it starts out as a joke, jihyo is sure of it. a very caucasian looking blonde girl orders a grande iced skinny hazelnut macchiato (sugar-free syrup, extra shot, light ice, no whip) under the name of "robin".

 moments later, after convincing a very stubborn robin that there is no such thing as sugar-free syrup and finally giving the order over to chaeyoung, a pretty dark haired girl quietly orders her tall americano under the name of "batman".

 jihyo chuckles as she scribbles out the obviously fake name onto the cup, and mindlessly adds a happy face next to it.

 she tells nayeon (and the girl under her on the couch that she didn't notice when she first opened the door) when she gets home that night. after that, she just adds it to the various anecdotes being a starbucks barista for two years has given her.

 days go by.

 she forgets.

 she certainly doesn't expect it to happen again.

 but it does.

//

 she's taking a guy's order. he doesn't stop looking at his phone while he asks for a venti latte and carelessly tells her to "just write down watson, i don't have time to tell you how to spell my first name".

 she's rolling her eyes and impatiently passing the cup onto chaeyoung when she sees her. she could've sworn she saw the girl glaring at her previous customer, but her expression changes so fast (her lips softly curving upwards and her eyes smiling) she thinks she might have just imagined it.

 "what can i do for you today?" she asks, smiling back at her.

 "a tall americano, please."

 her voice is just as quiet and calm as she remembers. jihyo uses it as an excuse to get closer to her.

 "batman, if i remember correctly?" she teases, black sharpie hovering over the paper cup and a smirk on her lips.

 "actually," the girl says, glancing at the so called watson who's still on his phone as he waits for his drink. "today it's sherlock. but just write down holmes. my impatient sidekick seems to think you can't spell."

 jihyo laughs and writes it down on the cup, along with another happy face.

 she's not as eager to pass this one onto chaeyoung.

//

 after that, it becomes a regular thing.

 every other day, the mysterious girl comes in and orders her tall americano under various different fake names ingeniously made up after the other customers. and every other day, jihyo laughs at the fake names and writes them down on a hot paper cup alongside a happy face that seamlessly turns into a heart after the tenth time it happens.

 every other day, jihyo's heart beats a bit faster when she sees her walk in through the door, eye smile and quiet demeanor as if she's trying not to bring attention to herself. jihyo wonders if that works. she finds it hard to believe that anyone could just look past such elegant beauty without a second glance. after a few conversations over an "on the house" muffin on her breaks or at dead hours in the café, she finds it even harder to believe that anyone that does take the time would ever let her go.

 and every other day, jihyo's heart aches a bit longer when she sees her leave. because there's only so many days, and there's only so many names, before she starts wanting to know the real one.

 so her gaze starts lingering and her hand starts hovering just a little longer before writing the names down, her smile and fingers shaking slightly after every cute shaped heart she makes before grudgingly moving onto the next customer.

//

 chaeyoung says she should just write her number on the cup. says the girl likes her back because she keeps coming even if the drinks are ridiculously overpriced, because she's still coming up with new names just to make her laugh, because she hasn't seen her smile like that the few times jihyo wasn't there to take her order. she's convinced the girl stays at the café not only for the free muffins but because she also wants to talk to her.

 jihyo thinks that's probably not true, but she still hesitates every time the girl says a new name, biting down on her lip until the black sharpie inevitably touches the paper cup.

//

 "what name should i write down, sir?" jihyo rushedly asks the middle aged man in front of her. she's sure the girl is right behind him, even if she can't see her because of his gigantic body. she saw her come in a few minutes ago, at nine am sharp as she always does on tuesday mornings.

 "just tom, thank you."

 "okay," she scribbles his name hurriedly and gives it to chaeyoung. "step that way, please, your drink will be out shortly."

 jihyo doesn't even look at him while he's moving away, her eyes waiting eagerly to finally meet the girl's again. her chest feels lighter when she does.

 "hi, tony stark," jihyo greets her with a smile and the last nickname she used. "what can i do for you?"

 "a tall americano, please."

 "and what name should i write down today?"

 "just jerry, i suppose," the girl replies.

 "hmm," jihyo stalls. she really doesn't want to write it down yet. "not your best one."

 she discreetly looks behind the girl to check if there are any other customers, the smile on her face shining brighter and her eyes turning back to her once she realizes there's no one left. maybe today they'll finally be able to talk for longer than the span of three minutes it takes to take an order again.

 (yes, three minutes is the longest you can stall unless the customer is the one talking a lot. she's timed it.)

 "not that i will ever be able to top batman and robin," the girl's soft voice brings her back to their unfinished banter.

 "i don't know about that." jihyo gulps. she decides to go for it. "how about you give me the real one this time?"

 "and why would i do that?" the girl smirks, and jihyo furrows her brow.

 "because i want to know what to call you."

 the girl blushes. jihyo's heart beats a bit faster. maybe today was the day.

 "it would ruin our streak. today, you can call me jerry."

 jihyo scoffs. or maybe not.

 it doesn't hurt to try.

 "what if i told you mine in return?"

 "but i already know yours," the girl counters. jihyo looks at her confused. "you have a name tag, you know."

 jihyo stays quiet for a second, looking down at her tag. she recomposes the best she can.

 "well that's not the point either way," she tries. she doesn't really know where she's going with this, but she just knows she's had enough, and she knows she doesn't want to go another day without knowing this girl's name.

 "oh, really?" the girl questions. jihyo nods. her hand starts snaking its way to the girl's. "then what's the point?"

 "if i tell you my name, you have to tell me yours," jihyo improvises, her hand moving slowly. they're inches apart. "that way we won't lose our streak. because our names go together."

 the girl's cheeks turn bright red, and her eyes wander through jihyo's face as if looking for a sign that this is a joke. jihyo tries to look as serious as possible. she really doesn't want to miss her chance. the girl seems like she's about to say something, and their hands are almost touching, when she suddenly looks up at the clock.

 "oh, crap, i'm late for my test." she pushes herself away from the countertop and only then does jihyo realize how close they really were this whole time. "i'm sorry. i'll come tomorrow. goodbye!"

 jihyo has to spend the rest of the day dismissing chaeyoung's teasing. she doesn't mind it that much. she thinks it's a good price to pay in exchange for the girl's name.

//

 but the girl doesn't come the next day. or the day after that. or the day after that.

 nayeon says she's a jerk.

 chaeyoung says she's probably sick.

 nayeon's girlfriend, sana, says she should wait.

 jihyo loses hope after the first week. she's never taken this long.

//

 it's ten thirty am on a wednesday morning. the café has its fair share of people scattered around, each in their own world with their computer and preferred drink. no one's ordering, and probably no one will for a while. jihyo and chaeyoung are on the closest table to the counter, playing a card game chaeyoung learnt about online.

 the ring bells, catching jihyo by surprise. the regulars are all inside already.

 "chaeyoung, can you take that?" she says, rearranging her cards.

 chaeyoung doesn't answer, her eyes focused on the girl that just walked in. jihyo doesn't notice.

 "chaeng, come on, i did the last four customers on my own!"

 "uh, bro," chaeyoung tries to catch her attention, (un)subtly pointing at the girl with a movement of her head.

 "i told you not to call me that."

 "sorry, dude," chaeyoung vaguely apologizes. jihyo scoffs. "i just really think you're gonna wanna take this one."

 jihyo shakes her head as she stands up, but the "unbelievable" that she's about to utter out gets stuck in the middle of , right with her heart, when she turns around and sees who just walked in.

 it's the girl, giving her a hopeful apologetic smile.

 she tries not to let it affect her that much, and makes up her mind in half a second. she decisively walks up to the counter, takes out a paper cup and silently starts making a tall americano. her heart is still racing at the thought that she came back, though she knows that probably doesn't mean anything. her hands are shaking way more than she'd like to admit. god, she hates losing her composure like this. she tries to focus the best she can, but it still takes her longer than it usually would. 

 jihyo makes her way back to the girl with what she honestly thinks is one of the worst americanos she's made in her entire exemplary two year starbucks barista career. she's still standing on the spot she saw her a few minutes ago, though there's no trace of the smile that was there before. she seems very nervous and kind of unsure.

 "tall americano," she says, handing her the cup. the girl doesn't move. jihyo tries again, pushing it into the girl's hands. "it's on the house."

 she tries to turn away and go back to a winking chaeyoung and her deck of cards, but the girl grabs her hand before she lets go of the cup and keeps her right in her place. she tries not to think of how sweaty her hand feels over the paper cup and under the girl's cold one. tries not to think about how this is the first time their hands touch. how it sends a shiver through her spine. she gulps.

 "you didn't ask for my name today," the girl says.

 jihyo pays no mind the happiness hearing that soft voice again made her feel.

 "there's no need. no one else is ordering."

 the noises of the people inside the café remain the same, but jihyo can't hear a thing.

 a beat.

 "tell me your name," the soft voice speaks up again and there's no longer silence.

 "why?" jihyo scoffs. she tries to look away but this girl's eyes and sad puppy face are making it really difficult for her. "you already know it. i have a name tag, and all that."

 two beats.

 "please, tell me your name."

 the girl places her hand on jihyo's shoulder so she can't look away.

 "why do you want me to do that?"

 three beats.

 "because if you say your name, then i'll say my name," is the girl's answer. it's spoken in such a calming manner, jihyo forgets for a second she's just throwing her words back at her. "our names, they go together."

 jihyo stops struggling and finally looks her in the eye. she looks at them and they're shining like they did whenever they talked about something she particularly cared about over the free muffins on jihyo's breaks and the café's dead hours. she looks at them and she knows the girl really believes in what she's saying. and she sure knows she meant it when she said it.

 so she takes a deep breath, holds out her hand, and says:

 "my name is jihyo."

 a smile takes over the girl's face. she lets go of jihyo's shoulder and takes the offered hand, giving it a light squeeze as she says:

 "my name is mina."