Jihoon

He ordered an Americano, while she got a Cappuccino.

There was no one in the café, save for a young man who ordered a coffee to go. Nursing the warm drink in between his hands, he glanced at Jieun who was taking a sip from her mug. When she raised her lips from it, it made him smile because some of the foam stuck to her upper lip.

“Yah, is it your first time to drink that?”

She answered him with a look of confusion and annoyance. On impulse, he reached out and dabbed the foam off of her lip. Surprised, Jieun yelped, which made him freeze for a second, before laughing it off and taking his hand away from her face. Jieun looked flustered, and it made him laugh even harder.

“Mianhe, haha!” He was laughing so hard, with both hands covering his mouth, a mannerism which he never got rid of even as he got older.

“I have hands, you could’ve just told me!” Jieun spat out, her cheeks looking flushed.

“Aish, don’t make such a big deal out of it. It was an impulse – I do that all the time..” He paused. He was about to say Taehee, but caught himself. Even the mere thought and mention of her name gives him a sharp pain to the chest. “…for my sister.”

“Don’t expect me to thank you. Aish you’re so annoying.” She glared at him, then proceeded taking another sip from her mug.

“Arasso. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable.”

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes. Thankfully, the café had music on, which made it a little bearable. Jihoon didn’t expect for Jieun to make such a big deal about something so small. An old classic from Kim Hyunsik suddenly came on, and it made Jihoon forget about the current awkwardness, and the thoughts of Taehee that seemed to linger inside his mind, even if he tried occupying it with something else.

He didn’t even know he was humming along to the song as he looked at the street outside, through the café’s glass wall.

Jieun

She knew her cheeks were burning. She could feel how warm her face is after Jihoon wiped off the foam from her lips.

Taking a deep breath, she risked glancing at the tall man seated in front of her.

How can he look so nonchalant, while I’m about to self-combust from just the mere touch of his skin against my lip?

A million thoughts ran through her head – many excuses why she’s feeling things that 25-year old Jieun shouldn’t be feeling for this man.

I’m probably just tired and sleep-deprived.

Or maybe the excessive caffeine is making me too jumpy. Yeah, maybe that’s it.

Jihoon was playing with the mug handle as he absent-mindedly stared out into the street, which can be seen through the café’s glass walls. Jieun can’t shake off the feeling that something’s not quite right with him.

Thinking about it, even the fact that he sort of joked about getting coffee in return for helping her was also a little off.  Yes, he’s a naturally helpful person; but he doesn’t come off as someone who would invite someone for a drink or a bite out of nowhere. He usually kept to himself. Be it work-related or not, he’s quite guarded, contradictory to what most people think. Their pancake adventure was the only other occasion of them eating out together – which was understandable because he felt bad for making her cry.

There are so many questions, but very few answers, Jieun thought.

Jieun’s analyis was interrupted by the sound of him humming along to the song that just came on – Kim Hyunsik’s Like Rain, Music. He is in a really strange mood today.

“You like this song?” She prodded, hoping she doesn’t sound like she’s trying hard to sound relaxed. Or trying hard to coax him out of his strange mood.

Jihoon nodded, taking a sip from his Americano.

“Wanna hear a funny story?” he drawled.

“Sure.”

Jihoon smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I actually got my stage name from this song.”

“Really? How come?” Jieun leaned a little, eager to hear the story.

“I was so nervous then – it took years for me to finally debut as a singer and it was only a few days before my debut stage..” He leaned closer, resting his face on the palm of his right hand, with his elbow propped on the table. “I was practicing like crazy one night and feeling exhausted from the pressure and this intense need to succeed, I rested for a while and turned the radio on. Like Rain, Like Music came on, and I remember how it made me feel at ease, like a warm blanket.”

“What comforted you about it?”

“Hmm…I don’t know exactly. You know how sometimes sad songs somehow comfort you when you’re sad or just feeling tired and uncertain about life?”

“I guess..”

Jieun always saw Jihoon as a cheerful guy, a little annoying and arrogant, but mainly a cheerful but guarded person. He never talked about how things made him feel. But then again, the wee hours of the day usually make people vulnerable.

Then it hit her. Maybe Jihoon didn’t want to be alone? There was a sadness in his dem