The end of April was approaching.  The days were getting warmer and longer, and the buds began to blossom.

 

It had been a few weeks since Hilltop opened.  Halla and Suhyun had been working almost every day, buzzing around busily and greeting faces that soon became familiar to them as regulars.  

 

Seungcheol dropped in once in awhile, helping out as much as he could, but it seemed that he was a pretty busy person.  Halla still couldn’t find out what he was so occupied with, and grew more curious everyday.  

 

Seungcheol’s friends also visited to the café once in awhile, coming in only when he was working.  Halla met two of their other roommates: Jun, a soft spoken guy who Halla was a bit scared to talk to at first but turned out to be a total sweetheart, and Seokmin, a spontaneous ball of energy with a peculiar sense of humor.   

 

Halla had gotten to known the boys pretty well, spending her breaks with them whenever she could and joking around with them endlessly.  She had grown especially close to Jisoo, Soonyoung, and Mingyu, who all shared her love of watching foreign action movies.  

 

Working at Hilltop was fun for Halla since she enjoyed people watching and her coworkers were generally pleasant people to work with.  Because of this, though, she tended to exert herself more she probably should and often came home exhausted from serving so many customers after classes.  She was overworking herself, and Seungcheol was starting to take notice.

 

"What's with her?” Seungcheol asked, coming into Hilltop one day.  Halla was sitting at the counter with her head buried in her arms, sleeping.

 

"She stayed up until four in the morning studying for midterms again,” Suhyun answered.  She was in the process of making some coffee for Halla to get some caffeine in her system.  “It's a good thing we don't have that many customers today, because she's been like a walking zombie ever since her shift started.”

 

With miraculous timing, a group of customers walked in.  Halla’s head shot up at the sound of the bells on the door jingling, startling Seungcheol.

 

"Oh , what the—” he mumbled, amazed at how quickly she woke up.

 

"Hi, welcome to Hilltop!” she greeted the new customers.  As she was about to get up, Seungcheol put his hand on her shoulder.

 

"What are you doing?” he spoke with a slightly rigid tone.

 

"Uh… my job?”

 

"No, you should rest.  I got it,” he took her notepad and pen and walked towards the new customers.  

 

→

 

For the rest of the day Seungcheol worked twice as hard as usual in an attempt to lessen Halla’s workload.  Still, with his extra effort, the café filled up and Halla had to be up and working for the majority of her shift.  

 

Whenever he noticed her carrying a tray of empty dishes or approaching a new table, he would take the tray from her or beat her to the table to take the table's order.  

 

Halla took short naps in between each rush of customers, sitting at an empty table and resting her head there.  However, when it became really busy, she would wake up and get to serving.  Each time Seungcheol saw her get up from a nap, a bit of frustration welled up in his chest.  He could just see how exhausted she was, as if she were about to collapse.     

 

Finally, night fell, and the last few customers left.

 

"Bye, guys!” Suhyun waved goodbye to Halla and Seungcheol as she left the café.  Halla and Seungcheol waved back, and started on clean up.

 

Halla took the mop out of the cleaning supplies closet, but as soon as she dunked it in water, Seungcheol took it from her hands.

 

"I can mop.  Just finish stacking the chairs and chill.”  

 

Halla stood there for a few moments, too tired to argue, and then nodded.  

 

"Do you have anymore midterms this week?” Seungcheol asked while wiping the floors.

 

"No, today was my last one.”

 

"Are you working tomorrow?”

 

"Yeah.”

 

"What time does your shift end?”

 

"Probably around six since it’s a Friday.”

 

"Don’t plan anything after then.”

 

"Why?”

 

"Just don't.”

 

→

 

Clean up was finally done, and Halla shut off all the lights just as she was about to leave.  Seungcheol opened the door for them, and as soon as they stepped outside, the cool air rushed to embrace them.   

 

"Wow, it’s kinda chilly,” Seungcheol remarked, looking at Halla.  She gave a weak nod and starting walking forward with her eyes almost closed.  

 

The two of them made their way down the hill in silence.  Seungcheol kept glancing at Halla, feeling really bad, almost guilty, about the condition she was in.  He knew that she was constantly stressed out juggling school and work, but he had never seen her this languid.    

 

"Oh, you take this bus home, too?” Seungcheol asked as they approached a bus stop at the foot of the hill.  He only got a nod in response once again.

 

The bus pulled up, and the doors opened.  Halla trudged her way up the stairs onto the vehicle and Seungcheol followed suit.  He trailed behind her as she walked towards the back of the bus and took a seat next to her in the aisle.  

 

“What stop do you get off?”

 

"Cheosang.”

 

"Oh, me too,” he lied.  Seungcheol’s stop was three stops before Halla’s, but he was afraid that she would fall asleep and miss hers.  

 

He was right.  Within a minute of sitting down, Halla knocked out.  Her head fell on Seungcheol’s shoulder, and her hair cascaded messily over her face.  He chuckled at the sight; when she was awake she was so brusque and almost domineering, but asleep, she looked like such a baby.  He peered closer to her face and gently moved her hair behind her ears.

 

Seungcheol felt a sense of calamity watching Halla doze off, knowing that she was finally getting the rest she deserved.  He couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was, with such fair skin and delicate features.

 

Suddenly, he felt his cheeks flush, and he turned his head forward, looking ahead.  His body stiffened.  What was the feeling that he felt surge inside his chest?  Embarrassment?  No, not quite.  There was nothing wrong with thinking that someone was pretty, right?  But that wasn’t it.  He thought she was more than just pretty.   

 

He put his finger on it.  Smitten.  He was smitten.  

 

→

 

"Cheosang!” the bus driver called out.  

 

Seungcheol glimpsed at Halla, who was still asleep.  He lightly shrugged the shoulder she was leaning on to wake her.  She gradually opened her eyes and lifted her head from Seungcheol’s shoulder, then looked at Seungcheol with a confused expression.

 

"We’re at our stop.”

 

They got up and made their way towards the exit of the bus.  Seungcheol had to help Halla down the steps since she was still half-asleep.  When they got off the bus, Halla only stood there, closing and reopening her eyes slowly.  

 

"Which direction are you heading in?”

 

Halla pointed past the convenience store to their left, where in about a few blocks, tall apartment buildings clustered together near a small park.  Seungcheol sighed, moved to be directly in front of Halla, and squatted down slightly.

 

"Get on.”

 

Halla stared at him blankly, then shook her head.  

 

"Come on, you’re too tired to even say no.”  

 

She hesitantly climbed onto his back.  Seungcheol grabbed the back of her knees while she loosely wrapped her arms around his neck.  He hopped slightly to readjust her position on his back.        

 

"You okay back there?”

 

"Mhm,” she mumbled softly.  He began to make his way towards the apartment complexes.  

 

After about fifteen minutes of carrying Halla on his back, Seungcheol finally arrived at door of Halla’s apartment.  Seungcheol bent his knees to let Halla down, and turned around to face her.  

 

"Thanks,” Halla said softly.  

 

"No problem.  It wasn’t that far of a walk and you’re pretty light.”

 

“Not just for the piggyback ride, but for helping me out at work today.”

 

Seungcheol let out a noise that sounded like a mixture of coughing and laughing.  

 

"I wasn’t doing it to help you.  I’m just a really good employee.  My uncle should really start paying me,” Seungcheol chuckled a little too loudly.  Even he didn’t believe himself.  

 

"Anyways, thank you.  For all of it.  Even if it wasn’t intended towards me, I appreciate it,” Halla muttered, looking at the floor.  

 

The two awkwardly stood there for a good minute.  

 

"I should be going in now,” Halla said quickly, and opened her door.  Just as she was about to go in, she turned around.  “Goodnight.”

 

"Goodnight.  Get some rest!”  Seungcheol managed to squeeze in before Halla shut the door.  

 

Seungcheol headed back towards the bus station, thinking about how he would need to catch another bus to go back in the opposite direction. He started to wonder why he did the things he did.

 

→

 

Did that really happen?  Was Seungcheol possessed last night or something?  Halla felt herself thinking about the previous day again.

 

Yesterday, Halla was way too fatigued to be able to process the events of her day as they occurred, but after a good night’s sleep, she was able to recall everything that had happened.  She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind since her day started, but now that she was on her break, she thought she would try to clear her head.  

 

Although it was hazy, she was able to mentally play back her memories.  She began to go through the events of the day in her head.

 

I remember taking my midterm early in the morning, then taking the bus to work… I worked for a little while and then knocked out, and Seungcheol appeared out of nowhere and helped me out… he finished clean-up almost all by himself, which was kind of nice of him... and then we walked to the bus station together, and—

 

"AHH,” Halla shrieked suddenly, remembering what she had done on the bus.  Suhyun and a few of the customers turned their head and shot her a concerned glare.  

 

"Sorry,” she whispered.  After her humiliation died down, she immersed herself in thought once again.

 

Did I really fall asleep on him?  Ahh, that’s so embarrassing.  She thought about her tendency to drool, and slammed her head face down on the counter.  The more she went through her memories of that day, the more disconcerted she began to feel.  

 

I can’t believe I made him carry me all the way home.  Why did I let myself get that tired?

 

Halla was in disbelief at her own actions, but what she was more perplexed by was Seungcheol.  

 

He continued to surprise her by showing her the different sides of him.  He seemed so childish and immature at times, but yesterday, Halla saw a true gentleman in him.  And it confused the out of her.

 

Can’t he just stick to being a clueless idiot?  That would make life easier for her.

 

"Hey Seungcheol!”

 

Halla stood up immediately at the sound of Seungcheol’s name, startled.  

 

"Hey Suhyun!  How’s my favorite cousin?” Seungcheol walked towards Suhyun and ruffled her hair.  

 

"What are you doing here?”

 

"I’m here to pick someone up,” his voice trailed off as he scanned the room.  His eyes lit up the moment they spotted Halla.

 

"Are you off yet?”

 

"Not yet, my shift ends in like half an hour.”  

 

Mr. Choi walked into the room just then, carrying a heavy box.

 

"Suhyun, I found the— Seungcheol!” he dropped the box onto the nearest table, then sped over to Seungcheol.  Right away, Mr. Choi put Seungcheol in a tight headlock.

 

"You punk, why haven’t you been coming to visit and help out lately?” he said through gritted teeth.  Seungcheol pried his head out of his uncle’s arms, coughing.  

 

"I was here yesterday!” he cried, gasping for air.

 

Mr. Choi blinked at him.

 

"You were?”

"Yeah, where were you?”

 

"Oh.. that was… well, yesterday I had to go to friend’s baby shower.  Sorry about that.”  

 

"You know what you can do to make up for it?”

 

"What?”

 

"Let Halla off work early.  I need to borrow her”

 

Mr. Choi glanced at Halla, then at Seungcheol, then back at Halla with a suspicious expression.  Halla just shrugged, not really knowing what was going on either.

 

"Sure, why not?”  

 

"Thank you uncle!” Seungcheol shouted all under one breath, running to Halla, grabbing her wrist, and dashing out the door.

 

"Wait, where are we going?!” Halla yelled as she was dragged out of the café .

 

→

 

"Okay, we’re almost there,” Seungcheol said, guiding Halla with his hands over her eyes.  

 

"Why are you covering my face?”

 

"It’s a surprise!  I’m taking you to my favorite place ever… just a few more steps… aaaand we’re here!”

 

Seungcheol lifted his hands away from Halla’s face, revealing their destination.  

 

"An arcade?  That is not a surprise at all,” Halla chuckled.

 

Before her was an open building filled with flashing games and machines.  The place was crowded with kids and teenagers, carrying around heaps of tickets and stuffed animals bigger than their bodies.  Halla was filled with nostalgia just looking at all the claw machines and games she used to play as a child.  

 

"When I was a middle school student, I spent all of my time here,” Seungcheol explained, weaving his way through the arcade with Halla following close behind him.  “This is the place where I could just let go and have fun, and I always come back here when I’m stressed out.”

 
Seungcheol stopped in front of a Pump game, his eyes widening with excitement as he saw the arrows appear on the screen.  

 

"Do you want to play this one?” Halla laughed, amused at how overjoyed Seungcheol seemed to be.  

 

"I don’t know if you’re ready for this,” Seungcheol flashed her an arrogant smirk.  

 

"I think I can handle a few rounds of stepping on arrows with you,” Halla rolled her eyes.  She stepped on the pad and inserted a few quarters into the machine.  She scrolled through the songs, and picked “Gangnam Style.”

 

"Which level should I put it on?”

 

Seungcheol mounted the pad next to her, and selected the most difficult level.  

 

"Alright,” Halla muttered, starting to feel a bit competitive.  She had never played anything other than the medium level, but she didn’t want to let Seungcheol one-up her.  She selected the same difficulty level as he did.

 

How hard could this be?

 

The music started playing, and all of a sudden the arrows were shooting up on the screen like crazy.  

 

Oh .  

 

Halla tried her best to keep up with the music and the cues, incredibly fixated on matching her steps with the arrows, but no matter how quickly she stepped, red “fail”s popped up on the screen.  Her legs started to feel heavier and heavier, and she became out of breath, panting greatly.  After about thirty seconds of extreme effort, she gave up.

 

This is impossible, there’s no way anyone could—

 

She turned to see Seungcheol, whose legs were flying all over the pad so quickly that they became a blur.  He was leaning back on the ramp with one hand and his eyes were fixated on the screen with acute focus.  Large “perfect”s popped up on screen every millisecond.  

 

Halla’s jaw dropped to the floor.  

 

Soon enough, a small crowd began to form around Seungcheol, also in awe at his incredible footwork.  A few people even whipped out their phones to start recording.  Halla just continued to watch in amazement, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be playing a game of her own.  

 

The song finally finished, and the screen turned into a scoreboard.  Just as expected, Halla received an F.  Seungcheol’s score kept rising and rising, with all the “perfect” combos adding up.  

 

"A!” he exclaimed, looking at Halla and sticking his tongue out.  The small audience applauded.  

 

"Okay, okay.  I admit that you completely destroyed me.  How are you so good at this?”

 

"Lots of practice.  My classmates used to call me the pump gangster.”

 

"You know, you were kinda cool up until you said that.”

 

→

 

"How have you managed to beat me in every game?” Halla complained.  The two of them made their way around the whole arcade, and Seungcheol had crushed her in every machine in the building.  Halla’s competitive edge unexpectedly failed her in everything, and she was beginning to get frustrated.

 

"I told you, I practically lived here,” Seungcheol chuckled.  

 

Halla scanned the arcade again in a desperate attempt to find a game that she might have missed.  She just wanted to win once, and then her self-pride would be saved.  

 

"Ooh, let’s play that one!” she yelled, running towards one of the claw machines that was hidden in the back.  

 

Seungcheol grinned, adoring her perseverance on something so trivial.  

 

"Which one do you want?  I’ll win it for you,” Halla stated resolutely, gripping the joystick and glaring at the contraption.  

 

"How about that one?” Seungcheol pointed to a crying emoji pillow in the corner.

 

"What?  That one is so ugly though.”

 

"But it’s easy to get.”

 

"Don’t underestimate me,” Halla grumbled.  “I’ll get you that one.”  

 

She tapped a white alpaca plushie wearing a red bow around its neck.  It was buried in the middle of the pile of prizes, with its head just barely sticking out.  

 

Halla inserted a quarter into the machine, and started maneuvering the claw around.  Her cheeks were puffed in immense concentration and her body was bent forward in an absurd position, which she believed gave her the greatest angle of scrutiny.  She stopped the claw right on top of her target, and dropped it.  

 

"Come on come on come on!” she pleaded, clasping her hands together and shutting her eyes tightly.  

 

The claw picked up the alpaca and started sauntering towards the pit.  It let go of the prize straight into the opening.  

 

"YESSS!” Halla screamed.  She stuck her hand through the little door to grab the salvation of her dignity.  

 

"Here you go!” she the plushie into Seungcheol’s chest.  He took it, holding it closely.  

 

"Are you sure you don’t want to keep it?  You worked hard for it,” he grinned at her proud expression.  

 

"Nah,” Halla shook her head, “I chose this one specifically because it looked like you.”  

 

Seungcheol held the alpaca up to his face, mimicking its visage.  Halla burst into laughter, nodding.  

 

"It’s like a mirrored image!”

 

Seungcheol couldn’t help but smile thinking about how cute Halla’s laughter was.

 

"Are you satisfied with your victory?  Do you want to go eat now?” he asked, already turning towards the exit so that he could hide his stupidly wide grin.  

 

"Yeah, let’s go,” she followed him out the arcade.  

 

They walked down the streets of Myeongdong, eyeing all the delicious street food the vendors had to offer.  The two of them bought a few snacks for them to share, continuing to stroll down the road and checking out the small street shops.  

 

"I can’t believe you think this is spicy,” Halla snickered at a sweaty and panting Seungcheol slowly chewing a piece of ddeokbokki.  She wouldn’t be surprised if smoke started streaming out of his nostrils.

 

"I can’t believe you think it’s not!” he wailed.  He fanned himself with his hand, “this ddeokbokki is almost as fire as my pump skills.”

 

"Shut up,” Halla laughed, while the image of Seungcheol’s feet darting across the dance pad replayed in her mind.  She had to admit that seeing him play was an unforgettable experience to say the least.  

 

A few moments of silence passed between the two, who were busy doting on the festive nightlife.  

 

"Thanksagainiguess,” Halla murmured.

"What did you say?”

 

"I said… thanks again…  I really needed this.”

 
Expressing any form of praise was always difficult for Halla.  She was afraid that if she acknowledged her appreciation for somebody, it would open up the possibility of disappointment.  Seungcheol was able to pick up on a little of that, and knew how much it meant for her to thank him.  

 

"I should be the one thanking you for hanging out with me and letting me see your beautiful face.  And getting me this” Seungcheol grabbed the alpaca plushie that was tucked under his arm and waved it in front of her.  

 

"Aish!  Don’t you think your cheesiness is a bit much?”

 

"But I mean it,” Seungcheol looked into her eyes with sincerity.

 

.

 

"How can someone be so straightforward?” Halla sputtered in bewilderment.  She wondered if he was put on this Earth solely to befuddle her.  

 

Seungcheol chuckled lightly, then broke eye contact with her, fixing his gaze at the stars.     

 

"Well… I learned the hard way that you should say what you want to people before it’s too late.”