Life liked to kick you in the but today was just too much to handle.

You started your morning with a runny nose and a sore throat, thus the rest of your day was spent sneezing, coughing and reaching for tissues whenever you had time in between trying to breathe properly and sipping on your echinacea tea, one which your dear friend ‒ Google ‒ recommended for a spring cold. You assumed that the air condition in your apartment was the one to blame because who would come down with a cold in April, right when the flowers started blooming and kids started to evade the streets with joy (and a lot of noise)?

You were unlucky, that’s for sure.

Yet, you would call it more than unfortunate when hours later you learned that you failed your exam that you had taken a week before, meaning that you were up to at least one more week of suffering and stuffing your already useless brain with old folks’ birthdates and eccentric family backgrounds. Not that all philosophers were old folks but most were portrayed at a not-so-juvenile age, thus you liked to call them the Good Ol’ Pensioners Club when you were already fed up with them. You were fond of Philosophy but not because of figures like Hypatia who was the daughter of the philosopher Theon (Does the name ring a bell? If not, don’t worry, you are not alone.) but because of what they’ve actually said and preached about.

When the results came out, you felt like strangling your professor with your bare hands, yet you didn’t want to spend years in a prison for killing a man, so you did what seemed like the best remedy for a broken heart and a tired university student’s soul; you were looking for a hot, delicious and giant mug of hot chocolate. Having a cold or not, your love for hot chocolate was stronger than the desire to get over that stupid health condition as soon as possible.

On your way from the university to your flat, you decided to follow a different route than you were used to, small wonder you came across a cute little designer café you had never seen before. Not to mention that it wasn’t just an ordinary café, it was a cat café!

“Oh lord, I hope you don’t want to trick me into anything right now!” You mumbled as you looked at the opening hours of the place, realizing that you had plenty of time until they would close. A well-dressed old lady passed by and threw you a suspicious glance, probably wondering why you were talking to yourself (or to that so-called lord) in the middle of the street. You merely gave her a wide grin and stepped into the café instead. Fluffy, furry cats were so much better than freaky elder women who hated youngsters.

The smell of fresh, ground coffee immediately wafted through your nose, the bitter fragrance inviting you to sit down and order your hot chocolate as soon as possible. You looked around a bit before you decided to take a seat at a table in the back of the café, placing yourself between two lovely cats – an Aegean and a Foldex.

You sure had a thing for cats, but your mother was allergic to them, so it wasn’t a question if you can raise one at home. When you moved away for your university studies, you had your hopes up, but fate decided otherwise and gave you a roommate who was having none of your kitten-crazy fantasies. Kim Youngbin would never ever let you keep one because it meant more things to look after (and clean after). Since he was the one out of the two of you who actually did housework, you couldn’t convince him.

“Good afternoon! What can I get for you?” A husky voice asked suddenly, brining you back to the reality aka the cute guy in front of you who looked like an actual puppy with his toffee-like eyes, chocolate-brown, slightly longer hair that was tucked behind his ear like he was a rock star or something. His smile was a bit coy but still friendly, earning a similarly kind smile from you.

“I would like a cup of hot chocolate.”

“What kind?” He inquired patiently as he jotted down your order on the piece of paper he held in his hands. He had long, delicate fingers and you couldn’t help but stare at him in awe until your common sense slapped you in the face and made you realize that staring was exceptionally rude, and you were pacing out.

“Do you have unicorn hot chocolate?” You raised an eyebrow in question, earning a childish giggle from the guy.

You almost cursed inwardly when you realized you could have just looked at the menu on the table or the giant board behind the guy’s back. Instead, you asked him like you were already trying to flirt with him.

“Yes, we do.” He nodded, trying so hard to hide a lopsided smile that was slowly attacking his lips. You weren’t sure if your behaviour or your order made him so giddy but you didn’t want to know. You were pretty sure you had looked silly enough with your insanely red nose, that giant knitted scarf around your neck (your grandma’s present for Christmas) and your favourite pink oversized hoodie in which you tried to survive the worst spring cold of your life. You didn’t need to add to the effect with unnecessary and silly questions.

“You can get a free blueberry muffin with it.” He added joyfully as he looked up from his notes, scanning you slightly questioningly.

“Cool! Then I’ll have one unicorn hot chocolate, please.” You clapped beamingly, then sat back in your chair to pat the Foldex’s head. The boy looked at you for a second longer than it was necessary, and you couldn’t tell if it was because he eyed you o