»Chapter 04 - Morning 

Myungsoo sighed as he looked at his previous works. None of them were good enough to be one of Suzy’s songs for her next mini-album. Her comeback was right in the corner and he was supposed to write a melancholic song after the rather happy song that (in his opinion) was one of the worst songs he ever wrote. To his relief, Suzy enjoyed it very much.

Although he met up with other songwriters, there wasn’t even a single song that was likeable to his ears, not for the title track. He drew another cross through the paper lying on his stomach, crumpled it with disappointment written on his face, and threw it in a big arch until it landed in a bucket filled with his unfinished note sheets.

The small apartment he was living in was perfect for a person, who - from time to time - needed some privacy, but the stifling air pressed on his chest and the sad colorless walls gave a heavy vibe of his home which prevented his creativity from blooming on the pile of papers. Maybe it was because he had other things in mind, such as how to make Suzy realize that the man she loved was the wrong man. He knew all too well that Suzy didn’t actually plan to fall in love with Woohyun. Nevertheless, she ended up not being able to take her eyes off of him.

“Tch,” Myungsoo chuckled at himself. Wasn’t it he himself who swore to stop thinking about her? Honestly, it was not that he couldn’t give up on her; it was rather that he didn’t really want to give up on her. The little sprout of his feelings for her that he planted deep, deep in his heart intended to grow, however, fate seemed to be against the sprout's will. Therefore he pushed it back and didn’t let neither the sun, nor rain come to help it grow.

Myungsoo rubbed his eyes and exhaled, hoping the pressure he had on his body would come to ease. Mindlessly, he snatched his abandoned coat from the icy floor and headed outside. With a small glance he checked the wall clock towering next to his TV.

7:15

Unknown to Myungsoo, the probability that the sprout would grow some time was anything but small.

It was still too early to give up on the sprout.

Her shoes slapped against the polished wood that was delicately inlaid with bizarre designs which one could not easily decipher with every angry step. Immensely enraged, she queued at the line where people were waiting to make their orders. The prolonged wait irritated her to a ridiculous level. She wasn't usually this sensitive but the list had stung her to the point where she couldn't be her sensible self but to let out the darkness within her and smear the coffee shop. Looking at the people who were happily waiting in the line made her groan in annoyment.

She closed her eyes momentarily. Her mind was full of darting images. Utterly unpleasant, it was. The thought of being in the same company as Suzy was repulsive. Out of all the companies she could have gotten in, God made this horrible decision to bond her with the sole person she detested the most. The annoyance on her face was slowly fading, replaced by a dawning anger. For a fleeting moment, she wished Suzy was dead or at least fell into a coma and never woke up. Her existence was the fundament of her agony. People had always said that memories of pain are better forgotten but how was she supposed to erase that off her mind when Suzy kept reminding her of the same, old fact that she was merely a third wheel?

"Move on, woman!"

Her eyes flickered open when she heard the hoarse voice. Was it considered as a comfort?  She spun around to search for the man who said those words. The expression on the man's face disappointed her when she realized he was asking her to move forward and not moving on in her miserable life. It wasn't exactly surprising for she did not expect anyone to see her as a normal person. She was constantly labelled with arrogant and despicable  accusing tags. She was never treated like how she deserved until that man settled his eyes on her - Woohyun. Now that he wasn't here with her, she felt more alone than ever. "Very nice of you to remind me of something so obvious, mister," she said, every word distinctly drenched with sarcasm.

The man's face screwed into a scowl by that remark of hers. If she hadn't been a woman, he'd have hurled his clenched fist at her outright. Looking affronted, he tried to keep his tone neutral, "I beg your pardon."

Jiyeon let out a venomous chuckle which was as pure and concentrated as acid. She pressed her fingers against her bare forehead. "To be perfectly honest, I have no idea why people love making me repeat my words when they've obviously absorbed them all to the bones. Very idiotic of them, don't you think so?" She wasn't precisely trying to tick him off but she genuinely could not comprehend that and would like to see if this bulky man before her could answer the question she was struggling to solve for the past few years. Receiving no response, she added, "What a disappointment." She then moved ahead to order her coffee.

The man was itching to teach her a lesson but really, she was right at some point. He heard her and had no answer to that question. Her voice sharp and cold as ice shards had made him go rigid all over, stiff as a bar of iron. He felt like a dense elephant who was afraid of a sneaky mouse.

Her blood was craving caffeine. If she wasn't capable enough to allay the tumult of her mind, she wished caffeine could numb the prickly sensation that was stinging her whole body. "A cup of espresso," she said, her tone flippant without even bothering to add a 'please'. After 5 minutes of waiting, she wished she could throttle the cashier senseless for being so slow when she was desperately needing something that could ease the pain.

She snatched her cup of espresso harshly when it was finally ready and paced to the closest empty booth she could find within the periphery of her vision. Taking a little sip from her cup of coffee, she nearly threw up. Her brows knitted into a pronounced frown. She realized she had forgotten to get bags of sugar for her bitter espresso. The bitter taste was still left on her tongue even though she managed to swallow the coffee down . With her tongue stuck out, she swirled around to get the sugar that could save her tongue but before she could even make a complete spin, she felt herself bumping against a sturdy shoulder. Losing her balance, she fell, with the cup of espresso spilling in the air and tainting her ocean blue tank top. 

She squinched her eyes shut, waiting for her body to land on the ground with a sickening thud but it didn't happen. Slowly, she flickered her eyes open when she felt a pair of arms around her slender waist. The guy before her had caught her just in time. His disheveled hair and acquiline features somehow tickled her memories with an unpleasant familiarity. "You alright?" he inquired.

Almost immediately, Jiyeon eased herself away from him with her lingering frown. She shot him a glare of purest exasperation after a brief glance at the blotch of coffee stain of her tank top. Her day had been remorselessly ruined and here there is this guy making it worse than ever. "Are you blind? Because I'm definitely not all right," she hissed under her breath.

"I'm sorry." The man frowned, ready to throw something back to the woman’s words drenched with taunting sarcasm. But he shut his mouth and didn’t immediately answer. “I would have gladly bought you a new one-"

"-if your attitude were better.” Someone from behind ended his phrase. Jiyeon hadn't realized the blonde before, though it would have been better for her when she didn't know that kind of person existed.

Her words were a heavy blow to her. Indignantly, she swore in vicious precision. She foolishly waited for the man to actually defend her, but she didn't expect him to respond differently.

"Well, I wouldn't mind you being nicer... but I could still buy you a coffee."

Jiyeon laughed bitterly. "Don't judge when you don't know a single thing about me and my life. I wouldn't recommend you to put yourself in my shoes though, you probably couldn't stand the hardships you have to go through and would beg me to get you out of there like a poor little rat!" She left the coffee shop after casting those words.

Great. She lost the only medication to her frustrations all because of him.

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