“Hey unnie!” Seulgi called out, voice too chipper for the news she was about to deliver. “Your fave cut her hair!”

“Yah!” Joohyun exclaimed, though quieter than she usually would’ve, looking up from the bagels she was slicing to catch Seulgi’s gaze. She did her best to convey with only her eyes both that she wanted to know more, but also that maybe Seulgi shouldn’t scream about Joohyun’s embarrassing interest in the girl who had somehow become a regular at their airport location. Seulgi only grinned at Joohyun’s expression, tilting her head pointedly beyond the counter. Joohyun took this as her cue to abandon her bagels and wander over to the front of the shop.

Joohyun picked up a rag, idly running it over the counter as she scanned the storefront. She could see the girl across the terminal, bundled in a fluffy pink sweater. It was hard to see what Seulgi was talking about since the girl had her head turned, engrossed in a conversation she was having.

“I signed out,” Seulgi said, nudging her with an elbow. “Go to the register.”

“What?”

“It’s about time you actually spoke to her instead of just looking at her with your scary stare.” Seulgi pointed at the register. “Go on.”

Joohyun sighed; the girl was getting close and she didn’t want to be caught bickering with her friend. Instead, she put in her employee number quickly, rushing through the menus.

“Hello!”

Joohyun looked upwards at the now familiar friendly voice to get her first good look at the girl with her new haircut. However, she almost immediately looked back down, her heart pounding in her chest. Before, her girl had her hair long, paired with light brown contacts. Her beauty had been striking then, the contact color giving her an intimidating foreign feel until she smiled. However, her hair was now a deeper chestnut color and cut to skim her shoulder and frame the sharp outline of her jaw. Without the contacts, her eyes looked like a doe’s, glittering with the sunlight streaming in through the airport’s tall windows.

“Hello,” she murmured, casting her gaze somewhere vaguely between her monitor and the girl’s shoulder. “What would you like today?”

“Ah— um… a tea maybe…?” The girl fell into silence for a moment, and Joohyun finally dared looked up to find the girl with her hand over , frowning at the menu.

This time was easier, now that she was prepared. The word that kept coming to mind was ‘precious’. With this haircut, unlike the untouchable vibe she’d given off before, she looked soft and gentle like something you’d put in your pocket for safekeeping. Joohyun let her gaze settle on the girl’s face as she decided on her drink and occasionally muttered something that sounded like an apology.

“I think—” The girl’s eyes finally wandered down to Joohyun’s face, her voice abruptly cutting off as she found Joohyun looking at her. Joohyun barely noticed as their eyes met for a long moment before the girl coughed loudly, pounding on her chest as she leaned over to catch her breath. “Ah, sorry!” she choked out between coughs, “Sorry! I—”

“It’s alright, take your time,” Joohyun reassured her, lips pursing together as she watched the girl compose herself. She would’ve liked to help in some way, but she was stuck behind the counter with her hands pressing sharply into the marble.

“I… Sorry…” When she looked up again, the girl had a bright blush blooming across her pale cheeks. Joohyun caught her eye again for a second, but then found her gaze inexplicably drawn back down to her register. “Can I try the strawberry drink?”

“Which one?”

“Uh… The, uh… ‘pink drink’…? A grande… Is it really called that?”

“Yes…” She wanted to laugh at the girl’s confused tone, but found was too tight. Instead, Joohyun settled for punching the order into the register with slightly more enthusiasm than normal. “That’s 4.95. Can I get a name for the order?” she squeaked out, reaching for a plastic cup.

“Oh, um, Seungwan.”

Joohyun, about to write already, stopped. “Seungwan-nim? Is that right?”

The girl nodded, fussing with the card reader. This was baffling for two reasons. First, Seungwan was typically a boy’s name. Secondly, Seulgi had said the girl’s name was ‘Wendy’ (Joohyun had shamefully asked after the second time the girl had come in and Seulgi had taken her order again). Joohyun was now doubly glad she hadn’t showed off her creepiness and wrote a name without asking.

“Alright; I’ll have your order ready for you in a moment.” Seulgi came from the stock room as Joohyun turned to the fridge to pull out ingredients for the drink. She took a deep breath to steady her trembling hands. It wouldn’t do to mess up such a simple order.

She heard Seungwan and Seulgi chatting as she mixed the drink. It sounded like Seungwan had brought something for Seulgi. It surprised her; she didn’t know they knew each other outside the café.

“So, I tried to keep a good mix of genres, but it’s pretty heavily American RnB, sorry!”

“That’s okay; I’m just amazed you even remembered! You’re always in the airport so I figured you must be really busy!” Seulgi was holding a CD in her hand. Joohyun could see neat handwriting on the front; it looked like a handmade mixtape.

Unlike when talking with Joohyun moments before, Seungwan was bubbly and bright without any of the stuttering. Joohyun wondered if she was really that scary, frowning as she brought the drink over to the counter. “Here you go.”

“Oh, thank you!” Seungwan’s eyes widened comically as she picked up the cup. “It’s so… uh…. Pink.” Seulgi laughed while Joohyun continued to frown with concern. “I mean, that’s not like a problem or anything. I guess it’s kinda stupid to expect anything otherwise, huh?” She took a sip and her entire face scrunched up such that Joohyun would’ve thought Seungwan hated the drink if it weren’t for her low hum of approval. “This is so good, thank you!”

“It’s our most popular drink right now,” Seulgi told her, and Seungwan nodded her head strongly in agreement.

“I can see why.” She took another sip, smiling brightly. “Let me know what you think about those songs, and maybe I’ll get a chance to put together another one. I’ll be back through here soon enough.”

“What can I do in return?”

“Make me one!” Seungwan’s grin to Seulgi still managed to stun Joohyun who wasn’t even the actual recipient. Thankfully, neither Seungwan nor Seulgi noticed, too busy talking to each other as she hovered behind her friend. “No, it’s okay, really. I enjoy this kind of thing! But I’d better go before I miss my flight. Thanks!” She waved at Seulgi, then caught Joohyun’s eye with a tiny nod and a tinier smile before wandering off towards the gates.

Joohyun’s eyes followed her even as she disappeared into a quickly forming crowd. “What’d she give you?”

“Last time we talked, Wendy-ssi was recommending me songs and she decided it was easier to just make a mixtape,” Seulgi said as she tucked the cd in the drawer beneath the counter.

“Her name is Wendy…?”

“Yeah? I already told you that…”

“She told me to put ‘Seungwan’ on her cup.”

“Weird…. It’s like she’s a secret agent.” Seulgi laughed, her eyes forming happy crescents. “The haircut’s cute, isn’t it?” Joohyun nodded, and Seulgi’s grin only widened. “Maybe one day you’ll even tell her your name.”

“I have a nametag for a reason.” Joohyun rammed into Seulgi with her shoulder. It might’ve had a bit more force than necessary, causing her friend to stumble to the side. Joohyun blamed Seulgi entirely for her miscalculation. “I’m going to finish the bagels now.”

She went back to her task, wondering why Seungwan—Wendy? -- had told Joohyun a different name. Which one was her real name? The question occupied her through the rest of her shift.

They saw her again two weeks later. Seulgi had already gone through Wendy’s mixtape and, after seeing it was work appropriate, had played it several times in the café. Joohyun hadn’t known what to expect but found that she really enjoyed the CD and even hummed along as she started recognizing the songs. She knew Seulgi had, in fact, put together a return mix CD, tucked away in the drawer under the register. Joohyun had come over that evening and lounged on the bed as Seulgi clicked through her music library. She’d even suggested a few songs.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to share a playlist on MelOn?” Joohyun had said when Seulgi wrestled with getting the cd to burn on one of the discs she had bought solely for this purpose. “It’s not like you even played the original CD.”

“But it’s like… the aesthetic of the thing. You can write on the CD and say why all the songs are there…” Seulgi shrugged, popping open her disc drive with a frown. “It’s special, for someone to have gone through all the effort of making something physical.”

“I see…” She kind of did, but mostly was enjoying watching Seulgi struggle with her computer.

“Did you even see the original CD? Here.” Seulgi flung the case at her—Joohyun suspected it was to make her pay attention to something else and stop snickering under her breath. However, once she saw the CD, she could understand the charm. Wendy’s handwriting was cute, although it looked as though she’d put a lot of effort into making it neat. There were small doodles by different songs, highlighting particular ones. Her favorite from the CD, Last Love by Red Velvet, was surrounded by little hearts.

“Are you going to draw on your CD too?” she asked, running her finger over the sharpied drawings.

“I probably won’t have enough room to write all the titles in! I’m amazed the CD will even fit this many songs…”

Now, Seulgi dug the CD she'd made out of the drawer, setting it next to the register that Joohyun was manning. “Make sure to remind me to give it to her, okay?”

“Of course,” Joohyun said with a pout. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was now invested in making sure it made its way into Wendy’s hands.

“Hi!” Today Wendy was in a white turtleneck that, although simple, made her look sweet, even angelic. Joohyun’s throat felt dry.

“Hello… Seungwan-nim.” She could feel her heartrate pick up as she said the girl’s name-- or at least, the name she’d given Joohyun. That was just what friendly baristas did, right? Especially when the person came by on a regular basis. (She never bothered to remember peoples’ names, but Wendy/Seungwan didn’t need to know that.)

Seungwan’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but she smiled. “I can’t believe you remembered my name! But, uh, I don’t know yours…?”

“Joohyun.”

“Joohyun-ssi…” Her eyebrows crinkled like she was trying out the taste of it. “It’s nice to meet you!”

Joohyun only nodded, not trusting herself to speak. However, she was saved by Seulgi who came out of the backroom with her arms full of napkins.

“Wendy-ssi!” She exclaimed, dumping the napkins on the back counter. “We loved the mixtape!”

“We?” Joohyun noticed that Seungwan’s eyes had the tendency to fly open wide whenever she was shocked.

“Unnie and I!” Seulgi slung an arm over Joohyun’s shoulder. “I played it a bit in the café. All the songs are so good!”

“Whew!” Seungwan let out an exaggerated sigh. “I was hoping you’d like it, but I wasn’t sure…”

“No, it’s great! And I made one just as promised!” Seungwan’s entire face lit up as Seulgi plucked the CD case from under Joohyun’s arm and handed it over. “Unnie even helped me out!”

“Wow, oh my god! I’ll listen to it as soon as I get back to my computer!” From anyone else, the enthusiasm would’ve sounded fake, but there was something in the way Seungwan made sure to catch both of their eyes that spoke to her genuine joy at having received a gift from her regular baristas, absurd as it was.

“Now tell me what you want so unnie can ring you up!” Seulgi exclaimed, breaking the moment. She took Seungwan’s order, bustling off and leaving Joohyun alone with the other girl.

“I did really like it,” Joohyun managed to mumble after she’d rung Seungwan up. It didn’t seem polite to only express her appreciation through Seulgi.

“I really wasn’t sure if anyone would… I lived in the US when I was growing up, so a lot of the songs I listen to are pretty unfamiliar here…” As she spoke, the other girl was looking down at her hands which were drumming against the counter. It was definitely Joohyun’s presence bringing out this side of Seungwan, compared to her easy cheeriness when speaking with Seulgi. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen this behavior at the counter, but while usually she wished customers would speak up then move aside, she found herself frustrated and relieved by turns. She’d like for Seungwan to look at her, but it also made it easier for her to speak without the other girl’s gaze on her.

“I actually liked one of the Korean songs best,” Joohyun admitted. “The one called ‘Last Love’…?”

“Really?” Seungwan sounded so shocked that Joohyun looked up. “I mean—I guess it’d be the most familiar…”

“I liked the singing the best. The vocals are so beautiful…” Joohyun couldn’t make sense of the blush she saw on the other girl’s cheeks. “I was thinking I should look up more things by the group.”

“Oh, I mean, they do a lot of different genres! I don’t think that they have any other songs that sound like that—”

“Here’s your tea!” Seulgi interrupted, placing the drink on the counter. Joohyun didn’t sigh at her friend for doing her job. “Please have a safe trip!”

“Thankfully I’m on my way home,” Seungwan chuckled, taking her drink. “Thank you so much!”

“Have a good day,” Joohyun blurted out as Seungwan turned to leave with a wave, remembering last time when she hadn’t managed to say anything.

Seungwan paused for a moment, nodding. “You too.”

She was left in peace to watch Seungwan walk off, joining the group of people she always seemed to be traveling with. However, she received an elbow to her side the moment the short haired girl disappeared out of sight.

“You’ve got it bad for her, huh.”

“Go away.” She shoved Seulgi towards the mess she’d made with the napkin packages, but also sighed. She had a feeling Seulgi was right.