Book Report

"Erica" - main female character from my story. (Real Name: Lily Collins - photo from Google)

Book: Cafe
Date Started: August 28, 2011
Page Count: 123
Text Size: 12
Text Style: DejaVu Sans Condensed
Chapter: 12
Main Characters In: Erica, Jungsu, Daehyun, Adriana (Justin and Viktor coming within next 2 chapter!!!!)
Main Characters to Go: Viktor, Youngbae, Justin, Xaiver Black
To be Added: (... that's a surprise...)
General Weather: Cold, Winter, Snowy
Characters Wounded/Hurt: (THAT'S a surprise, too!)
Word Count Thus Far: 69,095


It's coming along! Yaaay! I'm so happy!
My word count for November was 41,642, and my page count was 77. I am *really* enjoying writing again. It's such an amazing gift. My poor mother... she's been dealing with me coming to her every couple of days and saying, "My word count is now: ..." >.<

At any rate... just thought I'd announce to the world my book progress. And, just for kicks, here's an excerpt! What's happened so far - without giving away too much - is that Daehyun, who has recently been hired at the Cafe, is in... a sort of trouble. *grin* So - Erica's trying to get him to go church, and this is the scene *after* that conversation. Sorry I can't explain more... don't wanna give away too much of the plot. ^_^ (Oh - and Jungsu is being mercilessly teased about his 'no-muscle' build. He's pretty scrawny, even at 21 years old. I mean, there's *some* muscle, but Daehyun, being a much stronger person, is always giving him a hard time about it.)

The next three days passed by slowly and uneventfully, proving a relief to the tension that hung unspoken around the café.

"Daehyun, could you turn off that light, please?" Erica called towards the back as she pulled on her coat, turning off the epsresso makers on the counter. He flicked them off, coming around the corner with his own coat.

"Is that everything?" he asked in his quiet voice, brushing hair aside. He'd once again dyed it an auburn color, but this time it carried a more brown shade to it. The clatter of Jungsu putting the broom away in the storage room answered for him. Erica smiled, making sure the register was locked.

"Yeah, I think so. Hey, noisy, you ready to go?" she called in Jungsu's direction. He came around the corner, dusting his hands off on his jeans.

"Yeh," he said, grabbing for his coat. "I'm always ready to go on a Saturday," he grinned. She looked up at the clock, pulling her gloves on.

"12:00 on the mark. Let's go get lunch."

"I'm buying," Daehyun interjected, heading for the door before Jungsu could get to it. "Hey," he said, pulling a toboggan over bleached hair. "You bought last time. What's with this?"

The Korean opened the door, and then stepped aside to let Jungsu through, bowing as he tried to keep from laughing.

"Ladies first," he said sincerely. Jungsu stood dejectedly at the doorway, a pitiful expression on his face as Erica laughed.

"You're never living it down, Jungsu!" she giggled, walking past him and taking advantage of the open door.

"I am not a lady," he growled.

"Suit yourself," Daehyun shrugged, practically letting the door close in his face just as he went to catch it. Erica shielded her eyes from the noon sun, smiling brightly as he came through the door, pushing it open.

"Ha, ha. Not," he stated, brushing past them and into the crowd of people. Daehyun grabbed his coat sleeve, pulling him back.

"Hey, bodyguard – stick with us, would you?" he nodded towards him, tossing the hair from his eyes. Erica wrapped her arm through his to keep him with them, smiling at the prosaic expression on his face.

"What are you hungry for?" she asked, elbowing him lightly. He shrugged, continuing to look ahead as they walked down the busy sidewalks.

"Ask Daehyun – get him something he loves so he won't talk while eating."

Daehyun laughed, dropping back a few paces to get on her other side, making it easier for conversation.

"I don't care where we go, actually. But I am buying."

Erica looked up at him, squinting in the bright sunlight and having to raise her voice above the noise to be heard.

"Why do you keep insisting to buy?" she laughed, the back wind blowing her hair over a shoulder. He shrugged, hands in pockets, a smile still on his face as he spoke.

"I've got money to spare, and I might as well spend it on you two."

She laughed, breath fogging in the cold air as they walked.

"Fine then – I'll let you and Jungsu have it out over where we eat today."

"Really?" Jungsu grinned, looking down at her.

"Have at it," she laughed, keeping pace. Without hesitation, the two fell into a round of where they should go; apparently, Daehyun 'didn't care' only if Erica was involved. Now he was energetically debating with Jungsu over the difference of food quality between an outside market and a sit down restaurant. Erica listened with a smile on her face, trying to keep out of the conversation as much as she could, though she was literally stuck right in the middle. They had slipped from English to Korean, and, as is typical, were being loud and animated about it. She put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing, walking briskly to keep pace with the two. The brunette glanced up at Daehyun, biting her lower lip in a smile; he was obviously enjoying himself, and she felt so relieved to see him smiling. There were those brief moments when he wasn't such a sincere person, and he'd show those rare smiles and laughs that he often kept to himself. She knew better, though, than to think he was fine. He wasn't, and that was made painfully clear by the glances he constantly cast to his surroundings, to the people around him; the way he came to work the day before, sick to his stomach from nightmares. The smile faded from her face, and she cast her eyes downward toward the sidewalk beneath her feet, hearing him laugh as he and Jungsu continued to debate. She sighed, wondering when that laugh would actually be true.

* * *