Being an English professor is nowhere near easy.

Seulgi squints at one of her student’s papers, shaking her head in disbelief. “Is it really too much to ask for them to spell my name right?” The professor mutters to herself, clicking the end of her ballpoint pen in exasperation. 

It’s moments like this where she questions her career of choice. She circles the word “Seulgi” in bold, red ink at the top left corner of the printed page before making a note to herself to dock off an extra point on the student’s grade. 

“Kids these days, I swear to god,” Seulgi murmurs, running a hand over her tired eyes. She reaches out for the steaming coffee cup settled beside the neat stack of papers her students had handed into her during class yesterday.

The warm liquid revitalizes her somewhat bedridden state, sending caffeine coursing through her veins. Looking around the crowded coffeehouse, Seulgi found she could pick out other professors littered throughout the room. 

Garden Variety Cup is one of the few places she’s deemed safe to venture out to without chancing upon one of her own students. The café is the perfect distance from both Yonsei University and Seulgi’s apartment to give that extra cushion of complete reassurance of isolation. 

It seemed that she wasn’t the only one who had caught onto this observation. Without a shadow of a doubt, Saturday’s were every professor’s grading day. Returning her wandering gaze to her own workload for the morning, Seulgi sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

She didn’t have high hopes for her afternoon, especially not after the first paper hadn’t even spelled her name correctly. The English professor took a deep breath, and dove back into the grueling work of grading. She silently prayed that the next paper would be better. 

However, the college professor would discover later that she would need her back up pen, reserved only for special occasions where her students couldn’t seem to be able to open their own textbooks. On her tenth paper of the day, Seulgi gets up for another cup of coffee. 

Two hours have passed since she first stepped foot in the coffee shop, and she still had a good chunk of papers left to grade before finishing. “Could I get another dirty chai, please?” She asks the barista with a small smile, setting her mug on the gleaming marble countertop. 

She pushes over the exact change only to be waved away by the barista. Seulgi recognizes her almost instantly. “That’s alright, Professor Kang. I’m almost positive you’ll be back for a third,” the barista refuses. She lets out a soft chuckle before handing her money back.

Kim Dahyun was one of the few employees of Garden Variety Cup who worked weekend shifts. It was practically guaranteed that the fair skinned, raven haired beauty would be standing behind the barista counter, beaming and ready to take her order whenever Seulgi arrived. 

The pair had formed somewhat of a friendship through Seulgi’s many visits to the café the course of the past year and a half while she’d been a professor at Yonsei. Practically every employee who worked there knew Seulgi's order like the back of their hand. 

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Seulgi was one of Garden Variety Cup’s most cherished customers. Dahyun’s radiant smile came somewhat as a relief to the downtrodden professor. “Thanks, Dahyun,” Seulgi cracks a sheepish smile, knowing that the younger woman was right. 

“It’s no problem at all Professor Kang,” the college student replied with a wink, flitting off to ready Seulgi’s order. “Last semester I was a TA for my History class, I can feel your pain.” The two share a laugh as Dahyun puts the finishing touches on Seulgi’s order.

“At this rate, I might just be here until closing,” the professor joked, giggling. She swept her change into her coat pocket and gratefully bowed her head as Dahyun passed her another mug filled to the brim with her piping hot drink. “Thanks again, Dahyun.” 

As she made her way back to the elongated oak table she’d stationed herself at, she noticed she had gained tablemate. The professor caught a glimpse of perfectly pressed eggshell blue scrubs, long and flowing black tresses, and a pair of brand new, blinding white running shoes. 

As much as she wanted to take a better look at the other woman, Seulgi f