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Song Recommendation: 

Delilah - Mamamoo's Immortal Songs 2 Performance

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It is raining outside the cafe.

The downpour is as aggressive as an actual storm. Rain beats relentlessly upon the gleaming glass windows of the cafe, blurring and contorting the figures of the people daring to brave it. Hunched over, wrapped in dark rain jackets or running under long-soggy newspapers, they all look the same. Just figures underneath the unbreakable, grey, overcast sky.

Solar sighs inaudibly as she draws her eyes away from the abstract art that is the rained-upon window and gazes down at the aromatic cup of mocha in front of her, the top decorated with milk and dusted with cocoa powder, still emitting curling wisps of steam.

What a shame that even such pretty things have to be destroyed eventually. She picks up the spoon from the saucer and stirs her mocha, watching the way the milk swirls among the darker coloured coffee, the artfully decorated milk patterns disappearing amidst a coffee whirlpool. The smell makes the worry lines disappear from her face, makes the perpetually upset mouth lift up slightly.

She lifts up the spotless porcelain cup and takes a cautious sip. The coffee scalds her tongue slightly, but it's perfect - slightly sweet, chocolatey, full of caffeine and just what she needs at the moment.

Her phone vibrates, and she nearly misses it over the roar of the rain.

Solar's fingers scrape along the smooth wooden tabletop, feeling little indents and imperfections before encountering the cool metal of her phone. She wraps her fingers around it and lifts it up gingerly. Her screen is lit up, displaying a text from her friend, Wheein.

We'll be there in 5. Mind ordering for us first? The usual :)

The woman sighs again and sets her phone back down on the table. She raises a hand, pastes a forced smile on her lips, and waits while a waitress hurries over to take her order. Solar sips her coffee, wetting .

“One caramel macchiato with extra sugar, one chai latte, and two slices of cheesecake, please.” Solar lists monotonously, the order already ingrained in her brain from the numerous times she'd said it. The waitress scribbles quickly, but the scratching of her pen against her notepad is drowned out by the sound of a particularly large rain droplet smacking into the window.

The waitress repeats the order in a slightly raised voice as thunder cracks loudly outside, and after a small nod of affirmation she returns to the counter to relay Solar's order. Solar taps the power button on her phone, letting the screen turn back to black. Her fingers skim across the cold, fingerprinted surface of her phone's glass screen.

Solar takes a bite of her chocolate cake as she waits, swirling the prongs of her fork through the rich cocoa cream. She is not the type to indulge in such delicacies - but even Solar succumbs to the lure of some chocolate when she's stressed out.

The waitress returns with a tray, which she sets carefully on the table, trying not to spill any of the drinks. She lists off the items as she places them on the tabletop: chai latte, caramel macchiato, two slices of cheesecake.

“Thank you,” Solar says with a stiff smile.

Once the waitress leaves, the smiles melts off her face and leaves her with her solid blank expression again. Her downturn of is natural now, the semicircular purple bags beneath her eyes an issue that she doesn't bother to resolve. She contemplates dropping Wheein or Hyejin a text, but the cafe door opens, amplifying the sound of the rain by tenfold.

She sets her phone back down when she sees Wheein and Hyejin enter, Hyejin shaking off a dripping plastic umbrella. She leaves it in the umbrella stand and the pair make their way to her table. They're both wearing coats - Wheein sheds hers off first when she sits and adjusts the thick sweater she's wearing underneath. She smiles, her one dimple showing in her cheek. Her light brown hair is speckled with rainwater.

“You still remember our orders exactly, huh? Even after you don't invite us out for five months?” Wheein’s tone is teasing, and Hyejin stifles a snort as she slips her arms free from her coat and pulls a slice of cheesecake towards her. She takes a huge bite and sips her chai latte.

Solar has been friends with Wheein and Hyejin for - about two years? Now. The duo had moved to Seoul from their hometown, Jeonju, to pursue their degrees in better universities. Despite their four-year , the three became fast friends. They were well-known among other university students. Charlie’s Angels. Even after Solar graduated with a major in mass media, the trio had kept in close contact. Wheein and Hyejin are still in school, studying for their respective degrees and living together in a rented studio apartment not far from Solar's own place.

“Sorry, I've - I've been busy.” Solar's voice is heavy. The smiles slip from Wheein and Hyejin’s faces.

“What's wrong?” Hyejin asks, suddenly a lot more serious than usual. Solar blinks a little, remembers - Hyejin is majoring in psychology. The younger woman studies her face intently, then glances down at Solar's hands. She starts a little.

Wheein notices as well. Despite herself, a smile breaks across her face. “You're engaged! Did Jaehyuk propose to you? Why didn't you tell us?” She takes Solar's slim left hand in her own two, her cold fingertips caressing the band of the ring on her fourth finger. The silver wedding band gleams in the warm orange light, and the two-carat diamond set in the centre sparkles from every perfectly carved facet.

“Jaehyuk proposed to me two months ago. We're planning to have the wedding either at the end of the year or the start of next year.” Solar confirms, and Wheein squeals softly. Hyejin raises an eyebrow.

“Shouldn't you be happy that you're getting married?”

“Oh, I am,” Solar smiles, but she doesn't look happy at all. “Really. It's just - well, it's got nothing to do with Jaehyuk. I've been really stressed out at work lately. My boss wants to give me a promotion, but already I'm working overtime so much and I have so many things to finish.”

Hyejin and Wheein share a look, both slightly alarmed at how sad and stressed their friend sounds. They don't know this Solar - they only know the happy, hyper Solar who used to smile all the time and positively radiates energy. This Solar is borderline depressed, and it's such a drastic change that even Hyejin can't think of how to help.

The mood at the table turns a little sour. Wheein lowers Solar's hand back to the table, and the two same-age friends poke at their cheesecake and send telepathic messages to each other while Solar focuses on nursing her mocha. Thunder crackles outside and Solar winces, pulling her hands into her lap, twisting the engagement ring around her finger.

“How about Jaehyuk? I mean - you two are getting married. You don't talk to him about your troubles?” Wheein ventures tentatively.

“Jaehyuk is busy with his own work and his own troubles as well. I don't want to add on more stress and problems for him. I want to manage this on my own.” Solar says quietly, twisting the wedding band, watching the way the facets glitter in the light. She brushes the diamond with a fingertip. Then she sighs for the third time and uses her fork to mash some stray crumbs of cake.

Hyejin meets Wheein's eyes, and her own widens slightly as she gets an idea. She mouths a two syllable word, which Wheein takes a few seconds to understand. Then Wheein’s lips form a small ‘o’, and she nods.

“Solar,” Hyejin starts cautiously. She glances at Wheein, clears . “I know this girl - she graduated from our university last year. She's also a psychology major, and she's really very nice and patient. Uh - maybe you'd like if I refer you to her? She's a certified psychologist now, and her office is in Seoul.”

Solar looks up from her cake, which she doesn't really feel like eating now. “A psychologist? Are you trying to say that I'm going insane?” Solar demands. “I don't need to see anyone for my problems.”

“Solar, that's not what I meant. Psychologists don't necessarily see people with mental issues, we are trained in the study of the human brain and how it works. Maybe she could help you to figure out some sources of your stress and help get rid of them.” Hyejin explains quickly, exchanging a panicked look with Wheein. But Solar deflates as fast as she gets angry, and she presses her right hand against her temple, breathing out.

“Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to snap.” She sounds so tired, her friends feel worried. “It's just the stress. Maybe a psychologist is a good idea. Yeah. Maybe I just need to talk to someone else.”

“Yeah?” Hyejin lights up slightly at Solar's more positive response. “I can drop her a text now. Which day do you want to see her? She can probably schedule a day and time to meet with you. At your convenience, of course.” She rummages around her small handbag, finding her phone at the bottom of the sea of items she brings around. She pushes a tube of half-used lip gloss away and pulls her phone out.

“Um,” Solar coughs, sips her mocha. “Is next Saturday okay? Does she work on Saturdays? I mean, if she's not in, I don't want to trouble her.”

Hyejin taps out a message on her phone, then hits send and places it back on the table. Her reply is drowned by the thunder, and she waits for the rumbles to subside before she speaks again, raising her voice so that she can be heard over the more vigorously pouring rain.

“Only one way to find out.” She taps her phone screen with the end of a manicured fingernail.

Wheein finishes her cheesecake as they wait for a reply from Hyejin’s friend. And, with a distracted nod of permission from Solar, she also sends the remainder of Solar's chocolate cake into the depths of her stomach.

Hyejin’s phone chimes. Three pairs of eyes are drawn to the now lit up screen, and Hyejin doesn't bother to lift up her phone as she taps out her passcode and opens the message.

“She says she's in on Saturdays. And she doesn't have anything scheduled next Saturday, so you can just drop in when you want.” Hyejin looks up from reading and smiles at a stoned Solar. “So?”

“So what?”

“You okay with it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay.” Solar sounds like she's trying to convince herself. Hyejin types out a reply and send it to her friend, giving a self-satisfied smile.

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