A Coffee Date

---LATER THAT EVENING---

---Jae-in's POV---

Before the thought of Dawn's so-called master plan could even flush naturally itself out of my system, I immediately moved to bring Vivian on top of my head the moment I parted ways with both of my friends. I haven't solidly thought of a good enough reason to approach her, especially now that things have gone differently ever since we last conversed. It certainly felt weird that I would just message her out of nowhere not soon after the whole Wendy-situation… or maybe it was just me being really awkward towards her and absolutely thinking too much out of a normal situation. After all, Vivian and I began to be friends because of United Kindred, and now that most of the chat has been in shambles since then, I figured there was some sort of barrier that I had to jump to get to her.

It could probably be just me.

However, the thought of that conversation when we were at Yeouido was the debating point, as well as what happened in Valentine's Day. Somehow that provided me enough leverage to talk to her not merely as someone I shared on the chat with. Vivian and I shared something that connected us away from just United Kindred.

I don't even know why I'm making this much of a big deal. I just need to talk to her for the sake of Jongwan, right?

After what felt like minutes of staring at her chat tab, right at the comfort of my own room, I finally managed to input the first couple of characters that ought to take her attention.

Yoon Jae-in: Hey, Vivi?

I paused for a bit, hesitating for a bit whether I should continue on or not. It was definitely awkward seeing our last exchange of messages to be inclined with Wendy. At this time, I really do not want to be involved in any sort towards her; not until I'm comfortable enough to be around her again at least. Also, Vivian always had her chat tab offline so I really don't know if she's here or not.

Vivian: Yeah, I'm here. You need something?

Oh, she's online. I guess that's convenient.

Jae-in: Actually yeah… I want to talk to you about something.

Vivian: Is this about Wendy?

Jae-in: No… please don't get the wrong idea. It's completely unrelated to that. Well, maybe not entirely but hey. This actually is just between both of us and what we've talked about back at Yeouido. I remember having a conversation with you about photography right? I was just wondering if you're interested on doing it this time around.

Vivian: What the fuck, Jae-in… Are you telling me that you want to do the photography thing now because you've finally separated ties with Wendy? Is that what you mean? >:)

Shit, I forgot how that conversation went… she's already getting the wrong idea.

Jae-in: No! It's totally not like that. This is actually for Dawn. He's told me that he want his picture to get taken and asked if I knew someone who had at least a good experience with that. Of course, having that talk back then, I figured you're the first person who popped up in my head. What do you think about that?

Vivian: Really now? Why not Jayden? He's clearly into these types of things a lot more than I am and I'd say he has far better experience than I do. It's just a hobby for me, unlike him who literally had a wedding shoot entirely on his own.

Jae-in: He's quite unreliable though and Jongwan kind of agrees with that. At least I have an assurance that you'd do it once you agree. You're less likely to back out from that once you're in, as well. Are you interested on doing it? Dawn's really looking forward to it.

Vivian: It's for a girl, isn't it?

Jae-in: Maybe; you can ask him yourself if say, you agreed to it.

Vivian: Well, that's a good tactic to bait me into it, I'll give you that. LOL

Vivian: I suppose I won't mind. It's amazing how that convo back at Yeouido stuck with you. Normally most people would just forget.

Vivian: Just don't expect something extravagant with the outcome. I told you that I'm more into sceneries more than anything, okay? Don't keep your standards up because I'm really just a novice.

Jae-in: Don't worry; I'll ask him to find a place with a good scenery as well, in that way you can make the most out of the trip. Yes, it's for a girl by the way. Also, I think Dawn's willing to cash in, otherwise he would not be asking me to look for people.

Vivian: That won't be necessary but damn… I never expected that of all the people in United Kindred, it was Jongwan who'd be simping this early on; what in the actual fuck?

Vivian: I'll just message Dawn how things would go. We'll settle the schedule for good.

Jae-in: Thanks Vivi, I owe you one.

Vivian: Hey, if this works out for him, don't y'all single bitches go looking for me for you pictures, okay? LMAO

Jae-in: Don't worry; the favour you gave me is already for Dawn. I have no interest of trying it now. I'm too busy.

Vivian: Maybe you should.

Vivian: On second thought, maybe not. I prefer it when you're single Jae-in. LOL.

I stared at her message.

Huh?

What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?

Vivian: Well, I got to go. TTYL

---SOME TIME LATER---

It never occurred to me that the university's following week was busy as it could have gotten, at least for the subjects that I was taking up, anyway. Major subjects were still schedule for the following semester and yet I could already feel the dump of school works coming my way. It's a good thing that I still have that one little summer semester break to serve as a breathing room before the great responsibilities came.

To make it short, Dawn's small favour literally flew off of my head as soon as I arranged him with Vivian. I guess I had it coming to me; I figured that muting United Kindred could lessen things up for a bit and let the less-awkward members interact within that chat. Wendy showed no signs of her presence, so I figured I should match her for the time-being.

Once all was said and done, the next level of Dawn's master plan finally unveiled itself. I didn't even notice the overhaul of his entire profile; that the arrangement I did for him actually worked and that he's progressing already behind the scenes. It's more impressive that he and Vivian, along with some help from Vincent and probably even Jared, managed to fit all of that in one single week. All it took was one busy NLIU day and somehow the date for Roslyn and Dawn was already up in the air. It's crazy.

It's like I blink for five minutes and now everything's set.

It was one Friday afternoon perfectly aligning with the university's sports events, effectively leaving Vincent and the rest of United Kindred free from classes. At least Jared's 'playboy' tendencies worked out well for Dawn here. Anyway, that day I received a private message from Dawn directing me towards the mall placed beside a known city cathedral. Port Skyview was this large commercial complex situated beside the busy streets of the city, leading straight towards its rival, Metro Station mall. The hilly and sloped topography of its lot allowed the topmost floor of Port Skyview to be situated right beside the foot of the church, while in turn justifying its name as it gave a breath taking skyline view of the entire city night life at sundown.

A couple of minutes after 2 PM and I found myself perched on the rail of Sky View's own terrific sky terrace, with the unexpected company of Jared leaning on the rail beside as well. At this rate, the pharaonic view of the City's proud hills as well as the virgin skies were testament to how beautiful the city was whether you're in Metro Station or here.

I initially thought that this would be awkward with Jared considering the last meeting, but thankfully he's a very social person. All my doubts were lost with a curt nod as soon as we met in front of the café. It's like nothing really happened.

Dawn's message led both me and Jared into a coffee shop situated right above the beautiful landscape; it's cubic glass architecture enabling natural amounts of light to illuminate the beautiful and modernized interior. On its façade, a huge sign written mostly in neon red and violet minimalist letters: Neverland Coffee. The majorly white aesthetic inside reminded me so much of Yihyun-noona's overly-tidy taste.

I wonder if she'd been to this café before. I really should consider inviting her here one day.

"Should we get in and get our orders ahead of them?" I asked Jared after sensing the void of words between our conversations.

"That's a good idea. We're not even the heart of the party anyway."

Thankfully, the said coffee date was once again held on an unconventional time. Ordering would not be such of a huge chore considering we have the shop pretty much to ourselves, which was very much what Jared and I would have wanted. As much as the really simple design of the café was already captivating from the outside, the simplistic approach of its modernized interior was a perfect touch. Given the breath-taking view it had on its second floor (which awkwardly reminded me of the mezzanine back at NLIU Library), Jared and I agreed to select the best seats in the house; eventually settling on the far end of the second floor.

This was just the beginning of an interesting day. I do hope this would turn out in favour of Dawn more than anything else.

---

Jared was the one who volunteered to fetch their orders once it was already available. To Jae-in's surprise, he returned back up the small, terrace-like second floor of the place accompanied with five new figures three of which Jae-in immediately recognized. Vincent Koh's tall stature walked beside a smaller girl, dressed in an all-white med-school uniform giving off a wide smile; marking the first time since Skylight's first drinking session that he would see the girl named Katy. Then, right behind the couple was Kim Jongwan wearing a knitted vest over his shirt coupled with a small hat to compliment his blond hair. He immediately supplied the seated figure of Jae-in with a smile the moment that their eyes met.

Then, right behind him were two girls that Jae-in recognized to be Nancy Gong and Roslyn Kim from the photos not that long ago. Roslyn wore a simple black dress with a matching bag, yet it did more than enough to emphasize her beautiful presence. Her friend, Nancy, stood near her wearing a beige coat over a white blouse as well as high-waist pants. She supplied each of them with a wide, bunny-like smile the moment she set her eyes on Yoon Jae-in.

"Look who I found ordering below," Jared said as he moved to take the seat beside Jae-in. He then placed the tray having both of their orders while gesturing towards the other table. "We ordered ahead, so sorry about that. Jae-in and I reserved you the best seats in the house, so anyone can seat with us if you're interested."

"Well, before all of that, let me just introduce you to them," Dawn said giving a short nod. "Guys, let me introduce you to Nancy and Roslyn. Girls, these are my friends, Jae-in and Jared. You've already met Vincent and Katy a while back, so there we go."

The four new comers exchanged nods and smiles, with Jared offering to give them a hand to shake. Fortunately, the newcomers Nancy and Roslyn were fond of the gesture and returned the action. Pressured to do the same, Jae-in awkwardly stretched his hand and shook after his friend, with his eventual contact with Nancy taking longer than usual, much to the interest of Roslyn's friend.

"I think it would be better if you and Roslyn would sit there," suggested Katy as she pointed towards the other table bearing a reasonable distance from their own. "That way, we won't hear you if you'd talk. You'll get some privacy that way. You can sit with us, Nancy-ssi, if you like."

"Oh I'd love to," Nancy replied, pointing a finger towards the chair. Her question was met with a mutual gesture from both Jared and Jae-in almost at the same time. "You guys don't mind me sitting with you, right?"

Given that mutual agreement between them, Roslyn and Dawn politely excused themselves from the rest of the members as they went on off ahead on a separate table. Nancy, on the other hand, took the chair opposite Yoon Jae-in without hesitation, with Katy following suit beside her and Vincent sitting next to them.

"So, Nancy -ssi," Jared said, clearly taking charge of the conversation immediately to loosen off the awkward barrier. Jae-in always knew him to be the type who'd do that. "Welcome to our friend group. It's nice to have someone new to talk to. Please don't be awkward with us, but I don't think you have that aura with you, right?"

Nancy nodded with a wide smile. "I'm happy to be here. If you guys want to ask me some questions, feel free to do so. I do have an aura that you all have something to ask to me in some form, am I right?"

"Well, you're not just pretty, you're really smart too," Jared said after taking a sip from his drink. He leaned in closer to the group and dialled down his voice. "I'll cut it with the chase then, Nancy. I'm quite interested how this entire thing happened with our boy Dawn over there. I heard that things were quite unusual, no? Is it true that he first talked to you?"

(Jared does as he does best; skipping the formalities and hitting everything straight to the core. I'm glad that he's invited here.)

"I'm curious as well," added Katy. "I've only heard things from all of you through Vincent here, and I'm more than surprised to even know that you and Dawn actually knew each other, Nancy -ah."

"Yeah, I found things really interesting as well. I certainly was not expecting a familiar face to see in a date like this; especially a former Middle school classmate such as Katy here. But then again, the world is such a small place and things like this are bound to happen. It's exciting that way, don't you think?"

"So, I heard that you're the one that made everything possible," said Jared to Nancy. "From what I've been hearing from Dawn there, you were the one who introduced them to each other, is that right Nancy? I'm surprised that you and Dawn did not end up being the ones in the same table on this date; how come that was not the case?"

Nancy smirked.

"Well, as much as Jongwan there is a pretty nice person to talk to, I guess we both mutually did not feel that sort of spark towards each other. Beside I'm just interested on…"

She shifted her gaze towards Jae-in, who was busy mixing the pearls of his bubble tea lodged on the bottom of the cup using the straw provided.

"…I'm interested on different kind of guys, so I guess we just didn't click on that aspect. He's not just for me, per se."

"I see, so that's the case. Well, it's good that somehow this worked out towards Jongwan in the end. At least now that he has someone to talk to, he would no longer have to wait and…"

Whatever happened after Jared took charge of the conversation was quite thrown out of the window. Jae-in spaced out the moment that Nancy joined their table, viewing it to be really awkward considering the last time he shared a table with a girl did not really end well. Unintentionally, he had that isolated feeling as Vincent, Katy, Jared and even the newcomer Nancy shared their conversations as if he was the one who was new. There was no real particular reason for it; it's just that he felt really left out all of a sudden.

It was certainly not because he was sad or anything; he's sure that he's not by any means. Jae-in had that sense of losing enthusiasm being around the friends he felt so far off at that time. Even during his spacing out, his eyes danced towards the figures of Roslyn and Dawn talking at the other table. He could not help but admire how picture-perfect they were framed along the glass-panels of the said café, with their figures etched in an amazing painting amidst the soft skies beyond. Their conversation was inaudible from where he was seated and yet he could see the genuine smiles that emanated from them both. The fact that all of this was a result of a collective effort of a good amount of people from United Kindred… the results were just beautiful.

Of course, given that state he could not help but wonder how he and Wendy would have turned out had things worked for both of them.

Would they be having the same kind of date as Jongwan and Roslyn are having now?

There was also another, completely unrelated question with that…

If Vivian made all of these possible, she's supposed to be the first person to show up. Where is on earth she?

"Hey, Yoon Jae-in…!"

The sound of Vincent's voice immediately brought him back to the coffee shop with the rest of them. Jae-in didn't even realize how long he was staying in silence, merely staring at the blank space of the cup's dews formed on the outside surface. He didn't even realize that the rest of the orders were already served and that everyone had their orders with them.

"Y-yeah…?" he remarked with a stutter, returning the obnoxious gaze that the rest of the table gave him. "Sorry, what was that?"

"You're spacing out. You seem to be lost in so much thought," Jared replied, tapping his back here. "We're just about to tell you how rude you are for leaving Miss Nancy there and not engaging on a conversation."

"Yeah," The girl, Nancy, said with a smirk. "Your friends are talking about selling you to me in exchange for more drinks. You're cute when you're spacing out, though, I'll give you that."

(What?)

"Excuse him please. He just actually came from a break-up that's why he's like that," blurted Vincent, with Katy beside him slapping his arm in retort. "Woops, it slipped out. Sorry man."

"Oh, I'm sorry… I was just joking, by the way," Nancy said. "I didn't know… but at least we know that you're single."

"You know what, now that we're all here… well most of us, but anyway… can you just shine the light up on us on how you and Wendy broke up anyway?" Jared said once again, taking command of the conversation like he did before.

"Why… why are you bringing this up right now?" asked Jae-in.

"Hey, if you all are going to talk about his past, I don't think I should be here. I can just wedge in between Dawn and Roslyn's conversation and make the guy a third wheel," said Nancy.

Jae-in shook his head and raised his hand to stop Nancy on her tracks.

"No, no, it's fine… you don't need to leave. It's… I really don't mind."

(I doubt that she knows me or Wendy that much to the point that it would matter that she knows anyway.)

(Plus, I really don't mind. She seemed cool, so…)

"Well, not only good looking but also really polite," Nancy remarked once again. "Alright, I'll just pretend that I'm one of you. That doesn't seem too hard to do."

"Great then, so, what happened, Jae-in? Could you please enlighten us on what happened between you and Wendy?"

"I'm curious as well," Katy said in agreement. "You two were so sweet from what I've heard, so this really came as a huge shock, especially since Wendy's been telling and updating me on what's progressing between both of you. I certainly did not see this coming."

(She did that?)

"I-Umm, well it's complicated, but to cut the story short we never really worked out so we just decided… well, I decided that it'd be better if we went our separate ways… She didn't entirely take that positively so, she's mad at me I guess."

"It turns out that Jae didn't like Wendy since the beginning," Vincent informed, causing Jae-in to eye him in shock as he clearly not expected him to blurt it out blatantly like that. It did not make it less of being true, however.

"Yeah well, that too. I'm kind of just struck with the alcohol when she confessed so I guess my reactions weren't exactly… me, so to speak. Jared knows about this and I've talked about Vincent pretty much has a good idea what I had in mind, because we already talked about it back then…"

"I got that right… I certainly won't forget that," Jared said with a teasing tone. "Well, that's in the past. I already learned my lessons from that even in Sizzlers so we're good. Let me ask: is it really over for the two of you? Is there zero chance of you ever talking to her again?"

"On terms of a romantic thing… I would say yes... maybe. However, I would definitely not close doors on her if the opportunity would give us a chance to be friends again. I kept on thinking that we started off on the wrong foot anyway, so we are bound to start talking again at some point, I hope."

"I guess it makes sense now why you were so hesitant towards her, man… You know if you just told us that you didn't like her in the first place, Vivian and I could've just told Wendy and all the fuss didn't happen. Maybe not tell her of everything but at least give her some hints that the impact would not be this troublesome. You are, I think, the first ever guy that rejected Wendy's advances, an act of which owes a huge respect on my regard. It's hard to do that."

"It might be my pride that's not letting me do that before, but trust me: that's what I've been planning to do all these times even before we had that talk. I just couldn't bring myself to do it until I just did it out of pure desire to tell her the truth. I didn't turn out the way I wanted it to be, but things could've been worse. You know, it is what it is. I'll just have to deal with the outcome."

Jared smiled. "Do you miss her though?"

Their table went awfully silent with the rest of them anticipating for Jae-in's answer.

"I'd lie if I say I didn't miss her. I think that's a pretty normal thing to say."

Katy nodded, and due to the ensuing silence, Jae-in continued.

"Wendy's really very caring and is really relentless on showing her feelings, but sometimes it's just too much. Maybe that's what caused me to feel a bit strangled and obliged to do the things she does; pressured to return the same level and grade of affection towards her to be even. Not to mention, we have a lot of uncommon interests. Vincent already had a hint that we'd not work out for that long."

"If given a chance though," Katy asked. "Would you still date now? It doesn't have to be Wendy, let's say a new person comes up at a much unexpected time, are you even up for it? I'm sure those things are not really that impossible right?"

Vincent nodded. "That's a good question. Things like that really do happen especially when you're not looking for it."

Nancy, on the other hand, shifted on her seat as she waited eagerly for Jae-in's reply. The young man was about to reply when he shook his head, effectively breaking free of the invisible spell the group unintentionally cast on him.

"Wait a minute, why are you all ganging up on me now, hmmm? I answered things because I thought that it would be just a one-time thing, how come we're bringing my life onto the table all of a sudden? I thought we're supposed to be here for Dawn?"

"I mean, given that, but you really can't deny that it's an interesting question," said Jared from his side. "You have a tendency to go missing from the chat, especially after you and Wendy broke up."

"I don't do that, man."

"Actually you do, Jae-in."

"I want to know as well…" Nancy seconded, her face showing a hint of shyness this time around.

(I really don't get why Nancy is so into this. We literally just met. I do hope she's just kidding because it feels… suspicious.)

(Gearing up for an answer is so stupid for this. I never thought that I'd be brought upon the hot seat.)

"I… I never really closed my heart for things. It would feel like a crime against nature to go against it. If a destined person comes, I'm sure that I'm going to feel it so… I'm not closing doors. If she comes, she comes."

"Say Jae-in," Jared asked after taking a sip from his tea. "If there's someone out there who's like Wendy, but not Wendy, would you go for it?"

"What the fuck is that question? I don't really have standards on people anyway and you know of that. I have preferences, but I'm not pigeonholed into just those things. We'll work out if we do, right?"

Silence erupted between them after a unison of 'oohs', with only the soft exchange of voices heard from Dawn's table, followed by the soft laughs coming from Roslyn. Surprisingly, the very first person to break the silence barrier was Nancy. She began her query by clearing her throat.

"Since I'm into this anyway, can I ask you a question as well?"

"Uhh… sure, go ahead."

"Are you currently looking for someone or even eyeing a person right now?"

"Ehh… not really…"

"Is that true…?" Vincent interfered. "Even though you never really developed legitimate feelings for Wendy, you never thought of liking anyone else? Come on, North Line has a lot of pretty girls, I'm sure at least you've met someone that caught your eye."

"That's not the case. I'm… I guess I was just too busy enjoying life with you guys."

"Why don't you try looking for people if that's the case?" Katy asked.

"As much as having someone is really nice, I'm… I'm not into it. Not now, at least. I just want to focus on myself, clear things first. I'll have to stand by what I told Wendy; otherwise I just broke us up on the premise of a lie."

"You'll never really know that, Jae-in… I'm pretty sure at the time you're going to meet your 'one'; you'll eat up every single word and promise you wrote in the air. Feelings do affect that much and it's crazy when you think about it."

"Well, if that does happen, then at least there's one less sad person in the world. Cheers to that."

It may have been a weird action to offer a toast with bubble teas, yet it was the one thing that Jae-in could think off to bring himself out of the situation. The conversation had reached a point that it was starting to be uncomfortable to everything that he was hearing. That seemed to be the safest, most polite way of getting out of the conversation and he merely grabbed it the first chance he saw. It worked out perfectly in the end.

---

Jae-in's POV

---

I do not exactly know what helped ease the transition there, but I trust that maybe Jared caught up with the spell and immediately understood what was going on. If I did not know better, maybe he got flashbacks from what happened to Sizzlers that he got careful in his words; which I do appreciate. It was not the intention, but I'm glad that it worked out in the end.

We stayed on the café for about an hour or so, shifting the topic from my personal love life to other things that Vincent could bring into the table. Things slowly started to fade away into the distance as Jared began to be the centre of the conversation. Time has passed and we didn't even notice Dawn and Roslyn's request to join tables into one huge, conversation for the new comers. Thankfully, the atmosphere started to be a bit friendly to me that I was able to join into the conversation further, but not with the occasional teasing coming from Nancy. Even Roslyn seem to support on whatever her friend was doing.

But like all dates, at some point it had to end.

Among all of the members that joined the little get-together, it was me who ended up joining Dawn as we walked with Roslyn and Nancy. Vincent and Katy seemed to have another date of their own, while Jared insisted of heading off home earlier because of prior commitments. The skies have begun to darken, with the soft patches of purple appearing on the once-blue sky, signalling the entrance of twilight onto the impending evening.

Dawn, Nancy, Roslyn and I were all walking side-by-side, crossing the pedestrian lane towards the busy street where we would eventually part ways. Roslyn and Nancy already agreed to head on off to Metro Station, on what I would imagine to talk about Dawn and what follows next. Jongwan, on the other hand, asked me to come walking down with him perhaps thinking of the same exact thing for Roslyn.

"So… I guess this is where we finally split paths," I heard Roslyn say as she and Nancy turned in place to face us. "We had fun. It was nice to meet all of you, and your friends are really fun to be with as well."

"You forgot that they're good looking as well," added Nancy, followed by an awkward eye-contact towards me.

I really don't know what else to do so I just smiled.

"I'm happy that you had that impression. I had fun, so… it's good-bye for now?" Dawn asked with a wide smile. Roslyn replied by nodding and eventually giving the two guys short bows. Nancy immediately followed her gesture.

"Well, please take care heading home. I'll see you around, and maybe out on another one like this… I hope that this won't be the last, Jongwan -ah."

"I'll see you around school, Roslyn, Nancy … thank you."

"I have a reason to thank you too, so we're even," she replied.

I smiled and bowed, copying what Dawn had done to maintain consistency as well as courtesy. We gave our farewell waves to them both and proceeded to head down the long road. However, before we could even reach a good amount of distance, I heard Nancy say my name.

"Good bye, Jae-in…!"

I turned my head towards her, about in perfect time to see her run a finger behind her ear and then proceeding to give me a teasing smile. I could only do so much but nod and smile as I resumed walking beside Dawn on a rather awkward and unexpected situation, probably made worse with a teasing chuckle from my friend.

"Would you look at that; Nancy seemed to be interested in you, you know."

"I think otherwise, man. I feel like she's just teasing me, so I never made it a big deal even though she's like that throughout the date."

Dawn chuckled, which I really did expect to come from him.

"She's always like that. I don't even know if she's sure half the time."

"Yeah, but enough about me; congratulations, man; you really pulled this off and managed to bring her out on a date. Next time, it would just be the two of you and that's going to be the start."

"Man yeah I'm really looking forward for what's ahead of me. I won't waste everyone's effort and I'll truly pursue her."

"I'll just be supporting you. I'm sorry that I got really busy last week; I didn't even know that you already finished the overhaul and managed to get a good impression. Vincent told me about everything. It seemed that you never stopped working even after we had that convo. I'm proud of your achievements Dawnie boy."

"Things got a bit fast, but at least it all went well. All I have to do now was to not fuck this up."

"Yeah sure… like that's going to happen…"

"Of course, I do hope that things like this would not only happen to me. I want all of you to be happy as well, especially you, Jae-in. I know that you just broke up with Wendy, but I'm positive that you're going to get your girl soon. On that note, why don't you try my method out?"

I grinned.

"Ah, I know that it might be really effective but I'm not interested in looking for people just yet; not until Wendy's still fresh inside my memory. It would be a while 'til I get comfortable going out with someone."

"I guess I can respect that, man… I guess you really did not like her, huh?"

"Well, among a lot of things, yeah… it is what it is. Can't force myself unto someone I'm not entirely into, right?"

Dawn and I paused for a moment as we continued walking down the path. The skies have now completely darkened as stars finally shone in the distance. In turn, the first batches of street lights as well as establishment illuminations were a discrete sign that evening was fast approaching.

"Have you… Have you told Wendy of the real reason why you broke up with her, though?" I heard Dawn ask after we passed by a well-occupied cake shop.

"I did. I told her of everything. I even got slapped for it, remember?"

"Did you tell her, like EVERYTHING?"

"Hmmm…? What are you going at?"

"Did you tell Wendy that you broke up with her because you already have a girlfriend?"