//i've been spending the last eight months thinking all love ever does is break, burn, and end... but on a wednesday, in a café, i watched it begin again//

~~~~~~

"Chu, the coffee maker's broken."

The older girl remained focused on her phone, completely ignoring her twin. She just downloaded this new game last night and couldn't stop herself from playing.

Everyone knows not to mess with her when she's busy playing because she'd literally fight whoever gets in the way of her and her game.
 

But of course that doesn't mean her sister is afraid of her.
 

Jennie threw a blueberry at her, trying to get her attention. In which she just shrugged off.
 

But that didn't stop the younger girl. She threw another one and another one until finally, her sister responded with a glare.

"What?" she said sharply, evidently pissed from having to pause her game. She was already winning the match.
 

"Our coffee maker's broken."

"And so? Do I look like a mechanic?" she shifted in her seat, preparing to press continue on her game. "Besides, I don't even drink coffee."

Jisoo thought her twin was gonna leave her alone after that. But she was wrong.

Jennie threw another blueberry at her, and this time it hit her nose.
 

"What is your problem?" Jisoo said as she slammed her phone down on the couch, a bit too hard that it felt like the screen cracked.
 

"Buy me coffee."
 

The older twin took a deep breath, trying not to lose her last strand of patience.

"You're the one who wants it. Why should I be the one to buy it?"

"Hmm I don't know," the younger girl said as she poured pancake batter on the pan. "Maybe because I'm always the one who cooks OUR food and this is the least thing you could do to make it up."
 

"I can't believe you're throwing this against me."
 

"I'm not doing anything Chu," then she pulled off her most irresistible gummy smile. "Just stating facts."
 

The older girl glared at her twin, "I hate you."
 

Nevertheless, she stood up, took her keys, and went out to go buy coffee.
 

As she stepped out of the building and was greeted with the cool morning breeze, only then did she realize that she forgot to take a coat along with her.

But she didn't want to go back to get one. She just wants to get the goddamn coffee for her annoying sister and go home to resume her game.
 

It took her only a few minutes of brisk walking before she arrived at the nearest coffee shop, three blocks away from their building.



 

Most people who enter coffee shops get a warm, fuzzy feeling the moment the scent of brewed coffee greets them.

 

But not Jisoo.

She hated the smell of coffee shops and coffee in particular. She'd always complain every time her twin would fill their place with the scent of coffee beans.

It's not like she has always hated coffee. But the memory that comes along with it.
 

A certain person comes to her mind every time the scent enters her nose. And she loathes it.

 

[Flashback]

If it wasn't for her stupid alarm clock that wasn't loud enough to wake her up, then Jisoo wouldn't have to run all the way from their house to her classroom.

She didn't like being late at anything. Like she always says, 'the early bird catches the worm'.

So to say she was agitated was an understatement. If it was even possible, she might've ran faster than Usain Bolt that morning just to avoid having a "tardy" mark on her attendance.

She was already at the 5th floor (her classroom's located in the 6th), almost dropping her lungs and all, when she bumped into someone.

And as if she was not yet having the worst morning of her week, the person she bumped with spilled her coffee on her.

"Oh ," she said as she tried to wipe the stain off her white uniform.

But it was no use. The more she dabbed the tissue on it, the more it spread.
 

And that's not the worst part.
 

The worst part is how the girl who spilled coffee on her looked more annoyed than she was.
 

Jisoo felt like her nostrils flared the moment the girl started walking away, not even bothering to say anything.

"Excuse me? Aren't you forgetting something?"

The girl stopped in her tracks but did not turn around to face her.

"If it's my coffee you're referring to, it's already gone. You knocked it off, remember?"

At this point, she was already trying her best not to throw her shoe at the girl.

"You're not even gonna apologize? I'm the one who has to go to class in this coffee-stained shirt."

The girl finally turned around and took a few steps closer to her.

"Between the two of us, who was the one running despite the rule that says no running in the halls?" she replied with a smirk before she turned around and walked away.

****

Two hours went by and Jisoo still couldn't get the girl out of her mind.

Part of her knows that she wouldn't have been 2 minutes late if she just continued running and let the issue slide. But she still chose to blame it on the coffee girl.
 

"The nerve of that girl. She really didn't say sorry."

After a few more minutes of contemplating, she decided to find the girl and get her apology whatever it takes.
 

She was too busy trying to compose what she's gonna say in her head that she didn't notice the person standing in front of her. So she bumped with her... again.
 

"Seriously, do you even use your eyes when you walk?"

The voice was too familiar not to remember. She immediately looked up and found the same girl smirking at her. But this time she looks a bit nicer.

Jisoo shrugged it off and was determined to out on her. But before she could even open to say anything, the girl held out a white paper bag.
 

"Umm what is that?"

"Just take it." the girl held it out to her even more so she took it.

She opened the bag to find a clean white shirt, the same one she was wearing.

Her jaw dropped at the sight, and the girl couldn't help smiling at her cuteness.

"Sorry for being an earlier. In my defense, I shouldn't be allowed to interact with anyone before I take my daily dose of caffeine." she chuckled. "Well, that's all. I have to go to my class now."

Before everything could even register in Jisoo's head, the girl was already gone.

She took out the shirt from the bag to look at it. But the moment she did, a piece of paper fell out along with it.

She was about to ignore it, thinking it was only the receipt of the shirt, when she notice large handwritten words scribed on it.

She picked it up and read the note,

Pretty girl in the coffee-stained shirt,

 

Phew, that's a long name. I don't know if you'll ever see this note but in case you do, I would like to say sorry once more for the trouble I caused you.

 

P.S Saying "pretty girl in the coffee-stained shirt" is pretty tiring. So I would like to know your real name. What do you say I take you out to that café across the school? My treat.

 

If it wasn't for her cheeks hurting, Jisoo wouldn't have noticed she was smiling so wide.

 

[End of Flashback]

 

She was probably staring at the menu a bit longer than normal that the woman beside was looking at her suspiciously.

 

Jisoo immediately snapped out of it and decided to fall in line and just order a capuccino.

There were only two people in front of her that it didn't take long before she was the one being served.
 

Jisoo has formed a habit of practicing how to say her order repeatedly in her head ever since she can remember. She was afraid that she might say something stupid in case she spaced out. So she memorized the term capuccino and one cup over and over again in her head so she won't get it wrong.

But the moment she was faced with the girl at the counter, she forgot everything she was about to say.

It was the pink-haired lady.
 

Jisoo spent a long time gawking at the woman in front of her, forgetting that she was supposed to say something.
 

When it was taking too long for her to snap out of it, the pink-haired lady spoke.
 

"This is the part where you tell me your order." she said sarcastically.
 

A woman emerged behind her and smacked her head. She looks like the manager of this coffee shop.
 

"What did I say about using sarcasm to talk to customers?"
 

"Not to do it?" the pink-haired girl asked tentatively.
 

"But you still did." the other lady said with her arms crossed.
 

"But Jihyo unnie, I just had to grab the chance."

The other lady sighed, "Just when I thought you're starting to take this job seriously. Wait until dad hears about this."
 

"What, you're gonna tell on me again? It's not like cutting off my credit cards weren't enough."
 

"We'll talk about this later," the other lady scooched over in front of the cash register. "Go help Mike out in the kitchen."
 

With that, the pink-haired lady  went inside the door at the back and disappeared.

 

I guess she didn't recognize me, Jisoo thought.

 

"May I take your order ma'am?" The new cashier asked.
 

She was too preoccupied with her thoughts about the pink-haired lady that Jisoo was caught offguard.
 

"U-umm... I would like to take 5 cups of espresso."
 

***

"Espresso, really? And there's no way I'm paying for the other 4 cups," Jennie said with her arms crossed.
 

She was partly pissed at how long it took Jisoo to buy 1(supposedly) cup of coffee and partly amused at what happened to her sister.
 

"Okay, but did you hear what I just said? It was the pink-haired lady!"
 

"So let me get this straight," Jennie dumped a mouthful of pancakes inside before continuing. "It was the pink-haired lady who brought you up here when you fainted and left the can of soup?"
 

Jisoo nodded. "Yes, and she didn't recognize me!"

 

Jennie laughed at her sister, "And why does that even bother you? Seems like it wasn't that big of a deal."
 

The older girl slumped on the couch, pouting.
 

"I just thought she'd remember  me even just for a little bit."

Jennie went over and sat beside her then messed up her hair, "Cheer up Chu. Just forget about her. It's not like you'll be seeing her again."




 

But boy was her sister wrong.



 

Later that same day, Jisoo went out to get their coffee maker fixed.

She didn't actually notice at first the pink-haired lady standing at the other line of the subway.
 

Jisoo has made it a habit to drown herself in music every time she's out. She'd put her earphones in and mute her surroundings.
 

She was sort of mouthing along the lyrics of the songs when she made eye contact with a very familiar not-so-stranger.
 

She stared at the lady sitting across her in disbelief.



 

How small can this city be to bump into her twice on the same day?

 

But this time she didn't bother doing anything about it.
 

Her twin would be surprised if she heard that she was the first to look away. Jisoo was never good at letting anything go.

 

But Jennie was right, the lady was just a stranger.

 

So when she entered the train, she just closed her eyes and turned the volume up on her ipod, completely oblivious to the person across who was staring at her the entire ride.

****

Lisa's POV
 

"So, what do you think?"

I watched as she scanned the piece of paper she was holding, her expression unreadable.
 

We're currently at a café near our building, discussing the plot of the movie.
 

"Just explain to me briefly how you want the story to turn out."

"What? But it was written there," I pointed at the sheet of paper. "You just read it."

"Yeah except I didn't."

"You just stared at it for 2 minutes?" she nodded. Unbelievable. "Fine. The story is about a woman with multiple personalities who change herself according to the specific personality she's portraying at the moment."
 

"So it's kinda like she's an actress who plays different roles each day?"
 

"Yes. But it doesn't really last for just a day. Like it could go on as long as she pleases."
 

"Okay continue."
 

"Then she meets a guy with whom she gets to be her real self without her noticing it. But this only happens when she's with him."
 

Her face lit up, evidently giddy at the thought. She took out a pen and began writing something as she motioned me to go on.
 

"That's all I have in mind as of the moment."
 

She raised an eyebrow at me, "You mean to say, you want me to figure out the rest of the story?"
 

"I was hoping I could get your input. But I'm not putting all the weight on your shoulders. I just want to hear what you have to say."
 

She put her pen down and leaned back on her chair. There was a silence for what felt like half an hour until she spoke.

"What if we get the guy to play along with her different personalities? Then it turns out, the reason why the girl was trying out different roles is because she's a writer and she needs to do that in order to get more information about the person she's writing about."
 

I couldn't help smiling as I pictured it. Asking Jennie to help me out with this movie is probably the best choice I've made.

It took a little while more for us to finish conceptualizing the entire plot. By the time we finished, I decided we should call it a day.
 

As we entered our building, the concierge approached Jennie and handed her a small teal enevelope.
 

"I wonder who would send me something this fancy?" she said with a smile as she received the envelope.
 

"Who's it from?"
 

"I don't know. Hold on, I'll open it."
 

She carefully tore it and I noticed how her smile turned upside down in an instant.

 

"What's wrong?"
 

"N-nothing..." she said while putting the paper back inside the envelope.
 

I know it isn't my job to know what was bothering her but I couldn't take her silence while we were at the elevator. So I nudged her.
 

"Something's clearly bothering you. What's with that envelope?"
 

She attempted to smile as a form of reassurance but ended up biting her lip and looking up at the ceiling, trying to keep her now visible tears from falling. But she failed.
 

She turned away from me and tried to stop herself from crying but it clearly wasn't effective.
 

I held her shoulder and turned her around to face me and hugged her. I still have no idea what's going on but it's clear that she's going through something painful.
 

As I hugged her, I felt her slowly leaning on me until it felt like I was carrying her full weight and if I let go of her right now, she would fall to the ground.
 

It didn't take long before the elevator door open and we proceeded to go to their place. I decided to keep her company because it's pretty obvious she needs one.
 

As soon as the door closed, she went back to crying. But this time she sat down at the couch and hugged one of the pillows and cried harder than she was doing before.
 

I took the envelope from the center table and opened it. It was a wedding invitation.