Moonbyul walked into the coffee shop and looked at her watch. She was almost 20 minutes early, but she was feeling too restless to wait at home. Just in case she looked around, but as expected she was the first one there.

Looking for a free table, she crossed the establishment and chose one at the end of the shop. The place was half full but it didn’t look like many people would come. Still, she wanted to make sure they got somewhere to sit.

Trying to warm herself up, she blew into her hands and rubbed them together. The day had gotten colder than usual and it was just the beginning. Soon the weather would be even worse. Moonbyul dreaded just to think about it. She was more of a spring person.

She debated whether to get herself a hot drink while she waited but in the end she decided against it. She didn’t want to be impolite. She wouldn’t have to wait for much longer anyway.

Right on cue, the door of the shop opened and Krystal walked in. She was wearing some simple light blue jeans and a plain dark sweater but somehow she made it look as if she just got back from a catwalk.

Moonbyul waved her hand to catch Krystal’s attention and gave her a nervous smile. She honestly didn’t know what to expect. They texted back and forth a bit, just enough to decide on what day they both could hang out. Krystal had told her she had looked up her number on the label’s website and apologized for being creepy, but that she didn’t know any other way to contact her. Moonbyul had found it oddly endearing, but she still didn’t know why Krystal wanted to talk to her.

Well, she guessed she was about to find it.

“Hi, sorry for being late.” Krystal apologized with a small but sincere smile.

Moonbyul waved a dismissive hand. She was right on time actually; it was her who got there early. “Don’t worry about it, I haven’t been here for long.” She watched Krystal as she sat on the chair, grabbing the menu with the list of drinks. “Have you been here before?” Moonbyul asked.

Krystal shook her head. “Never. I’ve walked past this place a lot of times but never had the time to get inside. Until now.” She explained with a small smile. “And you?”

“A couple of times. It’s a good place.” If Moonbyul was honest, for a moment she thought about telling Krystal to hang out at Wheein and Solar’s work place. It had great coffee and wasn’t overcrowded. But part of her didn’t think it was a good idea, maybe because she actually hadn’t told her friends and Solar about this meeting. She felt a bit guilty for keeping that information from them, but at the moment it seemed like the best course of action.

She would tell them once she knew what Krystal wanted.

“Have you decided what you want?” Krystal asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Moonbyul nodded quickly. She actually had decided it as soon as she entered the coffee shop, but she didn’t want to pressure Krystal into choosing. She would admit she had also used that time to calm down her nerves a bit.

“What do you want? I’ll go order it.” Moonbyul offered. Krystal tried to refuse saying that it wasn’t necessary but Moonbyul insisted until convincing her.

“Just a caramel latte then.” Krystal replied with a small but thankful smile.

Nodding, Moonbyul got up and walked up to the counter, waiting for the barista to notice her. She ordered Krystal’s caramel latte and a peppermint mocha with chocolate for herself. She had become obsessed with the drink since Solar suggested it that time, but she still had to taste one better than that one. Sometimes she wondered if it was because of the drink itself or because Solar had made it for her.

She paid for both drinks and waited patiently for them. Trying to be subtle, she watched Krystal’s back from there. She seemed to be texting someone. Probably Kai. She felt a pang of disappointment at the thought.

Krystal chose that exact moment to turn around and caught her starting. Moonbyul widened her eyes and looked away, feeling her cheeks blush. She could swear she heard Krystal giggle.

Still blushing and chastising herself for being caught like that, Moonbyul thanked the barista and took the drinks. On her way back to the table, she took a sip from her peppermint mocha.

Again, it wasn’t as good as Solar’s.

“Here you go, your caramel latte, with extra caramel.” Moonbyul put the drink in front of Krystal, trying to pretend nothing had happened before.

“Thanks.” Krystal gave her a warm smile and grabbed her purse. “How much was it?”

Moonbyul quickly shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, it’s on me.”

“I’ll pay next time then.” Krystal stated, no leaving room for any argument.

So they would meet a second time? Krystal seemed to be sure of it.

Cupping her drink to keep her hands warm, Moonbyul couldn’t help but be blunt about what had been going through her mind since she received the first text.

“Why did you call me?” She regretted it as soon as the words left . She feared she might have come across uninterested or sounded forced to be there. Luckily, the girl in front of her took it easy and laughed lightly.

“Wow, straight to the point.” She commented amused. “Can’t blame you, I would be curious too. I guess my messages came a bit out of nowhere.”

“It was unexpected, not going to lie…” Moonbyul confirmed.

“I hope it didn’t bother you.” Krystal said with sincerity.

“No, it didn’t.” Moonbyul denied quickly, wanting to get her point across. “It just took me by surprise, but it wasn’t a bad thing.”

“I…” Krystal’s gaze was focused on her coffee. “There’s a reason why I contacted you.” She started playing with a sugar packet and Moonbyul realized in that moment that Krystal was nervous too. Her usual cold demeanor helped her hide her nerves, but the signs were there if you paid enough attention.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to see you at the party. I remember how they treated you at school.” Krystal looked up. “I don’t think I’d have gone if I was in your shoes. But then, I understood why you did.”

Moonbyul raised an eyebrow, curious about her words.

“I’ve seen you being bullied for years, just because you were honest about who you are. You never tried to hide it, even if it