She leaned towards him slightly tilting her head in wonder " Hey Friend", she asked.
He paused from drinking his coffee and looked at her waiting for her question.
"Do you believe in love?" her eyes glowed in curiosity.
Completely baffled he continued to sip his warm coffee. Taking the time to think for a reply.
He thought, What kind of question is that? Did she eat something weird?, and he realised that he has gulped down the last drop of coffee from his mug.
He put his mug down the table and grabbed a tissue from the stack to wipe the creamy frost from his upper lip. He really was taking his time because he didn't know what to reply. Anyone would've been taken back by that 'out-of-the-blue' question and clearly it has severely caused a moment of hesitation for him.
Finally gathering his conscience and words he replied "No, I don't. Why are you even asking? Are you in love?" he curled his eyebrows and rested his face on his hands staring back at the girl.
"Well I just wanted to know what other people think about love. I'm not currently on a relationship though. But I do certainly believe in love" she smiled. 
He fixed his eyes on hers and said, "Then tell me what is it about love that make you believe it?" he frowned, "Do you believe in fantasies about never ending love or a happily ever after?"
"Well of course not." she chuckled "I believe in love because it's an emotion; a feeling that we express."
"You're stating the obvious here." he argued, still expecting a proper reply. " Everyone feels like that in the beginning but eventually love becomes old and cold."
"Well, I can't deny that but without love how can we live as human beings?" she smiled turning to look to the other side.
"We get hurt when we fall in love."
"We learn to live as human beings and overcome our mistakes and difficulties." she remarked.
"Then what about those people who commit suicide because love has failed them?" he asked.
"Well love is hard and complicated." she carefully thought of a reply and hesitantly continued "But I guess it's not for everyone then?"
Unsatisfied and unconvinced he began to question her further, "That doesn't make sense. Didn't you just say that love is required for humans to survive? How about those unfortunate people that has abandoned them then? If love is required to live on then without love you have no purpose to live on then? So doesn't that suggest that love is cruel?"  He bombarded her with questions that nearly made her sunk down to the bottom of her chair. 
She thought for a second considering all the questions that he tried to confuse her. The second took a while and became a minute and in which became into  several minutes until the minute hand has traveled for 6 miles. She finally replied "That's simple." she chuckled again finally gaining her confidence that she lost 6 miles ago " I can see that you don't really understand what love I was referring to. It is both directed to romantic and nonromantic love." she cleverly grinned in her reply as she found it amusing on how confused he must be. 

He stared at her and then finally sighed slumping on the coffee table."That doesn't make sense, you know?" he scratched his head "I really don't get this" he grumbled in frustration.
He smiled helplessly trying to figure out for him to understand her. Shifting her eyes from left to right and piercing her lips she tried to come up with a better explanation.
He began "You know, don't bother I mean what's the use??" He sighed once again and slumping his face further down to the surface of the table.
"I know!!" she perked and quickly grabbed her backpack that was hiding underneath the table and ped her bag. She pulled out a pen and her notebook that she keeps her side notes in.
He tried to stop her before she started as he saw no point in her explaining "I told you don't bother" he said the second time.
"No!" she stopped him and began to search for a blank page in her book "It is better to know and learn about it now than later in life."
"I rather hear that from someone else but you. Especially from a girl who's so disorientated to come up with a proper answer to my question." he looked at her notebook and what she was doing "What are you doing now? Hey is that a picture? Are you drawing?" 
"Yep" she smiled at him "I'll draw it out for you so it's easier to understand." She continued to draw on her notebook.
"Is that a stickman?" he asked looking at her bizarre drawing. 
"It's you." she grinned. 
"How is that me when I don't even have a face." he complained "I thought you're an art major? Your drawings are really crappy,you know?" as he mocked her stickman.
"Detail isn't important right now." she backfired "It's the message that matters."
"Then can't you just simply write it out then?" he questioned her. 
"No." she replied.
"Okay, fine whatever." he gave up "Fine tell me. What's the point in that?" he pointed on the stickman figure of him. 
"What does it look like?" she asked him.
"It's a picture what's it suppose to look like?"
"No, not that." she said "What does it look like to you?" she looked at him seriously.
He thought she was joking but the gleam of seriousness in her eyes shows that she was expecting a proper answer. He began to looked at the poorly drawn stick figure of him and stared at it for a while. "What am I suppose to say?" he gave up and looked at her an answer. 
"How do you look like there?" she pointed on her drawing "Where are you?"
"On a blank a piece of paper?" 
"With whom?" 
"No one?" 
"Then what does it look like to you?" she asked again. "What do you look like?"
He was trying to figure out a good answer. He stared at it for a while again. It was just a blank piece of paper from a notebook with a stickman figure of him drawn in the middle of the page. "It's me that is surronded with nothing." he continued trying to come up with a longer answer "And that I am alone by myself in the center of the page."
She finally smiled in agreement "That's right." and pointed at the picture of him "You're lonely aren't you?" 
"Well on that picture I am but in reality I don't think that I am." he said. 
"That's correct again." she began to draw again "You see, humans feel that they are alone but reality is that they are always surrounded him people. These people might or may not even care about them but we are always surronded by people." 
He stared at her with frustration "Huh?"

He stared blankly at her "Are we in a loop hole?" he pointed at the notebook "Okay, are you going to tell me that stickman me isn't lonely anymore right? Since your drawing more weird doodles on top of Stickman me." he tilted his head and stared at the male stickman and female stickman above the stickman that was said to be him. 
"They are you're parents." she remarked drawing the dress of the stickman on the right.
"I think my mom will find it insulting that she doesn't have hair." he pointed the lack of hair in  the stickman figures "Actually my dad and I don't have hairs too and why are you drawing my mom clothes while the other two don't have one?!" he complained slapping table "Is this some sort of harassment? Are you calling my dad and I - Ouch!" 
She hit his head before he finished his sentence "Like I said detail isn't important right now? I'm drawing clothes on the female stickman so we can differentiate the genders." 
He scratched his head furiously "What the hell? This doesn't even make sense! We've been here for thirty minutes and you're still drawing these absurd stickma- Ah! Stop hitting me!"
"Hey your really getting on my nerves you know?" she hit his head again retaining him from complaining and insulting her drawings "My drawings are not absurd! That's just mean!" she pouted.
"Okay, okay. Just get on with it already." he sighed fixed his hair.
"You're parents made you out with love." she told him. 
He stared at her nervously "Are we going to talk about becoming passionate? Is that what you were trying to tell me all this time?" he blushed and scratched his head like an embarrassed teenage girl "I didn't think you were that straight forward but if you insist I'm available anytime." he blushed shyly avoiding her glance.
"I-D-I-O-T!" she phrased out too well "No one likes to sleep with a ert like you." she slammed  her pen on the table. 
"What?" he questioned her but still avoiding her eyes.
"What I was trying to say." she sighed and folded her arms "Because of love you we're created. This proves that love is true! Your mom and dad loved each other very much and they're love result into a new level of appreciation with each other that lead your mom to give birth to you." 
"Weren't they just ?" he asked. 
She slapped his shoulder "No. Stop making anymore ual references I'm being serious here." 
He patted his shoulder lightly easing the pain from the slap "You started it." he grumbled and kept silent. 
"If love didn't exist then there you wouldn't be here right now then, right?" she grinned.
He crossed his arms "Then what about those people who were forced or accidentally became pregnant?" 
She perched her lips and then answered "Well aren't they're kids still alive?" she picked but the pen and began drawing a symbol on beside the mom and the dad stickman "Some of those kids are still alive right now because someone loves them. There's someone that is there for them even though they are left behind and lonely." 
He looked at the symbol she drew "So that heart is the symbol of their love right?" he pointed at her drawn heart "This conversation is getting weirder and I can't keep up with you anymore." 
She smiled at him "You see you got confused at my question before." 
"That question about whether I believe in love or not?" he asked her.
"Yes." she replied "Because love doesn't always mean love between lovers or couples. You can always receive love from your parents, relatives and friends." 
He looked at her unable to reply to what she just said. It does make sense he thought.
"Love from your parents or friends are not romantic feelings towards you but it feelings that surpasses any emotion that you feel towards strangers and acquaintances. Your family and friends all care about you and that is another way of expressing love." she began drawing again and now more stick mans beside the his stickman.
"Normally you generalize the love to feelings you feel for you partner right?" she continued to draw more stickmen around him " When I asked you if you believed in love and you answered that you didn't. You were ony thinking that you were single right and you are currently not in a relationship. But what you forgot is the love that you received from your parents and your friends who deeply care for you." 
He looked at the stickmen beside the him " Are those my friends?" 
"Yes they are." she replied. "Even though you are alone or currently not seeing anyone you are surrounded by these people and you can live on because of a purpose and without them you wouldn't be able to live on because you have no one to rely on. For those people that have given up don't you think that is because they have no one that believes in them and love them. Or sometimes it could also be that they are blinded by depression and negativity that they fail to recognize the other level of love that you can receive from the people around you?" 
He was now quiet and stared at her completely engrossed at what she was saying. He wasn't unaware and he knows and understands what she was talking about but it didn't reach to him before that love could be expressed in different ways. "Now tell me how can you not believe in love when love surrounds you?" she looked at him "Love has no physical body and it cannot be seen but how is it that although you cannot touch or see it, you can still feel it's presence? Doesn't that mean that it is real?"  she continued "If you say that you don't believe in love does that mean that you don't recognize the feelings that others give you? Then doesn't that mean that you're taking them for granted then?"
He was speechless, he wasn't surprised at what she was saying but it struck him what love truly means and that it actually exist. Love always existed. He finally realiased that those people who complained about being 'Forever alone' only saw one layer of love when as a matter of fact love exists in different levels. The level of love between parents and child, love between siblings and love and loyalty between friends. Love existed way before you first meet your crush or lover. Love has existed before one is born. Love existed for a long time because people wanted you to be there and become part of their bond. Your parents loved you even before you were born. Love does exist he solemnly thought realizing how naive he was seeing only the superficial love. 

"Can I ask you again?" she patted his arm gaining his attention as he looked at her "Do you believe in love?"
He looked at her again seeing that all her things we're packed up and only an empty plate from a shared cake and two mugs of coffee was on the top of the table. He was spacing out for some time now as he looked at the clock and saw that they have been sitting there for  2 hours. He wondered how long he has been staring blankly at the coffee table. 
"How long have I been like this?" he asked as he pulled his bag up on his lap and zipped his bag securely. 
"Well for thirty minutes actually." she laughed "It was entertaining to see you so idle and lost in thought." 
He apologized embarrassingly "Sorry about that I was thinking a lot just now. I guess I kept you more than I should have." 
"No it was okay." she smiled.
He looked at his watch again and realiased the time. His eyes widen and quickly got up from his sit "Look at the time!" he swang his sidebag on his shoulder "I have to get home soon my mom told me to come home early." 
"Oh is that so?" she got up as well and grabbed her bag "Sorry I should've warned about the time. I didn't know that you have to leave quickly."
"No, no don't apologize!" he stopped her "I should've been more aware of time. I actually space out most of the time so this is completely out of my carelessness." he reassured her. 
"Are you catching the bus home?" she pushed her chair in. 
He pushed his chair and replied "No, I need to go home quickly. My mom must be waiting for me by now." 
She lightly pushed him "Then you should go now then." she nudged his arm again. 
"Ah! You're right!" he bowed and waved at her "I'll be off then. Sorry I can't walk back with you I'll be going to the opposite direction." he pointed at the right "Take care, I'll see you at school tomorrow? Be careful okay?" he smiled nervously as he peered at his watch realiasing how late he was. 
She pushed him "Just go already!" she laughed. 
He waved once again and began walking out of the cafe first. He didn't look back and began running as soon as he left. 
She weakly smiled and got out after he did and headed towards the opposite direction. She didn't get to hear his answer. It seems like she wasted her time doodling and coming up with an answer that seemed like it doesn't make sense. Her thoughts were really disorientated, just as like as he complained. 
She sighed as she walked to her bus stop. Her house was only twenty minutes away if she takes the bus. It wasn't that far but it would've been if she walked all the way home. She looked at her watch and then looked at the timetable stuck on the wall of the platform in the bus stop. 20:00 the time her bus will arrive, only a few minutes away, luckily she came here just before five minutes. She sat on the unattended sits and patiently waited for her bus to arrive.

She unlocked the front door from her apartment. The house looked dark because no one was at home. She entered and untied her shoelaces and arranged her shoes neatly on the doorstep. The house was silent because no one greeted her as she was alone and living in Seoul by herself. She's a second year Art Major in Seoul University and her parents and two younger brother were home back in Busan. She left to pursue her dream to become an artist with the support that she received from her parents. She was feeling lonely but she knows that with her parents and brothers she wouldn't be where she was right now. 
She sighed and dropped her bag on the coach and headed to her room until she was stopped by the ringtone of her phone. That's odd, she wondered Who would call me at this hour? It couldn't be mom or dad since they only phone during the weekends. She frantically searched for her phone in her backpack wondering who the mystery caller was. Finally when she found it she answered it without looking properly at the caller. 
"Hello?" she answered as she answered just in time before the call was cut off.
"Ji-eun-shi?" the voice from the other line echoed.
"Yes? Is this Geun-suk-shi?" she replied as she recognized the voice. 
"It turns out that the family appointment was tomorrow." he laughed "I panicked for no reason. Did you get home safely?" 
"Yes." she looked at the clock in her living room "I just arrived home. I live pretty close anyway so it's fine." 
"That's good to know. I was worried since I did keep you out long."
"No, no don't worry I'm home safely so I'm fine. There's nothing to be worried about."
"Ah, that's good then." he said. 
"Is that all?" she asked.
"Um..." he hesitated.
"Yes?" she waited for him wondering what he has to say.
"You know I left without properly answering you." he said.
"Oh!" she remembered. She remembered that he did left without him answering her question.
"Actually.." he began "Seeing how things ended before I began to think a lot." 
"Weren't you finished thinking from before? You're still thinking?" she laughed.
"Yes." he answered "Wait no, I finished thinking though and now I can give you a proper reply." he continued "You see what you said was coincidently was always on the back of my head. I knew about it but I didn't realised it until you we talked about it. You really changed my opinion about the topic we were discussing before." 
He sighed "It made me realise something and something else as well."
"What is it?"
"Well firstly it made me realiase that love is exists and it can be expressed in different ways. It made think how many people cared about me, including my friends that I didn't really think that were that special until now." he sighed again "It's pretty mean to say this but I always thought that I was lonely. That my friends were just there and I didn't really think that they actually cared about me until you pointed it out. This made me realise how cruel I am for disregarding my friends and my relationship between them and this includes my parents. I use to think that my friends and parents were annoying for always sticking up their nose in my business but actually they weren't nosy at all it's because they were worried about me." 
"Well that's good that you finally realised this." she said.
"Yes and I feel really guilty about it but then I feel really grateful that you asked me whether I believe in love because now I was able to assess myself." 
"So then can I ask you again?" she smiled leaning on the wall expecting a truthful answer from him.
"Yes please do." 
"Do you believe in love?" she asked for the last time. 
"Yes." he replied confidently and laughed.
They both laughed at their foolishness. They were twenty years old and are acting like teenagers.But despite this there was a happy atmosphere that surrounds them. There was completely nothing wrong with this conversation as they were reminded of the little values of life. 

Finally she hanged up and place her phone on the table that was located in the center of the living room. She sighed and sat down on the coach and looked at the time once again. Today was such a long day, she chuckled. She took out the notebook she was drawing from a few hours before and opened on the last page she used. She looked at picture of a stickman on the middle of the page and the couple above him then the other stickmen that were beside him. She looked at it and suddenly grabbed a pen and started drawing again. She smiled proudly at her drawing, she looked at it with appreciation and satisfaction. With this he wouldn't feel lonely at all, she said to herself as she lay the book on the table and stood up. She giggled happily at her doodle and walked to her room to prepare for bed, she looked back at the living room again to reminisce the highlights of her day. She grinned as this day wasn't a waste at all and switched off the lights.