Days passed since the last time Chaeyeon saw Eunbi. Eunbi’s number never left Chaeyeon’s mind all day while she was working. Although Eunbi asked to exchange numbers, Chaeyeon didn’t leave Eunbi her number. The only way to reach out is for Chaeyeon to start texting her.

Chaeyeon did tell Eunbi to visit her resto when she has time, but Chaeyeon realised late that she didn’t give her the resto’s exact address. She didn’t think it thoroughly, and she highly doubts that Eunbi would wander around the neighbourhood only to find her resto.

“What an idiot,” Chaeyeon told herself.

“Excuse me.”

An unfamiliar voice brought Chaeyeon back to her sense. She stood from her seat when she realised that a customer has been standing in front of her for who knows how long, waiting to pay their bills.

“I’m sorry,” Chaeyeon took the paper with the customer’s orders on it, then began pushing buttons to input their orders into the cashier. After passing the receipt to the customer, she received the money then politely showed the way out.

Chaeyeon puffed her cheeks, then let out a huge sigh.

“Now, you look distracted.”

Sakura, who immediately went to the dirty table to clean it, engaged in a conversation with her boss from afar. She didn’t look too bothered, but pointed it out regardless.

“Please, don’t mind me,” answered Chaeyeon as she rubbed her temple.

“You’ve been like this the past week since you went to get a new pair of glasses. What happened?”

“Nothing much, really.”

Sakura tilted her head a little as her hands worked on cleaning up. It’s still the same Chaeyeon that keeps everything to herself, after all.

“Well, Chaeyeon, anytime you want to talk I’ll be here.”

Chaeyeon raised her head, then looked at Sakura, still working. She rolled her eyes around like she was conflicting on whether or not to talk.

“In that case may I ask you something, Sakura?”

“Hm? Sure, I’ll try my best to answer, I guess.”

Chaeyeon felt a lot of doubt to ask. To hide it, Chaeyeon buried her face in her palms, “About Kwon Eunbi, you know—”

“Ah, Eunbi? That was unexpected,” for some reason, Sakura’s face lit up when she heard her high school friend’s name being mentioned, “Oh, sorry for interrupting. Please, continue.”

“Is she fine?”

“Chaeyeon, you should really get rid of that habit of asking vague question. Even I will have a hard time answering that question.”

“Sorry, I mean, you know…”

Finding the right words to describe her question is quite a challenge for Chaeyeon.

When talking about death, there are generally two types. First, the natural type, meaning that said person will die of illness or old age. The latter one, accidental death, where said person will die of an accident. Needlessly to say, accidental death is way harder to predict since it can happen at any time and anywhere without any warnings.

Chaeyeon is trying to find out how Eunbi will die in forty days. However, asking something like “Is she sick?” out of the blue is very, very weird. Even though Sakura already knows how weird Chaeyeon can be when it comes to conversations, Chaeyeon highly doubt Sakura wouldn’t be weirded out by that question.

The girl in glasses, now a new one, shook her head hard. She gave up thinking and dismissed their conversation immediately.

“I’m sorry, forget about that.”

 Sakura somehow got used to be left hanging like that by Chaeyeon. She knows better than anyone else that when her boss doesn’t know what to say, she would end any conversation at any point. So, she rolled her eyes, picked up the pile of plates and made her way to the backdoor.

“I don’t know what you mean by fine, Chaeyeon,” Sakura said as she walked passed Chaeyeon. She stopped just beside Chaeyeon, then brought her face closer to Chaeyeon’s ear, “But if you mean fine as in beautiful, damn right she is.”

Immediately, Chaeyeon blushed. Her whole face became washed in red and her body made weird gestures.

“I did not mean that!” Chaeyeon exclaimed.

Sakura just laughed loud, continued to walk, opened the backdoor with her body, and vanished from Chaeyeon’s sight.

Chaeyeon wanted to go after Sakura, but when she heard the doors opened, she didn’t even have the leisure to choose. She had her attention on the customer that had just got into the store.

“Welcome—”

Before Chaeyeon could even finish greeting the customer, she choked on her own breath. Standing in front of her is a very, very familiar figure of a woman. She is petite, but has strong figure. Her black long hair is tied up and a wide smile decorates her already pretty face.

“Woah!” Kwon Eunbi exclaimed as she laid her eyes upon Chaeyeon, “What a coincidence to meet you here. Oh wow, that glasses suit you a lot.”

“…”

Chaeyeon froze.

Eunbi, who she was talking about just a moment ago with her employee is now standing in front of her. The view is rather new since Chaeyeon has never seen Eunbi in casual clothes. This marks as the first time she saw Eunbi out of her uniform.

“Hello~?” Eunbi waved her hand in front of Chaeyeon’s face, which is also frozen alongside her body.

“I… didn’t tell you the address, did I…?” Chaeyeon asked.

“Huh?” Eunbi raised her eyebrows, not quite catching what Chaeyeon meant. But as soon as she realised, she gaped and her eyes grew wider, “Oh! Your resto, this is your resto?”

Chaeyeon nodded without saying a word.

“Wow, that’s a nice surprise. I guess I killed two birds with one stone today. Was thinking of contacting you but I didn’t get your number so~”

It was a rather one-sided conversation Eunbi was having with herself. Chaeyeon was dumbfounded. She stood straight, but even a little wind would make her tumble.    

“May I take your order, Eunbi?” asked Chaeyeon as she got herself together.

“Ah, right—” Eunbi finally stopped talking to herself and faced Chaeyeon, “Hm, I didn’t think about what to order. What should I pick~?”

Eunbi took the menu and flipped the pages as she scans it quickly. She did this without taking a seat, Chaeyeon presumed that she isn’t here to have meal in the first place.

“I’ll have an Americano then!” exclaimed Eunbi while showing the menu to Chaeyeon.

Chaeyeon took a booklet from her pocket and a pen. She wrote down Eunbi’s order, then called, “Sakura! One Americano.”

“Yes, boss!”

Sakura’s voice was heard from the backdoor, immediately responding to her boss’ favour.

“Oh, is Sakura back there?”

Chaeyeon put back her attention to Eunbi. She took a deep breath when she thought she finally found out Eunbi’s reason to be here.

“Right, you were… Sakura’s friend back in high school,”

“I’m surprised you knew that,” Eunbi sounded excited, “Did Sakura tell you that? Oh, did she say anything about me?”

“No, not really. Just the fact that you know each other.”

Eunbi chuckled, “That’s nice to hear. I’m glad she didn’t reveal anything embarrassing about my high school years.”

“Hm, yeah, I could totally imagine you being embarrassing.”

Eunbi was taken by surprise.

“Wow, that was bold of you. It’s nice seeing you being so straightforward instead of hanging your head down all the time,” said Eunbi, with the intention to tease Chaeyeon further more.

Chaeyeon let out a little laugh, and when she realised it, she tightly closed . She knows she’s weird, but she can reach a new level of weird when there’s Eunbi.

“You can laugh after all, huh.”

“I do, more than you imagine actually.”

Eunbi snickered and held her smile. She turned her head, facing the backdoor.

Suddenly the door moved. Sakura, who finally finished doing the dishes, slammed the backdoor open while shouting, “Okay I’m finally done!”

“Ah—! Sakura!" exclaimed Eunbi, full of excitement as soon as her eyes caught Sakura.

“Oh? Eunbi—!" the latter girl, equally excited, ran to Eunbi and immediately gave her a big and tight hug, “I’ve wanted to see you for a long time!”

Eunbi returned the hug, patting her old friend on the back, “There, there, you miss me too much.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Sakura separated herself from the hug, “I’ve told you to come visit the resto since what, a year ago? This is the first time you actually came!”

“Haha, I’m sorry. I completely forgot until Chaeyeon told me about her resto some days ago.”

“Chaeyeon did?” Sakura couldn’t believe what she heard, “Chaeyeon as in Lee Chaeyeon that is standing beside us right now?”

Chaeyeon, who heard that loud and clear, looked very annoyed. She stared down at Sakura who laughed at her. She feels like this whole day Sakura has been constantly teasing her.

“I asked her to come but didn’t give any address. She’s here for you, Sakura. You two go and spend some time together. I’ll prepare Eunbi’s order.”

After saying that, Chaeyeon turned her back and walked away from both of them.

“Oh no, is she angry?” Eunbi asked, genuinely concerned.

“Nah, it’s nothing new. That’s just how Chaeyeon is. You’ll get used to it, believe me.”

“Is that so? I guess I won’t be too worried then.”

“Come on, take a seat, let’s have some talk.”

Sakura led Eunbi to the nearest seat and pulled the chair for her. She sat across Eunbi and they spent their time talking, a lot. Both of them look like they are having so much fun. Their laughter alone could fill the silence in Chae Resto.

Meanwhile, Chaeyeon watched from afar as she worked on making Eunbi the most delicious Americano she’ll ever drink.

Once done, Chaeyeon walked over to their seat and served the drink, “Here you go, your Americano.”

“Woah, this looks really nice. Thanks, Chaeyeon,” Eunbi said excitedly.

“You’re welcome,” said Chaeyeon then immediately turned her back to return to the counter.

“Ah, Chaeyeon—” called Eunbi, stopping Chaeyeon from leaving, “Come sit with us here for a while. Let’s talk, the three of us.”

“What?” a confused Chaeyeon asked, “Uh, I’ll pass, I should be taking care of the resto.”

“Don’t be like that, Chaeyeon,” now it’s Sakura’s turn to convince Chaeyeon to sit with them, “The resto is empty now, there shouldn’t be anyone come in any time soon. I saved that chair just for you, boss.”

“…”

Chaeyeon couldn’t find the reason to refuse. So, Chaeyeon shrugged her shoulder and took a seat.

“This place is really nice,” Eunbi said while sipping her drink, “How long has this place opened?”

“It’s a family business, I took over after my mom passed away,” Chaeyeon answered.

“Oh— I’m sorry."

The situation suddenly became awkward. Neither one of the three said anything. Chaeyeon and Sakura sat quietly while Eunbi drinks loudly.

“Ehem,” Sakura cleared in attempt to fix the situation. She thought of a topic to talk about and found one rather quickly, “You two are closer than I thought, care to share any story?”

Chaeyeon wasted no time to answer, “No, nothin—”

“Yeah, isn’t that amazing?” Without guilt, Eunbi cut off Chaeyeon, “We met a week ago, right? It’s like fate, I couldn’t get her out of my mind since the first day. Sakura, you’ve got a really nice boss here.”

“Woah, really?” Sakura sounded excited, “Chaeyeon didn’t tell me anything about you. If I had not done all the asking, maybe she would've forget about you already.”

Chaeyeon didn’t even bother to respond. The to woman sitting by her side are just throwing around words which she couldn’t tell are compliments or badmouthing.

“Ah,” suddenly, Sakura’s face lit up like she had realised something, “Although just now before you came in, Chaeyeon did ask a weird question about you.”

That was the first time Chaeyeon reacted. Her whole body twitched.

“Eh~ What is it?”

Nobody can beat Eunbi when it comes to curiosity about herself. But before Eunbi could get an answer out of Sakura, suddenly Chaeyeon exclaimed in a loud voice, while in the same time stood up from her seat, interrupting the conversation those two were having.

“Oh, that’s right! You asked for my number, right? Got it, give me a sec!”

Chaeyeon left the table, clearly flustered.

“Uh…”

Responding to the situation, Sakura and Eunbi looked at each other awkwardly. They nervously watched Chaeyeon who walked back to the counter with heavy steps. They wondered if any one of them said anything wrong.

“I think you really made her angry this time, Sakura,” Eunbi whispered.

“Um…” Sakura didn’t deny, she wasn’t sure what to say or do.

Chaeyeon sat firm on her chair. Even though there was little to no work to do, Chaeyeon somehow finds ways to make herself look busy. She’s embarrassed, to say the least. Now that she thinks about it, asking that question to Sakura was the wrong move after all.

Even though she managed to find some work to do, Chaeyeon still couldn’t help but to cringe. She formed her left hand into a fist and slammed it to her shaking leg multiple times while her right hand wrote random things down on a piece of paper. Never in her life has Chaeyeon felt like the biggest idiot.

“Hey,” suddenly, Eunbi’s sweet voice cut off Chaeyeon’s messed up thoughts. Eunbi leaned her body on the table and met her eyes with Chaeyeon’s. Chaeyeon looked straight at Eunbi, not realising how red her face was.

“W… what—”

“I’m sorry if we offended you before. I didn’t realise,” Eunbi’s voice was full of concern as she genuinely apologizes on her and Sakura’s behalf.

When faced with sincere apology, Chaeyeon can’t even get angry. Raising her voice at someone looking so genuine really doesn’t fit Chaeyeon at all. So, rather than saying anything, Chaeyeon chose to keep quiet.

Not getting the respond she hoped for, Eunbi tried another way to approach, “It was really delicious, that Americano. Thanks, Chaeyeon.”

Chaeyeon gulped. It was hard to hide her happiness.

Eunbi’s expression changed the moment she realised she said the right thing. Her iconic smile made appearance once again. Eunbi stood straight and reached into her purse.

“How much is it?”

“Uh—” Chaeyeon began to input Eunbi’s order into the cashier. Once the receipt is printed out, she handed it to the latter woman, “Here you go.”

Eunbi put her money on the table and Chaeyeon took it. While Chaeyeon was preparing Eunbi’s change, Eunbi talked more.

“Today’s plan was supposed to meet up with Sakura. But I’m glad I get to see you again, Chaeyeon.”

“Is that so…”

“Yes, really. I’ve been wanting to reach out to you, lucky for me I found your resto. Don’t you think so?”

“Well if you say so then okay.”

Chaeyeon handed over Eunbi’s money, then said nothing. They had a good three seconds just staring at each other.

“Hey, Chaeyeon,” said Eunbi, breaking the silence while at the same time startling Chaeyeon.

“Yeah?”

“Let’s hang out, the two of us. I somehow feel like I owe you more than an apology.”

Chaeyeon’s eyes widen while the other parts of her body stay frozen. That took her by surprise, a lot. was open, but she couldn’t say anything. Her pupils moved left, and right, left, and right, but never stopped at Eunbi.

“Uhm,” in the end, only a faint voice of doubt left .

“Is it okay? Hm, let’s say, this Sunday.”

“Sunday…” Chaeyeon took a peek at the calendar right beside her, “…that would be the 12^th.”

“Ah, do you have any plans on that day? That’s no good… I assume you can’t go on weekdays so… the next Sunday, then…?”

Eunbi was wrong, Chaeyeon doesn’t have any plans at all. The thing is, unconsciously, Chaeyeon thought about Eunbi’s limited time. She thought about how they shouldn’t waste her time.

“Eunbi,” said Chaeyeon with a serious expression, “Uh, um— How about this Friday…?”

Needlessly to say, it was an unexpected suggestion from Chaeyeon. Who thought she could be that bold. But Eunbi’s respond was a small smile, she’s excited.

“Friday sounds nice, really. But are you sure? What about your resto?” asked Eunbi.

“I can make it if we’re going for dinner.”

“Oho~ got it, Chaeyeon. Friday it is.”

Chaeyeon was trying so hard to stop herself from blushing. Sometimes Eunbi can be quite the tease and Chaeyeon always fall for it. She tried to hide her face, but this time she made sure not to make it too obvious.

Chaeyeon bended down, taking the piece of paper she was scribbling random things on, then ripped a part of it. She stayed on that state for quite some time as she tried to catch her breath. After exhaling hard, Chaeyeon stood and handed over the ripped piece of paper to Eunbi.

At first, Eunbi appeared confused.

“My number, so we can… talk more, I guess.”

In the end Chaeyeon still blushed after all. Giving your number to someone else is truly nerve wrecking, and now she has experienced it.

Eunbi smiled then took it.

“See you on Friday, Chaeyeon.”

 

#

 

The night came after a long day. Lee Chaeyeon had just closed her store and she already have the strong urge to sink inside her bed. She doesn’t even care about the night program she watches every night. Her energy is drained completely.

After a short shower, Chaeyeon changed into her pyjama and dived right into her bed, facing down and buried her face in her pillow, almost snapping her glasses into two. The lights are off, she was planning on sleeping early. But what happened earlier today couldn’t get out of her mind.

Kwon Eunbi is a truly fearsome woman. With only ten days of knowing each other, she successfully broke through Chaeyeon’s social wall that had not been penetrated by anyone else except Sakura.

Not only have they exchanged number, but they even have plans already. Friday on the 10^th, that’s two days from today. Chaeyeon instantly regretted suggesting that day. She should’ve gone with Sunday instead. That way, she’d have three full days to mentally prepare herself instead of one.  

Chaeyeon reached her hand under the pillow and grabbed her phone from there. After pulling it out, Chaeyeon turned her body face up and turned her phone on. The screen lit up and showered her face with light.

First, she explored through WeTube, searching for random videos to watch. She clicked on the most random video she could find on her recommended section and watched them with straight face. After a while, she had enough and proceeded to search up random food recipes she would never try. Then, the next thing she did is reading the online webtoon.

 Anyways, she just wants to clear her head. Filling her mind with random things seemed to help last time so she did exactly that. But everything went to a waste when suddenly she got a text from an unknown number. Chaeyeon widened her eyes and hurriedly clicked on the notification.

Aaa~ Aa~ Test, test, one, two, three. Kwon Eunbi here, do you copy, Lee Chaeyeon~?

It was a bizarre first text from Eunbi, but Chaeyeon wouldn’t expect less from her. Before replying to that random late-night text, Chaeyeon saved Eunbi’s number and named her “Kwon’s Optical”.

Lee Chaeyeon present, she replied back.

Oho~ thank God, I thought you gave me a random dude’s number

Chaeyeon laughed at that response while both of her thumbs typed a reply.

Need anything?

Chaeyeon didn’t even need to put down her phone after that reply. Eunbi replied almost immediately, not even one minute had passed.

            Nothing much, this is a test text.

            Am I really that suspicious?

            Haha, not really. I just wanted to text you.

The girl staring at her phone in the dark felt her heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t sure what to answer. Her eyes rolled around and her tongue the back of her teeth while thinking of a response. Nothing came to mind, and eventually a message from the other side came first.

            I look forward to our date in two days~

Date.

Out of every word Kwon Eunbi could choose, she just had to use one that shocked Chaeyeon to the core. Reading that text, Chaeyeon’s head sank deeper into her pillow. The hard cringe she felt was too much to handle.

            Hello~?

Chaeyeon left Eunbi on read as she was dealing with her heart that was beating so fast and hard.

            I’m sorry. Yes, I look forward to it too.

It sounded cold and short, but if only Eunbi could see how hard it was for Chaeyeon to type those words with her shaking hand...

            Hehe. Good night Chaeyeon~

“Ah—” Chaeyeon gasped in disappointment when she felt that the conversation is going to be over soon. Not willing to end it without making any impression, she tried hard to come up with a memorable response.

            Good night, sweet dreams, Eunbi.

“…” Chaeyeon stared at her screen after sending that message. She wondered if it was okay. Somehow, it felt so underwhelming, but she doubts she could do better.

            You too, dream about me <3

As expected of Kwon Eunbi. Now Chaeyeon is crawling on her floor after falling flat faced onto the floor.

The next time Chaeyeon looked at her phone, she saw that Eunbi went offline already. She sighed at her dumbness. She pummelled her head a couple of times.

“Lee Chaeyeon you dumb dumb…”

Chaeyeon’s done it now. She’s completely attached to Kwon Eunbi.   

 

#

Friday, 10^th of November, 38 days before Kwon Eunbi’s death.

The day that would mark the start of a serious friendship has finally come. Usually, Chaeyeon’s only job is waiting for customers to pay, making drinks, and serving Unless it got too crowded, Sakura handles the other jobs like cleaning and cooking. But for some reason unknown, today Chaeyeon did a lot more than that.

Even Sakura was surprised by the amount of work reduction she got after seeing Chaeyeon take almost half of her work that day. Instead of cooking alone, now she has a partner to help her. Instead of worrying about dirty tables because she is still cooking, now she can leave the kitchen to her boss.

Friday is usually a busy day to work on, especially in the evening. More than any other day, Sakura appreciated that help a lot. From Chaeyeon’s expression alone, Sakura can tell that Chaeyeon isn’t doing this half-heartedly. She was doing this willingly.

“Chaeyeon,” Sakura called while cooking.

“Hm?” Chaeyeon responded without looking at Sakura. Her focus was solely on the fried rice she’s cooking.

“What possessed you?” Sakura asked playfully, “It’s not like you to be so motivated suddenly like this.”

Chaeyeon contemplated on whether or not should she tell Sakura about her “date” tonight with Eunbi. So, she did what she does best; leaving Sakura hanging. As soon as she finished cooking, she put it on a plate and went out of the kitchen to serve the customers.

“What a weird boss…”

The clock shows that it’s currently 8.15 p.m. If Eunbi is punctual, she would show up in another fifteen minutes. Chaeyeon tried to do as many works as she can before leaving for dinner.

“Excuse me, I’m ready to order!”

A customer called to Chaeyeon as soon as she got out of the kitchen.

“Be there in a minute!” Chaeyeon exclaimed.

After serving food to another table, Chaeyeon took a booklet and a pen from her table and walked over to the customer that called her.

“What would you have today, Miss—”

At this point, Chaeyeon isn’t even bothered to be surprised anymore. As she looked up, there she is, Kwon Eunbi, waving her hands when Chaeyeon got to her table. She was wearing a long sleeve white coat over her tiny body, covering her top until just above her knees. A perfect attire for the winter.

“Kwon… Eunbi…”

“Yahhoo, Chaeyeon~”

The place was crowded, Chaeyeon bended down and brought her face closer to Eunbi so she can hear her clearly.

“I thought you’re supposed to come in another fifteen minutes,” Chaeyeon asked hurriedly.

“I’m only early fifteen minutes, it’s not that big of a deal. Besides, I’m craving for one of those Lee Chaeyeon Americano.”

“…”

Chaeyeon stared at Eunbi with a look of disbelief. Still, right now she knows that she needs to treat Eunbi as her customer, not as a friend she’s going to hang out with in a while. So, she wrote down Eunbi’s order and went away.

Eunbi watched from afar. Chaeyeon looked so serious while doing her job. She has this determined look on her face all the time. But Eunbi somehow can’t take her seriously and just smiled the whole time.

Chaeyeon returned soon after making the Americano. She held the glass steadily so it won’t spill and walked slowly to Eunbi’s table. Chaeyeon looked at Eunbi and saw her smiling face. She soon got embarrassed and looked away.

“Here you go,” Chaeyeon put the glass down onto the table.

“Thank you Chaeyeon, I’ll be sure to enjoy this.”

“Uh, I’ll go get ready.”

“Bye bye~ I’ll be waiting~”

Eunbi waved at Chaeyeon and Chaeyeon did the same while walking away. After reaching the kitchen door, instead of opening it with her hands, Chaeyeon turned her back and pushed the door. At the same time, she took that chance to look back at Eunbi who was visibly happily drinking. Somehow, looking at Eunbi smiling makes Chaeyeon warm inside.

“Chaeyeon can you grab a plate for me?”

Sakura struggled to hold a pan with two of her hands. As soon as she saw Chaeyeon, she asked for her help. Chaeyeon didn’t stop for even one step, grabbed a plate and put it on the table as she walk.

“Sakura, I’m going out,” Chaeyeon said as she took off her apron.

“Huh? Right now?”

“Yup.”

“But we haven’t closed yet.”

“We’re closing at nine, right? Sorry, can you handle it for me? Just today, please.”

As much as Sakura wanted to refuse, she couldn’t. First, Chaeyeon was making a longing expression, one that she has never seen before. Then, she recalled about how much Chaeyeon has helped her today. Now she understands why Chaeyeon suddenly did so much work today.

After pouring the food she just cooked onto the plate and decorated it, Sakura rubbed her temple and said, “Ugh, fine, I’ll do it. But you’d better keep up this energy from now on too.”

Chaeyeon smiled, “Thank you. Good to know I can count on you.”

“Have a nice night, boss.”

 

#

 

“Oh, it’s a Chinese restaurant.”

As soon as Chaeyeon got out of Eunbi’s car, she was awed by the place Eunbi took her to. During the whole way here, Chaeyeon has been asking their destination yet Eunbi didn’t give her a clear answer. All she told Chaeyeon was, “You’ll have the best dinner here.”

The building is built as a traditional Chinese house with red lanterns hanging around the entrance, illuminating the night. By the amount of people queueing for a seat, everyone could tell how popular this restaurant is.

“Come on, I reserved a seat for us already,” said Eunbi as she dragged Chaeyeon along.

While the outside is decorated traditionally, the inside is more modernized without losing any of that Chinese atmosphere. All seats were filled and there were countless waiters running around the hall to deliver foods. There are many families sitting around the round table with many delicious looking foods on it. Just that sight alone made Chaeyeon’s stomach groaned.

Eunbi guided Chaeyeon to the seat she reserved for them. It was one in the most back and on the corner. One small table and two seats facing each other. One of the seats’ back is the wall, so there aren’t that many people surrounding them. On the side of the table is a glass window. Through the window, customers can admire the beautiful view of a pond at night with Koi fish swimming in it. It was a perfect view.

“What are you going to order?” Eunbi asked while flipping through the menu’s pages.

“Hm…” Chaeyeon looked at the menu thoroughly, but she looked troubled.

“I’ve heard that their Szechuan Chili Prawn is the best around here. What do you think?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Let’s get that.”

“Oh~ you must try their corn soup!” Eunbi stood from her chair and pointed at Chaeyeon’s menu, “They make the best corn soup you’ll ever taste.”

“Uhuh, great.”

Chaeyeon agreed on everything Eunbi recommended. If Eunbi kept on talking, their table probably won’t fit all the food they’d order. Chaeyeon trusts Eunbi’s taste bud and let her lead their dinner.

When hanging out with people, especially when it’s only two people, sometimes the most uncomfortable time could be waiting for the food. Chaeyeon is an introverted person so she can’t initiate conversations that well and probably can’t last long in one.

Chaeyeon tried to look at anything but Eunbi. She hid her hands under the table and moved her body back-and-forth like she was sitting on a rocking chair.

While Eunbi, who sits on the seat that leans on the wall, talked like there were no tomorrow. She kept on talking about how beautiful the view is, how she heard great things about this restaurant, and even random things like how they’d fit their foods on the tiny table. Chaeyeon heard everything, but only nodded in response, maybe once in a while response with hums.

Eunbi took her eyes off the beautiful view and looked at Chaeyeon, who didn’t even try to hide her uncomfortableness. Eunbi raised a brow while smiling. She looked at Chaeyeon like she was looking at a kid nervous on their first day of school.

“Am I that boring?” Eunbi asked playfully.

Chaeyeon panicked when she heard that. Without even missing one second, she quickly denied, “No, no! You’re not. I’m just— Uh, I’m sorry—"”

In the midst of her panicking, her hand naturally made its way up the table and into her own purse. She reached into it and grabbed her phone. It is just how Chaeyeon is. Whenever she is too nervous, she needs to fidget something. In this situation, the only thing she could rely on is her phone.

But, as soon as the phone is on Eunbi’s line of sight, the smaller girl stood up slightly from her seat and held the top part of the phone like she was going to take it away.

Simply holding it startled Chaeyeon enough, she wasn’t even able to turn the phone on. Chaeyeon gulped when she realised what she has done. Her eyes slowly rolled up.

“Nope~” Eunbi said once their eyes met, “Eyes on me, Chaeyeon.”

There goes Chaeyeon’s heartbeat.

The only reason Chaeyeon didn’t pass out on spot is the sudden interruption by the waiters bringing them their food. Eunbi retracted her arm to let the waiter put their food on the table.

The first food served is Eunbi’s highly recommended corn soup. It was steaming hot, freshly made. The smell alone could make anybody’s mouth watery, not to mention it looks visually stunning.

Chaeyeon was captivated. She kept on looking down at the soup without even minding the hot steam rising up to her face.

“Smells nice, right?”

Chaeyeon looked up with gaped. She looked like she was longing for food this whole time. Eunbi laughed at that sight and gestured her to eat.

With that, Chaeyeon grabbed the spoon sitting on the left part of her table and scooped. The thickness of the soup was perfect, she knows that as her spoon sank inside. She blew the soup because it was hot, but as a result, her glasses got steamy. Her whole vision became blur.

Eunbi laughed at Chaeyeon’s silliness.

“Come here,” Eunbi got closer to Chaeyeon and took her glasses off her face. She took a cloth and wiped Chaeyeon’s glasses.

Chaeyeon sat silently. She didn’t even mind that Eunbi took off her glasses without warning even though normally she wouldn’t like it at all. The sight of Eunbi taking care of her somehow made her heart skip a beat.

“You’re beautiful,” Chaeyeon whispered in her heart.

38

Still, nothing can take Chaeyeon’s eyes off that cursed number. Every time this happens, she is reminded of how limited her time is with Eunbi. She wishes, deep inside her heart, that time would stop at this moment. Maybe, if time were to stop now, she could achieve eternal happiness.

Chaeyeon peeked over to the people sitting next to her. There were many, many people filling the room. She did a quick scan and immediately regretted it. How sad, even the sickest and oldest looking person in the room has at least three digits. Chaeyeon’s earlier excitement quickly disappeared and she frowned.

“Why must it be you?”

 “Okay, done!” Eunbi exclaimed when she finally cleaned the glasses. She looked very satisfied with the result.

“Ah, thanks,” Chaeyeon leaned closer and extended her arm to reach for her glasses.

Before Chaeyeon could even touch her glasses, though, Eunbi moved faster. She took advantage of Chaeyeon leaning closer and tried to put the glasses on Chaeyeon. But suddenly she stopped mid-air. She moved the glasses away from Chaeyeon’s eyes and stared right into it.

Chaeyeon became embarrassed, “Eunbi…?”

“Wow, Lee Chaeyeon, you’ve got the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.”

As Eunbi said that, her smile grew wider. It was sudden and out of nowhere, to say the least. Eunbi was captivated. She didn’t even blink as she admired Chaeyeon’s beautiful brown eyes. Each second passed, and it’s like she’s pulled deeper into her eyes.

Embarrassed, Chaeyeon quickly took her glasses from Eunbi and put it on herself. She cleared , and without responding to Eunbi’s compliment she said, “Let’s have our dinner.”

 

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“Ahhh, that was the best dinner I’ve ever had! How refreshing~”

After what felt like a very long meal, Eunbi and Chaeyeon decided to do a little sightseeing by the pond. They walked around in the middle of the silent night. Not many people were out since it’s cold outside. But Eunbi, who was wearing a thick coat, actively ran around, not bothered by the cold, like it’s Spring.

While Eunbi ran around, Chaeyeon was still in the middle of an existential crisis. She was blown away by the amazing meal she just had. Her face alone could already tell everyone in the world how satisfied she was with the food. As expected of Eunbi, she really did choose the best place.

Chaeyeon squatted by the pond while watching Eunbi. Instead of being hyper like her partner, Chaeyeon admired the beauty of the night by watching the moon’s reflection in the water. It didn’t last long, though. The fish inside would jump up and soak Chaeyeon wet.

It’s like the world belonged to the two of them. No matter how loud or questionable they are being, no one would come to criticize them. The whole pond area is theirs.

Needlessly to say, tonight was an amazing night for Chaeyeon. Not only did she get to taste amazing food, she spent it with someone she recently is crazily obsessed with.

“What are you looking at?” Eunbi was out of breath after running for a good five minutes non-stop. She stopped by the pond and sat beside Chaeyeon.

“As you can see…” Chaeyeon dipped her hand into the pond, “…watching the fish swim around.”

“They are beautiful,” Eunbi’s eyes followed one of the fish’s movements, “I wonder how many are there.”

“Twelve.”

“No way, you counted them? How bored are you?”

“I tend to do things people perceive as weird.”

“Yeah, well, luckily you’ve got a friend right here who can deal with your weirdness,” Eunbi proudly presented herself.

Chaeyeon smiled, genuinely feeling happy.

“Oh, you can smile.”

“Sure I can. I just don’t smile often.” Chaeyeon said without fading her smile.

“Woah, I’m lucky then.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I get to see what other people don’t; Ms. Lee Chaeyeon at her most beautiful moment.”

Chaeyeon blushed even though she expected that kind of response from the latter woman. She held onto her smile because right now, at this second, Chaeyeon is really, really happy.

Eunbi reached into her pocket for her phone. She looked at the screen for a while, showed it to Chaeyeon, then asked, “Should we go home now, then?”

The screen showed the current time. One minute before midnight, 23:59.

Chaeyeon took a moment, slowly losing her smile. She looked at Eunbi, then suddenly took off her glasses.

A minute passed, the date on Eunbi’s phone changed as the time changed to midnight. But that wasn’t the only ones that changed. Chaeyeon didn’t take her eyes off Eunbi.

37

Now, Chaeyeon is really counting down.

She smiled bitterly at that sight and tried hard not to make her sadness too obvious. 

“Yes, let’s go back home.”

 

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