Heejae's leg bounced up and down. The boba tea was sweet and she had no desire to drink it right now. So, she decided to blow on it to form bubbles and continue with her leg bouncing.

It wasn't that she was nervous, she just knew her mother too well. Meeting with Hyunwoo like this, alone, could be interpreted in any way by her mother. And she was a master in twisting things up in her own favour.

"You don't want to be here, do you?" Hyunwoo asked with a wry smile tugging on his perfectly bow shaped lips. The woman sighed, her leg finally stopping, avoiding creating an earthquake.

"I never said anything like that, Hyunwoo." She looked down at her drink, moving the straw to see the black pearls moving within the plastic cup. "Then why won't you talk?" he asked, leaning forward on the table.

Heejae pushed away the cup and decided to be straightforward. "Why did you call me here?" she said, moving her hand around the cute, little cafe.

"To talk about the project."

"That's a lie," she countered easily because ever since they had entered the cafe, he had said nothing related to work.

Hyunwoo leaned back in his seat, his impressive muscles flexing, clearly visible in the plain white, button down shirt as he crossed his arms. "I thought you'd call back. Just for the sake of old times maybe."

Heejae's eyebrows furrowed, trying to understand what he meant. She did remember seeing him in school, mostly during music lessons as the school band practiced. She didn't remember talking to him, however.

"You don't remember, do you?" he asked with hurt clear in his eyes when she didn't reply. She shook her head, her face falling guiltily, unable to look at him.

"It was the annual festival and it was our last year in school," he started, leaning his arms on the table once again, taking in her sharp but delicate features. "Your pianist had suddenly become sick right before your solo performance. No one was willing to take a risk for helping you, simply because you were Miss Kang's daughter. Kids were shit scared of you back then."

Heejae couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. "It's not much different now either. They all still think I'm a cold hearted, forever pissed off person."

"Your high pitched voice doesn't help much, you know?" Hyunwoo snickered, quickly putting his hands up in surrender when she shot him a deadly glare. "I said high pitched. Your vocal range made you the best singer out there." He cleared his throat uncomfortably though when her smile fell a little.

"Anyways, I stepped up to help you but by then you were already so panicked, you wouldn't stop shaking. I had pulled you away from everyone and tried to calm you down but all you kept saying was that, your mother was going to be very disappointed."

Heejae nodded with a somewhat bitter smile, finally remembering the firm hands that soothed her by rubbing circles on her back and whispered sweet words of encouragement. She did remember the boy but she had really failed to recognise the man he had become.

"You used to be so tall and skinny, Hyunwoo," she said, the spark of recognition in her eyes lifting up the man's mood. "I am so sorry I didn't recognise you earlier. I will forever be thankful for what you did for me back then, when everyone who pretended to be my friend left my side."

His large hand covered her's instantly, squeezing in reassurance. "It's all in the past and I actually didn't really expect you to recognise me. I've grown bigger since then. I'm sure no one would remember the awkward nerd anymore." That made the both of them laugh out loud.

"It's crazy though," Heejae said, after calming down enough and having finished half of her tea. "Our goals were set back then. I had to continue my mother's legacy and you were supposed to take your father's position. Instead, you started your own separate company and I'm here, with a filming studio."

Hyunwoo nodded, his eyes soft as he looked at the woman infront of him. She had such simplistic beauty, unlike the flashy young girl in high school. She was the same but she looked freer than she did in past. He was curious how.

"You were such a great singer, Heejae. What changed?" he asked without hesitation, the clear air between them letting honesty flow.

Heejae gave him a tight smile. "I loved singing and playing the piano. I really did but you see, I had so much pressure. My mother wouldn't stop talking about how much responsibility I had on my shoulders, the grand expectations. Once high school ended, I just couldn't handle it anymore. I left the house and applied in the videography branch rather than the music one. And I'm really glad I did that."

"Do you miss it?" Taking a deep breath, she let him see her tears, somehow, finding a real friend in him. "I do. I miss singing but it's how my life is right now. I miss the stage but I don't regret my decision. I'm happier than ever."

He caught her hand in both of his, bringing it up to place a sweet kiss on her knuckles. It should have made her flustered at the public show of affection but then she looked into his eyes. And she saw nothing but pure admiration and respect reflecting in them. He had no romantic feelings towards her and it eased her heart.

"I'm glad you are happy, Heejae." The duo shared understanding gazes, their smiles big.

They spent the better half of the evening, talking about everything and catching up, sharing anecdotes from their high school days. As they parted ways later, they left with a light heart and a new friend contact in their devices.

~~~~
A/N:

I smell something fishy. Do you?

Hope you are taking care. Please, eat healthy, drink lots of water and take care. This corona bitch is really taking too long to go away but we can atleast do our part and take precautions to keep it 10 feet away, right?

Thank you for reading!!