Chaewon stood, hands balled at her sides, eyes straight ahead, fixed on the other side of the road.

At the big, red letters above glass windows and doors, reading - Café Rosy.

After lots, lots of deliberation, there she was. Lies, it didn't take her any time at all. She had the talk with Jisu about Ryujin the previous day, and after going home, she couldn't think about anything else but going to the café. So, after classes, and guaranteeing all their friends had something to do and wouldn't stick to her, she got the bus, and twenty minutes later, there she was.

Now, the hardest part. Actually entering the damn café.

It was just a café! But for sure that Hyeju was there. Would she recognize Chaewon when she saw her? Would she pretend she didn't know her and treat her like a normal customer? Maybe Hyeju wouldn't even realize it was her!

Chaewon shook her head, regaining posture. She drew her brows together and locked her jaw in an attempt to give herself enough confidence, and crossed the road, eyes fixed on the door.

Her body almost betrayed her, but she aimed for the handle and pushed the door open, the bell above ringing.

"Welcome!" The girl behind the counter smiled at Chaewon.

She approached, taking a look around. The wooden floor, white walls with black tiles covering the half bottom, and the big lamps hanging on the ceiling gave the café a cozy vibe. The two corner tables had inviting couches instead of brown chairs, like the other tables, with a green plant sitting by the windows. One of those tables was already occupied by a small group of friends, the other empty. The menu was written right above the counter, and behind windowed displays, those deliciously looking cakes and pastries Yeji was doodling over the day before.

"Hi, there!" the girl greeted as Chaewon got to the counter, her round face and bangs above her eyes matching the cute, contagious grin on her lips. Chaewon eyed the nameplate on her grey apron - Jiwoo. "What will it be for this fine afternoon?"

"Hi, can I get a vanilla iced latte? With whipped cream."

"Of course! Do you want anything to eat?"

"No, just the drink." Chaewon handed her her card, her hand slightly shaking.

"Alright, you can go sit whenever you want and I'll take you your drink asap!"

Chaewon mumbled a thank you and rushed to sit at the other corner table, dropping to the couch and looking outside the window. She took in a deep breath and allowed herself to scan around again.

Where was Hyeju? Was she not working today? Had her workday finished already? Was she on break? Should she ask Jiwoo if Hyeju was around?

Chaewon leaned with her elbows on the table, resting her forehead on her hands. What was she doing there, really? She felt like storming away, but she had already paid for her drink, might as well enjoy it.

"Hello."

The voice, different from Jiwoo's, made Chaewon raise her head. She widened her eyes, recognizing the face of the woman in front of her.

"Oh my god, Jiwoo was right, you really are that girl from Youtube, with the ASMR channel, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes." Chaewon nodded.

"My sister loves your videos!" she said, setting Chaewon's drink on the table before turning around. "HEY, HYEJU! COME HERE!"

Chaewon's eyes threatened to jump from her eye sockets.

"I'm Sooyoung, by the way, Hyeju's older sister!" she said, beaming at Chaewon. "Welcome to our café, and I hope you enjoy it here, and your drink! I would say it's on the house, but you already paid it, so, the next time you come, we'll give you a drink!"

"Oh, t-there's no need!" Chaewon waved her hands.

"No, no, I insist."

Chaewon couldn't even argue back, she just nodded again. The group of friends sitting at the other table all turned, curious faces on Chaewon, and at that moment, she wanted nothing else but to dig a hole and hide there forever.

Except hearing the voice of a certain girl.

"God, Sooyoung, why are you screaming like that? What happened?" her annoyed, raspy tone sent Chaewon's heart on a rampage.

"Look who's here!"

And as Sooyoung moved away, Chaewon's eyes met Hyeju's.

And as cliché as it could possibly sound, Chaewon swore the world around her stopped. For months she had been watching Hyeju on her computer screen, but seeing her in real life, in front of her... She felt like she was staring at a Goddess. And as a mere mortal, Chaewon wasn't worthy of looking at a-

"Are you gonna keep staring at her? Introduce yourself!" Sooyoung laughed, shaking her head and smacking Hyeju's arm.

"H-Hi, I'm-"

"Hyeju. I-I know you," Chaewon blurted. "I watch your streams all the time."

Sooyoung's eyes jumped between them. "Well, you can take a break now, Hyeju. Have fun!"

Sooyoung walked away, leaving them alone, the air between them tense and awkward.

"You watch my streams?" Hyeju asked.

Chaewon nodded, averting her eyes to her drink. It was sweet and refreshing, and while she took a couple more sips, Hyeju sat in front of her. Chaewon leaned back against the back of the couch, heat creeping under her cheeks.

"I watch your videos on Youtube," Hyeju said.

"Y-Yeah, I know." Chaewon gulped. She really was sitting in front of Son Hyeju, having a... normal conversation. If she thought she was nervous before stepping inside the café, it didn't compare to how her hands trembled now. Hyeju had her hair caught up in a high ponytail, revealing her perky ears filled with piercings, (Chaewon loved the rainbow one so much...), and she was so cute Chaewon wanted to cry. "I actually came here because I watched your stream on Sunday, and you mentioned my channel."

"Oh." Hyeju took a hand to her neck. "Y-Yeah. That happened."

"I had no idea you watched my videos. Thank you so much."

"And I had no idea you watched my streams. Thank you, that means a lot." Hyeju gave her a small bow with her head.

Chaewon gave her a nod with an awkward smile, and neither of them seemed to know what else to say. And that was exactly why she had never gone there before. She feared that would happen, that they didn't have anything to tell each other, that they were just a supporter of each other-

"For how long have you been watching my streams?" Hyeju asked.

"A f-few months now. Since June."

Hyeju widened her eyes. "That's four months! What's your name on Twitch? Have I seen you around?"

Chaewon dropped her head, her fingers around her cold drink, wiping the droplets around the plastic cup. "I follow your channel and I'm a subscriber, but I don't think I ever said anything on the chat. My username is KirbyWon"

Hyeju frowned. "I don't think I remember that username, I'm sorry. But you're even a subscriber, holy, thank you so much."

"No, it's okay! You have a lot of followers, I bet it's hard to keep track of everyone, especially if they don't talk on the chat."

"Why don't you, though?"

Chaewon shrugged. "I don't know, actually. I enjoy just watching you."

"Do you play League as well?"

"N-No."

"No? But I only stream League. Why do you watch my streams, then? It must be boring if you don't know the game."

Chaewon panicked, struggling with what to say. "I-I stumbled upon your channel, and you seemed... funny. Even though I don't know much of the game, I still have a lot of fun watching you."

Hyeju's chin hang, eyes fixed on her. "Wow. I-I don't quite know what to say, just… thank you."

"What about you, for how long have you been watching my videos?"

"A couple of months now. It was my friend who recommended them to me, actually."

"Ryujin?"

"Yeah. I was one of those people who didn't care about ASMR, but your videos, they're just... so relaxing. I think it's about your voice. The way you whisper, and..." Hyeju cleared . "I can see you put a lot of work and effort into them."

The heat spread all the way to Chaewon's ears and the back of her neck. Receiving compliments, from Hyeju. She didn't want to wake up from that dream anytime soon. Or ever again.

"Y-You too! Your stream is super fun to watch because I can see you really enjoy it. The way you always have fun and interact with the people on the chat and always read the comments and answer them. It's really cute."

Hyeju blinked, and Chaewon swore she could see her face getting another color. Did she really get... Hyeju flustered?

"T-Thanks." Hyeju smiled, and this time, it wasn't an awkward one. It was one of those she shows whenever she streams, whenever she does a nice play, and Chaewon's insides trembled.

Chaewon nodded, at a loss of words, and she knew she was probably making a fool out of herself. "W-What's your favorite kind of ASMR videos?"

Anything to keep them away from the awkward silences.

"Oh, hm..." Hyeju paused, looking outside the window. "I love the tapping and scratching ones. But actually, my favorite is the one you whisper positive affirmations while brushing those fluffy things."

Chaewon's brows rose on her forehead. "Really? Why?"

"Like I said, it's... your voice. It's really soothing and it feels great to just lay down on my bed after a long and tiring day and listen to you telling me I did well and that everything's gonna be okay."

Warmth prickled Chaewon's eyes. She had received lots, lots of comments on her videos, several like what Hyeju had just said. But hearing it, and... from her. Chaewon blinked fast, taking her iced latte to her lips again, thinking about how to answer that.

"I'm glad it brings you some sort of... relaxation, or comfort, or... something like that."

Hyeju hummed with a nod. And again, the silence was winning.

"Hyeju!" Sooyoung's voice made both girls snap their heads to the source. "I'm sorry, but we need your help now!"

Chaewon was probably so focused on Hyeju and their conversation, only now she had realized how full the café had become. In those mere five minutes, almost all the tables were occupied, and there was even a line.

"S-Sorry, I need to go." Hyeju stood up and bowed at her. "Thank you for coming."

Chaewon stood up as well, grabbing her vanilla latte. She still hadn't finished it.

"Thank you for receiving me so well. I'll be going too, there's a lot of people now and I don't want to occupy a table for lots of people."

"It's okay! You're a customer, just like they are."

"I know, but I actually should go home now."

"Oh, okay. B-Bye, then."

Hyeju turned but Chaewon took a step forward. "Can I visit again?"

Hyeju halted, turning. "This is a café, of course you can. We'll be thankful as well."

"R-Right." Chaewon felt like slapping herself. What kind of question was that? "Bye then, see you some other time."

With another nod, Hyeju rushed behind the counter, listening to whatever drink Sooyoung told her to prepare. In fact, Chaewon could stay and watch her work, but now she had something she wanted to do. Observing Hyeju for just a few more seconds, Chaewon aimed for the door, lucky enough to get the bus as soon as she reached the bus stop.

Stepping inside her dorm she shared with Jinsol, she paid attention to if there were any sounds coming from her room. She didn't hear any music, but still, she knocked on the door.

"Come in," Jinsol's voice sounded from the inside.

Chaewon opened the door, and Jinsol her chair to greet her. "Hey, Chaewonie."

"What are you doing?" Chaewon asked, approaching and eyeing whatever Jinsol was writing.

"Felt inspired, so I was trying to get some lyrics down."

"Oh, I hope it's going well. You know you can show them to me if you want to."

"I will when and if I think they're good enough. You seem to be in a good mood. What happened? Hyeju mentioned your channel again?" Jinsol chuckled.

Chaewon plopped down on Jinsol's bed, recapping everything that happened half an hour before. And it was like it was finally dawning on her.

"I... I went to Café Rosy," she said, as if shocked at it herself.

Jinsol widened her eyes. "You did?! Was Hyeju there? Did you meet her?!"

"I did." Chaewon smiled, soon turning into a grin as she nodded. "I did!"

A gasp echoed in the room as Jinsol took her hands to . She spun her chair towards Chaewon, forgetting about her lyrics for the time being. "How was it? Tell me everything!"

And she did so, taking her time to be happy about it.

"It was a bit awkward, but not as much as I thought it could be. And the way she said that my videos are relaxing. And my voice. She mentioned my voice, like, three times! Maybe just twice, but you get it."

Jinsol squealed, bouncing her legs back and forward on her chair. "Oh my god, I'm so happy! I can't even imagine how you're feeling. See, she recognized you right away! What now?"

"Now I know what I'll do for my next video, and I want to record it today. Actually, can you help me? Since you're all sentimental and all that, what kind of things do you like to hear to keep yourself positive and motivated? Things like, you did well today, everything's gonna be okay."

A smirk made its way to Jinsol's lips. "Hyeju mentioned that video, you're gonna do another one right away."

Chaewon rolled her eyes. "Yes, you're right, what about it? She likes it a lot, and I only have one like that, so it's okay to have another one. And I had lots of positive reviews on that video, so other people will enjoy it too!"

"Of course, you're absolutely right."

"Can you help me, then?"

"Anything for my Chaewonie." Jinsol leaned in to kiss her cheek.

---

A/N: And they officially met!!!!!!!

RYUJIN FIRST APPEARANCE NEXT CHAPTER WOOHOOOOOOOOOO

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