𖡡 café

@♔ leilani dairoenkul〘ʟᴀɴɪ〙ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ Ever the perceptive one, Jaejin watched with amusement as the emotions flashed across the younger’s face. He smiled with satisfaction as her body seemed to ease as they spoke, though he still couldn’t help but wonder why she was there in the first place. “You say it with such surprise.” His brows lifted as an amused smile pulled at his lips, a sharp contrast to the glowering countenance the male usually wore.

He was glad when Lani agreed, wasting no time in taking the seat across from her with a breathy chuckle. “It /has/ been a little bit hasn’t it?” He paused at her words, taking a moment to look down at his attire in confusion. He was dressed in a way he considered simple, with black slacks, and a white button-up that he rolled at the sleeves, some of his tattoos on display. He glanced over at Lani and it was as if he was seeing her for the first time.

She was beautiful, he had always known this, but there was an ethereal beauty that seemed to just emanate from within her, almost making her glow. He quickly shook his head and scoffed, moving his chair closer to her as a result. “Say something like that and I’ll pull you onto my lap.” He stared at her for a moment as if to dare her to rebut him again. Deciding not to give her a chance, he pulled his phone out of his pocket to scroll through his messages. “You never answered my question though, what are /you/ doing here?”

His question died on his tongue as he finally reached the ChimCo group chat, which he had been ignoring for at least a few days. “.” Clearing his throat, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and had the mind to suddenly look at least a little sheepish as he fixed her with an apologetic look. “I take it that’s why you looked pissed to the max when I first saw you? No one showed up…”

Jaejin sighed and looked away from her for a moment, unsure of how to approach this situation. He seemed to have willingly put himself around her when he was one of the reasons she was upset in the first place. A fact that had his brows furrowing and his chest tightening, he didn’t like that. Catching her gaze once more he reached over to gently take her hand in his, his larger hand easily engulfing hers as he caressed her skin with his thumb to soothe her. “Would it make a difference if I said I was genuinely sorry?”

@✵ moon eunhwi〘ᴛᴏᴍᴏ〙ʳᵉⁿᵘ Nerves knawed away at Nayeon with each step, almost causing her to turn away and forget about meeting up with her friend. No. She had to stop being such a coward. How was she going to be able to face Kyungho and own up to her feelings if she couldn't even face one of her best friends? Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door to the cafe, quickly scanning the area before catching sight of him. "Hey." The nerves threatened to overwhelm her, but she pushed past it and took a seat across from Eunhwi. There was only a small moment of hesitation before the words blurted out of her before she could stop it. "I ran away.'

@✵ park nayeon〘ʙᴇʟʟᴀ〙ᵖᵃⁿᵈᵒʳᵃ Eunhwi felt his phone vibrate over the table and lowered his eyes to the screen as it lit up with a new notification from Bella. He acknowledges the latest text but doesn't reply as the girl simply lets him know she'll be here soon, so he focuses back on coffee and the half-eaten toast as he waits. He has one of his earplugs tuned in, blasting one of his most recent instrumentals as he goes through the small notebook in front of him, scratching and rewriting bits and words to better fit the song he's envisioning, yet, he can't seem to entirely focus on what he's writing as he is now a bit too curious over just what his friend has to tell him about England.

@✵ nam jaejin〘ᴄᴀsᴘɪᴀɴ〙ˣ.ᶜʰᵃᵒˢ it was almost as if fate was playing games with her. if not for being the only person stuck in their lonesome at the café, then it certainly had to be the next person to arrive that would soon catch lani in such a pathetic state. a blessing in a curse as some might call it as she’s soon freezing in place, stunned at the impeccable amount of misfortune that she was surely drowning in at the moment.

“caspian?..” no way. quickly, she seized her initial seat. things could not possibly get worse than this, could they? she knew x.mpire was a handful, a few names easily coming to mind whenever trouble came into the equation (her horrid ex included). but, caspian? now, he was honestly something else. yes, these two were friends but the slight distance that was wedged between them still— lani could have only assumed equated to his lack of effort in seeing anybody outside of work. maybe, it was just how he was, she once thought. all work and no play.

but then again, there was no way someone like that was able to reel himself out for just about anything, in that case. let alone for, “a date, huh. you’re kidding, caspy!” she shook her head with a chuckle, the revelation amusing enough that the dancer had almost forgotten just how partially upset she was supposed to be. here lani was, with plans practically beyond salvaging— and yet, a part of her found solace in the latter’s supposed blessing. finding time for a luxury such as dating in what she could only believe was a tight schedule. too tight to squeeze her and the others into.

“i don’t know if that’d make a good impression for a date, to be seen with another girl when walking in and all, but.. since i barely see you, how could i say no?” she takes a light jab whilst propping her chin atop the palm of her hand, her nose scrunching lightly at the equally silly nickname he’s got for her in return before her attention diverts towards the empty seat before her. “make yourself comfy, but be careful– don’t want you putting creases anywhere on that.. fit. wow.. they must be some date! and oh don’t sit too close though, you’ll have me feeling super underdressed..”

seeing all this effort caspian had made was quite endearing. it almost reminded her of how she was. except, he didn’t seem just as nervous as lani normally would be from time to time.. not that it was much of a surprise. the idol certainly deserved to feel confident in everything he set his mind to, from the looks to the talent— anyone could simply see that he had it all. it was no wonder the person he was to see seized an opportunity for a date as soon as they got it.

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@♔ leilani dairoenkul〘ʟᴀɴɪ〙ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ Swipe. Swipe. Jaejin’s finger glided across the screen of his phone with ease, barely looking at the information provided to him before swiping left or right. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, so details didn’t matter to him. He wanted fun. He wanted to forget.

His lips parted with an annoyed sigh as his latest match sent yet /another/ text about how excited she was to meet up with him. His responses were equally as enthusiastic, despite the stoic look on his face. Was this what his life had become? Had he truly become so pathetic that he needed an app to get some action?

As time neared when the appointed meet-up time, Jaejin found himself dragging his feet as he made his way to his door. Gem, his female tuxedo American shorthair, brushed against his leg as he walked by. He paused to lean down, giving her some much-needed affection, a small smile dancing on his lips. “I know girl. It’s a bad idea, isn’t it? But I gave my word already.”

A soft meow was his only response, and he chuckled before standing up once more. Finally making it to his motorcycle, Jaejin zoomed through the streets with ease, making good time for his arrival at the cafe. It wasn’t a normal place he’d take someone on a date, but he wasn’t exactly looking for a normal date right now anyway.

Putting his helmet away, his hands slipped into his pants as he walked in. A charming smile instinctively pulled at his lips as he nodded towards the workers, small giggles leaving them as his eyes scanned the area. He didn’t see his date, but that was fine with him since it would allow him some time to himself before having to socialize.

It was at that moment his eye caught movement in a far corner of the café, his brows raising with amusement and curiosity at the sight. It was none other than Lani, one of the few people he’d consider a relatively good friend, for someone who didn’t let people too close to him anyway. What was she doing here? Was she on a date too? No, she seemed far too annoyed to be on a date. Unless…no. No way someone as beautiful as her could have been stood up? Only a fool would do something so stupid.

Without hesitation, his legs brought him over to her before she could get too far from her table, an easy smirk on his lips. “Well well, look what the cat dragged in, or should I say kitten?” He could never miss an opportunity to tease the younger, her reactions were usually too amusing for him. “Say, I’m waiting for a date but, want to keep me company until she gets here? It’ll be boring sitting around by myself.”

@✵ nam jaejin〘ᴄᴀsᴘɪᴀɴ〙ˣ.ᶜʰᵃᵒˢ lani took a deep breath, then another, and one more once again. the woman’s chest feeling particularly tight, restricting the proper space to relax, let alone think with all the events that had snowballed up until this point in her life. within studio grounds, and even the comfort of her own office, there hadn’t been a moment of peace regardless of just how well she had managed to shoulder everything on her own. not one person had to know whatever she was going through, from each smile or burst of laughter that was reeled out of her— lani would never speak on her struggles. it all had to pass at some point, much like always.

if anything, the dancer was partially convinced that she just needed a quick change of pace. a change of environment— and as of last resort, lani essentially thought of the one group she hadn’t seen in a while, her beloved chimera collective. finally would they get to meet after what felt like forever of spoiled plans, clashed schedules, and nothing that the group of friends could entirely help by themselves. this time, however, would be much different.

right? it had to be.

with time passing by at a painstaking speed. from 7:30 in the evening to 45, 8:15 to 40, and so forth; her once empty table was soon occupied, but only with a cup of coffee that was gradually turning cold much like her patience. were they ditching her? was any of them even planning on showing up in the first place? why didn’t they just say so? the expectant smile on her lips simmered down into a disappointed pout, dainty fingers tip-tapping away at the screen of her phone as she went through the messages that had been exchanged in the group chat thus far. then.. her gaze travelled to one person in particular, someone who almost always left them in the dust, nam jaejin.

that man surely lived up to the name lani associated him with— casper, the not-so-friendly ghost. it was almost funny, she thought, how ridiculous it would’ve been if he of all people were to just show up. he was barely ever around in the first place, so even though much like everyone else, his presence was much loved, lani essentially had to learn the hard way that sometimes it was best not to expect to not be met with heart-wrenching disappointment. because sometimes it just left her feeling like a fool, the same feeling that soon got the woman up to her feet as she prepared to take her leave after what had officially been some good long hours of waiting. “this is stupid. lani? you’re stupid—”