I'm yours for life. [ PAUSED ]

Chapter 1: Introduction

Monday, 10/09/18, 11:40 am. 5 days until disaster.

It was 5 days until his 18th birthday and to be completely honest, he normally didn't look forward to it. But this year would be different, he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, he just knew. If he knew what he knew today, would he go back in time to change the path he took? No, he wouldn't. That much he knew.

Felix worked as a barista at a small café in downtown Seoul. It was actually one of his friends who referred him to this place, and he ended up getting the job, and it was exactly what he needed. He had gone way too long without a job and he desperately needed the money so he could buy the camera he had been longing for. He calculated that he would have to put away roughly 420 000 KRW each month, if he managed that he would've reached his goal within 12 months. But with his current salary, it would've taken a lot longer than 12 months.

He sighed heavily as he prepared yet another Grande latte. Why couldn't people just order regular coffee? They just had to do special orders. He mentally prepared himself before turning around, plastering a fake smile on his lips as he handed the coffee to the customer. "There you go, have a nice day," he said, trying his best not to make his voice sound as monotone as he felt. The customer smiled back and then turned around and walked out from the coffee shop.

The young man threw a quick glance at the clock. 20 more minutes until his lunch break. Felix stepped back, leaned against the counter behind him and let his head fall back. But it didn't take long before that all too familiar ding from the bell sounded throughout the coffee shop and Felix opened his eyes, put on a fake smile again but it almost immediately fell when he saw the man who just entered. He had never seen him at the shop before, probably haven't seen him in the district at all.

The man was tall, at least above 175 cm, with captivating ice blue eyes and glistening red hair. He shamelessly eyed him; taking notice of his well-toned body and his defined arm muscles. It wasn't until the man cleared his throat when Felix noticed that his jaw had quite literally dropped. But who could blame him? It was not every day a man like this entered the shop.

"Uh, sorry," Felix blurted out and brushed away the hair from his eyes before putting his hands down on the counter before him. "What would you like, sir," he continued and momentarily looked down at the piece of paper on the counter. The redhead's hands appeared on the counter in front of his. Felix closed his eyes, biting his bottom lip way harder than he intended, took a deep breath and finally looked up. He immediately felt his heart shoot up in his throat. Well, not literally.

"Americano," the redhead replied and scooted the money towards him, not once breaking eye contact with the young barista. Felix opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. What was he supposed to say anyways? This guy probably had the intelligence of Einstein so anything Felix said would just sound so incredibly stupid. Instead, he nodded, put it in the register and then turned around to make the man's coffee. He could feel his gaze while he was doing it. It almost felt like it was burning holes in his neck, or was it Felix's temperature rising? He couldn't tell.

The barista turned around and handed the coffee to the redhead, who took a small sip and gave a small nod of approval before locking eyes with Felix once again. "I'll see you around," was the last thing he said before he left the shop. It wasn't until then Felix realized that he had been breathing shallowly and his body instinctively forced him to gasp for air. That was a nerve-wracking moment. Who was this guy anyway? 

Thursday, 13/09/18, 11:45 am. 2 days until disaster.

Another day at work. This week had been surprisingly calm compared to last week. Felix figured it was because of that huge annual war memorial, that's the only reason he could think of. 3 days since he encountered that mysterious – annoyingly handsome – red head man. He hated himself for reacting the way he did, but he was truly captivated by his appearance. His entire vibe. It made him want to know more. That's why he felt disappointed when this man didn't show up again. Maybe it was just a one-time encounter.

He went about his day, doing his mundane tasks, serving customers and occasionally scrolling through his phone. Deep down, he wished to see any news about this man. God, stop thinking about him, Felix. He was so into his phone that he didn't notice the bell ding, instead he was startled half to death when he saw a pair of hands on the counter in front of him. Instinctively, he inspected the hands and slightly furrowed his brows. Why were those hands so familiar? Had he seen them before? His heart dropped to his stomach the moment he realized who the owner of those hands was, and he slowly raised his eyes. It was him. The mysterious red-headed man. This time he had his hair in half a ponytail with pieces of hair framing his stupidly perfect face.

"Hi," was all Felix could say, later realizing how stupid he sounded. He put his phone to the side and stood up, straightening his back slightly. There it was again, that hole burning gaze. But this time, he could actually see it. "Let me guess, an Americano?" Felix asked, slightly biting his bottom lip. The red-headed man cracked a small smirk and God, was it beautiful. The man leaned forward ever so slightly while scooting the money over to Felix, still not saying anything. Felix put it in the register and once again, prepared an Americano for the man he had met 3 days prior to today. But this time he didn't feel that burning gaze on his neck.

He subtly glanced over his shoulder to see if the man was still there, and he noticed that he was looking out the big glass windows of the coffee shop. Almost as if he was looking for someone. He decided not to question it and turned around to give him his drink. Their eyes locked and the red-head gave him a slight smile before – once again – leaving the shop. Felix was left looking dumbfounded. What the actual hell?