You are back at the cafe not too far down the road from your church. The streets are bustling with people heading off to their lunch break, most staring down at their phones as they wandered through crowds. The cafe itself is swarming with people coming in and out, both floors almost completely packed - except for a two-seater couch you found that was recently vacated by a couple. You make yourself comfortable, set your things down, and think about getting an iced coffee. This is the eighth time you had come here, and you're hoping to see Roseanne again; honestly not sure if you should refer to her as Roseanne or Chaeyoung. 'Would calling her Chaeyoung be weird since she still hasn't actually given me her name on her own accord?' You still haven't addressed her by her name, and you still haven't had a chance to have a proper conversation with her. Not that you're starting to lose hope or anything, but you really want to be friends with her.
Getting up to order your usual, you're met with a body gently colliding with yours. "Oh- I-I must not have seen you. I'm so sorry!" You quickly smoothen out your outfit; luckily nothing fell or spilt from the collision. You look up quickly, smiling apologetically, and then smiling wider when you see that it's Chaeyoung. "Oh, hi again."
Chaeyoung unconsciously smiles when you recognise her. "No worries, it's my fault." Because in a sense, it was. She was trying to make her presence known to you, but she wasn't sure how she'd do it until you got up and bumped into her anyway. There's a bit of a pause, Chaeyoung looked a little reserved again as she held onto her own arm. "Um... were you just about to go order?"
"Oh, um, yeah! I was just- I mean- I was on my way to do so until I bumped into you. Sorry again..." You give an embarrassed smile, shut your eyes for a moment, kicking yourself. You never stumble over your own words like this. You hear a short giggle escape her lips before she covers her mouth. You open your eyes to look at her, admiring her smiling eyes. From all the times that you've seen her until recently, she'd always been reserved, frowning in some way, and unwilling to stick around unless she absolutely had to.
"Would you like something different or your usual iced coffee with ice cream?" Chaeyoung shyly asks you, hoping she didn't come off too... forward somehow. You're a little shocked, she had only taken your order about three times, but she must've had a keen ear whenever you ordered.
"My usual would be great, thank you..."
"Sit tight. I'll be back with it soon, Y/N." And with that, Chaeyoung walks away. 'Hold on. I've never actually introduced myself to her before.' You pulled out your book and started to read, the question still sticking to your mind during the first few pages. You were almost done with it and really wanted to finish it off today before you met with the girls at the park. 'Only 125 more pages, Y/N. You got this!' You quickly immersed yourself in the world in your hands, not realising Chaeyoung had actually set your drink down in front of you a few minutes later. She noticed how focused you were on your book and didn't want to disturb you and pull you out of it, so she took a mental image of you instead. She wasn't sure why, but she was completely entranced by you. She had met up with Jisoo the other day to catch up on the many years it had been since they last saw each other as children in Korea, and couldn't help but ask about you.
____
"Okay, now that I've gotten my chicken skewers, tell me. What are you doing in Sydney? I thought you were in Melbourne." Jisoo started picking at her food, drooling at the mere smell of it before stuffing her face completely, making Chaeyoung laugh.
"Yeah, I was. My entire family moved to Sydney about seven years ago because my dad wanted to start a new church here." The two girls were sitting on a bench beneath a tree that was looking out at a beautiful lake. The grass was at the perfect length to sway with the wind, the ripples in the water were something straight out of a meditation that had you feel calm at the sight. The sky was clear with not a single cloud in sight, and the sun was due to set in a couple of hours. There were a few families out having a barbeque, kids running to and from the playground. It was picture perfect, and Chaeyoung couldn't help but think about spending some time with you here. Before she can get any more attached to the idea of you, she had to find out more about you before she hurt herself as she did in the past. But she can do that later; she wanted to catch up with her friend first.
From reminiscing about the time they met and what a coincidence it was that Chaeyoung had become such fast friends with Jisoo on her vacation in Seoul to what they'd been getting up to in the time between then and now, the subject of you was finally brought up - but not by Chaeyoung.
"So, I wanted to talk to you about something in particular before we head off," Chaeyoung nodded, looking out at the water as the sun began to set. Jisoo knew to introduce the topic carefully, hearing about Chaeyoung's past and how much it had affected her spirit and continuously joyous attitude. "It's about Y/N."
"Y/N? Yeah, what about her?" Chaeyoung wasn't sure where this was going, but she felt a little uneasy but simultaneously fluttery for some reason. Call it a gut instinct?
"She's single. Just thought I'd put that out there." Jisoo smirks at Chaeyoung's shocked reaction. She had almost choked on the air alone, 'way to be subtle, Jisoo-unnie.'
"갑자기 왜? (Why so suddenly?)"
"Oh, just cause I wanted to see how you'd react to it. Seeing as though you're obviously intrigued by her in some way already must mean it's your heart's way of telling you that you're doing better than before, whether it be romantically or not." Jisoo waited a moment for Chaeyoung to recompose herself before telling her a little about you. The way you put others before yourself, your naturally caring personality and how protective you can be (which can actually become very scary for anyone that is trying to harm someone you care about). You can think very quickly on your feet, your mind works in such a way that Jisoo sometimes can't quite catch onto until a little later. You're one of the most creative minds she's ever encountered, and Jisoo treasures you dearly.
"Wow... She sounds..."
"Unreal, I know. And surprisingly, not that annoying. Or maybe I'm just biased cause she's like a baby sister to me and I find her adorable. You can find that out for yourself eventually." Chaeyoung blushed lightly again like she had so many times at the thought of you. You've hardly spoken to each other, and yet you were one of the first people in a long time to start breaking down her walls of defence so quickly, and it scared her a little bit.
"I'll try to..." Chaeyoung said it so quietly that you'd probably miss it if you weren't listening intently. Chaeyoung has been badly hurt in the past and she's done a lot of soul-searching and rebuilding. What surprised her the most, was that she wasn't as afraid of what she's feeling right now as she thought she would be. The feeling of being okay with putting such a large amount of your own happiness into someone else's hands, even though you hardly knew them. Jisoo recognised the hardships that Chaeyoung is going through and appreciates her strength to carry on. It's always been an admirable trait that she's noticed in her - ever since they were young.
____
'FINISHED!' You didn't even realise you hardly touched your drink. You put your book to the side and lifted up the cup to bring it closer to you. The water ring that had formed told you just how lost you were in that book. 'Have I even paid for this yet?' You took a sip and let out a refreshed sigh. That's the stuff. You looked down at your watch - 3:30 PM. There was still another half an hour or so before you should start heading out. You observed your surroundings, seeing a man typing away at his laptop, another man face-timing his husband and kids, two girls chatting away over some fresh churros, a couple that appear to be on their first date, and Chaeyoung taking off her work hat and apron. She looked over at you as she hung up her apron, smiling at you. She seemed like she was about to leave until you gestured towards the free seat next to you, asking her if she'd like to sit for a bit before leaving. Beaming this time, she happily yet shyly approached you. Moving your bag over to make room, you grab a napkin to dry off the dense water ring that your cup had formed. "How was your shift, Roseanne?"
"Please, call me Rosé."
"Ah, like my favourite type of champagne!" If you were closer with her you would've made a sexual innuendo, but you aren't sure if she would care for something like that.
"Just put me in a glass, I'm all yours." Chaeyoung attempts to say it seriously, but her stifled laugh makes it's way past her mouth. A smile rises on your face at the start of your first actual conversation with her. "My shift was... unexpectedly enjoyable." She eyes you carefully, attempting to tell you that it was actually because of you that she found it enjoyable more-so than usual. You take another sip of your iced coffee and Chaeyoung gives you a warm smile that makes your heart melt on the spot. "I see you still have your drink. Is it good?"
"Let me tell you something, Roseanne Park." You take another sip and groan at the taste of it, enjoying every drop. "You make a damn good iced coffee." Chaeyoung smiles shyly at you, turning a light shade of pink. "정말 맛있어요. 진짜. (It's so delicious. Seriously.)" Jisoo had mentioned the other day that you were learning Korean slowly, but Chaeyoung was still quite shocked. Her eyes widened as her smile did.
"I think I've got a new favourite customer to serve." You nudge her side a little as you let out a small laugh. You both talk about how your day has been, learning a little more about each other with every word until you both have to part ways. 'I haven't paid for the drink yet!' Realising this, you quickly rummage through your bag to find your wallet. Upon pulling it out, Chaeyoung quickly shoves it back into your bag. "No need for that, Y/N. It's on me today."
You take a mental note to repay her another time, using it as an excuse to see her again outside of the usual Sunday service. "It was nice spending some time to have a proper conversation with you today, Rosé." You're packing the rest of your things into your backpack as you ready yourself to meet with the girls.
"Likewise." You both reach the exit and find yourselves reluctant to leave each others' company. "I guess..."
"I guess I'll see you on Sunday?" you were glad that you had that in common so you could see her at least once a week. You both smile shyly at each other, knowing that you'll be in the company of the other every Sunday.
"Absolutely."
And with that, you walk in the opposite directions. You contemplated looking over your shoulder to see at her one last time before leaving. When you did, you found her looking back at you as well. You decide to be a bit of a jokester and jump up, spreading your arms and legs like a starfish, smiling like a child. She got a good laugh out of it, taking a picture of you. You gasp, exaggerating your facial expression and pretend to be offended. Click. Another photo was taken. You smiled, 'success is mine'.
++
"Jennie, I'm begging you, please stop. This spot is fine." Lisa is on the verge of dropping all the bags she is carrying. Jennie is being a little picky about where to set down their stuff. In the words of Jennie Kim, she wants to get a good view of everything as well as nice shade and soft grass to sit on. Your usual spot is taken up by a couple and their dogs and you weren't about to spoil their time because someone is being a little picky.
"Okay! This is it!"
"THANK GOD!" Lisa gently set everything down, draping her arm over your shoulder as she slumps onto you.
"Ya, Lalisa. I'm not your personal pillow."
Lisa brings her hand up to your face, "Shush, talking pillow. Lisa needs to rest for a few minutes."
"Aish... This girl." you and Jennie laugh at the Thai girl and start getting some food and drinks out. "Where's Jisoo?"
"She said she needed to help her mum with something at home. She should be here a little later, though." You give a bottle of water to Lisa, quenching her thirst. "So tell me, Y/N, what has been going on in that mind of yours lately?"
"Honestly? Rosé."
Lisa jumped up from your lap. "AH HA! I knew it!" And this causes you and Jennie to jump in shock.
The both of you look blankly at her, Jennie mostly in annoyance. "Yeah, you did. You were the first. You are my best friend after all."
"Doesn't matter, I still knew it." Lisa places her head back down, resting herself on your body as she listens to your conversation with Jennie.
"I haven't seen you this interested in someone before, it's new. It's cute." You take a bite out of your sandwich, smiling cutely to yourself with food in your mouth causing Jennie to pinch your cheeks. "Gosh, what a little cutie."
"Jenniieee... 그만해... (Stop it)" You bury your face into your free hand while still chewing your food. See, there are two sides to you. One is this 'cute, maknae' type vibe. The other? Honestly, you're quite a badass, and there's a history to you that not many people know about. Most people see the in-between, but only these girls tend to see your cute side, and no one dares try to see your bad side. You try to bury it the best that you can. Lisa manages to fall asleep in your lap as you and Jennie continue you chatting.
"No way! You did it? In 2 days?" You're talking about a recent short film project that you were working on for an upcoming event - one that you finished editing in ten hours over a span of two days which is quite a feat considering how picky you can be with your edits.
"Five hours straight each day. Honestly, I was spending so much time at the cafe that I figured I could get some solid work done there in that atmosphere. The cakes they serve provide excellent motivation."
"And it probably helps that Rosé works there. Correct me if I'm wrong." Jennie smirks at you. Quickly thinking about another topic of interest to switch to, Jisoo comes over with Jackson by her side. 'Thank Jisoos, they're here to save me.' You wave at them, a look of relief on your face with a touch of blush. Jennie looks behind her, laughing quietly to herself because of the timing. Turning back to you, she smiles smugly. "Well, well. Looks like you got what you wanted." She pauses for a moment, smile still on her face. "At least, that's what you hoped."
You looked at her cautiously as she waves to the others. "Is there any food left?" Jackson plops himself down next to the slumbering Lisa. Jennie hands him the last half of a sandwich and he begins eating. He gestures for Jisoo to quickly sit somewhere in the circle to quickly snap a selfie. You and Jisoo pull funny faces, mocking the sleepy Lisa. In the series of selfies, she wakes up in the fourth one. Realising what is happening, she sits up quickly and tries to grab the phone, and then chases you and Jackson around. Jennie and Jisoo take this opportunity to snap a few pictures of the three of you running around with your camera before setting it back down in its' case and grabbing the frisbee.
"Get over here, you monkeys! Let's play frisbee!" The five of you get into position, throwing it around and laughing at each other, having a good time. Jennie throws it a little too far over you, and you all just watch the wind carry it away.
"Oops. Sorry Y/N/N..."
You start running after it, "All good, I got it!" Following its' path leads you to a bike laying on its side. "Oh, how cute..." The bike has a basket on the front of it, with a small book and some snacks. Picking up the frisbee, you look around to see if you could find the owner of the bike, not wanting to leave it alone for too long. Being the curious person that you are, you pick up the book. It was the same book you were reading at the cafe earlier!
"Y/N?" You could recognise that beautiful unique voice anywhere. You turned around and saw her in black skinny jeans and a crop tee with her hair out. 'Wow, how does she do that?'
"Rosé! Hi! Funny running into you here." She approaches you and places her grip on the book in your hands.
"I was going to say the same thing." She smiles at you warmly with her cheeks all puffed up. 'Honestly, HOW is she doing this?' She slowly takes the book away from you, wondering if you realised she was reading that book because of you. "I was out for a little ride and realised I left my water bottle at work when I started getting thirsty. What are you doing with my bike?"
"Oh. Right, that. We're playing a game of frisbee and it just happened to get carried away with the wind, leading me right to your bike- Oh boy, they're probably waiting for me to get back to them." You facepalmed yourself, laughing, prompting Chaeyoung to laugh with you.
"Yooo Y/N, what's taking you so long?" You quickly spin around with the frisbee in your hand, facing Lisa, smiling nervously. Lisa looks over to Rosé and waves at her as well then smirking at you knowingly.
Lifting it up above your head, you yell out to her. "I got it!" Lisa points at the two of you and gestures for you both to come up the hill. You look over at her to see if she'd like to come up the hill with you to see the others. You have a bit of hope in your eyes, and seeing that, she returns a smile and gets her bike. You both make your way up the steep hill, and you notice her shoes - they aren't exactly the grippiest. You make your way over to the other side of the bike, taking it from her grasp, and offering your hand to her seeing as she was struggling a little bit. Chaeyoung suddenly became really happy in her poor choice in footwear. Her warm hand slips into your right as the other holds onto the bike and the frisbee between your arm and body, walking up carefully. Chaeyoung looks down at your hands grasping her own and then down at her feet shyly, a very evident blush rising up onto her cheeks. Once you get closer to Lisa, she reaches out to help you with the bike. By now, your heads are visible to the other three, and they wonder why there's an extra head returning.
Full bodies now in view, you make your way over to your friends. You hold the frisbee out in front of you, showing them that you've retrieved it - but that isn't what they're looking at. Both Jennie and Jisoo look down at your hands then to each other, getting excited over the sight of you two still holding hands comfortably with each other. You're confused at first, but then you look at Chaeyoung and down at your hands. Both your eyes widen and you quickly jump apart, your faces blushing furiously. "Um- frisbee! The frisbee is here. Look at the frisbee!" You quickly throw it over to Jackson, hitting him in the chest.
"Wh- Ya!" He picks it up, the rest of the group giggling. "Yeah. Ha-ha." The three of you walk over to the others, although you continue walking over to the picnic blanket and grab your bottle of water from your bag. "Roseanne, nice to see you! Would you like to join us for a quick game of frisbee?"
"Oh, no that's okay - I'm happy to watch you guys. I can be a little uncoordinated when I'm out of my zone." You grab her hand caringly and place your bottle in her grasp. She turns to see you smiling at her.
"You said you forgot your bottle at work. You can use mine for the time being." Chaeyoung quickly remembers what Jisoo had said about you; 'Looking out for others is second nature to her.'
"Oh no, no, it's okay. I don't want to impose or anything-"
"Please, I insist. It's not good to be dehydrated." You both stop talking and just look at each other for a little bit, both holding the bottle in your hands. Lisa grabs your camera quickly to take a snap of the moment, knowing this will be first of many that you'll be holding onto in the future. Whilst in your little moment, Jennie, Jisoo, and Jackson huddle together with Lisa, admiring the pictures she had just taken. They decide that it was probably time to head back home to get some rest and wash-up.
"Hey guys," Lisa begins, yawning in the process, "I think I'm gonna head home and get some rest. Your little Thai princess needs her beauty sleep."
You hit her back with a, "Yeah, no kidding."
"야! 죽을래? (Hey! You wanna die?)" She chases you around Chaeyoung as the latter stifles a giggle at the two of you.
"Leave the poor girl out of this, you two! Gosh, such little babies. Now, I'm gonna go get some chicken skewers. I'll see you all later, yeah?" And with that, everyone shared their goodbyes, leaving you alone with Chaeyoung and Lisa. You were all going to meet up at Jisoo's house later to watch movies so you aren't too sure what was going on - but you had a good chance Lisa was behind it.
"So, Y/N/N. I'll catch ya later, yeah? And I'll see you later, Rosé." Lisa gives her a side hug before smacking you in the butt and running off.
"Ya! Lalisa Manoban! Get back here!"
"Not a chance! Bye, have fun, see ya later!"
You roll your eyes at the enthusiastic Thai girl that you call your best friend. "I guess that just leaves us. I mean- unless you'd also like to start heading home."
"I do feel a little tired if you don't mind."
You fell a little pang of sadness when the words leave her lips. "Oh- yeah that's total-"
"Although!" You immediately stop yourself and start feeling a little hopeful again. "I would like some company on the way home... Again, if you don't mind..." a genuinely happy smile creeps up onto your face slowly. Chaeyoung tucks some hair behind her ear, staring down at her feet.
Chaeyoung helps you pack your things back into your bag. "Where is your house?" Slinging your backpack over your shoulder, you grab hold of your phone, getting ready to save the address into your phone.
"Not too far away. We can take a bus and it's about a ten-minute walk from there. I'm over on George Street."
"Really? No way... I'm just around the corner from there! Small world." You both make your way over to the bus stop. The bus ride to your stop is shorter than you remember. You tap off right after Chaeyoung, making sure neither of you left anything behind. You begin your walk to her house as the sun is setting. "Did that feel like thirty minutes to you?"
"I think we were just having too much fun watching those cat videos."
"They get spooked so easily by cucumbers! I mean, how could we not?" You start laughing again just at the thought of scaring a cat with a cucumber yourself. You have Leo and Luca to scare, but each time you were over at Lisa's house she just happened to be out or you just happened to forget. Your camera swings slightly around your neck as you shake from your giggles. Chaeyoung grabs it from around your neck, examining it to find where the 'on' switch is. Once she finds it, she takes a photo of you laughing with the sunset in the background. You look at her and she snaps another picture of you. You take the camera and run ahead of her, taking a few flowers and a leafy branch from a tree using them as props in your photo of Chaeyoung.
"Wow... You really know how to work with what you have, Y/N. This photo is gorgeous!" You're both at the front gate of her house looking at the photos you took of each other.
"I'll be sure to send it to you sometime." Putting the camera away, you swing back and forth on your heels. "Well, it's getting dark out. You should head inside before the wind gets any stronger and you catch a cold."
"And I should probably let you get back home before that happens, too." Chaeyoung puts her hand on the fence, opening it up.
"Oh, um, can I borrow your phone for a second? Mine is out of battery and I wanted to... check the weather." Chuckling nervously at your reasoning, a phone is handed to you, unlocked. You quickly go to her contacts and put your number in before going to the weather app. "Ah, low chance of rain. I won't need to worry about getting rained on before I walk home!"
Chaeyoung laughs at you, knowing why you wanted to borrow her phone. "That's good! In the ten minutes it takes you to walk to your house it could've hailed down on you and we definitely could not have that happen." Now smirking, she urges you to get going. "I'll see you around?"
"Absolutely. I look forward to it."
You walk past her in the direction of your house. You hear her gate swing further open then shut and assume she has made her way through her front yard by now. You'd always expressed how much you don't like excessively cheesy clichés, but when you turn your head to look back at her just to see her look back at you again over the fence, you knew that you were bound to fall in love with them - as long as they were with her.
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Oh, this chapter is a long boi~ Thanks for taking the time to read this, everyone!