Tuesdays are usually pretty bad for Kim Yoohyeon. 

She has four classes instead of three, two of which are before noon. The other two are right next to each other, leaving her only ten minutes to hurry from one building to the other. The day ends earlier than others but she’s always tired and saddled with new assignments for the next few days, ones she tries to at least outline in the evening hours while fighting a tension headache. The last thing she wants on those days is to listen to her usually-sweet-but-rock-obsessed roommate blast her music from five to seven, so—she goes out to study.

Usually, it’s at the library or a cafe, but the library is under renovation and the cafe on campus is hosting some event and Yoohyeon can feel her bag grow heavier and her shoulders tense as she looks into the window, looks at the throng of people.

Not worth it.

So she walks a street over, looking for another place to study. Negotiating with Siyeon to just wear headphones for an hour is possible, but studying on the bed is bad—beds are for sleeping, not for writing papers, and it’s bad to confuse one’s brain like that. At least, Yoohyeon had read something like that. (And Yubin won her desk in a bet because she never used it anyways but now...now she regrets it.)

And maybe that’s wrong and it’s fine if she does study on the bed, but it could be good to find another place regardless. And-

Is that a dog cafe?

She stops walking for a moment, staring at the cute little pastel storefront between a convenience store and Thai restaurant. Some high school students exit as she approaches and the crescendo of yapping noises and frantic scampering she detects through the window confirms it—it is a dog cafe.

Wow. 

There aren’t many people but there are at least ten, twelve dogs roaming around on the floor. There’s one big fluffy guy asleep in the corner, a few puppies jumping around near a water bowl, and even a cat on a high tower in the center.

Yoohyeon finds herself opening the door even as her brain reminds her that noise is bad, that dogs make noise and they want attention and I have to do work.

But a little terrier yips at her as she opens the interior gate and the pastries at the front look appetizing and there’s empty tables with high chairs to avoid dogs in your face. 

It’ll be fine. Just an hour or so, I’ll pet some dogs and relax and get a coffee to bring back. Yeah. Fine.

And she steps up to the cash register just as the barista, a woman with vibrant purple hair, turns from the blenders at the back.

Oh. 

She’s pretty.

Very pretty. Her hair is long and dye must be fresh because it's so... saturated and soft-looking. There are circular glasses on the edge of her nose and a cafe apron over a shirt with rolled-up sleeves and oh dear I’m staring. Calm down, geez. Don’t stare.

Look at the menu, that avoids staring. Yes. Good, she thinks, very aware of the woman looking at her. She doesn’t seem expectant or Yoohyeon to order, not yet, which is good because oh gods, what coffee did Yubin say I needed to avoid? Mochas, that’s it, now...oh man, I have to talk to her.

Just remember, look respectfully. Admire, don’t stare, and do not think about anything beyond like a friendly high-five or like smiling at her or-

“Hello! Can I take your order?”

.

Yoohyeon nods, shaking herself as she realizes she didn’t actually speak.

“Ah! Yep, yes, thank you, I um...I would like a, uh...a caramel latte, please?”

“Sure! What size?”

“Um...what’s the middle size?”

Just say a medium, that’s understandable, just...and now she has to-

“Media? It’s minima, media, maxima,” she explains, pointing to the example cups. Her nail polish matches her hair and Yoohyeon has to blink very hard to absorb what she just said instead of letting her brain slip away to compliments.

What an...interesting system. Coffee places, I guess.

Yoohyeon nods, squinting at the menu again as she fiddles with her wallet.

“I’ll—I’ll take that one. Please. How much is it?”

“Three thousand eight hundred won. Card?”

“Uh...no, I have...I have bills,” and it takes like, a few seconds too long to open her wallet’s pouch and find said bills. The woman, maybe Minji from her nametag, enters something into the cash register and where are my bills, oh gods wait I had something smaller than ten thousand um uh-

“Ah! Here, five thousand…”

A pair of coins spring out and fall to the floor as she hands Minji the bill, wincing at the sharp noise. A dog barks and one skitters around near her feet, sniffing. Yoohyeon releases the bill as soon as Minji’s fingers close over it, a brief brush of their skin making her entire arm buzz. She shoots down to grab the coin, apologizing softly to the dog that was sniffing at it. Another set of sharp clacks catches her off guard just as the barista says All done! above her and Yoohyeon wants to smack her face against the wall as she realizes more coins have fallen—but instead she lets out a soft whine and grabs the other fallen coins. 

It’s fine. 

She’s just grabbing a few fallen coins and crouching on the floor near a doggie relief pad that’s definitely been used with a cute little cloud design. The pup near her wags its tail.

Breathe. Stand. Hold the things, act normal, it’s fine. People drop things, it’s...we’re fine.

She quickly stands back up when she hears an um, dizzy from the motion and leaning over and oh , I didn’t eat lunch...

The barista seems a little startled but smiles at her again, extending some more coins.

“Here’s your change. I’ll bring your drink out in a moment, please take any seat you like.”

“Thank you,” Yoohyeon manages, going to tuck the coins back into her wallet, and then two things happen.

First, she realizes that she never said she’d take the coffee to go, meaning she’s stuck here—with the dogs and pretty barista she’d been a fool in front of—for as long as it takes to drink a “media” sized latte.

Second, somehow her hand develops a ing hole in the middle because as soon as she draws it towards herself, the coins Minji had placed in her palm fall to the ground.

Are you-

One rolls towards a table as the other two bounce and startle the dog from earlier.

I’m not even that sweaty?!

The dog barks and another one appears on the fenced-off section of the counter, looking around excitedly. Minji’s back is turned as she grinds her teeth together, cheeks warm. 

“I’ll just—th—mm,” she groans softly, slowly lowering herself again. A new dog approaches, tail wagging as it sniffs her face. She has to reach under the little guy to grab a coin, looking around for the last one. The dog pants into her face as the coffee machine huffs from behind her, from above her because once again, on the ground cause I’m a and hoping the nice beautiful woman doesn’t notice this.

“Ah...where’d that last one go?” she grumbles, shuffling towards the tables. She hears noise from the counter as she ducks her head under the bar-like table on the walls, squinting at the legs of the table.

Aha!

She picks up the last coin, a disc of two hundred won that has blended in with the metal. For a moment, it seems like it’ll be fine. 

And then, then, the worst thing happens. The final strike. The nail in the coffin.

Proof that the gods have least favorites.

“Wha—don’t stand there, no. Down, girl.”

Yoohyeon blinks