“Sir*, what’s the weather forecast today?”

 

“Today’s average temperature is 31ºC, 70% humidity.”

 

“Ahh- that’s so warm~” A certain dance trainee stared at her phone screen while lamenting about the horrible hot spells that hit the country lately for the past few weeks. Suddenly craving for what’s popular amongst the teens nowadays, she grabbed her bag and left the dance studio during her lunch break. 

 

Indeed, the moment she stepped out of the basement, the sweltering heat from the sun rays hit her mercilessly. Casually putting on her black cap, she headed down to the commercial area just down the road. 

 

---

 

“BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!!!” 

 

Screams from the bread shop rang in her ears. Annoyed, she took a detour from the main road and headed towards the only bubble-tea shop in that area. As she gained sight of the destined store, a sigh came out of her. 

 

“Long queue as always huh?” She then reluctantly waited for her turn while the rest of the customers ahead of her took their orders. 

 

Around 15 minutes later, she found herself standing directly in front of the counter. As she finished ordering her usual drink, a smile of the new employee caught her attention. 

 

“Your order will be $3.80.” A left dimple was spotted under the white LED lights under close scrutiny as well. 

 

Completely mesmerized by the star-like smile, Sooyoung took a while to return to her senses as she searched for change while being flustered. 

 

“Here-” She reached her hand out into the small glass opening and gave it to the girl.

 

While exchanging friendly smiles to each other in the meantime, their hands touched, causing the dance trainee to sprout steam off her head as she tried to cool it down by the side of the store. 

 

As the girl continued taking orders from other customers behind Sooyoung, she knew that she was still under the eyes of the shy dancer. Purposely ignoring the intense stare of the other party, she tried her best to focus on her job. 

 

---

 

“2894, 2894! Your drink is ready to be collected!” The girl at the counter shouted to attract a certain customer amongst the crowd of people in front of the store. 

 

Without hesitation, the girl with the black cap stood forward and quickly took up her drink from the counter. As she took her time to collect the necessary items that go along with her drink, she sneakily slipped a piece of paper into the hands of the cashier girl and hastily took her leave without a word. 

 

“Oh my god, hopefully, she’ll text me back ><;;” Sooyoung panicked a little on the inside as she sipped the contents of the drink on her way back to the dance studio. 

 

Meanwhile, the cashier girl simply looked at a white piece of paper with a string of 8-digit numbers and quietly kept it inside her pocket. 

 

---

 

A few days passed since both girls met each other, but the girl in question hasn’t yet made a move on the dancer. Deciding to try her luck one more time, Sooyoung went back to the store and was disappointed that the cashier stood a different person. 

 

Sighing, she made her way back to the dance studio with her head down. Halfway along the journey, a thud was heard. 

 

Looking over her shoulder, Sooyoung was shocked to see some books sprawled on the floor. Quickly realizing her mistake, she helped to pick them up. Not before..

 

“Thank you so much. I’m so sorry for bumping into you..” The girl said in exasperation while still arranging the items in her hands. It was the very same girl whom she met at the bubble-tea shop and gave her number to. 

 

The moment their eyes met, both girls fell in an awkward silence phase, where the girl quickly broke it by stating how she’s almost late for work.

 

“Wait-!” Not wanting to let this chance slip between her fingers, Sooyoung brazenly asked for the girl’s name. 

 

Initially greeted by a surprised look, the dance trainee eventually got the answer that she wanted while the cashier girl left the scene hurriedly. 

 

With her head still in the clouds, Sooyoung was about to punch herself for her rash behavior but decided not to cause a scene in the public unnecessarily. 

 

With every step away from the incident, the cashier girl broke into a little smile and continued heading to work. 

 

“I’m JinSoul, nice to meet you.” 

 

---

 

Later that night, Sooyoung’s phone rang. Since it was rare for her to receive a text in the early morning hours, she rubbed her eyes to look at the incoming message. At that instant, her back straightened to a perfect 90º angle. 

 

“Hey, this is JinSoul here. Sorry for the really late message, but do let me know that I’ve contacted the right person.” 

 

The text in green stared back at the now-sober girl as she tried her very best to keep herself from squealing out loud at midnight. 

 

Feeling trapped from not being able to share her excitement, she opened her spare private twee-tire account and started spamming all her frustrations out. After a good 30 minutes of being goofy, she plopped down onto her bed and went back to sleep, not before sending a message back to the cashier girl. 

 

“No wrong contacts, don’t worry. This is Sooyoung here by the way. I hope to chat more with you soon.” 

 

As sleep quickly overcame the overly-excited girl, a small notification appeared on the phone screen of the other party. 

 

---

 

Around 2 months went by since the two girls exchanged their phone numbers. As usual, the dance trainee headed down to the bubble-tea store to get her drink under the hot weather. If all things were to go in accordance, that will be it for the trainee’s schedule. However, ever since she met the pretty girl at the counter, perhaps there will be another item added onto the dancer’s list. And that is to spend time with her during her break. 

 

It’s not everyday where they can hang out together, but Sooyoung made sure she treasures every moment of it. So that when the time comes for them to properly date each other, she could have the actual courage to say that one line. 

 

“I like you. Would you be my girlfriend?”