two years later.

 

1:00 PM March 16

 

You stare outside the window to look for some kind of inspiration, since you were promoted to general manager for advertising, the expectations of you were high. ing think of something, dammit. You sigh and rest your cheek on your hand, you take out the pendant necklace that was hiding under your button-up shirt and play with it for a while, it became a habit for you to fidget with it to help you think, it was a gift from her actually, a golden star pendant with a diamond in the middle. You take a good look at it and the memories come flooding back.

 

//

 

“Woah, pretty.” You stare at the necklace inside the box. “I know right, you like it?” Yuri says, and you look up to see the sparkles in her eyes, “Yeah.” Yuri takes the necklace from the box and stands behind you, you bunch up your hair in a ponytail to make it easier for her to put the necklace on. “Damn. Feels expensive.” You say with an eyebrow raised, she chuckles and avoids eye contact, “just to make sure it lasts forever.” You give her a quick kiss on the lips and hug her by the neck, “thank you, love. It’s beautiful.” 

 

//

 

Your heart starts hurting at the little flashbacks in your head, it’s been 2 years since you last saw Yuri, 2 years since you passed by Cafe One. You miss the smell of the fresh coffee grounds, the soft music playing in the background, the ambient noise of the people talking, and of course, the little barista behind the counter. 

 

  Knock knock.

 

“Hey, you busy?” you see a hint of purple peep through the door, it could only mean one person. “Hitomi! What’s up?” Honda Hitomi, your lovely purple-haired colleague, and best friend. You met her on the job when both of you were still the rookies of the advertising team. “I’m hungry, wanna grab lunch?” You look at your watch, it was already 1:00 PM and you completely forgot to eat, “Oh right, I forgot, yeah let’s go.” You take your coat and go on a little food trip with Hitomi.

 

“So, where are we going?” You ask her. “There’s this little burger joint around the corner, it’s new and I wanted to try it.” Hitomi takes your hand and guides you to the restaurant, “come on, it’s over here.” 

 

You find a place to sit while Hitomi handles your orders, you look around to see the decorations around the room. It was cute, the retro 90s vibes were there, and the overall vibe was just fun and light. “Hey, here ya go,” Hitomi says as she puts down the tray on the table. You take your first bite, “oh damn.” You say in awe, “Right? It’s really good.” Hitomi says with a smile. 

 

After a few minutes of munching on burgers, and talking about the usual work rumors and gossip, the “one in a million chances” moment happens. You choke on your burger and duck your head lower, “Minju? Are you okay? What the--” You pull Hitomi’s shoulder to the side to block your face, “Hey my jacket! Careful with that, jeez. The is wrong with you?” 

 

“My ex that I haven’t seen for the past 2 years just walked in. I’m gonna hide under the table if I have to.” You whisper-shout at her.

 

“Since when did you have an ex?!” Hitomi says in surprise, “all you did was overwork yourself to the point of exhaustion!” You dig through your bag and find a mask to wear, 

 

“What did you think I had to do to forget about her? Besides, I didn’t wanna talk about it.” 

 

“Yikes… Wanna get out of here?” 

 

“No. If she realized that I was here and I ran away then that would mean I still got feelings for her right? Then I should make it look like I don’t.” Even though there might be some feelings somewhere. 

 

----

 

You get back to your office after lunch and open the drawer at your desk, underneath all the paperwork and files you find the photo. It was a picture of her that you took at the airport, a few hours before you boarded the plane for your little weekend getaway. You laugh at the thought, “you've always been the prettiest girl in the world to me, Yuri." 

 

“Psst, Minju!” Hitomi says as she peeks through your office door again, “Hm? You need anything?” You tell her. 

 

“Yes. I need answers, I’ve known you for so long and now I’m just finding out you have an ex? That I was just supposed to find out over lunch at a ing burger joint?”

You raise an eyebrow at her, “aren’t you supposed to be working? You’re not getting paid to talk about past love lives, Tomi.”  

 

“Jokes on you, you’re the one paying me. So spill, Tell me everything.” Hitomi says as she sits down on the chair in front of your desk. 

You let out an audible sigh and relax your shoulders, “alright, here’s your little love story.” 

 

(commence the storytelling part)

 

“Yuri and I, we met back in college in our junior year, so around 4 years ago. She worked part-time at the Cafe on the other street with her best friend, Yena. It’s funny actually cause every time I would get coffee from there she would spell my name differently every single time. One day it’s M-i-n-j-o-o the next day it’s M-i-n-j-u. Honestly, it was kinda annoying, but did I find it cute every time she giggled when she saw the disappointment in my face as I read another misspelled name? Of course, I did. Then one day she straight up wrote ‘Minguri’ on my cup and drew a little frog on it. My petty went to the counter to complain about it, I told her, ‘are you ever gonna do your job correctly? The least you could do is write my name correctly.’ and that little er retaliates me with ‘if we sat down and you told me about yourself then maybe I’ll get it right the next time.’ My God.” 

 

Hitomi lets out a soft gasp, “damn, she brave-brave huh.” 

 

“Exactly! The worst, or best, part is that it worked. It was around 8 PM and she finished her shift early to take me out on a date. It was at the diner-style restaurant a few blocks away, we ordered breakfast for dinner then talked about the usual stuff.”

 

//

 

“So what was the reason for misspelling my name every time I bought coffee?” You ask Yuri. 

 

She chuckles at her little fun of messing with you, “to get your attention, but it wasn’t working as good as it should be so I upped the ante, doing anything to get you a little more annoyed for you to come up to the counter.” 

 

“So you thought writing ‘minguri’ and drawing a little frog was a good idea?”  She steals a bite of your pancake and smirks, “Well you’re sitting in front of me eating pancakes at 9 PM right?”

 

“Point taken.”

 

-----

 

“Anyways, tell me about yourself. That’s what you told me, now I’m gonna return the question.” You tell Yuri, “Uhm. The name’s Jo Yuri, currently a business management major. I work at Cafe One as a part-time barista, but the dream is to get it under my management. What else do you want me to say? I like long walks on the beach or what?” You laugh at the corny joke at the end of her introduction, “I’ll take note of that.”

 

----

 

“Can I walk you home? You said you liked long walks on the beach, so I assume you liked walking.” You ask her suddenly, “Ha, ha, real funny.” Yuri says as she hooks her arm through yours. “Chivalry isn’t dead.” You say to her and she just rolls her eyes. You can’t remove that stupid grin on your face, first date and I got butterflies in my stomach already? Either I’m too whipped or I’ve been single for too long. 

 

//

 

“Okay cute, I don’t give a about the rest, skip to the juicy parts, tell me the agony and .” 

 

“Damn someone likes angst. Finding happiness in my pain?” You narrow your eyes at your purple-haired friend, “No, I just wanna know which side to take.” 

 

“Alright, so it started going downhill around after a year. We started fighting over petty things and whatnot. Our nights together would start like ‘ you!’ ‘ you too!’ or ‘you never treated me right.’ ‘you didn’t love me in the first place.’ Then it ends with ‘I love you I’m sorry’ type of , we would go in circles, for another damn year.”

 

“Why’d you stay for another damn year then? It was clearly a toxic relationship.”

 

“I-I was too scared of being alone. No one understood me and knew me as much as Yuri did, she was all I had. Then I couldn’t take it anymore, we got into one last fight and I ended it right there. She agreed with it though, but not on good terms. More like a ‘just get out of my life already’ thing. In a turn of events I see her at the old bar we used to go kissing another girl, I knew she was doing it for the distraction, so that didn’t phase me much. I kinda felt bad though, I had arm candy with me, Chaewon. Hell, I even introduced her to Yuri, and you know what Yuri said? She said she was ‘an old friend’ she’s insane! Two years of our lives just thrown away like that.”

 

“You never told Chaewon about Yuri? Why?” 

 

“Wasn’t ready to talk about her, I dunno. I just wanted her to be a distraction and she agreed, a win-win situation for the both of us.”

 

“Pfft, you could’ve just said buddy, it’s fine.” 

 

“Whatever, anyway, a few months later after that I find myself at Cafe One at closing time, on my knees, begging Yuri to forgive me and to start things over.” 

 

“Oh … I assume I didn’t go too well?”

 

“Nope, she basically said that I was a ty girlfriend and that she doesn’t want her heart broken by me again. I promised to be better though, I told her we could start over and such, but still got a no, and a final goodbye, kinda hurt actually.”

 

“Yeah, I figured. But you still love her right? What if one day you see each other again and actually get to talk? What happens then?” 

 

“I dunno about that, but what I’m sure of is that she’ll always be my first love.” 

 

----

 

“Hey, Yuri!” You look to the counter and see the usual, Yena and some staff members. “Hey, what’s up! How was rush hour? Got ya’ll a little something for lunch.” You say as you leave your bag and a paper bag full of burgers in the breakroom and find your signature leather apron. “Ah, Yujin here was great! A quick learner actually.” Yena says as she pats Yujin on the back, “That’s great! You were coming here basically every day when you were in high school, Cafe One’s basically your second home.” Yujin laughs, “Hey, your coffee made me pass senior year and get into college alright, I’m just paying back what I owe by working here, plus, I like it here, it’s fun.” She says with a smile on her face and her dimples show, An Yujin, Cafe One’s resident ball of sunshine. It was great having Yujin around, she had great energy, a hard worker, and she’s tall. 

 

“Anyways, I got to tell you.” You say in a sigh, “Guess who I saw while buying your lunch earlier.” Yujin gasps, “JANG WONYOUNG?” You both look at Yujin with a confused look, “who?” Yujin quickly brings out her phone and types searches for her Instagram profile and shows a few pictures, “Jang Wonyoung! My pretty schoolmate, she also does modeling on the side, oh come on I’ve mentioned her before, she’s hella pretty.” 

 

You nod slowly in response, “Uh-huh, that’s cool but no, I saw Minju earlier. Goddammit.” Yena gasps and covers with her hands, “No ing way, you saw Minju!?” You give Yena the death stare, “do I have to say it twice? What are you, ing one in a million?” 

“Alright, alright, don’t have to be so mad jeez.” Yena says as she chuckles. You lean against the counter, “Out of all the times and places I could’ve seen her, I see her in a damn burger joint at 1 PM on a Tuesday. How wonderful.” Yena walks over to you and puts an arm around you, “How crazy is destiny, no? Two years ago you saw her in a bar and now you see her at a burger joint, there’s a meaning behind this, Yul. I swear.” 

 

You remove Yena’s arm and start fixing up the counter, “I don’t with destiny, I don’t wanna see Minju.” “It’s not destiny’s fault that Minju’s office is just a few minutes away.” Yena retaliates, “Yeah hi, I still exist, who the is Minju and why is Yuri upset about her?” Yujin asks out of the blue, Yena tries to respond but a certain someone walks in, “Ah--let’s talk about it in the breakroom yeah? Come on, kid.” 

 

“Hey, babe!” You hear from the other side of the cafe, “Hey, love. You’re on your break?”

“Yep, I’m kinda hungry, you got leftovers?” 

“Uhh, I got burgers in the break--”

“Yay! Thanks love!” There she goes.

 

“Hey, Yena! How are ya?” She greets Yena as she walks into the breakroom, “ Kang Hyewon! Hi! I’m great, actually.” Hyewon smiles and gives a fistbump to Yujin, “Hey Yuj, how’s it going?” “Nothing much, just school and work. What are you doing here?” Hyewon takes one of the burgers, “Eh, just wanted to visit the cafe, and of course, I wanted to see Yuri. Come here, I want a hug.” Hyewon says as she drags you to the couch and you sit on her lap. “I’m not staying for long, don't worry, I know you guys got stuff to do and my boss is gonna find me in a few minutes. I just wanted to chill here for a bit before I get back to work.” 

 

“You still got that annoying boss around? Whatever the her name is.” Yujin says as she takes another bite of her burger. “The name’s Eunbi, and yeah she’s still annoying, but what else can I do? She’ll be gone in a few months. All I have to do is wait a little bit more. Luckily for you, you got the best bosses in the world.” Hyewon looks at you and kisses your cheek, “Pfft, I treat Yujin as my little sister, she’s great, I love everyone in the staff.” 

 

After a bit more chatting Hyewon checks her watch, “Oof, time’s up guys, gotta get back to the office.” Hyewon squeezes your hand as a sign for you to get up from her lap, “I’ll see you later guys! Bye babe, love you.” Hyewon leaves a kiss on your lips before leaving the cafe.

 

“So… Kim Minju on the brain huh?” Yena looks over at you. “Shut up, I don’t wanna think about her.” She shrugs, “That’s not what I heard a few days ago. Your totally not sober told me, ‘Yena-ya, it’s been 2 years. Every time I take the night shift at the Cafe all I can think about is Minju coming through those doors, that maybe she would come back.’ Shut the up right now, Yuri. I know you still think about her, I know you still love her. You and Hyewon? Bull! You don’t love her, she’s a distraction.”

 

You sigh and lean back into the couch, the thoughts of Minju filling up your brain again. “God, what did I drink that night? This is ing stupid, Minju and I are done, it’s not happening.” 

 

, I hate how she’s right. 

 

----

 

 1:00 AM March 20

 

Working late into the night again, to compensate for the time you were stuck being distracted at the office. As you finish the last few adjustments to the draft you're proposing, you finally get to save your files and get ready for bed. You check your phone and go through your socials, not much is new, all your friends are doing work stuff and complaining about their 9 to 5 jobs as if you weren’t doing that on a daily basis. You connect your phone to the speaker in your room and play this certain playlist, fragile like glass, a whole album dedicated to Yuri’s covers and original songs. She always had a song that would settle in with your mood. Does it hurt that some of the songs were made for you? Yes definitely, but would you want to go back in time to relive the moment when you first heard them being played for you? Of course. I would trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday. 

 

You look to the stars outside your window and play with your necklace again, “call me cheesy, but you’ll always be the star that completes my galaxy, just as how you said that I completed yours.” You take a deep breath and sigh, talking to yourself has been one of the funniest habits you have, “Would the stars align for us to see each other again? For us to leave everything in the past and start over?” 

 

Two years since that night at the Cafe and nothing has changed since, You’re always thinking about her, “I love you” the sound of her shaky voice still lingers in the back of your mind, and until now you would never want to believe that was the last time she would kiss you and the last goodbye.

 

“I wish to see you again, my star.”

 

------

 

5:00 PM April 26

 

THUD. 

 

The sound of a stack of papers snaps you out of your trance, “You.” You finally realize Hitomi’s the loud intruder in your office, and you look up to her and see that’s pointing a finger directly at you. “You have been sulking over Yuri for over a month. I know you’re looking for her, I know that you wanna see her. Her cafe is literally 10 minutes away, get your over there.” You sigh and let out a light chuckle, “And what? She’ll probably get me kicked out in 2 seconds. I am NOT going to Cafe One.” Hitomi clenches her jaw and walks towards you behind the table and grabs your hand to drag you out of the office, “Fine, here’s an invitation, Minju, I wanna go to Cafe One and get coffee, I am not taking no for an answer.” You grunt out of frustration and try to get out of Hitomi’s grip but she’s got a good hold on you. 

“How are you so strong?! You’re tiny!” 

“Shut the up, I’ve been working out. 

 

You and Hitomi stand outside the door of Cafe One, aka your hell on Earth, though the person inside is an angel. Hitomi looks at you before entering, “now, we’re here as customers, she has no reason to kick you out. You’ll be fine, alright? Don’t worry.” You nod and Hitomi pushes the door, the addicting smell of coffee hitting your nose, oh how you missed it. You’ve been avoiding cafes and such for the past two years for obvious reasons, so it’s either you make coffee at home or ask someone to get you coffee. Things haven’t changed much, the black, grey, and wood color scheme is still there, the warm lighting and cozy atmosphere tied everything together. It was a pretty interior, of course, you planned it. Around 90% of the stuff here was picked by you with a little help from Yuri back when they were renovating the place.

 

Finally focusing your attention on the counter and there she is, the cutest barista in town--Jo Yuri. Your palms start sweating and you can feel your heart beating out of your chest, you haven’t been this close to her since that night. “Hi welcome to Cafe One, what can I get for you?” Yuri says naturally, you’re doing everything to avoid her eyes, but she doesn’t seem too nervous. “Uh yeah can I get a medium iced americano double shot please,” Hitomi looks back at you, “What do you want?” Before you could even speak Yuri cuts you off, “medium iced latte, right? Do you want a little bit of whipped cream or do you want the caramel?” She says as she punches in the order into the POS, you don’t even have time to think you just respond with whatever first comes to your head, “caramel, please.” Yuri gives a faint smile and looks at Hitomi while waiting for the receipt to print, “I’ll just call for Minju when it’s ready, you can take a seat while you wait, thank you!” 

 

, she said your name.

 

You haven’t heard her say it for the past 2 years, “goodbye, Minju” the memories of that night still vivid, both of you crying your heart out, vision all blurry with the tears in your eyes, but now you’re sitting in the same cafe, as the average customer, a stranger, someone who just comes and goes.

 

You sit down at the waiting table while your drinks are getting ready, you start jumping your leg up and down and fidget with your fingers, visibly nervous and uncomfortable. Hitomi grabs your hands and rubs her thumbs on top of them, “Hey, you okay? You wanna get out of here?” You take a deep breath and gather your composure, “yeah, I’m okay, I just haven’t been here in a while. It’s a weird feeling, all the memories coming back, when I first met Yuri, the years I’ve spent hanging out here after hours, building and remaking this place, and eventually leaving everything, it’s ing crazy.” You let out a soft chuckle as you look around, “but you know, it feels good to be here, it feels like home. My safe place.”

Hitomi smiles back at you and an eye smile forms, “that’s great Min, you’re doing great.” 

 

“Iced latte and americano for Minju?” You hear a voice coming from the counter. You walk up to the tall girl to pick up your drinks, but she hands you an extra paper bag. You look at her confused and tilt your head, “I didn’t order--” The tall woman smiles and her dimples show, “ah, well,” she tilts her head to the side, “the boss paid for it, she said you liked it.” You see Yena peeking through the breakroom and you raise an eyebrow at her, her eyes go wide and she puts her hands up, pointing to Yuri with her thumb. You give her a quick nod and look back to the tall woman, “Thanks uh…” You read the nametag on her apron, “Yujin. Tell your boss I said thank you too.” “No problem! Have a great day!” She says with a gummy smile.

 

Hitomi takes a sip from her coffee, “oh yeah this ’s good, damn.” You chuckle at her reaction, a compliment for Yuri feels like a compliment for you too, “Of course it tastes good, it’s made by the best.” 

 

----

 

5:30 PM April 26

 

Back at the office you take out the cake slice from the paper bag and settle it on the table, you offered Hitomi half of it but she didn’t want any, “ I’ll waste all the effort I did for my workouts okay.” She said in disgust when you mentioned it. Well, more for me I guess. 

You open the lid of the container and see something written on it.

 

We need to talk

+1-202-555-XXXX

 

You look at it in confusion, you’ve never seen that number before. Was it Yuri’s? She did buy you the cake so it would make sense right? What did I get myself into this time?

 

You call Hitomi into your office and face the container to her, “what the am I gonna do now, Hii-chan?” Hitomi looks at the container closely, “is this Yuri’s handwriting?” You shrug in response, “I don’t know, I haven’t seen it in a while.” 

 

Hitomi thinks for a while, “Oh it,” she grabs your phone from the table and you jump from your chair to stop her, “Excuse me?! My phone!” It’s too late for you to take it back and you slouch back into your chair, Hitomi looking at you with her tongue out, ing brat. 

 

Ring, ring, ring

 

“Hello?”

 

Out of panic, Hitomi throws the phone back at you, luckily you catch it, and answer the person on the other side whilst giving her the middle finger, “Hello? You left your number on my cake. Who’s this?” A gasp comes from the other side of the phone, “Kim Minju!? It’s Choi Yena, you bastard!” A sigh of relief of coming from your mouth, thank God it’s not Yuri. “For the love of Yena, you’re gonna give me a heart attack.” Yena laughs on the other side of the line, “You wished I was Yuri huh, but anyways, I need you to do something for me, a favor perhaps.” 

 

Oh God, I’m scared. You take a deep breath, you’d do anything for Yena if she needed money you'd give it, if she needed help at the cafe you'd stay there a few hours waiting tables and cleaning up. She’s Yuri’s best friend and slowly became one of your best friends too, of course, she’ll have a special place in your heart. “Uh yeah, shoot.” 

 

“I need you to get back together with Yuri.” 

 

----

 

6:00 PM April 26

 

You get off the phone with Minju, a big smile plastered on your face and you do a little dance. Yujin comes into the breakroom and looks at you weirdly, currently judging why her boss is dancing like she won the lottery. “What are you so happy about?” You continue your personal dance party, “I’m gonna get Yuri and Minju back together.” 

 

Yujin’s jaw drops and she gasps, “What!? Did you forget that Yuri and Hyewon are literally together? Wait, does she know that?” 

“Well, no. But I’m gonna make them break up okay.” 

Yujin shakes her head and crosses her arms, looking down to the ground in disappointment, “I don’t think this is right, Yena. Yuri’s happy with Hyewon now, making her go back with Minju just feels a little off.” You walk towards Yujin and pat her on the head, “oh Yujin if you only knew the happiness Minju brought to Yuri. I know she doesn’t seem like she’s changed, but ever since that night, things were different, she’s just not the same.” 

 

Yujin sighs and drops her arms to her sides, “Did she say yes willingly or did you force her into it?” 

 

“Well, she needed a little persuasion, but she said yes.” 

 

“Whatever you’re fighting for, make it worth it, people are gonna hurt by this.” 

“I know, I’m gonna make sure this whole thing works.” 

 

----

 

You put your phone down on the table and rest your head in your hands, “I’m ed, Hii-chan. I’m ing doomed.” Hitomi leans back into the chair and crosses her arms, “What the did you do this time?” 

“So this is Yena’s number right? You know what she told me? She said, and I quote, ‘I need you to get back together with Yuri.’ As if that’s ing easy! Did she forget the fiasco that’s basically embedded into the history of Cafe One!? God, I hate everything.” 

 

“Oh God, did you say yes?”

 

You sigh and get up from your chair, walking to the window, “yeah, I ing said yes.” Hitomi gasps and covers with her hand, “Damn, you still love Yuri huh?” 

You look back at Hitomi, “yeah, I really do.” 

 

----

 

3:00 PM May 3

 

You see Yuri packing up her bag in the breakroom, “you going somewhere?” Yuri looks up to you, “ah yeah, gonna run some errands at the mall, pay some bills, buy supplies, check some stuff I can buy for the cafe, and whatever. I’ll see ya later!” Yuri carries her bag and walks out of the Cafe. You immediately get your phone and text Minju

 

Yena

Where are you? You got time on your hands?

 

Minju

Office

Yeah i think i can leave early 

 

Yena

Okay great yuri’s running some errands pretend u met her coincidentally or whatever

 

Minju

Wait right now?? Oh ok thanks

 

You quickly pack up your things and run out of your office, Hearing Hitomi shout at you from behind, “What the-- leaving already?” You look over your shoulder and shout back, “Yuri duty!” 

 

You get into your car and start driving to the usual mall that Yuri goes to for errands, you know that girl like the back of your hand, she’ll be there, you’re sure of it. 

 

Arriving at the mall, the first place you go to is the payment center, it’s basically a one-stop-shop where you can pay all your bills at once, and since Yuri’s running errands, she would be there. You lightly jog towards the payment center, hoping she would be there, but to your surprise, she isn’t. , where else would she be? You try to remember all the places that you used to go to and you get a lightbulb moment in your head, “ing groceries.” you say to yourself, of course, a baker-barista would obviously go to the grocery store and buy supplies there. 

 

You run to the grocery to continue the quest to find Yuri, going back and forth through the aisles, “where the are you, glass?” You say to yourself, yes you can spot that girl in a crowd anywhere but she is one tough kid to find. She always loved to wander around, you could be looking at the stuff on the shelves for one second and when you turn around she’s gonna be on the other side of the store. 

 

You pass by the candies and chocolate section and stop yourself immediately halfway through, Found you. There she was, the world's cutest barista, Jo Yuri. She struggles to get something from the upper shelf and you laugh at the sight, “Can you get that please?” She would always say and you happily oblige, she would always give you a kiss as a thank you afterward. You slowly walk up from behind her and reach upward and grab the thing she needed, it was a pack of chocolate chips. Yuri gets startled by your sudden presence and looks behind, you give her a soft smile and hand her the pack of chocolates, “Looks like you needed some help.” Yuri slowly takes the chocolate from your hands, visually confused by this situation, “Uh, thanks. What are you doing here?” You were never prepared for a situation like this, why the was she talking to you? You try to make your best excuse on the spot, “Uhm. There’s a party at the office, I’m buying chocolates as prizes. Yeah.” You laugh nervously, Yuri could’ve just ignored you from the start so why the hell is she trying to make a conversation? “That’s cool, see you, Minguri.” She smiles and walks away.

 

You’re standing there in the middle of the aisle, speechless from the situation that just happened, Did she just call me Minguri? Wha-what was that for? You used to think if you’re ever gonna hear her say that again, but hearing it at the grocery store in the chocolate aisle wasn’t on your list of expectations. Alas, small victories are still victories.

 

----

 

Minju has been coming to Cafe One for the past month, buying coffee and the usual baked goods for herself and her coworkers. You don’t mind it, Minju was never banned from the Cafe, and you kinda liked seeing her from day to day. You’ve never had an actual conversation outside taking her order though, no one probably felt the need to do it, the accidental touches and the soft smiles were enough for the both of you. 

Were you warming up to Minju again? Ever since that little conversation you had at the store, her voice never really left your head, sometimes you just felt like you wanted to get up from your bed and drive to her house, to undo whatever happened that night, to say sorry for all the ty things you’ve done, and to make things right. 

 

You missed her a lot, seeing her come into the store exactly when her break time starts always made your day a little better, her dimples and pretty smile always made your heart jump. You were in love with her, maybe until now you still are. 

 

“Because you know that with a little snap of a finger, I’ll come crawling back to you.”

It’s true, and it’s happening right now. Minju has literally done nothing but smile at you and talk to you for one time and now all the repressed feelings and memories are coming back and you have no plans of stopping it. 

 

But God, there was something that was holding you back, Hyewon. You’ve been with Hyewon for a few months now, but being with her doesn’t feel like being in a relationship, it just feels like another best friend around--that you get to kiss and other couple-y things. One thing’s for sure is that you don’t love Hyewon. You say it but you never mean it, you’ll never love Hyewon. She’s just a distraction, someone that helps you forget about another someone--and that someone is slowly crawling back into your life. 

 

, I gotta break up with Hyewon.

 

----

 

10:00 PM May 19

 

Yena was staying at your house for a bit to hang out and talk about business stuff over a few beers, but there’s something you had to tell her before the night ends, “Yena, I saw Minju a few weeks ago at the grocery.” Yena’s eyebrows raise and her eyes go wide, 

 

“Oh? What happened?” 

 

“I was at the grocery checking out stuff for future recipes and stuff, I was trying to reach up to get chocolate chips from the shelf and she comes at me from behind and reaches up to get it for me.” 

 

“Oh really!? Wow, she’s hella brave.” 

 

“You thought she was the only one? I literally asked her what she was doing there to make a lil bit of conversation, just wanted to mess with her head really. She didn’t really expect it, she was stuttering the whole time I was talking to her.” 

 

“You… You’re insane.”

 

“Obviously, I dated Minju, and that lives in my mind rent-free. I’m ing insane!”

 

“So you’re admitting that Minju hasn’t left your mind since? Is this what I’m hearing?” Yena puts her face closer to yours and rests her chin on her hand.

 

“As much as I hate the truth, yeah, Minju lives in the back of mind. It’s annoying me in a good way.” 

 

“You still hate her?” 

 

“Well, I do--did, but she’s been at the cafe often, and I’ve talked to her a few times, but maybe she can be part of my life again, you know?”

 

“Are you tipsy, Yuri? Or are you being real right now?” Yena says as she checks your bottle of beer on the table.

 

“I’m serious, Yena. I kinda wanna be her friend again.”

 

“Just a friend? Don’t lie to me, Yul.”

 

“Oh no, I’ve been caught.” You say lazily, “I don’t wanna think about it much, but if I’m not too late, then maybe we can start things over.”

 

Yena jumps from the couch and throws all the papers scattered on the table up in the air, “I ing knew it! You never stopped loving her, you bastard!” She says with the cheekiest grin on her face,

 

“You happy you won your stupid game 2 years in the making?” You say as you roll your eyes.

 

Yena places herself next to you and wraps her arm around your shoulder, “The only game you were playing was you versus your feelings. Maybe if you let your guard down at one point and actually talked to her then this wouldn’t have happened in the first place, right?”

 

“I don’t need a scolding, Yena. I’ve had enough of those from Minju.” 

 

“I’m not scolding you, I’m just saying the truth. If you wanna do something about your relationship with Minju right now, then make a move. I’m more than sure she’ll be willing to do something about this situation.”

 

“But the problem isn’t Minju, it’s Hyewon.”

 

“Oh .”

 

----

 

10:00 PM May 28

 

Tonight’s the night, you’re ending things with Hyewon, you called her if she can drop by the cafe at closing hours, and now you’re just waiting for her to walk through the doors. You scroll through your socials as you wait, and the bell at the entrance rings, she’s here. You give Hyewon a faint smile and tell her to sit down on the chair in front of you.

 

“Hyewon, there’s something we have to talk about.” You say as you put your phone down on the table.

 

“Actually, I have something to tell you too.”

 

“Oh okay so uhm--”

 

“Yuri, I’m leaving.”

 

“What?” You tilt your head at her, taken aback by her sudden announcement.

 

“I’m leaving, I got promoted and I’m being placed in the States for the next few years.” 

 

“Oh, wow. Congratulations. That kinda hurt, not gonna lie. I didn’t expect you to say it so suddenly.” You say with a chuckle.

 

“Sorry, I just really needed to get it off my chest, but what were you going to say?”

 

“Well Hyewon, lucky for you, I was basically gonna break up with you.” 

 

“Oh. Ouch, why did that hurt?” Hyewon chuckles softly, “it’s okay, I get it, I actually never expected this to last anyways.”

 

“Why so?” 

 

“That ex of yours, she drops by often no? I see her a bunch of times.” 

 

“I mean, I guess? She’s here every now and then.” 

 

“You still like her, don’t you? I have a feeling.”

 

“Hyewon no it’s just--”

“Yul, it’s okay, I understand, you don’t have to explain yourself. I knew from the start that things weren’t as genuine as they may seem, but I enjoyed every single part of it. So I wanna thank you for that.” 

 

“Thanks for keeping me company too, Hyewon. It’s been fun.”

 

“We’ll keep in touch, right? Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.” 

 

“Of course, good luck with the future, Hye.” 

 

“Good luck with the girl, Yul.”

 

Hyewon gives you a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she leaves and walks out the door, “there goes another one.” You say to yourself, it hurts yes, but there’s nothing to cry about anymore, you’re just left with numbness and some kind of pain in your heart. 

 

Another chapter in your life closing with Hyewon. It was fun, those times where you just messed around with each other doing whatever, her energy always matched yours and she was always down for whatever foolishness you wanted to do. From playful skits to drama-grade storylines, she was always there to keep you happy, and you’ve always appreciated that, she wasn’t just a distraction, she was also someone special to you and you can’t deny that. 

 

“Thank you, Hyewon. For keeping up with my and for being there for me when I needed someone.’Til next time.” You say into the air, hoping she can hear it wherever she is.

 

----

 

1:00 PM June 10

 

Ding!

 

Another text from Yena, who knows where she’ll end up this time. 

 

Yena

So Hyewon’s out of the picture, good for you

 

Minju

?

Who’s hyewon

 

Yena

??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHO’S HYEWON

Minju

IM SAYING WHO TF IS HYEWON?

 

Yena

Wait

I never told you about hyewon?

 

Minju

YES EXACTLY WHY IM ASKING.

 

Yena

Oh

Hyewon is now yuri’s ex girlfriend

 

Minju

SHE HAD A GIRLFRIEND AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?

ARE YOU ING CRAZY?

WHAT THE YENA I NEVER WOULD HAVE SAID YES TO THIS IF SHE HAD A ING GIRLFRIEND???

 

Yena

IT’S FINE SHE WASN’T SUPER IMPORTANT ANYWAYS

 

Minju

No you im coming over there right now WE HAVE TO TALK

 

You run out of your office and meet Hitomi in the hallway, “Yuri had a girlfriend.” You tell her. “She- what? And you still agreed?” Hitomi looks at you with confusion, “Yena never ing told me!” 

 

You storm through the doors of Cafe One, thankfully not a lot of people are there and you go straight to the breakroom, seeing Yujin at the counter, “Is Yuri here?” You say in a serious tone, obviously angry from your previous conversation with Yena. Yujin shakes her head quickly, “good. Yena’s here right?” Yujin nods quickly, that girl was tall and intimidating but she had panic all over her face as she saw you walk to the breakroom.

 

You swing open the door and see Yena’s pale face, she never expected you to go to the cafe. 

 

“You little er.” You grab Yena by her apron and pull her closer to you, “you never told me about her ing girlfriend! Are you crazy?” 

Yena puts her hands up, as a sign of surrendering, “Hey, okay look let’s calm down okay. I didn’t have to mention Hyewon cause it was my job to get them to break up.” 

 

“So she could get back with me!? You’re ing insane! I’m a ing homewrecker, Yena, you used me to be a homewrecker.”

 

“No, all you had to do was fill Yuri’s head with yourself, and in the great news as it is, you have never left her mind.”

 

“What?” You let go of Yena’s apron and lay your hands on her shoulders, “what ing craziness are you saying this time, Choi?”

 

 “Yuri never stopped loving you. That night she came by my place and told me what happened, she told me how she regretted how she lashed out at you. She wished to the stars that if there was a chance that she could start over, then she’ll take it. I hated that night, seeing her like that. Yuri was never the same since, but she found Hyewon as some kind of distraction, though I didn’t necessarily like them together, if Yuri was happy then I’m happy.”

 

You let out a sigh and run your fingers through your hair, trying to process all the information that was just dropped onto you. Tears start to fill your eyes and your vision starts to get blurry.

 

“For the past two years, I have punched myself to the ground over the fact that I wasn’t good enough for her, how I turned into the person that she didn’t love. Now you’re here telling me all this ? God, Yena, did you wait 2 years for this?”  

 

“What are you doing here?” A voice comes from the entrance to the break room and you turn around, “I tried stalling her, I’m sorry.” Yujin says as she peeps through the door.

 

“Yuri… I-” You say softly, trying not to trigger the anger inside her.

 

“Did you plan this, Yena? To get me to break up with Hyewon to get back with Minju?” Yuri says in disappointment.

 

“You didn’t love her, Yul. You just--”

 

“But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when she told me she’s leaving, didn’t it? Yeah, Hyewon’s leaving for the states, so our breakup was inevitable, but it still hurt. , Yena, you basically encouraged this whole thing. Is this what makes you happy? Seeing me in pain? So much for being my best friend.”

 

“It just hurt me seeing you slowly change over the past 2 years. You were never the same, you weren’t the Yuri I spent a quarter of my life with, the Yuri I saw 24/7. Things were different, and I hated every second of it.”

 

Yuri takes a deep breath and looks at you, “Minju… I’m sorry you got dragged into this. Just--please go, I’ll talk to you later.” You give Yuri a nod and walk out of the breakroom, not even keeping eye contact with Yuri, you were just filled with shame, confusion, and sadness.

 

----

 

1:30 AM June 20

 

You couldn’t sleep so you ended up at the diner eating pancakes at 1:00 AM, my life is miserable. There are so many things going on in your brain but of course, there’s only one person you prioritize. Jo Yuri. 

 

You held your necklace close to your heart and wished upon it, looking at the stars outside, “I wish Yuri is okay.” 

  

“Found you.” 

 

You hear a voice and a figure sits in front of you, “Yuri, hey.” 

 

Yuri gives you a faint smile and points to your necklace, “still wearing it? Thought you threw that away.

 

You look down to the star around your neck and play with it, “I could never bring myself to do that, it’s one of the only things I have left you.” You look up to her and meet her eyes, “what are you doing here, Yul?” Yuri was there for a reason, she didn’t come here to sit and chat with you.

 

“To tell you I’m sorry.” She pauses and takes your hand, rubbing her thumb over the back of it. “That I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for being too hard on you, and how selfish I was back then. I know you were trying your best, and it was my fault that I didn’t appreciate you enough to notice that you were trying.” Yuri’s voice gets shaky, and her eyes start to water from the tears forming.

 

“I know at one point I hated you, I hated you so much that I despised the sound of your name, but you wanna know something?” 

 

You tilt your head at the question, trying not to get overly emotional in a ing restaurant, “hm?”

 

“Remember when I promised that I would keep you safe from anything? I kept that. So if there was any time you would call me up telling me you needed me I would say yes in a heartbeat. I hated you but I never stopped caring about you, as you know by now.”

 

“Case in point, I just wanted to say that I love you, Minju. I never stopped loving you. I know things weren’t the best back then and we both deserved better, but those were just things I wanted you to know. I love you, Minju.” Yuri tries to get up and leave her seat but you grab her hand and make her sit back down.

 

“You wanna know something too, Yul?” 

 

“Sure.”

 

“I never stopped loving you, too. Every day since that night I always thought about how I could have been better for you, and for our relationship. Breaking up with you without a decent explanation was selfish and so rude of me so I apologize for that. I know I was never the best, but I tried to make you happy, and if that wasn’t enough then I’m sorry. But there was never a day where you didn’t cross my mind. I was always thinking about you, thinking if you’ve taken breaks from your shifts, or if you’ve eaten something for lunch because I know you forget. I never stopped thinking about you. I never passed by Cafe One cause I thought I would ruin your day, but I’ve been dying to check up on you, even if it was just seeing your face through the window.”

 

Yuri laughs as she wipes the tears falling on her face, “you’ve always been the sweet talker huh.” She gets up and lends a hand to you, “come on, let’s go to the cafe.” You smile and take her hand, luckily the cafe isn’t too far from the diner.

 

----

 

2:00 AM June 20

 

The walk to the cafe was peaceful and quiet, just the cold breeze of the night and Yuri’s fingers intertwined with yours was the only thing you needed. When you get to your destination you take a step inside and Yuri turns on the lights. The image of the scene that happened 2 years ago playing inside your head.

 

“You know, I never expected this to happen.” Yuri stands in front of you and holds your hands, “On this day 2 years ago, I said goodbye to you. The biggest regret I’ve ever had. But I thought that maybe we both needed time to grow, to be more mature, to understand each other’s priorities.”

 

This talk was different, there’s no screaming, there’s no swearing, it’s just a talk between you and Yuri, just like how things were supposed to be. 

“Funny how it is that I’m here telling you the same thing I said from 2 years ago. I have been unfair to you, and I wanna make up for the I’ve done wrong. This time around, I wanna love you better, the way you deserve to be loved. No more running away, no more ignoring the problems, no more fighting, I wanna make this right.” You hesitate before you start talking again, trying to prepare yourself with whatever answer you might get. That is, if you’re willing to do it all over again?” Saying that was scary and nerve-racking, but the answer to that question is even scarier.

 

“Why the hell are you so good at talking?” Yuri laughs through her tears, “it’s always been one of the things that made me fall in love with you even more.” Yuri takes a deep breath and smiles, “ it, let’s start over.” 

 

Her answer made you smile like an idiot, and she pulls you in for a hug. You wrap your arms around her neck and her arms around your waist.

 

“I love you, Minju. I’ll always do.”

 

“I love you, Yuri. ‘Til the end.” 

 

Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of time.