I made good use of the liquor as I was cleaning them from the shelves. The solution was easy: to drink them all.

            Yuri had continuously called me and the ringing was getting annoying. She had left voicemails of why the shop wasn’t open, asking if I needed help to clean up, and as if Jaejoong had called her to deliver the wonderful message of our previous conversation, her voicemails got more demanding and desperate. She had wanted me to call her back. Wanted me to know that she gave Jaejoong a big lecture. Wanted me to know that she was on my side. I ignored all of it. I wasn’t in the mood to hear some comforting words. It wasn’t going to change anything. My heart was broken and nobody could fix that. Only I can with tape, super glue, staple, and a ton of alcohol.

            I laughed like a maniac. I was being such a hypocrite right now. Jaejoong had drunk before too and I thought so badly about it, but now I was doing it for the same reason: to numb the pain in the chest.

            Of course, in the end I did have to stop drinking before I got alcohol poisoning. Though, I did pass out and woke up the next morning on the café floor. I felt sticky and disgusting. Dried tears and alcohol was all I reeked of. I texted Yuri back to tell her that I was fine after seeing the millions of voice mails, texts, and missed calls. I then stumbled upstairs to take a shower. I would’ve taken a hot one, but the cold water was all I wanted to feel.

            After I cleaned up, I looked at myself in the mirror. Within a time span of just one day, my face had sunken in and I was paler than normal. My wet hair looked blacker than usual and my eyes were emotionless. I heaved a big sigh before bringing my hands up and slapping my cheeks. I had to snap out of it. It was useless to cry more than one day over something like this. What would people think of me? I was always the strong one. How would I even get money if I don’t open my shop? I had to keep pretending to move on.

            I got dressed and tied my hair into a ponytail. I hadn’t technically finished setting up the tables yet, and now there was spilled liquor on the floor where I slept last night. I cleaned that up first before moving the tables. When I straightened the last table into its position, a knock on the door echoed into the room.

            I stiffened and slowly turned to the door. I breathed out in relief as Yuri’s face popped out. She waved energetically with a bouncing backpack on her back. I let her in and she immediately embraced me in a hug.

            “I thought you died!” she let out an ugly cry. “You wouldn’t answer my calls and I was for sure you were unconscious on the ground somewhere.” I actually was. “I was going to break in here no matter what today, but I’m so happy I don’t have to!”

            “Yuri, calm down,” I pushed her