CHAPTER 1

"Hey Jihoon! What's up?"

Minho screamed his lungs out from far while making his way towards Jihoon, who was about to settle himself in the office canteen for lunch.

"Hey, Minho! Nothing's great. Same work, same stress haha... where are the other guys?"

Jihoon's friends - Minho, Jichan, Gihyun and Jaeil really mean a lot to him. Jihoon met these four amazing souls in his office, where he works. These four friends of him were really supportive in those days when he was a newbie.

"They told that they are on the way. They must be here by--"

"HELLO, GUYS!", Jichan, Gihyun and Jaeil shouted in chorus standing behind Jihoon giving him a sudden jerk.

"Guys! You startled me!", Jihoon shouted warmly and began to laugh along with them.

Of course, his heart was brimming with happiness to hear their giggles and talks. Never in his life, Jihoon thought that he'll come across these loving people.

"What shall we order for lunch?", Jaeil interrogated who felt like he was about to pass out because of starvation.

"What about Jjajangmyeon?", Jihoon suggested.

They didn't argue as they do always because they felt so hungry and started to dig in their foods without complaint. They interacted and had a wonderful lunch time discussing lot of stuffs. It goes without saying that, they really loved each other's company.

"Hey, Jihoon, did you listen to what our CEO said in the meeting? Regarding overseas trip?", Jichan asked as he was curious.

"Yes, I did! I guess... I have a plan to go to US for the this project. Moreover, I always had a dream to visit at least a foreign country. Hmm... I don't wish to miss this chance, haha!", Jihoon replied.

One of Jihoon's unavoidable dreams since childhood is, to go abroad. He determined himself to achieve this small dream of him, in the moment when he saw an aeroplane flying above in the clear blue sky when he was a kid.

He really felt over the moon as the long awaited dream of him is about to get fulfilled. He did not want to let go of the opportunity when it knocks his door.

"Woah~~that sounds amazing! Good luck, Jihoon!", all his friends sang in chorus.

"Let's raise a toast for Jihoon", Gihyun said making all the comrades raise their glass to show their support for their beloved friend going to America.

****

The day finally arrived...

Jihoon's long awaited day...

The day which he imagined that would come to him since his childhood.

He was about to fly to America from his homeland South Korea and stay there for one month as a part of his job. Anyways, regarding job or not, he was so proud of himself that he achieved his dream with his hardwork.

Jihoon reached the airport on time and did all the procedures to be done before getting inside the plane. He looked for his seat number and made himself comfortable in the seat alloted for him.

He closed his eyes letting out a short sigh, daydreaming about how his dreamland America is going to be. Excitement filled with nervousness, he reassured himself that everything is gonna be fine.

Little did he know, that his life is going to take him to a whole new path, not explored by him yet.

******

"ANNA!"

"DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU EVERYTIME TO WATCH OUT AND SERVE THE CUSTOMERS?!"

Anna's senior barista, Katie shouted at her in annoyance.

"Oh, I am really sorry, Katie. I will be careful in my work from now on", Anna replied politely.

Anna is a cheerful and a pretty 22 year-old young woman, who, but is an introvert. She works as a barista in a small cafeteria in California and the salary which she gets paid is enough to meet her needs. Also to note that, this job really helps a lot to come out of her shell.

The only annoying thing in the cafeteria is her nagging senior worker, Katie Smith. She does not work most of the times and makes Anna do her works too. The worst scenario is, she escapes by telling lame excuses in the middle of the day and poor Anna ends up working overtime.

Anna could raise her voice to question the injustice happening to her. But she doesn't want this job to leave out from her hand as it gave her immense satisfaction.

Suddenly Katie's phone started ringing, making Anna roll her eyes.

It might be him again, Anna thought.

"Hey John! What's up?...Are you there right now?...Oh, really?... I'll be there in few minutes,wait for me, babe!", Katie shrieked in her shrill voice and ended the call.

"Hey Anna, look after the café."

Before Anna could answer a 'yes', Katie went out of the cafeteria, slamming the door.

For Anna, it's not something new. Katie gets a call from her boyfriend John and leaves without worries shoving all works on Anna.

To Anna's surprise, there was not a lot of customers that day and it made her sigh in relief.

*****

Then there came the evening, which indicated Anna that her shift came to an end. She was getting ready to make her way towards her home after a tiring day. The worker for night shift greeted her a 'hi' with smiley face, for which Anna did the same.

Anna stepped out of the cafeteria leaving out a heavy sigh. Another challenging day which she faced successfully.

If I had had a boyfriend like Katie's, I could hang out in the middle of the working hours, right? Then, she'll be the one who has to do all the work.

Anna thought to herself and giggled thinking how the scenario would be.

But because of my introvertness, I don't think I'm gonna meet someone anytime sooner, hahaha!

She spoke in her thoughts again completely unaware what's gonna happen in few days.

After all, life is a rollercoaster, right?