• INNUENDO • [ Taekook ]

8. Enthusiasm

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Seoul, 2021.

London Cafe was located a little off the main street, tucked between two old buildings, typical of Asian architecture. No one knew why this place was named after that city in Europe, because it was an ordinary and average cafe which can be seen at every corner of Seoul's streets.

By the very big round window, he was sitting.

Jungkook loved this place because Mozart's symphony was always playing in the background. Thousands of thoughts mingled in his mind as he flipped through the book, consciously listening to the soft melody.

The night before he heard from his longtime friend, events in his life were slowly heating up. He promised himself that he wouldn't complain about not having anyone in his life right now, because that week he graduated from the university of his dreams, the music academy.

As one of the professor's favorites, he could choose the topics for his master's thesis. And on that very day when the piano was playing in the background, Jungkook knew very well that he was on the right life's track.

Before choosing his favorite coffee from the rich catalog offered by the bistro, he spent almost an hour analyzing the interior of this cafe where he spent a lot of time but never noticed the wonderful ambiance.

There weren't many people in the morning hours, which suited the young man perfectly. He approached the bar, where a young man, maybe only a few years older than him, was standing almost in a daze. He casually held the pen in his left hand and solved crosswords without paying attention to his surroundings.

Jungkook smiled at that sight then cleared his throat. "Good morning... how's it going?" He pointed at the enigmatic newspaper resting on the wooden bar.

The young man's eyes widened in intense panic, almost instantly forgetting where he was. He swallowed the lump and then his facial expression softened when he saw the face of the other who was a frequent guest in the cafe.

"If you know enough cities in Poland, you will be of great use to me.", he retorted.

"Poland? Um... not so sure. But if you asked me anything about music, I'm sure I could help.", he smiled showing his bunny teeth.

"So a musician? What kind of music do you play?", the elder asked.

"Before I answer, I'm Jungkook. I came here so many times and honestly, I noticed you, but I never had the courage to approach you...", he paused while slightly squinting his eyes to read the name on the plaque. Then he looked back at the flushed cheeks of the bartender and continued in baritone. "Jin."

"Oh...", the elder paused, looking down at his enigmatic, scribbling something, and then spoke quietly. "You know, this is my number, you can call me if it seems like the right thing to do, musician Jungkook."

There was a tearing of paper, and then that same piece of paper was in Jungkook's gentle hand.

Nodding, he continued down the hall to the restroom to freshen up after his final conversation with his crush. Maybe it really were his happy days.

It was about half past ten in the morning when he noticed the blood red sun hovering over the orange and yellow leaves of the deciduous tree line. The picture on the wall definitely took his breath away. He watched a group of several young people with smiling faces sitting on the stone pavement in front of a huge building, dressed as befits a photo like this. Jungkook was mesmerized by the whole setting. He couldn't believe that until now he had never noticed the pile of photos that adorned one of the walls of this place. He glanced quickly at the inscription in the lower right corner that read, Earling Tehnical College and School of Art, London, 1969.