BTS WORLD ARCHIVE: ANOTHER STORY

Chapter 1-3: Interview with Namjun

The kid is stubborn, moving the cat won't be easy. I can't just leave things like this. I need to clear things up with Namjun.

I decided to make an official request for an interview.

All right, we're back on track!  I think to myself as I wait in line. Seeing him face to face is the only way to resolve this misunderstanding anyway.

I get a text from Namjun: [I'm almost there. What was the name of the cafe again?]

Y/N: [Cafe B, do you want anything? I'll order for you.]

Namjun: [I'd like an ice americano then, please.]

Y/N: [Alright, I'll have it ready for you.]

Thankfully, Namjun agreed to the interview. I don't think he recognized my voice when I called him. 

Namjun entered the cafe a short time later after I had got settled in.

"Over here!" I call to him.

Namjun turns in the direction of my voice.

I wave and gesture to the other drink across the table for him, "Come sit with me."

Namjun looks at me and hesitates.

I hesitate. Does...Does he recognize me? Will I have to explain what happened?

Before I could figure out what to say, Namjun sits and ask me the very question I was dreading: "Wasn't that you feeding the cat?"

I break into a nervous sweat and fidget. "Well - you see - no? I was just in the neighborhood. The cat crossed my path."

Namjun doesn't look all that convinced. "So, why were you feeding it then?"

"It sounded it's so sad," I tell him honestly. "I figured a snack couldn't hurt. I think there's a little girl in your neighborhood who's feeding it regularly though."

Namjun softens. "A little girl?"

I nod. "Yeah, she calls the cat Toto. If you really think about it, I'm just an innocent bystander." I'm making every point I can think of to win him over.

Namjun seemed to think for a moment. "I think I know who you're talking about. I can't really be mad. She's just a kid..." He remembers the iced coffee in front of him and brought it closer as he sighed. "This is complicated."

Namjun seems like he's accepting my version of events without a fight.

"So, the kids', the reason the cat sticks around the neighborhood," he guessed.

"Probably." I shrug and bring my drink to my mouth. "I mean, she lives there. I tried to suggest taking the cat somewhere else, but the kid wouldn't budge.

Namjun paused and furrowed his brow as he regarded me. "You told a little kid to move her cat?"

I gaped. "Ah...Well, you seemed really annoyed by it."

Namjun stares at me wide-eyed then drops his focused down to the tabletop. "I'm sorry for taking things the wrong way. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. No matter how upset I was."

I hold my hands up reassuringly. "That's okay. I understand it has to be hard to concentrate with that cat crying like that. I mean, how does something so small makes so big a noise? I take it you have to focus a lot on your writing if you're a creative writing and lit student."

Namjun sat up straighter. "Yes, I've been working on a mystery novel recently."

 The conversation seems to naturally turn into an interview.

I nod and decide that I should be taking notes. "A mystery novel. Have you always been interested in that genre?"

"No, I used to write poetry, but I've always liked writing and self in complex cases," Namjun says. "That's why I'm attempting to write a mystery novel."

"Is that why you entered the hacking competition to use it as research for your book?" I guessed. I did a lot of studying before tracking Namjun. "You've even won an award. That's impressive."

"Yeah, when I started, it was just for research," Namjun said, eyeing me as if impressed. "But then I really enjoyed it. So, I tried even harder."

I write this down. "And you do all that on top of being a college student. Wow!" 

I learned a lot more about Namjun.

For the course of the interview. I was glad to see our conversation put an easy-going smile on his face.