Present Day
22-Years-Old

"C'mon, Yoongs! You can move faster than that!"

Yoongi sighed as he followed his best friend to god knows where this time. "Where are we going, A?"

"I'm going to change your life!" Aera shouted back.

Yoongi rolled his eyes. Everything was life-changing to Aera. It was one of Yoongi's favorite things about her, but it could also be exhausting.

"Look!"

He caught up to Aera and peered over the small hill she'd dragged him up. His brow furrowed. "Why are we here?" he asked.

"Look!" Aera repeated excitedly. Yoongi stared down confusedly.

"I see a coffee shop."

"Wait for it."

Suddenly, a beautiful young woman emerged from the cafe to tend to customers sitting outside. Yoongi's breath caught in his throat. "It's her."

Aera beamed. "Her is Park Sunhee. She works at that cafe, and she's twenty years-old. Oh, and she loves daisies."

Yoongi looked at Aera with wide eyes. "How do you do it?"

"What?"

"How do you always find out this sort of stuff?"

"My best friend is suffering from unrequited love!" Aera lamented dramatically. Yoongi thought she ought to have draped an arm across her eyes for the full effect. "Of course I'm going to help!"

"Does she go to university?" Yoongi asked.

"Not currently. She's taking a year off to save some money. Her parents aren't happy about it."

Yoongi gaped at Aera. "Again, how the hell do you know all this?"

Aera smiled conspiratorially. "I have my sources."

Yoongi shook his head. "So, what now?"

Aera sighed as though Yoongi were stupid. "So, you go order a coffee, idiot!"

"Will you come with me?"

"Hell no!"

"Why not?!"

"You have to go solo so she'll at least question whether or not you're single. If we go together, she'll just assume we're dating and you won't get to shoot your shot!"

Yoongi bit his thumbnail nervously. "I won't look like a loser, all by myself?"

"Just start out slow, and order a coffee to go at the counter. Maybe she'll be the one to take your order, maybe not. But then you'll know if she works the counter or only serves tables. If it's the latter, we'll go from there to try to figure out how to make you not look like a loser sitting all by yourself." Yoongi stared at Aera as she continued to ramble on excitedly. "And who knows...whether she serves you today or not, she can at least hopefully get a look at you. Her interest will definitely be piqued if she does."

"How do you know that?"

"Oh c'mon, Yoongs. You're hot."

"Ew, what?! Why would you say that?!"

"It's only 'ew' when I say it, but you love it when other people do."

"What other people?!"

Aera rolled her eyes. "Just shut up and go get a coffee!"

Yoongi rolled his eyes. "You're at least coming with me and waiting outside."

"Duh, obviously!"

Aera practically skipped down the hill as Yoongi trailed behind her. A nervous knot had settled in his stomach. He'd seen this woman - Sunhee, apparently - for the first time at the market near his and Aera's apartment a week before. He'd lamented that he'd probably never see her again so much, that Aera finally agreed to go with him a few days ago, and Yoongi had spotted her again. He'd pointed her out to Aera, who then disappeared to, much as she'd explained today, stay away from him so Sunhee didn't think they were dating.

By the time Yoongi made it to the coffee shop, Aera had positioned herself outside the store next door, acting like she was window shopping. She gave Yoongi a quick thumbs up before gesturing for him to go inside. Yoongi took a deep breath, then opened the door and entered.

It was busy, with customers and servers bustling around everywhere. Yoongi looked toward the counter and saw a long line of people waiting to order. He joined the line quickly and began surreptitiously looking around to see if he could see Sunhee anywhere.

He'd just about given up until he found himself to be next in line. For the second time in the past half hour, his breath caught in his throat as Sunhee stepped up to the register after handing off a coffee to the customer who'd been ahead of him.

"Hi!" she chirped. "What can I get for you?"

Yoongi stared at her. He'd spent so much time trying to spot her that he hadn't even thought about what he was going to order.

"Uh, Americano," he blurted. It was the first thing that came to his mind. Luckily, it was something he liked.

"Sure thing," Sunhee said with a smile. "Hot or iced?"

"Iced, please," Yoongi said, barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry?" Sunhee asked, though her friendly smile remained.

Yoongi cleared his throat. "Iced, please," he repeated more loudly.

Sunhee grinned as she picked up a cup for iced drinks. "And your name?"

"Hmm? Oh...uh, Yoongi."

Sunhee quickly wrote it on the cup, then pressed some buttons on the register. "That'll be 6000 won, please."

Yoongi quickly pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and handed Sunhee the money. "Thank you," she said cheerily. "I'll have that right out for you!"

"Thanks," Yoongi mumbled as he stepped aside. He busied himself by picking at his nails nervously as he waited, so as not to stare at Sunhee like a creep while she made his drink.

A few moments later, a call of "'Uh Yoongi'. Iced Americano for 'Uh Yoongi'." was heard. Yoongi looked up at Sunhee, eyes wide and cheeks hot.

"Sorry," Sunhee said mischievously. "Couldn't resist." Yoongi managed an awkward smile.

"That's alright...Sunhee," he said, looking at her name tag and acting as though he didn't already know her name.

"Hope to see you around again sometime, Uh Yoongi," Sunhee said with a wink. Yoongi took his drink and turned around quickly, trying to hide his cheeks as his blush deepened.

"Bye," he said quietly.

"See ya!"

Yoongi stepped out of the shop and turned to see Aera smirking at him.

"You're blushing."

"Shut up," he said, pushing past Aera and walking down the street. Aera jogged to catch up with him.

"I'm guessing you saw her?"

"Yeah, she took my order."

"Oh my god, no way! That's perfect! How'd it go?"

Yoongi took a sip of his drink to try to delay having to tell Aera he'd made a fool of himself in front of Sunhee.

"She winked at me."

"WHAT?!" Aera screeched, halting on the sidewalk and pulling Yoongi to the side.

"Watch it!" Yoongi said, annoyed, as he stumbled.

"She WINKED at you?! What else happened?! Spill! NOW!"

"Calm down!" Yoongi said with a glare. "I made a fool out of myself, okay?"

"But she winked at you! Was she smiling when she did it?"

"Yeah, she smiled the whole time." Aera squealed and Yoongi sighed. "It's part of her job, A. It didn't mean anything."

"Okay, but a smile AND a wink is something! She obviously didn't think you made a fool out of yourself. You're just being paranoid! Unless, she thought you were kind of a fool but found it endearing! Either way – "

"Chill out!" Yoongi said with exasperation. "It was embarrassing."

"Well, let's get you home before you embarrass yourself any further," Aera said with a roll of her eyes. "And then you can give me a play by play!"

-

"So, start from the beginning."

"I walked inside – "

"Oh my god, Yoongs, you know what I mean!"

Yoongi sighed. "She was working the register and when I got up there I realized I hadn't thought about what I wanted to order."

Aera facepalmed, but said nothing.

"But I recovered quickly," Yoongi insisted. "I ordered an Americano."

"Please tell me you didn't, like, nervously scream it at her or something."

Yoongi shot her a look. "No."

"Thank god. Okay, continue."

"I did forget to tell her hot or iced, so she asked."

"And you said iced, obviously."

Yoongi sighed. "Yeah, but too quietly. She had to ask me to repeat myself."

"Well, that's not so bad. She probably has to do that all the time. It's a busy shop with lots of loud customers and machines running and stuff."

Yoongi considered that, and felt a bit better about it. "Then she asked me my name."

Aera watched him apprehensively. "You didn't forget it, did you?"

Yoongi looked indignant. "No!" Then his face softened sheepishly. "But I did say 'uh' before I told her."

"Okay...?"

"So when she called out my name when it was ready, she called out 'Uh Yoongi'."

Aera stared at him for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Oh, so she's cheeky! I like her already!"

Yoongi shook his head. "It was embarrassing, A. I felt like an idiot."

Aera once again rolled her eyes. "So, then what happened?"

"She apologized and said she couldn't resist calling me that."

"See, so she was just teasing. Or, assuming she's a bold person - which it sounds like she just might be - flirting."

"I highly doubt that."

"Why are you so negative, Yoongs? Thus far, it sounds like everything went just fine!"

Yoongi shrugged.

"So, then what happened?"

"She said she hoped to see me around again sometime, and that's when she winked at me."

"Oh my GOD, Yoongs! She practically asked you out!"

"What?" Yoongi asked incredulously.

Aera facepalmed again. "You are truly hopeless. She teased you good-naturedly, winked at you and told you she wanted to see you again. Yoongs! How is any of this a bad thing?!"

"It was just...I dunno. I felt embarrassed."

"You're just not used to bold girls."

"What are you talking about? I've been around you almost every single day for fifteen years!"

"Okay, let me rephrase...you're not used to bold girls flirting with you."

"Again, I highly doubt – "

"Yoongs!" Aera shouted with a clap of her hands in front of Yoongi's face. "She. was. flirting. with. you."

Yoongi sighed. "So, you think I should go back?"

"Umm, hell yes!"

"Will you go with me this time?"

"Absolutely not! You're on her radar now! It's more important than ever that she not see you with another girl!"

"But let's just say - hypothetically - that we did start dating or hanging out or whatever. She'd have to meet you eventually. I mean, I live with you!"

"Well, duh, Yoongs. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then – "

"I don't like the idea of hiding you away. You're my best friend."

Aera's face softened. "Aw, Yoongs. You're not hiding me away. You're just setting me aside until you establish whatever is meant to be with this girl."

"I'm not setting you aside either, A. I don't like it, and it feels dishonest."

"You've had one interaction with her. What if it had been random and I wasn't with you? We'd be in the same situation we are now - you'd have to introduce her to me eventually. And you will in this case, too. But again, eventually."

Yoongi looked unconvinced, but didn't argue further.

Aera sighed. "Look, I'll go with you and stand outside and wait again. Once you have more interactions with her and hopefully get to know her a bit better, then you can introduce me! But until then, I promise I'll go for moral support. But I'll wait for you outside. Okay?"

Yoongi took a deep breath. "Okay," he agreed.

Aera beamed at him. "This is so great, Yoongs! I'm so happy for you!"

She stood and threw herself into Yoongi's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.

Yoongi smiled. "Thanks for your help, A."

"Anytime!"