Bongcha was deep in her own thoughts as she brewed the morning batch of coffee. Joy had class that day so she would not be in until later in the afternoon. This meant that it would be just her and Kyungsoo for the most part of the day, almost as though returning to the old times — almost.

“Damn, I knew I should have gotten that loaf of banana bread on my way here.” Kyungsoo’s grunt pulled Bongcha back to reality.

Twirling around, Bongcha gave Kyungsoo a confused look while Kyungsoo scratched his ear awkwardly, realising that he had unintentionally said his thoughts out loud.

“The bakery near my house had banana bread today but I didn’t buy any,” Kyungsoo explained after a few moments of silence.

“Ah.” Bongcha nodded, retuning to the coffee.

She realised that she had let too much time pass before the next pour of water, which meant that the coffee was going to be over-extracted and thus affect the overall balance of the flavour. Her shoulders immediately slouched, feeling disappointed and as though she had just ruined the whole day.

“Something wrong with the coffee?” Kyungsoo questioned, noticing the shift in her mood.

Bongcha stared at the brown liquid, chewing on her lower lip and jolting in surprise upon feeling Kyungsoo tap her shoulder.

“The taste is going to be off,” Bongcha exhaled. “I’ll make you a new batch.”

“No need.” Kyungsoo held onto Bongcha’s wrist, stopping her from redoing the coffee. “Coffee is coffee. How bad can it be?”

Pouring himself a mug, Kyungsoo offered the girl a smile before scurrying inside his office, closing the door behind him. Once inside, Kyungsoo fell into his chair and the calm and collected expression he was wearing broke, revealing one of embarrassment and regret.

“That totally made it sound like I don’t know how to appreciate good coffee,” the male grunted into his hands. “Or worse make it seem like I don’t appreciate her making me coffee every day. Goddamnit Do Kyungsoo why can’t you be smoother when talking to her?”

Kicking his legs towards the air, Kyungsoo forgot that he was sitting behind his desk and ended up smacking his knee against the wooden furniture, causing him to yelp out in pain.

Hearing his scream, Bongcha rushed into his office, swinging the door open without bothering to knock.

“Are you okay?”

“Y—yes,” Kyungsoo stuttered. “Hit my knee, that’s all.”

“Be careful,” Bongcha sighed in relief. “Also… Don’t overwork yourself. Make sure to get enough rest.”

“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo looked at her in confusion. “I should be the one telling you that. You are the one always sending me work emails late at night.”

“At least I’m home when I do that,” Bongcha mumbled. “And not holed up in the office.”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth but no words came out. He wondered whether Bongcha actually saw him in the office the previous evening. But if so, why did she just leave? Upon that realisation, Kyungsoo failed to control his expression and disappointment veiled his eyes.

An awkward silence fell as neither knew what to say next. Thankfully the phone started ringing in that moment and Bongcha dashed out, almost diving towards the phone.

“Bongcha speaking. Yes, please send her up. Thank you very much.”

Kyungsoo had barely managed to regain his composure when Bongcha’s face appeared by his doorway again.

“Kwon Haeyoung has arrived,” Bongcha informed Kyungsoo.

“The actress?” Kyungsoo stood up. “The one married to the French director?”

“Yes,” Bongcha confirmed. “Seems like the husband has hired a foreign law firm that has a branch company in Seoul.”

“Is the husband here or in France?”

“It appears that he hasn’t been in Seoul since the scandal of him sleeping with a younger actress broke out,”  Bongcha hummed.

Kyungsoo frowned, standing next to Bongcha as they prepared to welcome the new client.

“This could become troublesome.”

“Oh, and the husband doesn’t speak Korean.”

“Great,” Kyungsoo laughe