Sunggyu hummed lightly to himself, his eyes bright with optimism as he pushed open the doors to the library. Unlike most of his fellow classmates, he wasn’t pummeled down by the idea of studying for hours each day – he was determined to get stellar marks in class, and to graduate with scholarships and honours.

He scoured the area before him, trying to pinpoint an empty seat where he could settle down with his laptop and books. His eyes curved slightly as he noticed a vacant chair waiting just for him.

“Is there anyone sitting here?” As always, Sunggyu asked the people sitting beside in case the seat was reserved for someone else.

“Ah, no. Feel free to sit.” The girl on his left glanced up at him before refocusing her attention back on her laptop.

“Thank you.” Sunggyu mumbled as he sat down and unpacked his bag, making sure to gently place everything on the table to avoid any loud thumps. He took out his treasure; his tumbler that was full with his favourite drip coffee. The smell was heavenly to him, and it attracted the attention of the people around him. They glanced at him, somewhat jealously, before going back to studying.

Discreetly, Sunggyu glanced over at the girl’s laptop screen. He wrinkled his nose at the sight of high school biology; it was the one subject that he didn’t excel in. It hurt his pride greatly, but it wasn’t very important to him as he was currently majoring in finance.

Sunggyu found himself furrowing his eyebrows as he began to question why a high schooler was studying like a university student at a library. It was partly understandable, but usually all studying would be completed at after-school study sessions.

Reaching over, he lightly tapped his finger on one of the girl’s biology books. “May I ask you a question?”

“Erm… okay?” The girl shifted in her chair as she looked at Sunggyu.

“Why are you studying in the library and not at your school?”

“Libraries aren’t full of rebelling teenagers.” The girl smiled slightly before turning her head back to look at her laptop.

Sunggyu shrugged and went back to minding his own business.

As Sunggyu frequented the library more often due to his approaching exams, he noticed that the girl would always be sitting at the same spot. He found himself intrigued by the girl, and eventually Sunggyu began to make it a habit to sit beside her and greet her with a short “hello”.

Maybe it was because of how the girl appeared and acted. Sunggyu usually disliked mature girls due to their tendency to be distant and cold, yet he found the girl beside him to be mature and able to enjoy simple jokes.

Hold up, Kim Sunggyu. He told himself one day, as he realized just how infatuated he was with her. You haven’t properly had a conversation with her before, you’ve only known her for two weeks, and she’s a minor.

Mentally scoffing at himself, he shook his head and went back to indulging himself in the endless information about financing.

By the end of the day, he came to the conclusion that he should at least try to be friends with the study buddy he had been sitting with for the past weeks. That’s right, Sunggyu told himself in a convinced tone. Study buddy.

“I’m Kim Sunggyu.” Sunggyu held out his hand towards the girl after packing his bag and standing up.

The girl stopped shoving books into her backpack for a while and she turned to face him. She scanned his appearance for a quick second before taking his hand. “Yoo Juhyun.”

Juhyun sat at her desk and stared at her phone with distraught emotions. This boy – no, this man – named Sunggyu was probably going to make her despise her fate for quite a long time. He was the perfect boyfriend material; good at cooking and household chores, good towards his parents, high GPA and grades in school, an optimistic personality, and extremely responsible. The problem with him was that he was almost a decade older.

She knew that realistically and logically, she had to distance herself from Sunggyu. Juhyun could easily do this if it wasn’t for her undeveloped teenager hormones that screamed ‘date him, he’s perfect!’ every time she tried to be reasonable. Hell, she had only known this person for two months!

What an idiot she was, always accepting his offers of going to study together at a café, or going to a park together to have a small picnic. The simplicity of the activities Sunggyu suggested was basic – but at the same time, it was enjoyable and relaxing.

The little bastard had even went as far as making her try his favourite coffee one time at the café. It was obviously way too bitter for Juhyun, who enjoyed sweets.

Juhyun had even gone to the extremes of searching up the laws to protect minors from older people. Sunggyu was two times older than the limit, and an innocent peck on the lips would equate to his imprisonment.

It would’ve helped her greatly if she knew that Sunggyu wasn’t interested in her, but she was just about 99% sure that he was. Sunggyu had randomly gifted her with a box of Peppero¹ out of the blue on one of their ‘hang out’ days – to be even more specific, it was the classic chocolate almond flavour.

From what she’s learned over the years, the classic chocolate almond flavour was usually given to your partner on Peppero Day².

He had also asked her multiple times to go to places other than just a café or a park; he’d suggested amusement parks, the Namsan tower³, and even the movies. Juhyun also caught all the little things he did; there was always skinship from him, and he sometimes stared at her for a bit longer than usual.

It was extremely bothering to ponder over – there was no way she was going to marry when she was in her early twenties. If she married in her late twenties, then Sunggyu would nearly be forty. Even if she married him in her early twenties, there was no way she could start a family until she was done with her studies. There was also the problem of–

Sunggyu’s stretched and leaned back on the park bench as he secretly stole glances at Juhyun. He had brought her a dinner he had cooked all by himself, and the look of satisfaction on her face made him delighted. He tapped his fingers against the bench, his hands only inches away from her shoulders.

Mentally deadpanning, he reminded himself that Juhyun was a one-way ticket. He straightened himself and placed his hands in his laps and scolded himself for letting his mind slack off. A frown grew on his face as he began questioning his actions for the past two months; he did intend on being friends, but the consistency of their ‘hang out’ days was greater than the average couple’s schedule.

“Have you ever rejected anybody?” Sunggyu asked her. They had been conversing for around an hour, and they had somehow stumbled onto the topic of dating.

Juhyun frowned for a moment as she tried to find memories of rejecting people. “I’m not sure if it counted as rejection, but I guess I did once. How about you?”

“I was rejected four times by my first girlfriend before she accepted me on my fifth attempt. She always said no every time I asked her out.” Sunggyu laughed and shook his head, feeling embarrassed at how insistent he had been. “How did you reject someone?”

“There was a boy who kept being obvious, and he continuously suggested to go on a date, but I always said I was busy. Even if I didn’t have solid proof to back up my statement of ‘being busy’, I would simply say ‘I’m busy’ and leave it at that.” Juhyun’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she recalled the memory from the back of her mind. “If the boy had enough courage to be obvious about his feelings and to ask me to go hang out with him, he should’ve just straight up asked me out. I don’t like people who beat around the bush; you’ll fling all the spiders and bugs out of the bush.”

Sunggyu chuckled at her analogy. He began to say something, but then he hummed and stopped mid-sentence. “Ah, I’m too old.”

“You realized that just now?” Juhyun giggled as she , which earned a glare from Sunggyu. She gently elbowed him, trying to get him to continue the sentence that he cut off. “What were you trying to say before that?”

“Nothing. Let’s go home!” Sunggyu brightly exclaimed, obviously trying to avoid the subject.

“Come on, Sunggyu!” She complained and pouted at him.

Sunggyu let out a sigh as he leaned back on the bench and stretched his arms. “I’m too old.” He looked over at her, his eyes meeting with hers for a short moment. Although he was enjoying the time he had with her, he felt a bit unhappy.

Juhyun stared at him as he adverted his gaze and set it on the children playing on the park in front of them. She nodded to herself and joined Sunggyu in watching the kids that were running in circles and chasing each other. “Ah.”

The sounds of uncontrolled giggling and screaming was the only thing that filled the silence between Sunggyu and Juhyun. They sat with a comfortable gap between them, not minding that neither one of them was trying to start a new conversation.

“It’s getting dark, I’ll send you home.” Sunggyu said as he began packing up the lunchbox he had brought for Juhyun.

“Mhm.” Juhyun agreed as she helped him stack the containers together.

They continued talking as they walked towards the subway, her arms occasionally brushing against each other from walking too close. Both of them pretended that each time was a pure accident, and they blamed it on the crowded streets.

“Go home safely.” Sunggyu smiled as he waved at her.

“I will.” Juhyun bowed her head slightly in act of formality. She returned his grin and waved. “You’ll find someone better.”

Sunggyu’s curved eyes straightened slightly, but instantly returned to the crescent shape that occurred whenever he smiled. “Yep.”

He turned and left, sticking his hands into his back pockets.

Juhyun stared at his retreating back, and suddenly noticed the scent of coffee wading in the air. She smiled sadly, remembering what Sunggyu had said about coffee.

“Why do you like to drink so much coffee?” She gestured towards the steaming cup in front of Sunggyu’s hands.

“I need it to stay awake,” Sunggyu shrugged. “I’ve been drinking it for quite a long time.”

“I think it’s an addiction. You rely on it too much.” Juhyun frowned. “Isn’t it extremely bitter, anyways?”

“It is.” He chuckled as he took a sip from the cup. “I’ve probably burnt off my taste buds a long time ago. Maybe from eating too much spicy food, or from drinking too much coffee. I don’t know. Either way, I don’t find coffee revolting anymore. If anything, it’s sweet to me because it wakes me up in the morning. And, strangely, it tastes good.”

We’re bittersweet, Juhyun thought to herself as she stepped onto the subway car. Just like the coffee that you like to drink.

1 - Peppero is a biscuit snack popular in Korea. It's the Korean equivalent of Pocky.

2 - Peppero Day is November 11th (11/11). This is because the date looks like four Peppero sticks. The day is celebrated by giving Peppero snacks to friends and loved ones.

3 - Namsan Tower is a famous tower in Seoul where couples go to show their commitment for each other by having love locks. They write a message on a lock, and then lock it onto one of the many fences, then they toss the keys off the deck area. Quite romantic, but once they break up.... they can't really unlock the lock from the sea of locks on the fence without the key. (wasn't there that one story of someone bringing a lock cutter though?? LOL I dunno anymore)

I won't get murdered for all the bad endings I've wrote, right...??? ;n; spare my life pleaseee. I was aiming for an ending where you make your own assumption, but it kinda just seems like I posted half of the story and forgot to insert the remaining half OTL.

Personally, I see my ending as one that signifies that they enjoy each other's company but acknowledge the reality and so they're kinda stuck at that frend level. So basically, it's a bittersweet ending where "yay they can still see each other!" but "nay they can never be together and go further than just friends!". I mean, five years later in the future the ages wouldn't matter at all, but there's still a lot of obstacles with couples who have large s.

...screw all the complicated explanations, the ending is a confusing half-assed cliffhanger. LOL