Kim Minseok is not a man of many words. But once he speaks, he means it. He's not the type to join in conversations. But he observes every little detail of what he sees. He looks like a person who does not care. But everyone in his clique all agree to one thing — he's the best person to rely on. He is not the type of person who seeks for attention, not at all. But once he asks for a little bit of your time, it wouldn't be gone to waste. He may not be the one to ask for you to care, but he is just as fragile as the oldest porcelain. He does not smile and laugh that much. But once he does, then lucky is the person who made him happy. Because one, it does not happen often; two, he rarely does that in public and; lastly, he does things only if he means to do it.

 

These traits made some people question why he fell in love with a certain woman. A woman who could talk all day and night. A woman who does not pay much attention to the people and things she sees but only to the ones who and those that are dear to her. A woman who may not be the best friend to rely on, but her company just makes everything complete. A woman who loves attention, she does not want any competition. Give her all your time, and for sure you will not regret any minute of it, not even seconds. A woman who always smiles for she believes a smile could brighten up someone's day. The reasons why people wonder why he fell in love with an exact opposite of him. A woman whose name is Park Eunmi.

 

 

Just like how the bitterness of a coffee and the sweetness of a sugar are complete opposites but when blended together, it's a perfect combination.

 

 

 

A man clad in a simple t-shirt that hung by his perfectly sculpted body, pants that hugged his waist and a serious face on, throwing smiles here and then was busily doing something. Something that he loves to do. He was cautiously moving from one place to another, slowly gets the things he needs so as not to make noise. Not a after awhile, a mouthwatering aroma came to his nose, all over the place. He smiled to himself. Perfect. He thought. He sniffed again and again, the scent was just getting better and better. Though he was already a man with a perfect job as an architect, being a barista is another passion of his. In fact, he ends his tight-scheduled day by making coffee. Not only that, just right in front of his unit is his own coffee shop. A soft ding of his oven reminded him of his french croissant. Not too soon, also, came soft footsteps from up above then slowly becoming clearer slow steps on his staircase then the sound halted to a stop.

 

He smiled upon seeing the love of his life on a morning glory with her best make-up on, her smile. She was wearing an oversized sweater which he recognizes as his and a shorts that embraced her glorious thighs. She slowly headed towards him while tying up her hair on a messy bun. As soon as she stood just a few inches apart from him, she hugs him like it's the best way to start a day. Of course, he hugs her back. He always does. He reciprocated her smile from earlier as she nuzzled her head on his neck.

 

"Good morning, sleepyhead." He said. She punched him lightly on his stomach, lovingly.

 

"What are you doing so early in the morning Minseok-ah?" She mumbled sleepily. She took a breath then almost abruptly snapped her head back, staring at him while grinning widely. "What is that amazing smell?"

 

He chuckled at her cute reaction before answering her, "Just something, Mi." Saying it while poking her nose.

 

"That something?" She grinned when he nodded, "My barista boyfriend's at it again."

 

He chuckled yet again, making her sit on one of the chairs in front of his own coffee counter on his unit. She laid her chin on both of her small palms while smiling dearly at him, only for him. She gazed at him affectionately as he finishes up his newly invented coffee by putting a heart cream at the center of the froths. He handed it to her then she looked at him questioningly. She has a little knowledge of coffee but everything he makes is just perfect for her own taste.

 

"What's the name of this?" She asked curiously.

 

"Coffee Mi Amor." He answered. Her eyebrows knitted together at the unfamiliar name of the coffee. "I made it, blended some tastes here and there." He continued after seeing her confused face. She smiled for the umpteenth time then took a sip of the coffee. She closed her eyes as she tasted the sweetness and bitterness of the drink, just like how she wanted it. Not too sweet for her own liking, but also not too bitter to make her frown. Both different tastes blended well together on her tongue. She opened her eyes slowly and her boyfriend was staring at her wide-eyed, as if waiting for her comment nervously.

 

"Sinfully perfect." She said simply, making him laugh. His laugh sounded like bells chiming, a perfect melody. Also rare to hear. For the others, that is. Her mind went to the clouds again, something she does when she's deep in thought. She stared at him blankly while Minseok stares at her admiringly. He knocks on her head gently.

 

"What are you thinking?"

 

"What do you think was I thinking?"

 

"I suppose it's a who rather than a what. And it's me." He retorted.

 

"Well, that's not really wrong. But it's also not the right answer." She answered before grinning. "The croissant." She said as she saw it.

 

"Oh." He handed it to her and watched her as she started eating it deliciously. He took a sip of his own coffee then his mind went somewhere else again, just to wander off a bit from the reality. When he opened his eyes, Mi was staring at him. Something about her stare tells him she's up to something.

 

"What?"

 

"Tell me something about the girls you've had before me." She asked after a long and heavy sigh.

 

"About the girls I've had-- Why?"

 

"No deep reason. I just wanna know. That's all." She said and he could tell that she was just being curious. Of course, writers are always curious. His girlfriend is no different than any of them.

 

Minseok chuckled before pausing to think on how to describe his past ones. He ended up thinking he would use an analogy he's best at.

 

"There's espresso, cappuccino, frappucino, decaf soymilk, instant coffee, and black coffee, and latte."

 

"Wait, what?"

 

He shrugged then continued.

 

"Espresso was my first love. I was on my first year in college when we dated but it wasn't for awhile. We immediately clicked the first time we talked to each other. She's very hardworking and a leader material. I asked her out and she happily said yes. We were doing good. But not good enough for a happily ever after. She's going this way while I'm going that way. And she doesn't want hindrances so I gave way for her to reach her dreams." He sighed heavily, but continued.

 

"Cappuccino, however, was the bubbliest of all. She likes arts so much which made me admire her. She has her own room where she does her artworks and that was her cave, that was her life. That was where she hides to drown herself with her imaginations. I liked her for that, her passion for what she truly loves doing. But then, I'm not creative and imaginative enough for her own liking. I"m a simple guy, Mi. I wasn't able to give her the and colors she wanted."

 

"Frappucino was my puppy love. I met her when we were still in high school. She was a very cheerful girl. One smile from her, my day would be complete. But what lacked in our relationship was the substance. She made me try new things. She made me try things all at once which got out of hand. She was also cute because she would always try to set trends. We were young and naive. We didn't know what we were doing until it came to us that we were just in love with the thought of falling in love."

 

"Decaf soymilk was the strongest one. She has strong principles which she upheld until the end of our relationship. I like girls who are strong which drew me closer to her. That's the part where our personalities met the first time and clashed which ended everything too. She doesn't want any mistakes and her ways have to be the one that should be followed. A very huge contrast to my own personality. Then I realized strong and strong are not really the best combinations."

 

"Instant coffee was the girl I met when I studied in New York. We didn't really have that kind of commitment but we were exclusively dating back then. I liked her for her cheerful and straightforward personality. She always made me laugh. She's a very laid-back woman too. She just goes with the flow of life. The thing is, she doesn't have any plans in her life. And I have mine, plenty of those. And when the time comes that we all have to move, that's when she moves too, at the very last minute. A relationship isn't like that at all. It needs steps and stages, slowly by slowly, it's not something that should be procrastinated. Our relationship also ended in an instant."

 

"Black coffee was the simplest, she doesn't wear make up, wear extravagant clothes, doesn't style her hair. None of those. She just wears T-shirt and jeans and sneakers with her hair hanging perfectly on her shoulders. She loves music which explains why she was a very silent woman. She loves to listen, not talk. We're the same. She liked to keep things simple, including our relationship. If that was the case, how will our love grow? Positive and positive will never attract each other."

 

"Lastly," He smiled upon saying it. "Latte. She just makes everything complete. She could turn my day from disastrous to perfect. She loved to please everyone. She painted smiles practically to everyone she sees. When I'm mad, she knows how to turn up the sides of my lips, she was a very good comfort. We were happily in love, really in love. But then fate decided that we weren't for each other. She was set to become an angel. She gave other people all her time that she forgot about her health, herself. But then she's in the place where she wants to be now, doing the thing that she loves to do the most, seeing people happy."

 

Eunmi was tearing up by the time Minseok ended his love stories. She wiped her tears secretly using the back of her hand then took a sip of the coffee he gave her.

 

"You're the 8^th." Minseok tilted his head while staring at her, then she asked the inevitable question.

 

"Who am I? What am I? Which one am I?" Minseok chuckled for he has seen this coming. He smiled as if he was about to say the best words that could come out from his mouth.

 

"You're none of them. You're all of them. You're the good things found in them combined." He said while staring at the deepest of her eyes. She widened her yes for a bit then her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

 

"How is that possible?"

 

"You're espresso, if she was my first love then you're my last one. You're focused on your goals which includes our future together and babe, we're just on the same page. You're also cappuccino, I'm willing to be lost in the depths of your creative imaginations. You're also frappucino but unlike her, you don't make me try new things. You're her because you make me try new things together with you to serve as our memories when we grow old. You're decaf soymilk not because you always go for your own way but because we decide together on which path to take. Our strong personalities make our relationship strong. You're instant coffee because you make me enjoy the present and forget about worrying about the future even if it's only a little while. And procrastinating is not a bad idea when I'm with you. You're black coffee not only because you're simple but also because you're simply all I need. You're simple, you're not even trying to catch my attention which made you intriguing for me because you weren't really trying to catch my attention but it was like you were screaming for my attention. And of course you're latte. You have two things in common, you love making people happy and you both are an angel. And seeing you making people laugh warms my heart. These, Mi, are the things why I love you so much. You're a limited edition of my favorite coffee. The one and only."

 

He smiled then leaned back, not long after he heard Eunmi sob softly. He looked at her only to see her covering her face with both of her hands. He sat beside her immediately then a pair of arms framed him, nestling her face on his broad chest.

 

"Minseok-ah! How could you make me cry so much early in the morning out of happiness?" She asked and he knew this time, she was also embarrassed.

 

"Hey, look at me." He chuckled. Eunmi slowly looked up at him and combined her lips into his. Their lips moved in sync passionately and after awhile, they both pulled away for air.

 

"I love you, okay?"

 

"I love you just as much, Mi."

 

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A/N: It's been awhile since I wrote this for my close friend/sister from another mom. So yes, hi guys. If you liked this, you can request a story since I'm not doing anything these days. You can commen below or tweet me at @tinkerbaee <3