Naima shut her laptop with relief. "Thank God it's still working. If it broke, I'd haunt your dreams every night until you paid for it."
The guy bowed again, apologetically. "Joesonghamnida…"
Naima sighed and grabbed her bag. But before she could stand up, he noticed something on the laptop cover —
a big sticker of a civet coffee logo, reading:
"Kopi Musang, Jakarta – the wildest brew in town!"
His eyes widened a little. He stared at the sticker for a moment, as if it stirred some old memory. He muttered softly, barely audible, "Musang… coffee?"
Naima caught him staring and quickly snapped the laptop shut. "Hey! Stop staring! You've broken my bones already, don't break my privacy too!"
He raised both hands quickly. "No, no! I just—uh, that sticker…"
He blinked, trying to find words. "I think I've… seen it before."
Naima raised an eyebrow. "In your dream, maybe?"
He gave a faint smile behind his mask. "Maybe."
For a moment, they both fell silent. The spring breeze carried a few sakura petals between them; Naima brushed one off her shoulder, while the guy's eyes stayed fixed on the sticker, as though it held some secret he couldn't quite recall.
"Do you need a doctor?" he asked suddenly, half-serious, half-teasing.
Naima gave him a sharp side-eye. "Ah, this guy… can't you just let me work in peace?"
Still sitting cross-legged by the jogging track, Naima opened her laptop again, ready to type. But the guy didn't leave — instead, he crouched beside her.
"May I sit here?" he asked innocently.
Naima exhaled hard, looking him up and down. "You bumped into me, I almost broke my laptop, I'm waiting for an important e-mail… could you just… go away?"
He lifted his eyebrows. "Ugh, aren't you being rude? I apologized! And I even offered you a doctor…"
"Shh!" Naima closed her laptop again, dramatically turning toward him. "Quiet, please. I'm working!"
He tilted his head, still staring at the sticker. "Actually… I'm just curious about your sticker…"
Naima took a deep breath, cheeks flushing with irritation. Without another word, she stood up, grabbed her laptop, and walked away while grumbling in her head: "God… can't even work in peace. This guy's seriously turning my life into a drama."
She found another bench near the jogging track, sat down, reopened her laptop, and tried to focus. Sakura petals drifted gently around her; peace returned for a few seconds—until it didn't.
The same guy, now jogging again, suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked toward her.
"You… you're Hyunbin's solo customer, right? The tourist?"
Naima froze, eyes widening. How does he know I ate alone at Hyunbin's place?!
"I'm Hyunbin's friend," he continued casually. "I was there too—with my friends."
He looked at her with a quiet, knowing gaze.
Naima frowned, confused.
"Kang Jaeho," he said finally, extending his hand politely, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Naima gaped. Her mind spun like a broken CD. Yesterday I talked to Sooah, and now I'm bumping into Jaeho?!
"Don't you… wanna shake my hand?" he asked patiently.
"Uh… oh, I'm sorry… I didn't recognize you, Doctor Kang Jaeho," she said awkwardly, covering her mouth.
Jaeho frowned, slightly amused. "How do you know I'm a doctor?"
Naima froze again. What am I supposed to say? 'Because I'm a loyal CBS viewer'?
She inhaled sharply, thinking fast. "Ah… my husband, Johann Treublut, told me. He said you're a young, talented doctor. Your hospital is his client… and we're neighbors, right?"
Jaeho stared for a moment — confused, but somehow convinced. Naima smiled faintly, internally laughing at how absurdly "K-drama" her life had become.
Jaeho slowly removed his mask. Sunlight fell across his face, and Naima couldn't help whispering in awe, "Dear God, he's gorgeous 😍."
"What did you say?" he asked, eyebrows lifting.
Naima quickly clapped her hand over her mouth, blushing hard. "Uhm… I said… you look like an actor."
"South Pole actor?" Jaeho teased with a straight face.
Naima grinned nervously, trying to calm her heartbeat. "I mean… if you were an actor, you'd totally be the male lead."
Jaeho gave a faint smile. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Hehe…" Naima giggled, pretending to focus on her laptop.
Then Jaeho's eyes returned to the sticker. "By the way… about your sticker… I remember something."
Naima looked up. "Yeah?"
"When I was a kid, I went to Bali. And, just like now, I bumped into a little girl. She yelled at me in your… South Pole language. Then I noticed her notebook—
it had the same sticker."
Naima blinked. Wait, what? That scene wasn't even in the drama. Deleted scene, maybe?
Jaeho's eyes gleamed as if he'd just found a missing puzzle piece. "I owed her an apology," he said softly. "If only I could meet her again… She was tan, had dark brown eyes, wavy black hair… and a small mole at the back of her neck."
Naima blinked rapidly, pretending to focus on her screen but clearly panicking.
"She was… my first love," Jaeho continued, voice low.
Naima frowned. "Wait—wasn't that Sooah? You've known her since kindergarten, right?"
Jaeho's eyes widened in surprise. "You know Sooah?"
Naima smacked her own forehead. Damn! Slipped again!
Her body stiffened, face red, but she forced a laugh.
"SNS!" she suddenly blurted. "I saw both of you on your hospital's SNS! So I GUESS you've known each other since kindergarten, and she must've been your first love!"
Jaeho nodded slowly, still half-suspicious, like a detective not quite buying the alibi.
Then Naima absentmindedly tied her hair up with a frangipani clip.
"Oh… your neck!" Jaeho exclaimed, eyes locking onto her nape.
Naima jumped, panicking. "What? What's on it?! Help!" She frantically brushed her hair aside, thinking there was an insect crawling there.
"Mole!" Jaeho said firmly.
"Mole?" Naima blinked, confused. "I have a mole on my neck?!"
"That mole… looks exactly like the girl I met in Bali," he said, eyes wide with realization.
Naima stared at him, caught between panic and disbelief. "What the—what are you saying?!"
Jaeho quickly pulled out his phone, turned on the camera, and showed her a zoomed-in view of her neck.
There it was — a small, flat mole, perfectly placed along her hairline, just like he described.
Naima gawked. "Oh my God… since when was that there?! Wait—don't tell me… I'm Jaeho's first love?!"
Curious, she opened her Instagram and scrolled to her childhood photos — messy hair, sunburned smile, standing on a beach.
Then she gasped. "WHAT?! The mole's there too?!"
Jaeho leaned in, eyes wide with excitement. "May I…?" he asked, reaching for her phone. The moment he saw the picture, he practically shouted, "Whoa—You really ARE her! Look! That's Tanah Lot temple, right? I knew it! That was the same trip! That's where I bumped into you!"
Naima blinked rapidly, smiling awkwardly. "Uh… yeah, my dad said we went to Bali when I was little… but I honestly don't remember any of this…"