The clock said seven thirty and as if on cue, the sign on the coffee shop was turned over causing the word "closed" to be visible on the glass door. In the recently dimmed coffee shop, Sooyoung and the manager were still finishing the last of their duties before having to close up for the day. 

 

Despite being two years younger than Sooyoung, Jungeun was a competent manager. Although at first, Sooyoung had her doubts because Jungeun was replacing her position as manager just because she was the owner's daughter. Essentially, it was a form of nepotism but Sooyoung didn't care. Okay, maybe she did to an extent, but only because she had to help Jungeun learn the ropes as per Mrs. Kim's instructions. 

 

In the beginning, Sooyoung was quite bitter about having the fancy title of "Executive Manager" taken away from her. But thinking about it now, the title deemed too onerous for her anyway. Frankly speaking, her newly gained title was appealing in its own way, a different kind of exhibiting professionalism. Because under Sooyoung's name, "Senior Barista" was boldly embossed in black on the shiny golden name tag of the shop's signature black apron.

 

All things aside, mentoring Jungeun wasn't a challenge as she thought it would be, the younger brunette was a quick learner and a hardworking person by nature. And above that, Sooyoung liked the fact Jungeun had that spunk in her, a certain kind of sass. In short, they became fast friends despite their not-so-usual start.

 

"Are you done cleaning?" Jungeun asked while balancing the cash register, not bothering to look up in order not to make a mistake. Her mother would chew her out if she did, being the successor of the coffee shop and all.

 

"Yeah, just finished cleaning the last table," Sooyoung answered, making her way to where Jungeun was, "What's up?"

 

"We're friends, right?" pausing to close and lock the cash register, "do you maybe.. wanna grab a bite to eat tomorrow?" she asked as she turned to look at Sooyoung. Regretting her poor choice of words when she saw the mirth in Sooyoung's eyes. 

 

"Kim Jungeun," Sooyoung said, eyes narrowed. "Is this your way of asking me on a date?" She finished with a playful grin.

 

"You're so annoying," Jungeun hit her arm. She knew full well Sooyoung was just teasing but she felt her ears burning nontheless. "I meant that as in lunch with some of my friends," she clarified.

 

"Ah.. I see," said Sooyoung, feigning sadness by wiping away her "tears". Yet the action contrasted the grin still present on her face. Sooyoung loved to tease Jungeun, her reactions were always amusing to watch, even if she got hit everytime she did.

 

"So yes or no?" Jungeun asked again, rolling her eyes this time.

 

"Well, I'm free tomorrow," Sooyoung said, removing her apron, "Anyone I know going?" 

 

"Haseul and Jiwoo, but you probably don't know the other two," Jungeun offhandedly answered. The two were Jungeun's best friends who naturally became regulars at the coffee shop after Jungeun started working. With Jiwoo being the bubbly ray of sunshine she was and Haseul's warm motherly personality, it didn't take long for them to recruit Sooyoung into their small group of friends.

 

After a minute of contemplating, Jungeun also removed her apron and moved to close up the shop, saying, "On second thought, I don't think Jiwoo's going. Just remembered she texted me earlier today that she had a cold," not forgetting to make fun of bubbly girl, "I didn't know idiots could get sick," 

 

Sooyoung snickered, "Sure, I'll go. I had nothing better to do anyways."

 

The coffee shop now securely closed, Sooyoung shivered slightly as she felt the crisp night air outside.

 

"See you tomorrow at 12 o'clock sharp, Soo. I'll text you the location later," Jungeun gave her a look and added, "Please, don't be late," before getting into her car.

 

"That was one time, I definitely won't be late tomorrow!" Sooyoung shouted half-heartedly, feeling the need to at least try and defend herself. 

 

Lowering the window down, Jungeun replied, "And that's one time too many," flashing Sooyoung a smirk before driving away.

 

Shaking her head with an amused smile, Sooyoung turned to the opposite direction, heading towards the bus stop a few blocks away. She didn't know why but as she walked, she had this tingly feeling in her gut, like something good would happen tomorrow.

 

xx

 

It was feasible she read that tingle inaccurately because the start of Sooyoung's day was less than ideal.

 

She made sure she had plenty of time to prepare for her to be on time today, waking up exactly at eight. And with the extra time she had, she decided that she would drive instead of walking or taking the bus.

 

A foolish choice she would come to regret.

 

True to that, fifteen minutes into her drive, she got stuck in traffic. And it wasn't the slow kind, oh no, it was a total stop. The car in front of her hadn't moved an inch since she pulled the hand brakes ten minutes ago. She wasn't sure what caused the momentary stop, an accident maybe? It never was like this even during rush hour.

 

The meeting place, a cafe she often frequented, wasn't that far away from her current location. She just needed to turn right on the next intersection, a few hundred metres away, but she couldn't. 

 

So close, yet so far, she let out a sigh. 

 

The digital clock of her car read 11.48 am, twelve minutes to spare. Hitting her head on the steering wheel, she groaned aloud, "Why does this have to happen today of all days?"

 

xx

 

But getting out of traffic wasn't the end of Sooyoung's setback now that it started to rain. 

 

Not being able to find her little burgundy umbrella on the backseat, she furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. Although Sooyoung could only sigh deeply when she recalled. A simple answer, really, she forgot to put it back in the car after leaving it out to dry.

 

When the pitter-patter of the rain started getting louder, she knew she couldn't dilly dally any longer. It wasn't exactly a drizzle but there was no other way, Sooyoung had to run from where she parked to the cafe. She removed the leather jacket that she was wearing and used it as a makeshift umbrella to shield herself from the rain.

 

Reaching the front of the cafe, she tried her best to shake off the water droplets that got on her jacket before going inside, not wanting to wet the floor. Holding her damp jacket over her left hand, she went inside the cafe, the bell on top of the door chimed to greet her. She scanned the crowd for a glimpse of Jungeun, eventually finding her at the table in the corner with Haseul beside her. She couldn't make out what Jungeun's friends looked like from where she was, as their backs were facing her, but she could clearly see they both had bright coloured hair. One blonde and the other purple.

 

Slowly approaching the table they were at, Sooyoung smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles of her simple white crop top, making sure she was presentable before meeting Jungeun's friends. She was just glad she chose to wear black today because she knew her leather jacket didn't do much to save her jeans, but at least it wasn't noticable. Fortunately, her socks were safe, courtesy of the waterproof sneakers her cousin bought on impulse. Bless you, Son Hyejoo, she thought.

 

A few steps away from reaching the table, Sooyoung could see that Jungeun had noticed her, a scowl coming into view. She apologetically greeted her first, "Sorry I'm late," not bothering to give any excuses. She knew from experience that making excuses would make things worse, even if it wasn't really her fault.

 

"Miss 'I definitely won't be late tomorrow' finally showed up," Jungeun glowered. Haseul just giggled beside her, waving her hand as a hello to Sooyoung.

 

"I'll pay for your–" Sooyoung tried to bargain, seeing as the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach.

 

"Okay," Jungeun quickly interjected, not even letting Sooyoung finish her sentence, "Just so you know, I'm picking the most expensive one on–"

 

"Sooyoung?" This time, a familiar cheery voice cut Jungeun off. Sooyoung turned her head to face the person that called her name and grinned.

 

"Hey, Yerim," feeling stupid she didn't recognize her right off the bat from the purple hair. It was fascinating how Yerim's school allowed their students to dye their hair instead of making them keep their natural hair colour.

 

Though her grin faltered when she looked at the person sitting beside Yerim.

 

"..Jinsol," Sooyoung breathed out in surprise. Memories from years ago flashed in her mind like it was only yesterday, making her feel an array of emotions.

 

"Let's break up," Sooyoung muttered.

 

"What?" She heard the voice on the other side of the phone ask.

 

"Sol, I know you heard what I said clearly," Sooyoung continued, "I just think this is for the best."

 

The statement may be out of the blue for Jinsol but it wasn't for her, Sooyoung invested a lot of time in her decision. 

 

"How is us breaking up for the best? Is this about me studying abroad?" She could already imagine Jinsol's expressive eyebrows scrunching in frustration, "can't we talk things through first, Sooyoungie?"

 

"No, it's not like that," a lie. What Jinsol said hit the mark but Sooyoung didn't want to admit it. Sooyoung didn't believe long distance relationships would last and she knew Jinsol would probably drop the idea of studying abroad if she found out. Jinsol had too big of a heart for her own good. Sooyoung didn't want Jinsol to settle for less when she could go abroad to study at one of the best universities that offered marine biology courses.

 

"It just is," Sooyoung tried her best to make herself sound as indiferrent as possible, as if Jinsol wasn't of any importance to her, like their two-year relationship didn't matter, "Let's just go our separate ways, Sol."

 

"Please, just tell me why?" She could hear the shaky exhale Jinsol let out, "Did I do something wrong?"

 

"You didn't," whispered Sooyoung quietly, blinking back her tears.

 

"Then why?" 

 

"Don't make me say it," she whispered just as loud as before. 

 

"..just say it. Please," Sooyoung could hear the desperation in her voice. 

 

"The sparks are gone, Sol. Is that what you wanted you hear?" Sooyoung said using the harshest tone she could muster. She could hear Jinsol's broken sobs by now and she could barely mantain her facade. "I don't think I love you like I did before," another lie rolled off her tongue.

 

"I'm sorry, Jinsol," her thumb hovering over the end call button, "..don't contact me anymore," and with barely a whisper, she ended the call. A coward, that was what she was, a coward who couldn't even break up with Jinsol in person like a decent person would. 

 

"It's for the best," she muttered for the last time, convincing herself. She loved Jinsol dearly but she knew she had to let her go. She had to.

 

"Hello, Sooyoung," Jinsol replied with a small smile, her greeting snapped Sooyoung out of her trip down memory lane. The genuine smile with no trace of resentment whatsoever, sent flutters to Sooyoung's heart. She was well aware she shouldn't be feeling like this, not after what she did to Jinsol in the past.

 

Returning the smile, she took notice of Jinsol's appearance, clad in a black sweater tucked into her equally black denim skirt. The outfit was considerably casual but Jinsol looked breathtaking to Sooyoung. Even after all these years, she still looked beautiful, perhaps even more so.

 

She noticed Jinsol didn't wear glasses anymore, she could clearly see her dark chocolate eyes softly staring back at her. Jinsol also looked thinner, sharper features replacing the chubby cheeks she once had. Her hair now wavy and dyed into a brilliant shade of blonde unlike the straight black hair she had in high school.

 

"You dyed your hair," Sooyoung complimented, "It looks good on you."

 

Jinsol's small smile turned bashful, "Thank you."

 

"Oh, you guys know each other?" Jungeun asked questioningly.

 

"Yeah, she helped my team win that dance competition last spring," Yerim exclaimed proudly.

 

Since Sooyoung was pursuing a degree in fine arts, choreographing was a common thing to do. Hyejoo once sought out Sooyoung for help, needing assistance in choreographing a routine. And that was how she met Yerim, as she was part of Hyejoo's "dance crew" alongside her other friends.

 

"How do you know Jinsol then?" Jungeun asked, curiously awaiting Sooyoung's answer.

 

"We're.. childhood friends," Sooyoung answered as she sat down beside Jungeun, draping her jacket over her chair. Jinsol looked at her and not so subtly raised an eyebrow. Sooyoung just gave sent a look, earning herself a hint of a smile on Jinsol's face. She quickly diverted her friends' questioning eyes by asking a question of her own, "How about you guys?"

 

"Yerim's her cousin," Haseul explained, gesturing at Jungeun, "Jungeun doesn't have many friends." 

 

"I do too!" Jungeun scoffed, offended at Haseul's remark.

 

"Name one then," Haseul challenged.

 

"Jinsol," she confidently answered.

 

"She just became your roommate a few days ago," Haseul pointed out with furrowed eyebrows.

 

"So what? We're friends now," Jungeun shrugged, "She's cool."

 

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Sooyoung questioned in disbelief.

 

"I consider you a close friend," Jungeun mumbled, the tips of her ears going red.

 

"Aw, you big softie," Sooyoung teased, smothering Jungeun with a side hug. She was actually quite touched Jungeun thought of her as a close friend. For a six month friendship, they were almost like siblings who would tease and bicker with each other whenever the opportunity rised.

 

"I take that back," Jungeun groaned, trying to push off Sooyoung.

 

"Noooo," Sooyoung playfully wailed.

 

"Whatever, let's just order," Jungeun rolled her eyes in faux annoyance, letting Sooyoung hug her just a little bit longer. The suggestion proved effective as they busied themselves with the menus, quickly placing their orders in afterwards.

 

They made small talk as they waited for the food, the previous banter forgotten. Though there wasn't much talking involved when the food finally arrived, mouths busy eating rather than talking. As their plates empty, the chatter resumed, only to be momentarily paused by the ring of Jungeun's phone. She didn't bother to excuse herself and answered the phone, "Hey, mom."

 

"But it's my day off.." she whined, eventually sighing and agreeing to whatever the older woman wanted.

 

"Duty calls, I'm being summoned because one of the baristas called in sick," Jungeun lamented, "Jindori, can you get back by yourself?" 

 

"I can call a Uber," Jinsol replied, sounding more like a question than a statement. 

 

"I can take her." Sooyoung nonchalantly offered, she knew where Jungeun's apartment was. Realizing what she said, she quickly added, "You guys want a lift too?" looking at Haseul and Yerim.

 

Haseul said shyly, "I have a date later so I brought my own car today."

 

"Good for you," Sooyoung chuckled. She guessed Haseul finally had the guts to ask out the pretty exchange student she had been talking about for weeks.

 

"Thanks for offering, Soo but I'll be taking Yerim with me," Jungeun told Sooyoung, "My mom told me to bring an extra pair of hands and Jinsol still needs to unpack some of her stuff." Not minding getting taken against her will, Yerim just shrugged with a smile.

 

Uh oh.

 

If Sooyoung's head had tiny people in charge of her emotions like that one movie, the purple guy would have fainted by now. How was she supposed to act around Jinsol? She was on the verge of having a panic attack in spite of her calm appearance.

 

As if sensing her hesitance, Jinsol insisted, "Really, I can just call an Uber. I wouldn't want to burden you." 

 

"No, uh, it's okay," almost facepalming herself for stammering.

 

Clasping her hands together, Jungeun declared with a tight lipped smile, "Well that's settled! Let's just pay and leave before my mom calls again," 

 

Her wallet felt considerably lighter after paying for both her and Jungeun's lunch, she had always prefered carrying cash for some reason. After saying their goodbyes, Sooyoung signaled with a tilt of her head for Jinsol to follow her to the car, palms a bit sweaty.

 

She opened the car door for Jinsol, receiving a small thanks in return. Throwing her still damp leather jacket to the backseat, Sooyoung started the car. They drove in silence, only accompanied by the sound of the engine's faint hum, not knowing what to say. 

 

"Um–" they interjected at the same time trying to break the ice, smiling when they caught each other's eyes.

 

"You can go first, Sooyoungie," was Jinsol's soft reply. Sooyoung was caught of guard at the usage of her old nickname. Some of her friends call her that but none made her heart beat faster like Jinsol did.

 

"So, uh, how have you been?" internally smacking herself for being so lame.

 

"Great for the most part, I finally got my degree in marine biology and I'm starting my job at the aquarium next week," Jinsol beamed. Sooyoung's heart swelled with pride at the news, she knew Jinsol had it in her. Jinsol then continued in a tone that Sooyoung couldn't exactly pinpoint, "so I'm staying here for good this time." 

 

"Congratulations, Sol. I'm glad everything worked out for you," Sooyoung meant every word she said, casting Jinsol a fond smile before returning her eyes to the road. She couldn't wait to graduate either. Having taken some time off university before, she still had a semester to go.

 

"But it didn't," spoken so soft, Sooyoung almost missed it.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Not everything worked out for me," Jinsol said with a sad smile. 

 

Sooyoung wondered what made her look so downcast, she gently asked, "What didn't?" 

 

Jinsol didn't answer. Maybe I went too far, Sooyoung mulled over. Thinking it was probably a sensitive topic, Sooyoung didn't dare prod any further.

 

The drive continued in an awkward silence after that. Thankfully, It didn't take long to get to their destination, but as Sooyoung made a turn to the apartment's lobby, Jinsol spoke.

 

"We.. need to talk."

 

She nervously tightened her hold of the steering wheel, knuckles turning white. Nevertheless, she nodded and drove to find a unoccupied parking space instead. 

 

"What do you want to talk about?" Sooyoung trailed off, twiddling her thumbs. A nervous tick of hers. 

 

"You asked what didn't work out for me."

 

"I.. Yeah," she didn't want to pry but curiosity got the better of her, turning her body sideways to look at Jinsol completely.

 

"Us. We didn't work out," her eyes shone with unshed tears. 

 

Oh. 

 

Barely stopping herself, she almost reached out to caress Jinsol's cheek, her left hand now outstretched awkwardly. She didn't have the right to. But before she could take her hand back, Jinsol grabbed it and placed it on her cheek, eyes closing at the touch.

 

"I missed you," Jinsol whispered, "and there hasn't been a day that I didn't think about you."

 

Sooyoung's heart clenched at that, that was her fault. She hurt her.

 

"It's not like i didn't try to move on. I did, mutiple times. But they weren't you, Sooyoungie," a tear escaped Jinsol's eye, "and I know you probably don't feel the same anymore," Sooyoung shook her head lightly, knowing Jinsol couldn't see her.

 

It's always been you.

 

Jinsol finished, "..but I still love you."

 

Sooyoung didn't try and restrain herself, pulling Jinsol in a hug, her eyes also b with tears of her own, "I'm sorry, Sol." 

 

Taking it that as a no to her previous statement, Jinsol weakly tried to push Sooyoung off. Sooyoung only hugged her tighter.

 

"Please.. please, stop giving me hope," Jinsol whimpered.

 

"I was scared, Sol. I didn't want to get in the way of your dreams but.. I didn't believe in long distance relationships," she explained, trying hard not to cry.

 

"You didn't even try to give us a chance, Soo." Jinsol argued, face still on the crook of her neck.

 

"I know, I'm sorry." So, so sorry.

 

Both of them were crying at this point, hearts aching as they let out their emotions. As the sobbing subsided, Sooyoung reluctantly released Jinsol from the hug. Still slightly embarrassed from crying, she averted her eyes as she handed Jinsol a tissue.

 

With a watery chuckle Jinsol joked, "You wipe your own tears too, you do know you're an ugly crier right?"

 

"Shut up," she hid her face in embarrassment.

 

After a moment of composing herself, releasing a deep breath, Sooyoung spoke with a newfound sense of determination, "Let me take you on a date." 

 

"You're not doing this.. out of pity, are you?" uncertainty lacing her voice, "because I would totally under–"

 

"Of course not," Sooyoung interrupted softly and took Jinsol's hand in hers,  "I still care about you, Sol. I never stopped."

 

Jinsol inhaled sharply at that, eyes beginning to water again, "Really?"  

 

She nodded, "So let me make it up to you, for all the years we lost because I made that stupid decision on my own. How about it?"

 

"Okay," Jinsol agreed, a tiny smile blossoming on her face.

 

Sooyoung grinned widely, her eyes still slightly red and puffy from crying. Maybe her tingle was right all along.

 

We'll be okay this time.