She had been waiting for him for almost thirty minutes. She had been waiting for him in that coffee shop on a cold, winter night, and he was late. This was not the first time it happened. The girl sighed as she put on her white sparkling gloves again and adjusted her red scarf. She stared at the window, seeing couples holding hands as if their world only involves themselves. Stuck in her reverie, she did not notice her phone vibrating from her purse until the second time. She jumped in fright, and then hurriedly dug out her purse to grab her phone. In a nervous habit, she fixed her black bowler hat and anticipated her new text message. Her heart was skipping beats, hoping that it was the text she had been waiting to see. Her eyes widened and then she frowned as she read over her text,

  Seohyun, change of plans. Victoria is down with the flu, but maybe we can hang out tomorrow if she’s feeling better. I’m so sorry that this was last minute. –Kyuhyun

  Of course he would go to Victoria. She was his girlfriend and Seohyun was only the beloved friend, the reality striking her fragile heart. Of course Kyuhyun would think he was only hanging out with her. Of course their supposed meeting was not a date. Of course Victoria was first in his life. Ashamed, Seohyun hid her eyes with her bowler hat, flushed with embarrassment.

  She lifted her bowler hat and checked the time on her phone. She had been waiting for him for forty minutes. The coffee shop was now closing. Noticing her agitated actions, the owner of the shop asked if she was alright. She nodded, and decided that she might as well indulge herself by ordering a caramel macchiato with extra whipped crème. Immediately, her drink came and Seohyun shivered as she took a sip, the memories from the last ten minutes still haunting her. Seohyun frowned, not noticing a sliver of whipped crème on her lip. The owner came back and offered her a napkin. Seohyun wiped her lip, but she still was frowning. The owner offered to keep the store open for her, but she declined as she was leaving now. The owner patted her back and said,

  “I’m sorry you had to wait. Maybe next time.”

  “Thanks for the concern, but I have to go now.”

  “Feel better.” Seohyun got up, thanked the owner again, and walked out of the coffee shop. Snow was starting to fall, and Seohyun started to shiver. Not even her black blazer could protect the cold from her and her lonely heart. She tried to ignore the cold as she trudged softly on her short journey home.

  Oh, how foolish of her to think that she would meet Kyuhyun. Seohyun could only wait, and he would only leave. Indeed, she was the beloved friend. Ah, unrequited love at its finest.