Chapter 3 / Coffee

Chorong's POV

I told myself I would ask the guy if he's a singer or if he's training to be one once he comes out, but I just followed him with my eyes and he didn't shoot me any glances, not even a quick one.

Maybe next time.
Maybe he'll come back.

I closed the shop immediately because I felt exhausted for the day.

I walked home, to my small apartment where mom, dad and I used to liveㅡnow it's just me, she lives in the hospital, and I have no idea where dad is.

Six months ago was the breakdown of my life. We all have that point in our lives when we thought we couldn't survive anymore but we do anywayㅡbecause I realized that's how life makes you feel, like it's always the end but it's not. Somehow, we survive and we find doors we didn't know about before, then we enter them without knowing what's waiting on the other side. It's a risk. Life is always about taking risks even when you don't want to.

I the lights and changed my clothes into comfortable ones, then I boiled water and prepared ramen for my dinner.

Sometimes, I eat with Namjoo and Eunji. Most of the time, I'm alone and I try hard not to cry because I'm tired of crying. But when I'm having a bad day and I know there's no one to make me feel better, I just can't help crying during most of my dinners. If my friends weren't busy, maybe it would be better. If mom was here, maybe it would be much better. If Jinyoung was here, maybe it would all seem alright.

See, Jinyoung was my boyfriend. The first guy in my life. We were together for two years and five months, and then one day, we weren't anymore. I don't want to think about the reason because it frustrates me, because even until the endㅡhe was the nice, sweet guy that I fell in love with. And trust me, that is worse because I still long for him, because I can't hate him even though six months have gone.

The day he ended things between us was the day I got called to the hospital. The day my mom got into an accident for chasing my father who left us for his another surprise family. I didn't know about it until I got to the hospital crying and the doctors told me mom is in a critical condition, I called my dad and he told me he's sorry. I asked him why. He told me the painful truth.

I hated the world. I hated life.
Because right from that moment, I was all alone by myselfㅡand I've never been so alone before.

If anything, these things made me strong and somehow, independent but being strong doesn't mean you won't ever cry anymore. Appearing strong in front of others is easier than sticking to it when you're all alone and you can scream, you can whine, you can cry and throw things around. I always choose to cry quietly until I'm all cried out for the day.

And when the morning sun comes, I hope for better things. I hope that my mom would finally wake up. I hope that my heart will finally be at peace. I hope that I finally succeed.

#

The next day, I cleaned up karaoke rooms before I open up the shop and right in the room where I assigned the guy from yesterdayㅡI found a couple of canned beers, and a ring.

A ring.

I sighed and inspected it. "Is he married already? It didn't seem like it though."

I kept the ring in my pocket with a small grin. Finally, I have a reason to contact him!

But when I came out of the room, my eyes caught a glance of a guy, tapping the glass door of the shop.

The guy from yesterday.

"Open up, please!" He said.

I walked towards the door and opened it for him. He was panting and his facial expression seemed like he was in pain.

He swallowed. "I was here yesterday."

"You were."

He straightened up. "Great. You remember me. Perhaps, did any customers used the room I did yesterday?"

I noticed he was sweatingㅡin this cold, spring weather in the morning.

"Nope, but are you alright? You look pale."

He ran his hands through his face. Hangover? Headache? I wanted to ask but I kept my mouth shut until he replied. "Yeah, it's nothing. Listen, can I look into that room? I just forgot something from yesterdayㅡ"

"First, you need to calm down." I told him because he was talking so fast.

"You don't understandㅡit is important to me."

I bit my lip inside. Should I give him the ring already?

My mind decided quickly.

"What are you trying to look for?" I asked.

"A ring." He answered quickly.

I nodded. "A wedding ring?"

"No!ㅡan... engagement one. It's silver and there are letters engraved on them. Wait, you're gonna help me find it?" He asked.

I'm so sorry, stranger.

I opened the door to his room yesterday and lead the way. "Yeah. It would be faster to find something that small."

He took a deep breath. "Okay, thank you."

I bent down to look under the couch. "What's my reward if I find it?" I asked.

"What?" He asked, taken aback.

I smirked secretly. "Reward."

"I don't know. What do you want?"

"Coffee?" I lifted my head up to look at him. He was staring at me like he couldn't believe it.

"No," He replied later. "I can't."

I grinned and went to look at the corner of the couch. "Don't worry. I'm not hitting on you. Jeez, relax."

"NoㅡI'm justㅡI don't like coffee."

I turned to him sharply. "Seriously?"

He shrugged.

"Well," I said, unwilling to give up. "They serve other drinks in a coffeeshop."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. What do you need this for?"

"I just wanna talk to you about something."

"And that is?"

"Music."

He became silent as he scanned the other side of the room. "I'm not into music." He said quietly.

"Why do I get this feeling that you're lying?"

"You don't even know me."

"Well, that's easy. I'm Park Chorong. What's your name?"

Still, he didn't seem interested but he replied anyways, "Lee Changsub."

I smiled. "So, Changsub-ssi, if I find your precious ring, are you gonna grab a coffee with me or not?"

I heard him groan under his breath. "Fine." He muttered.

My smile widened. "What?"

"I said fine. Okay. I will."

"Good. Here's your ring!"

"What theㅡwhere did you find it?"

"Under the couch."

"Really?"

"Why, you think I'm lying?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

He took the ring from my palm. Too relieved to argue. "Thank you."

I clasped my hands together behind me. "So, coffee with me this afternoon?"

He doesn't even look at me. He's checking on the ring so dearly. "I don't know. I'll see."

"You'll see." I said and left the room.

"I'll be going now. Thank you, Chorong-ssi."

"No problem. Be careful next time."

#

I stared at my watch impatiently as I waited for my first applicant to come for the interview. It's almost four and the appointment was at three-forty.

Just when I was about to call the applicant, a girl came panting inside the shop. "Gosh, I'm gonna die." She muttered to herself.

"Is everything alright?" I asked her.

She looked at me after taking a deep breath. "Oh yeah, do you know when the boss is coming? I'm actually applying for the job. Whoa, this place is pretty cool. Haven't been here before. How long have you been working here?" Her eyes travelled the whole place.

When I didn't reply, she looked at me again. "Oopsㅡsorry, for asking so many questions. I forgot I should stop doing that to people." She said with a silly, awkward laugh.

"It's alright. To answer your questions, first, I'm the owner of the shop. Second, thank you. Me and my friends designed the place. And third, I've been working here for like forever."

Her jaw dropped. And then quickly, her facial expression turned to a formal one. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry, miss. I didn't think you'd be the owner because you are so pretty..."

I smiled. "Do you mean that? Or you're just sugarcoating it?"

She waved her hands quickly. "No, no, noㅡyou're really pretty." She laughed with the hehe sound. "Ah, let me introduce myself properly! Hello! I'm Bomi, I promise I'll work hard!"

"Are you sure you want this job? The salary isn't that big, I really just need help to take over when I have to go somewhere else."

She smiled. "How much is the pay?"

"Fifty-thousand-seven-hundred-ninety won per day."

She gasped and covered . "That isn't big to you?" And then she recovered, "I'm sorryㅡbut yeah, that is fine with me. Thank you so much."

"Can you start working now? I have an appointment. I don't know what time I'll be back."

"Oh," She nodded. "Of course! I can. I have nothing else to do today."

"Great. So, all you have to do is make the customers fill this form..." I explained to her the rules in a quick way and she nodded, by the time I finished, I askedㅡ"You get it? Just call me if you have questions."

"Yes! I got this, don't worry!"

"Alright, I'm leaving now. Thank you, Bomi-ssi!"

"Good luck on your appointment!"

I smiled. "Thanks."

I wondered if I really need luck.

#

Changsub's POV

Unknown number:
hi, changsub-ssi! it's park chorong. i know you remember me~ meet me at the Moonlight coffeeshop at 4.

I reread the text again to make sure I didn't get the time wrong. It's four-fourteen. She's supposed to be here now.

I ran my hands through my face. My head aches a little from last night's drink with Minhyuk and Eunkwang.
I'm just going to get over this quickly. Coffee would be good for me, I guess. I haven't had one for so long because I couldn't manage to sleep at nights.

I decided I would order when Park Chorong arrivesㅡwhich is taking forever.

And then I heard the windchimes and she walked in, looking really prettyㅡdifferent from yesterday. She's wearing a casual brown dress with a white coat on top today. Her hair is curled at the ends, the left side tucked in her ear. Really different from her long ripped shorts, oversized sweater and baseball cap yesterday. And when she smiled at me, for a moment, I forgot about my hangover and the minutes I spent waiting for her.

I shook my head slightly and rubbed my eyelids. Wake up, Lee Changsub.

"Sorry, I'm late! I had to interview an applicant." She immediately said and then she took a seat by herself.

"Do you usually interview applicants looking like that?" I couldn't help but ask because her beauty is distracting me in a very, very strange way.

She raised an eyebrow. And I cursed mentally. She shouldn't do that. "Nope," she answered. "I have to meet someone after this."

A boyfriend. A date. I thought.

I ran my hands on the rough texture of my jeans and said, "Well, then. Let's order."

I'm wearing my gray hoodie, which might not have been washed for so longㅡand a pair of jeans that's about in the same condition. I tried to ignore the fact that I looked more like a mess with her.

We got up on our feet at the same time and without a word, we made it to the counter to order. I would have just ordered for her if she let me. I still have the gentleman of me somewhere inside. At least, that didn't leave.

"Iced Americano."

"Iced Latte."

Our words stumbled upon each other and the staff smiled at us, a meaningful one and I wondered what she meant by that.

"I'll get a cheesecake, too." Chorong added.

"How about you, sir?" The staff asked.

"Just iced Americano, please."

When she told us the total, Chorong and I argued who's going to pay.

"Jeez, let's pay for our own then!" She said in the end.

I could almost read what she's thinkingㅡthat this is not even a date.

I frowned, waiting for our orders. Once we got them, we walked back to our tableㅡbut not before I saw someone familiar. A jolt shot through my heart and then it began beating so loud and I was biting my straw real hard.

"Is everything alright?" Chorong asked, noticing I've stopped moving. I am frozen, yet the whole world around me isn'tㅡand still, I couldn't move a muscle.

"Iㅡ" I managed to say as she followed my eyes, where they were looking.

"Oh!" She said brightly. "Is that your fiancé? Are you worried she might think wrongly of us? Should I explain to herㅡ"

As she was about to go and do something that would mess things up, I grabbed her hand. I didn't mean to hold it tight but at that moment, I don't seem to have a control of my own body. "No," I muttered under my breath. "Stay."

A flash of comprehension about the situation passed by her face and we both stayed still for a moment as if Naeun won't see us if we don't move.

Which didn't work.

When our eyes met and recognition flooded her face, her smile faded away. She's still as beautiful as the last time I saw her and it hurts my heart as her hand slid off the shoulder of the man beside her.

I wanted to run to her with confrontation. I wanted to beat the hell up of the guy beside her for taking her away from meㅡbut I realized she won't have been taken away if she wanted to stay with me. My longing and sadness turned to anger, but I still couldn't move an inch and since we're looking eye-to-eye right now, she made the move to approach me. I wish she hadn't. I am restraining all my roots and muscles to keep myself from going out of my mind. I don't know what I'd do.

It felt like my soul has left my body, and then I felt a squeeze on my arm. Chorong looked at me and smiled. Not the kind of smile she gave me earlier. This smile isn't bright and lovely, it's with sympathy and reassurance.

"Changsub oppa," Naeun called. There's an uneasy smile on her face. "I heard you came back from the army. It's nice to see you again." She said. She's lying. She heard about me and yet she couldn't spend a second to ask how I'm doing after everything, everything she heard about me.

When I didn't speak, she turned to the man beside her. "This is Jung Il Hoonㅡmy fiancé." She said and I thought, no, no, I am your fiancé. "Ilhoon-ah, this is Changsub oppa, my old friend."

I clenched my fist. Lord, forgive me if she stayed longer, I wouldn't be able to contain myself.

Ilhoon smiled. I wanted to strip that smile off his face. I should be the happy one, not him.

"Hi, I'm Park Chorong. Changsub's girlfriend. I'm sorry, he's not feeling well." Chorong said beside me.

And suddenly, I'm fully awake.