You sigh contently as you inhale a whiff of your coffee. It's all black with only one packet of sugar, just the way you like it. You've been drinking coffee this way practically your whole life, and you're not planning on changing it anytime soon.

“Hey, wanna go check out the new coffee place after your classes?”

You look up to see your best friend, Sehun, leaning casually against your table. You grunt in approval, not really thinking much about it.

“Yah, why are you so grumpy?” he asks teasingly. “Haven't you had your morning coffee yet?”

You wave the cup of coffee in your hands. “I'm a grumpy person in general, okay.”

It's not entirely true that you're grumpy, it's just that you aren't fond of smiling 24/7 and treating strangers with an air of freshness. You're actually quite friendly and joke around with your close friends a lot, but it's still somewhat limited. All in all, it's just your personality.

People still think you're grumpy though. Always with a neutral expression, drinking practically black coffee and only mingling with a few people. You're proud to say that some people might even be afraid of you.

Sehun gives one last smile before going back to his seat on the other side of your class. Your deskmate soon arrives and plops herself in the seat next to yours. She is kind of like the opposite version of you; always smiling and radiating sunshine.

“Hi Hyejin!” she greets, eyes curving into moon-shapes. It's hard to be grumpy to someone who's always happy.

“Hi Seungwan.” you offer her a short smile.

“I could smell your coffee all the way from the door,” she chides. “You should really change it up once in a while.”

“No coffee tastes better than this.”

“Aha!” she exclaims, as if an idea has occurred to her. “There's a new coffee shop that opened nearby! Maybe you can try something new there. Plus, the barista is really handsome.”

You grunt, having little interest in changing your coffee. It's worked for the past four years, and it should work for the rest of your life.

“Don't you have a boyfriend?” you ask, not conscendingly.

“What's wrong about appreciating someone's beauty?” she laughs. “It's not like I said he was better looking than Jongdae. Jongdae's the best.”

You roll your eyes playfully and let a small smile rest on your face. The both of them were truly a match made in heaven; both of them were funny, friendly and had a knack for singing.

“I'm still serious about the new place and the barista,” she continues. “He looks like an actor. I bet you'd fall for him. Even you can't withstand his looks!”

A bet? You perk up at the mention of earning some easy cash.

“You're setting yourself up, Seungwan,” you tell her. “But if you insist, I'll take you up on that bet. I'm not the type to fall so easily.”

“Oh, my dear Hyejin,” she says, just as confidently. “Don't you know I'm the master of matchmakers? Guess who got 40% of the couples in our class together?”

At that, you frown. It certainly is true that Seungwan matched a number of students together, but your pride stops you from backing down.

“Well, there's a first time for everything, right?” you say. “I, Song Hyejin, will prove you wrong. I'll just get my coffee with no extra lovey dovey feelings.”

Her lips curl into a smile. “Perfect.”

-

You arrive at the front of the coffee shop with Sehun in tow. It's a nice, sleek place with a modern touch to it. Walls are painted with metallic colours and the smell of coffee isn't too strong either.

“You're still gonna get a coffee?” Sehun asks as you two walk in. “You had one this morning already.”

You shrug. “Then I'll just get a donut or something. I can always come back tomorrow.”

Your eyes scan the room for the supposedly hot barista, but Sehun spots him before you do.

“Look,” he says, nudging you. “That barista looks like an actor.”

You turn to the direction he's referring to, and you stop short. The word 'hot' is an understatement, to say the least. Standing behind the counter, whipping up some coffee is probably the best-looking man you've laid your eyes on. With his brown hair, sparkling eyes, and broad shoulders, your heart rate speeds up.

Shoot, you think to yourself. Seungwan was right.

Sehun is still oblivious to what's happening to you and he takes your silence as indifference. There are fairly a number of people there, so you have to wait in line before you can order. While doing so, your eyes aren't glued to your phone, but rather the man behind the counter.

He catches your gaze in the midst of tending to a customer and something flickers in you. The corners of his lips twitch upwards a little before he returns his gaze to the customer, as if it never happened. You let out a big breath you didn't even know you were holding, and mentally chide yourself for letting him get to you.

Soon enough, after a few minutes of mindlessly scrolling through your phone, it's your turn to order.

He offers a small smile when you and Sehun step forward. “Oh, are you two together?”

You shake your head vehemently, desperate to let him know that you're happily single. Sehun shoots you a dirty look, probably offended that you didn't like him to that extent. “He meant if we were ordering together, pabo-yah.”

Your cheeks start to heat up in embarrasment but you cover it up with a scoff. “Whatever.”

The guy at the counter is still smiling pleasantly, if not a little amused at the two of you. He looks at the both of you expectantly, waiting for your orders.

“I think I'll get an Americano.” Sehun says, and glances towards you.

“A slice of Red Velvet cake.” you mutter.

“Okay, uh, what's your name?”

You look up, surprised at the sudden question. That surprise turns into shielded embarassment as Sehun answers for his name to be written on his cup.

With a plate of cake in your hands, you and Sehun head to one of the tables in the cafe. It's strangely quiet while waiting for his drink. He hums a little to himself and you poke at your cake awkwardly. You steal a few glances at the barista, and admire his side profile.

“Why do you keep staring at him?” Sehun asks, sounding a bit bored.

“I'm not,” you respond, flickering your eyes to him. “I'm checking if your drink is ready yet.”

Just then, the bell dings and a worker calls out Sehun's name. You watch him leave to get his coffee, but something makes you stop short. The hot barista says something to Sehun, to which he responds to with a frown. They exchange a few words as the barista removes his apron. It's probably the end of his shift.

You avert your gaze back to your cake out of instinct as Sehun ends the conversation and walks back. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice that he has a weird look on his face, as if he's trying to hide a smile.

“What took you so long?” you ask casually. “I saw you talking over there.”

He shrugs non-commitedly. “Junmyeon hyung just talked to me a bit.”

“Junmyeon? Hyung?”

“Yeah, that guy who served us just now. He's nice.”

“You know him?!”

“Why are you sounding so agitated?” he asks before taking a long sip of his coffee.