Irene shivered a little as the autumn breeze blew past her.

She didn’t like winds. She hated feeling cold. Going into a building that can shield away the blow and warm her tiny body was probably a better idea. She knew Yeri would fully agree as the younger had repeated that same remark since the ten minutes they sat on the seats in front of the pop-up coffee truck near the park in front of their university’s entrance.

However, if Irene followed that idea through, she would have missed the chance to watch that girl and had to wait for another week before seeing her again. Another long seven days. She didn’t want that, did she?

Irene sighed at the thought. It would be better if the girl whose name she didn’t even know would occupy her mind only when she was awake, but of course, she got it harder. Nowadays, the nameless girl would also pop up in her dreams (it somehow felt like she had to wait twice the time longer before being able to see that girl again).

Their meeting started as a coincidence. Or fate, if Irene was not a pessimistic dull sleep-deprived graduate student. She was out with her lab mates as they walked around to get some fresh air in the park in front of their university before finishing the report that was due for the next day. And it was as simple as that. Irene saw the brunette, who has an angel-like voice and a smile as warm as the sunshine. She was singing an English song Irene have never heard and barely understand, but it still didn’t stop her from staring at the girl.

That girl looked so unearthly beautiful and perfect like she was born to sing. Irene was usually not as impromptus in nature, having her breath stolen by a stranger. She was calculative, organised. However, there she was, coming to the park the next Thursday noon and the following weeks, knowing that way she could get a chance to watch that beautiful brunette and get her breath stolen.

“You better ask out the crush you have in whoever that may be in that damned band,” Yeri grumbled, clenching her teeth as the wind blew, again.

“Wh-What do you mean?” Irene tried to play it dumb. It was not that surprising that the younger hit the bullseye (Yeri was sharp and intuitive; she just often hide it with what she called ‘youth naivety’).

“Oh well, let’s see. It’s windy as hell, and the coffee tastes terrible, correction, everything they sell in the truck tastes horrible, which is probably we never see any buyer except us. But here we are, the third time this month, coincidentally every time on a Thursday noon, you rushing out without your coat to buy a cup of coffee that you don’t drink because, aha, you hate coffee just like you hate the wind. Conveniently, there’s this band that is always busking in front of our seats every time we’re here so that must be it, isn’t it?”

Irene pouted, just like a little kid that was caught stealing a few candies from the jar her parents told them not to because it would get her cavities, but Yeri did not let it change the topic. “Okay, now spill. Which one is it?” When Irene kept her silence, Yeri narrowed her eyes and sighed, “Really Unnie, you’re already a quarter-century old, and you’re still having a shy adorable crush like a middle school girl?”

“It’s not… it’s not a crush. It’s a pure admiration, really. It’s just… they play music really well, and it sounded so nice,” Irene stammered through her words, making it more obvious.

Yeri cackled at her pitiful unnie. “Oh no, you got it bad. Now tell me which one it is so I can tease you properly. Is it that drummer boy with messy hair?”

“Wh-what? No, it’s-”

“No? How about the beautiful girl with the long raven hair that’s playing the keyboard?” Yeri looked to Irene for an answer, but the older gave her a funny look, “Then who could it… oh. Of course. It’s that singer with her short brunette hair that looked squishy soft like a marshmallow, isn’t it?”

Irene turned red like a tomato at Yeri’s teasing, which made the younger broke into laughter. “You’re cute, unnie, just like your crush.”

Irene huffed, muttering a low shut up before fanning herself, totally forgetting that she was shivering not long ago. She took a glance at the pretty brunette again, watching how the girl belted high notes so easily that it amazed her. How could such voice come out from that tiny body?

“I wish you could see how you look right now, Irene unnie. You’re absolutely smitten.” Yeri grinned widely, totally amused by the scene in front of her.

Irene sighed loudly. “It’s not… I told you before that I was just-”

“Pure admiration? Yeah, of course. Then at least tell it to her. You can like, buy her a cup of coffee or something and tell her that she’s doing a great job,” Yeri suggested, not expecting Irene to take her seriously.

“Really? But what if she doesn’t like coffee?” Irene pondered, not sure by the idea.

“Okay, then just talk to her. I bet she would appreciate it.”

“But coming with an empty hand is a bit… sloppy, don’t you think?”

Yeri swallowed a groaned of frustration. “Fine, a bouquet of flower then. Or if it’s still too much, then a stem will do.”

Irene still kept her silence, seemed unsatisfied with the suggestion. Yeri finally let her annoyance shown, “Unnie, you could give her that stack of your dreading reports for all I know, and she would still appreciate it. Stop worrying, please.”

Irene pouted. “Fine. Do you really think a cup of coffee will do?”

“Yes!” Yeri exhaled loudly, “Alright, now let’s go.”

Irene arched her eyebrows. “Wait. Now?!”

“There’s no better time than now, unnie. Look, she’s tidying her stuff to go, you are holding a cup of coffee that you don’t drink, ain’t all the stars aligned for this.”

Irene’s eyes shook in panic. “But I can’t, I’m not ready yet. And you said that the coffee tastes horrible here.”

Yeri looked at the dismay that was clear on Irene’s face and sighed in resignation. “Damn it. Fine. Next week, then. If not, I’ll tell Joy unnie about all of this, and I bet you that she won’t be as generous as I am.”

[•••••]

Irene couldn’t sleep well for the next whole week. It was mostly because of the mysterious pretty girl in the park and the coffee she drank for that girl. Yes, Irene drank cups of coffee she hated so much in the name of ‘market research’. She couldn’t just give a bad coffee to the girl that had been singing so beautifully, right? So Irene took it upon herself to test out coffee in cafes in order to find the best one. She forgot one tiny detail, unfortunately, that she didn’t like the drink in the first place, making everything tasted equally horrible.

“For a graduate student, you can be so dumb, unnie,” Yeri chuckled as Irene told her what she went through. “So, how did you decide on this particular cup of coffee?”

“I treated Joy coffee for the whole week. She said this one is the best, so yeah.” Irene grimaced, her stomach didn’t feel too good.

“And you still drink them because you don’t trust Joy unnie enough?” Yeri smirked, entertained by the whole situation.

“I just wanted to make sure,” Irene mumbled, pouting at the teasing the younger gave her.

“Of course you did, you adorable oldie.” Yeri pinched both of Irene’s cheeks. “Okay, now let’s go to the park. I bet you can’t wait to meet that pretty tiny singer of yours.”

[•••••]

Yeri had to stop Irene seven times from running away throughout the performances.

“What if she thinks that I’m weird?”

“Why would she? All you do is give her a cup of coffee and a compliment.”

“But that’s… I can’t. I’m not ready. I can’t do this.”

“Do what? Say that she did a good job? It’s not that difficult, unnie, unless you’re planning to say something else.”

“She won’t like me back. This is not working.”

“Oh, so now you do like her.”

“Damn it Yeri, that's not the point right now.”

“Oh look, they’re done. It’s your time now, champ. Let’s go.”

Irene tried hard to get off Yeri’s grip, but the younger girl can be strangely strong at random times such as now. “Yeri, wait, I’m not... Yeri-ah!”

Yeri dragged her towards the band, tapped the singer’s shoulder and said, “Hi, my friend has something to tell you.” The younger then left her there, much to her horror.

That girl, with her pretty round eyes, looked at Irene confusedly while the latter was praying for the ground to swallow her whole.

“Hi?”

God, even her normal talking voice sounded angelic.

“Hello,” Irene inhaled a deep breath , “you probably don’t know me, and this might come out of a sudden but I really like you…your voice, I meant,” she rambled as fast as she could, “and I don’t know if you like coffee or not, but I got you one, so yeah. I just want to say that you’ve been doing a great job… at singing, so if you keep doing that, then it’s great! So, here you go… your coffee-” Irene handed out the coffee to the girl, “and you’re doing great, really great. Bye now.”

“Wa-wait!” The girl held her shoulder, “I haven’t… What’s your name?”

“Sorry, that was rude of me forgetting… Irene. I’m Irene.”

“Thank you for the coffee, Irene. And I’m Wendy.”

Wendy 

She could finally put a name to the person that appeared every now and then into her mind.

“Thank you for saying that I did great at singing. I don’t hear that very often, actually. That’s why it’s nice to know that there are people who find my voice nice.” Wendy said with gratitude in her tone, making Irene wondered if the girl really meant it.

“Really? But you’re a fantastic singer.” Irene unknowingly let out her piece of mind, only stopping when it was too late.

Wendy grinned widely at her statement. “Oh, thank you. Probably only shy people found my voice endearing, like you.”

“Like me?”

Wendy hummed, a smile still on her face. “Yep, and they need one little push from their friends to tell me, right? Your friend from just now kept taking pictures of us” she pointed at Yeri who was fully grinning aiming with her phone.

Irene pursed her lips, trying to conceal the embarrassment that was creeping into her. “I have to go,” Wendy said, bringing her attention back to the singer. Irene was suddenly washed by a strange feeling. Was she disappointed that Wendy was leaving? Wendy seemed to catch the uneasiness on her face. “But, we’ll meet again, right? Are you going to watch me next week too?”

Irene quickly nodded, of course, she wanted to exclaim, but she didn’t want to come out too strong. She noticed Wendy smile widened at her response. “Great! I promise that we will prepare as best as we can to show you great performances for next week. Make sure you’re prepared to be amazed,” she winked, showing Irene her toothy grin.

Wendy waved her goodbye, muttering a “bye Irene!” as she went away (Irene still couldn’t believe her name would come out from those lips). Irene waved back, idiotically, and stuck on her place before Yeri nudged her from behind and dragged her stunned away.

[•••••]

It’s been a few weeks since their Thursdays’ meetings became a sort of routine. Irene would always head directly to the park after her lab, bringing her packed lunch she always prepared in the mornings and a cup of coffee she bought beforehand for Wendy. Then, she would sit on the park bench Wendy would always save her space for, close enough to the singer that she could watch Wendy sing without many disruptions.

Wendy would sing five or six songs, occasionally smirking at her mid-performance (as greasy as it was, Irene couldn’t help smiling at the silly gestures) before she wrapped the whole thing up. By each week, the number of the audience grew (it was no surprise to Irene as she always knew that Wendy was a terrific singer). Apparently, news about Wendy’s band busking at the park spread among the university students, gaining the group a growing fanbase. There would be a few people that would linger around to talk to the band members. Some only stayed to offer praises, but there were also one or two people who would test out their luck to ask the band’s members for a date.

Irene noticed that Wendy had never accepted any of the offers. It led her to two conclusions that either Wendy was not interested in any relationship or that she was already in one. Both ends didn’t actually sit very well with Irene, and it bothered her as she had no reason to feel that way.

(Fine, she lied. She perfectly knew why. It was because she had a massive crush on Wendy, and those facts were like a slap on her face telling her that she had no chance whatsoever.)

“Irene unnie?” Wendy waved a hand in front of her face, bringing her attention to the band member. Wendy was smirking at her, “you’re spacing out. What’re you thinking about?”

You. She shouldn't say that, right? 

“Nothing… I was just… yeah,” Irene finished lamely, quickly passing Wendy the cup she was holding to change the topic of the conversation, “Here. It’s your coffee. You were awesome just now. I don’t know how you sound better and better each passing week.”

Wendy chortled heartily at her compliments. The younger sipped her coffee, the quick silence pressed Irene to fill the void, “But, you know, right, that you’re good? More people are watching you perform now. You become quite popular. Not only you receive praises, but they’re also are trying to score a date with you too.”

Irene felt a surge of panic rising through her as Wendy raised her eyebrows at her remark, so she tried to remedy what had been said, “Not that it’s bad or anything. It’s good, even, right? That people ask you on dates.”

Irene fidgeted on her place, trying not to give in to the urge she had to facepalm herself. She lifted up her head only to see Wendy pursing her lips… trying to hold back a laugh?

“I think you also know how it feels,” Wendy said, still smiling, “going by the fact that every week there’s always someone who sits next to you on that bench trying to make a conversation.”

Irene furrowed her eyebrows, seemingly confused with what was said. Did that really happen? She never noticed those people. “I… am not too sure. I was too busy watching you.”

She watched how Wendy’s eyes widened for a bit. She looked surprised for a moment before shooting Irene the biggest grin the girl had ever shown her. “Really? Well, I’m glad that you focused on me that much.”

Wendy gathered her things and picked up her backpack. The younger did mention that she had a class right after her weekly performances. Irene was already raising her hand halfway to wave when Wendy opened . “Just so you know, unnie, all those people who asked me out were offering me to grab some coffee. I don’t really need one if you brought me one every week, right?”

Irene tilted her head, entirely confused. She then caught up to hold Wendy’s wrist, stopping the other girl. “Wait… do you not want coffee? I can always bring you something else next week.”

“You can always bring me whatever as long as you come and watch me, unnie. Then all will be good.” Wendy waved her goodbye, leaving Irene in her place even more clueless than before.

[•••••]

“What the hell, unnie? She was flirting with you in broad daylight, and you stood there like a dense wall,” Joy groaned. The tall girl sounded so irked, but the glimmer on her eyes in some ways hinted that she was entertained by the situation Irene was stuck on. “Wait a minute, the more important question is, why has this been going for weeks and I just found out now?”

Irene looked at Yeri for help, but the youngest was busy sipping her cup of latte. “Oh. This café does serve way better coffee.”

Not helpful at all. “Well, I… your advice can sometimes be…” Irene stammered. Joy raised her eyebrows, challenging the older to continue. “It can be scary sometimes, okay? You made me do things without giving me a chance to think it all through first.”

“Well look what you did when you gave it a full thought. Nothing. That’s right, like a stone slowly and helplessly sinking,” Joy countered.

“It’s not as bad, though,” Yeri helped, finally, “at least she managed to talk to Wendy and give her a cup of coffee.”

Irene nodded furiously, somehow proud of herself before Joy interjected again. “Yes, and that happened like, what, six weeks ago? Now, tell me again what you did lately.”

“Well, I managed to…” Irene paused. She looked at Joy’s proud smirk and sighed dejectedly, “…talk and give her a cup of coffee.” Irene pouted, she felt utterly defeated. Joy was right. She was a stone sinking inevitably. “I don’t even know if she actually likes coffee or not.”

“It doesn’t matter, unnie,” Joy finally grinned, no longer caring that she was supposed to act mad for being left out of the fun, “she chooses your coffee. That’s the only important thing.” When Irene only stared at her all dumbfounded, Joy sighed, “Okay. Tell me again what she said about the people that asked her out.”

“She said that she rejected them because I already brought her coffee, so she didn’t need more of it,” Irene muttered slowly, sounding even more unsure as she went on.

“Uh-huh. And what does that tell you?” Joy asked enthusiastically, totally immersed in Irene’s dilemma.

“That she doesn’t like coffee that much to drink multiple cups a day?”

“No! That’s not… She chose your coffee, your cup of coffee that you brought her every week,” Joy tried to get her logic into Irene’s head. “She didn’t want any other people buying her one. Why do you think that is?”

“It’s… because the taste of the coffee that I brought matches her palate well?” Irene told Joy what she thought, but by how deep her friend’s eyebrows was furrowing, she knew that she gave out a wrong answer.

“It’s because she likes you, unnie! She likes you,” Joy exclaimed, running out of patience for Irene to reach that point of epiphany. “It’s not about the taste, hell, she didn’t even bother to try the taste of other coffee. It didn’t matter, the coffee never mattered, if any, they were just metaphor of the feelings you both are dancing around with. It’s never about the coffee, it has been about you.”

Irene blinked once, twice, taking all Joy’s words and processing them. So, the coffee was actually…

Oh.

“She likes me,” Irene muttered unconsciously. She stilled for some moment, her mind still grinding at full capacity. “She likes me. Wendy likes me.”

When she finally broke into a smile, she realised the smirks her other two friends threw her. “So, how does it feel to finally catch up to the civilisation?” Yeri teased, nudging the older gently with her elbow.

Joy snickered, a proud grin hanging on her lips as she managed to make Irene realised. “You might be one hell of a stone, but you’re lucky your little singer found you and not let you sink to the ground.”

“I think you should choose between the coffee or stone metaphor, unnie. Her mind might be overheated with so many analogies in one day,” Yeri pointed, and Joy agreed with the youngest instantly.

[•••••]

The following Thursday, Irene came to watch Wendy performed, the older felt as if her heart would jump out of her body.

To be honest, she could barely focus on what was playing in front of her. Her heart was throbbing rapidly, as if she was running a marathon. Her uneasiness stayed throughout the show and even after, as she was glued to her bench, not approaching Wendy as she usually did after the younger finished the last song.

She took a long breath in and out, trying to slow down the pounds in her chest. Her mind was busy rehearsing the words she planned to say to the younger when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Hey, unnie. You don’t look too good today. Is something wrong?” Wendy had sat next to her on the bench. She looked to Irene with worry painted clear on her face.

Irene breathed in. “Hi. Sorry, I didn’t realise you were done. I’m fine, all good. Everything is okay.”

Wendy seemed to be not convinced by her babble, “Are you sure? I can help, or at least listen, if you want me to?”

“I…” Irene paused. Here goes nothing. “I don’t bring any coffee.”

Wendy looked at her, blinking a few times. “Is that what made you so… It’s okay, unnie. I mean… you could always forget or—“

“No!” Irene interjected quickly, “I didn’t forget. I just… decided not to bring any today.” If Wendy was confused before, she was totally lost now. She stayed mum, waiting for the older girl to continue. “I’m thinking of taking you to the café itself for the coffee.”

Wendy stared at her with shut, which made Irene panicked and started her rambling. “It's just an idea, really. I mean, I know you have a class after this so I can always wait until you finish it? Or, if then would be too late for coffee, we can always do this tomorrow morning, or any other day that you’re free. Oh, it doesn’t have to be coffee, too. We can also get tea if you prefer tea, or anything. Because the coffee itself is not important, right? It’s only a metaphor anyway, so we can always get whatever you want… if you want, of course,” Irene finished, saying each word meeker as she went. She looked at the ground, had no more courage to face the girl beside her.

After what felt like an eternity (Irene cursed Joy and Yeri more than a thousand times in that interval), she finally heard Wendy’s voice. “My class will go on for about an hour.” Irene raised up her head, glancing at Wendy. “So, can you wait for me?”

Irene raised her eyebrows, before nodding furiously. “Of course! I can wait. You can come here again after your class, and I’ll be here.”

Wendy chuckled at her response. “So, I’ll see you here, after my class?” She grinned at Irene, who was nodding again. “Then, after that, we can talk about whether to get or not to get coffee, right?”

Irene grinned widely. “Yes,” she agreed happily.

“And the coffee won’t matter, because it’s a…” Wendy looked at Irene, still smiling.

“A metaphor,” Irene answered, pleased for knowing the answer, “they are a metaphor of our feelings.”

Wendy raised an eyebrow, “Right… a metaphor of our feelings.” She broke into small giggles. She looked at Irene like she was… Irene wasn't sure. But Wendy was smiling, so Irene was pretty confident that the look meant something good. “I have to go now,” Wendy continued, “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Irene nodded. She could finally breathe out in relief, all the worries that she had was finally gone. She’s not a sinking stone now. Probably still a stone, but she was no longer sinking.

Speaking of stones…

“Wait, Wendy!” Irene partly shouted to the other girl, who had already crossed the road, “Joy told me to make sure. I’m asking you out, like on a date. You’re okay with that, right?”

Wendy’s grin was still clear even from the other side of the road. “Of course. I’ll come back soon for our date, unnie!”