Hahm Yunhee is home. A place of safety. A place of comfort. And yet, a large segment of her heart is missing, left behind in an unreachable world.
Park Jimin is trapped in a parallel universe, fighting for survival while striving to find a way back...
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'Welcome to Dream Bean. How may I help you today?'
'Two cappuccinos, please,' Tae murmured to the barista as he fiddled with his phone.
'Of course, sir.'
The reply was well-mannered, but Tae grunted a response and puckered his lips, too engrossed with the ambiguous text message in his hand to hear the milk steamer hissing or the chatter filling the homey café.
Hobi had been absent for over a week, but his friend's rapid and unexplained exit was not what concerned Tae. No, he'd received word from the man himself the following morning - granted, from a different phone number - explaining that he'd left town to take a break.
Tae could barely blame the guy, but since that day, Hobi had gone radio silent. He would not accept any calls from him, nor Jungkook and Suga, and irritatingly left their text messages unread. All of this, coupled with the bizarre events of last Tuesday, left Tae with a sour taste in his mouth.
True to his word, he'd left Yunhee well and truly alone, but the flitting sense of discomfort in his gut was imploring him to bite the bullet and see if she would actually pick up.
There was every chance the woman was in contact with Hobi and could shed some light onto why he wouldn't speak to any of his mates, and it may also open a window for them to finally get together and have that long overdue conversation.
Tomorrow. He'd try Yunhee tomorrow and hope for the best.
'Would you like chocolate on your cappuccinos, sir?'
Tae's temple twitched, the sweet resonance of the barista's voice awaking the part of his brain that would always be slave to trauma. Time to stop stressing and enjoy a coffee.
'Sure,' Tae accepted, gliding his phone into his jacket as he glimpsed up to courteously make eye contact. 'Oh...'
Oh...
The barista smiled directly at him, but it was not her perfect teeth or apple cheeks that made Tae goggle like a cretin, nor the coarse golden hair that cascaded over her clavicles. It was her eyes. The rarest shade of emerald he'd seen this side of the Indian Ocean.
European. She must have been European, but that was a vast continent with many countries sporting white Caucasian-
'Name?'
'Huh?' Tae blinked at the woman now clutching two paper cups and a Sharpie.
'For the drinks, sir,' she chuckled with a mild head shake that made her buttery hair flow like wheat in a meadow.
'Oppa.'
Tae's jawline ticked in embarrassment, and he fleetingly closed his eyes as if doing that would teleport him into a black hole a thousand galaxies away.
He did not just say that out loud.
'I mean, whatever floats your boat,' the barista sniggered as Tae found the courage to peek at her through his screwed-up lids. She was wrestling a laugh while her green irises danced mirthfully over his humiliated features. 'Oppa it is-'
