Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the tree above Jihoon, with one beam of light settling directly on top of one of his eyelids. If it weren’t for that one annoying spot, he would have still been happily asleep laying on the fresh spring grass, head pillowed on his boyfriend’s chest. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, hoping that the light would go away. He decided it was probably a good time to get up, but then he stopped in his tracks when he felt a hand combing through his hair. A warm hand that Jihoon couldn’t ever mistake for anyone else’s.

 

Maybe…I’ll just stay like this a little bit longer.

 

The hand eventually stopped running through Jihoon’s hair. Instead, two arms took Jihoon in a delicate embrace.

 

“I’ll always love you,” Seungcheol whispered gently into his ear.

 

At those words, Jihoon felt his heart start to race. They were words that he hadn’t heard from his boyfriend’s lips yet, but had yearned for. They were words he himself had never said aloud, but thought a million times a day.

 

“Can you…say that again?”

 

“Huh? Hoon, Y-you were awake?” Seungcheol asked in a mildly panicked tone.

 

“Yeah.” Jihoon finally sat himself upright. “I didn’t quite catch what you said. Do you think you could repeat it for me?” His lips curved into a small smile and his eyes twinkled.

 

Seungcheol mirrored Jihoon’s expression and leaned forward, pressing his lips against the boy’s.

 

“I’ll always…”

 

Love you.

 

Jihoon felt wetness forming underneath his eyelids. Instinctively, he rubbed his eyes before opening them. Once again, he found himself on his bed in his room, not outside sprawled out on the grass under the spring sun.

 

What. The. .

 

Of course it was another dream about him. For the second night in a row. This time, it was a dream of a memory that he cherished in the past. Jihoon bit his lip hard and swallowed at the now bitter memory.

 

You ing liar. ‘Always’ my . You piece of …

 

Jihoon wasn’t usually a very outwardly emotional person. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe it was the overload of stress from work. Maybe it was the fact that he had just woken up. For whatever reason -- or mix of reasons -- at that moment, he found it impossible to stop tears from streaming down the sides of his face.

 

.

 

Tears were soon accompanied by soft sobs. Jihoon grabbed a fistful of blanket and brought it over his mouth to muffle his sorrowful sobbing. Not long after, he gave up trying to resist and let his emotions consume him. He enveloped himself in the agony that he had pent up for years, the bitterness of breakup returning to him as if it had only happened yesterday. The episode passed over in a few minutes, and the feelings of sadness fleeted him as suddenly as they came. Jihoon was left with tear-soaked sheets. He looked over at his alarm clock and was displeased to find that it was almost 5 am.

 

What am I even doing?

                                                                  

Any hints of drowsiness were long gone. Jihoon decided it was time to get up when he failed to fall back asleep after fifteen minutes of staring at the ceiling. Having no food at home and nothing better to do, he decided to get ready and head off toward the direction of work.

And so he found himself once again standing outside of the same café as yesterday. Of course, he hadn’t thought of checking whether the café opened at 5:30 am in the morning, so he stood in front of the door, staring at the opening times list. He laughed at himself for how ridiculous he might have looked in the situation. The café opened at 6am, half an hour from now. He decided since he had nothing better to do, he would just clock in early and not stay as long overtime. He turned toward the direction of his office building and took a step before he paused at hearing his name being called out.

 

“Lee Jihoon-ssi?” a familiar voice chimed.

 

Jihoon turned toward the voice to find the student worker from yesterday walking toward him.

 

“Lee Seokmin?”

 

“It is you! What are you doing here so early? We don’t open our doors until 6.” Seokmin directed his attention to the lock on the café doors and shoved a key in.

 

Jihoon grimaced as he remembered his dream and the reason he was up so early.

 

“I couldn’t go back to sleep.”

 

Seokmin finished unlocking the door and leaned toward Jihoon. He pouted as he examined the other’s condition.

 

“That’s too bad. It looks like you need the rest.” He opened the door and held it open. “We don’t actually open for another half hour, but why don’t you come inside and rest? I’ll make you some coffee if you’d like, too.”

 

Jihoon responded with a light chuckle. “Just my luck.”

 

The two of them walked in, and Seokmin relocked the door. Jihoon sat at the nearest booth and set his briefcase down. He let himself slump in his seat until his head rested on top of the seat cushion behind him and then closed his eyes. A few minutes later he could hear Seokmin rummaging through the kitchen. The savory aroma of freshly brewing coffee wafted through the air. Jihoon breathed in deeply, and he felt himself being energized by the aroma alone.

 

“One latte on the house.”

 

Two porcelain mugs were set on the table in front of Jihoon. A white foam heart floated on the surface of each mug. Jihoon opened his eyes and sat up straight, wrapping his hands around one of the mugs. He smiled at the lopsided heart in his mug. Seokmin seated himself opposite to Jihoon and took the other mug into his hands.

 

“Are you new here?” Jihoon asks out of curiosity. For visiting this café almost every weekday for the past year, this was only the second time he had ever seen Seokmin. He had been a regular for so long that he had memorized all of the worker’s faces and had seen employees come and go.

 

“Hmm, I wouldn’t say I’m that super new. I’ve been working here for about a month? Ever since I graduated high school.”

 

“I’ve never seen you around. Do you only work morning shifts, then?”

 

“Yeah, it’s more convenient for me to take morning shifts.”

 

Jihoon took a sip of his drink and pursed his lips in response. Regardless of how often he drank coffee, he still couldn’t get used to the bitterness. Seokmin took notice of the change in his expression.

 

“Is it not good? Should I make another cup?”

 

Jihoon shook his head. “No, no, it tastes like it should. I've just never gotten used to the taste of coffee, that’s all.” He took another sip, being extra careful not to show any signs of dissatisfaction. He even tossed in a smile in desperation. Seeing Seokmin shoot him a doubtful look, he returned to the original topic.

 

“How often do you work here?”

 

“About every weekday. I want to earn as much as I can before my college semester starts.”

 

Jihoon glanced over his shoulder to the counter and noticed that the tip jar from yesterday was gone. Seokmin followed his line of sight.

 

“The tip jar? I’ll bring it out eventually. I can’t have a certain someone giving out too much,” Seokmin said as one corner of his lips rose into a playful smile.

 

Jihoon teased back with a smirk. “Oh, is that a threat I hear, student Lee Seokmin?”

 

“It’s all up to your interpretation, Jihoon-ssi,” Seokmin retaliated, grinning.

 

Just as he did the day before, Jihoon could feel his mood elevating from just seeing the boy smile. He felt as if Seokmin emanated rays of happiness through his smile, and he enjoyed seeing the smile directed at him. A warmth spread through his chest, not unlike the feeling from drinking his warm coffee. For a moment, he wondered how someone’s smile alone could make him feel this light.

 

Jihoon figured that he must have wondered for a little more than just a moment when he saw Seokmin’s questioning eyes.

 

“Oh, anyways, what were you thinking of studying in college?”

 

“College? Hmm, I think I want to help others in some way. I’m looking into music therapy or counseling.”

 

“Music therapy? What’s that?”

 

“For what I would consider doing, I would use singing as a medium for vocal or speech therapy. It’s sort of hard to explain…”

 

“No, that’s fine. I think that’s a really interesting career path. Does that mean you sing?”

 

Jihoon thought he could see Seokmin’s cheeks flush. Seokmin stared at his mug, unable to look up at the other.

 

“I like singing. I just have a hard time singing in front of other people. That’s why I don’t know if pursuing music therapy will be a good idea.”

 

“I’d like to hear you sing one day.”

 

“…M-maybe one day.”

 

Seokmin took this time to check the wall clock. He rose from his seat and took the store key out of his front pocket.

 

“Looks like it’s time for me to open the shop.”

 

“It’s 6 already?”

 

Seokmin unlocked the door and twirled the key in his hands before putting it back in his pocket.

 

“Time sure flies when you’re getting to know someone, don’t you think?”

 

“No kidding.”

 

Seokmin left to prepare in the back, leaving Jihoon alone at the front of the store. Despite just having a shot of espresso, Jihoon felt his tiredness from lack of sleep creep up on him. He cradled his briefcase to his chest and lay flat on the booth, then changed his mind and put the briefcase under his head.

 

I have almost an hour until my shift starts, anyways.

 

Jihoon knocked out after his last thought.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Lee Jihoon-ssi. Lee Jihoon-ssi?”

 

Jihoon reluctantly opened one eye, but he shot up once he found himself in an unfamiliar setting. After processing his thoughts for a few seconds, he realized he fell asleep at the café.

 

“Jihoon-ssi, I’m sorry…I didn’t know when would be a good time to wake you up. You looked so peaceful just sleeping there, so I wanted to let you rest a bit more, but the shop got really busy all of the sudden. I know you left earlier than this time yesterday. I hope you’re not late or anything but right now it’s-”

 

Oh .

 

Jihoon whipped his head toward the wall clock, which read 7:04am.

 

.

 

He grabbed his briefcase and suit jacket and bolted out, grimacing at the lack of manners he had toward Seokmin. But he had no choice. Being late was not an option, especially for the last day before the end of the quarter where everyone had to work in high gear. He pushed his legs as fast as they could go, shouting apologies to the people he brushed passed.

 

By the time he reached his floor, it was 7:13am, and he was most definitely, without a doubt, late. His team manager spared him an irritated glance and then returned his attention to the mess of papers on his desk. Soonyoung also exchanged glances with Jihoon, one that conveyed exhaustion. Jihoon took no note of it and started immediately on his work. With the amount of work still left over, overtime was definitely a requirement.

 

None of Jihoon’s team members left for lunch. A few brought packed lunches, while others took breaks to go to the nearest vending machine, carrying files with them to utilize as much time as possible to finishing their work. Once he realized he was rereading the same line over and over again for the past  few minutes, Jihoon felt the need for a small coffee break. He took some of his files and headed toward the coffee break room.

 

Jihoon emptied a packet of instant coffee into a paper cup and filled the cup halfway with warm water. While he had his back toward the door, he heard someone come in.

 

“What happened this morning? You’re never late.”

 

Jihoon turned back around and found Soonyoung leaning against the wall near the entrance of the room looking over a packet of papers. He let out a tired sigh.

 

“I...overslept.”

 

Soonyoung stopped flipping through the pages and looked up.

 

“You? Oversleep? That’s a first.”

 

“Yeah. It just sort of happened.”

 

Soonyoung straightened up and approached the other.

 

“If you’re wondering why the team manager hasn’t said anything yet, it’s because I told him that you had an emergency and needed to drop off your new puppy at the vet’s office. You know how he has a soft spot for dogs and all.”

 

“You’re a lifesaver. I don’t know even want to know what I would have had to suffer if I came late without any excuse.”

 

“But you know,” Soonyoung said as he leaned against the counter, “that does mean that you owe me.”

 

“Anything. Whatever you want me to do.”

 

“… Anything ?”

 

“Mostly anything. Nothing weird. And no, I’m not going on a blind date with your friend because she wants to meet me.”

 

Soonyoung patted Jihoon’s shoulders and smiled.

 

“Nothing too big. Just buy me a few shots when we go out for drinks.” He eyed the cup in Jihoon’s hands. “And give me that. I’m exhausted as hell.”

 

Jihoon returned the smile and offered the other his cup, being well aware that he got a hell of a good trade. “Deal.”

 

Soonyoung accepted the coffee and, upon looking at the wall clock, hustled back toward his desk. Jihoon followed in looking at the time and rushed to prepare another cup of instant coffee.

 

One more day. Just one more day.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“It was a close cutoff but we made it just in time. Thank you all for your hard work this week. I’ll see you all next Monday.”

 

The team manager spoke with a weary voice that reflected the team members’ tiredness. The rest of the team bowed, being too drained to cheer, and gathered their belongings to return home. Jihoon let his head rest on his desk and closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep in his spot.

 

“Jihoon, come on. Let’s go.”

 

Soonyoung called out to Jihoon in a seemingly lively manner, which took Jihoon by surprise. When he lifted his head to look toward Soonyoung, however, he saw that his coworker’s eyes were closed and his head was drooping down.

 

“What are you trying to accomplish, sounding so energetic?”

 

“Nothing. I’m just happy it’s finally over,” Soonyoung replied, his voice a little flatter than before and reflecting a little more of his exhaustion. “And we finally get to go drinking.”

 

“...tonight?” Jihoon asked skeptically.

 

“There’s no point going tonight. I’m too tired to enjoy it. I say tomorrow night.” Soonyoung rolled his neck and shook his shoulders to wake himself up.

 

“Deal.”

 

“I’ll text you the time and place tomorrow. But let’s leave now. Looks like we’re the only ones left on this floor.”

 

Jihoon scanned the office to find that they were indeed the only ones left. A few lights barely illuminated the floor. He gathered his belongings and proceeded to exit the building with Soonyoung. Once they reached the subway station, the two went their separate paths. Jihoon reached his stop and walked toward his apartment, dragging his feet in fatigue. He yawned, taking in a nice satisfying breath of the crisp air, tears forming at the corner of his eyes from yawning too hard. His vision blurred. In that moment when his sense of sight was hindered, he heard squealing coming from a small group of girls from the other side of the street. He watched the blur of what he supposed was a man walk out of the convenience store across the street. The girls huddled toward the figure, giggling profusely. Jihoon listened as the giggling faded in the distance along with the figures, but his eyes stayed locked on the neon open sign of the convenience store. He thought about his empty refrigerator and cabinets.

 

I should probably buy some food for tomorrow.

 

His entire body yearned to feel the warmth and comfort of his bed. He fought the urge to turn toward his apartment and walked into the store. He didn’t want to carry too many heavy bags so he opted to buy a few light things. He left the store with a single plastic bag carrying a container of microwave ready rice, a small jar of kimchi, and a half dozen eggs to prepare a decent breakfast. Jihoon trudged back to his apartment with his eyes fluttering closed. He had lived there long enough to know how many steps it would take to arrive at his door, so walking in with his eyes closed was no issue. He stuffed the bag of groceries into his refrigerator and plopped onto his bed, letting his body sink into the mattress. At this point, he was too tired to change out of his work attire, and so he drifted off to sleep in his trousers and dress shirt.