It's a normal work day for those who work at the 1/3 Café. The usual bundle of frequent customers come in, greeting each worker as if they've been friends for a long time. An occasional weird order comes out of their mouths and they whisper about how complex it is, but serve it nonetheless.

 

"Seems like Haseul and that Jiwoo are at it again.." Hyunjin whispers to her, raising her shoulder at the mentioned duo's direction. Heejin continues wiping the counter, making sure to inch a little closer to Haseul to listen in to their little conversation.

 

"Quad long shot grande in a venti cup half calf double cupped no sleeve salted caramel mocha latte with 2 pumps of vanilla substitute 2 pumps of white chocolate mocha for mocha and substitute 2 pumps of hazelnut for toffee nut half whole milk and half breve with no whipped cream extra hot extra foam extra caramel drizzle extra salt add a scoop of vanilla bean powder with light ice well stirred.. Oh! By the way, I have a free reward!"

 

Heejin stops herself from reacting to the order. It was kinda impressive how she said that with one breath. She heard Haseul's marker stop squeaking against the plastic cup after "caramel".

 

"Did you get that, Haseul?" Jiwoo cheekily grins at her.

 

Haseul nervously chuckles, but nods nonetheless. "Yeah, I got it, Jiwoo.." The latter's nose adorably scrunches up before skipping her way to her usual spot by the window, and booting up that Pokéball 3DS of hers.

 

"Did you actually get all that?" Heejin swoops in once Haseul started bustling around the counter.

 

Haseul shakes her head. "No. I know she said all that to mess with me. I know her actual order." A soft smile tugs its way on the corner of her lips.

 

"You two are hopeless." Hyunjin decides to come out from the back. "Why haven't you asked for her number, Seul?" Heejin nods along.

 

"Well, why haven't you asked for Chaewon's number yet, Kim Hyunjin?" Haseul smirks.

 

Hyunjin frowns. "This isn't about me."

 

On the rarer side of things, a new customer comes in.

 

And surprisingly enough, today's one of those days.

 

The bell's ringing signals someone's come in. Heejin takes it upon herself to tend to this costumer as Haseul and Hyunjin are still bickering about their failed opportunities to get their future girlfriends' numbers.

 

First glance at the newcomer, she feels chills coursing through her veins at the piercing ice cold glare the girl's giving. Her eyes wander around the establishment, then dart straight at the menu before slowly glossing over Haseul and Hyunjin to finally making eye contact with Heejin.

 

Wiping the scowl off her features, a hesitant tight-lipped smile tugs itself on the corner of the girl's lips as she makes her way to the counter. Heejin isn't sure why her nerves are going off the roof with this stranger, but pushes through because of professionalism.

 

"Welcome to the 1/3 Café! What would you like?" Heejin gestures to the menu displayed above them. The girl's orbs rise up once more, squinting her eyes before going back to her.

 

And instead of her order, she wonders, "Why 1/3?"

 

Slightly surprised at the question, Heejin could only purse her lips. She stammers, "Um, I actually don't know." She chuckles, lightly scratching her cheek as she does.

 

The girl before her laughs a little too. At least that lessened the awkward atmosphere between them. "I take it that you're new here?" She asks yet another question.

 

Heejin's thankful the cafe's not one to be crowded. She supposes she can indulge with talking to this costumer a bit more. "You got it." She taps her fingers on the edge of the counter. "You're new too. I've never seen you around before."

 

"Oh, yeah." The girl rubs at her nape, a small smile appears on her lips again. "A friend recommended me this place."

 

"Really?" Heejin grins. "I hope we're up to your standards then."

 

This time, she's the one to chuckle. "The whole place is nice and comfy, but I'll be judging it by how good the Iced Americano is."

 

"Ah," Heejin goes to fetch a medium sized cup, writing on the order on the side. "Your name?"

 

"Hyeju."

 

Well, it isn't that hard to make an Iced Americano. It's just ice, espresso and chilled water in a cup. Once her name is called, Hyeju takes her order from Heejin with that smile of hers and even thanks her for it. She walks off to the farthest table they have in the café where she had her laptop and sketchbook set up.

 

Of course, being an artist herself, Heejin takes note of Hyeju being one. With that knowledge, she makes it a point not to create much noise as she cleans up the place and even interacts with the other customers in a hushed tone than her usual one.

 

The rest of the day isn't that interesting. Hyunjin managed to secure Chaewon's number in her contacts when the latter came in. You can imagine how cocky Hyunjin was about it towards Haseul. Only to be surprised at the fact Haseul and Jiwoo have exchanged numbers a week ago. It just so happened it was on Hyunjin's day off.

 

"What the?" Hyunjin looks utterly shocked with betrayal written all over her face. "Haseul, Heejin.. I trusted you two!"

 

Heejin places her hand over her chest. She's equally shocked at the revelation. "Hey, I didn't even know until now!"

 

Haseul only smirks to herself as she minds her business, trying to split the tip they received today.

 

"I can't believe Haseul's getting a girlfriend before me," Hyunjin grumbles, busying herself with her phone. It's obvious she's texting Chaewon with the uncharacteristic bright smile on her face as she's tapping away on the screen.

 

Heejin shakes her head at the her coworkers. Though in the midst of the duo's squabbling, she heard a particular someone stifling a laugh at the interaction. She strolls her way toward the only table that's still occupied since the afternoon.

 

"Hey."

 

Hyeju flinches, making Heejin crack a smile at her. She quickly gathers herself and looks up at the barista. "Hey," She squeaks out, "I wasn't eavesdropping on purpose."

 

"Oh, I didn't come here for that." Heejin fiddles with her thumbs. "You've been here all day." She looks out the window. "It's getting late.."

 

Hyeju follows her line of sight and nods. "I see that. I guess I got too engrossed in my work." She airily chuckles, flipping through the pages of her sketchbook.

 

Humming, Heejin doesn't try looking at the girl's work. She knows how nerve-wracking it is to even have someone near when you're going through your sketchbook. She doesn't want to make Hyeju uncomfortable, considering it's her first time in the café.

 

Hyeju notices it and teases her for it. "You're not going to ask to see what I made?"

 

"Nah." Heejin stuffs her hands in her apron's pockets. "I'm an artist too. We share the same struggles, if you get what I mean."

 

"Ah." Hyeju's mouth form into a small 'o'. She wordlessly tears off a page from the sketchbook. Heejin quirks an eyebrow when she offers the piece of paper to her. "Here."

 

The page is filled with quite adorable doodles of puppies and bunnies. Hyeju looks sheepish as she gets up from the chair. "I couldn't decide if a puppy suited you better or a bunny, so I drew both."

 

Heejin's mouth is agape as Hyeju continues speaking as she gathers her things. Her voice goes small and quiet when she says, "Um, you did a good job today. I'm proud of you." And with that, she runs out of sight.

 

Heejin's left blankly staring at the paper Hyeju gave. Her face contorts through a multitude of expressions as she tries processing what just happened. "Proud of me..?" She wonders with a pounding heart just as her eyes drift down to the table, seeing a generous tip left behind.

 

Hyunjin's whistling snaps Heejin out of her confused daze. "Is this the start of Jeon Heejin's love life for the first time in her 20 years of living?" Haseul cheers for her behind the counter, making little claps at her dear coworker.

 

Heejin makes her way to the back room, purposefully bumping into Hyunjin in the process. "Shut up, Kim Hyunjin. I'm not like you two."

 

Haseul laughs. "Sure, Heej."