“How do you like your coffee Minseok?” the instructor asked the student.

“Bitter” Minseok answers as he smiles with delight.

Minseok has been studying coffee making for four months now. His love for coffee has made him determined to make his own coffee, and possibly make his own business. In just one more week, Minseok will finally get his hard-earned certificate.

“Ugh. I don’t like bitter coffee.” A student commented.

“Sir, why is there bitter coffee anyway?” Another student asked.

“Well coffee becomes bitter because of three things. You may be extracting your coffee too much, meaning you may be adding too much water in your coffee grounds. You may also be using water that’s too hot. And lastly, you’re using the wrong grind size,” the instructor explains, “but we’ll go through some of that on our last lessons. Okay, I think it’s time! See you all tomorrow!”

Everybody stands up and leaves the room feeling educated. Meanwhile, Minseok felt more satisfied and contented. He felt like he learned a lot again today, and that made him happy. His knowledge of coffee making has increased by the day, and now that his lessons are ending, he feels like he wants to run his own coffee shop.

He imagines himself working in a small, but cozy shop and making a lot of coffee for different kinds of customers who will be delighted of his coffees. But he giggles at the thought, thinking that it would be difficult to start a business all on his own. Maybe he’ll just start out as a barista in a little coffee shop. Then maybe he can observe the manager on how he or she runs the shop. This will probably give him an idea on how to run his own. Yes, that seemed a good idea. Minseok couldn’t wait to get his certificate and become a barista. Minseok is satisfied.

As Minseok walks towards the front door leading outside the building, he sees a familiar figure outside the glass window. As he drew closer to the door, the person’s face became clearer. The man wearing a plain white button down polo shirt looked at him, and smiled, as if he were waiting for him the whole time.

Minseok stepped out of the building and looked at the man.

The man approached him with a humble smile, his hands on his pockets, and said, “Hi. How are you Minseok?”

Minseok gulped, and astonishingly said, “Luhan.”

Minseok only managed to say his name as his mind went blank at the sight of his face, and as his heart ached caused by the painful memories that rushed through his mind.

Minseok then remembered that it was almost a year before he last saw Luhan, before Luhan left him. After being together for so many years, Luhan left him saying that it just wasn’t working for the two of them. But Minseok feels that Luhan was just sick of him.

And that, for him, was painful.

Because Minseok had loved everything about Luhan. Never did he laid eyes on another man or woman. Never did he shouted or hurt Luhan. Never did he hate Luhan. Even up until Luhan left him, Minseok loved him.

It was just devastating for Minseok when Luhan left him. Minseok seemed okay, but he wasn’t. He felt dead for so many months that he couldn’t work properly, or live his life normally. Each and every day he kept thinking of Luhan. Thinking that sooner or later, Luhan would come back. Until months have passed and Minseok never heard anything of him. Minseok, eventually, gave up. And in order to fix his life, he started with the second thing he loved after Luhan… coffee.

You can say that the whole coffee making thing is just Minseok’s distraction so not to remember him, and also to forget him. At first that was Minseok’s plan, but eventually he loved what he’s doing, and soon enough, his focus shifted completely on coffee, and his plans to run a coffee shop.

But now, he sees the man who started his pain about a year ago.

But Minseok was also a bit thankful for Luhan. If Luhan hadn’t left him, Minseok wouldn’t have probably been studying how to make coffee, and he wouldn’t have planned so many things that could help his future.

But still, Minseok felt uneasy. Why is Luhan suddenly in front of him?

Luhan cleared his throat, and said, “Uhm. Can we talk somewhere?”

“Uhm. Okay.”

“Hm. That was the last thing you told me before I left.”

“Ah. Really? I don’t remember.”

“Yeah… So I know this coffee shop two blocks from here. It’s a bit small, but it’s very cozy and not so many people know it because it’s kind of hidden. We could talk privately there.”

Minseok nodded, and Luhan led the way.