***

It’s strange how the world seems to be unaffected by our inner struggles. If I was expecting the nature to cover itself in a dim coat of despair, the sun to hide its face behind stormy clouds as the raging wind takes away roofs together with all the happiness in the world, I was terribly wrong.

The life went on; it was a bright day and there was a sale in my favourite bookstore, so I treated myself with a book about the Neolithic revolution I've wanted for a long time.

By the noon, I’ve almost forgotten about the morning fiasco and as I was preoccupied with things more important than my hurt ego, it simply stopped aching.

That’s why I almost didn’t hyperventilate when I got a text message from Jongin in which he asked me if he could call me.

Almost.

My initial idea was to get rid of the evidence, thus flush my phone to the nearest toilet and pretend I never got the message, however the weight of the new book in my hand was strangely comforting and confidence-boosting and made me swallow my doubts. So, I agreed.

Then my phone started vibrating and I promptly swiped to accept the call before I could change my mind: “Yes?”

I wasn’t distant on purpose, it just somehow happened.

“Sora, hey,” his voice was different as it usually is through the phone line, yet the hesitation resonating in it was still clearly noticeable, “Sorry for bothering you. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it home before midnight, I had to postpone my teaching lesson to a later hour. Can I drop by your uni to give you the keys? I am really sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I sat down on a bench, “My next lesson doesn’t start before 2, if you’re free we could get a cup of coffee maybe?”

It just slipped my tongue, that very casual offer for a very casual meet-up which may end in a very catastrophic way. Maybe the book in my hand was cursed and its demons made me take too much of an unnecessary risk.

He wavered, and I figured, with my eyes fixated on the book, he could get a good use of one of those.

“Sure,” he agreed in the end, “The usual place?”

“Sure,” the place we went to twice with a bunch of other people, but since I knew how much he loved it I was certain which coffee-shop he means, “See you in 20 minutes?”

***

I was there early, and my stomach turned into a knot of doubt and regret. That cursed book of Neolithic times was safely stored in my backpack, just in case it would whispter to me some other crazy idea I wasn’t prepared for; I was trying to calm my nerves by the lovely colour scheme chosen to decorate the interior with.

The place was very subtle and delicate. Everything was in pastel tones and even the music was so smooth and tender it sounded like a velvet, perfectly complementing the atmosphere.

I sat on a stool by the huge window, so I could distract myself by watching people in the streets; the coffee-shop was located nearby the Academy of Arts Jongin was attending and the street was filled with young and expressive people wearing fashionable, yet eminently experimental outfits.

I loved the sight so much it made me zone-out and completely ignore Jongin who had to tap my should