised giggle when the girl kissed her on the cheek, Ivanna returning the gesture. Ivanna and the mother shared a smile, before she trotted back towards the counter. Her eyes traveled to where Jimin was now sitting on a chair nearest to the counter while his fingers flew over the keypad of his phone.

Alright, Ivanna. Now's the best time.

Taking in a deep breath, she found the origami heart from under her notepad. With a racing heart and sweating palms, she made her way towards the blonde who whipped his head up as soon as he noticed her presence. Ivanna handed him the paper, him raising his eyebrows at that.

"For me?" he asked, his puppy-like eyes looking into hers.

"No, for the president of the US." She offered him a sarcastic smile, wiping her sweaty palms on her apron. "Of course it is for you, dumbass."

Jimin nodded, opening the heart while Ivanna practically ran back to her spot behind the counter. If Jimin found that weird, he didn't question it. He was too intrigued by the paper before him anyway.

'They say coffee is addictive, but I'm starting to think I've found something—or someone even worse (for my fragile heart).'

A quiet chuckle escaped him, but the smirk that usually followed doesn't quite make it to his lips. Instead, the corners of his mouth twitched—like he was fighting the urge to smile too wide. The tip of his ears starting turning pink, his eyes flickering toward the counter where Ivanna was busy with the espresso machine, acting as if she didn't just turn his world upside down with one simple sentence.

So it isn't just a game anymore, huh? he thought to himself.

Jimin folded the note carefully—almost too carefully—before slipping it into his pocket. Clearing his throat, he pushed his hair back before he saw Ivanna glancing at him. And that's when he noticed—her cheeks were the same red as the cute little strawberries on her apron that he adored so much. She was looking more flustered than him, and he realized that this note was not meant to be a playful joke.

"Are you two done flirting? Some of us actually came here for coffee. And by some, I mean a very particular customer."

Ivanna jolted slightly, whipping her head toward Alice, who stood beside her with her hands on her hips, an amused expression on her face. Jimin, still a little flustered, let out a chuckle.

"Yeah? And I'm guessing that 'particular customer' isn't just some random dude?" Jimin shot back, tilting his head.

"Mind your business, Mr. Park. Worry about your own Valentine's Day plans."

"Oh, I am, Miss. Alice." He locked eyes with Ivanna, his voice coming out in a low purr. "I so am." And that had Ivanna almost dropping the late art tool, which was filled with the cream, on the floor. Satisfied with the brunette's flustered response, Jimin turned his attention back to Alice.

He narrowed his eyes playfully, but before Alice could respond, the bell above the cafe door jingled. The redhead's gaze flickered toward the entrance—just for a second—before she quickly looked away, suddenly interested with the sleeves of her cardigan.

Jimin caught that. And when he turned his head and saw an extremely familiar muscular man with a tattooed arm and doe-like eyes, he immediately understood why.

Huh. Interesting.

₊˚⊹♡ ₊˚⊹♡